UAL Week 4 Fantasy Football Recap

Bedwetters – 122, Clever Team Name – 81

CTN put up yet another poor week and suffered a bad loss to the Bedwetters.  And the future doesn’t look good with Max Hall throwing to Fitz and Kevin Kolb likely throwing to DJax.  CTN could be out of the playoff hunt by the time Vick returns.  The Bedwetters got back on track here behind big lines from Reggie Wayne (35 pts), Carson Palmer (21 pts), and Dash Williams (17 pts).  I like the Bedwetters a lot going forward.  This is a team with good depth that will provide a stiff test each and every week.  Will they find a way to make the playoffs?  That might come down to whether Pierre Garçon can ever get in on the Colts prolific passing game.

Gentle Turtles – 149, Karma Wheel – 92

Just as I predicted in last week’s recap, the wheels came off for Karma.  With Kolb throwing, or rather not throwing, to Maclin, the Eagles’ speedster notched only 3 fantasy points.  Brandon Jackson continued to look awful, proving that he can be in no way considered a viable RB2.  Meanwhile, the Wheel’s Atlanta guys fell far short of the spectacular performance they would have needed to get their manager a win this week.  On the other side of the ball it was a good day for the Decepticons, as Megatron finally had a week where he put up WR1 numbers (27 pts).  Hall of Fame rusher LT also looked very good gashing a weak Buffalo run D for 155 total yards and two touchdowns.  The defending champs are looking forward to Santonio Holmes’ return next week.

Weiner – 115, Bear Jews – 99

This is why we play the games.  The Bear Jews were supposed to win this one with Weiner’s Romo-to-Austin connection on bye.  Despite 42 fantasy points out of M & M, the Bear Jews live or die week-to-week, based on the performance of the New York football Giants.  And this week they died.  Nicks was solid but Manning and S Smith (NYG) combined for a paltry 11 pts.  The good news is that the Giants get the awful Texans secondary in Week 5.  On the other side of the ball, MoJo finally got things going, rushing for 105 yards and a TD against the Colts.  Also, I want to issue a special welcome to fantasy relevance to rookie QB Sammy Bradford.  He put up 18 fantasy points for Weiner this week and I like him a lot going forward with workhorse back Steven Jackson around to take away some defensive pressure.  

Ricky’s Blunt Force – 143, Nevermore – 104

In a week where Nevermore’s WR2 notches 40+ fantasy points, you would expect them to roll.  Not this week.  In fact, TO nearly outscored the entire rest of Nevermore’s squad.  Their all-star RB tandem of Rice and Johnson were completely shut down, and Mike Sims-Walker put up a goose egg for the second time in four weeks.  Also, it’s not every week that Nevermore has to run up against the Blunt Force.  Ricky’s squad was stellar.  ARod put up 17 fantasy points in a “bad week” while Arian Foster continued to run roughshod over the league, despite sitting the first quarter against Oakland.  There is a lot to like about the depth and high-end talent of the Blunt Force as we move through the bye weeks.

Drinking a Forte – 107, The Slowskies – 47

Wow, the Slowskies were bad in this one.  We won’t lump in Dallas Clark with the rest of that awful squad.  He caught a respectable seven balls for 68 yards and a TD.  But, the Slowskies QB and WR corps COMBINED for only eleven points.  Eleven.  The ever-unreliable Tim Hightower was also very bad as the Chargers thrashed the Cards.  Peterson’s return after the bye week will shore up their RBs, but the Slowskies glaring weakness will continue to be their shoddy receiving corps.  Drinking a Forte luckily owns the one Eagle that benefits from Kolb’s penchant for checking down.  McCoy had 12 receptions for 110 yards on the way to a 27-point fantasy performance.  Joseph Addai also had a good day at RB1 (23 pts).

Breaston Plants – 134, Cleveland Steamers – 108

The Breaston Plants have quietly assembled a very good team.  They are strong at every position and Antonio Gates seems to give them 25+ points every week.  They climbed to 3-1 this week and, as far as I’m concerned, they have the best combination of depth and talent in the UAL.  This one came down to Monday night.  The Breaston Plants carried a two-point lead into the Miami/NE game with Davone Bess and the great Brandon Marshall yet to play.  The Steamers had Brady still to go.  NE got its points in a 41-14 win but it wasn’t by Brady’s (11 pts) hand.  Bess and Marshall, however, put up a combined 34 fantasy points for Miami.  And that was the game, folks.  Here’s hoping the Steamers get healthy so they are never forced to start Blair White or John Kuhn again.

Week 4 All-Fantasy Team

QB: Carson Palmer (371 passing yards, 2 TDs, 21 points)

RB: Arian Foster (131 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 56 receiving yards, 2 TDs, 35 points)

RB: LaDainian Tomlinson (133 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 22 receiving yards, 2TDs, 33 points)

WR: Terrell Owens (10 receptions, 222 yards, 1 TD, 40 points)

WR: Reggie Wayne (15 receptions, 196 yards, 35 points)

WR: Calvin Johnson (6 receptions, 86 yards, 2 TDs, 27 points)

TE: Antonio Gates (7 receptions, 144 yards, 2 TDs, 35 points)

Grant Rice