Austin Breaks Out Big Time

Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin set a franchise record with 250 yards receiving against the Chiefs on Sunday.  Dallas has been looking for a big play receiver and Austin may be it.  Austin should’ve been the starter for Dallas all along.  He is the only Dallas receiver who can get deep.  Patrick Crayton who is/was the starter is really nothing more than a possession receiver and is best suited for the slot role, but for some reason Dallas gave him the starting job.  Hopefully after their bye week Austin will be given the starting job.  If you wisely picked him up knowing that he would start in place of the injured Roy Williams, then you may have won your game because of his offensive explosion.  If Austin is still available in your league, he’ll be the top free agent claimed this week.

Steve Slaton owners have to be more than frustrated right now.  Slaton only had 39 yards rushing on 13 carries Sunday against the Cardinals.  Arizona may not be the worst defense on the planet, but certainly not the best either.  With the threat of the Texans passing game, one would believe that Slaton would have the room to run, but it’s just not happening.  What makes matters even worse is that he is not getting any goal line carries, as the Texans prefer to give Chris Brown the ball.  What do you do?  If you try and trade him, you would be selling low as you certainly won’t get anywhere near what his value was at draft time.  At this point you’re either going to have to give in, sell him for a player you can use or just ride him out and hope he turns things around.

 I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but Bengals running back Cedric Benson is probably a top ten fantasy back right now.  I mean, do you realize that he leads the NFL in rushing at this point.  That’s right - he has more yards than Adrian Peterson.  Teams are still paying more attention to Carson Palmer and the running game, leaving plenty of room to roam for Benson.  For those Slaton owners, perhaps you could make a deal to a Benson owner who believes he will come back down to Earth.

 Poor Detroit Lions, not only do they lose rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford to a knee injury for a game or two, but now second year wide receiver Calvin Johnson is also dealing with a knee injury.  Now the Lions aren’t going anywhere this season, so you could argue that losing games and getting a high draft pick is best for the team, but Stafford and Johnson need to be on the field together so they can develop the kind of chemistry that will make this pair truly dangerous when the Lions are ready to compete.

 Could the Giants have received any bigger gift than they got on Sunday versus Oakland?  In a perfect world the Giants wanted to get up early, have the game in hand by halftime, then be able to rest quarterback Eli Manning for the remainder of the game so as not to further aggravate his heel injury.  So nice of the Raiders to accommodate them.

 The game on Sunday between Cleveland and Buffalo set the NFL back a few decades.  When was the last time a winning quarterback only completed two passes for 23 yards?  How does Buffalo justify losing this game?  It’s just a matter of time until head coach Dick Juaron is fired.  It would appear that firing your offensive coordinator a couple of weeks before the season is started is not a good idea. 

 Looks like everyone who thought Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes was going to be the next big thing at receiver will have to wait a little longer.  Ever since having a terrible game including several dropped passes against the Chicago Bears in Week Two, Holmes seems to have disappeared from the offense.

 What does it say about your team when during the first five weeks of the season, every team you played was winless, yet your record is 2-3?  Well, it would to say that you’re not very good.  Let’s welcome the Washington Redskins.  Who gets fired first - Juaron or Jim Zorn?

 Outside of a Vikings or Rams fan, I’m not sure why anyone would’ve watched the game played between these two teams on Sunday, but if you did, you had to be sick to your stomach as to how many times the Rams fumbled or were intercepted inside the red zone.  Steven Jackson owners had to be physically ill after watching him fumble at the Vikings five yard line.  Jackson was a top pick in your draft yet because he plays on a terrible team just can’t put up the fantasy points you need, and fumbling on one of those rare occasions when he might actually do some damage hurts even more.

 What happened to the Jaguars offense?  Wide receiver Mike Sims-Walker is suspended for disobeying some team rule and all of a sudden they can’t score.  Losing to the Seahawks is nothing to be ashamed of, but losing 41-0 is.  The good news is wide receiver Torry Holt finally showed up to play as he had seven catches for 95 yards, but can he keep that up once Sims-Walker returns.

 Speaking of receivers, the Buccaneers decided to double cover Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson on Sunday, allowing Jeremy Maclin to prove to the NFL that he can be just as dangerous.  With Brian Westbrook, Brent Celek, and LeSean McCoy, the Eagles are loaded with offensive weapons and can put up many a crooked number each and every week.  It will also force teams to choose their poison of taking Jackson or Maclin out of the game.

 Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell still holds the honr as the worst quarterback in the NFL.  

Kerry Collins is still the Titans quarterback for the time being, like sand in an hourglass, his time is running out.

 Patriots quarterback is clearly not the QB he used to be.  Whether his knee is still not 100% or he is still rusty from being out for a year, you never see Brady miss the passes he did on Sunday including two easy touchdowns to Randy Moss and Wes Welker.  Brady owners shouldn’t panic; he should get better as the season rolls along.   Who would’ve thought that Moss would have as many interceptions as touchdowns through Week 5?

 Buffalo running back Marshawn Lynch seems to have taken over the starting role from Fred Jackson.  Lynch is still no more than a RB2 most weeks and Jackson no better than a reserve.

This post was written by George Kurtz