Keeper League Corner - Rashard Mendenhall

There isn't much written specifically for keeper league players, so I thought I'd try some of my own. Most will be centered on players (probably players I have) that may or may not be keeper worthy even in 5 keeper leagues.

We get our first look at Rashard Mendenhall tonight. He has probably lost carries this year because of his fumbles in the preseason, which is a concern. Running backs can overcome dropping the ball but the stigma is a little more difficult to tackle. Even so, he got the opportunity to start tonight because of the injury to Willie Parker. Mendenhall got banged up and left the game on a cart, but even before wasn't having much success against a stout Ravens defense.

Long term look - he doesn't play on third downs. The elite backs (LT, AP, Westbrook, etc.) play every down. That's where they get their value. Especially in PPR leagues, receptions on third downs can mean lots of points. When Mendenhall was in for passes, he was not effective as a blocker, unable to stop even simple rushes up the middle. Many rookie RBs are probably not used to blocking, but some have been effective this year like Matt Forte and Steve Slaton.

Keeper? - No. Willie Parker has the lock on the spot, even if he struggles to stay healthy through the year. Mendenhall needs to play all three downs to be an elite back and recognize the full potential of the RB spot. He would also need to start and play a full game to have any sort of value. I've got him behind at least two other rookie RBs, Forte and Slaton, and most other RB that start. Take a wait and see approach, maybe his situation will change.

Since writing this, Mendenhall went down with a fractured shoulder and is out for the rest of the season. I'm keeping him in my IR spot and I'll reevaluate next fall before it's time to select keepers. If Parker leaves or gets hurt right before next season, Mendenhall would be a borderline keeper.

Thoughts from Week 10

The Packers are the real deal. They seem to have found a running back in Ryan Grant. Donald Lee looks like a fine replacement for Bubba Franks. Brett Favre still has something left. His wide receivers look pretty good and spreading the ball around makes it tough for the defense to defend the pass.

The Vikings are terrible. Brooks Bollinger is not a NFL quarterback. He looks tentative in the backfield, can't complete a pass when necessary. They'd be better off lining up two left tackles and Peterson in the backfield. I understand now why Peterson doesn't get the ball as many times as he should. Minnesota can not convert third downs and their offense can't stay on the field. On the flip side, it looks like the way to keep AD from dropping 300 on you is to keep him off the field. The Packers have been running the ball, converting third downs, chewing the clock.

Fox just switched to a different game! We're now watching the Eagles play the Redskins. Washington missed a PAT: bad. They then chased the points after their second TD and missed the two point conversion: worse. Philly just scored, and what do they do? Chase the points. Of course they missed it. This wasn't as bad of a call as the Redskins, but I'd take the free point in the third quarter.

After ups (win vs. Colts) and downs (2 losses vs. Texans) last year, Jacksonville seems to have figured it out this year. Garrard seems comfortable with his position as starting QB, Gray has played well with Garrard hurt. The RB tandem of Taylor and Jones-Drew seems to keep both fresh and effective. Maybe most of all, the mood on the sidelines seems to be positive. Garrard congratulating Taylor on a TD run, Taylor congratulating Jones-Drew on a big run. Playing as a team is what it will take to win in the AFC.

The Vikings got the ball 1st and 10 inside the redzone. Sounds like AD time, right? I guess not. 1st down: B. Bollinger pass to TE, 7 yards. 2nd and 3rd: AD? nope, B. Bollinger pass to C. Woodson. Charles Woodson plays for the Packers. Who is calling these plays!?! You have three yards to gain and three plays to gain them. Perhaps you should give it to the NFL leading rusher / offensive ROY / best rookie RB of all time. Just a thought. (Editors note: Editor just read that Peterson was hurt in the third quarter and didn't return to the game. Editor still thinks Vikings should have run the ball instead of letting Bollinger pass.)

Eagles just missed another 2 point try. They now lead by 1 point, instead of three, with a little over 3 minutes left. The Redskins let Philadelphia score after giving them the ball back. The Redskins get the ball back with a little over 2 minutes to play and it's still a one possession game. If Philly kicks in the third, they could have kicked in the fourth to go up three and now they'd be up 10 with two minutes left. Take the free points early in the game!

Brian Westbrook accounted for 183 of the Eagles 379 total yards (48%) and 18 of the Eagles 33 points (54%). My guess is that he accounts for more total offense than any RB in the NFL. Andy Reid is probably overrated as a coach, but one thing he knows: giving his best player, Westbrook, the ball a whole bunch gives him the best chance to win the game. Coming into today's game, Westbrook had 1036 of the team's 2950 total yards (35%) and 36 of the team's 156 points (23%). That's a pretty sizable chunk of the offense.

A quick look showed that Adrian Peterson had 44% of the Vikings total yards and 32% of their points. Brad Childress should attend the Andy Reid school of coaching.

This just in ... Childress was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles before taking the Minnesota job! 2003 through 2005, while Childress was the offensive coordinator, Westbrook averaged 15.5 touches per game. The last season and a half? 22.3. Maybe it isn't so surprising that Peterson is only averaging 18 touches a game.

Does anyone suck the life out of a telecast quite like Joe Buck? He's got an uncanny way of making even the most exciting games nearly unwatchable.

I just noticed that every article on espn.com has a comment section except for Bill Simmons. Here's the comment I just submitted to Page 2.

Why is there a comments section on every other article on espn.com except for Bill Simmons'? Jemele Hill gets constant harassment, TMQ gets railed for his articles but Simmons gets a free pass? I think readers would appreciate the chance to let other espn.com readers know how they feel about The Sports Guy.

We'll see what they have to say.

21 Tags! A very productive Sunday.