Fantasy Football

We’re trying to fall back into a groove here, so please bear with us if it’s a slow process. Just like we are behind on this site, we are even more so at our day job. Please be patient.

Anyhow, here are your five surprisingly good performances. Not necessarily the five best (thought those can be included), but the five that exceeded expectations by the widest margins. Doing a top five performers seems kind of self-explanatory and a bit redundant. It’s complicated, I know.

1) Ronnie Brown
Obvious fucking choice. He could have ran for negative yards and maced a kid in the crowd, but if you run for five touchdowns, particularly in a week where even those with the most limited options, no one is going to start you against the Patriots. Thanks Ronnie, since I don’t have you, I couldn’t care less. But keep proving me right that you were always the better running back between you and Cadillac at Auburn.

Someone else had a good game, but not as good as Ronnie Brown's. Hmm, I wonder why.

2) Brandon Lloyd
Hanging six catches for 120 yards and a touchdown isn’t something we’ve seen from a Chicago receiver in a long time. Possibly ever. But he did just that against Tampa, a team that is rumored to have a solid defense. Brandon Lloyd: what a career he has had out of Illinois. First he under achieves in San Fransisco, then he under achieves with Washington, and then he puts up some good numbers with the Bears. Anyhow, it looks like the move to Kyle Orton is paying off.

3) Correll Buckhalter
Of course it took a near catastrophic Westbrook injury (If I wasn’t an Eagles fan, I’d be rooting for him to finally miss a season that everyone keeps telling me he is bound to miss since I actually don’t have him on my team this year) for him to put up numbers. But God bless him, we didn’t think Correll Buckhalter was capable of any production, regardless of where he is in the pecking order. For the past five years I’ve been under the impression that Buckhalter was the only running back in the league that couldn’t get 1,000 yards with the Broncos, now I may have to reevaluate things.

4) Rudi Johnson
Fuck. This. Bullshit. You’re defying conventional wisdom for aging receivers, Rudi. And I do not like it one bit. What? Did the Niners and Lions get together for an old-timers game so at least San Fransisco fans can feel like their team is remotely competitive again? Go back to Cinncy so we can watch you toil away in a suddenly predictable and stale offensive scheme.

5) Steve Slaton
We put this on here, not because we’re surprised he is putting up some stellar numbers in his rookie season (if you saw him run at West Virginia then you shouldn’t be remotely surprised by this, I felt the same way about Marion Barber when Julius Jones was injured about four seasons ago), but to remind everyone that he exists. If whoever is/was in front of him continues giving up carries, go out of your way to pick him up.

Other contenders for this that we didn’t add because of our earlier post about quarterbacks: Kyle Orton, Brian Griese, Philip Rivers.

Other contenders we didn’t add because their performances are becoming less and less surprising: Michael Turner, Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall.

Back tomorrow with a list of some sort.