Cooley Owners Should Grab Davis
October 29, 2009 at 1:49 pm | Article by Paul Hickey |
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Week 8 of the NFL season provides us with even more Eddie Murphy-Dan Akroyd situations, as New York Jets running backs Shonn Greene and Leon Washington trade places. Just as Washington was starting to play a larger role in the Jets’ offense (15 carries for 99 yards in Week 6), he suffered a fractured leg at Oakland and has been placed on injured reserve – ending his season. Washington’s injury opens up the door for Greene, a big, powerful rookie that I’ve been high on since NFL Draft day. The 5’11”, 226 pounder plowed for 144 yards and two scores on 19 carries in a blowout win against Oakland’s 30th ranked run defense. Those digits aren’t to be expected from Greene each week, but he now makes a fine flex play as a “1b” back to Thomas Jones, perhaps even more so than Washington was. As for King Leon, his dynasty owners got great news the other day when news broke that Washington should only be out for 12 weeks – meaning he’ll be full strength for 2010 mini-camps. He’s also still scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent, meaning there’s a strong chance his value could spike in February if he lands outside of a three-headed running attack… Ever heard of handcuffing your tight end? Well, it may be a new trend in fantasy football, started due to the play of talented Redskins duo Chris Cooley and Fred Davis. Entering Week 7, Cooley was one of only a handful of tight ends to catch five or more balls for 50 or more yards in four of five games this season. Then, on an unfortunate play against Philly, he suffered a broken ankle – which the original prognosis was that he’d miss the entire season and be placed on injured reserve. At the time, second year former second rounder Fred Davis stepped in and caught eight balls for 78 yards and a TD in Week 8, and it looked like the consensus fantasy move would be to drop Cooley for Davis – even in some dynasty leagues. Well, just hours after the initial report that Cooley would be placed on IR, he underwent successful surgery and now expects to return fully by Week 12 against who else but the Eagles. So, seasonal and dynasty owners alike – especially those that own Cooley – should now add Davis for the next four weeks as he faces pass defenses like Atlanta (25th) and Dallas (21st), and should continue to be targeted often by Jason Campbell… Those of you scraping the bottom of the barrel last week looking for a bye week fill-in at QB may have been burned by an acquisition of San Francisco’s Shaun Hill. After being benched at halftime following a 6-for-11, 45 yard showing against Houston, Alex Smith – former first overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft – traded places with Hill and almost Frank Reich’d San Fran to a win over Houston. Smith completed 15 of 22 passes for 206 yards and three TDs and has been named the team’s starter for Week 8 against Indy. Even though it’s not a great match-up against one of the league’s top 10 pass defenses, Smith could prove to be a nice fantasy sleeper if he can keep the job. The Titans (31st), Jags (29th), Cardinals (t28th), Lions (t28th) and Rams (24th) pass defenses remain on the Niners’ schedule, and now Smith has formidable pass catching targets in rookie Michael Crabtree and red hot Vernon Davis…In the last “trading places” of the week, but not the least, Larry “inappropriate slur” Johnson is at it again. In case you didn’t hear, the Chiefs suspended their underperforming RB for two weeks (one game and one bye week) for his inappropriate comments to the media and on his twitter page. It won’t be a big loss for Kansas City, as Johnson has averaged 2.7 yards per carry and hasn’t reached the end zone yet this season. The bigger question is – who will get more carries in his absence? Second year scat back Jamaal Charles, or intriguing bruiser Kolby Smith, who is eligible to return from the PUP in Week 9. Rumor has it that Smith could step in and perhaps even split carries evenly with Charles despite being out since the off-season with a knee injury.
Stats That May Surprise You…
- Despite missing two weeks with a knee injury, Patriots WR Wes Welker is still on pace to haul in 129 catches this season after recording 112 receptions in each of his last two seasons. Welker has caught six or more balls in all five games he’s played in 2009, and has four TDs in his last three games.
- Even in “non-QB-heavy leagues” – those that only award three or four points for passing touchdowns instead of a full six, the top five overall fantasy scorers are all signal callers. Depending on your league’s scoring format, in no particular order, Matt Schaub, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are the top five scorers. With Aaron Rodgers, Carson Palmer and Philip Rivers knocking down the door, 2009 truly is the year of QB depth.
- After being a key cog in the Ravens’ offense for the first three weeks of the season – scoring six TDs, Willis McGahee has only touched the rock 15 times total in his last three games. With second year man Ray Rice playing out of his mind, don’t expect to hear much else from McGahee in 2009 – unless Rice gets hurt.
- Other than Eagles WR DeSean Jackson – who scored on a 67 yard run in Week 7 – New Orleans RB Reggie Bush has the highest touchdown per rushing attempt average in the NFL over the last two games, scoring twice in only nine carries.
- It seems like Falcons RB Michael Turner is having an off year compared to his breakout 2008 season, right? Well, you may find it interesting that this time last year, he had six TDs and 599 rushing yards. Through six games this year, he has 403 rushing yards, but seven TDs. In other words, 11 of Turners 17 scores last year were garnered following Week 7. Turner owners should keep him and leave him in their line-ups, and expect big things with the following run defenses remaining on the schedule – Washington (24th), Carolina (26th), Tampa Bay twice (29th), New York Jets (22nd), Buffalo (32nd).
IDP Pulse…
The Falcons recently placed S William Moore on injured reserve, solidifying a starting full time gig for young FS Thomas DeCoud, who has two picks, a sack and 13 solo tackles over his last two games – he’s a legit IDP option in all formats…Since returning from his four game suspension, Jets OLB Calvin Pace has been red hot, racking up five or more solo tackles in each of his last three games, including three sacks in Week 7 against the Raiders…Let’s face it, journeyman safety C.C. Brown – once seen as a poor man’s Bob Sanders – is not a good NFL player. However, he’s the perfect example of an IDP weapon due to the fact that he’s pretty bad in pass coverage. Due to his football deficiencies, Brown has racked up 22 solo tackles in his last two games. Fantasy owners in tackle-only leagues can capitalize on that kind of weak cover skills…Shame on you if you forgot about Tanard Jackson. The once up-and-coming safety in Tampa Bay has returned from an off-season injury to record 14 solo tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble in his last three games. He’ll continue to start for Tampa Bay following their Week 8 bye, and be a solid IDP pick up in leagues that require starters at defensive back. Other late bloomers this season include Buffalo safties Jairus Byrd and George Wilson, as well as Steelers oft-injured LB Lawrence Timmons and Detroit’s Julian Peterson…Still, keep an eye on Seahawks LB David Hawthorne. If he starts in place of the injured Lofa Tatupu, he’ll be a huge weapon in tackle-only IDP leagues…With Gaines Adams gone from the mix in Tampa, veteran DE Greg White has excelled, racking up 11 solo tackles and 1.5 sacks over the last two weeks.
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