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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, November 12, 2009 Five fantasy football questions Aaron Swaney Herald Writer Should I take a chance on Larry Johnson? If you’re a Larry Johnson fantasy owner then you’ve noticed the N/A next to his name. Good ol’ LJ got himself cut by the Kansas City Chiefs this past week after calling out his coach and using homophobic slurs on Twitter and to reporters. Johnson, who has never shown an ounce of maturity, has been mailing it in all season behind a terrible offensive line in K.C. But don’t cut bait on the guy yet. He’s a front-runner and if you put him in a good offense he’ll produce. Throw in the fact he’s going to play with a chip on his shoulder and that’s why I’d hang on to Johnson or pick him up off waivers if he’s available. One caveat, though: He’s got to end up in the right system. If Houston or New England pick him up, two rumored destinations, that’s a good thing. Washington or Seattle? Not so much. Can I play LaDainian Tomlinson again this year? Tomlinson is averaging 56 yards per game this season and has scored just three touchdowns. He has yet to go over the century mark on the ground and he looks like a shell of his former self. It’s amazing to think he was taken in the first round by some fantasy owners. So can you trust him in your starting lineup? I say he’s a flex play at best. Darren Sproles is stealing too many touches and the guy just doesn’t seem to have it anymore. Plus San Diego, besides two tempting matchups against K.C. and Cleveland, faces four top-12 rush defenses over the final six weeks in Philly, Denver, Dallas and Cincinnati. I say see if you can get another owner in you league to trade for LT based on name recognition. Otherwise he’s most likely a benchwarmer from this point out. Is Brett Favre a must-play? At this point, yes. Favre has rekindled the magic in Minnesota and is on pace to throw for nearly 4,000 yards and 32 touchdowns. His arm seems to be fine and all the talk about the gunslinger fitting nicely in the Vikings’ offense was legit. But what you have to look at is the upcoming schedule: Minnesota takes on Detroit, Seattle, Arizona, Cincinnati and Chicago twice down the stretch. That has to have Mr. Wranglers excited. With Adrian Peterson in the backfield, he’s going to have a few one-score games thrown in there, but he’ll also have a number of huge games that will win you some weeks. My advice is play Favre with confidence. Will Calvin Johnson turn things around? The Lions wide receiver has battled injury and bad quarterbacking so far this season and it seems to be getting to him. Johnson was visibly upset at rookie QB Matthew Stafford during Sunday’s game against Seattle, which held Megatron to just two catches for 27 yards. Before Johnson hurt his knee, he was averaging more than 80 yards per game, but he only had one touchdown and wasn’t living up to his early season hype. You can chalk up Sunday’s performance to rust, so will he start putting up big numbers down the stretch? I say yes. He and Stafford will get on the same page and the Lions only face one pass defense in the top 10 the rest of the season. Make him earn it, but I see Johnson back averaging 85 yards and a TD per game over the final eight games. Brady Quinn’s back, right? Ugh. The Eric Mangini roller-coaster ride known as the 2009 Cleveland Browns just rolls on. Mangini named Quinn the starter again this week, benching Derek Anderson. My take? It couldn’t matter less to fantasy. Nobody on this team should be on a fantasy roster. Check out Aaron Swaney’s blog, Hot Off the Gridiron, at www.heraldnet.com READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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