Published October 20, 2009 01:08 am -
After six weeks of the NFL season, here’s a few things we’ve learned that have fantasy significance. No. 1, if New England quarterback Tom Brady is still feeling the affects of last year’s season-ending knee injury, he’s no long showing it. No. 2, Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub lasted way too long in your fantasy draft because of durability issues.
No lasting injury effects for Brady, Schaub
By Jim Rueda
Free Press Sports Editor
After six weeks of the NFL season, here’s a few things we’ve learned that have fantasy significance.
No. 1, if New England quarterback Tom Brady is still feeling the affects of last year’s season-ending knee injury, he’s no long showing it. Brady threw five touchdowns passes in one quarter against the Titans Sunday in a 59-0 win. He finished with 380 yards and six TDs.
No. 2, Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub lasted way too long in your fantasy draft because of durability issues. After a mediocre showing in Week 1, Schaub has thrown for 1,644 yards and 14 touchdowns in his last five games. Schaub has a ton of quality receivers in wideouts Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones, tight end Owen Daniels, and running back Steve Slaton.
No. 3, it appears New Orleans has adopted the dreaded running back-by-committee approach for its ground game. The three-headed monster of Pierre Thomas-Reggie-Bush-Mike Bell seem to be sharing playing time which means none if likely to put up big numbers in any given week. Thomas and Bell are far better plays than Bush right now but neither can be considered a premier ball carrier at this point.
No. 4, the New Orleans Saints are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. The Saints have long had a high-powered offense with no defense but, this year, the offense seems to be flying even higher and the defense is dramatically improved. New Orleans put an exclamation point on its credibility Sunday with a 48-27 win over the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants.
Injury update: Minnesota’s own Adrian Peterson appeared to tweak his ankle in Sunday’s game against Baltimore but returned to the game and continued playing. Head coach Brad Childress did not seem overly concerned after the game so Peterson will probably be good to go this weekend.
Another running back, New England’s Sammy Morris left with a knee injury in the first quarter and never returned. Check his status later in the week.
Tennessee’s LenDale White, who has been underperforming all year, was carted to the locker room with a knee injury. His status is unknown.
Among the wide receivers, Arizona’s Anquan Boldin left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury. His status is unknown at this time. The Giants’ Mario Manningham suffered a back/ribs injury against the Saints and did not return. His status is day to day.
St. Louis’ Donnie Avery bruised his hip Sunday and team officials are concerned it could be a related to the stress fracture that kept him out of training camp. The Vikings’ Percy Harvin left the field with a shoulder injury and his status is unknown.
Players to jettison: Washington quarterback Jason Campbell was benched against the Kansas City Chiefs. Enough said.
Detroit quarterback Matt Stafford is rumored to be getting a second opinion on his injured knee which typically means it’s not healing as quickly as originally hoped. If you can trade him, do the deal or just cut him loose.
Arizona running back Chris ‘Beanie’ Wells has been virtually invisible all season. Unless you’re in a keep league, let him go.
Players to pick up: Miami’s Chad Henne may be available on your waiver wire because the Dolphins are coming off a bye. If you’re in need of a quarterback, he’s not a bad choice.
Matt Stover has replaced the injured Adam Vinatieri as the Indianpolis Colts’ kicker. Any kicker in that offense should get his share of fantasy points.