It's Hallamentary! Questions and Answers for Week 4

Posted by Ryan Hallam on 09/27/2012 | 2 Comments

Tags: Michael Vick, Beanie Wells, Ryan WIlliams, Jamaal Charles, Peyton Hillis, Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Mikel Leshoure, Kevin Smith, Fred Jackson, CJ Spiller, Tashard Choice, Kevin Kolb, Jay Cutler, Russell Wilson, Sidney Rice, Golden Tate

That’s right folks!  You thought it was just a cheeky nickname of one column and it would go away to be filed away in the archives forever, and Hallamentary would be forgotten……but OH NO!  This is going to be a trend folks until Hallam takes over the world!  Mwuhahahahahhah!!!!  Sorry, now to the real article. 

The last week of September is upon us, and it is hard to believe that there are so many question marks already in fantasy football.  What’s going on with all of the great quarterbacks?  Will Chris Johnson ever top 30 yards again? Will the Browns ever win a game? Are the Packers and Patriots really BOTH 1-2????  As we head into the quarter pole of the 2012 season, what do you need to know heading into these games to help your fantasy team get that elusive ‘W’?  Well, it’s Hallamentary my friends!

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Questions about your team or a waiver move?  Lineup decisions?  You can email me at ryan@fantasyalarm.com for answers to those questions.  You can also hit me up by following me on Twitter @ryanhallamFA or if you just want to read some of my incoherent babbling in 140 characters. 

Will Michael Vick be replaced? Eagles’ head coach Andy Reid said that the Eagles’ quarterback situation would be evaluated as we go.  Wait, what?  Does this mean that it is possible that Michael Vick get benched? Do we see a chance that Nick Foles or Trent Edwards might see the field?  Will they be fantasy relevant?????  Whoa, whoa, whoa, hoooooooooold everything folks.  Sure, Vick has already committed nine turnovers and been sacked and hit more times that Ike smacked Tina.  He has been careless and reckless with the ball.  But Michael Vick is the starting QB for the Philadelphia Eagles unless he absolutely sucks for the next month. Reid recanted his words and said the media twisted his words, but this isn’t Reid’s first rodeo.  He knows he needs better play from his quarterback and I believe that was his way to say hey buddy, cut the crap!  If you own Vick you gotta stick it out with the guy.  He has played three pretty good defenses.  I know you think Cleveland sucks, but their secondary is good, we all know about Baltimore, and Arizona shut down the Eagles and Patriots in back to back weeks.  Vick will get well, and actually is a good buy low candidate if you can live with worrying he gets hurt every week.  That is another bye product of all of these sacks and hits, he needs to protect himself better to be successful. 

What’s next for Beanie Wells owners? Beanie Wells has been placed on Injured Reserve with severe turf toe, which in the past would have ended his season.  However, there is a new rule in the NFL which allows teams to return one player during the year if they are placed on the Injured Reserve/Designated For Return List.  This means that the earliest he can practice will be November 7^th, and the soonest he can return to the field will be November 25^th.  So, what do you do if you own Beanie Wells?  Well, first I hope you picked up Ryan Williams.  But even if you didn’t, I think you have to cut ties with the Bean Man  unless you have a very deep roster and you can afford to stash him.  There’s no guarantee that he will be ready to return when he is eligible, and I expect Williams to take his job and run with it.  Wells was really struggling to start the season and if Williams excels at all, I don’t expect the Cardinals to rush him back or give him a large load when he returns.  If you have any need for the roster spot, you gotta let Beanie go. 

Which is the real Jamaal Charles?  Charles exploded for 233 yards on 33 carries on Sunday against the Saints including a dazzling 91 yard touchdown.  So, which is the real Charles?  The guy who ran for 86 yards opening week?  The dude who bombed out with three yards on six carries against the Bills?  Or Mr. Charles lighting up the fantasy scoreboard in dusting the Saints?  Obviously the answer is none of the above, but it is still hard to read the RB situation for the Chiefs.  They seem to be playing the hot hand.  The week that Charles was bad Peyton Hillis ran for 66 yards on 11 carries.  In fact, most Charles owners probably missed the outburst after his three yard effort the week before.  Let’s be honest, Charles is the most dynamic runner the Chiefs have and should be their primary back.  Hillis is nice for short yards and goal line, but he isn’t an every down back as he has proven before when he has broken down due to injury.  If I had Charles, I would be starting him weekly unless you had three really sweet options, but I’m not sure that is possible in today’s fantasy football. 

Is Matt Ryan for real? Talk about coming out of the box FIRING!!  Matt Ryan has been the hero of fantasy football through three weeks as he has nearly 800 passing yards to go with eight touchdowns and just one interception. He hasn’t topped 300 yards in a game yet, but be real people, you can points in fantasy football with touchdowns, and Matty Ice has thrown three on two different occasions already and has also ran for one.  But the question is, can he keep this up?  I would say most sites in the preseason had him ranked somewhere in the 10-15 range among starting quarterbacks, so what gives? Should we sell high?  I say no way!  I say start Ryan weekly!  Sure he will have a dud here and there, and who doesn’t, but he has two dynamic weapons in Roddy White and Julio Jones, not to mention Tony Gonzalez isn’t dead yet and Hugh Douglas is a good number three.  I guess new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter was a pretty good hire huh?  Ryan is for real and I would keep him as your starter!

Can Cam Newton going to turn it around?  Did you like the Can Cam thing I did right there?  Try to say that five times fast!  Can Cam, Can Cam, Can Cam, Cam Cam.......damn it!  Anyways, Cam Newton has been one of fantasy’s bigger disappointments in the last two weeks.  He has just one passing touchdown over that span and threw a whopping three interceptions in last week’s game alone.  Newton has looked lost lately, and I’m sure his fantasy owners are growing concerned because I am a Newton owner and I have to say that I am a little concerned.  However, stay strong people, the Camster won’t disappoint us.  He does also still have two rushing TD’s so he has four in three games which isn’t good, but it isn’t awful either.  Unless you have a guy like Matt Ryan or Ben Roethlisberger as your QB2 and you can afford to start someone else until Cam gets it rolling I would keep him in there.  I wouldn’t start a guy who has begun the season hotter than him like Carson Palmer or Andy Dalton.  Go with your studs people, they are who you trusted just a couple of weeks ago.

Is Mikel Leshoure a solid RB2?  I’m sure Kevin Smith owners were pissed, but they should have saw it coming as Leshoure was finally not injured or suspended in his short NFL career and he was AWESOME!  Leshoure rushed for exactly 100 yards and a score on 26 carries and also caught 4 balls for 34 yards.  The answer is how will he be treated by the Lions going forward?  Let me see if I can say this as clearly as I can.  Mikel Leshoure is going to be THE MAN in Detroit going forward.  I don’t believe they ever wanted Kevin Smith to be their starting running back, but with injuries to both Leshoure and Jahvid Best last season they had no choice.  Leshoure is a great fit for the Lions’ offensive system, and I believe he will be a great RB2 with a chance to give you top ten running back production.  He is an every week starter going forward and someone you should be excited about if he is on your roster. 

Can you start Fred Jackson this week?  Good news Bills fans and Fred Jackson owners!  Jackson returned to practice on Wednesday, and while he was a little rusty, he came out of it feeling good.   With CJ Spiller all but set to miss the game, it makes you wonder if Jackson is a good play this week against New England, so fresh from an injury that was supposed to take him longer to heal.  I’ll tell you that I have Fred Jackson in three leagues.  I will be starting him in two, and sitting him in one and I believe that you should treat him on a case by case basis as well.  Do I believe he will get the majority of the carries?  Yes I do.  Do I believe that he will be successful on Sunday?  Again, yes I do.  Do I believe that starting him is a risky play if you have viable options on the bench?  That is a third resounding yes.  If you have enough solid running backs on your roster where you don’t need to play Jackson then I would sit him.  But if you are deciding between Jackson, Donald Brown, Stevan Ridley, and Isaac Redman, I would be starting Jackson.  If you are deciding between Jackson, Ryan Williams, Jamaal Charles, or DeMarco Murray, I would be sitting Jackson.   If he is on your roster and you want my advice on the situation, feel free to email me at ryan@fantasyalarm.com and we will go over your roster.

Has Kevin Kolb returned to fantasy relevancy?  Of course that would mean that Kevin Kolb ever was fantasy relevant, but I guess he was for about three seconds in Philadelphia before Michael Vick took over, and about four seconds in Arizona before he started to SUCK! Allow me to answer that with a single word……kinda.  I know that wasn’t the definitive answer you were expecting.  Is Kolb one of the top twelve quarterbacks in fantasy and should be in your starting lineup?  No, he hasn’t gotten there yet, but he very well looks like he might be on the way.  The Cardinals are shocking the nation on their way to the 3-0 record they currently have, and Kolb has been at the controls. He is yet to throw an interception, but has just four TDs in the three games.  Aren’t we all bashing on Cam Newton for having the same number of scores?  I know Kolb doesn’t have the picks that Cam does, but let’s not rush and love Kolb too much.  Regardless of their struggles I can’t put him in over guys like Newton, Drew Brees, or Aaron Rodgers, to me that is lunacy.  However, h e is a good guy to have as your QB2, sitting there, waiting for your starter’s bye week.  And just in case you are in a 12 team league and your starter goes down, Kolb could definitely keep you in the running for your league as long as your top guy is out, as long as it isn’t for the season.  Pick him up if your backup is Mark Sanchez, Ryan Tannehill, Russell Wilson, or Sam Bradford, but not if your backup is Matt Cassel, Christian Ponder, Alex Smith or Ryan Fitzpatrick.

What the H is going on with Jay Cutler?  Here’s a guy that came into the season with a lot of fanfare and thoughts of a Super Bowl. He started out the year well the first game against the Colts and has been holy crap awful, and the worst part is that it is against less than stellar defenses in St. Louis and Green Bay. I know that you are ready to jump off of the Cutler bandwagon and banish him to the waiver wire, but I really don’t think that’s the best idea just yet.  He has the arm, he has Brandon Marshall, and he has had success in the past.  Sure, he is going to have AWFUL games during the year, he has in the past.  But he also has averaged about 23 touchdowns in his career.  I’m not saying that I wouldn’t necessarily start benching him depending on who your second quarterback might be, but I have a hard time getting rid of him completely. Right now a slow and steady safe guy like Joe Flacco, Tony Romo, Fitzpatrick or Ponder would be a better start, but unless you are in a shallow league and there is a good guy to pick up, I would just be giving Cutler a game or two to figure it out mentally. 

Can you trust any Seattle receiver?  Through three games the Seahawk with the most receptions is Sidney Rice with eight, but he still hasn’t topped the 100 yard mark for the season total yet!  As a group they only have three receiving touchdowns in three weeks and we all know the one of Golden Tate’s was total BS!  So, should you even roster Rice, Tate, Edwards, Baldwin, Obamanu? Ummmm, definitely not the last three.  I can see having Rice and Tate on your roster as I think if anyone is going to do anything on that team, it will be one of them.   Rice is more of a possession, reception kind of guy but he is hurt a lot and unreliable.  Tate is unproven, but did show you on Monday Night what he is capable of.  He can be a dynamic playmaker that can give you good stats.  But can he do it on a consistent basis?  And what about the quarterback?   Russell Wilson was the darling of the preseason, but has looked overmatched at times.  Can he deliver the ball consistently to his receivers?  I have my doubts.  You can roster Tate or Rice, but I am not in love with either one and neither should be a consistent starter for you unless you play three receivers and a flex and your flex is a receiver.

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