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 and Forever: Vol. 6
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 OR JUST PLAIN PISSED ME OFF. 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:
Adrian Peterson (MIN): Well this one was easy. But not as easy as Peterson administering a wood shed beating to the Chicago defense. Prior to a string of injuries in college Peterson’s NFL success was more of a sure thing than scoring on a first date with Paris. Those injuries made many of us fantasy football knowitalls wince at the thought of drafting him. The talent was always there but the injury risk was hanging around him like one of Mike’s farts in a room. Well Peterson has shown his skill in a true statement game reminding us all who doubted him that injury is the one thing you can never predict in fantasy football
Adrian Peterson…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Maurice Jones-Drew: Representing the Lolli-Pop Guild MJD racked up over 180 combined yards and two scores….against the Texans, but still, that’s pretty damn good from a guy who’s been lagging all year. He had a spectacular season last year which fed anticipation of emerging as a new star in Jacksonville. His early lack of production led to a great deal of doubts. Here is a great opportunity to remind folks that fantasy football is like trading stocks. Never sell low. If that can’t miss stock is lagging right after you bought it, yes you might feel dumb in the short term. But taking a long term strategy is how you become the Warren Buffet of fantasy football. This isn’t his “sell high” point, so hold what cha’ got.
Maurice Jones-Drew…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Wide Receivers:
T.J. Houshmandzadeh: There’s no way I’m trying to spell his name without looking it up first. Don’t look now but Cinci’s #2 wideout just logged his 3rd 100 yard games and two of those were for 140 yards. Housh has also scored in every single game this year. To say he’s playing out of his mind would be an understatement. He could end up with more touchdowns than letters in his last name if he keeps up this pace....14 just in case you don't want to count.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh …..1ST DOWN!!!!
Wes Welker: Yup, the Pats offense is smoking hot this season. We’re talking Salma Hayek or Scarlett Johansson hot. A big reason for it all is the play of Welker. While Randy is playing like he did in the Clinton administration the other guy who’s putting up consistent numbers is Welker. It seems there isn’t much to slow down the Chowdah Machine so keeping Welker in your line-up makes some pretty good sense going forward.
Wes Welker…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Quarterbacks:
Tom Brady: There needed to be a mercy rule for the Pats/Boys game. Honestly, his 5 td 300+ yard performance single handedly kept me in contention of my lone win this past weekend. I’m secure enough to say it for all the other fantasy football owners who also had to start back-ups like Corell Buckhalter this past week due to the bye week, “I love you Tom.”
Tom Brady…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Jeff Garcia: You want an interesting stat; Jeff is hanging onto a 103 quarterback rating and has thrown 5 tds and no picks so far this season. He’s been up and down all season …ok mostly down. But without a legitimate running game he’s going to be throwing it A LOT more the rest of the season. So while he’s not likely to win you a game (I still love you Tom) he hasn’t been throwing tons of picks.
Jeff Garcia…..1ST DOWN!!!!
4th and Forever
Runningbacks:
Larry Johnson: And you thought all I did was scroll down on the stat sheets to pick the weekly winners and losers, eh? You know what; I don’t care if he got over 100 yards and a td. It took him 31 carries to do it against a defense that made many fantasy football owners’ think Jamal Lewis was good again. Add that to his crap attitude and lack of maturity and he gets this week’s first…..4TH DOWN!!!!
Lendale White: Day Old Doughnut is just plain not good. I can’t tell you if he’s just undisciplined and the only extra push up he needs to really do is the one away from the buffet line or if he’s just another big (read fat) man who would rather shake (read jiggle) than plow through tacklers ala. Ron Dayne. But the bottom line for him is he’s in his second year and a high draft pick and still cannot separate himself from Glass Joe Brown. He got plenty of chances this past weekend and didn’t make much of the opportunity. I don’t care that Vince was out. That is the exact time when a guy drafted that high is supposed to step up.
Lendale White…..4TH DOWN!!!!
Wide Receivers:
The Entire Receiving Corp of the Atlanta Falcons: Alright here it is, these guys are freaking bums. I counted AT LEAST 6 drops in the few moments I watched that game. It was a horror show. Joey caught my wrath last week and this week he gets my pity. You cannot drop that many passes at the professional level. If I were Arthur Blank my first order of business would be to fire the entire squad. My second order of business would be to pay Ben Affleck enough money to never, ever, ever, do another movie again. Ever.
Falcon Recievers…..4TH DOWN!!!!
Quarterbacks:
Gus Frerotte: Headbutt Frerotte reminded all NFL owners why he should be selling insurance and not playing NFL football. When does Bulger come back, again? I did the math, if you started him in a standard scoring system he netted you -5 points. If you DID start him in a standard scoring league you are in a world of trouble. Here’s your clipboard Gus.
Gus Frerotte …..4TH DOWN!!!!
Chad Pennington: Come the hell on Chad! Thomas Jones awakes from his coma, you’ve got two 1k yard receivers to throw to, AND people are calling for your job and you go out and stink. WTF? I admit it; I’ve got him in one league as my back up. I honestly contemplated not drafting my starter and going with another position knowing Pennington would be there later in the hopes that he was just getting undervalued due to injuries. And I’d like to take this opportunity to thank that little voice inside my head for steering me clear of that disaster. So thank you Jack Daniels.
Chad Pennington …..4TH DOWN!!!!
This Week’s Off Topic Rant:
First one goes to Vinny Testaverde He's been on the Panthers roster for exactly 3 days before he starts for them. At 43 years he put up over 200 yards. I love this kind of performance. He's still learning player's names much less plays. Again, I love it when old guys play well especially since he's officially old enough to have fathered some of the Panther's rookies.
Is it me or is Tony Kornheiser one of the most annoying people on the planet? Seriously, Madden made me want to jab pencils in my ears and I often watched games on mute because of his marble-mouth blathering. But Kornheiser brings annoying to a whole new level. Sitting here “working” I can’t quite put my finger on why his commentary makes me want to go out and kick puppies. Rest assured that if I’m able to watch the game this coming week I will write down and post here the quote(s) of his that drive me nuts.
To put my loathing for him into perspective: I would rather listen toTroy Aikmen and Joe Buck. Yes, THAT much.
So that’s my opinion. If you don’t like it, sound off in the comments section below! 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 in the forums!
-Scott “The Ram” Henkel
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 OR JUST PLAIN PISSED ME OFF. 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 DownRunningbacks:
Adrian Peterson (MIN): Well this one was easy. But not as easy as Peterson administering a wood shed beating to the Chicago defense. Prior to a string of injuries in college Peterson’s NFL success was more of a sure thing than scoring on a first date with Paris. Those injuries made many of us fantasy football knowitalls wince at the thought of drafting him. The talent was always there but the injury risk was hanging around him like one of Mike’s farts in a room. Well Peterson has shown his skill in a true statement game reminding us all who doubted him that injury is the one thing you can never predict in fantasy football
Adrian Peterson…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Maurice Jones-Drew: Representing the Lolli-Pop Guild MJD racked up over 180 combined yards and two scores….against the Texans, but still, that’s pretty damn good from a guy who’s been lagging all year. He had a spectacular season last year which fed anticipation of emerging as a new star in Jacksonville. His early lack of production led to a great deal of doubts. Here is a great opportunity to remind folks that fantasy football is like trading stocks. Never sell low. If that can’t miss stock is lagging right after you bought it, yes you might feel dumb in the short term. But taking a long term strategy is how you become the Warren Buffet of fantasy football. This isn’t his “sell high” point, so hold what cha’ got.
Maurice Jones-Drew…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Wide Receivers:
T.J. Houshmandzadeh: There’s no way I’m trying to spell his name without looking it up first. Don’t look now but Cinci’s #2 wideout just logged his 3rd 100 yard games and two of those were for 140 yards. Housh has also scored in every single game this year. To say he’s playing out of his mind would be an understatement. He could end up with more touchdowns than letters in his last name if he keeps up this pace....14 just in case you don't want to count.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh …..1ST DOWN!!!!
Wes Welker: Yup, the Pats offense is smoking hot this season. We’re talking Salma Hayek or Scarlett Johansson hot. A big reason for it all is the play of Welker. While Randy is playing like he did in the Clinton administration the other guy who’s putting up consistent numbers is Welker. It seems there isn’t much to slow down the Chowdah Machine so keeping Welker in your line-up makes some pretty good sense going forward.
Wes Welker…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Quarterbacks:
Tom Brady: There needed to be a mercy rule for the Pats/Boys game. Honestly, his 5 td 300+ yard performance single handedly kept me in contention of my lone win this past weekend. I’m secure enough to say it for all the other fantasy football owners who also had to start back-ups like Corell Buckhalter this past week due to the bye week, “I love you Tom.”
Tom Brady…..1ST DOWN!!!!
Jeff Garcia: You want an interesting stat; Jeff is hanging onto a 103 quarterback rating and has thrown 5 tds and no picks so far this season. He’s been up and down all season …ok mostly down. But without a legitimate running game he’s going to be throwing it A LOT more the rest of the season. So while he’s not likely to win you a game (I still love you Tom) he hasn’t been throwing tons of picks.
Jeff Garcia…..1ST DOWN!!!!
4th and ForeverRunningbacks:
Larry Johnson: And you thought all I did was scroll down on the stat sheets to pick the weekly winners and losers, eh? You know what; I don’t care if he got over 100 yards and a td. It took him 31 carries to do it against a defense that made many fantasy football owners’ think Jamal Lewis was good again. Add that to his crap attitude and lack of maturity and he gets this week’s first…..4TH DOWN!!!!
Lendale White: Day Old Doughnut is just plain not good. I can’t tell you if he’s just undisciplined and the only extra push up he needs to really do is the one away from the buffet line or if he’s just another big (read fat) man who would rather shake (read jiggle) than plow through tacklers ala. Ron Dayne. But the bottom line for him is he’s in his second year and a high draft pick and still cannot separate himself from Glass Joe Brown. He got plenty of chances this past weekend and didn’t make much of the opportunity. I don’t care that Vince was out. That is the exact time when a guy drafted that high is supposed to step up.
Lendale White…..4TH DOWN!!!!
Wide Receivers:
The Entire Receiving Corp of the Atlanta Falcons: Alright here it is, these guys are freaking bums. I counted AT LEAST 6 drops in the few moments I watched that game. It was a horror show. Joey caught my wrath last week and this week he gets my pity. You cannot drop that many passes at the professional level. If I were Arthur Blank my first order of business would be to fire the entire squad. My second order of business would be to pay Ben Affleck enough money to never, ever, ever, do another movie again. Ever.
Falcon Recievers…..4TH DOWN!!!!
Quarterbacks:
Gus Frerotte: Headbutt Frerotte reminded all NFL owners why he should be selling insurance and not playing NFL football. When does Bulger come back, again? I did the math, if you started him in a standard scoring system he netted you -5 points. If you DID start him in a standard scoring league you are in a world of trouble. Here’s your clipboard Gus.
Gus Frerotte …..4TH DOWN!!!!
Chad Pennington: Come the hell on Chad! Thomas Jones awakes from his coma, you’ve got two 1k yard receivers to throw to, AND people are calling for your job and you go out and stink. WTF? I admit it; I’ve got him in one league as my back up. I honestly contemplated not drafting my starter and going with another position knowing Pennington would be there later in the hopes that he was just getting undervalued due to injuries. And I’d like to take this opportunity to thank that little voice inside my head for steering me clear of that disaster. So thank you Jack Daniels.
Chad Pennington …..4TH DOWN!!!!
This Week’s Off Topic Rant:
First one goes to Vinny Testaverde He's been on the Panthers roster for exactly 3 days before he starts for them. At 43 years he put up over 200 yards. I love this kind of performance. He's still learning player's names much less plays. Again, I love it when old guys play well especially since he's officially old enough to have fathered some of the Panther's rookies.
Is it me or is Tony Kornheiser one of the most annoying people on the planet? Seriously, Madden made me want to jab pencils in my ears and I often watched games on mute because of his marble-mouth blathering. But Kornheiser brings annoying to a whole new level. Sitting here “working” I can’t quite put my finger on why his commentary makes me want to go out and kick puppies. Rest assured that if I’m able to watch the game this coming week I will write down and post here the quote(s) of his that drive me nuts.
To put my loathing for him into perspective: I would rather listen toTroy Aikmen and Joe Buck. Yes, THAT much.
So that’s my opinion. If you don’t like it, sound off in the comments section below! 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 in the forums!
-Scott “The Ram” Henkel
Total Comments 11
Comments
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I wish I had Brady
but at least Brees is starting to play
Posted 10-18-2007 at 01:39 AM by eaglechick
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Tom has been crazy this year. He's at 21 touchdowns already. 2 picks. That's just not human.Posted 10-18-2007 at 08:58 AM by The Ram 
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personally i love tony kornheiser. i think hes witty and brilliant.Posted 10-18-2007 at 09:10 AM by Da Bomb - way to go out on a limb there and call brady a 1st down... LOL
Maybe now you will tell us that A-Rod is going to be the AL MVP. The rest of the information was great... just thought I would throw that in the mix.Posted 10-18-2007 at 09:14 AM by drworm - Brady's pimp-slapping of the Cowboys was undeniable....like Bombs terrible taste in color commentators.Posted 10-18-2007 at 10:13 AM by The Ram
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I love Tom, tooPosted 10-19-2007 at 01:18 PM by Hawks Eye - Salma Hayek, TE?Posted 10-19-2007 at 05:35 PM by Coachnorm
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Why don't you like Affleck? He is decent.
Also Tony on PTI is fine but on MNF he is a bit annoying.
Am I the only person who likes Joe Buck?Posted 10-20-2007 at 09:30 PM by nicholete - I like Joe Buck
Posted 10-21-2007 at 02:15 AM by eaglechick - i cant stand joe buck. his voice makes me want to hurl. he is a self righteous prick.Posted 10-21-2007 at 09:14 AM by Da Bomb
- well, i can't stand moose johnston. or tony siragusa, for that matter. although the stuff about the bongos yesterday was pretty funnyPosted 10-22-2007 at 11:55 AM by eaglechick
