Category: Fantasy Football (Page 275 of 324)

QUARTERBACKS

Here is a list of players that may be available on your league’s waiver wire, in order of relative value:

Vince Young, Tony Romo, Philip Rivers, Jeff Garcia, Steve McNair, Trent Green, David Garrard, Joey Harrington, Jason Campbell, Chad Pennington, Jay Cutler, Matt Leinart, David Carr, Aaron Brooks, Alex Smith, J.P. Losman, Brad Johnson, Bruce Gradkowski

For those fantasy owners in dire straits at the QB position, two players with nice matchups in Week 15 are Jeff Garcia and Jason Campbell, who play the Giants and Saints respectively…Vince Young is blossoming into a fantasy star right before our eyes, but he has a rather tough matchup with the Jaguars this week. Still, if you don’t have another great option, you could do a lot worse than Young…David Garrard didn’t post very good numbers against the Colts, but that had more to do with the Colts’ rush defense (or lack thereof) than it did with their pass defense. This week, he has an attractive matchup with the Titans.

RUNNING BACKS

Sammy Morris, Ron Dayne, Cedric Houston, Artrose Pinner, Travis Henry, Mike Bell, DeAngelo Williams, Chris Brown, Aveion Cason, Arlen Harris, Wali Lundy, Justin Fargas, Cedric Benson, Brandon Jacobs, Jason Wright, Leon Washington

Artose Pinner simply ran harder than Ciatrick Fason, finishing with 29 carries for 125 yards and 3 TDs. His value going into Week 15 depends entirely on the health of Chester Taylor. The Vikings have terrific matchups the rest of the way as they face the Jets and Packers, so whoever starts will have value…Keep an eye on Travis Henry’s status heading into Week 15. He has an ankle sprain and is currently listed as day-to-day. Chris Brown was his backup this week and he rushed for 44 yards on four carries…Ron Dayne appears to be the man again in Houston. HC Gary Kubiak seems to change his mind on a weekly basis, so we should start calling him Baby Skeletor…Kevin Jones is going to miss the rest of the season with a foot injury, which leaves Arlen Harris and Aveion Cason to fight over his carries. It’s not clear how the team plans to use each back.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Reche Caldwell, Chris Henry, Mike Furrey, Joe Jurevicius, Santonio Holmes, Antwaan Randle El, Ronald Curry, Marcus Robinson, Devery Henderson, Wes Welker, Arnaz Battle, Terrance Copper, Ernest Wilford, Eric Parker, Patrick Crayton, Doug Gabriel

Joe Jurevicius caught 7 passes for 111 yards, which was his second strong game. This week he faces the Ravens, which isn’t that bad of a matchup for a WR…Ronald Curry caught 8 passes for 99 yards and a score against the Bengals and seems to be getting Randy Moss’ targets. It’s tough to count on any Raiders this deep into the season, but if you’re in a pinch, Curry could be OK.

TIGHT ENDS

Vernon Davis, Bo Scaife, Tony Scheffler, Jerramy Stevens, Randal Williams, Bryan Fletcher, David Martin, Owen Daniels, Alex Smith, Eric Johnson

Vernon Davis caught three passes for 74 yards and a score against the Packers and has a pretty decent schedule down the stretch…Tony Scheffler caught three passes for 66 yards and 2 TDs against the Chargers. Don’t expect this kind of production every week, but he could be a decent spot starter, especially in Week 16 against the Bengals.

Most of Week 14 has come and gone and it’s time to put up or shut up for a lot of fantasy owners, as most leagues start playoffs this week. Players from the late games took three of our four Headliner honors, while players from the early games dominated the Flatliner column. And get this: LT set the single-season touchdown record (29) by scoring three times against the Broncos, but it wasn’t enough to earn top honors. But enough with the tease, let’s get right to this week’s Headliners and Flatliners.

HEADLINERS

Matt Hasselbeck (243 pass yards, 3 TD, 32 rush yards)
Despite being bothered by a sore knee and a bruised non-throwing hand, Hass whipped the ball around the field with velocity, and showed a little something by running for 32 yards on three carries. Too bad his team couldn’t beat the Cardinals. Ouch.

Honorable Mention: Brett Favre (293 yards, 2 TD), Vince Young (218 pass yards, 1 INT, 86 rush yards, 1 rush TD), Philip Rivers (279 yards, 2 TD), Matt Leinart (232 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT), Carson Palmer (297 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT), Steve McNair (283 yards, 1 TD), Eli Manning (172 yards, 3 TD), Chris Weinke (423 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT)

Maurice Jones-Drew (16 touches, 181 yards, 2 TD)
Are you kidding me? Drew’s line is pretty amazing, but take a look at the entire Jacksonville ground game: 42 rushes, 375 yards, 4 TD. That’s 8.9 yards per carry. I knew the Colts’ rushing defense was bad, I just didn’t know it was this bad. (Note: I listed Drew ahead of Pinner even though Pinner had a better line, because no one started Artrose Pinner this week. Except for the Vikings, that is.)

Honorable Mention: Artrose Pinner (31 touches, 140 yards, 3 TD), LaDainian Tomlinson (29 touches, 112 yards, 3 TD), Rudi Johnson (31 touches, 122 yards, 2 TD), Frank Gore (22 touches, 168 yards, 1 TD), Sammy Morris (27 touches, 162 yards, 1 TD), Travis Henry (22 touches, 95 yards, 2 TD), Ron Dayne (24 touches, 99 yards, 2 TD), Fred Taylor (9 touches, 131 yards, 1 TD), Ladell Betts (35 touches, 185 yards)

Donald Driver (9 rec, 160 yards, 1 TD)
Driver took advantage of a very nice matchup against the 49ers this week, catching a 68-yard bomb to seal the victory. It seems like Driver is one of those guys that, year after year, is underestimated on draft day.

Honorable Mention: Drew Carter (8 rec, 144 yards, 1 TD), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (8 rec, 118 yards, 1 TD), Marty Booker (8 rec, 103 yards, 1 TD), Mark Clayton (5 rec, 112 yards, 1 TD), D.J. Hackett (4 rec, 104 yards, 1 TD), Ronald Curry (8 rec, 99 yards, 1 TD)

Antonio Gates (7 rec, 104 yards, 2 TD)
Now this is why fantasy owners drafted Gates in the 2nd-4th rounds. When most of the other big name tight ends are doing diddly-squat, Gates comes up with a HUGE day. As the season comes to a close, teams keep trying to stack the line to stop LT, and Gates should be able to find openings. He and Rivers are on the same page, which was not the case earlier in the season.

Honorable Mention: Tony Scheffler (3 rec, 66 yards, 2 TD), Vernon Davis (3 rec, 74 yards, 1 TD), Jeremy Shockey (6 rec, 49 yards, 1 TD)

FLATLINERS

Tom Brady (78 yards)
The entire Patriots offense was a giant disappointment against the Dolphins. Brady was miserable, but the team was pretty bad all around. Nobody thought the Pats would get blanked in Miami.

Dishonorable Mention: Michael Vick (155 pass yards, 1 INT, 5 rush yards), David Garrard (79 yards, 1 INT)

Shaun Alexander (24 touches, 84 yards)
Sure, there were guys that had worse days, but all I kept hearing while Alexander was out nursing his foot injury was how his schedule was so favorable if his fantasy owners could just get to the playoffs. Well, it’s playoff time and all he can put up is 84 total yards against the Cardinals? No, thanks.

Dishonorable Mention: Joseph Addai (12 touches, 36 yards), Carnell Williams (21 touches, 53 yards), DeShaun Foster (8 rec, 23 yards)

Randy Moss (2 rec, 28 yards)
And it continues. Moss was targeted just four times and was seen sitting down on the sideline during a crucial third down play in first half. Most owners have probably given up on the grumpy talent, and I can’t blame them. It’s not worth waiting for him to break out of his funk. I just hope everyone remembers this when it’s draft time next season. Every year, someone takes him in the first or second round and, every year, I just chuckle to myself. There’s always a chance he’ll put up a monster season, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Dishonorable Mention: Chris Chambers (3 rec, 11 yards), Eddie Kennison (1 rec, 13 yards)

Ben Watson (1 rec, 5 yards)
Surely, fantasy owners aren’t too thrilled with Ben Watson’s pitiful performance against Miami. Of course, they can take solace in the fact that the entire Pats’ offense looked like it was doped up on Vicodin for much the game. (It wasn’t like Daniel Graham went off.)

Dishonorable Mention: Tony Gonzalez (3 rec, 31 yards), Alge Crumpler (3 rec, 30 yards), Todd Heap (4 rec, 33 yards)

Each week in the Pregame, I’ll provide a few players to start and a few to bench. These recommendations are based on that player’s strength of schedule (SOS) for that particular week or that player’s specific situation.

I’m a strong advocate of always starting your studs, so I won’t be telling you about LaDainian Tomlinson’s tough matchup or how Peyton Manning and company will light it up against a bad defense. Anyone can make those calls. I’ll be discussing marginal fantasy starters – guys that can start for you, but only under certain circumstances.

START

If you’re in a pinch, JEFF GARCIA, AARON BROOKS, VINCE YOUNG and BEN ROETHLISBERGER have very nice matchups against the Redskins, Bengals, Texans and Browns, respectively…CEDRIC HOUSTON and LADELL BETTS have very nice matchups this week, though neither guy is a sure thing…MIKE FURREY, DEION BRANCH and EDDIE KENNISON are marginal starters with attractive matchups against the Vikings, Cardinals and Ravens, respectively.

BENCH

It may not be a bad idea to sit MARC BULGER, JASON CAMPBELL and JOEY HARRINGTON this week due to their tough matchups against the Bears, Eagles and Patriots, respectively…It’s tough to bench JOSEPH ADDAI after his huge game two weeks ago, but he’s got a tough matchup with the Jags. The same goes for REGGIE BUSH, who faces a Cowboys defense who is very stout against RBs…SANTANA MOSS and MATT JONES will probably find the going tough against the Eagles and Colts – both teams are pretty stingy against WRs.

INJURY UPDATE (THURSDAY GAME)

JASON WRIGHT and REUBEN DROUGHNS will continue to split carries and both players should be avoided if possible…CHARLIE FRYE is listed as questionable with a bone bruise and will try to practice today. DEREK ANDERSON would start in his place if Frye can’t go…KELLEN WINSLOW is listed as questionable (knee) but is expected to play on Thursday against the Steelers…SANTONIO HOLMES should start on Thursday in place of the injured HINES WARD and CEDRICK WILSON.

It’s playoff time in a lot of leagues. If you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. (No guarantees.)

Fire at will.

QUARTERBACKS

Tony Romo, Trent Green, Vince Young, Steve McNair, David Garrard, Phillip Rivers, Joey Harrington, Jason Campbell, Chad Pennington, Jay Cutler, Jeff Garcia, Matt Leinart, David Carr, Aaron Brooks, Alex Smith, J.P. Losman, Brad Johnson, Bruce Gradkowski

Jay Cutler wasn’t overly impressive in his debut, but he did manage to throw for 143 yards and two scores. His schedule down the stretch looks fair…Trent Green threw for four TDs against the Browns and has two mediocre matchups the next two weeks before a tough matchup against Oakland in Week 16…If you’re looking for a spot starter this week, Vince Young has a nice matchup against Houston. But he’s been playing so well that he may not be on your league’s waiver wire.

RUNNING BACKS

DeAngelo Williams, Ladell Betts, Cedric Houston, Maurice Jones-Drew, Travis Henry, Mike Bell, Ron Dayne, Wali Lundy, Justin Fargas, Sammy Morris, Cedric Benson, Brandon Jacobs, Jason Wright, Leon Washington, Sam Gado, Jerious Norwood, Michael Turner

DeAngelo Williams’ huge Monday night game keeps him at the top of this list, but he’s not available in too many leagues…On the other hand, Cedric Houston may be available and could be a nice option down the stretch and has a nice matchup with Buffalo in Week 14…Justin Fargas might be productive the next few weeks. He scored on Sunday and has two good looking matchups coming up…There was another Ron Dayne sighting this Sunday. He rumbled for 95 yards on 18 carries. Don’t get too excited about him though; he’s always been a tease.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Mark Clayton, Marty Booker, Reche Caldwell, Chris Henry, Mike Furrey, Marcus Robinson, Devery Henderson, Santonio Holmes, Wes Welker, Arnaz Battle, Terrance Copper, Ernest Wilford, Eric Parker, Patrick Crayton, Doug Gabriel

Mike Furrey’s big game pushes him back up this list, but he’s probably already on a roster in your league…Marty Booker scored again, but Chris Chambers was much more active this week…Devery Henderson was a big disappointment especially considering Marques Colston sat out this week…Reche Caldwell is Tom Brady’s top target right now. On Sunday he caught eight passes for 112 yards…With the Troy Williamson demotion, Marcus Robinson appears to be the Vikings #1 option in the passing game (man, it feels weird to type that) and over the last two weeks, he has caught 12 passes for 119 yards and a score.

TIGHT ENDS

Bo Scaife, Jerramy Stevens, Bryan Fletcher, Randal Williams, David Martin, Vernon Davis, Owen Daniels, Alex Smith, Eric Johnson

With Dallas Clark missing the game due to a mysterious knee injury, Bryan Fletcher caught three passes for 56 yards and should be the main TE target for Peyton Manning going forward…Randal Williams continues to be a top target of Aaron Brooks (6-46) but he fumbled twice, which thwarted a Raider comeback.