Sleeper Watch

It’s not easy being a Peyton Manning owner. First, you had to endure catcalls and snide ’shoulda-taken-a-running-back’ remarks in the first round of your draft (and then, of course, you had to scramble to fill that RB hole in the rounds that followed). Once the season started, you had to suffer through a dismal start by your franchise quarterback, who threw just two touchdown passes in the first three weeks. And now that Manning has gotten back on track and is playing superlative football, he may well be benched for much of the final three weeks. It’s enough to drive an owner to distraction…

Indianapolis has clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and head coach Tony Dungy may well rest many of his key starters in the closing weeks of the regular season, including Manning. The all-everything quarterback himself wants to play, particularly with the chance of an undefeated season beckoning, but unfortunately for fantasy owners, it’s not his call. In the past, such as the final game of the 2004 season, Dungy hasn’t hesitated to field an exhibition-game lineup when the Colts were locked into a playoff slot.

If you own Manning, you hopefully already have a plan B in place should it look like your star QB won’t see much action in the weeks ahead. If you don’t have another solid passer on your roster, you may have to turn to Manning’s backup, Jim Sorgi.

That might actually not be such a bad thing. In last year’s finale, Manning threw all of two passes before heading to the sidelines, and Sorgi performed admirably as his substitute. The Colts lost the game by a score of 33-14, but Sorgi’s numbers were solid: 168 yards on 16-of-25 passing, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and an excellent 110.1 rating.

Can Jim Sorgi do it again? It looks like we might find out soon…

(No Ratings Yet)  Loading ... Questions or comments for Arlo? Post them in the Cafe Forums! Want to see your own fantasy wisdom published? Check out the Cafe's Pencil & Paper section!