| Things have been looking up for "The Arkush
Boys" team in Pro Football Weekly’s always-competitive inter-office
fantasy league — a subject I like to write about every now and then in this space,
especially when we’re winning. Lately, we’ve been on fire, baby, with four
straight wins after starting the season with three straight losses. Our victory last
weekend was particularly uplifting, as our starting lineup — QB Daunte Culpepper, RBs
Jerome Bettis and Priest Holmes, WRs Rod Smith, Joe Horn and Curtis Conway, TE Ernie
Conwell, PK Mike Vanderjagt and the Giants’ defense — rung up a whopping 68
points.
Unfortunately, though, we can hardly afford to rest on our laurels, since neither
Culpepper nor the two tight ends currently on my roster — Conwell and Byron
Chamberlain — will be available this weekend because it’s their bye week.
Which is why I am suddenly very much focused on my backup QB, none other than
Pittsburgh’s Kordell Stewart.
Will my team suffer with Stewart at the helm? That’s the big question that
"The Arkush Boys" co-owner (my 12-year-old son, Brandon) and I will be pondering
right up until noon Sunday.
If the Steelers’ last game is any indication, Brandon and I might not be in too
bad a shape. In the Steelers’ impressive 34-7 thumping of the downtrodden Titans last
Monday night, Stewart was 13-of-22 for 232 yards with a TD pass and a TD run.
Those are not great numbers by any means, but they aren’t all that bad either.
What’s bad is the fact it was only the second 200-yard passing effort from Stewart in
two years.
Then there’s something else to consider: Stewart will be going up against the
Ravens’ defense this Sunday. While this might not be as big a potential handicap as
it would have been last season, when the Baltimore defense flat-out dominated opponents
every week, it’s still a potential problem, considering the Ravens’
"D" can still be brilliant when it wants to be, as was the case in the fourth
quarter of Baltimore’s come-from-behind win last weekend over the Jaguars, when it
limited Jacksonville to just 39 yards.
The key could be Steelers second-year WR Plaxico Burress, whose 151-yard receiving
effort vs. the Titans was good for more yards than he had in Pittsburgh’s first five
games this season. Was this the breakout game the Steelers have long expected from
Burress, their top draft pick last year, or did Plaxico simply benefit from going up
against a banged-up Tennessee secondary that is being held together with chewing gum and
tissue paper?
It’s worth noting that if the Ravens’ defense has a weak link right now, it
would definitely be CB Duane Starks, who has been burned a lot in recent weeks and would
probably be the guy covering Burress most of the time this Sunday. If Stewart and Burress
could do a number on the vulnerable Ravens corners, especially Starks, our QB situation
could be halfway decent this Sunday, especially considering Stewart’s omnipresent
rushing ability.
Then again, the Steelers-Ravens tilt has all the earmarks of a 6-3 bloodbath, with both
defenses wreaking havoc for fantasy players far and wide.
In any event, Stewart appears ripe for the challenge.
"When defenses put eight in the box like Tennessee did and they’re daring you
to throw the ball, it’s a great opportunity to go down the field," said Stewart,
who definitely benefited last Monday night from a much more wide-open offensive game plan
by Steelers offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey. "We haven’t taken advantage of
those opportunities enough this year, but I think we’re capable."
Let’s hope so, Slash. As for my TE predicament, I will hopefully find a
serviceable player in the next 72 hours that hasn’t been drafted by anyone this
season who could fill the bill for a week.
As always, guys, I’m open to suggestions. Maybe you know of a tight end or two who
could be lurking in the woodwork. If you do, let me know by e-mailing me at darkush@primediasi.com.
Brandon and I will be forever in your debt. |
