Fantasy Football Commentary

For a day or so, fans and media alike agreed that the league's most pitiful franchise was, for a brief moment, not the . But the Cardinals' monumental Monday night collapse is fraught with hidden positives (the emergence of Matt Leinart, the fact that Arizona played to within inches of beating the almighty Bears, etc...), and let 10 Santonio Holmes black jersey
us not forget that they, unlike the Raiders, have tasted victory in 2006.Now that we've cleared that up, let's get back to the point of the matter. Among the various shortcomings that have plagued Oakland, one that is often overlooked is its complete and utter lack of fantasy football viability. The Raiders started the season with three legitimate fantasy difference makers, but now one is shelved with an injury and the other two are barely starting material. Let's take a closer look at these three unmitigated fantasy busts:RB LaMont Jordan - Two, three, 19, eight, five. Those are the weekly point outputs for Jordan thus far in '06. That's not good when you're considered a first-round prospect on most fantasy boards. However, most Raider fans don't care about his fantasy production; instead, they are more concerned with the fact that their "franchise" running back has only one touchdown on the season and is essentially a non-factor in the passing game after being touted as a dangerous weapon out of the backfield.WR Randy Moss - Arguably the league's most talented wideout, Moss has actually been performing at a decent clip over the past few weeks. He's averaging nearly 10 points per game over the past two weeks and has scored a touchdown in two of his last three outings. Still, he must continue to perform at this level, and throw in a couple of breakout performances, in order to justify his lofty fantasy draft status. Unfortunately, most Raider fans are convinced that his inconsistent effort and lackadaisical approach will keep him from manifesting such things. QB Aaron Brooks - Hahahahaha! If you drafted Aaron Brooks, you're an idiot. But seriously, Brooks was taken in most fantasy leagues, and responded with a collective zero 4 Brett Favre Purple jersey
points through the first two weeks of the season. Brooks is still recovering from a shoulder injury which has forced him to miss three games, but he could be ready to return in Week 7 against the Cardinals. Anybody want to put money on whether Brooks will become a fantasy blue-chipper in the second half of the season? Senior writer Anthony Carroll will return with his column on Thursday.Get more fantasy angles (and other assorted insights) at (14)