Studs And Duds From Week 3
Studs
Michael Vick, QB, PHI – Vick is proving to be a very serious threat for fantasy owners after another huge game on Sunday. In Philadelphia, Vick has more weapons than he has ever had before in his career and appears to have matured as a pocket passer. This makes Vick even more frustrating for opposing defenses because he still has the speed to extend plays and make runs that no one else in football can. I think it is reasonable to expect Vick to be a top 10 fantasy QB unless things take a dramatic downward spiral.
Kyle Orton, QB, DEN – Going up against the high-powered Colts offense Orton and the Broncos were forced to try and keep up with their aerial attack. Even though they lost I was really impressed with the Broncos’ ability to stretch the field as Orton totaled a career-best 476 yards. He only got one TD though and the team was terrible at running without Knowshon Moreno in the lineup. Orton will be an efficient QB throughout the season if you have a bye-week need or injury.
Peyton Hillis, RB, CLE – Hillis has done what almost no running back in football has been able to do in a few years, run for over 100 yards against the Ravens. This is quite an astonishing feat to be honest, but Jerome Harrison is likely to see a lot of carries when he is healthy. Hillis should be considered a flex play from here on out, but he is the RB I would rather own from Cleveland after that game.
Anquan Boldin, WR, BAL - I was big on a lot of the Ravens but with Ray Rice getting hurt and Boldin shredding the Browns secondary, there was not much room for anyone else on the Ravens offense to be productive. Anquan pulled in 142 yards and THREE TDs in an a surprisingly close win for the Ravens.
Rashard Mendenhall, RB, PIT – I had him on my love list this week and even with passing TDs Mendenhall was still able to find the end zone himself as well as get up over 100 yards.
Austin Collie, WR, IND – With Anthony Gonzalez and Pierre Garcon gone and Champ Bailey shadowing Reggie Wayne, Austin Collie is a beast. It is going to be very interesting to see how the depth chart ends up once Gonzalez and Garcon come back. If Collie can win the number 2 job, he will be what I thought Garcon was going to be… a top 15 receiver.
DeSean Jackson, WR, PHI – A lot of people doubted DJax’s ability to make big plays without Donovan McNabb at QB. Initially I thought Vick at QB was going to be worse for Jackson than Kolb would have been, but with Vick’s new-found poise in the pocket Jackson should be able to make these big plays almost as consistently as last season.
Louis Murphy, WR, OAK – We have been waiting quite a while for one receiver in Oakland to step up and earn the top spot and it appears that it will be Murphy. After back to back good games Murphy should be able to fill the role of WR3 or flex play.
Dustin Keller, TE, NYJ – Sanchez has no other options for mid range passing plays and it appears that Keller is more than up to the task. Keller has been a real surprise for anyone brave enough to take a chance on him and with Santonio Holmes being a deep threat, I don’t see his return as much of threat to Keller’s number of targets.
Duds
Matt Forte, RB, CHI – The Bears are the real deal and I am not concerned about Forte down the stretch, but this week he was only able to get fantasy owners 3 points.
Marques Colston, WR, NO – Lance Moore stole the show in a shocking Saints home loss to the Falcons. I still view Colston as the best WR2 in fantasy football despite only getting 4 catches for 25 yards.
Miles Austin, WR, DAL – The Cowboys offense finally looked like we thought they would and Austin has his first bad game of the season. Roy Williams did not likely transform into a reliable receiver overnight so I cannot see him cutting into the work that Austin would normally get. Houston consistently double teamed Austin and considering it was not an effective strategy I would not expect too many teams to focus on him that much.
Shonn Greene, RB, NYJ – I am still shocked that LT is the best RB in New York, but I do expect that to change as the end of the season approaches and LT wears down due to age. Don’t start him unless you have to, but definitely don’t get rid of him.
Carson Palmer, QB, CIN – I know Ochocino is the more-often-started fantasy player, but his lack of production is the fault of Palmer and the reason I think Chad’s owners should try and trade him.
Steve Smith, WR, CAR – Matt Moore was at least able to use his best weapon effectively once per game, but Clausen will have brighter days ahead and I am not panicking on Smith yet.
Michael Crabtree, WR, SF – I don’t know what else to say, other than the 49ers suck. I was confident they would win their division and it is bad enough that it is still a possibility. I don’t agree with firing their Offensive Coordinator, but don’t drop Crabtree yet unless you can work him into a good trade.