Mulligan’s Fantasy Football Forecast, Week 8
Fantasy football can be a maddening and frustrating game at times. Being a Miami Dolphins fans these days will just plain drive you crazy.
I was so confident that the Dolphins had a good chance of beating the Saints last week that I even made a friendly wager on the game with a friend. And after the first quarter, things were looking great. Of course, NFL games last four quarters, not just one, and the Dolphins would eventually lose the lead and the game.in the most maddening way possible.
Dropped pass after dropped pass, blown defensive coverages. They gave up huge plays on defense and started to lose confidence on offense. It’s like they knew they couldn’t win, even though they were up 24-10 to start the third quarter. When it came time to make a catch, Ted Ginn Jr looked like it was the first time he had ever seen a football and Anthony Fasano’s hands weren’t any better. Even the usually reliable Ricky Williams had a key drop late in the game.
And what was even more predictable was that people questioned the way Chad Henne played. Yes, he threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns, but only the second one was his fault. Ginn basically helped the Saints’ Darren Sharper intercept the first one, a beautiful pass that should have been caught by Ginn (how many times has that been said over the past few seasons?)
It was just such a depressing and frustrating game all-around, and I didn’t even play in it. What drives Dolphin fans like me crazy is that Miami could be a dominant team- this season. Seriously, they’re upgrades at four key spots away from being a legitimate AFC contender with the way they run the ball on offense and stop the run on defense. But until they fix the gaping holes (lack of a play making WR who can catch, lack of a serviceable TE in the passing game, and an awful secondary) the Dolphins are just a tease.
Excuse me while I go release Ginn from the Dolphins roster in Madden ’10.
GOOD MATCH UPS
Steve Slaton vs. Bills defense: The Bills have the very worst run defense in all of the NFL. Buffalo is giving up over 172 yards per game on the ground and a whopping 5.2 yards per carry. That’s not a winning formula. It is, however, great news for Steve Slaton owners who have been waiting for him to have a big performance as he often did last season. Slaton is averaging a pitiful 3.1 yards per carry but has helped keep fantasy teams afloat with his receiving stats. I would expect Slaton to threaten, and very possibly surpass, the 100-yard rushing mark this week.
Mike Sims-Walker vs. Titans defense: Sims-Walker hauled in two touchdown catches in a match up against the Titans earlier this season and there’s no reason to think he can’t put forth a similar performance this week when the Jaguars travel to Tennessee. The winless Titans haven’t gotten any better at defending the pass since that Week 4 contest. Expect all of the Jaguars offensive skill players to have good games this week.
NOT SO GOOD MATCH UPS
Thomas Jones vs. Dolphins defense: The Dolphins were able to hold Thomas Jones in check for the most part in their last meeting, but Jones did manage two rushing touchdowns ( a 1-yard run and a 3-yard run), saving his fantasy value for that week. Though their secondary has been giving up big play after big play, the Dolphins run defense has been one of the best in the NFL, giving up just under 87 yards per game on the ground (fourth in the NFL) and 3.7 yards per carry (eighth). It’s possible that Jones could sneak in for two touchdowns again, but I would suggest starting another running back instead of banking on that.
Joe Flacco vs. Broncos defense: The undefeated Broncos pay a visit to Joe Flacco and his Ravens this week, which isn’t the best news for Joe Flacco owners. The Broncos boast the NFL’s eighth ranked pass defense, allowing 183 yards per game through the air, and one of the league’s best cornerbacks in Champ Bailey. Both teams are coming off of byes this week, so really anything could happen. If you have other options at QB you may want to consider them for this week because, on paper, this match up isn’t good for Flacco.
WAIVER WIRE WATCH
Alex Smith, QB, 49ers: Shaun Hill found his team in a big hole to start the second half against the Texans on Sunday and he found himself riding the bench as 49ers coach replaced him with Alex Smith. Smith sparked the Niners offense and nearly led a comeback from a 21 point deficit and has now earned himself another shot at the starting quarterback job in San Francisco. He’s not the best fantasy QB out there, but he’ll be better than the bottom feeders like Trent Edwards and JaMarcus Russell (I know, I’m really going out on a limb there).
Shonn Greene, RB, Jets: Leon Washington is done for the season after fracturing his tibia and fibula in last week’s game, meaning there’s plenty of playing time ahead for rookie Shonn Greene. In Washington’s absence on Sunday, Greene rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns against the Raiders. Greene should be picked up as soon as possible in just about every league.
Ricky Williams, RB, Dolphins: Ricky continues to put up consistently good numbers this season and is currently on pace to rush for over 1,000 yards for the first time since 2003. The Dolphins are very obviously a run-first team so there’s no reason to think Ricky’s production is a fluke. He’s still available in many leagues so if yours is one of them, it would be prudent to add him to your roster.
Mike Wallace, WR, Steelers: Wallace has shown big play ability for the Steelers this season and has had himself some nice stat lines along the way. He hauled in three passes for 72 yards and a touchdown last week against the Vikings. With Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes ahead of him on the depth chart, it’ll be tough for Wallace to be a consistent producer for your fantasy team this season. I think he’s a solid WR3 against weaker pass defenses for the time being
Sam Aiken, WR, Patriots: From time to time, there will be receivers other than Randy Moss and Wes Welker who have good games for the Patriots. Aiken had himself a good game against the Buccaneers last week with two catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. But make no mistake, the only fantasy options at WR on the Patriots are Moss and Welker.
David Clowney, WR, Jets: Clowney has had two good games in the absence of Jerricho Cotchery but sandwiched in between those two games is a zero catch performance. He has some big play ability but as soon as Cotchery comes back full strength his fantasy value will disappear. That said, if Cotchery doesn’t play this week against the Dolphins, Clowney is a decent play against a Dolphins secondary who can’t seem to stop anybody.
Teams on bye this week: Cincinnati, Kansas City, New England, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Washington
Kyle Mulligan is a contributing sports writer for the Observer. He welcomes your feedback and can be reached at kjmulli@gmail.com.