Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Week 3, Time to Panic: First Bye Week of the Season
Week 3 of the young NFL season spells trouble for fantasy football owners: four teams (the Chargers, Chiefs, Cowboys and Raiders) will be idle this Sunday with the arrival of the first bye week of the season. To the many owners facing imminent disaster with star running backs Ladainian Tomlinson, Larry Johnson, and Lamont Jordan on the shelf this week, I say to you: "There is hope." Early this season, low profile running backs have emerged as solid alternatives to star tailbacks taken high in Yahoo and ESPN drafts. If you are fortunate enough to find these players in the free agent pool, don't hesitate to grab them.
Frank Gore, San Francisco: Gore, in his second year as a pro, has blossomed into the tailback the 49ers anticipated when they traded veteran Kevin Barlow to New York during the preseason. Gore equaled his touchdown total from his rookie campaign (3) on Sunday and is developing into an above average receiver in the passing game catching eight passes for ninety-three yards through the first two games. Gore is fourth in the NFL in rushing thus far, averaging 112 yards a contest. Emerging as a budding star, he has turned heads in ESPN fantasy football where he is now owned in 97% of leagues.
Chester Taylor, Minnesota: After languishing for years behind Jamal Lewis in Baltimore, Taylor, the former UT Rocket, is getting his first chance to be the primary running back in Minnesota. He has responded with two strong performances, propelling the Vikings to a 2-0 start. Previously under-utilized as a third-down back, Taylor is finally showing the ability to run between the tackles, a nice compliment to his pass-catching talents. He should easily surpass 1,500 total yards from scrimmage in 2006. A solid addition to any fantasy team, it will be interesting to see if he can hold up to the physical toll a full season can take on an every-down back.
Deuce McAllister, New Orleans: McAllister, a fantasy stud the previous two seasons before missing most of the 2005 season with a knee injury, fell off the radar screen of many fantasy owners during drafts before the season started. Concern over his recovery from knee surgery and the Saints acquisition of Reggie Bush resulted in many owners passing on the six year veteran out of Ole Miss. Through two games, McAllister has answered questions about his health by averaging a respectable four yards per carry. Head Coach Sean Payton has distributed the rush attempts equally between Bush and McAllister with the latter rushing 17 times in each of the first two games. Need another reason to pick up McAllister? He has been the primary running back near the goal line: he has both New Orleans rushing touchdowns this season.
©Nate Purinton
2006
Frank Gore, San Francisco: Gore, in his second year as a pro, has blossomed into the tailback the 49ers anticipated when they traded veteran Kevin Barlow to New York during the preseason. Gore equaled his touchdown total from his rookie campaign (3) on Sunday and is developing into an above average receiver in the passing game catching eight passes for ninety-three yards through the first two games. Gore is fourth in the NFL in rushing thus far, averaging 112 yards a contest. Emerging as a budding star, he has turned heads in ESPN fantasy football where he is now owned in 97% of leagues.
Chester Taylor, Minnesota: After languishing for years behind Jamal Lewis in Baltimore, Taylor, the former UT Rocket, is getting his first chance to be the primary running back in Minnesota. He has responded with two strong performances, propelling the Vikings to a 2-0 start. Previously under-utilized as a third-down back, Taylor is finally showing the ability to run between the tackles, a nice compliment to his pass-catching talents. He should easily surpass 1,500 total yards from scrimmage in 2006. A solid addition to any fantasy team, it will be interesting to see if he can hold up to the physical toll a full season can take on an every-down back.
Deuce McAllister, New Orleans: McAllister, a fantasy stud the previous two seasons before missing most of the 2005 season with a knee injury, fell off the radar screen of many fantasy owners during drafts before the season started. Concern over his recovery from knee surgery and the Saints acquisition of Reggie Bush resulted in many owners passing on the six year veteran out of Ole Miss. Through two games, McAllister has answered questions about his health by averaging a respectable four yards per carry. Head Coach Sean Payton has distributed the rush attempts equally between Bush and McAllister with the latter rushing 17 times in each of the first two games. Need another reason to pick up McAllister? He has been the primary running back near the goal line: he has both New Orleans rushing touchdowns this season.
©Nate Purinton
2006
# posted by Nate @ 3:08 PM 
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Regarding your post about watching Major League... you may want to check out this week's edition of the Onion (www.theonion.com), where they posted an article with the headline "Charlie Sheen wants to Finish Career as Cleveland Indian"
In fact, I had noticed that headline. Unfortunately, an article was lacking. Also of note, Major League was on television this past Sunday night on ESPN Classic. Go figure.
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