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High five or maybe not

HIGH FIVE or MAYBE NOT

If a player disappoints you in Week One, maybe you can chalk it up to a bad day. But if that player also lets you down in Week Two, the gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands might be justified. Here are five players off to unexpectedly slow starts. Is there hope, or are they destined for a season of underachievement?

1. Matt Forté — The consensus was that Jay Cutler's arrival in Chicago would bode well for Forté, keeping defenses from moving an extra defender into the box to cheat against the Bears' running game, but the Cutler trade hasn't borne fruit for Forté or his fantasy owners so far. The second-year back has 84 rushing yards and zero TDs in two games, with an average of 2.2 yards per carry. You can't blame it on his workload. Forté is averaging 19 carries per game, which is within one carry of his per-game average from last year. And while Forté's lousy numbers against the Steelers in Week Two are understandable, it's harder to make sense of his bad Week One numbers against the Packers, who managed to make Cedric Benson look like the second coming of Ickey Woods the following week. The Bears' offensive line has been slightly retooled, but that unit's talent level is about the same, so maybe it's just a matter of getting the bugs worked out. More problematic is the likelihood that Forté's receiving numbers will decline. Whereas Kyle Orton would quickly check down and throw a dump-off pass to Forté, Cutler is far more willing to take chances with throws downfield. (Forté didn't catch a pass in Week One, although he did have five catches for 33 yards in Week Two.) It's probably too early to push the panic button, but there's a reasonable chance that Forté won't be able to match his sterling rookie totals.

2. Steve Slaton — Like Forté, Slaton has opened the season on a sophomore skid, failing to reach the endzone and averaging just 2.0 yards per carry. Slaton's struggles can at least partly be blamed on a tough early-season schedule. Houston has opened with the Jets, whose defense has been nearly impregnable under new head coach Rex Ryan, and the Titans, who aren't exactly marshmallows. Slaton has also fumbled as many times (three) as he did all of last season, which may not matter in your fantasy league but could potentially affect Slaton's confidence and the level of confidence the Texans have in him. A few potential silver linings: (1) Slaton has still been a factor in the passing game and is on pace to finish with more receiving yards than he had last year; (2) the Texans have been on the short end of the scoreboard for much of their first two games, which has somewhat limited his number of carries; and (3) he has no one looking over his shoulder, unless you consider Chris Brown "someone," which you shouldn't. This week, Slaton goes up against a Jacksonville defense that he ransacked for 298 total yards and three TDs in two games last season. If Slaton lays an egg against the Jags, it's time to freak out. Until then, hold steady.

3. Brandon Jacobs — Jacobs hasn't scored a TD after scoring 15 of 'em last season, and his per-carry average of 3.3 yards is 1.7 yards below last season's average. Here's a slightly nutty theory: Without fellow banger Derrick Ward around to help soften up opposing defenses, Jacobs isn't quite as effective. Don't buy it? I'm not sure I buy it, either. I'm more apt to attribute Jacobs' slow start to the defenses he's had to face (Washington, Dallas). The Cowboys, in particular, seemed hell-bent on stopping Jacobs at the expense of their pass defense. But with young WRs Steve Smith and Mario Manningham looking like legitimate playmakers, opposing defenses won't be able to load up against the Giants' designated battering ram.

4. Eddie Royal — Royal is off to such a sluggish start that some fantasy owners have already executed a Royal flush, banishing the diminutive second-year receiver to the waiver wire. But I'll be surprised if he doesn't snap out of this funk (five catches, 38 yards, zero TDs). Royal is terrific at getting open underneath and turning short catches into nice gains, which makes him a great partner for QB Kyle Orton, who sometimes registers in hotels under the alias "Mr. Checkdown." Against the Browns in Week Two, Royal began to cramp up in the second half and missed the entire third quarter, which partially explains his three-catch, 20-yard performance. I had Royal as the 15th-rated receiver on my final preseason draft board, so I'm not abandoning ship yet. In fact, I consider Royal's slow start a nice buy-low opportunity. This is the perfect time to throw out a trade offer to his disgruntled fantasy owners.

5. Santana Moss — Moss has had five catches for 41 yards and zero TDs in his first two games, and now you're ready to bench him, and as soon as you do, that's when he'll go off for 140 yards and two TDs. That's just how the man operates. The only ways to deal with it are to commit yourself to starting him every week no matter what, commit yourself to keeping him on your bench unless he's needed as a bye-week replacement, or commit yourself to a 12-step Santana Moss program and break the addiction for good.