The Trash Can Report Card

[yo mama]

What a crazy-ass week for my teams, as well as the Trash Can Report. The players that I personally relied on did pretty good. But, as a whole, the TCR barely managed to stay above .500 this week.

 

Vikings’ DEF: Ugh. What didn't go wrong for the Vikings yesterday? 5 sacks, 1 fumble recovered, but they allowed 24 points, 318 yards and lost a winnable game. Granted, the Vikings lost their stud corner back during the game, but Culpepper didn't help anybody out turning the ball over three times. While this pick netted me 9 points in my local (which helped secure a win) they still performed worse than the 49er DEF. Thus, I'm forced to call this one a miss. I know a number of you picked up the Vikings this week. All I can say is I suffered right along with you guys on this pick, in two leagues no less. The question now, however, is whether the Vikings DEF really is THAT bad, or if Chicago's offense is getting better? In my opinon, the jury is still out on Hutchinson. I guess we'll see next week when he faces a more formidable Jaguars' DEF.

 

Giants’ DEF: Egads. Not a good start for me this week. The one week I pick the Giants' DEF is the one week Portis and the Redskins actually score some points. 1 sack and no turnovers didn't help much: 1 freakin' point in my local!!!!!! Biggest miss of the year, so far.

 

Rams’ DEF: At last, a hit. The Rams were the 5th best defensive pick overall in my local this week, scoring 20 points. Only 1 INT and 4 sacks, but they limited my pathetic 49ers to 6 points and and a total of 160 yards on offense. So, who are the 49ers playing against next week?

 

Lions’ DEF: The Ultimate Fighting for lepers panned out like I expected it to, with the Lions getting the better of the Cards. With 4 INTs, 1 sack, and only 12 points scored by the Cards, the Lions tied the Bears, Redskins, and Eagles with 17 points in my local. A very respectable hit.

 

Ronald Curry – OAK: Okay, I had my back against the wall (again) in my local. I needed upside in a bad way so here's what I did: I started both Curry and Collins. I wasn't totally sold on Curry but I gambled on the Raiders' passing game, in general. As it turns out, Curry came to play in Week 13 bringing 140+ yards and 2 TDs to the table. And just as I was about to shout, "I've got bingo!" he gets hurt; likely lost for the season. Rats. I started the Trash Can Report specifically because both my teams this year were ravaged by injuries. Looks like y'all can expect me to keep writing as if my own teams' success depended on it, because the injury bug just can seem to get enough of me this year. Still, Curry came through for me huge this week so I'm calling him a hit. Too bad he won't be more useful to us, however.

 

Morten Anderson – MIN: Man, another miss. What a bummer. 2 extra points. Yuck. And he missed his only FG attempt. @*&$#@*$#!!!!!

 

Kerry Collins – OAK: At last, another hit. Like I said above, I played Collins this week (in lieu of Trent Green, FYI). Turns out Green and Collins performed about the same, the only difference being that Green - not Collins - threw an INT. Still, Collins demonstrated once again that he is a viable fantasy starter right now. I'm not sure how the loss of Curry will affect the Raiders' passing game going forward, but since they have no running game to speak of I seriously doubt Collins will ever throw less than 35 times a game from here on out. Second most points for a QB in my local this week: 29. Collins was a huge hit.

 

Antowain Smith – TEN: blast Chris Brown and his game time decisions. Everyone thought Brown would be out this week. Luckily I stayed glued to the last minute reports and subbed Brown in about 10 minutes before game time. I hope you did the same, because Smith came up small: only 12 yards on 5 carries and 30 someodd yards in the receiving game. Still, Brown reinjured himself (again) so Smith retains his value. It was impossible for me to update the TCR in time for it to be of any use to you, so I hope you caught this one on your own. I'm calling this pick a push because if you are a Brown/Smith owner you should be used to the GTD stuff by now.

 

Maurice Hicks – SF: The bad news is that this one was a miss: 16 yards on 3 carries, plus 71 kick off return yards would have only gotten me 4 points. (Glad I left Hicks on my bench this week). The "good" news (if you can call it that) is that Barlow suffered a concussion in Week 13. Morever, Barlow only racked up 69 combined yards himself (or 6 points). That could mean Hicks gets a bigger piece of the pie next week. So while this pick didn't pan out for Week 13, maybe Hicks will see more opportunities next week. Maybe.

 

Shawn McDonald – STL: Yeah, another miss. All I can say is that I suspect McDonald and Bulger had good rapport, which flew out the window as soon as Chandler stepped under center. This was a big miss because McDonald only got 10 yards on regular offense and virtually nothing as a punt returner. I expect McDonald to be more valuable when/if Bulger starts. Until then, bench/cut McDonald.

 

Troy Edwards – JAX: Interesting. Edwards did bring his A-game, dishing out 90 yards and a TD. But he wasn't active in the return game like I thought he would be. No matter, he was still a hit for those brave enough to start him. If teams are learning to shut Jimmy Smith down this could be just the beginning of Edwards' productivity. Hit.

 

Jermaine Wiggins – MIN: my boy Wiggins got it done. No TDs but 73 yards made him a bread and butter producer, as WR/TE flex players go. And I'm not sure if you saw the game, but Wiggins ran the ball with O-thorati after each catch. This guy is a beast. I'd probaby wet my pants if I saw Wiggins charging full force at me. He remains a viable weekly start.

 

Guys I Thought About Covering But Didn’t

Larry Croom – ARI: Meah. Unispiring. If Emmitt stays out I'd rather have Josh Scobey, as he is more active in both the return and the passing game, plus he had a better YPC than Croom.

 

T.J. Duckett – ATL: Still active but the Falcons' running game is still erratic. Heck, the who team is erratic.

 

Reggie Swinton – DET: Glad I didn't recommend him this week, as he was totally absent from the regular offense, which is what I suspected might happen.

 

Chirs Cooley – WAS: Hey, hey. Cooley scores this week. The rookie may, indeed, be worth adding as TE-mandatory depth.

 

Washington’s DEF: I figured they'd do well. But not *that* well.

 

Okay, so out of the players I did recommend, here's how I did:

 

- 6 hits;

- 5 misses; and

- 1 push.

 

Easily my worst week to date. However, like I said above, the picks I needed to produce did so. I hope your experience was the same. Okay, back to the drawing board for Week 14. Game on!

Edited December 6, 2004 by yo mama