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Let's jump right into our Upgraded and Downgraded Players.? As we head dow=
n=20 the home stretch, identifying those players moving up or down can be the= =20 difference between making the playoffs or watching from the sidelines.? A= s=20 we head into our 13th week of listing these players, it=01,s inevitable th= at=20 some players will have made both the upgrade or downgrade list.? Make sure= =20 you understand, what we=01,re talking about is players that are moving.? I= n=20 other words, a player like TE Chad Lewis could appear on the downgrade lis= t=20 and still be good enough to be a starter in your league.? It just means I= =01,m=20 concerned about the way he seems to be heading.? Likewise, a player like WR= =20 Willie Jackson may make the upgrade list even though he=01,s still fairly = far=20 down the list of WRs.? It=01,s all about which direction players are movi= ng.? =20 Keeping an eye on these trends can very often make all the difference. Joe ? Upgrades and Downgrades.? Some of these players are obvious moves up or= =20 down and some aren't as clear.? Here's my list of guys I see moving this= =20 week. ? QBs Moving Up QB Gus Frerotte (Den)? You have to love Frerotte stepping in and performin= g=20 like he did.? Of course, when you throw the ball 58 times, good things oft= en=20 happen.? When you throw the ball 58 times with a 62% completion percentage= ,=20 great things happen.? Look for more of the same. QB Kerry Collins (NYG)? The Giants may be struggling but Collins continues= =20 to put up excellent Fantasy Football numbers.? With guys like Kurt Warner= =20 and Daunte Culpepper, it's easy to get into the mindset that great FF QBs= =20 come from great teams.? Not always the case as Collins is showing.? Often= =20 times, it's teams with vulnerable defenses like New York or San Francisco= =20 that provides the QB motivation to play catch-up.? Collins looks comfortab= le=20 in the pocket and if he ever goes a game with both Amani Toomer and Ike=20 Hilliard healthy for four quarters, who knows what might happen. QB Brett Favre (GB)? He's baaaaack.? I said last week that Favre coming ba= ck=20 on the bad foot would be storybook material for a storybook kind of guy an= d=20 Favre delivered.? 2 TDs and 301 yards have the Packers riding high and=20 believing they can?make some noise.? WR Bill Schroeder is becoming an=20 excellent #2 WR and RB Ahman Green is filling the void left by Dorsey=20 Levens.?=20 QB Aaron Brooks (NO)? I may be in the minority (imagine that...) but I was= =20 very impressed with Brooks taking over for Jeff Blake.? He was not a #2 QB= =20 like Jim Miller in Chicago that knew he'd be inserted any minute.? Brooks= =20 was thrust into the game and responded very nicely.? He's skinny at #205 b= ut=20 tall (6' 4")? Big league arm and nice mobility.? Of particular note was hi= s=20 tendency to throw to WR Willie Jackson.? We'll see if that continues.? Sur= e,=20 he's a long shot but if you're desperate for a QB, he could be a nice =20 surprise. QB Ryan Leaf (SD)? Hold the presses, Ryan Leaf makes a Joe Bryant Upgrade= =20 list.? Seriously, he's an easy target and I'll admit to taking my share of= =20 shots but you can't deny the guy has skills.? Yes, there were some fluky= =20 plays with Crockett injuring himself on the long TD but I liked what I saw= .?=20 (although the 3 TDs on 13 completions did make for a wild looking box scor= e=20 for Leaf)? He's got some weapons in Jeff Graham, Curtis Conway and his bes= t=20 receiver, TE Freddie Jones.? He's as flaky as they come but he might be=20 worth a look if you're dying at QB. ? RBs Moving Up RB Fred Taylor (Jac)? Taylor put together one of the best performances of= =20 the year Sunday night.? The fact that he did it against the very tough rus= h=20 defense of the Steelers makes it even all the more impressive.? This isn't= =20 like rolling up 200 yards on the Cowboys or Cardinals.? Clearly, there's= =20 reason for huge hope as if he can do this against Pittsburgh, he can do it= =20 against anyone. RB Jamal Lewis (Bal)? Once again, Lewis ran hard.? He's got to be consider= ed=20 one of the better RBs in the game right now.? I still worry about how=20 durable he'll be but he's looked great lately averaging 6.7 yards per carr= y=20 Sunday for 187 yards.? If it weren't for that pesky Priest Holmes vulturin= g=20 a TD here and there, he'd be even higher. RB Darnell Autry (Phi)? Autry refuses to hand over the #1 RB job to Stanle= y=20 Pritchett or anyone else.? He's not very flashy but he gets the job done= =20 both rushing and receiving.? The Eagles are suddenly looking very good in= =20 the standings and Autry figures to be a large part of that success. RB Ahman Green (GB)? I'd be a little worried right now if I were Dorsey=20 Levens.? Green averaged 6.4 yards per carry Sunday as he rolled up 180 tot= al=20 yards.? Most importantly, was his number of fumbles: Zero.? No one's ever= =20 doubted his incredible physical skills, but now he seems to be bringing th= e=20 mental game to go with it. RB Mike Anderson (Den)? I hate to say it but Terrell Davis is doing a grea= t=20 impression of Isaac Bruce's maddening 1998 on again, off again season.? As= =20 you know, Davis missed another game and once again, Anderson stepped in=20 nicely.?? By now, you know it's tough to predict what Davis is going to do= =20 each week so it looks to me as if Anderson could be a very nice pickup. RB Jamal Anderson (Atl)? Anderson's 4.5 yards per carry reminded many of h= is=20 1998 season.? He's running with power and speed and finally appears to be= =20 over the knee injury.? I think he's been over it physically for a while no= w=20 but it seems he's handling the mental aspect too. ? WRs Moving Up WR Willie Jackson (NO)? New QB Aaron Brooks did a nice job after being=20 thrust onto the scene and Willie Jackson responded well with 4 catches and= =20 85 yards including 2 TDs.? Often times, you'll see a backup QB favor the= =20 backup WRs as they're familiar with them.? We'll see if this continues.? I= 'm=20 guessing Brooks will get comfortable throwing to Joe Horn this week but=20 Jackson is still definitely worth a shot. WR Joe Jurevicius (NYG)? As I mentioned above, QB Kerry Collins is playing= =20 very well. With Ike Hilliard set to miss some time, Jurevicius should get = a=20 chance to show what he can do.? He's long been a Fantasy Football tease=20 showing flashes but never really having the opportunity for playing time.?= =20 Let's see what he can do. WR Terry Glenn (NE)? I've been?high on Glenn since June.? He made me look= =20 good early on but had cooled midseason.? He's now back warming up again an= d=20 for you Glenn owners, your patience is paying off.? QB Drew Bledsoe didn't= =20 have a TD, but he did roll up the yards.? Once again, Glenn was the prime = =20 target. WR Jimmy Smith (Jac)? Smith looks to be back along with RB Fred Taylor as= =20 the Jags awakened their offense?Sunday night.? Smith seems back in synch= =20 with QB Mark Brunell and the threat of Taylor helps open the passing game.= ?=20 There may not be enough balls to go around but you can bet there are enoug= h=20 for Smith. WR James McNight (Dal)? Yes, he's a long shot considering the horrid play = of=20 Troy Aikman Sunday but you have to like a WR who's getting a ton of looks.= ?=20 And McNight's getting those looks from Aikman.? Can't make plays without t= he=20 ball... ? TEs Moving Up TE Jay Reimersma (Buf)? We've been waiting for Reimersma to return to form= =20 and he looks to be on his way.? He was heavily involved and seemed=20 comfortable with "new" QB Rob Johnson.? He can be a vital part of the=20 offense and you have to think Johnson will continue to utilize him. TE Kris Mangum (Car)? Mangum's no Wesley Walls yet but he does make for a= =20 nice target.? 4 catches for 47 yards is an improvement from what they've h= ad=20 at TE and it looks like he's back and healthy now. ? Players Moving Down ? QBs Moving Down QB Steve Beuerlein (Car)? There's only so much a QB can do by himself.? He= =20 lost Wesley Walls a couple of weeks ago. I thought Beuerlein could handle= =20 losing Tshimanga Biakabutuka but losing WR Donald Hayes with a groin injur= y=20 proved too much.? His OL is less than stellar and he's just not having muc= h=20 time to throw.? =20 QB Shaun King (TB)? King swings back toward the side of mediocrity after a= =20 91 yard passing effort against Chicago.? It looked that bad too.? Even for= a=20 Les Steckel Offense.? Losing Mike Alstott for several weeks will not be a= =20 positive as teams now can key on Warrick Dunn and Keyshawn Johnson. QB Steve McNair (Ten)? Not all the turnovers Sunday were McNair's fault bu= t=20 he certainly had a hand in them.? His problem remains a lack of healthy WR= s=20 and a stellar RB in Eddie George who can carry the load.? Last year, it wa= s=20 McNair vulturing TDs from George but it doesn't seem to be a problem this= =20 year.?=20 QB Jake Plummer (Ari)? If you're a regular reader, you know I'm not a=20 Plummer fan.? I'm especially not a fan now that he's hurt as well.? He may= =20 get back soon but it won't matter for this team that's in shambles=20 offensively. ? RBs Moving Down RB Thomas Jones (Ari)? Jones' was recovering from pneumonia Sunday but=20 still, you like to see a better yards per carry average than negative 2... RB Kevin Faulk (NE)? Either Bill Belichick is psychotic or Kevin Faulk is= =20 not a very good football player.? How else do you explain Faulk earning on= e=20 carry while his RB partner J.R. Redmond was inactive?? Patrick Pass got th= e=20 bulk of the work but was ineffective.? I'm guessing, it's the fumbling tha= t=20 earned his spot in the doghouse.?=20 RB Ron Dayne (NYG)? As we've said so often in the past, Ron Dayne's=20 productivity is tied directly to how well the Giants are playing.? If New= =20 York is leading, you'll see Dayne.? If they're trailing, it's the Tiki=20 Barber show.? Lately, it's been more Tiki than Dayne.? And if the Giants= =20 don't make some improvements on defense, I don't see that changing. RB Travis Prentice (Cle)? Prentice got folks excited early in the year but= =20 he's been disappointing of late.? Prentice is losing carries to Jamel Whit= e=20 and that doesn't look to change anytime soon.?=20 ? WRs Moving Down WR Marcus Robinson (Chi)? Robinson is still the best WR on the team but it= =20 appears the QB rotation is affecting his play.? With Shane Matthews=20 starting, Robinson had 5 receptions for 53 yards.? While those numbers are= =20 certainly not horrible, they're not quite what we expect from Marcus.? He= =20 could improve with another week of practice but I'm a little concerned rig= ht=20 now. WR Joe Horn (NO)? As I mentioned above, I like Aaron Brooks a good bit but= =20 there is no way that he's anything but a significant downgrade from Jeff= =20 Blake.? Of special worry was the fact Brooks seemed more comfortable=20 throwing the ball to Willie Jackson. WR Donald Hayes?(Car)? Hayes left with a groin injury Sunday and his statu= s=20 for next week is uncertain.? He's a vital part of the offense and will be= =20 missed if he can't go. WR Wayne Chrebet (NYJ)? As the Jets have struggled, so has Chrebet.? He=20 turned in another small game Sunday with 22 yards on 2 catches.? These=20 numbers just won't get it done for a #1 WR. WR Ike Hilliard (NYG)? 2 weeks ago, it was Amani Toomer taking the hard=20 shot.? Last week it was Hilliard with the highlight hit.? He looks like he= =20 may miss a game or two which is bad news for Hilliard owners but good news= =20 of Joe Jurevicius owners. ? TEs Moving Down TE Reggie Kelly (Atl)? Kelly's just too up and down to rely on to any=20 degree.? When he's featured in the gameplan, he's?a nice player and can be= =20 effective.? It's just that it's so hard to guess what game that will be... TE Anthony Becht (NYJ)? Another Jet receiver that's struggling.? Becht is= =20 frustrating as he'll show some nice flashes and then disappear for long=20 stretches.? I'm afraid to say he's starting to look like...a Jet's TE. ? ? To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: cheatsheets-unsubscribe@egroups.com
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