Category: Fantasy Football (Page 278 of 324)

**Remember, it’s a short week, so be sure to finalize your roster moves earlier rather than later**

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, Jason Campbell, David Carr, Aaron Brooks, David Garrard, Charlie Frye, Trent Green, Alex Smith, Joey Harrington, Chad Pennington, Matt Leinart, Vince Young, J.P. Losman, Brad Johnson, Bruce Gradkowski

Jason Campbell threw two TDs in his first game as a starter and looks to be a decent play down the stretch…Trent Green was pretty quiet in his first game back as the starter, but the Raiders have an underrated pass defense, so he should improve as the season wears on…The Eagles aren’t certain who is going to fill in for Donovan McNabb. Jeff Garcia was the first one off the bench, but reportedly, Andy Reid may use A.J. Feeley as the starter.

RUNNING BACKS

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

Arlen Harris looks to be first in line if Kevin Jones misses any time due to injury. The team didn’t have an update because tests were still being conducted. That doesn’t sound good…Jason Wright got the bulk of the work with Reuben Droughns out, but he’ll go back to the bench if Droughns returns…The Texans are happy to split the carries between Sam Gado and Wali Lundy, which limits the value of both players. Still, the Houston running game is doing well enough right now that either guy is a decent spot start given the right matchup…LaMont Jordan is out for the rest of the year, so look for Justin Fargas to get most of the work with Zack Crockett taking over at the goal line.

WIDE RECEIVERS

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

Mark Clayton continues his strong play as Steve McNair’s favorite target and shouldn’t be on your league’s waiver wire after this week…Likewise, Reche Caldwell has emerged as Tom Brady’s favorite target (for the moment). It’s tough to count on any of the Pats receivers, but Caldwell is a decent play going forward…It looks like Marques Colston is day-to-day going forward, so Devery Henderson shouldn’t be as hot of a waiver wire pickup as he would be if Colston was confirmed out for the next few weeks…Terry Glenn returned to action putting to rest rumors that he may be done for the year. Patrick Crayton and Sam Hurd will resume their supporting roles.

TIGHT ENDS

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

Randal Williams (a converted WR) has been productive since he took over the starting gig from Courtney Anderson, catching eight passes for 102 yards over the past two weeks. He should be a decent spot starter down the stretch.

There will be more than a few Donovan McNabb owners scrambling to fill their QB position early this week as we head into Thanksgiving weekend. His season is over after tearing his ACL against the Titans. If you don’t have a good backup on the roster, you’ll have to hope there’s someone on your league’s waiver wire that can help you out of a tough spot…Brett Favre left the game before halftime with an apparent elbow injury to his throwing arm. Aaron Rodgers took over and looked pretty bad, completing only 4 of 12 passes for 32 yards, while losing a fumble. It sounds like Favre is expected to start next week, which would allow him to keep his consecutive games streak alive. Meanwhile, in Rodgers’ two-year career, he hasn’t given any indication that he’s ready to take over once Favre retires. I think NFL teams should handle these situations differently in the future. If you have a Hall of Fame QB who is a year or three away from retiring, DO NOT draft a QB to replace him unless you can land a can’t-miss prospect like Carson Palmer or Eli Manning. You’re better off continuing to build around your QB and trying to win now. Plus, they say that it’s easier to be the guy after the guy that replaces a legend such as Favre, so once a guy like that retires, sign a Brad Johnson for a year or two, draft your QB of the future and go from there. It will make life easier for everyone…Marques Colston, this year’s biggest fantasy surprise, went down with what the CBS announcers called “a high ankle sprain.” Such sprains are notorious for taking a long time to heal, so we may not see Colston for a while. In his stead, Devery Henderson (9-169) and Terrance Copper (6-87-1) both played well, but Joe Horn is back and it isn’t likely that Drew Brees will throw for 510 yards again this season, so you can’t expect that kind of production week in and week out…Kevin Jones also left early with an ankle sprain and did not return. Arlen Harris picked up his carries, but if KJ misses any time, expect the Lions to throw even more if Mike Martz has anything to say about it. Considering he’s the offensive coordinator, I think that’s a safe bet…DeShaun Foster suffered a hyperextended elbow and did not return to the game. DeAngelo Williams‘ value would skyrocket if Foster were to miss any time…LaMont Jordan tore his MCL and it looks like he will miss the remainder of the season. Justin Fargas would get most of his carries though it is likely that Zach Crockett would handle the goal line duties.

Aside from a few huge performances, it was a rather quiet day in fantasy football. Chances are that owners that started Jamal Lewis, Lee Evans or Chad Johnson will probably win their games this week. Meanwhile, a number of #2-type wideouts had disappointing games, so don’t be surprised if the scores in your league aren’t as high as usual. But enough with the tease, let’s get to this week’s Headliners and Flatliners.

HEADLINERS

Tom Brady (244 yards, 4 TD)
Brady shredded a suspect Green Bay pass defense, throwing a TD pass to four different receivers. In the second quarter, he hooked up with Reche Caldwell for a 54-yard bomb and never looked back.

Honorable Mention: J.P. Losman (340 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT), Carson Palmer (275 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT), Drew Brees (510 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT)

Jamal Lewis (25 touches, 108 yards, 3 TD)
After rushing for just two TD in the first nine games, Lewis rushed for three against the Falcons, who had only allowed six rushing TD all season. Lewis has proved he still has something left in the tank.

Honorable Mention: Larry Johnson (31 touches, 154 yards, 2 TD), Frank Gore (28 touches, 238 yards), Travis Henry (19 touches, 151 yards, 1 TD), Chester Taylor (28 touches, 80 yards, 2 TD), Willie Parker (20 touches, 63 yards, 2 TD), Laurence Maroney (23 touches, 116 yards, 1 TD)

Lee Evans (11 rec, 265 yards, 2 TD) & Chad Johnson (6 rec, 190 yards, 3 TD)
Evans went apeshit in the first quarter, catching two – count ‘em, TWO – 83-yard TD passes from J.P. Losman. Meanwhile, the Saints just didn’t get the memo…you have to cover Chad Johnson. After pulling up with an apparent hamstring injury on a 60-yard TD catch, he proceeded to burn the Saints for another long pass before snatching another TD catch. In the last two games, CJ has caught 17 passes for 450 yards and five TD. Wow.

Honorable Mention: Deion Branch (7 rec, 113 yards, 1 TD), Reggie Wayne (7 rec, 111 yards, 1 TD), Devery Henderson (9 rec, 169 yards), Joe Horn (3 rec, 93 yards, 1 TD), Steve Smith (4 rec, 90 yards, 1 TD), Terrance Copper (6 rec, 87 yards, 1 TD), Braylon Edwards (7 rec, 137 yards)

Ben Watson (5 rec, 74 yards, 1 TD)
Watson continued his strong run against the Packers, and has now caught 23 passes for 299 yards and two TD over the last five games.

Honorable Mention: L.J. Smith (7 rec, 57 yards, 1 TD), Chris Cooley (5 rec, 58 yards, 1 TD)

FLATLINERS

Donovan McNabb (78 yards, 1 INT)
McNabb left the game with a knee injury and it’s now being reported that he’s going to miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. This is obviously a tough blow to his owners.

Dishonorable Mention: Brett Favre (73 yards), Marc Bulger (142 yards, 1 INT), Chad Pennington (162 yards, 2 INT)

Ronnie Brown (12 touches, 2 yards)
While KJ left his game with an ankle injury, Brown finished his game against the Vikings but wasn’t able to get anything going. Hopefully, his owners were scared off by his groin injury this week.

Dishonorable Mention: Kevin Jones (4 touches, 8 yards), Shaun Alexander (18 touches, 39 yards), Steven Jackson (14 touches, 57 yards), Warrick Dunn (16 touches, 57 yards), Ladell Betts (12 touches, 68 yards), Ahman Green (14 touches, 28 yards)

Randy Moss (0 rec)
Moss was a first or second round pick in most leagues and thus far this season he has caught 33 passes for 455 yards and three TD. Moreover, he said he doesn’t want to play for the Raiders next season, which makes me wonder why they even bother playing him.

Dishonorable Mention: Larry Fitzgerald (2 rec, 30 yards), Donald Driver (2 rec, 42 yards), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (2 rec, 15 yards), Muhsin Muhammad (2 rec, 29 yards), Antonio Bryant (2 rec, 21 yards), Reggie Brown (2 rec 31 yards), Jerricho Cotchery (3 rec, 25 yards), Drew Bennett (1 rec, 0 yards)

Alge Crumpler (2 rec, 16 yards)
Crumpler had a pretty strong run going until last week, when he caught only four passes for 37 yards. This week was even worse and it has to make fantasy owners wonder if they can count on him down the stretch.

Dishonorable Mention: Jerramy Stevens (1 rec, 18 yards)

It looks like Santana Moss is going to miss this week’s game with a bad hammy. His outlook isn’t particularly good considering the team doesn’t appear to be contending for the playoffs. He may not rush back to the field if there isn’t anything to play for…Frank Gore has been upgraded to probable (concussion) and is expected to play this week…It looks like Aaron Brooks is back under center for the Raiders. There’s no telling if his second go-around will go better than his first…Ronnie Brown is listed as questionable (groin) but was able to practice fully on Friday…Reuben Droughns is listed as questionable (foot) and it doesn’t look like he’s going to play Sunday…Tatum Bell returned to practice and is listed as questionable (toe). There’s no telling how the carries will be split Sunday night, so be very careful if you are counting on either of the Bells…Only Mike Holmgren knows for sure if Matt Hasselbeck or Shaun Alexander are going to play this week. Reportedly, Alexander has a better chance to start than Hass, but we won’t know for sure until kickoff gets closer…Terry Glenn practiced all week and is expected to play Sunday against the Colts…Joe Horn practiced fully on Friday and is listed as probable…Todd Heap is listed as questionable and did not practice fully on Friday as he normally does. Be prepared to take him out of the lineup if he is inactive tomorrow.