Fantasy Fumbles, Part I

Over the first half of the season, there have been many fantasy surprises. Some players have produced as if they were back in college, and others have put up numbers like they were back in college … but playing against NFL teams. Each year, there are players that come out of nowhere and produce Pro Bowl numbers, and then there are always those disappointments that hurt everyone’s fantasy teams. This season, there have been many big names producing like average fantasy players, not even getting close to meeting their fantasy expectations for this season. Here is an in-depth rundown on a few of the quarterbacks who have hurt your fantasy team each and every week.

Daunte Culpepper – Min

There were many questions asked when Culpepper lost his main target, Randy Moss, to the Oakland Raiders via trade during the off-season. However, many fantasy owners simply shook off the fact that Culpepper had to go without his go-to guy. Moss had a combined 30 receiving touchdowns in the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Many people thought that third-year receiver Nate Burleson would step in and take Moss’ place. But so far this season, Burleson has battled injuries more often than defensive backs, and in the two games he started, he has failed to get 100 yards receiving and does not have a touchdown yet this season.

People expected Culpepper’s production to go down, but not to take a nose dive into the cellar. This season Daunte has an abysmal 67.2 passer rating, similar to struggling Texans’ quarterback David Carr. Culpepper has thrown more than twice as many interceptions as touchdowns. He threw five interceptions in a week 2 matchup against the Bengals. He has also barely managed to reach 1,000 yards passing through the first five weeks of the season. Drafted usually sometime during the second round or early third round, Minnesota’s team leader is playing like the backup quarterback you to take in the 15th round.

JP Losman – Buf

The Buffalo Bills expected to be able to place an inexperienced JP Losman into their offense and guide the youngster through the season while competing for a wild card spot like last year. This dream turned into a nightmare quickly. In four starts, Losman only managed to record one passing touchdown. He also wasn’t able to throw for 500 yards, making the first four starts of his career a big joke.

The Bills have now replaced the 2004 first-round pick with veteran Kelly Holcomb. Holcomb stepped into the spotlight in week 5 with a veteran performance. He passed for 169 yards, completing more then 75% of his passes and tossing a touchdown in a 20-14 win against Miami. The job will most likely be Holcomb’s until he screws up, or Losman proves to coaches that he deserves another shot at the helm of the Bills offense. Although it is very early in Losman’s career, his road ahead looks to be a rocky and bumpy trail.

Peyton Manning – Ind

Finding Manning’s name right alongside Losman’s may surprise many of you. Although he is having a decent year compared to guys like Drew Brees and Aaron Brooks, he is not producing like many anticipated. Fantasy gurus everywhere expected him to be at the top of every passing category; however, through week 5, he doesn’t lead the NFL in any passing statistic. His 94.1 passer rating is solid, but his seven touchdowns are heart-breaking to fantasy owners who used their first-round picks to draft him and then struggled to get a solid #1 fantasy running back.

After five weeks last season, Manning had already tossed 16 touchdowns and thrown for over 1,250 yards against tough defenses such as the Patriots and Jaguars. This year, he has barely thrown for over 1,100 yards. Manning’s stats really aren’t that bad if you are comparing him with your average quarterback, but Manning was drafted in every league to be an elite passer. Most people expected his stats to fall from last year’s phenomenal performance of 49 touchdowns and more than 4,500 passing yards, but not this much.

Joey Harrington – Det

Ever since Joey Harrington arrived in Detroit four years ago he has brought nothing but disappointments to the Lions organization. Every year people think this is the year, and after each disappointing year people use the excuse, “he’s still too young to tell.” But isn’t there a point where the Lions admit they made a mistake in taking Harrington?

Entering his fourth NFL season, Harrington has failed to record a passer rating above 80, in only one season has he thrown more touchdowns than interceptions, and he has failed to complete 60% or more of his passes in a season, his best percentage being just above 56%. Harrington struggled to complete passes in college, and that same problem has held him back from becoming a successful NFL quarterback.

There can’t be much of an argument made saying the reason he has struggled is because he hasn’t had anyone to throw to. He has a great young corps of receivers in injury-prone Charles Rogers, Roy Williams and rookie Mike Williams. The trio of receivers were all selected in the first round of their respective drafts. Running back Kevin Jones should also be an excellent asset both now and in the future. Harrington could help Jones by being more efficient. When Harrington’s play is sour, defenses can put eight in the box to make it nearly impossible for Jones to lead the team down the field. Most of the offensive problems in Detroit all come back to Harrington.

Honorable Mention: Chad Pennington (NYJ), Trent Green (KC), David Carr (Hou)

Don’t forget to catch more positional analysis in the weeks to come!

 
Corey Chamberlain is commissioner of the Vince Lombardi League. You’ll find him posting in the Cafe’s Forums as PackerAttack84.

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