O'Malley's Tallies: Week 7 -- Near Perfection

As the trading deadline has come and gone and the mid point of the season approaches, it is great to see such tight division races around the NFL. With the exception of the dreadful AFC "Least" Division, so much of the NFL standings are up for grabs as we quickly approach November. With the temperatures beginning to drop and the games begin to mean a lot more, it will be interesting to see which teams are definitely going to be contending as well as those that are truly just pretending to be playoff caliber organizations. As I leave you with that thought, here is week 7 edition of “O’Malley’s Tallies”….

STUDS

1. Tom Brady – It’s looking more and more likely that this spot will be reserved for him each and every week. Against the Fish on Sunday, Brady went an unreal 21-25 for 354 yards and 6 touchdowns. In the world of quarterbacks, if this isn’t perfection, I am not sure what is.

2. Kenny Watson – Subbing again for the banged up Rudi Johnson, Kenny Watson went out on Sunday and had the best game of his career vs. the New York Jets. The former Nittany Lion threw the entire team on his back for the day, rushing 31 times for 130, catching three balls for 27 yards, and scoring three times to help lead the Bengals to a desperately needed comeback win vs. the Jets.

3. Laveraneus Coles – In the 1^st half of the Jets game Sunday vs. the Bengals, things couldn’t have looked better for Lavernaneus Coles. L.C. scored two first half touchdowns of 36 and 57 yards and began to silence the critics by asserting himself as Chad Pennington’s clear #1 target. On the day, Coles finished with 8 catches for 133 yards and the two scores.

4. Earnest Graham – While Earnest Graham may not have found the end zone on Sunday, he definitely did some things that made those in PPR leagues extremely happy. On the day, Graham had an impressive THIRTEEN receptions out of the backfield for 99 yards as well as totaling 92 yards rushing on 19 carries. While many thought the trade for Michael Bennett would hurt the fantasy value of Mr. Graham, it certainly didn’t appear to be the case on Sunday vs. the Lions.

5. Rob Bironas – Another kicker sighting on the Stud list!!! While some of you may have argued the validity of Kris Brown making this list a few weeks ago, it is impossible to say Rob Bironas does not deserve to be here. Sunday vs. the Texans Bironas broke an NFL Record by going 8 FOR 8 in field goals as well as adding 2 extra points. Overall, Bironas hit field goals from 52, 25, 21, 30, 28, 43, 29, as well as the game winner as time expired from 29 to help lead his Titans to victory.

DUDS

1. Marc Bulger – Wow. What has happened to the “Greatest Show on Turf”? Once a pleasure to watch each week offensively, the St. Louis Rams have now begun to find new ways each week to get worse. Last week it was Gus Frerotte and his 5 interceptions making the list. This week it’s Marc Bulger, who completed only 52.5% of his passes, threw 3 interceptions, was sacked 6 times, and fumbled in the Rams 33-6 loss Sunday at Seattle. If Tom Brady can have a spot reserved for him on the Stud list, I am beginning to think there will be a weekly St. Louis Ram on the dud list…

2. Bobby Petrino – This choice is beginning to become a no brainer. The Falcons are now 1-6 without any sort of playoff aspirations left to think of. With that being said, what does Petrino honestly see in his evaluation of the running game by continuing to give the ball to Warrick Dunn over Jerious Norwood? On the year, Dunn has tallied 95 carries while Norwood only 47. Despite having only half the carries that Dunn has been given, Norwood remains only 20 yards behind him in rushing yards and has a YPC average of 5.8 compared to Dunn’s 3.1. The future of this club does not belong to 32 year old Dunn. It should belong to the 24 year old playmaker Jerious Norwood.

3. New York Jets – How does a team with a 10 point lead at halftime and all the momentum in the world blow a game like the New York Jets did on Sunday? Just when you thought it was safe to think the Jets could steal a nice road win in Cincinnati, the entire team (from offense, to defense, to coaching staff) goes into a shell and looks awful in the 2^nd half. After a 1-6 start to begin to the year, Gang Green could be seeing Kellen Clemens at the helm next Sunday vs. the Bills in the Meadowlands.

4. Santana Moss – While in all fairness Moss has been a little banged up all year, the fact still remains that this is not what fantasy owners expected at the beginning of the year. With young quarterback Jason Campbell beginning to make strides as an NFL starter, many thought Moss would have a big year down in the Nation’s Capital for the Skins. Unfortunately for him, this has definitely not been the case as of late. On Sunday vs. the Arizona Cardinals, Moss caught only 2 balls for a total of 8 yards, bringing his total for the year up to 14 receptions. If the Redskins hope to build upon their 4-2 start and challenge the Giants and Cowboys for the division crown, #89 is going to have to step it up.

Thanks for reading as always. Speak to you all next Sunday!!

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