Week 5 Fantasy Mailbag Q&A
Week 5 Fantasy Q&A. Let’s dive right in.
Q: I’m desperate for receivers, I’ve had injuries (Laurent Robinson), flops (Torry Holt, Dwayne Bowe), is there any hope for Michael Crabtree making an impact this year? - Josh
A: Nope. Not until the Niners are playing against kids when they face the Lions and Rams at the end of the season, at the earliest.
That said, snap up Crabtree if you’re in a keeper league. He was a top draft pick for a reason (hopefully that reason is not just that he made the game-winning catch against Texas on national TV. Because that dramatic catch reminded me of a dramatic catch made by another former Big 12/8 star receiver who was a top NFL pick. You know, the guy who sucker-punched Stephen Davis and only showed up for one year in an eight-season NFL career). And with Vernon Davis emerging, once Crabtree gets the offense down and gets in game-shape, he should see plenty of single-coverage and zone defenses.
Q: Which two of these four would you start this week?
B Jacobs vs. Oak
C Benson @ Balt
J Addai @ Tenn
R. Brown vs. Jets
-Jack
A: I would roll with Jacobs and Brown. Here’s why: As long as Jacobs is healthy, he is a must-start. The Giants get inside the red zone often and love to let Jacobs plow it home. So even if he’s not running for a lot of yardage, he’s a good threat to score. The Giants are also facing the Raiders. At home. The spread -- 16 points - resembles the line in an early-season college game between LSU and Louisiana-Monroe. And it’s probably too low. You think the Giants may score some points on Sunday?
Brown is developing into a must-start as well. He is averaging 105 yards from scrimmage per game with four scores, and with Miami now starting a quarterback who can throw it further than 40 yards, that should open up more room for him. The Jets are not a great match-up for Brown, but if anybody on Miami scores a touchdown this week, who do you think it will be?
As for the other two: Joseph Addai is still in the NFL? Seems like he’s soon to be next in line on the Colts’ carousel of cast-off running backs.
And as good as Cedric Benson has been this year, the Bengals are playing the Ravens in Baltimore. The Ravens’ defense has not been great this year, but has been much better at home. And now they’re angry after the NFL made them play two-hand-touch against Tom Brady and the Patriots last week. A motivated Ray Lewis is a frightening thing, especially if you’re an NFL running back.
Q: I have Braylon Edwards on my roster, is there any hope I can actually use him on gameday now that he’s in New York? Maybe not the first week, but in the future? - Stephen
A: News of the trade that sent Edwards from Cleveland to the Jets reached the Carolina Panthers’ locker room after their practice Wednesday. At least one Panther was amused. “The Jets finally got a big-time receiver,” he said aloud, to nobody in particular. Then he could no longer suppress a laugh. He added: “Every time they show the highlights, he’s dropping balls.”
Does that answer your question?
Q: What do you think Braylon Edwards will do for the value of Mark Sanchez? And will Chansi Stuckey be worth anything in Cleveland? - Ben
A: This Edwards trade reminds me of Jerry Jones’ swap for receiver Roy Williams last season. Like Jones, the Jets must think Edwards can adjust well to a new team in the middle of the season. You saw how well that worked for the Cowboys last year (Williams caught 19 passes for 198 yards and 1 score in 10 games, and got along so poorly with Terrell Owens that the two could not even discuss their favorite childhood cartoons without getting icy).
I can’t see Edwards helping the Jets offense, and by extension Sanchez, too much this year. This move will probably help Edwards and Sanchez in the long run on the field, although off the field it won’t help Edwards (LeBron James and his friend will likely follow him to New York next year).
As for Stuckey, well, if he were on my Fantasy team, I’d be banging my head against the desk right now. Let’s see, since the 2008 season ended, the Browns have traded away Kellen Winslow Jr. and Edwards, and Jamal Lewis has aged another year. What exactly do they have left? As I wrote before, it doesn’t matter who they start at quarterback. They can’t move the ball much or score many points. So, No. I can’t see Stuckey doing too much in Cleveland. Trade him now, before his value really slides.
