From the Misc File seen on CN8 Nov 23, 2004 | More

We'll almost cut right to the chase here this week...as most of you know, I've been lucky enough to be on Comcast CN8 New England's Sports Pulse show on Thursday nights talking about fantasy football.  What we talk about can be broken dow into the following categories:

Players to pick up this week
Players to start this week
Players to bench this week
Top players by position based on projections
Miscellaneous timely topic of my choosing

Here is this week's installment of the "Misc File", where we talked about the Youth Quarterback movement that was starting to take place.  Three moves made this past week, with three more sure to come. 

In Action This week (week 11)...
Eli Manning in for Kurt Warner (Giants)
We start of with this one since it could potentially have the biggest fantasy impact of all the moves.  Mind you, we're not talking about these players so that you can run out and pick them up off of waivers.  On the contrary, these guys will probably not be worth anything as fantasy players.  Their impact, however, will be felt on the offense as a whole.  In this case, this will directly, and I think adversely affect Tiki Barber.

Up until now, Barber has been having an unbelievable season.  While it's not much of a surprise to those of you that have been with us since the beginning, many other publications had him ranked well outside the top 15 RBs heading into draft day.  His numbers are bound to go down with this move, although since he is heavily involved in the passing game, the numbers shouldn't go down that much.  Having said that, Barber's value has probably never been higher.

Unrelated yet related, this is the most puzzling of the moves being made.  I thought Tom Coughlin was right on the money when he named Warner the starter.  Then the Giants won a few games early on and it looked like they would contend for a playoff spot.  The NFC is extremely weak, so at this point, the Giants are far from eliminated from post-season consideration.  I said at the time, and I'll say again, in order to get into the playoffs, New York needs a veteran at the helm to lead them. 

As Tony said in last week's progno, the problem here is not Warner.  The offensive line is not good and Warner is being sacked upwards of five times a game.  I don't care who you are, you can't produce under those conditions.  The only thing I can think of is that Coughlin is looking to "spark" the team into playing well, I'm just not sure that can happen in the NFL. 

Patrick Ramsey in for Mark Brunell (Redskins)
Contrary to the above move, this is a move that's been a LONG time coming.  I mean, when was the last time that Brunell threw for more than 100 yards in one game?  I certainly can't remember.  Ramsey is a guy that did ok with Spurrier last year, but for whatever reason, Gibbs doesn't like the guy. 

That said, Ramsey is a vast improvement over Brunell, especially in the arm strength department.  If Gibbs can somehow restore some confidence in Ramsey, then maybe the Redskins will actually throw the ball down field!  Could spark some nice numbers from the Washington WRs.  Rod Gardner may return from his Carmen Sandiego routine (where in the world has he been??).  On the flip side, another situation that may hurt the numbers of Clinton Portis. 

AJ Feely in for Jay Fiedler (Dolphins)
This is more informational than anything else.  The situation in Miami is in dire straights.  If you are starting anyone aside of Randy McMichael, or even considering starting anyone else, then your team is also in dire straights.  Miami is bad, stay away at all costs. 

Sure to come before the season is out...
Drew Henson in for Vinny Testaverde (Cowboys)
Unlike Coughlin, Parcells will wait until Dallas has been offially eliminated before making the switch.  When that happens, you are going to see a lot of Henson and Julius Jones.  The potential switch here will probably affect both Keyshawn Johnson and Jason Witten slightly, but not that much.  Dallas' running attack is negligible right now, but with Jones, he may end up getting the bulk of the carries and could even be a worthy fantasy player down the stretch. 

JPLoseman in for Drew Bledsoe (Bills)
Being from New England, seeing Bledsoe struggle so mightly has been tough to watch.  We saw him here in his absolute glory days, throwing the ball 60 times against the Vikings, games of 350 yards and 3 TDs were on the low end.  Sadly, Bledsoe has quickly taken a turn for the worst, much like Jim Rice did with the Red Sox. 

I'm seeing Loseman as the starter as soon as he's physically healthy.  It would have already taken place, but that's the only thing holding him back.  Buffalo has already handed things over the McGahee, so no affect there.  Eric Moulds' numbers can't go any lower so really no affect there. 

Luke McCown in for Jeff Garcia (Browns)
This is another case where if you've been with us since pre-season, you are not surprised by the struggles of Jeff Garcia.  A combination of his age and this simply being a bad fit doomed both parties from the get go.  People don't remember that McCown looked fantastic in preseason.  Yes, I know it's preseason, but you're talking about a kid stepping in from college and doing well for himself. 

I give Garcia a couple more weeks.  The Browns brass will probably end up blowing everything up, so getting the coach to make the move right now may not be something they can get to happen sooner than later.  As for affect on others, Cleveland has been a terrible place for any fantasy player so really no change there.