“Hey Matt.” “Hey Tom.” “Should we have a good game for John today?” “Nah.” “Agreed.”

Fifty-some points were enough to earn the Thamesmen an ugly victory last week, but this week, they’re only enough for a likely ugly loss. I find myself trailing by about 15 points heading into the Monday night game, with only defensive players Bradie James and Julius Peppers left. If one of those guys finds the end zone or has a ridiculous game sack-wise, I might have a shot, but as of now, it’s looking like this low-scoring week is going to end in a well-deserved defeat, dropping me to 2-1. I left 40-some points on the bench this week in Tom Brady, Willie Parker, DeSean Jackson, and Donald Driver, while my starting lineup produced zero touchdowns. It was a tough decision starting Matt Ryan over Brady, and for most of the game, it seemed like it made little difference as neither put up big numbers. The Patriots’ last drive, however, yielded a Brady touchdown pass, sending me into a spiral of second-guessing. Well, at least Ryan is on a bye this week, so that makes my decision easy.

The picture is prettier in my other league, where the Outlaws of the Marsh have already clinched their first win of the season and will pile on DeAngelo Williams tonight just to rub it in. Shaking up the receiving corps seemed to help, as Jerricho Cotchery delivered a good game and Mario Manningham at least scored points for me, even though Derrick Mason promptly scored 11 points the moment I left him on the bench. I got a good effort from basically every one of my defensive players (and this is a league that awards one point per tackle). Ray Rice finally found the end zone for the first time this season, though Willis McGahee continues to plunder his rightful touchdowns. And even though I left Parker’s big game on the bench in this league as well, the fact that he looked down gives me some hope, especially with bye weeks coming up.

Week 3 Highs and Lows

I can’t tell you how wrong it is for the Lions to throw a touchdown pass to Johnson on Sunday and not have it be Calvin.

• I’m seriously considering doing the unthinkable — benching Calvin Johnson. I love the guy, and he’s no doubt a big-play threat. But with the Lions taking it easy on rookie QB Matthew Stafford, Johnson has been kept in check through three weeks. He’s getting only about 63 yards a game, has just one touchdown, and aside from a 64-yard grab in Week 1, he’s averaging a meager 10.5 yards per catch, and this is a guy who averaged 17 yards per grab last season. Until the Lions show that they trust Stafford to throw deep more often, Johnson’s numbers are probably going to be mediocre.
• Fred Taylor looked like he was washed up last season in Jacksonville, but his performance Sunday (21 carries, 105 yards, TD) showed otherwise. The Patriots are still a pass-first team (Brady threw 42 passes Sunday), but with Brady and the passing game bogging down in the red zone, a reliable running game just became more important. The other guys in the running back committee haven’t done much, so if Taylor keeps running the way he did Sunday, he should be rising to the top of the running back committee.

There are guys whom you root for them even if their good play delivers a blow to your fantasy team. Pierre Thomas is one of those guys for me.

• Mike Bell owners (such as myself) should be worried about their guy after the performance by the Saints’ Pierre Thomas on Sunday. Bell made the most of his opportunity when Thomas was out resting a knee injury, but now Bell is the one with the bum knee and Thomas ran for 126 yards on just 13 carries in his first game back, scoring twice, to stake a strong claim on the starting job. With Thomas performing well and so much depth in the backfield, the Saints are in no hurry to rush Bell back, and even when he returns, he might not get a lot of touches unless Thomas or Bush gets hurt. But after Thomas’ late-season surge helped me to a title last season, I really can’t wish the guy ill.
• After being held catchless the previous week, Greg Jennings caught only two passes this week … but one was for 53 yards, and the other for 50.
• The 49ers’ new offense is doing wonders for Vernon Davis, who is already almost halfway to his reception total last season. He had his best performance of the year so far on Sunday, catching seven passes for 96 yards and two TDs. In fact, tight ends have seemed to be more productive than usual through the first three weeks of this season. Could it be that you can now find usable tight ends not named Gates, Gonzalez, Witten, or Shockey?
• Through three games, Matt Forte is looking like he’s in for a sophomore slump. He was consistently productive as a rookie, but so far this season has averaged 2.5 yards per carry, hasn’t cracked 66 yards on the ground in any game, and has yet to reach the end zone. And it’s not like he’s not getting any touches. He’s averaging about 23 touches a game, about the same number he got last year. At least it’s a good sign that the Bears are still sticking with him despite his slow start.
• And finally, on a non-fantasy note, seeing that miraculous last-second touchdown pass by Brett Favre showed me that he’s still the same old Favre, at least in one way — he still knows how to sucker the 49ers into thinking they’re finally going to beat him, and then break their hearts with a ridiculous last-minute drive. As a 49ers fan, it brought back bad memories of playoff games in the late 90s when Favre pulled the same routine against San Francisco seemingly every postseason for a stretch of about four years. Now if the 49ers could only re-sign J.J. Stokes, the déjà vu would be complete.