Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2001

Fantasy notebook

Favre looking to throw more in red zone, and Green’s TD totals are suffering

By Jeff Agrest, Senior editor

Last season Green became a scoring machine. It took a season-ending knee injury to Dorsey Levens to get him going, but Green owned the second half of the season, gaining 1,063 combined yards and scoring 10 total touchdowns. For the year, Green finished with 1,734 combined yards and 13 total touchdowns.

Fantasy owners can’t quibble with Green’s yardage, as his ranking indicates. But they can with Green’s scoring. Granted, Green has just one more touchdown though 10 games this season (six) than he did last season, but again, he didn’t take over the featured role until Week Nine. He’s been "the man" from the get-go this season.

So who’s to blame? Look no further than the quarterback, Brett Favre. Last season eight of Green’s 10 rushing touchdowns originated inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. This season just one of his five rushing scores has. Favre is throwing more in the red zone, and that’s taking scoring chances away from Green.

Favre also is throwing more TD passes. He surpassed his 2000 total of 20 with his two scores on Thanksgiving. Favre now has 21 TD passes, 14 of which have come in the red zone. Fourteen. Those close to the team say that Favre has been in offensive coordinator Tom Rossley’s ear about throwing near the goal line. Well, Rossley’s listening.

There’s still hope for Green. After all, he still has six games left, and last season he scored eight touchdowns in the final five games, including three two-TD outings. But with the way Favre has been throwing the ball, Green’s scoring chances in the red zone appear to be limited. Mathematically, he’s on pace to finish with 9.6 touchdowns.

Trendy wideout

If once is a coincidence and two is a trend, then it’s time to start Dolphins WR Chris Chambers.

In Week Nine against the Colts, Chambers caught three passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Last week against the Bills, he caught five passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns.

Did the rookie simply take advantage of shoddy defenses? Perhaps. But he sure made some nice grabs doing so. And guess what? Chambers will face both the Colts and Bills one more time. But first, a susceptible Broncos defense awaits.

One-week wonders

Don’t run to your commissioner to claim either Redskins RB Ki-Jana Carter or Chiefs RB Mike Cloud. With Stephen Davis nursing a sore back, Carter carried 18 times for 56 yards and a touchdown last week. But despite his injury, Davis still carried 22 times for 79 yards, offering hope he’d be fine for this week’s game against the Cowboys.

Cloud carried five times for 35 yards last Sunday and scored on a 15-yard run. But entering the game, he had carried just once for three yards — on the season. Priest Holmes and Tony Richardson remain ahead of Cloud on the depth chart.

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2001 - 2002 Season