Shark Q & A Session VII Corey Dragge, Fantasy Football Staff Writer Nov 11, 2003 | More

My inbox explode this week, as fantasy playoffs are right around the corner. Though it was tough I was able to respond to each and every one of your emails. Some of you had to wait till Saturday to here from me and for that I apologize but believe me when I tell you, that was the soonest I could respond.

Keep those emails coming. Ask me about trades, waiver wire work, or roster decisions and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Remember, it’s the early bird that gets the worm so send you questions in now if you need a quick response.

(Please provide town and state in which you live)

Naples, Fl: Need to know what you think.

I am sitting at 5-3-1. My team has the scored the most points in my league and always runs into the "hot" team of the week. Need to know when to start Bennett of the Vikings. I have Davis from Houston and Taylor of Jacksonville; McAllister of the Saints is on the bye.

I got this gut feeling about him this week. He looked ready against Green Bay and the Vikings need a jump-start besides Randy Moss. I like Davis a lot and Fred Taylor can always break one but Bennett is special. The match ups dictate Taylor against Indy, Bennett against the Chargers and Davis against the Bengals.

Bengals  "D" doesn’t appear to be that bad and Davis is injured. Be a great game for him (Bennett) to get back in the flow of things. Scoring is basic 1 point per 10 yards rush bonus after 100 yards and 6 points per rush TD.

Corey: San Diego has the 8th worst rush defense in the NFL and Bennett does look
ready to go. The thing that impressed me the most was his cuts and acceleration. Though he did look understandably nervous at first he really quickly returned to his old form. Was it just me or did this guy look like he had missed a week maybe two but not 8 weeks?

Its a not only a safe play but a smart one.

Cincinnati, Ohio: Hey Corey, I'm hoping you can help me out here. I'm sitting at 6-3 in my league right now. I'm currently holding:

QB- Aaron Brooks, Donovan McNabb, Tim Rattay
RB- L. Tomlinson, C. Dillon, C. Garner, M. Bennett
WR- R. Moss, I. Hilliard, D. Driver, J. Porter, D. Branch
Def- Carolina, New Orleans
K- G. Anderson

I'm having a fairly good year but really want to win this thing. I have a feeling that Bennett and/or Dillon will come up big at RB down the stretch. I have been offered M. Harrison for L. Tomlinson. I know Tomlinson has outscored Harrison and has been a real scorer for me, but I am concerned with my 3rd wide out position. Do you think I should do this??? Is my faith in M. Bennett to takeover in Minnesota accurate???

Corey: This is a great question.

In your case I would say go for it and here is why. This will give you two of the top three WRs in the game right now without totally decimating your RB crew. Remember it may be a few weeks before Bennett takes all the carries but by the looks for things your confidence and faith in him to make an impact in the second half of the season is very accurate.

LT has outscored Harrison and LT has been producing but with Bennett returning in the fashion that he did it should ease the majority of the pain of losing him. This is a gamble but I think that it is one that is worth taking at this point.

Atlanta, GA: I have Culpepper, McNair and Bulger whom I picked up as soon as Warner went down.  I also have E. James, W. Green, and McAllister.  I would like to trade one of my great QB's for a good RB.  Who should I get rid of and what should I expect to get in return?

Corey: Trade Bulger (McNair and Culpepper offer more rushing yards/TD opportunities). You can shoot for a Davis (Carolina), Portis (Denver) or Alexander (Seattle) but it may be difficult to pull a RB of this caliber this late in the season but good luck. The worst they can say is no.

Lethbridge, Alberta: Please help me with my running backs this week.  I need your expert opinion.

Here are my league standings:

Team 1     6-2-1

Team 2     6-3-0

Team 3     5-3-1

Team 4     5-4-0

------------------------

Me           4-5-0

Team 6     4-5-0

Team 7     4-5-0

Team 8     1-8-0

I go head-to-head with Team 4 (5-4-0) this week.

I need to start 2 RB's and points are awarded by the following:  Rushing TD = 6 pts, 20 Rush/Rec yards = 1 point.

I have LT and will be starting him.  My other running backs are:

Jamal Lewis (vs. STL, 109 avg rushing yds allowed, 4 rushing TD's allowed)

Charlie Garner (vs. NYJ, 153 avg rushing yds allowed, 9 rushing TD's allowed)

Anthony Thomas (vs. DET, 117 avg rushing yds allowed, 7 rushing TD's allowed)

Who should I start as my second RB if I really need a win?

Thank you for your help,

Corey: The A-Train will carry you home. Thomas looks great in his return from injury and against this weak Detroit defense he should provide some great fantasy numbers. Good Luck in the big game.

(Yes. Yes, I know. Lewis ended up with 111 and 1 pay dirt visit while the Train only traveled 61 yards on 21 carries. Sorry Alberta, I was certain that Thomas was going to break the century mark and hit pay dirt at least once.)

New Orleans, LA: I've read your column the past few weeks and have really agreed with your advice.  Help me out with this trade proposal I was offered.

My Roster:
McNair, B. Johnson
A. Green, M. Williams, M. Bennett, E. James, R. Williams Ind
D. Mason, S. Smith, K. Robinson, R. Gardner, J. Galloway
T. Heap

His Roster:
Bulger, Delhomme
R. Williams, W. Green, A. Zereoue, A, Cason
S. Moss, J. Horn, J. Morton, J. Smith
B. Miller, C. Fauria

He has offered anyone on his team but Bulger and R. Williams.  He wants from
me Edge or Bennett.  I feel like I'm weak at WR.  I like both S. Moss and
Horn.  Which of the two, Bennett or James, would be the better to give up
for which WR?  Also, am I giving up too much for a WR - should I keep my
depth at RB?

Here's the kicker - I am 5-4 and right now the last team in the playoffs.
He is 4-5 and breathing down my neck.  Do I make the trade and improve his
team so that he can knock me out of the playoffs?

Corey: Stand fast. Don't improve his team especially with him breathing down your
neck for the last playoff spot.

If he isn't willing to give you any of his quality players (i.e. Ricky or Bulger) then why give him one of yours. Don't get me wrong Santana Moss makes this deal interesting but take a look at your opponent’s roster. He has no real viable threat at 2nd RB while he has 4 solid WRs.

If you give him that solid 2nd RB for one of his WRs (even Moss) then his team improves dramatically while your team would improve only slightly. Don't help this guy out. If he wants to trade make him pay for it.