The Trash Can Report Card

[yo mama]

It was a good week for me because many of my picks panned out. But more importantly I beat the first place guy in my local (and I’ve still got Trent Green to go), so I’ll climb up into a three-way tie for first once the dust settles in that league. And I was also in a close three-way tie for first in my Huddle league going into Week 11. However, a key victory and another high score will narrow that to a two-way tie and give me the highest point total in that league.

 

Yeah, I’m bragging a little. But I do so to illustrate that I’m not just picking names out of a hat each week here at the Trash Can Report. I do a lot of research. And I acquire and play many of the players I recommend. More importantly, I’m winning with them. I’m not sure how many fantasy advice columns back up their picks like that. And of the ones that do, I’d be curious to know how many are winning. But this one does and is.

 

Kyle Boller – BAL : Just as I suspected. Kyle Boller is playing the best football of his pro career right now. For those of you who didn’t see Sunday’s game versus the Cowboys, Boller displayed great arm strength, better than usual accuracy, and (though not on every drive) solid decision making skills. So let’s take a gander at the factors I liked about Boller going into Week 11 and see what he delivered:

• Did he throw for 200+ yards passing? YES, 232;

• Did he throw 30+ passes? YES, 34;

• Did he Score? YES, twice;

• Did he fumble? NO;

• Did he throw a pick? NO;

• Was he a top 15 QB in Week 11? Yup. While Trent Green and Tom Brady have yet to play, only 7 QBs out-produced Boller in my local yesterday (Manning, McNabb, Vick, Brees, Culpepper, Favre, and Collins), which will likely put Boller in the top 10 QBs for Week 11; and

• Other good stuff: a better than average 67.64% completion ratio, only sacked once, scrambled three times for 9 yards. Oh, and the Ravens won 30-10 in a convincing, dominant game that didn’t require anything from Jamal Lewis.

 

Boller scored 19 points in my local. Week 11 was his best fantasy performance to date. I doubt anyone started Boller based on my recommendation. (But if you did give me a shout). However, those who added Boller for QB depth (I sure did) have gotta be happy with the new-found upside in the Ravens’ passing game. There are some good match ups on the horizon so Boller is worth holding on to if your regular #2 is sucking wind (cough, cough, Harrington, cough).

 

Travis Minor – MIA: Somewhat interesting: took the vast majority of the carries (13) for 37 yards, 4 receptions for 13 yards, and no fumbles. Eh, nothing special. But Minor did clearly outperform Sammy Morris in every category. I know Minor didn’t blow up the score board but I never recommend starting him this week. I recommended adding him for RB depth because of his potential opportunity to grab hold of the starting RB spot in Miami. Despite the lack of production this week I’m tempted to call this pick a hit because Minor may have just secured that starting spot, which would increase his value sufficient to make this speculative investment at least a short-term success.

 

De’Shaun Foster – CAR: I had planned to call this pick “not applicable” because there is no way to measure its value until next pre-season. However, after recommending Foster last week I read more rumors that Davis might be done for good. If true (and Davis isn’t around next year) Foster would stand a better chance of inheriting the starting gig in Carolina. I suppose this pick should still be tagged “not applicable.” But it’s still nice to hear favorable rumblings.

 

Maurice Hicks – SF : Another speculative upside pick delivers. Hicks brought home a nice 6 yard per carry performance: 36 yards on 6 carries (i.e., 20% more yardage than Barlow on 50% fewer carries). Hicks was also the team’s leading receiver (3 receptions for 37 yards). He chipped in another 50 kick return yards as gravy, for those who get it. And he didn’t fumble.

 

Post-game comments by Coach Erickson indicate that he is not happy with Barlow’s attitude or performance. So the upside I saw in Hicks is fermenting nicely. The major knock against Hicks is that he failed to punch the ball in for a TD on a couple short yardage carries, which – if successful – might have propelled his value even higher. Still, if you’re a Barlow owner you should be concerned. If you’re not, but you took a flyer on Hicks just for the heck of it, you’ve got to be intrigued by Hicks’ potential prospects for future games. I’m holding onto this guy in my Huddle league as “emergency” RB depth.

 

Eddie Kennison – KC : Hmmm. 99 yards receiving and 2 TDs. I'd call this one a hit. Eddie got his, just like I thought he might. Expect him to continue to be involved going forward.

 

Jerramy Stevens – SEA : Robinson didn’t get suspended, Hasselback didn’t play, Mili did, and Stevens only came up with 1 reception for 5 yards. Miss.

 

Todd Peterson – SF : Miss. 1 of 2 on field goals attempted. No extra points. What a slacker. Big miss.

 

Buccaneers DEF : Despite a rash of injuries and loss of talent via free agency I still like what I’ve been seeing from the Bucs recently. They’re just getting it done. Granted, San Francisco is a weak opponent. But you can’t argue with the results: 1 INT, 5 sacks, 1 fumble recovered, 1 DEF TD, only allowed 3 points and 197 combined yards. The Bucs posted 29 points in my local, which presently makes them the #1 fantasy DEF for Week 11. This was a Ron Artest-style hit.

 

Indianapolis DEF : Non-football note: if you want to provoke a response to your writing you don’t need to be right. (Though, that generally helps to generate readership from which to provoke a response). You just need to mangle a common pop culture reference and folks will come out of the wood work to correct you. Yes, last week’s, "I'm not crazy (institutionalized!) You're the one that's crazy (institutionalized!)” was a line from the 1983 angst-filled song by Suicidal Tendencies – NOT the Ramones. I got more emails correcting that reference than I’ve gotten all season combined regarding my article. And for those of you who did correct me: (1) for a bunch of punk fans you were extraordinarily polite about it; and (2) I owe you all a Pepsi next time I’m in your next of the woods.

 

Back to football…

 

I really liked being right about the Colts’ DEF this week because I didn’t see anyone else recommending them. Indy accumulated 2 INTs, 4 sacks, 3 recovered fumbles, and limited the Bears to 10 points and 288 total yards. Considering you likely found them on waivers *and* they tied the Ravens and Seahawks as the second most productive fantasy DEFs thus far in Week 11, you’re probably ecstatic with the results, if you started them.

 

Prior Picks That Bear Repeating

Billy Volek – TEN : Rats. Volek didn’t play and McNair didn’t get hurt again. I guess I’m forced to call this pick a miss. Though, if you’re a McNair owner making a playoff run I still think your nuts if you don’t have Volek on your roster.

 

Derrick Blaylock – KC : 58 yards rushing on 19 carries, 33 yards receiving on 5 catches. Meh. 8 points isn't bad, but it's hardly what anyone expected. While Blaylock certain got the opportunities to produce (which was nice to see) he didn't do much behind one of the better O-lines in the NFL. I'm calling this one a miss because I expect more from a presumably slam-dunk pick.

 

Nate Burleson – MIN : Burleson is “da bomb, yo” (i.e., he was a hit). He cooked up 52 yards receiving, 1 receiving TD, and 1 two-point conversion. His contribution as a punt returner was fairly insignificant this week, though: only 13 yards. Still, that was good enough to tie him with Lelie and McCariens as the 7th most productive WR so far in Week 11. Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks; I hope Moss never comes back.

 

Dennis Northcutt – CLE: I said, “I think Northcutt rebounds this week because Davis still looks gimpy and Bryant hasn’t stepped up.” Well, Northcutt was the Browns leading receiver yesterday. But he only produced 40 receiving yards, 5 rushing yards, and 81 punt return yards. And he lost a fumble. That’d be 6 points in my leagues. While his lack of high-level production wasn’t necessarily all his fault (Garcia did get hurt and Holcomb sucked in relief) I still feel compelled to call this one a miss. The opportunity was there, but he either needed more production or no turnovers to be considered a hit.

 

Jermaine Wiggins – MIN : My adoration of Wiggins continues to abound: 51 yards and a TD. Sure, Gonzo still plays tonight. But as it stands Wiggins is tied for the 3nd most productive TE in Week 11 and tied with Bruce and Mason as the 10th most productive WR/TE flex. Moreover, that’s two solid games in a row. Seriously, if this guy is still on waivers you need to think about grabbing him.

 

Joe Jurevicius – TB: going into Week 7 I recommended adding Jurevicius as bench depth at WR. My point was that he has some skills last year before he got hurt and it was a matter of how many cobwebs he had to dust off his wheels before he was useful this year. I think 82 yards and 2 TDs on Sunday answered that question. I didn’t call J.J. this week, so I’m not going to call him a hit or anything. I just wanted to remind everyone that he’s probably still out there and that he does have some value.

 

Guys I Thought About Covering But Opted Not To.

Antowain Smith – TEN : I told you so, I told you so, I told you so. I didn’t “formally” recommend Smith for this week, so I can’t call him a hit. Though I implored you to add him to your roster back in Weeks 6 and 7, so I want to at least take a little credit for the foresight. And Smith did better than expected, too: 1 TD, nearly 100 yards rushing, and 3 catches for 14 yards. If you’re a Chris Brown owner you can breathe a sigh of relief if Smith is already on your roster. If you aren’t a Brown owner but you’ve got Smith on your roster, you may now do your best evil, “Mew-ahh-haa-haa-HAA!!!.”

 

T.J. Houshmandzadeh – CIN : He’s still coming up small both on regular offense and in the return game. I think I’ll leave him alone for now.

 

Clarence Moore – BAL : only 1 pass for 24 yards. Week 11 wasn’t a good week to recommend Moore. However, despite Kyle Boller’s impressive performance in Week 11 he spread the ball around to 8 different receivers. So it may be difficult to predict which target will produce from week to week.

 

Ricky Proehl – CAR : despite the Panthers scoring 35 points Proehl only rushed once for 9 yards. Not the strong repeat performance I was hoping for.

 

Okay, not bad at all. As things stand right now, here’s how I did:

 

- 8 hits;

- 5 misses (Peterson, Volek, Northcutt, and Stevens); and

- 1 not applicable (Foster).

 

Groovy. Hopefully Kennison and Blaylock pad my stats even more!

Edited November 23, 2004 by yo mama

[Bender Rodriguez]

Travis Minor – MIA: Somewhat interesting: took the vast majority of the carries (13) for 37 yards, 4 receptions for 13 yards, and no fumbles.  Eh, nothing special.  But Minor did clearly outperform Sammy Morris in every category.  I know Minor didn’t blow up the score board but I never recommend starting him this week.  I recommended adding him for RB depth because of his potential opportunity to grab hold of the starting RB spot in Miami.  Despite the lack of production this week I’m tempted to call this pick a hit because Minor may have just secured that starting spot, which would increase his value sufficient to make this speculative investment at least a short-term success.

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Just to be clear, Morris injured his ribs and missed most of the second half.

[yo mama]

Just to be clear, Morris injured his ribs and missed most of the second half.

 

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Yup. That's true. But Minor still outplayed Morris.

[yo mama]

Bump for Kennison and Blaylock updates.