Oct. 18: Jeff George To The Rescue?
Rams' Warner, Redskins' Johnson Are Human
Denny Green has been in full spin mode lately, assuring everyone that he had no intention of listening to the calls for Jeff George. But even Denny must have had trouble stomaching the first-half bumbling of the molasses-slow Cunningham, because George took over in the second half, and his impressive Vikings debut (in a game they could have won) has earned him the starting job.
No one should be harboring illusions about George's checkered past, and there's no denying that he hasn't exactly made a point of endearing himself to his teammates and coaches. But there's also no denying that he's got a cannon for an arm, and the way Cunningham has been playing, Denny really had nothing to lose by switching to George.
As far as fantasy value goes, I think it helps in the short term, and may even be enough to make Randy Moss, Cris Carter and Leroy Hoard into valuable fantasy commodities again. Robert Smith is expected to miss six weeks with his "sports hernia" (whatever the heck that is), but Hoard should be able to prosper.
One of the problems Moss has had so far is that it takes Cunningham's rainbow-shaped deep passes about 30 seconds to land, and as a result many of his throws to Moss are under thrown. In contrast, George's passes stay almost parallel with the playing surface, and few quarterbacks in the league are more accurate with their deep balls.
The Vikings are obviously going to have to take the good with the bad with George (the J.R Rider of the NFL), but the Vikings have little to lose. And his fantasy production could hardly be worse than Cunningham's has been this season.
On to other developments.
1. Are the Jags really toothless? Despite Jacksonville's almost pre-ordained win against the lowly Browns, the fantasy world is not impressed. The Jaguars have an enviable 5-1 record, but Mark Brunell and his once dominant passing attack have been missing in action almost the entire season. And now he's hurt (bruised ribs). Is it time to jump ship?
I say no.
Calling Jay Fielder even a journeyman quarterback is doing him a favor, but the way Brunell has been struggling lately, there's really not much of a drop off. But Brunell has two weeks to recover from his bruised ribs, and it seems likely that he'll be able to go when he and the Jags return from their week 7 bye.
Some people feel that a factor hurting the Jags' fantasy value is that head coach Tom Coughlin seems to be favoring a win-it-ugly approach to play calling. The Jaguar offense is bristling with potent weapons, but they've shown a distinct (and troublesome) preference for James Stewart and the grind-it-out running game.
But I remain convinced that the absence of the dynamic Fred Taylor is the main problem with this talented offense, and they've played it close to the chest mainly because that best suits the running style of Stewart.
But Taylor will return after his week 7 bye, and he's going to be fresh and fast. Taylor was the premium pick in drafts across the land for very good reasons, and you're about to see him do some very good things. And once defenses are forced to throw everything they have at Taylor, good things will happen for Brunell, Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell. If there's any way you can pry Taylor away from the team that has him, do it.
There are a few players (Stephen Davis, Marvin Harrison, Isaac Bruce, maybe Emmitt) in the league I wouldn't trade away for Taylor, but everyone else would be negotiable. If your league's Taylor owner is willing to part with him in exchange for your mediocre (and expendable) Eddie George-Rod Smith combo, make it so.
2. Apparently Kurt Warner really is human. After an incredible burst out of the blocks this season, Kurt Warner and the rest of the high-flying Rams offense were pretty much shut down by the Falcons. Warner was almost machine-like in the games prior to this week's loss to Atlanta, but the Falcons put enough heat on Warner that he didn't have the luxury of a huge comfort zone back in the passing pocket. 
Till now he's been able to pretty much just calmly look around until he spots an open receiver, but he didn't have quite that same composure with guys in his face. He and Isaac Bruce did put up one score early in the game, cementing Bruce's value as a top-three fantasy wideout this year, and Marshall Faulk was huge (even with Robert Holcombe vulturing a potential Faulk score). But Warner, Bruce, Torry Holt and Az-zahir Hakim were basically non-factors.
So is this an aberration or a sign of things to come? Atlanta's defense has generally been disappointing this year, but they are really a pretty solid group. Ray Buchanan's recent fisticuffs drew more attention than anything else the defense has done lately, which isn't a good sign, but they remain a pretty formidable group. It'd be a mistake to jump off the Ram bandwagon now, and indeed you should grab Warner or Bruce if they're available for a decent cost. A great time to grab fantasy talent is when they've had a bad week or two, and there's little doubt that the offense in St. Louis is destined for big things this year.
3. And so is Brad Johnson. You know Denny Green must desperately wish he had kept Brad Johnson instead of Randall Cunningham. Johnson has lead the Washington offense with authority and control, while Cunningham has been benched.
Washington's win last week over the Arizona Cardinals was solid, but, like Jacksonville, was pretty much a bust fantasy-wise. Big guns Stephen Davis and Michael Westbrook were kept scoreless, as was Albert Connell despite his nice receiving yards. Skip Hicks, however, was able to sneak in and vulture away a score from Davis.
Is the Redskin offense starting to slow down? I don't think so, and if you can convince another owner in your league otherwise, go for it. The Hicks factor isn't enough to dilute Davis' value, and the passing offense remains potent.
4. Arizona's slide will continue. An ugly season for the Cardinals is about to get even uglier. Jake Plummer has looked confused and inept all season, and the injuries to him and his receiving corps have combined to render a promising season irrelevant. And now that Plummer has also broken his right ring finger, it's obviously time to move on if you still have Arizona players in your plans.
