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 fourteen. 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 few quarterbacks who’s play has improved dramatically over the next few weeks. Early in the season, did you ever imagine starting Alex Smith or Vince Young (or Bruce Gradkowski?) in the playoffs? Me neither.
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The Wire - Week 14: Who's Starting Vince Young in the Playoffs?
Brandon
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The Wire - Week 13: The Hunt for the Playoffs
Brandon
Here are our waiver wire candidates for week thirteen. 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 the playoffs rapidly approaching (only one week of the regular season left in my two main leagues,) many teams out there are probably in a “must win” situation this week. Hopefully some of the players below can get you a much needed victory and give you a chance at that championship trophy (or pride, cash, whatever else you get for winning a fantasy football league.) Anyways, let’s get to the waiver wire picks for this week, starting with a few wide receivers that could help your cause… (More …)
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The Wire - Week 12: Bottom of the Barrel
Brandon
Here are our waiver wire candidates for week twelve. 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 Yahoo! leagues) in parenthesis. All I can say about the cast of characters on this week’s list is that hopefully you don’t have to rely on them too much…otherwise you’re in big trouble.
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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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The Wire - Week 10: The Return of Chris Chambers
Brandon
Here are our waiver wire candidates for week ten. 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 (and if you see an asterisk by the players name, it means they’re on a BYE this week.)
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The Wire - Week 3: Plaxico who?
Brandon
Here’s our waiver wire recommendations for week two, starting with a pair of receivers who seemed to have solved the questions the Giants had at the position. As I mentioned last week, The Wire is organized into four categories: Get ‘em in there, Pick up and hold, Stopgaps, and Pretenders. “Get ‘em in there” are the players worth of a start right away, while “Stopgaps” are the players who will get you through a short-term injury or bye week. “Pick up and hold” is just what is sounds like and “Pretenders” are those players who might have had one good week and immediately picked up in every Yahoo Public league out there…don’t waste a roster spot and waiver claim on them. This week I’ve added the Yahoo! ownership rank (in parenthesis) for each player so you know which guys have a better chance of being available in your league. Anyways, here we go…
Get ‘em in there
- Mario Manningham, WR, Giants (58%) – He’s rocketed up from being a “Pretender” to having me believe he and Smith will be the Giants top receivers this season.
- Steve Smith, WR, Giants (70%) – Looks like he’s become Plaxico Burress’ replacement and should be Eli’s top target all year.
- Correll Buckhalter, RB, Broncos (48%) – As long as he stays healthy, it looks like Buckhalter is the man in Denver. He’s worth starting as a borderline RB2 or flex play based on the match-up.
- Brent Celek, TE, Eagles (49%) – Celek showed some skills last season and it has apparently carried over, as he’s now put up solid numbers in two straight weeks. If you’re not getting production out of your current tight end, give Celek a try.
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Wide receivers to watch out for (sleepers)
Brandon
With most fantasy football league drafts complete, it’s time to skim the waiver wire for some players to keep an eye on. If you’re in a Yahoo league, these are the guys you would click the little ‘Add to Watch List’ flag next to their name. I guess you could consider these as “sleeper picks”, but they’re really just guys who have shown promise in the offseason and whose numbers could surprise you when the season is all said and done. I’ve also included a bonus running back waiver wire pickup in case you were interested.
Wide receivers to watch:
- Davone Bess, MIA – Last season Bess ended the year with a respectable 54 receptions, but it was the end of the year where he really shined. Over the last six games of the season, Davone had 35 catches. This year he’s fighting to be the number two receiver alongside Ted Ginn, but in the end he should again be Pennington’s go-to guy and should put up some decent numbers.
- David Clowney, NYJ – Apparently he didn’t win the battle to be the #2 receiver for the Jets, but he’s faster than Chansi Stuckey and had a solid preseason. Look for him to get a lot of looks in the passing game no matter where he is on the depth chart.
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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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Week 4 Weekend Wrap-up: Favre keeps on truckin'
Brandon
Before I go into any thoughts on the games from the weekend, I have one question: Has there ever been a week in the NFL where the combined age of the four quarterbacks playing in two games (Jets vs Cardinals, Vikings vs Titans) was greater than this week? This weekend we saw Brett Favre (38), Trent Green (38), Kurt Warner (37), Gus Frerotte (37), and Kerry Collins (35) all out there trying to show young whipper-snappers across the league how the game is played…with varying degrees of success (or failure). Anyways, let’s get into what transpired this weekend, starting with the barn-burner that took place as the Arizona Cardinals came into town to battle the Jets:
- Jets 56, Cardinals 35: You would never have guessed that the score to this game was 0-0 after the first quarter…but it was. Six Brett Favre touchdowns and 472 Kurt Warner passing yards (or whatever percentage he got after the first quarter) later, you end up with the final score of 56 to 35. Without going into too much more detail (you can see the stats for yourself), let’s just say that anyone who started Laveranues Coles, Jericho Cotchery, Edgerrin James, Larry Fitzgerald, or Anquan Boldin were not disappointed. Nor were the crazy Cardinal homers who started Steve Breaston or Jerheme Urban…if any actually exist (P.S. You’ll find Breaston on the waiver wire list this week…especially if Boldin misses any games after suffering a bad helmet-to-helmet hit.) (More …)
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Ask the Geeks - Week 3
Brandon
Here we go with the questions rollin’ in for week three…hopefully we can offer you some decent advice and give your team what it takes to carry you to victory this week…Ali asks: hey Brandon, great blog. I need some advice. I have Megatron (CJohnson) and Roddy White as my two starting receivers. I also have David Patten and Patrick Crayton on the bench. For backup RBs i have Justin Fargas, BJax, and Sproles (I do not own LT).
I feel like I need help at WR b/c White is inconsistent. So, my question is would you recommend dropping any of the guys mentioned above for Stuckey, Gage, Antonio Bryant (TB), Isaac Bruce, Bryant Johnson (SF), Robert Meachem, or Amani Toomer?
Other RBs available are: Fred Jackson, Ahmad Bradshaw (I have Jacobs), LaMont Jordan, Le’Ron McClain , Jamal Charles … what do you think?
Brandon’s take: Thanks for the compliment! As for your team, you might consider dropping David Patten for Bryant Johnson, who seems to be a favorite target of J.T. O’Sullivan, but it’s really not that much of an upgrade. Robert Meachem has a brighter future than Patten, but there’s no telling that it’ll be this season. Stick with your guys for now (probably starting Crayton with White and CJ) and see what happens. White had four catches last week, so it appears that Ryan is looking his way and he should get better as the season goes along.
As for your running backs, you definitely want to scoop up Ahmad Bradshaw since you own Jacobs. I would pick him up and probably drop BJax (Brandon Jackson I assume?) If Jacobs goes down, Bradshaw will be very productive for you. The others are nothing special, but you might consider trading Sproles to the LT owner immediately (while he’s shaking in his boots that his top pick could lose some carries.) Hope this helps!
Matt’s take: Why does Brandon get all the love? Don’t make me pull a Chris Cooley.
For a league that starts 2 WRs, you’ve hardly got a killer corps there, but none of the waiver options you mention are an upgrade at this point. Keep an eye on Gage and Meachem, as both have some upside this season (especially Gage – Meachem will probably fade out of the picture once Colston’s healthy again).
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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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Late-round wide receiver sleepers
Brandon
After participating in a few drafts so far, I just wanted to list a few wide receivers that I’ve either drafted, or seen drafted in the last few rounds that could help your fantasy team this year (or in future years if you’re in a keeper league):
- Ted Ginn, Jr. (MIA): Should be the number one target for Chad Pennington in Miami, which means a lot more than it would have meant last season when the team was in complete disarray. Around 900 yards and five scores doesn’t seem out of the picture.
- DeSean Jackson (PHI): With number one receiver Kevin Curtis out for an extended period of time undergoing surgery for a sports hernia and number two receiver Reggie Brown already having hamstring issues, Jackson will be thrust into the action to start the season. He’s looked good in preseason and if that carries over to the regular season, expect quarterback Donovan McNabb to look his way all year long.
- Eddie Royal (DEN): Teammate Darrell Jackson was brought in to be the number two receiver alongside Brandon Marshall, but then the team drafted Royal, who has worked his way into a starting role this preseason. Expect Royal to put up some decent numbers in an offense that should be a lot better passing the ball this year, as Cutler will be a lot healthier after taming his diabetes and Marshall draws loads of attention from opposing defenses. (More …)
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Power rankings updated: Look at all the pretty colors
Brandon
The FFGeekBlog power rankings have again been adjusted to reflect the current state of the NFL; however, I have to apologize that I didn’t have the new tier color-coding set up earlier in the preseason. Hopefully they can still be helpful for a few of your drafts (I know at least one person to whom it will be helpful to!) If you head over to our power rankings page and check them out, you can see that all of the lists have been broken down into logical tiers that players can be grouped into, showing where drop offs in value are at each position.
Some of the players on the move in the latest round of updates include Jon Kitna, Michael Turner, Jonathan Stewart, Rashard Mendenhall, Chad Johnson, Robert Meachem, Dustin Keller and the New York Giants defense.
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Notes from last night's preseason games
Brandon
I realize that it’s only the first week of the preseason and teams are still trying to figure out what their opening day rosters are going to look like, but there are already some interesting things taking place that you might want to be aware of.
- Ravens 16, Patriots 15: Obviously the score to this game means absolutely nothing, with Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Willis McGahee not seeing the field. However, what was interesting was the stat lines for the Patriots running backs, Laurence Maroney (6 rushes for 6 yards) and LaMont Jordan (19 rushes for 76 yards and TD). While Maroney had limited playing time against some starters and Jordan most likely played against second and third stringers, I’m still starting to doubt that Maroney should be drafted as high as we have him on our power rankings. If Jordan runs well throughout the preseason, I expect to see a pretty even split of carries at the tailback position in New England this year, but of course it’s only one game and maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but maybe I’m not… (More …)
