Just bench your Raiders and win, baby!

Published 10:43 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

Ch-ch-ch-changes.

For some teams, the early part of the NFL season takes a certain course: team struggles; team replaces quarterback; team deposes coach.

The Rams followed these steps to a T, culminating in Scott Linehan’s firing earlier this week. Most times it doesn’t happen this quickly, but the Rams weren’t showing any signs of improvement under Linehan, who’d been warned before the Seahawks game that the team needed to start showing something.

Then there’s the Raiders.

They don’t follow any pattern. Al Davis finally put Lane Kiffin out of his misery Tuesday, firing him for cause and replacing him with offensive line coach Tom Cable.

At this point, Davis is obviously out of his depth running a professional football team. His passion for the game and loyalty to his players is commendable, but he’s constantly second-guessing his coaches, he has little talent for evaluating players in this day and age, and, as Tuesday’s press conference shows, he’s paranoid to the extreme.

What does it all mean in terms of fantasy? Well, I’m glad you asked:

Will coaching changes in Oakland and St. Louis help?

In St. Louis maybe. Oakland? Right. The Raiders are cooked. They’re a bad team with basically a rookie quarterback and running back and a moderate defense. Throw in the fact many of the players liked playing for Kiffin and are now wondering who’s running the ship, and you have a team in free-fall. Bench your Raiders and feel free to use players going against these guys liberally. As for the Rams, just the fresh face of Jim Haslett could bring optimism. There are pieces here. Steven Jackson remains a top-tier running back, Marc Bulger was good at some point and Torry Holt still has a pulse. I believe the Rams will get better as the season goes on. Jackson showed a glimpse of his old self Sunday, cobbling together a total of 188 yards and a touchdown. He also played well down the stretch a year ago when the Rams were just as bad.

Is Mount T.O. about to erupt?

All indications point to yes. But as long as he’s being fed the ball he’ll be happy, right? Well not necessarily. Remember this is the same guy that was putting up big numbers (averaging nearly seven catches, 110 yards a game with six TDs) in Philadelphia when he decided to stop talking to Donovan McNabb and was later suspended from the team and told to go home and do sit-ups in his driveway. Rationality is not Owens’ strongsuit. The real question is, will Tony Romo let Owens get to him and force him to change the offense to suit him? I say he will. Which means in the short term expect Owens to shut up and play, but in the long run this could get ugly come January.

Is anybody involved in the Steelers’ run game worth anything?

Probably not. With Willie Parker sidelined until Oct. 19 and Rashard Mendenhall out for the year, Pittsburgh’s running game is hurting. The Steelers have Mewelde Moore, who is more of a third-down type back, and brought in Najah Davenport on Wednesday. The biggest problem, however, might be the loss of right guard Kendall Simmons for the year. The loss of Simmons, coupled with the departure of Alan Faneca in free agency, leaves big holes in the interior of Pittsburgh’s offensive line. Stay away if you can, but grab Davenport if you’re desperate.

Are any of the Seahawks wide receivers worth playing Sunday?

Likely no. The return of Bobby Engram and Deion Branch dilutes what was a small corps. Engram will likely start, while Branch will see limited snaps. What it does mean is that Michael Bumpus is a full-time returner, Billy McMullen will split snaps with Branch and Koren Robinson could see some time, but not enough to produce numbers. Throw in the fact that the Giants are only allowing 167.7 passing yards per game (5th best in the NFL) and you get the point. Engram is the only semi-solid play here and he’s only usable as a No. 3 WR or maybe a flex guy.

Who should I play this week?

Speaking of the Giants-Seahawks game, I like Amani Toomer, Steve Smith and Kevin Boss to have good days. The Seahawks corners are giving up a lot of big plays, and with Plaxico Burress out, Eli Manning is going to have to throw to somebody. Also don’t buy into Kansas City’s win over Denver, play your Carolina guys, including Muhsin Muhammad; Steve Slaton should continue his good play against a porous Indy D; and Minnesota’s Bernard Berrian will have a breakout game on Monday night.

Contact Aaron Swaney at aswaney@heraldnet.com. For more fantasy news, links and more, check out cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/realitybites.