WIDE RECEIVERNo Packers wide receiver has produced a 100-yard game this season, so you may be tempted to bench
Donald Driver or
Greg Jennings until Rodgers returns and the dust settles. If you have depth, make the move. If you are thinking of promoting
Danny Amendola or someone like him, don't be so hasty.
The Packers are one of the most pass-oriented teams at the goal line in the NFL. Rodgers threw 15 passes inside the 10-yard line in the first five games, completing short touchdowns to
Donald Driver (2),
James Jones and Lee, while completing a few more passes that were a broken tackle away from becoming touchdowns. Flynn may not throw at the goal line as often as Rodgers did, but the Packers are still likely to spread the field instead of handing off in short-yardage situations.
Also, keep in mind that Finley averaged 6.5 targets per game. Eight if those targets were deep passes, according to Football Outsiders. Those deep balls are more likely to go to Jennings or Driver than, say,
Andrew Quarless, who gets the start if Finley and Lee are both hurt. Speaking of which ...
TIGHT ENDFinley was the first tight end taken in many leagues, and most fantasy owners who grab a stud tight end don't invest heavily in his backup. So you could be in real trouble if you are the guy who took Finley. I'm here to help.
Quarless is a rookie from Penn State who has been targeted twice this season: once for an incomplete goal line pass against the Bears, once on the incomplete 4th-and-1 pass from the one-yard line against the Redskins. You know the drill: he was the "backup tight end surprise." Quarless saw much more action with Finley and Lee hurt, catching four passes later in the Redskins loss.
Quarless was slipping past Lee on the depth chart before the injury rash, and he has the size and speed to play a Finley-like offensive role. But he's inexperienced and had a reputation as a troublemaker in college, with DUI and marijuana suspensions. He's a fantasy long shot. Look elsewhere for tight end help. Like Detroit.
Brandon Petitgrew and
Tony Scheffler have combined for 71 targets this season, and chances are that one of them is available on waivers. Petitigrew was targeted three times in the red zone last week. Scheffler has five red zone targets on the year.
Ben Watson has been targeted 35 times in Cleveland, though the quarterback situation there is scary:
Colt McCoy makes
Matt Flynn look like John Elway. I laughed off
Tony Moeaki a few weeks ago, but he's catching four or five passes per week, has two touchdowns, and the Chiefs use multi-tight end sets on nearly every down. None of these guys can replace Finley, but they can ease the pain.
KICKERMason Crosby has scored 35 points, but he's a streak-shooter who missed two important field goals last week, and he may get fewer opportunities if the Packers offense slacks. If
Jason Hanson (40 points) is still sitting on the wire, give him a look.
Matt Bryant (47 points) is another busy kicker your opponents may have slept on.
Nick Folk (49 points) may have slipped through the draft, but he'll be the kicker on everyone's mind (if there's such a thing as a kicker on everyone's mind) after Monday night.
DEFENSEClay Matthews' hamstring injury isn't serious, so don't worry: the Packers defense is still one of the two or three best in the league. In the wacky world of Packers football, there's at least one thing you can count on.
The Packers are in trouble.
Aaron Rodgers has a concussion and will probably miss next week's game, if not more.
Jermichael Finley is out at least three weeks with a knee injury.
Ryan Grant has been gone for a month. Even the backups are getting hurt:
Donald Lee replaced Finley and caught a touchdown pass, then walked to the locker room with a shoulder injury. At the rate things are going, the Packers are going to have to call Lynn Dickey and Harlan Huckleby out of retirement to field a team.
The Packers' woes may have an impact on your fantasy team. You may need to replace Rodgers or Finley for a while. You may also be concerned about the remaining starters: is
Donald Driver going to get enough balls with
Matt Flynn at quarterback? Here's a position-by-position look at what's going on in Green Bay, with advice about how to get through the next few weeks without a Packer-related crisis.
QUARTERBACKMatt Flynn is an unknown commodity, and he must be considered a last-stitch emergency fantasy starter at best. Given a healthy roster of weapons and a soft schedule, he'd make an appealing one-or-two week backup, but the Dolphins (Green Bay's next opponent) allow just 193 passing yards per game and have given up just five touchdowns in four games. If Rodgers misses multiple games, Flynn will face the Vikings and Jets: two tough opponents for an inexperienced passer.
The best option to get you through the Rodgers interim is
Matt Cassel, who faces the Texans and Jaguars in the next two weeks. If you didn't scoop up Cassel like I told you to last week, and you don't have a good Rodgers alternative on the bench, you may have to bite the bullet. The two best quarterback options sitting on waivers are probably
Ryan Fitzpatrick and
Josh Freeman. Fitzpatrick is a great stat gobbler, but he is on bye. Freeman provides rushing yards (113 this season) and is growing up quickly, but he faces the Saints defense this week.
RUNNING BACKBrandon Jackson gained 115 yards and a touchdown this week, but that doesn't mean he has turned the corner as a fantasy featured back. Take away his 71-yard run, and his numbers dip to 9 carries for 44 yards, right in line with his performance in Week 4 (9 carries, 33 yards) and better than his effort in Week 3 (7 carries, 12 yards). Jackson got one carry at the one-yard line against the Redskins and lost four yards. When the Packers had another goal-line opportunity, Fantasy Headache No. 1
John Kuhn got the call but failed to score.
Rodgers' absence may make the Packers more run oriented, and Jackson's 71-yard run, plus a few catches and receiving yards, were at least flickers of fantasy life. If you pounced on Jackson when Grant got hurt and need him to get through a bye week, so be it. Once Rodgers returns, Jackson appears slotted for a 10-carry role. Kuhn has shown no real skill as a goal-line back, so don't waste a waiver claim in the hope of cheap touchdowns.
Editor's Note: For early rankings every Tuesday morning, tons of exclusive columns, subscriber-only chats, full projections updated all week and much more, get our award-winning Season Pass.WIDE RECEIVERNo Packers wide receiver has produced a 100-yard game this season, so you may be tempted to bench
Donald Driver or
Greg Jennings until Rodgers returns and the dust settles. If you have depth, make the move. If you are thinking of promoting
Danny Amendola or someone like him, don't be so hasty.
The Packers are one of the most pass-oriented teams at the goal line in the NFL. Rodgers threw 15 passes inside the 10-yard line in the first five games, completing short touchdowns to
Donald Driver (2),
James Jones and Lee, while completing a few more passes that were a broken tackle away from becoming touchdowns. Flynn may not throw at the goal line as often as Rodgers did, but the Packers are still likely to spread the field instead of handing off in short-yardage situations.
Also, keep in mind that Finley averaged 6.5 targets per game. Eight if those targets were deep passes, according to Football Outsiders. Those deep balls are more likely to go to Jennings or Driver than, say,
Andrew Quarless, who gets the start if Finley and Lee are both hurt. Speaking of which ...
TIGHT ENDFinley was the first tight end taken in many leagues, and most fantasy owners who grab a stud tight end don't invest heavily in his backup. So you could be in real trouble if you are the guy who took Finley. I'm here to help.
Quarless is a rookie from Penn State who has been targeted twice this season: once for an incomplete goal line pass against the Bears, once on the incomplete 4th-and-1 pass from the one-yard line against the Redskins. You know the drill: he was the "backup tight end surprise." Quarless saw much more action with Finley and Lee hurt, catching four passes later in the Redskins loss.
Quarless was slipping past Lee on the depth chart before the injury rash, and he has the size and speed to play a Finley-like offensive role. But he's inexperienced and had a reputation as a troublemaker in college, with DUI and marijuana suspensions. He's a fantasy long shot. Look elsewhere for tight end help. Like Detroit.
Brandon Petitgrew and
Tony Scheffler have combined for 71 targets this season, and chances are that one of them is available on waivers. Petitigrew was targeted three times in the red zone last week. Scheffler has five red zone targets on the year.
Ben Watson has been targeted 35 times in Cleveland, though the quarterback situation there is scary:
Colt McCoy makes
Matt Flynn look like John Elway. I laughed off
Tony Moeaki a few weeks ago, but he's catching four or five passes per week, has two touchdowns, and the Chiefs use multi-tight end sets on nearly every down. None of these guys can replace Finley, but they can ease the pain.
KICKERMason Crosby has scored 35 points, but he's a streak-shooter who missed two important field goals last week, and he may get fewer opportunities if the Packers offense slacks. If
Jason Hanson (40 points) is still sitting on the wire, give him a look.
Matt Bryant (47 points) is another busy kicker your opponents may have slept on.
Nick Folk (49 points) may have slipped through the draft, but he'll be the kicker on everyone's mind (if there's such a thing as a kicker on everyone's mind) after Monday night.
DEFENSEClay Matthews' hamstring injury isn't serious, so don't worry: the Packers defense is still one of the two or three best in the league. In the wacky world of Packers football, there's at least one thing you can count on.