Friday, March 16, 2001

Week Seven fantasy tips

By Andy Hanacek, Associate editor and XFL analyst

• If you have any Memphis Maniax players, you’d be well-served to start them most weeks, but not this one. The Maniax have the top-rated offense, top-rated passing offense and the second-rated rushing offense. Maniax QB Jim Druckenmiller lit up the Chicago Enforcers’ defense for 413 yards last week. But Druckenmiller and the rest of the Maniax could have a tough time this week against the league’s top pass defense, and third total defense, in the New York/New Jersey Hitmen.

• You may be wondering why the Rage are so good, yet they have no outstanding overall fantasy players. QB Jeff Brohm has been solid, but not outstanding, and WR Dailleo Burks also has been solid. RB Derrick Clark does lead the league in rushing touchdowns, but is fifth in yardage. Well, the answer is all right there for you. The Rage are so good because their offense is so well-rounded that the statistics are spread evenly across the unit.

• Maniax RB Rashaan Salaam is questionable with a shoulder injury this week, so be careful about starting him. But Salaam may be worth the risk. He’s the league’s leading rusher and is tied for the lead in rushing touchdowns.

• If Hitmen QB Wally Richardson or Enforcers QB Kevin McDougal are still free agents in your league, what are you waiting for? Both have looked very promising, and have thrown some really accurate passes in recent weeks.

• Los Angeles Xtreme WR Jeremaine Copeland is distancing himself from the rest of the receivers in the league in terms of receptions. He has nine more catches than second-place receiver, Birmingham Bolts WR Stepfret Williams. But Copeland has nearly seven yards less per catch than Williams. So if you’re looking to trade for a wide receiver for the stretch run, keep those two stats in mind. If your league counts yardage, go after Williams. If it counts receptions, go after Copeland.

• Enforcers WR Aaron Bailey has stepped up his game a bit with McDougal at the helm, and Bailey seems to be a viable deep threat, something the Enforcers need to focus on in order to stretch defenses.

• Given the success of backup quarterbacks so far in the league, snap up Bolts QB Jay Barker. Casey "Joe Montana" Weldon is done for the year with a shoulder injury, and the man that Birmingham fans chanted for on opening day gets his chance to shine. The Bolts’ offense is pretty good all-around, so signing Barker might turn out to be a good move if you need a quarterback.

• If the San Francisco Demons don’t start QB Mike Pawlawski this week against the Enforcers, they need to go back to the drawing board. The Enforcers’ defense is terrible, and Pawlawski could use an easy game to get back into rhythm in his first game back from a neck injury. Backup QB Pat Barnes has played well in Pawlawski’s absence, but Pawlawski has already been anointed as "The Man" for the Demons by head coach Jim Skipper.

• I wouldn’t jump on the Saladin McCullough bandwagon just yet, despite his 157-yard rushing performance last week. He plays on the pass-heavy Xtreme. Wait and see if the new-found success on the ground changes anything in L.A. If it does, grab McCullough. If not, don’t jump to conclusions.

• Avery Watch 2001: Well, Enforcers RB John Avery is healthy again, and looked good last week against the Maniax. But from a fantasy perspective, you might be better off having LeShon Johnson instead of Avery. It seems Avery is going through what I call Barry Sanders Syndrome. When Lions RB Barry Sanders used to break big runs down within the five-yard line, he would be taken out for a bigger, more powerful back (Tommy Vardell, in most cases). The same thing happened to Robert Smith of the Vikings when they had Leroy Hoard a few years back. Avery is a smaller guy at 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, while Johnson really isn’t much bigger (5-11, 200). But Johnson seems to run more downhill than Avery, who runs more upright. Neither style is incorrect or bad, but it is costing Avery short-yardage touchdowns. Avery’s three touchdowns have been from 64, 28 and 25 yards. Johnson’s four have been from 1, 2, 3 and 7 yards. If you get yardage bonuses, Avery’s your man. If it’s just touchdowns you want, go for Johnson.

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