Shock's Week 4 Booms and Busts

[Shock6822]

Hectic week last week, but I'm back with my shenanigans.

BOOMS:

Mike Sims-Walker: Tennessee's pass D as a whole has been playing pretty terribly, including the horribly overrated safety duo. Cortland Finnegan is doubtful this week, meaning Nick Harper is likely on Holt, leaving who-knows-who on Sims-Walker. Jacksonville may also be playing from behind at the end of it. I like him as a WR3/flex this week.

Brandon Marshall: I've seen Dallas play their last 2 games, and in each game, the pass D was beatable. It scares me to put a Broncos WR as a boom, but Marshall seems to be getting more confortable with the offense (while my boy Eddie Royal is apparently a 'decoy'.......). Anyways, I think the play-from-behind factor could figure in here too.

Jay Cutler: Detroit's pass D has allowed the 2nd most yards and 10 TDs in 3 games. And now they face a cannon-armed QB. Good luck.

Jerome Harrison: With Jamal Lewis likely out, Harrison makes for a nice flex play, especially for PPR peeps. James Davis hasn't shown squat in the regular season, so he'll probably see at least 20 touches, and even if Cleveland is getting trounced, he can still catch the ball.

San Francisco/Cincy D's: I'm a big fan of streaming D's, and this is why. I'm in 12 leagues, and in all 12, a D like one of these 2 was available. San Fran plays STL, Cincy plays CLE, and that's pretty much all you need to know. I'll play those percentages/matchups any week for my D.

Ladell Betts: Tampa Bay's run D has been awful, and there's a likelihood Portis sits out this week. If he does, Betts will see plenty of touches and numbers. But again, only if Portis sits.

Mewelde Moore: Parker is likely out Sunday Night, so most people are plugging in Mendenhall. I personally think Moore should see double digit touches and all the pass catching situations, making him a good PPR flex. Plus, I think Mendenhall is overrated and a bad runner.

Willis Mcgahee: Vince Wilfork may be sitting out for my Pats, and if he is, the middle will clear up a LOT for Baltimore RBs. It's kind of a crapshoot between Rice and Mcgahee, but McG has been seeing the redzone touches. And I really hope Myron Pryor steps up and proves me wrong since he's played admirably, but it's near impossible to play at a level like Big Vince does.

Ronnie Brown: Miami bringing in Henne should mean they want to bring him in slowly. And that means Ronnie should see plenty of Wildcat and touches.

Steve Slaton: Now is the time, sir Slaton. Oakland's run d is still nothing special, and he's got something to prove. Still waiting for Chris Brown to break himself btw.

Darren Mcfadden: On the flipside, Houston's run D is last in the league in yardage and has allowed the most TDs (8) on the ground. If Tom Cable is smart, he feeds Bush and Mcfadden like they're Gerber Babies.

Cedric Benson: He actually looks like a good runner. Cincy looks like a good team. Wat? Anyways, Cleveland's run D sucks, Cincy will play from ahead, etc.

Keenan Burton: Boller's gotta throw to someone when the Rams are down by 70, and most people will think Avery, which is why I'm mentioning Burton. Laurent Robinson went to IR (#@$^%$), and Burton immediately stepped in and caught 3/37 in about a half when Robinson went down last week. Consider him in deeper leagues.



BUSTS:

Ladainian Tomlinson: He's rusty, plays Pitt's run D, and I think SD realizes they need to involve Sproles more frequently to not bend Old Man LT. A flex play at BEST, simply because he's always a threat for a random goal line scamper, but I think his overall #s will be weak.

Marshawn Lynch: Everyone's ecstatic! Your 5th round draft steal is back! Meh. Miami's rush d has played well, and Fred Jackson will still see a big portion of the carries both now and in the future, especially since Lynch needs to get game-speed acclimated again.

Thomas Jones: He sucks as a runner, and NO's rush d is top 5 in the league. I hate it when crappy running backs get starting spots on teams that make them look good.

Fred Taylor: Since I'm a Pats fan and I do this thing, a few people have asked me if Fred Taylor is the feature back because of last week's great performance. No. NE is still playing matchup to matchup every week, and you need to see this for a few weeks before whiffinf anything about a feature back. Baltimore's rush D is also tops in the NFL.

Dwayne Bowe: He's supposed to play this week, but with a hammy hurting and matched against Corey Webster, I can't expect much.

Joe Flacco: For all the talk of NE's defense before the season, they've actually played quite well. Matt Ryan was shut down thanks to good D and a solid gameplan, and if Wilfork is out like I mentioned, Baltimore has plenty of reason to run the ball a bunch. If you have other decent options, consider them.

Marques Colston: New York loves to challenge WR1s on opposing teams with Revis (a great CB) and help over the top. Brees is totally willing to spread it around, so unless Revis stops shadowing Colston or slips on a play or something, I can't expect much.

Matt Cassel: You really don't want to do this to yourself. NYG's pass rush, etc.

Bernard Berrian: Berrian has averaged less than 2 catches a game against GB the last 3 years. No thanks.


This week in one of the leagues I care about, due to byes and injuries, my starting lineup looks like this: Joe Flacco, Wes Welker (if he plays), Davone Bess, MJD, AARON BROWN (????) (if KSmith doesn't play), Dustin Keller, Eddie Royal. Here's to my starting QB, 2 of my WRs and 2 of my RBs on bye. You don't have it bad yet kids. Good luck.

[Metroid]

Darren Mcfadden: On the flipside, Houston's run D is last in the league in yardage and has allowed the most TDs (8) on the ground. If Tom Cable is smart, he feeds Bush and Mcfadden like they're Gerber Babies.

I said this in the other "boom/bust" thread, but the only problem I have with having McFadden as a boom is that the Raiders are too one dimensional. If Japoopoo can't keep the D honest they will stack the box and try to shut down the run. Not saying they will, just something to be aware of.

[Cowboys 4 life]

Pretty good I would say.

[Metroid]

Pretty good I would say.

Yup I agree. The only real miss is Run DMC, that was a tough one for a lot of people though. Facing a team giving up huge numbers on the ground you'd think even the inept Raiders would move the ball...nope.

Otherwise great job man.

[Timbathia]

The MeMo call was a big miss as well with Mendy going nuts, but mostly pretty good.

[gmoney973]

The MeMo call was a big miss as well with Mendy going nuts, but mostly pretty good.

he has 2 tds

[Metroid]

The MeMo call was a big miss as well with Mendy going nuts, but mostly pretty good.

he has 2 tds

yeah MeMo didn't get the yards but he did have a TD reception and throw for another. And just over 30 total yards.

[Timbathia]

The MeMo call was a big miss as well with Mendy going nuts, but mostly pretty good.

he has 2 tds

I wasnt referring to the final fantasy points, but more as to the prediction as written. 2 carries and 3 receptions was not what Shock had in mind when he suggested double digit carries and all the passing situations. Admittedly if anyone took the advice they would not have been disappointed, which in reality is all most of us care about in FFL.

[bazzy_51]

The MeMo call was a big miss as well with Mendy going nuts, but mostly pretty good.

he has 2 tds

I wasnt referring to the final fantasy points, but more as to the prediction as written. 2 carries and 3 receptions was not what Shock had in mind when he suggested double digit carries and all the passing situations. Admittedly if anyone took the advice they would not have been disappointed, which in reality is all most of us care about in FFL.

Mendy was never available in any of my leagues, where as MeMo was. So to me taking my own advice and the advice of many others solidified my choice to add MeMo and start him in my flex slot. He gave me 13.54 Pts over Lee Evans, Torry Holt, Fred Taylor and Shonn Greene. Not to mention the only player he didn't outscore on my squad was Addai at 15.60, outscoring all of Romo, TO, Garcon, Caldwell, Henderson and the 2 big ones both Witten and MJD. So on my squad this week he was a pretty darn big Boom. I surely won't complain about the 2 TDs!

[Howie]

Great post, as always.