Is Larry Johnson Worth A Shot?
Around here, people are beginning to panic about the Ravens. It's understandable. Not only have they lost four of their last five games, but they have fallen two games behind the Bengals and Steelers, also conceding a playoff tie-break to the Bengals. And yes, there's certainly reason to be concerned with the on-field performance.
But as for a 4-4 record, a team can make the playoffs like that. Sure, the Ravens have a tough schedule ahead, with two games against the Steelers and one against the Colts. But two of those three are at home. If the Ravens can go 7-1 the rest of the way, they will be in the playoffs. If they go 10-6, they still might get in (tie-break with the struggling Broncos). The way I see it, the Ravens aren't out of anything. Their playoffs are just starting a little bit early. They cannot afford to lose.
And that is precisely the same position that many fantasy teams are in. I have two primary leagues, and with the exception of one week in which I lost in both, my teams have alternated wins. Two teams sitting at 4-5. I can't afford to lose.
The best part about the 32-team schedule (thanks Texans!) is that bye weeks now end in week 10. All of your players are in during the stretch run. But for a team like mine (lacking talent), it actually works against me. Last week I only won because Adrian Peterson was out. After this week, if your team is awful, there's no hiding.
What's giving me the most trouble is my stack of mediocre running backs across the two teams. Brandon Jacobs, Pierre Thomas, Donald Brown, Beanie Wells, Shonn Greene, Jamaal Charles, Felix Jones, Larry Johnson, Knowshon Moreno, Ryan Moats and Laurence Maroney. Every week becomes a complete headache trying to guess who has the best matchup. Most of those guys are backups. One of them isn't even on an NFL team! However, I contend that if I play the optimal lineup for the rest of the season, I will win the championship. Too bad I have yet to play the optimal lineup once this year.
This week, we'll go back to dishing out the ever-important awards of week 9.
Biggest Surprise: Chris Chambers. One man's trash, another man's treasure? I'm not so sure Chambers is treasure exactly, but to be waived, claimed and score two touchdowns for your new team within six days is pretty darn impressive. If you're desperate for receiver help you have to pick him up. But I'm not touching him. He is, after all, a Chiefs wide receiver. And he is, after all, still Chris Chambers.
Biggest Letdown: Matt Hasselbeck. A big reason for this selection is that I'm a frustrated TJ Houshmandzadeh owner. And it's hard to call a 329-yard performance a letdown. Unless it's against the Lions and you throw just one touchdown to go with your one interception. A week of hype leading up to the Hasselbeck vs. Lions game led a lot of poor souls to start him and receive a pretty average performance. TJ actually was the recipient of the touchdown toss, but 34 yards on six catches means just one thing: You are being forced the ball even though you're well covered and can't get downfield.
Best Raven: Ray Rice. The only offensive bright spot, in my opinion. Joe Flacco flat out looked inaccurate against the Bengals.
Anita Marks Category for Best WR in the NFL: Brandon Marshall. He had another really good game, hauling in 11 passes and going over 100 yards, but it wasn't enough for the Broncos to avoid their second straight loss. What's wrong in Denver? Josh McDaniels is supposed to be an offensive genius. He was the architect of the 2007 Patriots, the greatest offense ever. In the past two weeks the Broncos offense has scored exactly one offensive touchdown. It's not as if the weapons aren't there. Marshall, Eddie Royal, Knowshon Moreno, Kyle Orton and a pretty darn good offensive line.
If you can only pick up one guy on waivers it should be: Larry Johnson. Larry Johnson? Yeah, why not? Seriously, if he ends up in the right spot he could turn the whole thing around. He's still only 29. The Patriots would make a lot of sense for Johnson and they have a history of taking running backs who wore out their welcome. Corey Dillon went to New England and ran for 1,635 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2004 at the very same age. Obviously taking LJ would be a risk, but if you have the roster space, give it a look.
Goat of the Week: Tommie Harris. How on earth could you be so angry one minute into a football game that you would go all LeGarrette Blount on Deuce Lutui? And I've never really understood the mentality behind punching someone when they're wearing a helmet. If anything, you'll be hurting your own hand while getting thrown off the field. Pretty ridiculous.
Posted November 11, 2009
