Posts tagged Chris Cooley at FanHouse

The AFC and NFC Pro Bowlers were announced a short while ago, and why make some pointless comment you are sure not to laugh at when we can just give you the rosters instead? Here goes.

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around with his finger in the air while the next he's laying on his back, holding his facemask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's Studs and Duds.

Here's Week 14 at a glance, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory. (Disclaimer: This will only be for the Sunday games, since you probably can't even remember the Thursday games at this point.)

Studs

Brian Westbrook, RB Philadelphia (33 rushes, 131 yards, 1 TD, 6 catches, 72 yards, 1 TD) -- Not a lot of people have exposed the Giants' defense like Westbrook did yesterday, but I guess not a lot of people have completely taken over games in Brandon Jacobs' house. Westbrook had 203 all-purpose yards in the upset by the Eagles, not only keeping Philly's playoff chances very much alive but showing that when the offense is clicking, this team will be scary for the other side of the sidelines. Donovan McNabb might have just found his best offensive scheme yet -- check down to Westbrook and let the athlete make the plays.

FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled weekly by the staff in order to provide answers to possible lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, you need more players ranked, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.

The separation between Tony Gonzalez and his counterparts this year can't be measured simply be the disparate statistical gap. In the preseason buzz, when everyone was content that Jason Witten had finally overtaken Antonio Gates as the "must have" tight end, many forgot about Gonzo. Yup, we all heard were the whispers about the "Big 2," and oh my how we all forgot this was still the "Big 3."

Gonzo has delivered reliable lines every single week to serve as a reminder. At this point in the season, it's nearly impossible to pry him from the head and shoulders above all No. 1 ranking. And we should expect him to punish Denver this weekend and reward all those who just knew there was gas left in the tank. The tight end position continues its whirlwind of flux, but now more than ever you have gotta award two key rookies as they close in on the upper echelon. Yes, Dustin Keller and John Carlson continue to pay dividends and are knocking on the fantasy stardom door. Can't you hear them knocking?

It's been said in this space for the past few weeks, but outside of Gonzo there is no hotter commodity at tight end right now than Keller and that's why he makes the leap into the top five this week. He continues to be prime target for Brett Favre as he and his receivers struggle to get on the same page.

As for Antonio Gates, you've gotta think history is on his side with the Raiders, but for Jason Witten it's hard to feel so comfortable when one has to face the Steelers. The list for solid TE matchups actually goes fairly deep this week. Even if you were to roll out Jeremy Shockey against Atlanta, that wouldn't be all that bad. That means... you shouldn't have to dig all that deep to find your security blanket for this all important fantasy weekend.

And now on with the ranks...

1. Tony Gonzalez, @ DEN
2. Dallas Clark, CIN
3. Antonio Gates, OAK
4. Dustin Keller, @ SF
5. Jason Witten, @ PIT

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.

Dallas Cowboys

The opposing defenses: at PIT (1st against pass, 1st against run), vs. NYG (10th against pass, 5th against run), vs. BAL (2nd against pass, 3rd against run)
The skinny: Ouch. This is quite the tall order for a team with lots of fantasy weapons -- when healthy. The 'Boys have revved up that offense in the past two weeks, but it was against lesser defenses. Statistically, the Giants are the worst defense the Cowboys will face this fantasy playoff season. That just sounds bad, doesn't it? You still probably have to stick with the studs, but after that it's a huge fall-off.
The must-starts: None
The likely starts: Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, Jason Witten, Nick Folk
The spot-start: Marion Barber (only because he's injured -- if he's totally healthy he's a must-start)
The no-starts: Roy Williams, Tashard Choice, Martellus Bennett, Miles Austin, Patrick Crayton
The D/ST: The status partially hinges upon the health of DeMarcus Ware, but this group can get to the quarterback with the best of 'em, and they have big play ability in the secondary. They are a low-end starter at this point.

After the Redskins' season-opening no-show performance against the Giants, I wrote that Jim Zorn's West Coast offense might not be the best use of quarterback Jason Campbell's talents. That was probably a tad reactionary -- it was the first game of the year in a new scheme, after all -- and Campbell would go on to play well enough for ESPN's Ron Jaworski to call him his midseason MVP.

Campbell has struggled in recent weeks, which, perhaps predictably, has prompted some people -- fans and media -- to call for backup Todd Collins. The same guy, you may remember, who played extremely well in Campbell's absence late last year, but looked absolutely lost in Zorn's fancy-pants offense this preseason.

That's probably why, after the Week 1 loss in New York, fans were clamoring for rookie Colt Brennan to replace Campbell. (Hey, they may be irrational, but at least they pay attention.)

Thankfully, Zorn is sticking with Campbell for what should be obvious reasons: he's the team's best quarterback.

From the Washington Post's Jason La Canfora:

FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled weekly by the staff in order to provide answers to possible lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, you need more players ranked, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.

The roller-coaster ride continues if you don't own a top-tier TE. However, even if you do - those once reliable options have been hit or miss at best. Tony Gonzalez continues to flourish in the role as the top dog, but Antonio Gates should be primed for a decent game this week. Meanwhile, fantasy owners can finally breathe a sigh of relief as Jason Witten has a pretty good matchup and -- although he might not be 100 percent -- at least Tony Romo is back.

Yet, once you get past those favorite TE options... it's really a crapshoot. Fantasy pundits fell in love, for some reason, with big John Carlson. He's returned a big helping of nothing in return during recent weeks. Plenty of fantasy owners were banking on Kevin Boss last weekend and he also dished out a helping of bust. Who's the boss now? Ah, yes ... bad, bad joke.

Well, the flavor of the week now seems to be Dustin Keller coming off a breakout stretch of games. Will he also break our hearts? I sure hope not, because I've bumped him up the TE rankings and I'm banking on big things for my own team. So don't blame me if he craps out. Stay tuned.

Quick note: I just couldn't bump Dallas Clark over the "Big Three." Worth mentioning, though, is that San Diego is a funnel for tight ends to have successful days. Just mentioning. On with the ranks...

1. Antonio Gates, IND
2. Tony Gonzalez, BUF
3. Jason Witten, SF
4. Dallas Clark, @ SD
5. Chris Cooley, @SEA

There were few bright spots for the Redskins in last night's home loss to the Cowboys (DeAngelo Hall intercepting Brad Johnson-like passes aside), and it's still hard to gauge exactly what the team has in quarterback Jason Campbell.

A few weeks ago, ESPN's Ron Jaworski called Campbell his midseason MVP, but the fourth-year quarterback has had two uninspired efforts in consecutive games. It's not completely his fault; the offensive line is a joke, Clinton Portis is banged up, and the pass catchers, save Chris Cooley, have gone missing for long stretches.

Which is why Campbell may have decided just to take things into his own hands. Midway through the second quarter with Washington holding a 7-0 lead, Campbell scrambled for 22 yards on third-and-eight. The Redskins would have to punt four plays later, and the Cowboys would tie the score seven plays after that, but that's beside the point. That Campbell steamrolled Dallas safety Pat Watkins into oblivion, that's the point.

Sure, it didn't have any bearing on the final score, but it sure had to be embarrassing for Watkins.

I have this vision of Campbell coming to the sidelines, finding Shaun Alexander, and very politely explaining, "see, that's how you run the ball."

UPDATE: via DMN Cowboys Blog: Watkins said he thought Campbell was going to slide, so he put his head down but Campbell ran him over. "Last time I do that," Watkins said.

YouTubes via Mr. I

FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled weekly by the staff in order to provide answers to possible lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, you need more players ranked, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.

Just two weeks ago, this position was absolutely depleted; the shallowest of fantasy positions. All of a sudden, Week 10 brought us some incredible success for such a specialized position ... and now looking at this week's matchups, it's really tough to go wrong here.

The top seven are obviously solid plays, especially Tony Gonzalez, who would be a weekly must-start at this point if he played WR.

Look past that group, though. Would you be having any reservations playing Donald Lee against the Bears? Todd Heap, Vernon Davis, and Zach Miller would be decent options, but they are ranked in the 17-20 range.

Dustin Keller and Kevin Boss are beginning to break out in New York.

Visanthe Shiancoe, Greg Olsen, and Bo Scaife have become extremely trusted options for their quarterbacks.

Finally, John Carlson (pictured), the rookie from Notre Dame, will enjoy having Matt Hasselbeck under center again, and I look for him to receive the most targets and catches in Seattle this weekend.

1. Tony Gonzalez, vs. NO
2. Dallas Clark, vs. HOU
3. Kellen Winslow, at BUF
4. Antonio Gates, at PIT
5. Jason Witten, at WAS

FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled weekly by the staff in order to provide answers to possible lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, you need more players ranked, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.

Heading into the season, there were a nice amount of solid options at tight end. Going into this week, only Tony Gonzalez is reliable among the elite group. Antonio Gates is on a bye, as is the still-banged up Jeremy Shockey. Chris Cooley has been inconsistent and faces a rough and tough defense. Tony Scheffler is coming off injury, and thus, is not trustworthy just yet. Jason Witten is banged up. Oh, and there's the whole Kellen Winslow enlarged jewels staph infection fiasco.

- I love the chances for a huge game from Greg Olsen against the Lions at home.

- Anthony Fasano is a great plug-n-play this week, facing the porous Denver defense.

1. Tony Gonzalez, vs. TB
2. Greg Olsen, vs. DET
3. Dallas Clark, vs. NE
4. Owen Daniels, at MIN
*5. Jason Witten, at NYG