5 Minute Fantasy
MATCHUP OF THEWEEK
They were among the elite receivers of the 1990s before they fell on toughtimes. Still, though long in the tooth, these two former Buckeyes speedstersare making a fantasy impact. Who's the better choice?
JOEYGALLOWAY
WR BUCCANEERS
VS.
TERRY GLENN
WR COWBOYS
This onceoverrated veteran wide receiver out of Ohio State is entering his 12th NFLseason. In 2005 his numbers jumped by 871 yards and five TDs over those duringan injury-plagued '04, accounting for his fourth career 1,000-yard season. Hehad a career-high 83 catches in '05 and matched his career average of 15.5yards per catch. He'll be the team's No. 1 receiver ahead of MichaelClayton.
This onceoverrated veteran wide receiver out of Ohio State is entering his 11th NFLseason. In 2005 his numbers jumped by 736 yards and five TDs over those duringan injury-plagued '04, accounting for his third career 1,000-yard season. Heaveraged a career-high 18.3 yards per catch in '05; his 62 grabs were his mostsince 2000. He'll be the team's No. 2 receiver behind Terrell Owens.
VERDICT:Galloway's total of 10 TDs no doubt is a red flag to defensive coordinators,while those drawing up game plans against Dallas will first try to stopOwens--leaving Glenn as a very dangerous afterthought. That's why he's thebetter choice.
DEEPTHINKERS
Read Peter King's 10 Fantasy Things I Think I Think and analysis from DavidSabino at SI.com/fantasy.
JEFFRICHADIHA
THE INSIDE MAN
FeelingRandy?
Don't give in to impulse by investing too highly in Randy Moss, throttled byhis own offense
FOR ALL thosefantasy owners eyeing the Raiders' Randy Moss as a potential No. 1 widereceiver, here's some advice: Stay away. As things stand, there's no way Mossdeserves to be taken high in anybody's draft. It's not that he's lost any ofhis freakish ability; it's because he's mired in an offense that doesn't takefull advantage of his abilities.
Moss produced thesecond-worst season of his career (60 receptions, 1,005 yards, eighttouchdowns) in 2005, primarily because the Raiders didn't make much of aneffort to get him the ball. In fact, an AFC scout told me that the Chiefscovered Moss with then 32-year-old journeyman cornerback Dewayne Washington ina game last season, and Washington only gave up one reception. If you think newcoach Art Shell will find better ways to use Moss, think again: Shell wants toimplement a power-running offense.
Other factorshurt Moss: The Raiders are relying on erratic quarterback Aaron Brooks as theirstarter, and their offensive coordinator, Tom Walsh, has been out of footballfor more than a decade. All of this points to a ton of headaches for fantasyowners who think Moss will be the solution to their passing games. Right nowhe's merely a solid second receiver--at best.
PETER KING
I THINK ...
Hamming ItUp
... you should be wary of receivers with hamstring injuries
Early in trainingcamp I visited the Panthers in Spartanburg, S.C., and sat down with wideoutSteve Smith. He'd just suffered what I'd read was a "tweaked"hamstring, and the Panthers were listing him as day-to-day. My antennae sprungup.
"Whenever Ihear that a player 'tweaked a hamstring,'" I said to Smith, "it alwaysends up being more like three weeks than three days."
Smith smiled."This," he said, "is no three days."
Hamstringinjuries never are. And Smith (right), as of late last week, still wasn'tpracticing. Which is why you should bump him down to near No. 10 in yourreceiver rankings. I'd bump Terrell Owens down into the teens. I'd bump HinesWard (left) to the same area, the teens. And I might not take David Givens atall. They're all draftable players, certainly, most very high. Allhammy-plagued. And this is what I've noticed about hamstring injuries over theyears: If you get one in camp and you try to come back too soon, your entireseason will suffer.
"I had onelast year," Joe Horn told me in Saints camp, "and I was never right thewhole year. That's why my production was down. I could never run the way Ineeded to."
Word to the wise:Right now a whole Joey Galloway is probably worth more than a hamstrung SteveSmith.
DAVIDSABINO
MARKET WATCH
Moving Up
WillieParker
RB STEELERS
Primed to become the go-to guy on every down, including at the goal line.
DeuceMcAllister
RB SAINTS
Running as if he's nearly all the way back from 2005 torn ACL.
MichaelKoenen
K-P FALCONS
Big-legged kickoff specialist hasn't missed a field goal.
Moving Down
MarcedesLewis
TE JAGUARS
Could be sidelined at the start with a high right ankle sprain.
CoreyDillon
RB PATRIOTS
A big camp has earned Laurence Maroney some of Dillon's carries.
KevanBarlow
RB JETS
Started off on wrong foot in New York.
PHOTO
REINHOLD MATAY/WIREIMAGE.COM (GALLOWAY)
PHOTO
TOM PENNINGTON/FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM/KRT/ABACAUSA.COM (GLENN)
PHOTO
GREG TROTT/WIREIMAGE.COM (MOSS)
GATHERING MOSS If you must have the Raiders wide receiver on your team, heshould be drafted in a later round.
PHOTO
HOWARD SCHATZ (CHADIHA)
PHOTO
MICHAEL FABUS/WIREIMAGE.COM (WARD)
PHOTO
CHRISTOPHER A. RECORD/CHARLOTTE OBSERVER/AP (SMITH)