Sleeper Watch

The buzz in Arizona is all about rookie quarterback John Navarre, who will be making his first start on Sunday in place of Shaun King. The Cardinals won’t only have a new face at QB, however, but at tailback as well. With future Hall-of-Famer Emmitt Smith out two to three weeks with a sprained toe, Dennis Green has made Larry Croom his temporary starter at RB.

So far this season, Croom has seen action primarily as a kick returner, picking up 314 yards on 16 attempts for a 19.6 average. He has also coughed the ball up twice. Last week, the undrafted rookie out of UNLV filled in for the injured Smith as Arizona’s primary ball-carrier in the second half, rushing for 25 yards on ten attempts against a strong Jets defense. Apparently, this effort was enough to earn Croom the start this Sunday in Detroit.

The Lions defense may not be quite as effective as New York’s, but the Leos are no pushover. The 124.3 yards per game given up by Detroit on the ground might be a bit misleading; this unit is holding opponents to just 3.7 yards per carry, tied for sixth-lowest in the league. Unless your current fantasy backfield consists of James Mungro and Lorenzo Neal, there’s no need to start an unknown quantity such as Croom this week against this defense.

But if you have room on your roster, stash him on your bench and follow his progress this Sunday. If he looks good, he might make an intriguing play the following week when Arizona hosts San Francisco. No team has allowed more opposing rushers to find the end zone than the 49ers. With a rookie passer at the helm, look for Arizona to attempt to establish the run early in order to take pressure off Navarre, with Croom being the prime beneficiary.

Off course, that assumes that Croom performs well against Detroit. If not, Josh Scobey (or even Damien Anderson) might be the primary back against San Francisco. Dennis Green isn’t feeling particularly patient at the moment. Just ask Shaun King.