Fantasy Football Collective

Gus Frerotte, QB, Minn. -     The 37 year old Frerotte (fur-RAHT) was drafted by the Washington Redskins out of Tulsa in the 7th round of the 1994 NFL draft.  Gus was actually the second QB that the 'skins drafted that year, behind Heath Shuler. However, when Shuler couldn't cut it as the starter, Frerotte stepped in, and stayed there until 1998, with a Pro Bowl selection in 1996.  If you remember the guy who injured himself banging his head against the cement wall in celebration of a touchdown, yeah, that was him.  A number of backup stints for a large handful of teams followed.  The lowdown:  Frerotte is an aggressive passer with a  boatload of experience running an offense that lacks veteran leadership, RB Chester Taylor being an exception.  This could be just what the doctor ordered for the Vikings, but may have limited impact on fantasy owners, as I can't see the Vikings abandoning their spectacular run game.

Darren Sproles, RB, San Diego - The scrappy Sproles is the NFL's shortest player, at 5'6'', but is known for big performances.  Sproles' first two NFL TDs came in the same game in 2007, one a punt return and the other a kick return, he being the first player ever to do so.  Then, last week, Sproles came up huge again in place of the ailing Ladanian Tomlinson. Darren was only the second player in NFL history to rack up 50 rush yards, 50 receiving yards, and 100 return yards in one game (53, 72, 192, respectively).  The lowdown:  For LT owners, worry not, LT will be back to normal soon.  But picking up Sproles as a handcuff is a must, at least for the next few weeks.

Matt Cassel, QB, NE - With all of the media coverage surrounding NFL cover boy Tom Brady's backup lately, I probably don't need to tell you that Cassel's biggest issue is a lack of experience as a starter.  But it seems to be so far, so good for the young QB.  He has good size and decent mobility, and is surrounded by teammates who believe in him.  Still, Cassel is going to need a big game with a few TD passes to make fantasy owners believe. The lowdown:  Cassel needs to utilize his two biggest weapons, Randy Moss and Wes Welker, in order to please the fantasy masses.

Tyler Thigpen, QB, KC - Another 7th round pick (2007, Vikings), not much is known about Thigpen as an NFL player, because we really haven't seen much as of yet.  We will have a better idea this week when Thigpen makes his first NFL start in place of Damon Huard, who was replacing the injured Brodie Croyle.  The lowdown:  Owners of TE Tony Gonzalez may benefit from this move, as Thigpen looked very uncomfortable throwing to his receivers last week, and may continually look to the veteran Gonzalez to bail him out.

Michael Bush , RB, OAK - While rookie RB Darren McFadden is really the main backup for the injured Justin Fargas (groin), Bush will likely be seeing more playing time due to the fact that McFadden has also missed a practice this week due to his turf toe.  The lowdown:  Bush has performed well and shown that he is not only capable of picking up yards, but also running in TDs.  Bush is a more than viable option for your flex slot, especially when considering QB JaMarcus Russell's struggles with the passing game.

Robert Meachem, WR, NO - With the injury to Saints WR Marques Colston, Drew Brees will be forced to look elsewhere for passing targets.  Meachem, a 2007 first round pick, was drafted to replace the departed Joe Horn.  While injury forced Meachem to sit out his rookie season, he returned this preseason and performed very well.  The lowdown:  The Saints have a number of decent candidates at WR, but Meachem is young and has a lot of competitive spirit.  While this could be a breath of fresh air for the team, it may not do much for fantasy owners, as platooning will be the likely scenario for the Saints wide-outs.

    All of this, and it's only week 3.  Break out the antacids, we are in for a wild ride.

- Jay Hathaway