The Fantasy League Guru is glad to have only one Redskin/Cowboy
on his three teams. Ask him for more advice at [email protected]
If you look hard enough, there’s fantasy implications in
almost everything ““ even the upcoming Monday Night Football
debacle between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins.
I’m sure some of you were glued to the TV this past Monday
night, when the Rams humiliated the Lions.
Don’t deny it. You were jumping up and down when Kurt
Warner tossed his third touchdown pass in garbage time, or when
Marshall Faulk scored his meaningless touchdown to make the final
score 35-0.
But that’s because you are probably one of those lucky
owners who managed to land the top QB and the top RB in the
land.
For all struggling fantasy teams, those at 1-3 or 0-4, the
Cowboys-Redskins match-ups might mark a critical juncture in their
season.
Any owner who is near the cellar probably needs a good
performance from Stephen Davis or Emmitt Smith ““ two guys who
have caused worse headaches than my binge-drinking hangovers.
Davis easily qualifies as one of the biggest fantasy
disappointments so far, with only 219 yards in four losses. Not to
mention how he’s still looking for his first touchdown of the
season. It doesn’t help that the Redskins allow an average of
33 points a game and are forced to pass right from the start.
Emmitt has eerily similar numbers to Davis, which only goes to
prove how anemic both of these rushing offenses have been. At least
all of Emmitt’s 208 rushing yards have been hard-fought,
since nobody in their right minds would respect the Cowboys’
air attack.
Sometimes starting a wide receiver on a bad team makes sense,
since anyone who’s playing from behind all of the time is
forced to pass early and often. I wouldn’t recommend
following this strategy with these teams, though.
Joey Galloway, who caught a TD last week against the Raiders, is
as likely to catch another one on Monday night as the Yankees are
to advance past the A’s. Come on. The guys has 10 catches for
110 yards in four games. That’s the textbook definition of
inconsistency.
And don’t even get me started on the Redskins. My column
last week proved that rookie WRs can’t be trusted, and right
now the leading wideout for the Redskins is Rod Gardner ““ a
rookie.
Michael Westbrook is doing his best impression of Galloway, with
14 catches for 102 yards. Maybe you can expect something from
Westbrook later in the season, but that explosiveness he had before
last season’s knee injury isn’t quite there yet.
To make the quarterback analysis brief, I’ll just say that
hopefully no one expects help from either Tony Banks or Anthony
Wright. Hopefully the Cowboys have learned their lesson and keep
Quincy Carter, a QB who might have been riding the bench at
Georgia, on the bench.
Now we come to kickers and defense ““ the two fantasy slots
that might be able to help you this week.
Brett Conway had three field goals last week for the Redskins,
including a 55-yd FG. Tim Seder scored a touchdown against the
Raiders, although I don’t think that counts in most
leagues.
But you get my drift. These two offenses might be able to move
the ball just enough to get into field goal range enough times to
make the place kickers top-notch fantasy options.
Finally, I wouldn’t take the risk and start either
defense. But if you’re desperate enough, the Redskins have
scored only 25 points in four games and are turnover-prone with
Banks taking the snaps. The Cowboys have scored 21, 18 and 21
points the past three weeks, but are as inconsistent as they come.
Their big play capabilities make the Redskins the riskier of the
two defenses.