King of garbage time
Another touchdown for Colston. This one another meaningless 24-yarder. Looks more and more like a split.
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Another touchdown for Colston. This one another meaningless 24-yarder. Looks more and more like a split.
Marcus Colston is the king of the garbage-time touchdown. Earlier this season he caught an 87-yard touchdown in the final two minutes of the game. Today, with the Saints trailing 35-7 early in the fourth, he hauls in a 47-yard toss from Drew Brees. Combined with Ahman Green's 100-yard, two-touchdown game, I think I have a good chance to win my Eagle league game. I just need Tomlinson to give me a little help and I'll feel good about my chances in that one.
As for the money league, I'm creeping closer thanks to Maurice Jones-Drew. Fred Taylor was having a huge game for Jacksonville, but was tackled and laneded on the ball in the second half. Taylor had the wind knocked out of him and came back, but the Jaguars were giving most of the carries to Jones-Drew. Still, I'll need a big game from Marc Bulger, or horrible games from Julius Jones and Steven Jackson to have a chance.
Mason and Kennison both have more yards than CJ. Reggie Brown doesn't have a catch. I'm in trouble.
Moments after my last post, Chris Perry gets two carries for 11 yards, and Chad Johnson records two catches for a touchdown. One more score and the wideout gets to keep the blond mohawk, which he promised to shave off if he didn't score twice. Speaking of Johnson, there's a pretty good column by Scoop Jackson on ESPN.com about the end of the fun-loving Johnson, and the introduction intp the league of the dull, toe-the-line Johnson. I hope he's wrong, because I love Johnson's fun-loving attitude, which is a dramatic departure from Terrell Owens, who he is often compared to.
Lundy rambles off on a 53-yarder, Jones-Drew already lost a fumble. My receivers haven't done a thing. Eddie Kennison is outscoring Chad Johnson and Reggie Brown combined. Yeesh.
Boy did that extra hour of sleep come in handy last night. I felt very relaxed headed into today's games. That was until I saw my matchup for this week. I play the worst team in my money league. And I'm the underdog. That's primarily because I dropped Wali Lundy early last week (after Ron Dayne got the first nine carries for Houston) for Chris Perry, who made his return for the Bengals.
All that happened after the move was Perry getting zero catches and Lundy going for 90-plus yards to take control of the starters job in Houston. Now, I face Lundy this week, against the pourous Titans defense.
Perfect. I did make one last move to try to secure a win, dropping backup tight end Jermaine Wiggins (I'll get him back next week for L.J. Smith's bye week) and picking up the Indy defense. Indy hasn't been great this year, unlike last year, and they have what people seem to think is a tough matchup at Denver. I really don't think it's that bad a matchup. Sure, Indy could be mediocre if the game is played in Denver's style with the Broncos pounding Indy onthe ground. But I tend to have faith in Indy's offense and think the Colts will take a sizeable early lead, forcing mistake-prone Jake Plummer to throw the ball often. That's a perfect recipe for success.
Also this is the first Sunday that I've been off from work and home without the girlfriend watching football with me.
I thought about heading to North Adams for the St. Joseph's at Drury football game (I haven't seen the Crusaders this year) but the wind made me re-think that idea and instead I huddled down with a bowl of Special K with Strawberries.
Therefore, I'll be debuting a play-by-play Sunday blog where I chime in on comments. Now, when most people do this, they have a DirecTV package and are clicking wildly between games. I have basic cable and don't even have a remote for my 14-inch TV. Therefore, I'll be updating based on the two nationally broadcast games and by franticly pressing the refresh button on my computer. Now that's old school.
Oh, and my cereal was heaping with strawberries, hopefully that's a sign of a bountiful day of football.
Anyway, here are my two matchups.
Easy Money vs. The Yuppees
(money league where I'm third and points, yet in sixth place)
QB -- Marc Bulger Jake Delhomme
RB -- Chester Taylor Steven Jacksion
RB -- Maurice Jones-Drew Julius Jones
WR -- Roy Williams Eddie Kennison
WR -- Chad Johnson Greg Lewis
WR -- Doug Gabriel Derrick Mason
TE -- L.J. Smith Dallas Clark
Flex -- Chris Perry (instead of Mark Clayton) Wali Lundy
K -- Jeff Wilkins Nate Kaeding
DEF Indy Carolina
Eagle League
(first in points, 2nd in standings where I go against Benning De Le Mater this week)
No Easy Money vs. Panzerkampfwagen
QB Donovan McNbb vs. Rex Grossman
RB Ladanian Tomlinson vs. Warrick Dunn
RB Ahman Green vs. Thomas Jones
WR Chad Johnson vs. Terry Glenn
WR Dante Stallworth vs. Steve Smith
WR Isaac Bruce vs. Bernard Berrian
TE Marcus Colston vs. Todd Heap
K Jeff Wilkins vs. John Carney
DEF Carolina vs. Jacksonville
Well, I made the right choice with Kitna. I still lost, as my opponent had Brian Westbrook (over 200 total yards and a score) Darrell Jackson and Reggie Wayne (more than 230 yards receiving and two scores). This week I play the worst team in the league, but I have Roy Williams and Ronnie Brown on byes. Let's hope Chad Johnson sticks to his words (the man is finally talking some trash, despite head coach Marvin Lewis' attempts to stifle the fun-loving wideout) and scores me a couple TDs.
Also, I found this story by Wright Thompson, one of my favorite writers, very interesting. Sometimes in stories reporters only talk (or have time to talk or access to talk) to the key players. Thompson went the extra step and tracked down the voiceless victim. I know Pujols is reportedly a great guy -- gives a lot of time and money to charity, etc. -- but how can he be so sensitive? I know athletes love to seize on perceived slights, and as anyone who follows the Patriots knows, create preceived slights in their own imagination, but Pujols needs to let this one go. He's the best hitter in the league and he's proved any doubters wrong. There's no need to take glee in a scout getting fired and having to take a job stocking shelves. Listen Albert, you lasted until the 13th round. NO ONE was sure you were going to be a Major League. This was the guy that finally convinced his organization to take you, and you're going to be pissy with him for the rest of your life? He liked you more than anyone else did. Just take your MVP trophies, your Silver Sluggers and your World Series appearances as proof that everyone in baseball regonizes your talent.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2006/columns/story?columnist=thompson_wright&id=2637763
It's NFL morning, er, I mean Sunday morning, so naturally, the first thing I did out of bed this morning was roll my body toward my computer to make sure no one on my fantasy football teams was injured or missing. The second thing I did was make Jon Kitna my starting quarterback. The third thing I did was make Drew Bledsoe my starting quarterback. The fourth thing I did was reverse course, placing Kitna at the helm of my team again. This process will likely be repeated another three or four times before 1 p.m. So go my Sunday's, where my coaching ability is the one thing that matters until the first game kicks off.
This week's quarterback choice was likely the toughest decision I've had to make this season. It's in my money league, which I won last year. I'm currently 3-3 and in 5th place, with a tiebreak advantage over 6th place and a one-game lead on five teams for the final playoff spot. My team seems good enough that we could win any given week in the playoffs -- we don't have depth, but we have good starters at every spot. But given a difficult schedule, getting there will be the hard part.
My team breaks down like this
QB -- Marc Bulger
QB -- Drew Bledsoe
QB -- Jon Kitna (picked up off waivers this week)
WR -- Roy Williams
WR -- Chad Johnson
WR -- Reggie Brown
Benched WR -- Doug Gabriel
Benched WR -- Mike Furrey
RB -- Ronnie Brown
RB -- Chester Taylor
Flex -- Maurice Jones-Drew
Benched RB -- Wali Lundy
K -- Jeff Wilkins
K -- Josh Scobee (free agent this week)
Seattle defense
This week is a huge week with my team going against the other 3-3 team and with an upcoming game against the last-place team (my boys will be without Brown and Roy Williams due to the bye week, so that one isn't the given it should be).
I've dicussed the Bledsoe vs. Kitna debate with anyone who would listen. My co-workers, my parents, my girlfriend, my shrink and the guy that waters the vegetables at Price Chopper. Bulger has been great and is cleary my stud, but he doesn't play this week. I drafted Bledsoe based on the other-worldly talent that surrounds him in the Dallas offense. I took Kitna, then released him, then got him back because he plays on a Mike Martz-coached team.
So, here I am debating whether to start Kitna (who only has more touchdowns than interceptions in one game this season) and has only thrown two TD passes twice, or Bledsoe, who has thrown two TD passes three times but has thrown in a pair of three interception games. Bledsoe was my idol growing up (sad, but true), a No. 1 pick with a golden arm. Kitna's a journeyman who had his job taken from him after his only good season in the NFL.
Oddly enough, I think I'm gonna go with Kitna. He's routinely thrown for more yardage (thanks Mike Martz) and is going against the Jets, who are known for a pourous run defense. So will Martz pound the run, or will he still run with his aerial attack? I'm betting on the latter, and if not, at least they'll move the ball and Kitna will have a chance to throw some short touchdown passes.
Bledsoe, meanwhile, faces a Giants team that has been horrible against the pass this season. Before last week's Giants game I wrote in our newspaper's outlook that the Giants defense would record a high number of sacks against Michael Vick, or the quarterback would run wild. Apprantly the Giants read the paper and recorded seven sacks on the league's most mobile quarterback. So what are they going to do -- with two of the fastest defensive ends in the league in Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan -- against the statue-esque Bledsoe? It frightens me to think about it. Of course, our office's resident Cowboy fan insists Bledsoe will operate out of the shotgun, meaning he'll likely throw the ball 40 times for about 350 yards.
In any case, my choice today Kitna. Check back in five minutes for Bledsoe.
It's NFL morning, er, I mean Sunday morning, so naturally, the first thing I did out of bed this morning was roll my body toward my computer to make sure no one on my fantasy football teams was injured or missing. The second thing I did was make Jon Kitna my starting quarterback. The third thing I did was make Drew Bledsoe my starting quarterback. The fourth thing I did was reverse course, placing Kitna at the helm of my team again. This process will likely be repeated another three or four times before 1 p.m. So go my Sunday's, where my coaching ability is the one thing that matters until the first game kicks off.
This week's quarterback choice was likely the toughest decision I've had to make this season. It's in my money league, which I won last year. I'm currently 3-3 and in 5th place, with a tiebreak advantage over 6th place and a one-game lead on five teams for the final playoff spot. My team seems good enough that we could win any given week in the playoffs -- we don't have depth, but we have good starters at every spot. But given a difficult schedule, getting there will be the hard part.
My team breaks down like this
QB -- Marc Bulger
QB -- Drew Bledsoe
QB -- Jon Kitna (picked up off waivers this week)
WR -- Roy Williams
WR -- Chad Johnson
WR -- Reggie Brown
Benched WR -- Doug Gabriel
Benched WR -- Mike Furrey
RB -- Ronnie Brown
RB -- Chester Taylor
Flex -- Maurice Jones-Drew
Benched RB -- Wali Lundy
K -- Jeff Wilkins
K -- Josh Scobee (free agent this week)
Seattle defense
This week is a huge week with my team going against the other 3-3 team and with an upcoming game against the last-place team (my boys will be without Brown and Roy Williams due to the bye week, so that one isn't the given it should be).
I've dicussed the Bledsoe vs. Kitna debate with anyone who would listen. My co-workers, my parents, my girlfriend, my shrink and the guy that waters the vegetables at Price Chopper. Bulger has been great and is cleary my stud, but he doesn't play this week. I drafted Bledsoe based on the other-worldly talent that surrounds him in the Dallas offense. I took Kitna, then released him, then got him back because he plays on a Mike Martz-coached team.
So, here I am debating whether to start Kitna (who only has more touchdowns than interceptions in one game this season) and has only thrown two TD passes twice, or Bledsoe, who has thrown two TD passes three times but has thrown in a pair of three interception games. Bledsoe was my idol growing up (sad, but true), a No. 1 pick with a golden arm. Kitna's a journeyman who had his job taken from him after his only good season in the NFL.
Oddly enough, I think I'm gonna go with Kitna. He's routinely thrown for more yardage (thanks Mike Martz) and is going against the Jets, who are known for a pourous run defense. So will Martz pound the run, or will he still run with his aerial attack? I'm betting on the latter, and if not, at least they'll move the ball and Kitna will have a chance to throw some short touchdown passes.
Bledsoe, meanwhile, faces a Giants team that has been horrible against the pass this season. Before last week's Giants game I wrote in our newspaper's outlook that the Giants defense would record a high number of sacks against Michael Vick, or the quarterback would run wild. Apprantly the Giants read the paper and recorded seven sacks on the league's most mobile quarterback. So what are they going to do -- with two of the fastest defensive ends in the league in Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan -- against the statue-esque Bledsoe? It frightens me to think about it. Of course, our office's resident Cowboy fan insists Bledsoe will operate out of the shotgun, meaning he'll likely throw the ball 40 times for about 350 yards.
In any case, my choice today Kitna. Check back in five minutes for Bledsoe.
As a member of the sports department I don't have control over what events get covered and what don't -- that's what bosses are for. But I do plan to give you readers a heads-up to what each week's major events are. You can be assured that we'll be at a good number of them each week, if not all. It will also likely serve as a sneak preview for what to expect on the front page of our section.
Oct. 16 Pittsfield at Lee volleyball
The county's two top volleyball teams go head-to-head. Pittsfield, which went undefeated in the county last year and looks to be on its way to doing it again, faces the up-and-coming Wildcats. Lee is one of the few teams left on the General's schedule that looks like it has a chance to knock them off. If PHS gets past this hurdle, a perfect county season isn't far off.
Tuesday Oct. 17
Greylock at Hoosac Valley soccer
Greylock's been playing well laely, while Hoosac's fallen off its early pace because of a brutal recent schedule. Which team is in better shape heading into the Western Mass. tourney? This game should give us an idea.
Wednesday, Oct. 18
Cross country at Taconic. City-rivals Pittsfield and Taconic meet at Taconic's home course. The boys' match should be a good one, with Pittsfield's top-shelf talent matched up against Taconic's depth.
Thursday, Oct. 19
Hoosac Valley at Monument Mountain girls soccer
Hoosac Valley's been one of the county teams that has improved the most over the second half of the season under first-year coach Melanie Zaneski. Monument, meanwhile, is still in the running for a divisional title and had a huge win over Lee last week. The Southern Division, with Lee, Lenox and Monument all fighting it out, is likely the best race of any sport.
Friday, Oct. 20
Wahconah at Mount Greylcok football
The biggest football game in Berkshire County this year. Wahconah has lost twice, but is unbeaten in the Berkshire League and is king of the hill until they're knocked off. Greylock, meanwhile, has the most talented skill players of any team in Berkshire County. They've been dubbed the "breakout" team before each of the previous two seasons but are finally seasoned enough to make use of all that skill.
With a stable of running backs, a strong-armed and fleet-footed Preston Trites at quarterback and Greg Payton at tight end, the Mounties are tough to stop on offense. Fortunately for the Warriors, defense has been the team's strong-point all season., even while missing a handful of defensive starters last week. Wahconah has struggled to find its identity on offense, but still managed to beat St. Joe's 12-7 last week behind the running of Shaine Grogan and Kelly Grogan, and a huge quarterback sneak touchdown from John Rivers. Wahconah's best shot is to turn this into a grueling fight on the offensive line -- Wahconah's strength is annually its tough and physical play on the lines -- although, even there, Greylock should be able to at least hold it's own this year. The Mounties are the favorite, but they've never played a game this big before.
Predictions on this one? I'll offer the first one, and Big Blue fans aren't going to like it. I've covered more than half of Greylock's games this year and think the Mounties will take this one. They're played pretty simple on offense this year, and I'm guessing the Mounties have at least one trick play in this game, even though they might not need it. Aaron Castonguay, Jeff Brodeur and Jon LaCasse will pound the ball just fine with Dylan Schultz leading the way on the o-line. I'll take Greylock, 22-12.
After Friday night's football action one Berkshire County teams remains undefeated while none remain winless.
Mount Greylock continues to flex its muscle in Berkshire County, drilling Hoosac Valley by the score of 42-14. In the Mounties' most prolific offensive effort of the season, Preston Trites threw for two touchdowns and Jeff Brodeur rushed for a touchdown and four two-point conversions.
I didn't get to see this one, but it sounds as if Brodeur's shaken the rust off (he missed the team's first four games) and is back to his bullish running style. The Mounties had struggled inside the 5 at points this season, but Broduer's strong running style should make him a perfect fit for the rest of the season.
In the other Friday Night game, Taconic took the first installment of the Pittsfield city rivalry in a decidly defensive -- and unsightly -- football game. Mike Hagmaier has done a credible job with the Braves, who lost a lot of veteran talent from 2005. They're certainly far more enjoyable to watch -- and I would imagine to play for -- than last year's version, which used a version of the quarterback sneak as its most successful play.
Tomorrow should be a fascinating day for football fans. Wahconah and St. Joseph's take to the field in a game which has been THE RIVALRY for the past two seasons. Both games between the two teams were close last year, and with both teams looking average on offense, expect a similar score this time around. The Monument-Drury game should also be interesting, with a downed playoff team (Monument) against the surprising Blue Devils, who have improved immensely in Fran Millard's second year.
I'm not sure what the feeling for T.O.'s return is around here. My sports editor is sick of it and thinks the whole thing is overblown and unimportant. ESPN, meanwhile, is devoting immense ammounts of coverage to it. When T.O. reportedly tried to commit suicide last week -- later changed to an accident overdose -- all my friends and I hung on every bit of new news. My sports editor said the consensus of the people he talked to was "who cares? he's nuts."
While I've been sick of the media coverage and the stories all week, it's Sunday morning and I'm starting to anticipate the game. If nothing else, it's interesting from the aspect of how humans react to an incredibly emotional situation. Will T.O.'s anger cloud his mind and disrupt his play? Or will he thrive on the turmoil he's created as he's seemed to throughout his career? Will his teammates -- Drew Bledsoe and Terry Glenn aren't really reknown for their toughness -- fold in the face of Philadelphia's irate fans? How will the Eagles defense -- who may or may not be as charged up as Terrell Owens -- terrorize the Eagles backfield? Will Donovan McNabb, who looked like he was overthrowing in the first half of Monday's win over Green Bay, remain calm enough to be effective? Who will be more distracted by the whole circus?
The media coverage might be absurd, but this game is fascinating because it's like a human experiment, like sticking a person in a lab, testing them with all sorts of stressful situations and seeing how they respond. T.O. might be a whack job who doesn't deserve the attention he gets. But he's not 16. Attention isn't always given to those who deserve it and in doses of fairness. It's given to people who captivate, fascinate and irritate an audiance. And no one does that better than Terrell Owens.
Prediction -- Philadelphia wins because its defense is charged up and Drew Bledsoe struggles under pressure. TO will play exceptionally, catching for over 100 yards and a touchdown as he is serrenaded with chants of O.D., O.D, O.D, O.D (to the tune of soccer chant, Ole.) Final score -- Philly 28, Dallas 17.
To the readers -- tell me what you think of the T.O. story. Do you want to read more about it? Less? Do you care? Does he deserve the horrors that await him in Philly, where fans boo Santa, cheer potentially paralyzing hits and pelt coaches with snowballs? Or is their reaction too much, even for a man who is selfish, but never really committed any heinous crime against humanity?
Well, I was right that Hoosac would struggle with Monument's speed.
I didn't know how much.
The Spartans showed that they're deserving of all the early-season hype with a 5-1 win at Hoosac yesterday. The win keeps Monument undefeated and perfect for the year. Stefan Serkin had two goals and Miles Weber had a goal and an assist to lead the scorers. I was impressed, meanwhile, with Elia Delmolino.
A central midfielder, Delmolino wasn't involved in the scoring, but he controls the pace of the game immaculately. When Monument has an advantage he rushes the ball ahead. When the Spartans don't, he slows his dribble and waits for help, passing back to another midfielder or defender and keeping the ball and giving Monument a chance to continue probing its opponent's weak spot.
Sure, you need quality teammates to play like this, but high school players -- in my opinion (I covered Big East soccer for two years at Syracuse and for another in Tampa, a breeding groud of D-1 talent, at the high school level) -- don't have the knack for controlling the pace in this way. From a young age, American kids learn to be aggressive and to look for imediate results. They're constantly looking to rush forward and lack the paitence to wait. Soccer doesn't work this way. You don't always get what you want faster by trying to get there quickly.
Delmolino, I felt, was a pleasure to watch. work in the midfield. I was also impressed with the job he did leading his team, at one point, shouting at a teammate for wasting too much time talking to official. I didn't get to see him last year -- and I actually wondered at his All-Eagle co-MVP award because he wasn't one of the league's leading scorers -- but now I understand what all the fuss was about.
The boys' soccer game between Hoosac Valley and Monument Mountain has been a season in the making. After Hoosac's 5-0 start, the Hurricanes started thinking about a battle of the unbeatens at this moment. I haven't seen every team in the county (just Monument, Hoosac, Taconic and Pittsfield), but I certainly believe tonight's game features Berkshire County's two best teams. (writer's note -- Looking back, I could be dead wrong about this. Pittsfield put far more pressure on Hoosac's backline and I haven't seen Wahconah or Lenox. I may have been too presumptuous.)
Both teams are rare examples of clubs that are able to control the ball from the front to the back. As a soccer player in Connecticut (and admittedly not a great one -- tennis was my game) the teams I played on always had talented forwards and excellent midfielders. What they lacked, though, was a defense that could support them in a ball-possession game and that looked to find them with passes at every opportunity. These clubs have that, the talent to build attacks from the backline. Many high school teams feature defense that try to clear the ball, booting it to midfield and praying that something good happens. These clubs don't hope for good things to happen. They make them happen.
Monument was very impressive when they beat Pittsfield in a chippy game when I saw those two teams. Hoosac was equally good in a much cleaner game against Taconic.
I expect tonight's game to be very similar to the PHS-MM game. The two teams are too close in talent, and the game means too much to both teams from the pride standpoint, for it to be clean. Any potential rush will be thwarted with takedowns, and there is sure to be pushing, shoving and jostling.
The main difference I see in the two clubs is in their backlines. Hoosac's defense is big -- kind of like the pro version -- built to control the air and thwart the corner kicks and crosses that are prevalent in the professional game. Monument's is short and quick, more capable of jumping into the offense and attacking in transition. I feel like the Spartans' defense is built for this matchup and Hoosac's might not be. The Spartans don't have a lot of tall players up front, which negates Hoosac's defense biggest strength. If Monument's offensive players are small, what's the need to be big? Instead, I think Monument may have a little too much speed for the Hurricanes.
It's soccer -- and I'm no Bruce Arena -- so either team could come away with a win tonight, and a tie certainly wouldn't shock me. But if tying a game is like kissing your sister, well picking one is like kissing your brother -- a little lame and much more frowned upon -- so I see Monument winning this one by a goal, say 2-1.
In any case, it should be a great matchup and all the soccer fans in Berkshire County should be looking forward to it. I know I am.
One thing you'll quickly learn about me if you read my blog is I'm a fantasy sports freak. I'm in a keeper baseball league with some kids that I did a sportstalk radio show in college, and I'm also in a pair of fantasy football leagues. One is a money league (12 teams), the other is The Berkshire Eagle league (eight teams).
The one thing I do nearly every day -- besides eat and shower -- is to check fantasy football websites. Thus far I'm 2-2 in my money league, 3-1 in my Eagle league. I'll try to add my advice here over the next month, as well as share the situations that only fantasy football fans can relate to.
A few guys that I will urge you to pick up this week are Vernand Morancy (the Packers backup running back). Ahman Green looked awful the two previous weeks and then missed Monday's game due to a combination of hamstring and rib injuries. This is the same Ahman Green who has broken down the past two seasons. Morancy, a second-round pick last year, has the explosiveness and speed that Green's lost. Green Bay would be better off turning things over to the youngster and cutting loose the reliable veteran. Even if they don't, the odds of Green getting hurt (and Green Bay eventually turning to a younger lineup when they fall out of contention) mean Morancy will be a difference maker at the end of the season.
Also on my pick-up list this week was Doug Gabriel. Tom Brady's one of the NFL's best QBs and he's got to throw to someone. Ben Watson doesn't look like he's on the fast-track to becoming the next Antonio Gates (that honor goes to New Orleans tight end Marques Colston) and Brady has hooked up with Gabriel for touchdowns the past two weeks. Gabriel has the talent to be a borderline No. 1 receiver in the NFL, which is far more than any other Patriot has. He was targeted more than any other New England player this week. Considering that nothing was expected from him at the start of the year, Gabriel belongs on your roster.
Among the guys I've let go to grab these two are Houston's Wali Lundy and Denver's Mike Bell. I picked up both (along with Tennessee's Chris Brown) figuring one of them had to secure a starting spot and serve as my WR/RB position. Boy was I wrong. Lundy was inactive this week, the Bell has tolled for Mike, who has vbeen vastly inferior to Tatum Bell, and Chris Brown is in a three-way time share, one he's doomed to lose to first-round pick LenDale White as the Titans build for the future. That's left me picking up backups and hoping to stay competitive in my league until one of them gets a job due to injury (hey, it won me a title with Larry Johnson last year). Among the guys who could be difference-makers by season's end are Michael Turner (San Diego), Maurice Jones-Drew (Jacksonville) and Morency (Green Bay). All have shown potential in their brief appearances and could see more time as the season drags on.
For those curious about what my teams look like, I'll post my rosters when I get home. Much to my chagrin, Yahoo has been blocked by the higher-ups at work (if you've read the articles on how much fantasy football costs employers each year, I guess you'd understand -- although it does make writing these blogs tricky). From there, I'll detail any roster moves, starting manuvers that could be insightful each week.
And if you've got any thoughts, feel free -- as always -- to share.