5 FANTASY FOOTBALL QUESTIONS

Published 11:22 pm Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Will Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck play Sunday?

The answer is no. This question is really being asked by owners of T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Nate Burleson and John Carlson. Hasselbeck has been coy all week about his availability for Sunday’s game, but don’t buy it. Just like Donovan McNabb last week (both players have a fractured rib), Hasselbeck won’t be able to stand the pain, and will give way to a backup. In Seneca Wallace, the Seahawks have an experienced, but limited signal-caller. In the nine games he started last season, Wallace threw 11 touchdowns and averaged just 170 yards per game. Expect much the same, which means numbers for Carlson and Houshmandzadeh will dip and Burleson becomes unplayable as long as Wallace is behind center.

I drafted Steve Slaton in the first? Am I toast?

The Texans running back has been woeful through the first two weeks. Slaton ran for just 17 yards in the opener against the Jets and just doubled that the next Sunday against the Titans. He also had fumble issues, leaving many owners in the cold. But be patient. Both the Jets and Titans are strong against the run, and Slaton should start to produce the numbers owners expected of him over the next three weeks against teams with weaker defenses like Jacksonville, Oakland and Arizona. Do pay attention to Chris Brown, though. If the backup continues to steal goalline carries, it may be time to bench Slaton.

Is Manningham for real?

Somebody had to step into Plaxico Burress’ sweat pants, and Mario Manningham staked his claim as the Giants’ top wideout. Last Sunday night, Manningham caught 10 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown, and was targeted on nearly one-third of Eli Manning’s passes. With Domenik Hixon still battling injuries, I think Manningham has a lock on the No. 1 spot with Steve Smith playing the possession guy in the Giants’ offense. That said, don’t expect as huge of numbers as he got Sunday night. New York is a run-based team and Manning has trouble when the weather starts to turn.

What other wide receivers are you buying early on?

I’ll give you a quick rundown on some of the hot names, grading on a scale of 1 (ignore) to 5 (pickup immediately):

Laurent Robinson: 3, He’s become the Rams No. 1 WR, but that isn’t saying much.

Percy Harvin: 2, But that number goes up if you get points for return yards.

Mike Sims-Walker: 2, He made hay with the Jags down big. Plus he’s got injury issues.

Pierre Garcon: 4, He should put up solid numbers in Anthony Gonzalez’s role.

Johnny Knox: 4, It looks like the Bears are going to throw a lot and Knox is emerging as his favorite target.

Are you worried about the Patriots’ offense?

A little. New England has struggled in the first two games and Tom Brady doesn’t look comfortable stepping up in the pocket. But give him some time. He hasn’t had a healthy Wes Welker (his security blanket) and one of the poor performances was last week against a fired-up Jets defense. It doesn’t look like New England will put up the kind of numbers it did two years ago, but Brady will still grade out as a top-five quarterback when it’s all said and done.

For more on fantasy football, check out Aaron Swaney’s blog “Hot Off The Gridiron” at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet