Sink or Swim: Beanie Wells, Ryan Grant and the 'Other' Steve Smith

It's another session of "Sink or Swim," Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekly look at the underachievers still lurking on many fantasy rosters. You've got the tough choices to make and we help you decide which direction to take. Do you cut the bait or give 'em one more chance to swim?

Welcome everyone to the fantasy hot seat. Where do I even begin? Bye weeks are upon us and it's certainly time for you to make a push for the playoffs. Do you have some dead weight sitting on your roster or even starting for you right now? Relax; most of us are in similar situations. Today, I'd like to welcome in a few guys who were snatched in the early rounds of most drafts and our favorite rookie running back pegged to do damage.

Yes, let's give a warm welcome on the hot seat to Beanie Wells, Steve Smith and Ryan Grant.
Beanie Wells, RB Cardinals. It's time; it's simply time to give up. Those thoughts you once had that the Cardinals would somehow learn to lean on the run to help close games and keep Warner healthy are long gone. At some point you just realize that you are what you are. And for the Cardinals they are a pass first, pass second and pass last team. This hardly means anything good for Beanie Wells.

He was brought into to be the bruiser who could eat chunks of yardage. Instead, he's coughed up the football, watched his snap count diminish, while Tim Hightower gets what little scraps are left for the running game. I feel ashamed, because of all the rookie running backs heading into this season I was most confident in Wells to make a difference. I know when it's time to admit I was wrong. Let's all agree once and for all that we can sink this guy. So long sucker.

Steve Smith, WR Panthers. He's now gaining the reputation as the "other" Steve Smith. Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good to a former fantasy football legend. However, as bad as it's been for Smith this season, it's become a harsh reality. And do you see a light at the end of the tunnel? I sure as heck don't.

Look, you drafted the guy in the 2nd or 3rd round; it's insane to think you could cut him outright. However, you can't possibly consider him as a starting option anymore. He even went as far as to admit himself that he's no longer an asset to the Panthers offense. We all know Jake Delhomme ain't gonna snap out of this funk by next week. Sadly, he is what he is and it's going to dampen Smith's value or usefulness all season. My advice is to give Smith a few more chances against certain matchups or try and trade him on namesake. At least temper your excitement, because you'll be a little more at ease when he comes up empty.

Ryan Grant, RB Packers. An email from Will Brinson came across last weekend with the following statement: "Aaron Rodgers hates Ryan Grant." That may not be exactly true, but it should get you thinking. Ryan Grant hasn't sniffed the endzone since Week 2. More importantly three times in the last three Packers games they've been on the 1 yard line and gone to the fullback John Kuhn. Kuhn has scored twice.

It begs the question...why not give the ball to Grant? Is there a trust issue? What's the deal? And let's face it, if you're a Grant owner you simply need to have him score TD's, because his meager 3.8 yards per carry average ain't exactly getting it done for you. I soured on Grant all last preseason due to the hype and was partially correct. This season, I figured let's give the guy another chance.

At some point though, you have to just use theme of "you are what you are." Grant had a hot streak to end 2007, but since then he's been about a 3.5 yards per carry kind of guy. He's not getting you a whole heck of a lot right now and his offensive line is in shambles. Oh yeah, the Packers did also just re-sign Ahman Green. Let's not get carried away into thinking Green should be plucked from the wires. However, if you can deal Grant now, I'd consider it. You can't sink him outright, but if he can't pick up the pace sooner than later, you might be screwed.