Posts tagged Cadillac Williams at FanHouse

I'm just gonna be real right now: Your fantasy league should be over. It's one of those things about which we've all pretty much made an unwritten pact. When people like Peyton Manning will likely not be playing because their teams want them to rest, you shouldn't have a fantasy relevant game. That's why we don't play in the preseason.

All that being said, there are leagues out there with a championship game this week. Since we are committed to helping you win your league title no matter what, we'll still be helping you out. In lieu of positional rankings -- due to a limited audience -- we'll sift through each position and give some pointers. We'll also examine guys who need to play well, as well as those who won't factor at all.

Feel free to leave specific lineup questions in the comments section, and we'll answer. We'll also be having a shortened -- yet quite effective -- Tailgate Sunday morning.

Again, we want you to win ... even if that means supporting you when your league is mishandled.

The Cardinals had been a great team at home this season, racking up a seemingly endless supply of passing yards. So when the Minnesota Vikings brought their below average -- as far as defensive rankings went -- pass defense to the desert, it should have been a fantasy paradise.

Instead, Kurt Warner was outscored by the likes of David Garrard, Chad Pennington and Matt Schaub.

Even worse, his one touchdown pass was to Jerheme Urban. Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, and even Steve Breaston were likely in fantasy lineups everywhere, only to be relative busts.

And this was the playoffs. Let's hope you rode other players or had a bye, because those guys warrant inclusion into the Brutus Boys at this point. That won't change this week, as the Cardinals visit New England. We've seen how well the Cards fare in the Eastern time zone, and I don't expect them to do anything different this time around. Not after this subpar performance.

Fool me once ...

FanHouse's resident referee will chime in weekly with thoughts on major topics relating to officiating. We call it The Zebra Report. Matt Snyder is a high school official with eight years experience. While this is like a third-year resident critiquing the work of a world-renowned surgeon, it's still better than someone who has never worn the stripes.

Twice during the Monday night game this week, fans were up in arms about when the whistle was blown on a slow-moving pile when the ball-carrier was still on his feet.

This is probably the most difficult judgment an official will ever make. When there is a pile and the guy with the football has not gone down, and he does not show any signs of doing so, the situation becomes tenuous immediately. In every instance like this, the downsides drastically outnumber the upsides.

If you blow the whistle too soon, you may have given one side an advantage. Say the ball-carrier is still moving forward, and would have either broken free from the crowd for a long gain, or fumbled before his forward progress was stopped.

The playoffs are either upon us or one week away in the majority of fantasy football leagues. With this in mind, Fantasy FanHouse is examining what you can expect from the fantasy relevant players on each team.

Atlanta Falcons

The opposing defenses: at NO (24th against pass, 19th against run), vs. TB (3rd against pass, 9th against run), at MIN (21st against pass, 2nd against run)
The skinny: The future is bright here, but we don't care about that just yet. The run defenses in the last two weeks pose tall orders, and those usually amount to a mediocre week for The Burner (Bears, Eagles, Bucs). Still, if you've gotten this far with him, you likely can't afford to sit him at this point -- especially with his touchdown potential. I do greatly trust the pass attack for Weeks 14 and 16.
The must-starts: Roddy White, Jason Elam
The likely starts: Michael Turner, Matt Ryan
The spot-start: Michael Jenkins
The no-starts: Jerious Norwood, Harry Douglas
The D/ST: The hills and valleys of performance here have been extreme. They were incredible in Weeks 9 and 10, while brutal in Weeks 4 and 11. Some good and some mediocre stat outputs lie in between. Facing the Saints is not advisable, and I don't like them in the Metrodome (Vikings). Facing the Bucs at home in Week 15, I could see them as a viable start. All things considered, though, I'd rather have a good amount of other teams heading into the playoffs. Check on the Redskins availability.

Despite the possibility of tornado's, and a steady monsoon-like rain throughout the day, the Buccaneers and Saints managed to score 43 points as Tampa Bay kept pace with Carolina in the NFC South, pulling out a huge 23-20 win.

The win improves Tampa Bay to 9-3 on the season, and sets up a huge contest with Carolina next Monday, in a game that very well could decide the NFC South title.

So, while Drew Brees finished the day 25-of-47 for 297 yards and a pair of scores, he also threw three interceptions, including a brutal pick over the middle, in a tie game, with just over two minutes to play in regulation. Jermaine Phillips picked off the Brees pass, returning it 13 yards to the New Orleans 17-yard line.

Three plays later, Matt Bryant booted a 37-yard field goal for the eventual game-winning score.

The Saints final possession ended when Brees threw his third pick of the day, this time when Phillip Buchanon stepped in front of a pass intended for Lance Moore.

While Brees was tossing interceptions, he received absolutely no help from his running game, as the Buccaneers dominant (and extremely underrated) run defense held the Saints to just 44 yards on 18 carries. Their longest run of the afternoon was nine yards.

Last Sunday in Detroit, Buccaneers running back Cadillac Williams finally returned to the football field, much to the delight of head coach Jon Gruden. The initial returns were about what you would expect for a guy that hadn't played in over a year -- he carried the ball 16 times for 27 yards against the worst run defense in the league, mainly in late-game mop-up duty.

According to Stephen F. Holder of the St. Petersburg Times, the performance was still a positive step for the 26-year-old Williams because, well, he was actually on the field. And even better, he's expected to be the first back off the bench on Sunday to relieve starter Warrick Dunn during the Buccaneers huge NFC South tilt with New Orleans.

"I think a lot of the offensive guys are probably disappointed that we didn't throw it (against Detroit), but we wanted to give (Williams) repeated runs," coach Jon Gruden said. "And they were hard looks, too. (The Lions) knew we were running it. ... But he was able to get 12 or 13 carries in a 15-play span, and I think he got confidence back from that performance."

For only the fifth time in Tampa Bay's past 28 games, Cadillac Williams will be in uniform and an active member of the Buccaneers offense, when they take on the winless Detroit Lions. Jon Gruden has been waiting for this moment for weeks, it seems, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

Earlier this week, Tampa Bay learned that its leading rusher, Earnest Graham, is going to miss the remainder of the season. Combine that with the release of Michael Bennett a few weeks ago -- when Williams was removed from the PUP list -- and the Buccaneers were down to only 33-year old Warrick Dunn, the recently signed Noah Herron, and fumble-prone Clifton Smith in their backfield.

Williams was listed as questionable this week with a hamstring injury.

It remains to be seen how effective he'll actually be, seeing as how he's hardly played the past two years, so it's nice that his first game back is against the worst rushing defense in the National Football League. So, at least he'll get to ease his way back into the grind.

(H/T PFT)

Buccaneers running back Earnest Graham is probably out for the season. Considering our fantasy season has the playoffs from Weeks 14-16 or 15-16 in most sane leagues, he's irrelevant for fantasy football purposes the rest of the way.

Moving forward, what can we expect from ...

... Warrick Dunn?
He was already a waiver option, but now we know more about the Graham injury. In the near future, simply put: Tons. Dunn was held to only 53 yards on the ground yesterday, but it was against the very stout Vikings interior defense. He did have 24 touches, which is a precursor of the workload he can expect for at least the next few games. Even at 33 years old and less than 190 pounds, Dunn is still averaging 4.4 yards per carry this season.

Even better news for Dunn owners, the Bucs are playing the Lions this week. You know, the worst run defense in the NFL, a.k.a. the team who was dismantled by Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams yesterday to the tune of three touchdowns and 250 yards on 29 carries.

Um, yeah, get Dunn active in Week 12.

If Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden thinks the return of Cadillac Williams is like an early Christmas gift, I have to imagine the news of Earnest Graham's season-ending ankle injury ranks somewhere between root canal and watching somebody kick his dog.

According to Anwar S. Richardon of the Tampa Tribune, Gruden informed the media today that Graham is likely done for the season, after a Vikings defender landed on his ankle in the Buccaneers 19-13 win on Sunday. I suppose this means it's time to warm up the Cadillac.

The injury comes the same week Tampa Bay released Michael Bennett so it could active Williams from the PUP list.

It's a huge blow for the Buccaneers, as Graham was leading their ground attack with 563 yards rushing on 132 attempts, while scoring four touchdowns. He also caught 23 passes for 174 yards.

With Graham out, Tampa Bay's backfield will now be limited to 33-year old Warrick Dunn, and Williams, who as we've mentioned before, has been a sideline observer for 23 of the Buccaneers past 27 games.

Tampa Bay managed to keep pace with Carolina in the NFC South on Sunday, outlasting the Vikings for a 19-13 win. The Buccaneers (7-3) remain a game behind first place Carolina, as the two teams will meet on Monday night, December 8, in Charlotte. Hopefully it's more exciting than this game was.

As for today's contest, Tampa Bay didn't get the early Christmas gift Jon Gruden was hoping for earlier in the week in Cadillac Williams, but it did get a rock-solid performance from quarterback Jeff Garcia, as the 38-year old veteran completed 23-of-30 passes for 255 yards. He also ran the ball six times for 21 yards.

It's good for Tampa Bay's sake that Gruden quickly realized he made a tremendous error in judgment earlier in the year, when he came to the conclusion that Brian Griese was a better option for his offense. Clearly, Garcia can still play a little bit, and the Buccaneers are a better team for it.

Other than that, not much else happened in this one except a lot of defense and a lot of field goals.