"You're not the only one struggling right now," he said, laughing. "I'm struggling myself. I'm getting trade offers for myself and people on Twitter telling me to cut me."
Jones-Drew is one of the most avid fantasy hounds in the NFL. He writes a fantasy column for SI.com and does a 2-hour radio show, "Runnin' with MJD," on Fridays at 7 p.m. for Sirius XM.
Jones-Drew rushed for 1,391 yards and scored 16 touchdowns in 2009, which fueled expectations heading into this season. The fifth-year back had 365 touches last year, but missed 2 weeks of training camp this year with an injured knee, which "was a little bit different than I'm used to. I had to get my legs back under me, but I'm fine."
He had a respectable 98 yards in the opener against Denver, but only 31 Sunday as the Jags got down early against San Diego.
"It's such a long season that after Week 2, I don't just want to dump myself," he continued. "I'm going to keep sticking with it. Even though we have a tough opponent this week, I'm going to keep sticking with myself. And hopefully we can come through one of these weeks."
Contest of the Week
How many passing yards will Vick accumulate this weekend at Jacksonville? He had 284 Sunday against the Lions. The reader who comes closest wins a Daily News fantasy football T-shirt. In case of a tie, one winner will be chosen at random.
Send an e-mail to fantasyfootball@phillynews.com or a fax to 215-854-5524 by noon Sunday. One entry per customer, please. Include your name and hometown. The winner will be alerted next week and appear in next Friday's fantasy football report.
And if Vick gets benched, you still get to keep the shirt.
Position watch
Quarterbacks: Ten opening-day quarterbacks already have been yanked for various reasons, though Arizona's Derek Anderson, Jacksonville's David Garrard and Tennessee's Vince Young have gotten their jobs back . . . Baltimore coach John Harbaugh guarantees that Joe Flacco will bounce back from Sunday's career-high four-interception effort against Cincinnati. The two times Flacco threw three picks in his career, he came back with 230-yard games and one score. Yawn . . . Twins outfielder Michael Cuddyer, who was featured in this space for being high on Kevin Kolb, picked up and is starting Michael Vick . . . Brett Favre, who has thrown for 979 yards, eight TDs and zero picks in his last four against Detroit, better have a breakout Sunday.
Running backs: The ankle injury to Chargers rookie Ryan Mathews sounds ominous. High-ankle sprain? Yikes. Mike Tolbert would be a better long-term handcuff than Darren Sproles . . . Rookie Keiland Williams is now backing up Clinton Portis in Washington. Williams, undrafted out of LSU, passed the likes of Ryan Torain, Willie Parker and Larry Johnson on his way up the depth chart.
Wide receivers: Wake me up when the Vincent Jackson saga is over. Keep thinking of how little Roy Williams did after his midseason trade to Dallas in 2008. And, unlike Jackson, Williams was in football shape when he was dealt . . . Seattle is promising to get rookie Golden Tate more involved in the offense. Wait until the Seahawks get the quarterback more involved before wasting transaction money on a receiver
Ed Barkowitz, who passed on Maurice Jones-Drew in favor of Peyton Manning, has been writing about fantasy football for the Daily News since 2001.
Send e-mail to
fantasyfootball@phillynews.com.
WEEKLY RANKINGS
Week 3 projected production
QUARTERBACKS
1. Drew Brees, Saints, vs. Falcons
2. Philip Rivers, Chargers, at Seahawks
3. Aaron Rodgers, Packers, at Bears
4. Tom Brady, Patriots, vs. Bills
5. Peyton Manning, Colts, at Broncos
6. Brett Favre, Vikings, vs. Lions
7. Matt Schaub, Texans, vs. Cowboys
8. Eli Manning, Giants, vs. Titans
9. Tony Romo, Cowboys, at Texans
10. Michael Vick, Eagles, at Jaguars
11. Matt Ryan, Falcons, at Saints
12. Carson Palmer, Bengals, at Panthers
13. Alex Smith, 49ers, at Chiefs
14. Joe Flacco, Ravens, vs. Browns
15. Donovan McNabb, Redskins, at Rams
RUNNING BACKS
1. Adrian Peterson, Vikings, vs. Lions
2. Ray Rice, Ravens, vs. Browns
3. Frank Gore, 49ers, at Chiefs
4. Chris Johnson, Titans, at Giants
5. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars, vs. Eagles
6. Pierre Thomas, Saints, vs. Falcons
7. Michael Turner, Falcons, at Saints
8. Steven Jackson, Rams, vs. Redskins
9. Rashard Mendenhall, Steelers, at Bucs
10. LeSean McCoy, Eagles, at Jaguars
11. Ahmad Bradshaw, Giants, vs. Titans
12. Jahvid Best, Lions, at Vikings
13. Matt Forte, Bears, vs. Packers
14. DeAngelo Williams, Panthers, vs. Bengals
15. Arian Foster, Texans, vs. Cowboys
16. Tim Hightower, Cardinals, vs. Raiders
17. Knowshon Moreno, Broncos, vs. Colts
18. Darren McFadden, Raiders, at Cardinals
19. Joseph Addai, Colts, at Broncos
20. Cedric Benson, Bengals, at Panthers
21. Mike Tolbert, Chargers, at Seahawks
22. Jamaal Charles, Chiefs, vs. 49ers
23. Shonn Greene, Jets, at Dolphins
24. Clinton Portis, Redskins, at Rams
25. Marshawn Lynch, Bills, at Patriots
WIDE RECEIVERS
1. Randy Moss, Patriots, vs. Bills
2. Miles Austin, Cowboys, at Texans
3. Roddy White, Falcons, at Saints
4. Andre Johnson, Texans, vs. Cowboys
5. Marques Colston, Saints, vs. Falcons
6. Brandon Marshall, Dolphins, vs. Jets
7. DeSean Jackson, Eagles, at Jaguars
8. Calvin Johnson, Lions, at Vikings
9. Reggie Wayne, Colts, at Broncos
10. Anquan Boldin, Ravens, vs. Browns
11. Steve Smith, Giants, vs. Titans
12. Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals, vs. Raiders
13. Greg Jennings, Packers, at Bears
14. Chad Ochocinco, Bengals, at Panthers
15. Wes Welker, Patriots, vs. Bills
16. Pierre Garcon, Colts, at Broncos
17. Hakeem Nicks, Giants, vs. Titans
18. Jeremy Maclin, Eagles, at Jaguars
19. Steve Breaston, Cardinals, vs. Raiders
20. Steve Smith, Panthers, vs. Bengals
21. Donald Driver, Packers, at Bears
22. Santana Moss, Redskins, at Rams
23. Demaryius Thomas, Broncos, vs. Colts
24. Mike Wallace, Steelers, at Bucs
24. Malcom Floyd, Chargers, at Seahawks
25. Mike Sims-Walker, Jaguars, vs. Eagles
26. Mike Williams, Bucs, vs. Steelers
27. Percy Harvin, Vikings, vs. Lions
28. Mark Clayton, Rams, vs. Redskins
29. Dwayne Bowe, Chiefs, vs. 49ers
30. Johnny Knox, Bears, vs. Packers
TIGHT ENDS
1. Dallas Clark, Colts, at Broncos
2. Antonio Gates, Chargers, at Seahawks
3. Vernon Davis, 49ers, at Chiefs
4. Jermichael Finley, Packers, at Bears
5. Visanthe Shiancoe, Vikings, vs. Lions
6. Chris Cooley, Redskins, at Rams
7. Brent Celek, Eagles, at Jaguars
8. Jason Witten, Cowboys, at Texans
9. Dustin Keller, Jets, at Dolphins
10. Tony Gonzalez, Falcons, at Saints
