Six
Players to Avoid
by Paul Eide
Fantasy Football Director
9/6/09
Frank Gore, San
Francisco
The
emergence of Glen Coffee is part of it, but Gore hasn’t played a full
season in
two years while his carries, receptions and total yards have decreased
in each
of the last three years, meaning he is definitely trending downwards.
Having
torn the ACL’s in both knees and the labrum in both shoulder’s he is
primed for
a career ender at any moment. Don’t believe me? Draft him, watch the
way he
runs and cringe all season as your blood pressure reaches dangerously
high
levels.
Brandon Marshall, Denver
Where
do I
start? I’ve actually been at drafts where owners are selecting this guy
in the
fourth round and earlier and are happy
about it. Why would you draft someone that high on the thought that
once he
gets traded he will explode? The Broncos have said they aren’t trading
him, and
a guy with his mental makeup could go AWOL at any moment, screwing you
as a fantasy
owner big time. Wouldn’t you prefer a guy with less sex appeal that
will
produce where he is now? Like TJ
Housmandzadeh or even Wes Welker? Plus, neither of those guys are
maniacs.
Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville
Yeah,
you
heard me; avoid MJD. He has never taken more than 200 carries in anyone
single
season, durability is a huge concern, as he simply is not big enough to
be an
every down back in the NFL. And yes, he may catch 50+ passes as a
receiver but
who cares if he isn’t productive carrying the ball? You may as well
over pay
for Leon Washington if receiving RB’s get your juices flowing.
Jones-Drew no
longer has the luxury of sneaking up on anyone as well; opposing
defenses are
now gearing up to stop him specifically. MJD had two games of over 100
yards
rushing in 2008, and one game with over 100 yards receiving, and after
five
games in 2008 the “bust” word was being thrown around quite liberally.
Remember
that, Fantasy pundits? I do. #1 overall selection ahead of Adrian
Peterson? What?? One rushing TD in final five
games of 2008.
Marques Colston, New Orleans
Remember
what happened after former Panthers RB Stephen Davis had micro fracture
knee
surgery? Yeah, me neither. So why is more not being made of this
anything but
“minor” offseason surgery? In addition Colston also had midseason thumb
surgery
last year, which may have explained the number of drops in the games he
was
healthy. Colston gave fantasy owners nothing but headaches in 2008, and
ultimately gave way to Lance Moore as the Saints #1 WR. Avoid the Noid.
Roy Williams, Dallas
19
catches
in 10 games. That’s all this former stud WR could muster after a trade
between
the Lions and Cowboys brought him to Dallas last season. In an
offense where he
should have emerged, as he was finally not constantly double teamed
thanks to the
presence of TO and Jason Witten, Williams disintegrated from a fantasy
standpoint, producing less that Patrick Crayton and Martellus Bennett. The experts have him on par with other WR’s
like TJ Housmandzadeh and DeSean Jackson, but don’t buy the hype.
Dustin Keller, New York Jets
Why is he
rated higher than John Carlson or Owen Daniels everywhere I look? No
one
benefited more than Keller from arrival of Brett Favre last year, as
Favre has
always made the tight end statistically productive, and with his
departure no one
suffers more. And sure Mark Sanchez has looked solid in limited duty,
but
selecting Keller to be a starter bar none has “bad idea” written all
over it.
