FANTASY FOOTBALL: Terrible blocking by linemen killing stats for fantasy stars

Can somebody please throw a block?

If your normally reliable fantasy football stars are struggling, you can probably blame somebody who wasn’t on any preseason draft board: linemen.

The early season failures of this normally anonymous bunch are getting the notice of fantasy geeks everywhere, especially owners of Aaron Rodgers. He’s been sacked an NFL-worst 10 times and hit a bunch more. Kurt Warner was flawless against the terrible Jags, but the week before his line couldn’t stop anybody. Numerous others have looked far from comfy in the pocket.

It’s not just quarterbacks who’ve been regularly confronted by unblocked defenders. First-round picks Steve Slaton (51 yards, 2.0 yards per carry) and Matt Forte (84 yards, 2.2 yards a carry) haven’t sniffed the end zone. Willie Parker has 66 yards while tiptoeing for 2.4 yards per carry. Kevin Smith was decent last week, bringing his average up to 2.6 yards a pop.

The good news is, this surely can’t last. After all, many struggling lines are the same ones that did well last year and their coaches should adjust. By now coaches are figuring out which 350-pounders need more help or need benching, so it seems safe to assume most of them will fix the problems.

As you wonder how much longer Rodgers can remain upright, here are some players to start and some to avoid in Week 3: