Week 3 Start 'Em: McFadden, Moss, Favre

RB DARREN McFADDEN at Arizona: It’s time to take this guy seriously again after 145 rushing yards on 30 carries last week against St. Louis. He’s the NFL’s second-leading rusher, and the this week's opponents, the Cardinals, are second-worst against the run (153.0 a game).

WR SANTANA MOSS at St. Louis: The veteran has hit it off with new QB Donovan McNabb, catching 16 passes so far. The Redskins will look to pound the ball against a soft Rams run defense, but I still see Moss doing some damage through the air.

BRETT FAVRE vs. Detroit: Favre’s thrown 51 TDs in 30 career games against the Lions. Only his own Vikings (52 TDs) and the Bears (53 TDs) have been victimized more by the man that Father Time forgot. It’s been a rough 2010 for Brett, but he returns to form this week against the Lions.


Last week’s picks

- Ahmad Bradshaw had a commendable 89 yards on 17 carries against the Colts. Not exactly Arian Foster-level production, but solid, and the good news for Bradshaw’s long-term value is teammate Brandon Jacobs carried the ball only four times and suffered a helmet-tossing, possibly trade-demanding meltdown.

- Dwayne Bowe’s 4 catches for 45 yards against the Browns weren’t quite what I had in mind but are a step in the right direction.

- Dez Bryant recorded only 2 catches against Chicago, but he made them count (52 yards) and he added a 62-yard punt return for a TD to boot.

Photo by The Associated Press

8/18 Sleeper of the Day: Michael Bush

RB MICHAEL BUSH, Raiders




Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas might have been the more familiar names occupying Oakland's backfield, but it was Bush who ended up leading the Silver & Black in rushing last year.

Granted, it was a paltry 589 rushing yards, but still - Bush averaged a more-than-respectable 4.8 yards a carry while getting nothing close to regular playing time in 2009. The Raiders would be wise to let Bush, a tough, inside-the-tackles runner with speed, play a bigger role this year. And all indications are they will do just that, with Fargas getting released in the offseason and the disappointing McFadden nursing injuries again this preseason.

We're probably looking at a timeshare here, unfortunately, with the quicker McFadden serving as a complement to the 247-pound Bush. But with Fargas out of the way I could see Bush getting a few more goal-line looks, and with Jason Campbell under center instead of a JaMarcus Russell/Charlie Frye combo the Raiders should at least have a more respectable passing game to keep opponents from stacking the box. I like Bush as an underrated RB4 who might be able to come close to 800 or 900 yards and 5 or 6 TDs.

Sit 'Em: Week 5

- WR EDDIE ROYAL vs. New England: Your patience has got to be wearing thin with this guy (8 catches in 2009), and he's facing a top 10 passing defense. No thanks.

- RBs MICHAEL BUSH and JUSTIN FARGAS at N.Y. Giants: You may be tempted to use one of these guys in the wake of starter Darren McFadden's injury. Don't. Without any semblance of a Raiders passing game, odds are the Giants will be loading up against the run no matter who's in the backfield.

- QB MARK SANCHEZ at Miami: The Jets rookie had his "welcome to the NFL" game last week at New Orleans and will play in another hostile road environment against a good Dolphins D. There are safer bye-week fill-ins available.


LAST WEEK'S PICKS

- Fred Jackson had his lowest rushing total of the season (42 yards) and caught 3 passes for 26 yards.

- Matt Cassel tossed two TDs in garbage time ... but he passed for only 127 yards.

- TJ Houshmandzadeh had 8 catches for 103 yards against the Colts, his best game so far this year ... oops.

Is McFadden this year's Peterson?

In this week's column I'm wondering if rookie Darren McFadden can take the NFL by storm the way Adrian Peterson did last year, plus I'm breaking down this year's top 10 running backs. As always, you can check my column online or in print every Thursday in your Herald sports section.

NFL Draft's fantasy impact

I love it when everybody jumps in a day or two after the NFL Draft to issue their grades for each team. Sometimes it takes three or four years to really assess a draft class, but we all want to know immediately how our teams did, who's a future Hall of Famer and who's the next dud. Funny, but I don't remember too many draftniks praising the Giants' draft last year (seven draftees played significant roles in their Super Bowl run), and we've barely seen anything from 2007's big-name picks, QBs JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn.

That being said, from a fantasy perspective, we can't afford to wait. We need to know what kind of impact the Class of 2008 will have this season. Sometimes taking a chance on an untested rookie like Adrian Peterson last year can be a championship-securing move.

Here's a look at some notable first-round draftees. Obviously we'll focus our attention on offensive skill players and what roles they'll play in their first season:

g QB Matt Ryan to Falcons: The BC product might develop into a quality starter someday, and he should have a shot at immediate playing time. But as you probably know, rookie QBs rarely make for good fantasy starters. I'm not touching him unless he's my backup, and even then I'm being cautious.

g RB Darren McFadden to Raiders: Even though they re-signed Justin Fargas (more than 1,000 yards rushing in only seven starts), and also have LaMont Jordan and Michael Bush at running back, Run DMC (above) was too good to pass up for Oakland. And that applies to him as a fantasy player too ... Peterson set the bar pretty high for rookie runners last year, but McFadden is the most obvious comparison in this year's class. He's a high-risk, high-reward No. 2 RB, and there will be a lot of competition for his services on draft day.

g RB Jonathan Stewart to Panthers: We thought Carolina might be done with the two-back system after DeShaun Foster left for San Francisco. We were excited to see what DeAngelo Williams might do as a full-time starter, but now it looks like another two-headed monster, with Stewart serving as the tough inside runner and Williams as the outside-running playmaker. Both are worthy of being on your bench, but it could be a little frustrating until we really see how they'll share the carries.

g QB Joe Flacco to Ravens: Baltimore's needed a franchise QB in the worst way for years, and it seems they've finally addressed that here. Problem is, Flacco probably doesn't have enough experience to step right in and play coming from Delaware. That means Kyle Boller will probably be the starter as Flacco eases his way in. In other words, Flacco has little to no fantasy value for '08.

g RB Felix Jones to Cowboys: Dallas has essentially replaced one Jones in their backfield with another. With Julius Jones off to Seattle, Felix and Marion Barber will be sharing time this year. Seems like the 'Boys were concerned Barber couldn't handle the full load, and Jones, McFadden's former running mate at Arkansas, probably can't either. Looks like a situation where we'll see them each averaging about 12 carries a game, but both have the skills to be touchdown-makers. Treat Barber as a No. 2 and Jones as a No. 3 for now.

g RB Rashard Mendenhall to Steelers: Starting to see a trend here? Pittsburgh's got Willie Parker but they still took Mendenhall as his complement. He's more of a power runner than Parker, and he's built to take the goal-line carries, a role Najeh Davenport was supposed to fill. This means Mendenhall will be valuable, although probably as a No. 4 fantasy RB, and Parker might be downgraded a little bit to a No. 2.

g RB Chris Johnson to Titans: Johnson, from East Carolina, made it into the first round based on his speed (4.24 40 at the combine). He's probably going to replace Chris Henry as the lightning to LenDale White's thunder in Tennessee's backfield, although I have questions about how much production we'll see from all those guys. The Titans have been inconsistent in how they use their runners, so I can't count on White or Johnson as anything more than a No. 4 RB.

Photo by The Associated Press