Category: Fantasy Football (Page 277 of 324)

QUARTERBACKS

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

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

Jake Plummer is out. Jay Cutler is in. I’m not sure what to expect from Cutler, who has been pretty hyped since he entered the league this summer. But he’s got a nice schedule ahead of him (Sea, @SD, @ARI, CIN) and ten days to prepare for his first game, so he isn’t being thrown to the wolves…Don’t look now, but Vince Young is turning into a pretty good fantasy QB. Over the last three weeks he has thrown for 569 yards and three TDs, while rushing for 157 and two more TDs. His schedule is favorable over the next two weeks, but games against Jacksonville and at Buffalo loom in Weeks 15 and 16…Jason Campbell is another good option for fantasy owners still reeling from the loss of Donovan McNabb. In two starts, he hasn’t thrown for a ton of yards (314), but he has thrown two scores in each game. Plus, his schedule down the stretch looks pretty good.

RUNNING BACKS

DeAngelo Williams, Travis Henry, Wali Lundy, Ladell Betts, Sammy Morris, Cedric Benson, Arlen Harris, Maurice Jones-Drew, Leon Washington, Mike Bell, Justin Fargas, Sam Gado, Jerious Norwood, Michael Turner, Brandon Jacobs, Zack Crockett, Anthony Thomas, Jason Wright, T.J. Duckett

The Panthers elected not to update the status of DeShaun Foster on Monday, so his status is still up in the air. DeAngelo Williams didn’t perform very well (20 touches, 86 yards), but he wasn’t bad either. We all know he’ll eventually be the starter in Carolina, it’s just a matter of time. Keep an eye on Foster’s status this week…Sammy Morris took over for the injured Ronnie Brown and rushed for 91 yards on 12 carries. Brown had surgery on his hand so don’t expect him to be back for Week 13. Morris is in for spot-starter duty, but he’s got a tough matchup against a stout Jacksonville defense.

WIDE RECEIVERS

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

Thursday seems like a long time ago, but Marty Booker went nuts on the Lions, catching seven balls for 115 yards and two scores. No one knows for sure what’s wrong with Chris Chambers, but Booker is picking up the slack…It looks like Hines Ward may be out a while after knee surgery, so Santonio Holmes will be first in line for his targets.

TIGHT ENDS

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

With Ben Troupe out for the year, Bo Scaife is getting even more playing time. He appears to be a favorite target of Vince Young which makes him a good backup TE at this point in the season…Jerramy Stevens keeps dropping the ball, but Matt Hasselbeck keeps throwing it to him, resulting in a 3-yard TE catch late Monday night. If you’re in a pinch, he’s still a good option despite the butterfingers.

With three Thursday games this week, there aren’t as many games to choose from, but Sunday still featured some big performances. S-Jax and LT went nuts, while Colston’s replacement went bonkers. Meanwhile, Frye was a huge disappointment and Torry continues to struggle. But enough with the tease, let’s get right to this week’s Headliners and Flatliners.

HEADLINERS

Vince Young (249 pass yards, 2 pass TD, 69 rush yards, 1 TD)
Young led the Titans on a remarkable 21-point comeback in the second half, throwing for two TD and rushing for another. He has been playing well of late and should continue to be a decent start down the stretch.

Honorable Mention: Brad Johnson (271 yards, 3 TD), Carson Palmer (275 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT), Drew Brees (349 yards, 2 TD), Matt Leinart (405 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT), David Carr (321 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT), Chad Pennington (286 yards, 1 TD), Michael Vick (84 pass yards, 166 rush yards)

Steven Jackson (32 touches, 192 yards, 1 TD)
This award could easily go to LT, but S-Jax had nine catches which gives him the nod in PPR leagues. Plus, I played against him in three of four leagues this week, so he deserves the recognition. Thanks a lot, Steven.

Honorable Mention: LaDainian Tomlinson (20 touches, 114 total yards, 2 rush TD, 19 pass yards, 1 pass TD), Chester Taylor (30 touches, 171 yards, 1 TD), Frank Gore (25 rec, 165 yards, 1 TD), Deuce McAllister (22 touches, 76 yards, 2 TD), Willis McGahee (13 touches, 71 yards, 2 TD)

Devery Henderson (4 rec, 158 yards, 1 TD)
Henderson stepped in for Marques Colston and didn’t miss a beat. Drew Brees is red hot right now and his WRs are benefiting.

Honorable Mention: Anquan Boldin (9 rec, 140 yards, 1 TD), Laveranues Coles (9 rec, 111 yards, 1 TD), Larry Fitzgerald (11 rec, 172 yards), Andre Johnson (10 rec, 98 yards, 1 TD), Chris Henry (5 rec, 41 yards, 2 TD)

Ben Watson (6 rec, 89 yards, 1 TD)
Chris Cooley looked like he had this award wrapped up after the early games, but Watson (and Gates) both put up slightly better efforts in the late contests. Watson has emerged as a dangerous weapon in the Patriots offense and should be starting for fantasy owners the rest of the way.

Honorable Mention: Antonio Gates (6 rec, 81 yards, 1 TD), Chris Cooley (3 rec, 89 yards, 1 TD), Todd Heap (7 rec, 58 yards, 1 TD)

FLATLINERS

Charlie Frye (186 yards, 4 INT)
My apologies to those who took my advice this week and started Frye at home against a very suspect Bengals defense. Four interceptions later, and I’m still scratching my head.

Dishonorable Mention: Rex Grossman (176 yards, 3 INT), Ben Roethlisberger (214 yards, 2 INT), Phillip Rivers (133 yards, 1 INT), J.P. Losman (169 yards, 1 INT)

Edgerrin James (6 touches, 25 yards)
Edge’s struggles continue, this time against a tough Vikings rush defense. I’m not sure the Cardinals’ running game will ever get on track.

Dishonorable Mention: Willie Parker (12 touches, 37 yards), Travis Henry (15 touches, 51 yards)

Torry Holt (4 rec, 30 yards)
What’s wrong with Torry? After seven scores in the first six games, he hasn’t caught a TD pass in the last five.

Dishonorable Mention: Randy Moss (3 rec, 26 yards), Hines Ward (4 rec, 33 yards), Muhsin Muhammad (3 rec, 37 yards)

Alge Crumpler (1 rec, 43 yards)
Crumpler had one big play, but otherwise spent his day in a seemingly constant state of tantrum.

Dishonorable Mention: Jeremy Shockey (5 rec, 39 yards)

Ronnie Brown had surgery on his hand and may miss several weeks. He’s out for this week and then will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis…Todd Heap missed some practice time this week but is expected to play against the Steelers…Brett Favre is listed as questionable, but returned to practice and should start Monday night against the Seahawks…Santana Moss was upgraded to probable and should play Sunday…Marques Colston missed practice on Friday and it looks like he will be a game time decision on Sunday. If he can’t go, the expectations for Devery Henderson and Terrance Copper go way up…Andre Johnson returned to practice Friday and should be able to go on Sunday…Hines Ward missed parts of practice this week and is listed as questionable. Keep an eye on the Sunday inactives before starting him this week…Matt Hasselbeck will start Monday night against the Packers…Ernest Wilford returned to practice and should play against the Bills…Willis McGahee practiced on Friday and is likely to play this week. It’s not clear how the Bills intend to split up snaps between McGahee and Anthony Thomas, who has performed well in McGahee’s absence.

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 a Donovan McNabb owner (like me) you might be scrambling this week for a starter at QB. CHARLIE FRYE has a terrific matchup with a porous Bengals defense that has allowed the most points to opposing QBs over the last six weeks. Cincinnati will probably put up some points, so the Browns will have to throw to stay in the game. JAKE DELHOMME, AARON BROOKS and VINCE YOUNG also have favorable matchups… FRED TAYLOR and AHMAN GREEN have nice matchups against the Bills and Seahawks, respectively…SANTONIO HOLMES is worth a spot start this week. He’s been playing pretty well of late and actually has a great matchup against the Ravens, who have allowed the fourth most points to WRs over the last six weeks…

BENCH

REX GROSSMAN has a very tough matchup against the Pats this week. PHILLIP RIVERS, JON KITNA and JASON CAMPBELL also face tough pass defenses and may struggle…EDGERRIN JAMES, THOMAS JONES and LADELL BETTS will probably find running room tough to come by as they face the Vikings, Pats and Panthers, respectively…JOEY GALLOWAY, REGGIE BROWN and DONTE STALLWORTH have tough matchups this week and should be benched if you have another (decent) option.

INJURY UPDATE (THURSDAY GAMES)

Good news for KEVIN JONES owners: it’s not a high ankle sprain. He’s listed as questionable for Thursday’s game, but is not expected to play. He should be back for Week 13…RONNIE BROWN is listed as probable and did practice this week…TONY GONZALEZ returned to practice Tuesday and is a game-time decision against the Broncos…ROD SMITH is listed as questionable and, considering his production, shouldn’t be in fantasy lineups this week…MIKE BELL and TATUM BELL are both expected to play against the Chiefs, making any of the Denver RBs a risky play this week. Damn you, SKELETOR!

Remember, there are Thursday games this week, so get your lineups in early.

Have roster questions? Fire away.