FFI: FIRE & ICE REPORT

FFI: FIRE & ICE
September 20th, 2007

Your Weekly update of players who are hot (on Fire) and their “stock is rising” and those who are not (Ice cold) with their “stock sinking!”

FIRE

Week 2 of the NFL was filled with more action and explosions than a 4th of July celebration. With high-scoring, lots of touchdowns, tons of yardage, week 2 was Fantasy Football.

Here are some of the Notable “Hot Players” from week two;

· QB Brett Favre tossed three touchdowns
· QB Derek Anderson fired 5 touchdowns
· QB Marc Bulger passed for 368 yards
· RB Jamal Lewis broke free for 216 yards rushing
· RB Lamont Jordan rushed for 159 yards
· WR Chad Johnson caught 11 passes for 209 yards with 2tds
· WR Deion Branch has 122 yards receiving
· WR Isaac Bruce pulled down 8 passes for 145 yards
· TE Todd Heap caught 7 passes for 76 yards and a score

Quarterbacks on the rise…

Leading all field generals through two weeks of the NFL, the Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Brady is the highest ranked starting quarterback in the league with a rating of 134.2. He has also averaged 288 yards passing per game while tossing 6 touchdowns in his first two starts!
Take: Brady takes his bunch on the road to Buffalo and looks to keep this cooking.

In Big “D” the Cowboys are getting more than excited about their teams chances, especially with the play of young quarterback Tony Romo. In his first two games this season, Romo has passed for 531 yards (265.5-yds/gm) with 6 touchdowns and is the second highest rated passer (119.3).
Take: Romo will be tested Sunday night when he faces the NFC Champion Bears, but he appears to be a quick study and could pass with flying colors.

The Bengal’s quarterback Carson Palmer had a career day in week 2 passing for over 400 yards and tossing 6 touchdowns. His big passing day helped raised his season totals to 595 yards passing with a league leading 8 touchdowns.
Take: Carson is more than just on fire, he’s En Fuego and has a very good match-up this weekend against the Seahawks.

Quietly Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme has worked his way back toward the top of the upper echelon of NFL passers. In two weeks Delhomme has thrown 6 touchdowns and achieved a passer rating of 112.2 (7th).
Take: As long as WR Steve Smith is on the field Delhomme’s numbers will continue to be strong. Delhomme should find continued success in week 3.

Running backs on the rise….

The Broncos, like machines just keep producing ground gainers year after year and running back Travis Henry appears to be no exception. Through his first two games, Henry has gained 267 yards (133.5-yds/gm) in two games this season and has looked strong averaging over 5 yards per carry. The Broncos have consisitently been amongst the top of the league in rushing and Henry looks as though he will keep them there again this season.
Take: The Jags roll into town on Sunday in week 3 and when looking at the problems they had with Tennessee, Henry should be able to notch another 100-yard game.

Another team that breeds top runners simply because they have one is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Running back Willie Parker broke into the league only a few years ago and in 2005 as the starter in Steel-Town began his surge to the top. Rusihing for over 1200 yards in 05, and then topping 1400 last season, he has become one of the best runners since his arrival. This season Parker is 3rd in the NFL with 235 yards.
Take: Parker faces a tough test against the Niners, but the Steelers have too much balance. It will be tough for San Francisco to stop Parker who will get plenty of carries.

With the loss of Tiki Barber (retirement) and Brandon Jacobs falling to injury early in the season, many would have thought the Giants running game would have become non-existent. Enter running back Derrick Ward, who has breathed life into the Giants ground game rushing for 179 yards this season.
Take: Ward has yet to face a stellar run defense and Sunday he’ll face the Redskins run defense that is allowing 4.5 yards per carry, look for good yardage.

Wide Receivers on the rise…

The Jets young wideout Jerricho Cotchery is quickly making a name for himself and gaining recognition in the NFL. Last week against a tough Ravens defense Cotchery accumulated 165 yards receiving elevating his season total to 222 yards (5th best in the NFL).
Take: With much of the attention focused on Coles, Cotchery has been taking advantaged of being unoticed and could continue this week against the Dolphins.

Last season the Broncos acquired a big-time playmaker in Javon Walker. His season a year ago was disrupted with a quarterback change. Now settled in with his new field general, Walker has arrived again. In his first two games Walker has 17 catches for 220 yards.
Take: As his quarterback matures and gains confidence, so will the Broncos play-calling. Walker will see more big play opportunities as the season progresses.

With a new quarterback at the helm, suddenly Dolphins wide receiver Chris Chambers has come out of hiding and landed near the top of the fantasy receivers list. In two weeks Chambers has caught 15 passes for 201 yards, but has yet to find the end-zone.
Take: No doubt that Green and Chambers are getting this thing dialed in and this Sunday could be Chambers first appearance in the end-zone.


ICE

Just like like the cream of the crop will rsie, there continues to be those that fall. Here are the fallen heros through two weeks.

Some of the notables that are still trying to get it out of first gear;

· QB JP Losman has passed for only 251 yards
· QB Rex Grossman has only one touchdown pass and three interceptions
· QB Joey Harrington has not thrown a touchdown this season
· RB Fred Taylor has only 72 yards rushing this season
· RB Ronnie Brown has only 65 yards on the ground
· WR Vincent Jackson has only 71 yards receiving this season
· WR Eric Moulds has caught 3 passes for 22 yards
· WR Muhsin Muhammad has only 2 receptions.
· TE Vernon Davis has only 27 receiving yards this season.


Quarterbacks with value sinking…

The Chiefs offense has yet to get out of the gate this season. Quaterback Damon Huard has not looked very good this season passing for only 343 yards with a just one touchdown pass and three interceptions.

The Vikings aerial game has lacked any air under the helm of quarterback Tavarius Jackson. Jackson has thrown five picks this season and has a rating of 40.0 this season.

The Niners quarterback Alex Smith has stumbled out the gate this season, completing only 54.2 % of his throws for a mere 252 yards.

Wide-receivers with value sinking…

The Eagles offense has been very quiet this season and no one has been as quiet as wide receiver Reggie Brown. Brown has only caught 3 balls for 41 yards.

The Ravens wide receiver Mark Clayton has yet to be healthy long enough to get any substantial looks. Clayton has caught just a single pass for minus one yard.

Although the Patriots seem to be new and improved, wide receiver Donte Stallworth can not stake any of that claim. The Pat’s wideout has only 3 receptions this season for 38 yards



~David G. Ortega
FFI