Squish (268)
E-roc (127)
Shirley (66)
Jeff (53)
Tommy (53)
Mal (51)
Ken (44)
Amir (40)
TJ (29)
Here are our waiver wire candidates for week 16. As usual, you’ll find players who are either [Startable], a [Stopgap] to get you past a BYE or injury, [Worth a look] and spot on your bench, or [One-week-wonder]s who don’t warrant a roster spot, so you make your roster moves accordingly. You’ll also see the percent owned in parenthesis. With your league championship in sight, I’ve simplified the list a bit this week, as I figure there is a lot less competition for the top waiver wire players this week. If you have any additional questions though, please feel free to ask away and I’ll try to get them before the end of the day so you can finalize your roster as soon as possible. Good luck!
Latest Updates: Michael Bush RSS
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The Wire - Week 16: Championship Week
Brandon
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The Wire - Week 11: The Replacements
Brandon
Here are our waiver wire candidates for week eleven. As usual, you’ll find players who are either [Startable], a [Stopgap] to get you past a BYE or injury, [Worth a look] and spot on your bench, or [One-week-wonder]s who don’t warrant a roster spot, so you make your roster moves accordingly. You’ll also see the percent owned in parenthesis. This week we start off with a number of backup running backs who could have some immediate fantasy impact due to injuries to starters Michael Turner, Cedric Benson, Clinton Portis and Julius Jones.
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Hits and Misses - Week 8: T-Jones up next to abuse the Chiefs
Brandon
After weeks of mediocre results, last week I hit the jackpot with my picks (must have been the renaming of the post!) I finished up 17-7-6 (hits-misses-pushes) for the week, carried there by the stellar play of the Titans running game versus the joke that is the Kansas City Chiefs defense. I also got some help from a few other running backs including Ryan Grant, who finally found the endzone, and Dominic Rhodes, who filled in quite nicely for the injured Joseph Addai and rewarded fantasy managers with two touchdowns. While the Jets passing game failed pretty miserably against what I thought was supposed to be a weak Raiders pass defense, it wasn’t enough to keep me from my best week of the season.
This week I’m going to continue my trend of hating on the Chiefs defense by recommending all the Thomas Jones owners out there get him in your lineup this week. While I’m usually not too keen on picking against a team twice in a row (you figure they’ll try to make SOME adjustments), it’s just too good to pass up at this point. Anyways, here’s the rest of your hits and misses for week 8:
Hits
- Thomas Jones, RB, Jets: T.Jones has come alive the past two weeks (much to the enjoyment of his owners…like me!) with possibly the two best games of his career in terms of touchdowns (week 6) and yards (week 7.) As a reward for his hard work, this week he gets to take on a Chiefs defense that was absolutely annihilated by the Titans running game last week. If starting a running back at home against a defense that is allowing 5.6 yards per carry, 207 yards per game and has allowed 12 rushing touchdowns already this season is something you’re interested in (it better be), get Jones in your lineup ASAP! (More …)
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The Wire: Waiver Wire pickups for week 7, 2008
Brandon
Here’s a look at the players to target on your league’s waiver wire this week. This list is ordered by the percentage of ESPN leagues in which the player is available; even if you’re not a ESPN user, it’s a decent indication of how likely you are to find the player on waivers in your league. We also note here how strongly we feel about this pickup with three categories: Instant Starter, Grab ‘n’ Stash, or Desperation Pickup.
Brad Johnson, QB, Cowboys (0.5% owned, Instant Starter) – Adding injury to insult, it appears that Tony Romo will be out for up to four weeks with a broken finger that he suffered in the loss to the Cardinals on Sunday. Brad Johnson will start for Dallas while Romo is out and he climbs into the driver seat of a very nice ride…but he hasn’t started in over a year and is 40 years old. If you are a Romo owner, or are just desperate for a quarterback, Johnson could be your man in the short term.
Donnie Avery, WR, Rams (2.4% owned, Grab ‘n’ Stash) – Avery was the first wide receiver taken in the draft this year, but it took him a few weeks to get his first catch in the NFL. Since week four however, he’s racked up 10 catches for 119 yards. While Torry Holt gets double covered, it seems that Avery is starting to step up and make the best of his opportunities. Don’t start him right away, but in keeper leagues, or in a deep league where you can afford to use a bench spot on him, you might think about scooping up Donnie and hoping this offense can improve a bit over the course of the season. (More …)
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Mid-season keeper league prospects
Brandon
Now that we’ve completed five weeks of the season, there are probably a few of you in keeper leagues who are nearing the point where you already chalk this season up as a loss and move on to preparation for next year. Maybe your team of Jon Kitna, Ocho Cinco, Ryan Grant and Braylon Edwards just isn’t doing it for you (and there’s not a whole lot of reason your luck is going to change anytime soon!) Anyways, as we get closer and closer to the fantasy trade deadline (if your league has one) or the point where teams start clinching the playoffs, it might be time to start considering some names that you’ll want on your roster come next season, so here we go…
(Note: I didn’t include players such as Chris Johnson, Steve Slaton, or Matt Forte, who are already contributing in a big way for their teams and are almost guaranteed to be on a fantasy roster already this year…but by all means you’ll want to keep them too!)
Running Backs
- Felix Jones, Cowboys: I’ll admit, if you’re in a keeper league where everyone is not completely brain-dead, Jones is probably already on a fantasy roster. However, that shouldn’t prevent you from trying to pry him from the unsuspecting grasp of an owner who is focused on winning this year. Jones looks like the real deal and as he’s averaging 9.0 yards per carry at this point, there’s no way the Cowboys can have him riding the pine as much as he has, even with Marion Barber on the team. Next season the team will probably name Barber the starter again, but I expect a pretty even split in the number of carries and they should both put up serviceable fantasy numbers. (More …)
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The Wire: Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 5, 2008
Brandon
Here’s a look at the players to target on your league’s waiver wire this week. This list is ordered by the percentage of ESPN leagues in which the player is available; even if you’re not a ESPN user, it’s a decent indication of how likely you are to find the player on waivers in your league. We also note here how strongly we feel about this pickup with three categories: Instant Starter, Grab ‘n’ Stash, or Desperation Pickup.
Mewelde Moore, RB, Steelers (0.6% owned, Desperation Pickup) – With Willie Parker already out with an injury, the Steelers lost backup Rashard Mendenhall for the season with a fractured shoulder in Monday’s game. Mewelde Moore will most likely become the backup to Parker, but if Fast Willie is to miss another game or two with his knee injury, Moore would get the start. Keep in mind though that running back Carey Davis was splitting carries with Moore after Mendenhall went out with the injury, so it could become a committee situation.
Lance Moore, WR, Saints (1.5% owned, Instant Starter) – I guess he should have made the list last week after seven receptions, but now he’s for real (at least until Marques Colston makes his return.) With seven more receptions, 101 yards and two touchdowns, it appears he’s Brees’ favorite target for the time being…and should be on your roster if possible. (More …)
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The Wire: Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 4, 2008
Brandon
Here’s a look at the players to target on your league’s waiver wire this week. This list is ordered by the percentage of ESPN leagues in which the player is available; even if you’re not a ESPN user, it’s a decent indication of how likely you are to find the player on waivers in your league. We also note here how strongly we feel about this pickup with three categories: Instant Starter, Grab ‘n’ Stash, or Desperation Pickup.
Correll Buckhalter, RB, Eagles (5.6% owned, Desperation Pickup) – Although starter Brian Westbrook’s ankle injury isn’t as bad as initially expected, he’s still listed as day-to-day and there’s a potential he won’t be able to go this Sunday. If you’re a Westbrook owner, you better have Buckhalter on your waiver claim list just in case.
Brian Griese, QB, Buccaneers (6.9% owned, Grab ‘n’ Stash) – Don’t expect him to throw 60+ times on a regular basis (or ever again most likely!), but you can expect Griese to put up decent fantasy stats if you’re in need of a backup quarterback. The team seems to be focusing on the passing game lately for some reason (just ask Earnest Graham owners), but he’s got some tough matchups the next few games, so you probably won’t want to lean too heavily on him right away. However, late in the season he could be the man who limps your team into the playoffs as he gets to play defensive lightweights such as Detroit and New Orleans.
Brandon Lloyd, WR, Bears (8.0% owned, Instant Starter) – While Griese was bombing it to Antonio Bryant, Kyle Orton of the Bears was doing just the same to Brandon Lloyd, who seems to be his new favorite receiver. Lloyd has racked up 190 yards and a touchdown on 11 receptions over the past two games and could be a decent WR3 play for the time being.
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Sunday Wrap-up: Brandon Marshall is back!
Brandon
While the Bronco’s should definitely have lost their game with the Chargers (I have no clue what the officials where thinking when they blew that ball dead!), the most important thing to take away from the game for all of us non-Broncos/Chargers fans is that Brandon Marshall is back…and he’s very pissed at anyone who discounted him in their league’s draft. Marshall finished the game with the second most receptions for a game in NFL history with 18 (two shy of T.O.’s record of 20) and racked up 166 yards and a touchdown in the process. If you were in a PPR league that awards bonus points for breaking the 100 yard or 150 yard mark…and you had Marshall in your starting roster…you are very, very happy right now. Anyways, here are some other notes from the games this past weekend that you may find interesting…
- Broncos 39, Chargers 38: Besides being happy to be a Brandon Marshall owner, those of you who had faith that Cutler would be a top notch talent after getting his diabetes under control are being rewarded nicely…to the tune of 650 yards and six touchdowns through the first two games of the season. Looking at the Broncos schedule, I wouldn’t expect too much of a drop off in production either (if any). For all of you who took him late in the draft…it’s time to start laughing at the guys who drafted Derek Anderson and Carson Palmer five rounds earlier. In other news, LT owners should have a waiver claim in for Darren Sproles (317 all purpose yards and two touchdowns) immediately (at the cost of dropping Jacob Hester if necessary). Philip Rivers (21 of 33 for 377 yards and three TD, two INT), Chris Chambers (four catches for 83 yards and two TD), and Tony Scheffler (six catches for 64 yards, 2 TD) didn’t look too bad in this one either. If you picked up Eddie Royal after his first week outburst…keep him around. Cutler has confidence in him and you can expect a ton of chances to put up quality numbers all season long as defenses try to contain Marshall. (More …)
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More notes from the preseason
Brandon
As the Olympics started with bang last night (and as I write this, we already lead in the medal count!), the NFL preseason kept rolling with a few more games. Here are a few of the notable stats from those exhibitions:
- Oakland 18, San Francisco 6: The only thing interesting/relevant to the fantasy football world in this one was the play of the Raiders three-headed monster at running back, which didn’t disappoint. Justin Fargas (5 rush for 25 yards), Darren McFadden (12 rush for 48 yards) and Michael Bush (8 rush for 27 yards and a TD, plus 2 catches for 29 yards), lead the team, which rushed for a whopping 248 yards. The team only passed for a bit over 100 yards and JaMarcus Russell didn’t look that sharp. It looks like the Raiders are going to be a run first team for sure, so expect a big dose of all three running backs this season, making all three draftable in some form. However, it does bring up the question of whether any of them will get the touches to be a top tier running back this season, but maybe that will change as the preseason continues. For the 49er’s…no one played well, even Frank Gore (2 rush for 6 yards), so stay away from this sinkhole until further notice.
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Other thoughts on the NFL draft from a fantasy perspective
Matt
- The Bucs must be feeling better about Carnell Williams’ surgically-repaired knee – the only RB they took in the draft was Cory Boyd in the 7th round. Cadillac, for his part, says it’s “definitely a possibility” that he’ll play in week one.
- If going to Atlanta wasn’t the worst-case scenario for Matt Ryan, I don’t know what was.
- Say what you want about Oakland, they stay true to form year after year. They take the most talented player available, regardless of how horrible a fit he is for their organization. That’s the McFadden pick in a nutshell – they’re more than set at RB already. Still… it might be fun to watch McFadden and JaMarcus Russell working together. Four guys you don’t want to run into at a night club this week: LaMont Jordan, Justin Fargas, Dominic Rhodes, and Michael Bush. You might also want to avoid any burly keeper-league owners who had high hopes for Bush in 2008.
- The Jets did what we said they’d do.
- Cedric Benson had to be happy when the Bears made the “no duh” move of taking an OL with their first pick. Then they wiped that smile right off his face with their 2nd-round pick, RB Matt Forte, who will undoubtedly steal at least a few carries and could challenge Benson outright for the starting job. Bears GM Jerry Angelo isn’t mincing words about it, either: “Maybe (Benson’s) not the featured back we thought he’d be.” Ouch.
Lots more to talk about here but I’m out of time.
