You can't spell assumption without three very important letters.
Why don't bad teams play their young players? Occasionally, it's money (whether it's playing time triggers in Brady Quinn's contract, or your favorite burger joint saving a dime or two by withholding that handful of ketchup packets), but usually it looks like blatant mismanagement. Look at what the Titans have done since going back to Vince Young at quarterback. Is he going to win an MVP award? Absolutely not. But the Titans are winning games again, and even if they were still losing, at least they'd be going through the process of determining whether he's a part of their future. After all, nobody was banking on an aging Kerry Collins as the long-term solution in Tennessee.
How about Justin Forsett finally getting chances to carry the load in Seattle? It took an injury to Julius Jones to finally happen, but he didn't disappoint en route to the first 100-yard game of his career. Now it's become a question as to whether Forsett will even give the job back to Jones upon his eventual return to health. Hopefully, the Seahawks won't judge him solely on how he fares against a stout Vikings run defense in Week 11.
To be successful in the NFL, you have to get on the field — and become part of the game plan. Is anyone else keeping a close eye on the Texans' Arian Foster this week? There's a ton of instability in the Houston backfield, and if an unheralded option like Foster gets the ball and holds onto it, he could run away with the starting job before season's end. That's not to say that Steve Slaton owners should be cutting their losses, but you may get a second chance at waiver wire redemption if you missed out on Ryan Moats a couple of weeks ago and Foster ends up impressing the coaching staff and becomes the surprise breakout player of Week 11. Remember, Houston has four running backs on its depth chart, so he's just as likely to turn up on the inactive list.
The backfield issues in Houston lead us to the underachieving crops of young skill position players in Oakland, Cleveland, Kansas City, Detroit, Tampa Bay and St. Louis. The NFL's lower crust is a very disappointing lot this season, but it's going to stay that way if young players don't gain experience and if the respective front offices fail to surround them with ample talent in the coming seasons. Being a lousy team in the NFL comes with two perks: early-round draft position (no lottery) and the rare opportunity to train players on the job. NFL regular season minutes are at a premium. Players can't be developed against weak preseason competition, so there's a very small window in the second half of a hopeless season where teams can actually provide young players with experience against legitimate opponents.
Some players, such as Detroit's Matthew Stafford, St. Louis' Donnie Avery and Kansas City's Jamaal Charles aren't listed below because their playing time is much more secure, and they're available in significantly fewer leagues than the majority of the players below.
Enough Upside for Fantasy Consideration
Darren McFadden, RB, OAK — This one dances on a finer line than the Raiders' use of JaMarcus Russell. If McFadden's still hurt, or is at least trying to play at less than 100 percent, he should be shut down. However, if he's healthy, there's no reason why he shouldn't be getting at least 10-12 carries per week. The team's anemic passing game is an issue, so why not try to run 40-45 times per game with the three-headed monster at running back. From a fantasy standpoint, this is the time of year (no more bye weeks) where McFadden should be stashed away on your roster in case Justin Fargas or Michael Bush go down with an injury and regular touches for McFadden becomes the go-to back (or least, a timeshare option) again. Someone needs to give Al Davis a B-12 shot.
Michael Bush, RB, OAK — Bush has been given double-digit carries three times this season (Week 1 vs. SD, Week 5 vs. NYG, Week 10 against KC). In each of those three games, he's either scored or gone over 100 yards. His yards per carry during those games? 5.5. Justin Fargas is below four yards per tote for the second straight season and doesn't catch passes. It's criminal that Bush and McFadden aren't getting 15-20 touches on a weekly basis, but it's just plain stupid that all three backs aren't locked in for double-digit totes if the coaching staff sees something in Fargas that makes them believe he should be a part of their game plan.
Lance Long, WR, KC — It's been no secret that Chiefs coach Todd Haley wasn't thrilled with his receiving corps upon taking over in Kansas City. Long's a Cardinal castoff, familiar with Haley from his time as the offensive coordinator in Arizona. With Dwayne Bowe out until Week 15 because of a four-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy, Chris Chambers will become the primary option for quarterback Matt Cassel, though Long could see an increase in targets as well. He was already becoming a larger part of the Kansas City offense anyway, having been targeted 20 times the last three games. Bobby Wade's shrinking role could ultimately disappear altogether.
Josh Freeman, QB, TB — In his two games as the Bucs starting quarterback, Freeman's averaged more than 20 points per game. Even though he's not going to air it out 40 times per game or start rolling up 300-yard performances, he could be a useful fantasy option if he doesn't turn the ball over and if he continues to chip in with rushing yards each week as well (remember how even 25-30 yards on the ground can bolster scoring numbers for a QB hovering in the 180-200 range with passing yards). Tampa Bay definitely made the right decision when it turned the starting job over to Freeman prior to its Week 9 win over the Packers.
Sammie Stroughter, WR, TB — He's not the type of huge red-zone target fantasy owners covet, but his scouting report prior to the 2009 draft included lines like "more quick than fast," "good route runner," "generally reliable hands," "tough" and "willing to go over the middle." That sounds a lot like the skill set of Packers receiver Greg Jennings; an undersized player with good hands and a non-burner, but a player with just enough speed (or quickness) to elude defensive players. Stroughter isn't going to turn into a viable fantasy starter overnight, but he's worth keeping a close eye on as the Bucs try to find weapons behind tight end Kellen Winslow in their offense with Antonio Bryant (knee) battling the injury bug.
Derrick Williams, WR, DET — The 2009 draft class has proven to be very deep at receiver (Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin, Percy Harvin, Hakeem Nicks, Austin Collie, Mike Wallace, etc), and Williams was touted as a top-10 player at his position in April. The Lions haven't provided him with many opportunities to showcase his talent thus far, but at some point they should consider giving him more snaps over veterans Bryant Johnson and Dennis Northcutt. Reliable weekly production probably isn't going to happen any time soon, but he showed a lot of versatility at Penn State, and the Lions should consider finding creative ways to get the ball into his hands during the final seven games of the season.
Brian Robiskie, WR, CLE — Why play Mike Furrey over Robiskie? I don't really have an answer for that. Mohamed Massaquoi and Robiskie are supposed to be the future at receiver for the Browns. There's no way he can be relied on by fantasy owners this season, but regardless of who plays quarterback in Cleveland down the road, getting the chance to work against NFL defensive backs in game situations isn't going to stunt Robiskie's development in Year 1.
Simply Brutal, But Teams Should Keep Playing Them
JaMarcus Russell, QB, OAK — He's been benched, but even if he were to start the next seven games and show signs of improvement, Russell isn't a fantasy option. The $30 million-plus guaranteed is already done, and you can feel free to hammer away on him for not getting into camp on time as a rookie, but it's not as though the Lane Kiffin edition of the Raiders was just one strong-armed QB away from glory. Even if the offensive line and poor receiving corps can take some of the blame, he's not going to get any better watching Bruce Gradkowski struggle in his place. Remember, this is the same dysfunctional organization that decided it didn't want Jeff Garcia around as a threat to Russell's job. The concept of mentoring is completely lost on the Raiders.
Brady Quinn, QB, CLE — Too bad the Browns don't play the Raiders this season. Like Russell, there's no fantasy value to salvage here, but if he's getting reps against NFL defenses each week, along with his cast of young receivers, there's at least some reason to believe he could improve with the experience and become a better player down the road.
Article first appeared 11/19/09
