I was just watching the Monday Night Football pregame on ESPN. First of all, how is it possible that anybody can take Matt Millen seriously? Why do I have to continue to see his empty head on TV talking football? Why does Stuart Scott keep asking Millen to evaluate certain players? We already know how "great" Millen's player evaluations are. His draft record with the Lions proves that. For example, Scott just asked Millen which current NFL RB would he build a team around. Millen responded quickly and emphatically "Adrian Peterson." Let me take a moment to calm down a bit.................still pissed...................
.........With all due respect to Calvin Johnson, Millen had the chance to draft Peterson in 2007. Instead of trading down to any one of a multitude of teams willing to trade up to get Calvin and draft Peterson, he put his miserable track record of drafting first round WRs to the test. Sure hindsight is 20/20 and Calvin is almost everything he was scouted to be, but I would much rather have a stud RB over a stud WR to build around, all day, every day. The moron even said it, even though in 2007 he passed on trading down and drafting AD. So...maybe the Lions did need a WR to compliment Roy Williams. I guess Dwayne Bowe, Robert Meachem, Anthony Gonzalez, Sidney Rice, Steve Smith, Jacoby Jones, Laurent Robinson, James Jones, Mike Sims-Walker, or Steve Breaston couldn't fit that bill. We could have had AD (or even stud LT Joe Thomas) and one of those aforementioned WRs in the 2007 Draft. Millen has no business talking player evaluations and scouting. For that matter, his face would look better with a tread print of one of my Timberland boots on it.
...Yes, it still stings to think of the joke called the "Millen Era."
On the Path to Bust City
As you have already deducted by the sub-title of this section, these are the busts. Some players have already busted (according to their preseason expectations) and likely won't improve the rest of the year. Others are looking like they could be fine, but they will eventually let down their owners. I have listed the stats of the busts through week 5, and provided a quick explanation of why the players who have not yet busted are soon to be flops or have injuries cost them extensive amounts of time. Players not listed (I think they will turn it around) include Brett Favre, DeAngelo Willams, Beanie Wells, Ryan Mathews, Ronnie Brown, Steve Smith CAR, Randy Moss, Heath Miller, and Owen Daniels.
Already arrived...
Matt Cassell ~ completed 78 of 135 passes (57.8%), 851 yards, 7 TDs, 3 ints
Maurice Jones-Drew ~ 119 runs for 463 yards (3.9 ypc), 1 TD; 12 catches for 66 yards (5.5 ypc), 1 TD
Clinton Portis (four games) ~ 49 runs for 195 yards (4.0 ypc), 2 TDs; 4 catches for 41 yards (10.2 ypc); out until at least week 10
Knowshon Moreno (three games) ~ 51 runs for 159 yards (3.1 ypc), 2 TDs; 5 catches for 71 yards (14.2 ypc)
Shonn Greene ~ I called him both overrated and a breakout candidate. I thought he would breakout just not as a stud (what most expected) considering Ladanian Tomlinson's presence. What I nor anyone else saw coming was Greene becoming a backup to Tomlinson, rather than splitting touches.
Larry Fitzgerald (officially missing Kurt Warner) ~ 26 catches for 301 yards (11.6 ypc), 2 TDs
Steve Smith NYG (only in no-PPR formats) ~ 34 catches for 370 yards (10.9 ypc), 1 TD
Chad Ochocinco ~ 26 catches for 316 yards (12.2 ypc), 1 TD
Kellen Winslow ~ 24 catches for 257 yards (10.7 ypc), 0 TDs
Brent Celek ~ 19 catches for 221 yards (11.6 ypc), 2 TDs
Arriving soon...
Drew Brees ~ It's certainly not easy to call Brees an eventual bust, and it is too easy to be wary of the Madden Cover Curse. I will simply list his remaining schedule. His easiest opponent is this week's match against the Browns. The rest of his schedule include games against the Steelers, Panthers, Cowboys, Bengals, Rams, Ravens, and Falcons. All those teams are very good to superior at limiting fantasy production of opposing QBs, either with great coverage, great pass-rush, or in the case of the Panthers, because of a terrible offense and run defense. Plus, the whole Madden cover thing causes me to believe an injury is likely. He is too good to flop, but he will certainly underachieve the rest of the year.
Jay Cutler ~ He hasn't been exactly impressive yet, but as long as he is taking seven step drop backs behind a god awful offensive line, his stats will suffer. Guess what? Mike Martz will continue to call seven step drop plays, and the offensive line will not improve.
Cedric Benson ~ The entire Bengals offense is struggling to live up to expectations. Carson Palmer and Cedric Benson are at the fore front of those struggles. Benson is averaging only 3.9 yards per carry with only 3 total TDs. So far, Benson has been very transparent. In his five games, he has played well against the weaker run defenses (Panthers, Buccaneers) and has struggled against the stronger units (Patroits, Ravens, Browns). His remaining schedule includes games against the Falcons, Steelers twice, Jets, Browns (yes, they have a strong run defense), and Chargers, with the Steelers, Browns, and Chargers during the playoff weeks 14-16.
Arian Foster ~ Again, a tough schedule is the culprit here. Foster has been the most wonderful surprise of the season, for those who drafted him what seemed to be too early. Unfortunately, it's time for him to get beat up as he faces the Chargers, Jets, Titans twice, Ravens, and Broncos. The only two easy run defenses remaining on his schedule are the Colts and Eagles and both teams have the capability to run up the score and force the Texans to throw. Just to confirm the idea of Foster slumping soon, the Texans defense is horrible which could indirectly cause Foster to sit on the sidelines more while Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson light it up.
Braylon Edwards ~ Santonio Holmes is back and Dustin Keller is still Mark Sanchez's favorite target.
Thoughts
~~James Starks needs to be added to your team. He should be activated from the PUP list shortly. The Packers run game is pathetic at best without Ryan Grant, and Starks could be the main reason why the Packers didn't try to trade for Marshawn Lynch. Starks was drafted in the sixth round this last NFL Draft, but was considered to be second to third round material before an injured shoulder held him out his entire senior season at Buffalo. He is a big RB who is elusive and fast. Best case scenario could have him as an every-down RB for the rest of the season. Take a look at his highlight reel here James Starks Highlights at Buffalo and add him if possible, especially if you need RB help.
~~Don't be too enamoured with Deion Branch's stat line (9 catches, 98 yards, 1 TD). Sure he is reunited with Tom Brady and those two have apparently not lost a step, but Brady spreads the ball around (more so without Randy Moss) and Branch is not a big play WR. Branch will have to have more than 6 catches to ever go over 100 yards, and he is not always going to be targeted that frequently. However, he should continue to be a solid flex player going forward, when the matchup is good.
~~Sticking with the Patriots, Danny Woodhead is like a Kevin Faulk Jr. Woodhead is apparently the second clone on the team to a regular starter--Julian Edelman being a Wes Welker clone.
~~As a Lions fan, I really hate the Seahawks version of Mike Williams. What a worthless pile of guano. He basically pouted when he was drafted by the Lions.
~~I mentioned previously how the fantasy football world has been turned upside down. What I meant to say was the entire NFL has been flipped onto it's head. The Rams just beat the Chargers convincingly, the Cowboys are 1-4, the 49ers are 1-5, the Falcons, Rams, Seahawks, and Chiefs have strong defenses, and there are only three 1-loss teams remaining and no undefeated teams. Therefore, it should no longer be a surprise to see players like Arian Foster, Kyle Orton, Brandon Lloyd, and Austin Collie on top of the fantasy world. I'm sure a couple more players will emerge from nowhere and dominate before the season ends (looking at James Starks here). This is truly...one of those years.
~~Colt McCoy actually didn't look too bad in his debut against Blitzburgh.
~~If Antonio Gates misses any games, the entire Chargers offense is in trouble. And now Malcom Floyd may miss a game also...ouch!
~~Sure the Lions defense is a pretty good fantasy unit, but in reality, they really need to learn how to stuff the run.
~~Along with Mike Williams from Seattle, Ryan Torain is another player that is pissing me off. In my "USFL" Dynasty League, I picked up Ryan Torain at the deadline of last season on a simple whim. At that time, Jim Zorn was on his way out as the Redskins head coach and all the rumors pointed to Mike Shanahan taking over (he wasn't hired yet). The Redskins running game was unimpressive and Clinton Portis had his usual problems with injuries. Torain was bouncing around the league, trying out with different teams but not latching on with any of them. I figured Torain was a Shannahan draft pick and a zone-blocking scheme runner, so he should easily be able to join the Skins. Sure enough, during this offseason the Skins signed him, but he didn't impress as much as I had hoped. He eventually found his way to the practice squad, while Larry Johnson and Keiland Williams backed up Portis. After a couple of weeks into the season, I figured his value was minimal enough to drop him for another player (David Gettis). Sure enough, within a day or two of dropping him, Johnson gets cut and Torain gets promoted to the team. He immediately proceeds to get more carries than the supposed second string RB, Keiland Williams during their week 3 contest against the Rams. Just to rub salt in my wound, Portis injures his groin in predictable fashion the very next week, is out six weeks and Torain is now the starter. Did I mention I really need RB help in that league?
~~Your killing me MJD! It pains me to call you a bust but when defenses have absolutely no respect for the Jaguars passing game, you get mauled out there with eight man fronts.
~~So are you Ray Rice, but I know you are about to tear apart the Bills.
I completely overlooked Marques Colston when talking about busts. His lack of production this year is a product of not only Drew Brees spreading the ball around, but also of the Saints scoring much less than previous years. He will get TDs eventually, but I don't expect his value to recover much from where it is now, especially if Brees underachieves much more than what he already has like I predicted.
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