Welcome
Sports Outlaw's Scott Henkel brings you a weekly look at the fantasy football stock exchange known as Ballin' or Fallin'.
Scott evaluates quarterbacks, runningbacks, wide receivers, tight ends, and defenses from across the NFL and lets you know if the player or team is on the rise or falling. If a player or team is Ballin' their stock is on the rise. If a player or team is Fallin' they are losing stock.
Are your players on his list? Find out each week in Ballin' or Fallin'!
1st Down or 4th & Forever: Vol. 2
Posted 10-12-2007 at 03:38 PM by The Ram
Alright sports fans here we are! The BEST part of the year; FOOTBALL SEASON! And with that is the ushering in of another great feature Sports Outlaw offers it’s readers,
“1st Down or 4th and Forever”.
Since there are so many players to track and so little time for you to track them, we found the guy on our staff with no life at all to do all the dirty work for you. From high atop the Rocky Mountains Sports Outlaw’s Scott “The Ram” Henkel brings his biting commentary each and every week letting you know if that player in the news is a diamond in the rough or a fossilized piece of dinosaur poop.
Here’s the way it works:
A “1st Down” rating means this guy is either going nuts or showing signs of busting out of the straight jacket. Either way he’s someone you need to keep your eyes on in your fantasy football league or make a move on and start em’.
A “4th and Forever” rating means this guy was getting some love either in the pre-season or is a one week wonder and is now ready for the bench or the waiver wire. I believe the chant goes a little something like this, “OOOOOVER RAAAATED!! Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap-clap!!!”
So let’s start lighting fires and breaking hearts:
1st Down
Runningbacks:
Marion Barber: He might have a woman’s first name but the man is just flat out producing. Not just a goal line back anymore Barber is showing an ability to pick up yards BEFORE scoring a td. He’s averaging 5.9 and 6.4 yards per carry so far this season off no more than 15 touches per game. And Barber does what all fantasy football owners need to win; score touchdowns.
Marion Barber…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Willie Parker: For a second week Fast Willie has racked up the carries in blowouts. He’s had two seasons of 1,200 yards or more and is not showing any signs of slowing down this year. The Steelers are going deep with more success than last year and have had the scrubs in by the 4th quarter for both weeks’ games. And Willie is still averaging 25 carries per game. Temper your enthusiasm until he can hang a C-note on a decent defense as this was his biggest weakness from last season.
Willie Parker…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Wide Receivers:
Chad Johnson: Chad is once again outperforming his mouth. Holy crap. Is that the second or third sign of the apocalypse? I’ll get to Palmer later but suffice to say the Bengals are playing toreador defense this year. Meaning most games will be high scoring affairs. And few of the NFL’s corners are able to stop The Future HOF’er. So expect huge games to come in spurts.
Ocho Cinco…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Steve Smith: My science teachers were freaking liars. There isn’t just one universe. There’s the universe we live in, and the universe Steve Smith lives in. He just visits on Sundays to make corners and safeties cry. If you started Smith and no one else this week you had a good chance of winning. Now it WAS the Texans and any Texan fan will be quick to point out he was basically playing against what amounts to a practice squad due to injuries. But damn, that was a heck of a performance .
Steve Smith…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Quarterbacks:
Carson Palmer: I’ve never heard of a guy throwing for 400 yards and 6 touchdowns. It just doesn’t seem real. Now keep in mind he struggled yardage wise against Baltimore. But when a guy lights up a secondary like Ricky lights up a blunt, you have to stand and take notice.
Carson Palmer…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Marc Bulger: So last week I trash him. And like Jamal Lewis (fluke!!!) he makes me eat my words by going out and breaking it off in Week 2. But unilke Lewis (fluke!!!) Bulger can have some consistency despite a very puzzling lack of run support. Keep in mind the Niners aren’t terrible and he put up almost 400 yards. If Bulger can keep some kind of consistency he might be dangerous.
Marc Bulger…..1ST DOWN!!!!
4th and Forever:
Runningbacks:
Thomas Jones: With only two weeks in the books against Baltimore and the Cheatriots I’m not willing to throw him under the bus just yet. But I have to ask, what the hell? This guy’s lack of performance thus far makes as much sense as this year’s tax code. Owners just need to hope he’s a slow starter.
Thomas Jones…..4TH DOWN!!!!
Maurice Jones-Drew: He was supposed to supplant the aging Fred Taylor. I guess Mighty Mouse needs to pick on someone his own size. No touchdowns, 40 yards a game rushing, and barely any receiving yards. Betcha’ wish you had that 1st or 2nd round pick back now, huh?
Maurice Jones-Drew…..4TH DOWN!!!!
Wide Receivers:
Reggie Brown: This one is new, I promise. I tried finding someone else to lead off with in the 4th & Forever for wide outs. But I just couldn’t find someone who sucked AGAIN as bad as Reggie Brown. There’s only so much blame to be put on McWAAAAHHHHHHH’s shoulders. If you’re going to be known as the #1 receiver you can’t be consistently outperformed by the starting running back. It just isn’t done.
Reggie Brown…..4TH DOWN!!!!
Troy Williamson: If you started Vonta Leach from Houston (look THAT one up) you did better than if you started Williamson. Most rational people saw bust written all over this guy. But there were those die hards out there who claimed he spent all off-season catching 500,000 balls a day and got new bionic eyes and this was going to be the year he emerged. Vonta. Leach.
Troy Williamson …..4TH DOWN!!!!
Quarterbacks:
Alex Smith: All the excuses in the world aren’t enough to explain his season so far. The Rams and Cards are like a tune-up game for quarterbacks. Kind of like Appalachian State….ow, never mind. Futility would be an understatement of Sam Adams proportions.
Alex Smith…..4TH DOWN!!!!
Tavaris Jackson: I know he’s getting an MRI done on a bad groin. But he was nice enough to play catch with the Lions secondary before heading to the bench. There was so much hope for this guy this preseason. Now the hope is Kelly Holcomb can bring back some magic to the dome.
Tavaris Jackson…..4TH DOWN!!!!
This Week’s Cop-Out:
So I’m purposely excluding the entire offense of the Cleveland Browns. I feel Carson Palmer paid off the Cinci defense so the coaching staff will let him sling it 50 times and set a game day record. I refuse to believe the Bengals are that bad on purpose. Conspiracy is the only option.
And please, read and re-read the following statement:
JAMAL LEWIS’ PERFORMANCE WAS A FLUKE!!!
He is not rounding back into shape. He is not showing signs of his record setting year. The Bengals just suck that bad. The same goes for Anderson. Don’t be that guy who drops someone valuable to pick this guy up. I’ll laugh at you, and so will your league, and probably your family. Edwards and The Chosen One are the only one’s on that team worth a starting nod.
So that’s my opinion. If you don’t like it, sound off in the comments section below and don’t bring the weak sauce! If you like it, praise me for the bear trap tight logical thinker that I am. Thanks for your opinions either way. Until next week! See you on the forums!!
-Scott “The Ram” Henkel
“1st Down or 4th and Forever”.
Since there are so many players to track and so little time for you to track them, we found the guy on our staff with no life at all to do all the dirty work for you. From high atop the Rocky Mountains Sports Outlaw’s Scott “The Ram” Henkel brings his biting commentary each and every week letting you know if that player in the news is a diamond in the rough or a fossilized piece of dinosaur poop.
Here’s the way it works:
A “1st Down” rating means this guy is either going nuts or showing signs of busting out of the straight jacket. Either way he’s someone you need to keep your eyes on in your fantasy football league or make a move on and start em’.
A “4th and Forever” rating means this guy was getting some love either in the pre-season or is a one week wonder and is now ready for the bench or the waiver wire. I believe the chant goes a little something like this, “OOOOOVER RAAAATED!! Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap-clap!!!”
So let’s start lighting fires and breaking hearts:
1st Down
Runningbacks:
Marion Barber: He might have a woman’s first name but the man is just flat out producing. Not just a goal line back anymore Barber is showing an ability to pick up yards BEFORE scoring a td. He’s averaging 5.9 and 6.4 yards per carry so far this season off no more than 15 touches per game. And Barber does what all fantasy football owners need to win; score touchdowns.
Marion Barber…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Willie Parker: For a second week Fast Willie has racked up the carries in blowouts. He’s had two seasons of 1,200 yards or more and is not showing any signs of slowing down this year. The Steelers are going deep with more success than last year and have had the scrubs in by the 4th quarter for both weeks’ games. And Willie is still averaging 25 carries per game. Temper your enthusiasm until he can hang a C-note on a decent defense as this was his biggest weakness from last season.
Willie Parker…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Wide Receivers:
Chad Johnson: Chad is once again outperforming his mouth. Holy crap. Is that the second or third sign of the apocalypse? I’ll get to Palmer later but suffice to say the Bengals are playing toreador defense this year. Meaning most games will be high scoring affairs. And few of the NFL’s corners are able to stop The Future HOF’er. So expect huge games to come in spurts.
Ocho Cinco…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Steve Smith: My science teachers were freaking liars. There isn’t just one universe. There’s the universe we live in, and the universe Steve Smith lives in. He just visits on Sundays to make corners and safeties cry. If you started Smith and no one else this week you had a good chance of winning. Now it WAS the Texans and any Texan fan will be quick to point out he was basically playing against what amounts to a practice squad due to injuries. But damn, that was a heck of a performance .
Steve Smith…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Quarterbacks:
Carson Palmer: I’ve never heard of a guy throwing for 400 yards and 6 touchdowns. It just doesn’t seem real. Now keep in mind he struggled yardage wise against Baltimore. But when a guy lights up a secondary like Ricky lights up a blunt, you have to stand and take notice.
Carson Palmer…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Marc Bulger: So last week I trash him. And like Jamal Lewis (fluke!!!) he makes me eat my words by going out and breaking it off in Week 2. But unilke Lewis (fluke!!!) Bulger can have some consistency despite a very puzzling lack of run support. Keep in mind the Niners aren’t terrible and he put up almost 400 yards. If Bulger can keep some kind of consistency he might be dangerous.
Marc Bulger…..1ST DOWN!!!!
4th and Forever:
Runningbacks:
Thomas Jones: With only two weeks in the books against Baltimore and the Cheatriots I’m not willing to throw him under the bus just yet. But I have to ask, what the hell? This guy’s lack of performance thus far makes as much sense as this year’s tax code. Owners just need to hope he’s a slow starter.
Thomas Jones…..4TH DOWN!!!!
Maurice Jones-Drew: He was supposed to supplant the aging Fred Taylor. I guess Mighty Mouse needs to pick on someone his own size. No touchdowns, 40 yards a game rushing, and barely any receiving yards. Betcha’ wish you had that 1st or 2nd round pick back now, huh?
Maurice Jones-Drew…..4TH DOWN!!!!
Wide Receivers:
Reggie Brown: This one is new, I promise. I tried finding someone else to lead off with in the 4th & Forever for wide outs. But I just couldn’t find someone who sucked AGAIN as bad as Reggie Brown. There’s only so much blame to be put on McWAAAAHHHHHHH’s shoulders. If you’re going to be known as the #1 receiver you can’t be consistently outperformed by the starting running back. It just isn’t done.
Reggie Brown…..4TH DOWN!!!!
Troy Williamson: If you started Vonta Leach from Houston (look THAT one up) you did better than if you started Williamson. Most rational people saw bust written all over this guy. But there were those die hards out there who claimed he spent all off-season catching 500,000 balls a day and got new bionic eyes and this was going to be the year he emerged. Vonta. Leach.
Troy Williamson …..4TH DOWN!!!!
Quarterbacks:
Alex Smith: All the excuses in the world aren’t enough to explain his season so far. The Rams and Cards are like a tune-up game for quarterbacks. Kind of like Appalachian State….ow, never mind. Futility would be an understatement of Sam Adams proportions.
Alex Smith…..4TH DOWN!!!!
Tavaris Jackson: I know he’s getting an MRI done on a bad groin. But he was nice enough to play catch with the Lions secondary before heading to the bench. There was so much hope for this guy this preseason. Now the hope is Kelly Holcomb can bring back some magic to the dome.
Tavaris Jackson…..4TH DOWN!!!!
This Week’s Cop-Out:
So I’m purposely excluding the entire offense of the Cleveland Browns. I feel Carson Palmer paid off the Cinci defense so the coaching staff will let him sling it 50 times and set a game day record. I refuse to believe the Bengals are that bad on purpose. Conspiracy is the only option.
And please, read and re-read the following statement:
JAMAL LEWIS’ PERFORMANCE WAS A FLUKE!!!
He is not rounding back into shape. He is not showing signs of his record setting year. The Bengals just suck that bad. The same goes for Anderson. Don’t be that guy who drops someone valuable to pick this guy up. I’ll laugh at you, and so will your league, and probably your family. Edwards and The Chosen One are the only one’s on that team worth a starting nod.
So that’s my opinion. If you don’t like it, sound off in the comments section below and don’t bring the weak sauce! If you like it, praise me for the bear trap tight logical thinker that I am. Thanks for your opinions either way. Until next week! See you on the forums!!
-Scott “The Ram” Henkel
Total Comments 0
