Week 3 Sit 'Em: Eli, Greene, Wallace

- ELI MANNING vs. Tennessee: The Giants' offense is predicated on establishing the run, but it hasn't really worked so far. Even though Eli's got 5 TD passes in two games, figure on New York sticking to the ground game against a Titans secondary that's allowed just one passing TD and one play over 20 yards.

- SHONN GREENE at Miami: It was good to see Shonn getting more involved (15 carries) and being more productive (52 yards) in Week 2 after Week 1's bomb. Unfortunately, he hasn't been good enough, and LaDainian Tomlinson is still lurking in the Jets backfield.

- MIKE WALLACE at Tampa Bay: It sure looks like any value Wallace will have in 2010 will have to wait until Ben Roethlisberger's return - he has just 4 catches through 2 Big Ben-less games. The Steelers spun the wheel and came up with Charlie Batch at QB this week, and the Bucs' defenders haven't been pushovers this year.

Last week's picks

- Vince Young's stat line against the Steelers: 7-for-10, 66 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs, one benching. Nailed it.

- Michael Crabtree's stat line against the Saints: One catch for 32 yards. Nailed it.

- Jahvid Best's stat line against the Eagles: 78 rushing yards, 154 receiving yards, 3 total TDs. Little off. I still stand by my prediction - the kid ran for 20 yards on 14 carries a week earlier in his debut! - but clearly I underestimated him.


The Associated Press

Week 1 Recap, Part II: Kolb toast?

- So much for Kevin Kolb’s big debut as the official Eagles starting QB (5-for-10, 25 yards, concussion). I’m not ready to declare him a fantasy bust, but hopefully you already recognized the risks with a largely untested QB and have a capable backup ready. If not, it might be time to look Michael Vick’s way.

- Running to the waiver wire to get Jaguars TE Marcedes Lewis? Not so fast. Sure, he had two catches, both for TDs. But this is also the same guy whose career high for TDs in a season is two, and who didn’t catch more than 4 passes in a game last year. Maybe he’s worth a grab, but temper your expectations.

- Sam Bradford sure aired it out in his first pro game (55 attempts). But he connected on just 32 of those (4.6 yards per completion), threw 1 TD and 3 picks, and finished with a 53.1 QB rating. He’s not a fantasy option at this point.

- Good luck making sense of the Seahawks’ backfield rotation. Justin Forsett was the most impressive (7 carries for 43 yards, 6.1 average), but Julius Jones and Leon Washington each had 1 more carry apiece. You’ll want to avoid this situation until it gets a little less murky.

- Remember all the hullabaloo about Redskins TE Fred Davis being a fantasy sleeper this year? Davis wasn't even targeted on Sunday night, but starter Chris Cooley caught 6 passes for 80 yards to lead all Skins receivers. Cooley could be in line for a big year if he stays healthy and the synergy with Donovan McNabb continues.

- OK, maybe LaDainian Tomlinson's got some fantasy life left in him (11 carries, 62 yards). But you have to figure Shonn Greene can't be that miserable again (5 carries, 18 yards, a fumble, a dropped pass and a second-half benching). That wasn't how Gang Green drew it up.

- Legedu Naanee had the nicer stat line Monday among Chargers WRs (5 catches, 110 yards, TD), but it was actually Malcom Floyd (3-48) that was targeted a team-high 12 times to Naanee's eight, including three of San Diego's four shots at the end zone on a 1st-and-goal series to end the game. Read into that what you will.

- Saints RB Pierre Thomas might have tough sledding against the 49ers' D this week, but it was good to see him get the lion's share of the carries (19 of the team's 25 rush attempts) as New Orleans pounded the rock last Thursday against the Vikings. That equaled his season high from last year, which came in Week 4.


Photo by The Associated Press

8/7 Bust of the day: Thomas Jones

RB THOMAS JONES, Chiefs

TJ outperformed fantasy expectations in each of the past two seasons, but he's never really been a by-the-book guy anyway. Running backs aren't supposed to have career years at the ages of 30 and 31, but that's exactly what he did in 2008 and 2009, running for a combined 2,714 yards and 27 TDs with the Jets. And what does he have to show for it? Walking papers handed to him in the offseason by New York, which replaced him with a younger, less expensive model in Shonn Greene.

The reason Jones was able to be so effective in his golden years - aside from the Jets' excellent run-blocking - is the fact that he had much less tread on his tires than other RBs his age. Remember, he was lightly used in his first four seasons with the Cardinals and Bucs, failing to attempt even 140 carries each year. And now, part of the reason I'm tagging him as a bust is he made up for lost time with a whopping 331 carries last year. We got a glimpse of how much of a toll that took on Jones by playoff time, when he couldn't muster more than 42 yards in three postseason games and was phased out in favor of Greene.

As if his age and mileage weren't enough to make you back off, Jones also has to contend with another up-and-coming young back, Jamaal Charles, in his new home in Kansas City. Like two ships passing in the night, expect Charles to get the bulk of the carries, perhaps as many as two-thirds, as Jones is used in moderation. He'll still have value, just not what we've been accustomed to seeing out of him. Think of him as a No. 3 or 4 RB.

LT2 a Jet: What it means for you

Looks like LaDainian Tomlinson's not done yet.

LT2's landing in New York with the Jets is probably the best possible destination for the aging runner's fantasy value. He'll line up behind a veteran offensive line that could be the league's best at run-blocking (Gang Green led the league in team rushing in 2009). And he'll have a young buck in the backfied (Shonn Greene) who can do the heavy lifting but still isn't proven enough to totally wipe Tomlinson out of the picture. (It's also a disappointment for those who, like me, envisioned Greene as a big-time sleeper as a No. 1 back next year, but that's another story).

Tomlinson's no longer a No. 1 back, that much is certain. But as a change-of-pace guy who gets to touch the ball in the red zone, he could rack up quite a few TDs. Last year's numbers (700 yards, 12 TDs) are probably his absolute ceiling in 2010, but that still makes him an intriguing No. 2 fantasy RB and a defnite No. 3.

Let's not close the book on Tomlinson's career yet.

It's on for Shonn

Another day, another 30-something running back gets released.

This time it's Thomas Jones who'll be filing for unemployment, with the Jets set to cut the 31-year-old tailback.

The news comes just days after veterans LaDainian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook were cut by their respective clubs. Jones was more productive than either of those guys in 2009, running for 1,402 yards and 14 TDs, both career highs. And now he's looking for work.

But Jones' loss is Shonn Greene's gain. Greene served as Jones' backup in his rookie season and ran well, posting 504 yards (5.0 a carry) and 2 TDs and adding another 169 yards and a TD in two playoff games. Now he's in line to be the featured back behind an excellent offensive line that helped Gang Green lead the league in rushing in 2009. Yes, Greene will have some competition from the fiesty Leon Washington, who's set to return from a broken leg. But the NFL sophomore could put together a breakout season and deserves strong consideration as a fantasy No. 2 next year.

It's on for Shonn

Another day, another 30-something running back gets released.

This time it's Thomas Jones who'll be filing for unemployment, with the Jets set to cut the 31-year-old tailback.

The news comes just days after veterans LaDainian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook were cut by their respective clubs. Jones was more productive than either of those guys in 2009, running for 1,402 yards and 14 TDs, both career highs. And now he's looking for work.

But Jones' loss is Shonn Greene's gain. Greene served as Jones' backup in his rookie season and ran well, posting 504 yards (5.0 a carry) and 2 TDs and adding another 169 yards and a TD in two playoff games. Now he's in line to be the featured back behind an excellent offensive line that helped Gang Green lead the league in rushing in 2009. Yes, Greene will have some competition from the fiesty Leon Washington, who's set to return from a broken leg. But the NFL sophomore could put together a breakout season and deserves strong consideration as a fantasy No. 2 next year.

I'll trade you Pujols for Peyton ...

A friend of mine mentioned a pretty interesting idea the other day: could a combination football/baseball fantasy league work?

It's an intriguing proposition to say the least. The logistics would be complicated and the commitment great. First off, you'd have to get the same 8-12 people to sign up for a season that would last from April to December. My guess is there's probably a good deal of overlapping of folks who play in both a baseball and a football league, but who knows?

Another big factor: The standings and scoring format. Would you play head-to-head throughout the year? Would you crown a "midseason champion" at the end of baseball season and give that winner some kind of prize bonus (not that I condone monetary gambling of any kind)? Would you then reset the standings completely? (Probably not, since you might as well just play two separate leagues in that case.) If it's one long season and a team's stuck near the bottom of the standings around August, would the prospect of reinforcing your team with a whole football roster be enough to keep them interested?

Here's the really fascinating part, as my bud Jason Dill put it when he was pitching this idea: What if you could trade Albert Pujols for Peyton Manning? Or Alex Rodriguez for Adrian Peterson (A-Rod for AD)? Or to be a little more obscure, Chone Figgins for Shonn Greene?

If you held your football draft early enough in the NFL preseason, you could have about a month's overlap between football and baseball seasons with which to swap players between sports. You'd probably have to make this a keeper league, too, to keep owners from dumping all their best baseball players to shore up their football team - which adds yet another layer of complication to this Super League.

And if you really wanted to blow this thing out: How about making it a fantasy basketball league, too?

Just something to think about during a slow time in the fantasy sports world.

Hot Pickups: Week 8

FOUR STARS (Out of five)

- RB SHONN GREENE, Jets: Leon Washington's loss is Greene's gain, and the Jets have smartly morphed into a power rushing team before our eyes with a rookie QB running the offense. The rejuvenated Thomas Jones isn't going anywhere, but I think there's enough room for the two of them to be productive down the stretch (probably after this week's tough matchup against Miami).

- RB BEANIE WELLS, Cardinals: It was a bit of a mixed bag for the rookie Sunday night - he scored his first NFL TD but also lost another fumble, his third in 49 pro carries. Still, he outperformed Tim Hightower and might officially pass him on Arizona's depth chart with another good outing against Carolina.


THREE STARS

- RB JAMAAL CHARLES, Chiefs: In case you hadn't heard, Larry Johnson is at it again. Charles, one of my preseason sleepers, has been the more effective back this year again (5 yards a carry to LJ's 2.7), albeit in limited duty, and Johnson's latest antics may have finally forced K.C. into starting him after Week 8's bye. The Chiefs' line is awful, of course, but I still want to see what the little guy can do.

WR MIKE WALLACE, Steelers: The rookie from Ole Miss has made his fair share of big plays this year (17.5 yards a catch) and is coming off a big game against the Vikings (3 catches, 72 yards, TD). He's been kind of hit-or-miss, but he could be worth a start after this week's bye if you're in a pinch and rolling the dice on a TD.

QB ALEX SMITH, 49ers: It only took five years, but Smith may finally be fantasy relevant. A three-TD game coming off the bench will do that, and it's not as if there isn't talent around him (Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis, who caught those three TDs). Grab him, watch how he fares against Indianapolis this week and then plug him in against Tennessee in Week 9 if you like what you see.