Fro'(m) whence he came
Randy Moss is now a Viking. I’m sure you’ve read plenty of material about it. Fantasy-wise, if you have Moss on your team, you can either be thrilled or depressed. On the one hand, Moss wasn’t happy on the Patriots and (probably) took a few plays off, epitomized by getting 0 points against the Dolphins. A fresh start with the Vikings is just what he needs to get back to his old dominant form. Favre desperately needed a consistent deep threat, and Moss will be happy to oblige.
On the other hand, this is Randy Moss, and this is Brett Favre. Favre has as much chemistry with his current receivers as I have with a lamp post. Chalk it up to young, inexperienced players, but Favre has not made that situation work this year. You can be skeptical, then, that Favre and Moss will get on the same page immediately. It may take a few weeks, and even then, are we even sure Favre can miraculously return to greatness like he has the past few years? Moss, too, has a lot of baggage (such as his contract dispute which has still not been resolved) which may affect his play later down the road.
I subscribe more with the latter theory, but this is all contingent on how it unfolds obviously. We are left with a lot of questions. Will Moss be an elite receiver again? Will Favre’s fantasy value increase? Does this mean fewer opportunities for Visanthe Shiancoe, who has capitalized on the situation? What about Adrian Peterson and his number of carries? It certainly will be interesting to see how this plays out. Now, on to the Ferrells and Fallons for week 5.
Ferrells:
Now with the Lions, Shaun Hill is impressing during Matthew Stafford's injury
QB: Shaun Hill (DET). Hill is a goldmine for yardage; he’s passed for 335, 237, and 331 yards with 5 touchdowns (and 5 picks) over three games against Philly, Minny, and Green Bay. Those defenses aren’t too bad. Using him for your fantasy team is like going to an Adam Sandler movie (post-Anger Management to be generous; post-Big Daddy to be honest). You know he’s not very good at what he does, but he puts up huge numbers at the box office. Shaun Hill is the modern-day Adam Sandler. Roll with him this week against the Rams if you want to score big with not a lot of substance.
Other options: Matt Ryan (ATL), Sam Bradford (STL), Eli Manning (NYG)
(Last week: Schaub vs. OAK…16-29, 192 yds, 2 td)
RB: Cadillac Williams (TB). Either Peyton Hillis is a fluke, or the 2012 estimation date for the Mayan apocalypse was a few years too late. The guy keeps churning away, including a week 4 rumble-fest against the Bungles. That said, Cincy hasn’t been spectacular against the run. However, the Bucs may look to incorporate LeGarrette Blount into the offense more, so this pick could backfire…Backfire like a crappy Cadillac. Nailed it.
Other options: Knowshon Moreno (DEN), Frank Gore (SF), Chris Ivory (NO)
(Last week: Ricky Williams vs. NE…8 rush, 56 yds, 4 rec, 45 yds, 1 TD)
TE: Brent Celek (PHI). Michael Vick injury à Kevin Kolb à no DeSean Jackson à Brent Celek. It’s simple logic. I doubt the Eagles will dump off the ball to McCoy as much as they did against the Skins (12 times for 110 yds), so look for Celek’s numbers to improve. It’s like having a polarized group of friends; a few really love playing video games, and another few prefer getting hammered. Depending on which group you’re hanging out with, you’re going to be participating in a different activity, yes? The Eagles can’t hang with Vick anymore because he’s injured/arrested for disorderly conduct. So now they’re stuck with video game nerd, Kevin Kolb, and Brent Celek is a beast at Halo.
Other options: Danny Amendola (STL), Zach Miller (OAK), Chad Ochocinco (CIN)
(Last week: Vernon Davis vs. ATL…4 rec, 36 yds, 1 TD)
Fallons:
QB: Tony Romo (DAL). The most recent episode of Family Guy revolved around Brian, a ridiculously over-the-top liberal who happens to be a talking dog, reading a book written by Rush Limbaugh and ultimately being swayed by the conservative view. He acknowledges how persuasive the book was and that he had never given the conservative perspective a chance until now. Brian becomes ultra-conservative to a fault, though. Finally, at the end of the episode, Rush confronts him: “You’re not really one of us.” Brian was pretending to be someone he’s not and finally reverted back to his liberal ways. The whole episode was tongue-in-cheek, which is annoying because Family Guy is not an equal opportunity insulter when it comes to political parties (I even started writing this piece once mid-episode when Brian began living with Rush Limbaugh because I knew exactly where the FG writers were going with the episode).
Still, I find this a nice reflection of Tony Romo’s career. He might DO the things that make him seem like an elite quarterback by putting up great stats or winning a handful of highly-televised games. But in the end, he just isn’t that person. Who are we fooling? He isn’t one of the best QBs in the game. Romo has shown signs of promise the last couple of weeks in addition to a stellar season last year, but I don’t think he will ever fully convince me he is a top 5 guy. He makes too many mistakes despite having a very talented supporting cast. I think this is going to be one of those weeks where the past catches up to him again, and he delivers one of his dud performances against the Titans.
Like Brian, though, I never gave Romo a true chance. But in the end, I have to stick to my guns.
Other options: Kyle Orton (DEN), Alex Smith (SF), Aaron Rodgers (GB)
(Last week: Vick vs. WAS…5-7, 49 yds, 17 rush yds, injured)
It will not be a track meet for Charles in Indy.
RB: Jamal Charles (KC). I have a strong feeling the Colts are going to pull a similar performance against the Chiefs as they did against the Giants a couple weeks ago. Losing to the Jaguars in week 4 is motivation enough to step up at home in week 5. Also, Charles disappears sometimes whenever Charlie Weis feeds Thomas Jones. Look for a disappointing week from Charles.
Side note: I’m not sure how to take this season anymore. Am I supposed to be excited about the lack of parity, or devastated? Usually we have a couple teams who flash dominance for a good eight games or so. This year, we have no such thing. At least a couple teams have taken an undefeated record deep into the year the past couple seasons, but this year? No such luck. The Chiefs of all teams are the last standing at a measly 3-0 (a record I doubt will make it past this week but who knows). I suppose as of now, any team can get into the playoffs, which is refreshing. It’s just strange to genuinely not have that hierarchy of good, bad and the uglies. Anyone can challenge anyone right now.
Other options: Joseph Addai (IND), Adrian Peterson (MIN, I’m thinking less than 80 yards here), Ladainian Tomlinson (NYJ)
(Last week: Forte vs. NYG…12 rush, 26 yds, 2 rec, 7 yds)
This happens all too often to Boldin
WR: Anquan Boldin (BAL). Boldin has been as good as Ravens fans could have expected. Joe Flacco, though, has not. I just don’t have confidence in that guy. Denver isn’t great, but they will play the Ravens tough. But that still doesn’t give you any reason to doubt Boldin in this game. Here’s the kicker no one is supposed to talk about: Anquan Boldin gets hurt A LOT. As badly as America is overrun by bed bugs, Boldin is infested with the injury bug. It hits him every year. Thus, my bold prediction: this is the week he goes down.
Other options: Antonio Gates (SD), Mike Sims-Walker (JAC), Roy Williams (DAL)
(Last week: Calvin Johnson vs. GB…6 rec, 86 yds, 2 TD)
OuttaTownClowns 