Category: Fantasy Football (Page 279 of 324)

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

DREW BREES has a great matchup with a Bengals pass defense that has allowed 227 yards and 1.4 TD per game. JAKE PLUMMER, STEVE MCNAIR and JAKE DELHOMME are borderline starters that also have nice matchups this week…REGGIE BUSH and DEUCE MCALLISTER face a Bengals defense that has yielded 127 yards and 1.3 TD on the ground per game. FRANK GORE, WALI LUNDY and ANTHONY THOMAS also have very favorable matchups this week…JOEY GALLOWAY faces a Redskins defense that has allowed the most fantasy points versus opposing WRs over the last six weeks. MARK CLAYTON, DERRICK MASON and CHRIS CHAMBERS also have attractive matchups this weekend.

BENCH

VINCE YOUNG, CHAD PENNINGTON and BRETT FAVRE have tough matchups this week and should be benched if possible…It’s tough to bench RONNIE BROWN, but he’s got a groin injury that has kept him out of practice this week and he faces a Vikings defense that is very tough against the run. LEON WASHINGTON, KEVAN BARLOW and CHESTER TAYLOR also face tough rush defenses this week…DREW BENNETT played well last week, but he runs into an Eagles defense that has only yielded 191 pass yards and 0.9 TD this season. TERRY GLENN is coming off a knee injury and has a tough matchup with the Colts this week.

Check back tomorrow for a complete injury update. In the meantime, feel free to ask a question on our Q & A.

Clinton Portis has been placed on IR and will not return this season. Ladell Betts becomes the primary back for the Redskins and now carries decent RB2 value.

Trent Green has been cleared to play, but Herm Edwards is being coy about who he plans to start on Sunday. Fantasy owners should avoid this situation until it becomes clear who the Chiefs want to start down the stretch.

You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers.

You may fire when ready.

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

Jason Campbell is in. Mark Brunell is out. With nowhere to go but up, the Redskins have made a change at QB to see what Campbell can do. He doesn’t really have any tough matchups the rest of the way, so there’s a chance he’ll put up decent numbers, but he will have his ups and downs…Damon Huard’s poor performance in Miami might give Trent Green owners some hope. Keep an eye on this situation and grab Green if he’s named the starter. A word of warning, KC’s remaining schedule is among the toughest for QBs.

RUNNING BACKS

Ladell Bets, Anthony Thomas, Wali Lundy, Maurice Jones-Drew, Travis Henry, Cedric Benson, DeAngelo Williams, Leon Washington, Mike Bell, Jerious Norwood, Michael Turner, Brandon Jacobs, Maurice Morris, Najeh Davenport, Justin Fargas

If Ladell Betts is available on your league’s waiver wire, stop reading and go pick him up. Clinton Portis is going to be out for a while with a broken hand, and the team may not bring him back if they don’t have a shot at the playoffs. That means that Betts could be the main guy the rest of the way…Anthony Thomas played well against the Colts, rushing for 109 yards, but failed to find the endzone. Willis McGahee will likely be out 2-3 more weeks, so the A-Train will keep rolling for a while.

WIDE RECEIVERS

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

Patrick Crayton and Sam Hurd filled in for the injured Terry Glenn, but it was Crayton who had the better day, finishing with five catches for 104 yards and a score. Crayton was doing well even with Glenn in the lineup, so it appears that he would be a better pickup than Hurd for the stretch run…What happened to Devery Henderson? A lot of savvy fantasy owners didn’t seem so savvy when they started Henderson this week. It looked good on paper – Horn was out again and Henderson was coming off a monster week filling in for him. He apparently played, but he didn’t get a pass thrown his way. Instead, it was Terrance Copper who benefited from Horn’s absence, catching six passes for 96 yards and a score. This is starting to look like the Denver RB situation.

TIGHT ENDS

Jerramy Stevens, Owen Daniels, David Martin, Bo Scaife, Vernon Davis, Alex Smith, Eric Johnson, Courtney Anderson

With decent play since his return and the forthcoming return of Matt Hasselbeck, Jerramy Stevens has a good chance to be a Top 10 TE the rest of the way…It’s hard to count on a rookie TE, but Vernon Davis is a great athlete and Alex Smith was targeting him before he broke his leg. He isn’t completely back yet, but he could serve as a spot-duty TE down the stretch.

Just in case you missed the mention in the Postgame, Clinton Portis has apparently broken his hand. In the world of fantasy football, any time you put the word “broken” in front of a body part, it’s a very bad sign. It looks like he will be out 3-4 weeks, and by then the team may be out of playoff contention which means they may not bring him back at all. That noise you hear is every fantasy owner in the world checking his league’s waiver wire to see if Ladell Betts is available.

In other news, Tony Gonzalez injured his shoulder and his brother (?) said that he would probably miss 2-3 weeks.