Monday, October 10, 2011

Fantasy Football weekly recap

Anyone still hoping to snag a sleeper in his/her fantasy league is more-or-less sifting through the bins at a garage sale but every now and then you will unearth a hidden gem that hasn’t been found yet by the masses. I would suggest targeting the tight end position and Jared Cook is one example. The Tennessee Titans tight end may not be on a roster in your fantasy league but Cook is certainly a viable starter in your league if your regular TE is injured or on a bye. Cook, a South Carolina product from nearby North Gwinnett High School, had 149 yards entering last week before hauling in four more receptions for 59 yards. Jermaine Gresham is another player that might be available in your league. I picked him up before last week’s game after Aaron Hernandez was hurt and Ben Watson was on a bye week, and Gresham gave me five receptions and one score. A rookie quarterback always needs a quick outlet and Gresham is just that outlet if AJ Green is not available.

Stevan Ridley is a player that could still be lurking in your free agent pool and while the rookie isn’t the New England feature back YET, he could be soon in today’s NFL. Ridley is gaining the trust of his coaches and he ran for 97 yard on just 10 carries against the Raiders two weeks ago. BenJarvus Green-Ellis is still the lead back right now for the Pats but Ridley is starting to steal carries and could soon steal touchdowns as he can get involved in the passing game.

The Andrew Luck Bowl was played in Indianapolis last week and both starting quarterbacks made cases for their teams not to take the Stanford QB in the upcoming NFL draft. Matt Cassel led his team to a victory (and a worse chance at landing Luck) with a 21-29 day, 257 yards and four touchdowns. Cassel led his team to the playoffs one year ago and is just a few years removed from starring for the Patriots in Tom Brady’s absence. Cassel to Bowe is still a quality combination and it will be hard to see the Chiefs going after Luck after surrendering picks and money for Cassel. Indy meanwhile has Peyton Manning waiting to come back in 2012 but Curtis Painter played well in just his second start, passing for 237 yards in the first half and 277 in the game with two touchdowns. Painter has not thrown an interception in three games this season to go with four scores and 618 yards. San Francisco’s Alex Smith also threw for three touchdowns in the 49ers win over Tampa Bay. San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh was Luck’s coach at Stanford before he left for the NFL.

We may be seeing last week’s Saints/Panthers match up in fantasy football look-ins for the next few years. Cam Newton threw for two scores and ran for another while Drew Brees passed for 359 yards and two scores in last week’s Saints victory. Those two quarterbacks, along with Atlanta’s Matt Ryan and Tampa Bay’s Josh Freeman give the NFC South the distinction of being the NFL’s best fantasy QB division.

Finally the Atlanta Falcons managed to grab an early lead last week against the Packers thanks to its trio of fantasy stat-grabbers. Roddy White snared an early touchdown grab while Michael Turner pounded in a score on the ground. Julio Jones is proving his case for offensive rookie of the year with an impressive showing catching the ball as well as running it on a reverse.

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