Fantasy Minute: Are Johnson, Gore back?

After weeks of modest productivity, both Frank Gore and Chad Johnson finally turned in stats many fantasy owners had been waiting for. Gore looked like the “Gore of old” scoring twice against Arizona last week and racking up over 200 yards rushing and receiving. Johnson grabbed three TD catches against Tennessee – his first scores since Week 2. So, have they turned the corner and can we expect this on a more routine basis?

In Gore’s case, there might be good reason to expect more from him down the stretch. It probably wasn’t a coincidence that Gore’s upswing occurred just after the Niners hired assistant coach Ted Tollner. Tollner, who has had extensive offensive play-calling experience with several teams, had a simple solution for San Frans’ offensive woes – get the ball to Gore more. What an idea!

As for Johnson’s scoring drought, it wasn’t as though the Bengals weren’t scoring via the air. He typically draws the opposition’s best defender (or two) and I think he’s a threat to score in any game. But defensive matchups factor in strongly. Let’s see how he fares this week against the Steelers before pronouncing him back.

Booms and busts for Week 13....
Clinton Portis has scored in just one of the last five games and his yardage numbers have been down the last couple of weeks (103), but I really like his chances to rebound against Buffalo. Certainly, there’s the chance Washington could be flat following the tragic death of teammate Sean Taylor, but they could also rally in his honor. Portis has a good matchup. The Bills have seen six backs run for 100+ yards against them and they’ve been beaten on scoring runs of 46 and 50 yards...

I think Kurt Warner has a terrific matchup with Cleveland. The Browns score a lot of points, but they give up a lot too. Through 11 games the Browns have yielded 25 TD passes and they’ve seen five opposing QBs top 275 yards against them in the last eight weeks...

Injuries to Denver receivers could make TE Tony Scheffler more of a target this week against Oakland. Although the Broncos got Javon Walker back last week, it was evident that his knee is far from 100 percent as he could barely make any cuts. Now, Brandon Stokley, who has been filling in for Walker, is hurting too (knee)...

Rudi Johnson finally made some noise last week with a TD and 88 yards against Tennessee, but I think he’ll slip back down this week against Pittsburgh. Only one back has exceeded 100 yards against the Steelers this season and this defense has yielded just two rushing scores...

Sticking with the running game is always a problem for any team playing the high-scoring Patriots and that could be an issue for Baltimore’s Willis McGahee this week. Remember too that only one back (Joseph Addai) has managed a 100+ yard performance against the Pats...

Sit Steve Smith? It’s no so much the matchup with San Francisco that bothers me, but Carolina’s QB situation. With the Panthers bouncing back and forth between Vinny Testaverde and David Carr, Smith hasn’t scored in the last five games and his yardage numbers have been very pedestrian – a high of 61...

Sneak pick of the week...
This would be pretty wild it if turns out right, but keep a watch on Denver’s backfield this week. Last week’s star, Andre Hall, suffered a bad ankle injury and might not be available. Selvin Young is still iffy with a knee injury. Travis Henry is also dealing with a knee injury and I’ve also heard that if he doesn’t play this week it might not be because of the injury (and it’s not the pending suspension either). So if the Broncos are truly depleted at RB, keep tabs on a name from the past – Mike Bell...

Good luck this week!

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