Wow, what a Monday Night Football game that was! Can I stick Darren Sharper in at WR from here on out? Oh, then there was the return of Brett Favre to Green Bay in which he showed them he still has some mojo left. Then there was the game in which two RBs combined for 405 yards and four scores.
Without further delay, let’s get on with the winners and losers of this weekend.
Winners
Brett Favre: Ok… ok… I’ve got to give him some love since he went into Green Bay and gave the Packers fans a big slap in the face. Favre managed to finish the game with 244 yards and 4 TDs, and didn’t allow a single sack or INT on the day. I’ve got to admit, he is looking pretty legit this season as a high-end QB2.
Aaron Rodgers: Rodgers didn’t win the game, but he was able to account for 287 yards and 3 TDs when the final whistle blew. And, he might have actually been able to throw for another TD had the team not used up all of its timeouts before the end of the game. If you are in a league that hands out negative points for sacks, Rodgers took 6 and that shouldn’t happen, ever.
Ryan Moats: Steve Slaton finally got benched after his seventh fumble of the season. Moats came in and made the most of his opportunity by running for 126 yards and 3 TDs. Texans coach Gary Kubiak is saying that all three backs will play, but I think he goes with whoever has the hot hand and that is Moats right now. Grab him if you can without losing too much.
Chris Johnson: Johnson has been up and down for fantasy owners all season long. This was one of the up weeks as he racked up 228 yards and 2 TDs. Believe it or not, Vince Young is likely to increase Johnson’s value because now the D-Line will have to respect his ability to scramble and that should open more gaps for Johnson to run through.
Ted Ginn Jr.: How does a WR get 0 receiving yards and still lead all receivers in fantasy points? Well, your league counts return yards and return TDs, that’s how. Ginn put up back-to-back scores off of returns and finished the game with 299 return yards and 2 TDs this weekend. I don’t care if he catches another pass in this league, just keep on doing this for me and we are cooler than the other side of the pillow!
Reggie Wayne: I was listening to the radio station I work for, 101.7 The Team in Albuquerque (1017theteam.com) on my way to watch the Sunday football games. Well, Fox had a fantasy football show on and the guys there were saying to not play Wayne because he was too big of a risk. A risk to do what… explode? He went off for 147 yards and a score, good enough to take the #1 spot in standard scoring leagues at WR. What is the lesson we learned from this story? Email me and stop listening to the “other” people.
Kevin Boss: I know Dustin Keller had 76 yards and a TD, but Kevin Boss managed to get 70 yards and a score and he has been worthless all season long. Don’t get excited over one game, he still shouldn’t be owned in any format.
Chicago Bears defense: The Bears held the Browns to just 6 points, but it was the sack, two INTs, 3 fumbles recovered, one TD, and one blocked kick that really helped them to the #1 spot this weekend. Whoever the Browns play, stick the other teams defense in; even if it is the Lions.
Losers
Joe Flacco: I’m not a fan of Flacco, and this weekend showed why as he threw for just 175 yards and a score while taking two sacks. He will have more games like this than he will where he dominates, so best you deal him before the deadline hits if you can.
Alex Smith: I got tons of emails about Smith and wanting to know if he was the real deal or not. I suggested you stay away because I had a feeling he would be the 198 yard, one TD, one INT, and four sacks kind of QB he was on Sunday.
Ronnie Brown: Brown has been one of the better fantasy backs this season, but on Sunday he managed to put up just 27 yards on 11 carries and didn’t score a single TD. This will be the off game that every player has, so don’t get too worried.
Steve Slaton: Well, he lost another fumble, he gained just one yard rushing and 10 yards receiving, and then lost his starting job. I don’t care what the coach says, Slaton’s days as a starter should be over.
Mike Sims-Walker: The WR is only as good as the QB, and David Garrard had an off game. Sims-Walker finished with just two catches for nine yards, and fantasy owners are left scratching their heads and wondering what happened to the secondary Tennessee has had all season long.
Brandon Marshall: People were getting all excited over Marshall and getting mad at me because I was holding back my enthusiasm. I held back because I knew he was bound to have another game where he caught just four passes for 24 yards and no scores.
Jason Witten: My, how the mighty have fallen. Witten managed a whopping four catches for 36 yards and no scores this weekend. Miles Austin is the new cream of the Dallas crop and Witten is quickly becoming a sell candidate based on name value. I got offered Witten for my Vernon Davis and laughed him into a rejected email.
Denver Broncos defense: The Broncos defense recorded two sacks, but failed to get a single interception and gave up 30 points to the Ravens. Their terrible showing was enough to rank them in the bottom two for fantasy defenses this weekend.
All right, I didn’t want to talk about this but I will… my picks. I missed on David Garrard, Kevin Smith, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Steve Slaton, but I got all the others correct. That means I was still able to finish the weekend 12-16, good enough for a 75% rating again this week. Trust me people, this was still about 25% better than the other sites.
Don’t forget, you can always send me a question or follow me on Twitter!