Saints vs. Skins: A Fantasy Perspective
By: Vedder of the Die Hard Eagles blog.
After last week’s dismal offensive performance against the defending Super Bowl Champs, the New York Giants, it is hard to get motivated to discuss any Washington Redskins as potential starters for your fantasy football team. It is arguable to claim, but last week did provide some hope with the output from RB Clinton Portis. WR Santana Moss indeed did have a TD, but it was not a productive day for the team’s number one receiver. With Washington down the entire game, it gave the passing game an opportunity to post better than average statistics and only Antwaan Randel El could be considered as benefiting from that opportunity but his numbers weren’t anything to make fantasy owners happy. Whether it was the offensive game plan or the Giants stingy defense, TE Chris Cooley was a huge week 1 disappointment as he only hauled in one catch.
Going forward, this could be a good game for the Washington offense to prove their critics wrong. The New Orleans Saints have a decent but inconsistent defense. The run defense in particular is suspect. To protect QB Jason Campbell and put him in the best position to succeed, I look for the head coach, Jim Zorn, to run the ball as much as possible. I see Clinton Portis getting the majority of the carries, with RB Ladell Betts giving him some rest and changing up things a bit with his different style of running. Portis is definitely worth starting this week versus the Saints and I look for him to benefit from playing against a suspect run defense as well as a game plan looking to keep the ball out of Campbell’s hands along with keeping the Saints high octane offense off the field as much as possible.
With a solid running game performed, it could open up things for Campbell and the passing game. I expect Campbell to throw for around 200 yards and potentially one TD. So, I would look elsewhere for a fantasy football QB. TE Chris Cooley should bounce back and have at least foru to five catches as I expect Zorn to make amends for last week and get Cooley back into the attack. WRs Santana Moss and Antwaan Randel El might get lucky and break one for a score. But, I would not recommend making either one a starting receiver this week unless you are short on WR options.
On the other side of things, the Saints have one of the most interesting offenses in the NFL. Led by QB Drew Brees, the offensive could provide fireworks at anytime. Brees is a sure thing starter each week, especially against a questionable Redskins defense and secondary. The Saints have a very good running game, but since it consists of multiple players (Bush, Thomas, McCallister etc), I would not recommend starting any Saints RBs this week unless you want to start Reggie Bush as your 2nd RB or a Flex player. I would also start Bush as a RB if your league rewards points for receptions as he has the potential for 90-100 catches this year. Top WR Marquis Colston should always be in your starting lineup even though he had a less than average game last week. TE Jeremy Shockey is a top five TE in fantasy football. So if you have him, I believe he should be capable of a very good game, from a fantasy perspective.
All other Saints offensive players should be on your bench.
It’s not an easy game to analyze. Clinton Portis, Drew Brees, and Marquis Colston are the only sure fire starters this week from this game. Both Cooley and Shockey should put up comparable numbers. Good luck.
