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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
>> FANTASY FOOTBALL
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2007
NFL highlights to file, to forget
Here are the best and worst performances from the NFL weekend broken down by position.
HIGHLIGHTS
Wide receiver — Randy Moss switched jerseys again this offseason and apparently it was enough to revert him back to his Minnesota form. He opened up the season with nine catch, 183 receiving yards and one touchdown catch. It will be interesting to see whether Moss can maintain this level of play throughout the season. But who will be able to stop that New England offense?
Quarterback — Tony Romo shook off his playoff hangover from the Cowboys' loss to the Seattle Seahawks last year. Romo threw
BY KELLY BRECKUNITCH
KANSAN COLUMNIST
KBRECKUNITCH@KANSAN.COM
for 345 yards, four touchdowns,
ran for a touchdown and had only
one interception, all with only 15
completions. The Cowboys looked
as impressive as any team in the
NFC on Sunday.
Tight end — Antonio Gates looked like San Diego's best offensive weapon against the Bears. Gates had nine catches for 107 yards and one touchdown. Jason Witten challenged Gates as the top tight end this weekend, but Witten played against the porous Giants defense, while Gates faced off against the stout Bears. Gates passed with flying colors against one of the league's toughest defenses.
Defense — The Indianapolis Colts had the worst run defense in the NFL last season. On Thursday, though, they shut down the potent Saints offence. The Colts held
Running back — Coming into the season, the Titans weren't completely sure whether they would use Chris Brown as the starting back. LenDale White gave him some off-season competition, but Brown ran for 175 yards on 19 carries and proved that he might still have what it takes to be a star running back in the NFL.
New England Patriots' wide receiver Randy Moss worked well with quarterback Tom Brady. Fantasy owners should be able to rely on both the rest of the season.
Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister to under 40 rushing yards each. They also held Drew Brees, last year's leader in passing yards, to under 200 yards and intercepted him twice. If the Colts defense can keep up this play, Indianapolis will be back in the Super Bowl.
Kicker — Can a rookie really make it on to the top performances list? He can when he enters the NFL with one of the strongest legs in the league. Mason Crosby replaced Dave Rayner as Green Bay's place kicker and was a perfect 3-for-3 on field attempts including a 53-yarder.
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PERFORMANCES TO FORGET
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Wide Receiver — Arizona was supposed to have a high-powered offense. The hiring of Ken Whisenhtau was only supposed to make the offense even better. On Monday night, though, the Arizona offense looked anemic. Arizona has one of the best receiving tandems in the league, but Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald failed to impress. Boldin had four catches for 22 yards, and Fitzgerald had three catches for 20 yards.
Quarterback — Arizona's Matt Leinart is poised to have a breakout year, but 102 passing yards, one touchdown pass and two interceptions is not a good start. Leinart will need to have a short memory and move past this loss in his first full season as the starting quarterback
Running back — According to yahoo.com, Steven Jackson's average fantasy draft position was 2.5. Maybe it should've been lower.
Tight end — San Francisco's Vernon Davis had a terrible game. I've never seen a worse single-game performance from a tight end. His stat line immediately jumps out. He had two catches for four yards. Davis should be Alex Smith's second option in the passing game, but will need to improve and be more consistent than he was against the Cardinals.
Defense — The New York Giants are going to have some serious problems this year. It wasn't bad enough that they lost Eli Manning for a month, but the Giants also had starting running back Brandon Jacobs and defensive end Osi Umenyiora suffer knee injuries. At that point the Giants were out of the game and the Cowboys offense had no problem moving the ball up and down the field.
according to his performance on Sunday. Jackson rushed for 58 yards on 18 carries. He also had two fumbles. Jackson was a far cry from his 2006 form but should bounce back from this terrible performance.
Kicker — Olindo Mare missed one of only two field goals he attempted in the Thursday night game. He made a 34-yard field goal, missed a 52-yard field goal and made the only extra point attempt. Kickers score minimal points in fantasy football, but Mare was on an even lower level this week.
Edited by Rachael Gray
fantasy football
Best performers:
Randy Moss
(WR, New England)
9 catches, 183 vards, 1 TD
— 9 catches, 183 yards, 1 TD
Antonio Gates
(TE, San Diego)
— 9 catches, 107 yards, 1 TD
Tony Romo (QB, Dallas)
— 354 passing yards, 5 TD
**Worst performers:**
Steven Jackson (RB, St. Louis)
— 18 carries, 58 rushing
yards, 2 fumbles lost
Matt Leinart (QB, Arizona)
— 102 passing yards, 1 TD, 2
interceptions
Larry Fitzgerald (WR, Arizona)
— 3 catches, 20 yards
Anquan Boldin (WR, Arizona)
— 4 catches, 22 yards, 1 TD
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