Need help at PF? The Hornets’ David West is still on the waiver wire in many leagues. He’s been in the starting lineup since Jamaal Magloire was traded away and has responded with some very good play, averaging 14.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.6 spg over the last five games, while shooting 49.2% from the field and a stellar 91.7% from the charity stripe.
West was the 18th pick in 2003 draft, so the kid has talent.
Go get him.
Every week, I highlight a few marginal fantasy players, three to start and three to sit. Let’s see how I did last week:
START
Kelly Holcomb – 25 yards passing (PUSH)
Holcomb left with an injury and J.P. Losman the game finished game.
Cedric Benson – 12 carries, 50 yards (PUSH)
Benson was off to a great start before leaving with a knee injury. Adrian Peterson filled in and ran for 120 yards and a touchdown.
Bobby Engram / Joe Jurevicius – (HIT) / (MISS)
Engram had a nice day, catching six passes for 70 yards. Jurevicius only caught three balls for 27 yards.
BENCH
Mark Brunell – 226 yards passing, 2 TDs, 2 INTs (MISS)
Brunell had a better day than expected and completed a pass to nine different receivers in the game.
Kevan Barlow – 25 carries, 63 yards (HIT)
Barlow got a ton of carries in the Windy City, but not a ton of yards.
Jimmy Smith – 3 carries, 43 yards (HIT)
Smith continues to suffer with the Jaguars’ youth movement at WR.
Onto this week’s picks:
START
QB – Matt Hasselbeck, SEA
Hasselbeck has a fantastic matchup against the 49ers and should have a strong stretch run with a pretty easy schedule.
RB – Patrick Pass / Heath Evans, NE
If Pass doesn’t have any setbacks this week, he should have a big game against a poor New Orleans rush defense. If Pass can’t go, Evans will carry the load for the Patriots.
WR – Andre Johnson, HOU
The Texans offense has shown improvement and they should have some opportunities against a questionable Kansas City defense.
BENCH
QB – Mike Vick, ATL
Unless you are out of options, it is a good idea to bench Vick against a very good Tampa Bay defense.
RB – Kevin Jones, DET
It doesn’t look like Jones is going to have a second half of the season like he did last year and Mariucci has said that he’s not going to take carries away from Bryson and Pinner just to feed KJ the ball. This week, he faces a tough Dallas rush defense.
WR – Ashley Lelie, DEN
Lelie is coming off an injury and faces a stout Jets pass defense this week.
In this week’s marquee matchup, the 9-0 Colts travel to Cincinnati to face the 7-2 Bengals. Neither team has faced a tough schedule – Colts’ opponents have a combined winning percentage of .321 which is a bit easier than the .407 winning percentage of the Bengals’ opponents. Cincinnati’s last test came in week 7 when they lost to the Steelers, 27-13. Cincinnati was not able to stop Pittsburgh’s running game, and they should have the same problem on Sunday. The Bengals are giving up 124 yards a game on the ground, while the Colts are 6th in the league with an average of 134 yards per contest.
I’m not as confident as my week 9 pick of the Colts to cover, but I believe that Indianapolis will win the game. They will need to play a very good game to win, but they are better than the Bengals in almost every facet of the game. The spread has Indianapolis favored by 5, which does seem a bit steep, but I think the favorite should cover. I’d rather take the money line though, as this game could come down to a last second field goal.
Most leagues are getting into crunch time, which means divisional play. Want advice about whom to start? Look no further. Post all of your roster questions here.
I just lost one of my fantasy football leagues by a half point because Donovan McNabb and Mike McMahon couldn’t complete a pass to Brian Westbrook or L.J. Smith during the Eagles’ final two drives. Making matters worse, in the same game, I chose to bench one of my waiver wire recommendations from last week, Sam Gado (who had 108 yards and 3 TDs on Sunday), in favor of my first round pick in the league, Kevin Jones. I also started Smith over McMichael, and would have won with Randy in the game. How’s that for a double-kick to the nuts?
Let’s see who hot on the wire this week:
RUNNING BACKS
J.J. Arrington, ARI – Arrington got twice as many carries as Marcel Shipp against the Lions and also scored, so this may indicate that he’s Denny Green’s choice for the starting job. The Cardinals can’t run, so he’s not all that valuable, but he is a starting RB that will get some opportunities, so if you are desperate at RB, he might be worth a look.
Heath Evans, NE – Dillon left the game after a single play and Evans, a FB, took over at RB and carried the ball 18 times for 84 yards. It’s tough to know when Dillon will be back, but if he and Patrick Pass continue to miss time, Evans could be a good fill in.
Adrian Peterson, CHI – Cedric Benson is out three to six weeks with a knee injury and Thomas Jones is recovering from bruised ribs, so Peterson will have value until TJ can play (which might be as soon as this week).
WIDE RECEIVERS
Matt Jones, JAX – Jones finally had a breakout game, catching five passes for 117 yards and a TD, giving him three TDs in the last four games. If Ernest Wilford misses any more time due to injury, Jones’ value would increase.
Brian Finneran, ATL – Over the past two weeks, Finneran has caught 12 passes for 142 yards. He hasn’t been dependable though, putting up goose eggs in the prevous two games. His numbers fluctuate with Michael Vick’s questionable accuracy.
LeRon McCoy, ARI – It appears that McCoy is the second option in the passing game with Anquan Boldin and Bryant Johnson out with injuries. He may have some short-term value, depending on the status of these two guys.
Ike Hilliard / Edell Shepherd, TB – With Michael Clayton missing the game with a knee injury, Hilliard saw eight targets to Shepherd’s four. Shepherd did more with his opportunities, catching three passes for 87 yards and a score. If I had to guess who would do more over the next few weeks, I’d say Hilliard.
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