Through the ups and downs of fantasy football, if you’ve been reading these commentaries, you know mine have mostly been downs — until I started Miles Austin in all three of my leagues this week. I’m finally a happy camper — for now — but how did you do this week? Here again are a few men that made you smile and made you tear your hair out in Week 7.
MATT FORTE — He was pretty high on a lot of our draft boards, but Fort√É.√© simply hasn’t paid the dividends that we were all hoping for. He’s had one solid game in which he ran for 121 yards and a score in Week 4 against, well, Detroit. He has just 197 yards in his other five games with no touchdowns. Jay Cutler has attempted 80 total passes in the past two games for the Bears — it has simply become a pass-first offense.
HAKEEM NICKS — Four straight weeks with a touchdown? Yep, Nicks is waiver-wire money — you should grab him if he’s still available as a flex play or bye-week fill-in.
GREG JENNINGS — Despite Aaron Rodgers’s success, Jennings has not seen big numbers. Zero touchdowns and 147 yards in three games (including matchups against the soft Lions and Browns) are not impressive enough to start him at this point.
DEANGELO WILLIAMS — Fantasy owners got worried by weeks 3 and 5 when Williams made only 104 rushing yards and zero touchdowns for the lowly Panthers. But in weeks 6 and 7 he put up 241 yards and three touchdowns. Nice to know he’s back to the good form we expected of him.
MARION BARBER — Is he still battling his injury? He has had two subpar weeks, compiling 110 yards in the past two games with no scores, compared with 244 yards and three touchdowns in his first three games. Speaking of underachieving Cowboys …
JASON WITTEN — OK, maybe that’s not fair. Tony Romo loves throwing it to Miles Austin lately. But last year, Romo (more so by obligation) threw to Terrell Owens a lot, and Witten still got great stats. With just one touchdown and his highest yardage total at 77, it’s time to panic. He’s getting five catches every game, and that just isn’t enough to make him the fantasy stud he was supposed to be.
JOSEPH ADDAI — I really didn’t like Addai in the draft; I wouldn’t have even taken him off the waiver wire because of how badly he screwed me over last year. But Addai has scored once in every game this year except in Week 2, and though his rushing yardage totals haven’t been higher than 64 in any game this year, his consistent double-digit fantasy numbers are pleasing owners who took a chance on him.
PHILIP RIVERS — Rivers hasn’t really dazzled fantasy owners, but he’s one of the only quarterbacks that hasn’t had an awful week statistically. He’s been quietly consistent, but Sunday’s game against the Chiefs was his first turnover-free game of the season. He had three fumbles against Denver the week before, and those turnovers will cost you.
REGGIE BUSH — Bush’s potential is always perceived to be through the roof, and a touchdown in each of the past two games isn’t bad, but over those two games he has compiled just 50 yards from scrimmage. He’s getting single-digit rushing carries with a crowded backfield and not getting a lot of receptions, an area in which he was usually seen to be dangerous. His value has plummeted, and I can’t endorse starting him at all right now.