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Category: NFL (Page 1091 of 1282)
Every week, I highlight a few players that you should target in waivers. I’ll use the ESPN league data when filtering players, so the only players eligible for discussion here are those that are available on the waiver wire of at least 40% of ESPN’s leagues. I’ll list each player’s percentage-owned after their name so you have an idea of how available they are in leagues around the country. I’ll always try to talk about a player or two that are available in 90% of leagues for those of you in 12-team leagues or leagues with big rosters.
PICKUP OF THE WEEK
Chester Taylor, Vikings (62.8)
He falls just out of my self-imposed criteria, but Taylor is available in 37% of ESPN leagues, and he should be picked up immediately if he’s available on your league’s waiver wire. It looks like Adrian Peterson will miss a few games with a knee injury, so Taylor will resume the role of RB1 behind Minnesota’s big offensive line. As RB1 last season, Taylor gained over 1500 total yards from scrimmage and scored six times. While Peterson is out, Taylor should be a good RB2 in most leagues.
QUARTERBACKS
Jason Campbell (46.5) doesn’t have a very good matchup in week 12, but otherwise his schedule isn’t bad down the stretch. He’s been a little spotty this season, but he played well against the Eagles…Kurt Warner (33.4) has a torn ligament in his left (non-throwing) hand and lost a few snaps to Tim Rattay around the goal line. Still he threw for 259 yards and three scores against the Lions and can be started if he has a good matchup (which he has in weeks 11, 13 and 15)…He doesn’t have a particularly good schedule, but David Garrard (30.6) was solid as the starter earlier in the season, averaging 214 yards and 1.2 TD over the first five games…Kellen Clemens (9.7) doesn’t have a good matchup in week 11, but things lighten up considerably (@ DAL, @ MIA, vs. CLE) until a week 15 matchup with the Pats…Rex Grossman (8.4) might be the starter again in Chicago now that Brian Griese is nicked up. He played OK against Oakland and has a few good matchups coming up…Brodie Croyle (1.8) will get the start in week 11 and Kyle Boller (2.2) may usurp Steve McNair as the starter in Baltimore. Neither guy can be trusted, but starting QBs do have some fantasy value in deep leagues.
RUNNING BACKS
Chester Taylor (62.8) is the biggest waiver wire prize this week…Justin Fargas (58.0) is the clear RB1 in Oakland and should be owned in all leagues. He’s a serviceable RB2 going forward…Selvin Young (55.4) played great in place of Travis Henry, who missed Sunday’s game with an injury. Young should be owned in all but the shallowest of leagues…Priest Holmes (45.6) carried the ball 20 times for 65 yards on Sunday. He didn’t look like the ol’ Priest we remember from a few years ago, but he’s RB1 in KC as long as Larry Johnson is out…Ryan Grant (42.8) should be owned in all leagues. Against the Vikings, he ran very well behind Green Bay’s offensive line, which is doing a much better job of opening up running lanes…Anthony Thomas (21.1) would be first in line to take over for Marshawn Lynch, but it looks like Lynch may play in week 11… Ron Dayne (13.3) can’t be trusted, but as long as Ahman Green is out, he is first in line for carries in Houston. He had a nice game against a poor Raiders defense and has the Saints and Browns over the next two weeks…Maurice Morris (8.3) appears to be the RB1 in Seattle as long as Shaun Alexander is sidelined. He carried the ball 28 times for 87 yards and a score against the 49ers.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Muhsin Muhammad (58.9), Roddy White (58.3), D.J. Hackett (49.8) and Shaun McDonald (46.8) are all good options, especially in PPR leagues. Hackett was especially impressive on Monday night, catching eight passes for 101 yards and a score…Mark Clayton (45.2) has had a very disappointing year, but showed some signs of life with eight catches for 107 yards on Sunday…Joe Jurevicius (41.7) has caught 14 passes for 189 yards over the last three weeks, which makes him a serviceable WR3 or WR4 in PPR leagues…Andre Davis (34.9) and Brandon Stokley (34.1) are still decent options as long as Andre Johnson and Javon Walker are out…James Jones (29.9) is serviceable in PPR leagues as he’s caught at least three passes in each of the last three weeks…Over the last four weeks, Kevin Walter (27.8) has averaged 7.0 catches for 92 yards and 0.3 TD, but has seen his yardage decrease each week. He’s still a nice option in PPR leagues, especially with the Saints and Browns up next…David Patten (23.7) only caught three passes for 37 yards on Sunday, but has been pretty consistent of late, catching 4.4 passes over the last five weeks…Ike Hilliard (23.7) has been a nice surprise this season and, in PPR leagues, has surpassed 10 points in five of the last six weeks…Like the rest of the Seattle wideouts, Nate Burleson (21.8) should benefit from Seattle’s new aerial attack…Drew Bennett (13.8) is back on the fantasy radar after two weeks totaling 10 catches for 100 yards and a score…Brandon Jones (5.9) is healthy again, and returned to action by catching five passes for 51 yards against the Jaguars.
TIGHT ENDS
If the St. Louis offense is indeed on the upswing, Randy McMichael (55.7) should be able to build on his four-catch, 41-yard day against the Saints where he also caught a TD…Donald Lee (48.7) continues to linger on more than half of ESPN’s waiver wires despite having caught at least three passes in each game this season. On Sunday, he caught four passes for 27 yards and a score…L.J. Smith (45.3) appears to be feeling better. On Sunday he chipped in with four catches for 49 yards and a TD…Eric Johnson (30.6) caught three passes for 38 yards and a TD against the Rams and continues to play a prominent role in the Saints’ passing attack…Tony Scheffler (21.8) has posted an average of 4.5 catches for 39 yards and 0.5 TD over the past four games and has been the most effective TE for the Broncos…Leonard Pope (3.3) had a breakout game with two scores against the Lions, but he’s not a good option in most leagues…Will Heller (1.2) has hit paydirt three times in the last three weeks, but has been very spotty otherwise…Zach Miller (2.9) hasn’t been very consistent, but he caught four passes for 43 yards against the Bears.
Adrian Peterson is a stud. No doubt. His magical start to the season rightly had many people thinking back to draft day and wondering if any of the six teams that passed on Peterson would reconsider that decision today.
Well, maybe yesterday, but how about today? Peterson will reportedly miss up to three weeks after tearing a lateral ligament in his right knee Sunday. Fortunately for Peterson and the Vikes, it’s not one of the big ligaments — the ACL, MCL or even PCL — but it’s a huge blow to a Vikings team that hasn’t been able to do anything but run in their first nine games.
It’s also a big loss for the theory that the Cleveland Browns would’ve been better suited taking Peterson over tackle Joe Thomas at #3. Wrote ESPN’s Todd McShay:
Any of the six teams that passed on him originally might take a mulligan to get (Peterson) this time around, but the Browns look like the best fit right now as they could use a little more running to balance the seventh-best passing game (254.5 ypg) in the league.
Well, durability concerns were the primary reason those top six teams in the draft passed on Peterson, including the Browns. And now Peterson is out for several weeks. No, it’s not related to the collarbone injury that affected his draft stock last April, so some will probably blame a fluke occurrence. But that’s the point: injury prone players fall victim to fluke injuries. That’s why they’re injury prone. And Peterson, unfortunately, is injury prone.
It’s probably safe to assume that the Browns are perfectly content with Thomas. Cleveland nearly knocked off the hated Steelers yesterday for the first time in centuries and they’ve got one of the most potent offenses in football. QB Derek Anderson and WR Braylon Edwards get most of the attention, but their prolific passing game operates behind a much improved offensive line. It’s not all Thomas — the signing of G Eric Steinbach has been a big success — but the rookie sure looks like a franchise left tackle. And as many general managers and quarterbacks know, those don’t come along all that often.
Peterson, of course, looks like a franchise running back, but as a reader noted in a previous TSR post, it’s easier to find a great running back than a great tackle. In fact, in many cases, it takes a great tackle to make a great running back. A great running back isn’t going to make a great tackle, though. You need an offensive line to effectively run the football, and you need to run to win. Minnesota planted Peterson behind one of the better offensive lines in football and Peterson exploded. Put Peterson behind a Browns line that doesn’t include Thomas and he doesn’t lead the league in rushing eight games later, and he certainly doesn’t own the record for most rushing yards in a game.
But the most obvious proof that the Browns made the right call is in the numbers. They’re 5-4 and they’re scoring 28.3 points per game with a running back (Jamal Lewis) averaging 64 rushing yards per game. The Vikings, meanwhile, are 3-6 and they’re scoring 18.4 points per game with a running back (Peterson) averaging 120 yards per game.
In other words, Thomas is still the pick at #3.
SI.com’s Peter King in his “Monday Morning Quarterback” column on Andy Reid’s situation involving his two sons:
a. We psychologists and family counselors in the media seem to be certain it would be better for Reid and his family for him to quit his job or take an extended leave to be home with his wife and three children. I don’t remember everyone jumping to tell Tony Dungy to quit his job and go home to be with his children when James Dungy committed suicide.
Dungy had kids at home. Reid has kids at home. Suicide, drug addiction. I wouldn’t criticize either man for chucking it all to change lives in the middle of a family crisis. Nor would I pretend to know enough about either situation to know whether the right thing is to stay or quit. How do I know whether Reid has three Eagle scouts left at home or three derelicts? How do I know whether the two who went off the deep end did so alone and with no involvement of the other three kids in the family?
Memo to the media: butt out and allow Reid and his family to make the necessary decisions regarding their lives.
Here’s what some local columnists are saying in the wake of their teams losing Sunday:
– Rick Maese of the Baltimore Sun is calling for Brian Billick’s head after the Ravens failed to generate more than seven points against a horrendous Bengals defense.
– Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune absolutely rips Brad Childress and the Vikings for their embarrassing 34-0 loss to the Packers.
– George Vecsey of the New York Times says that the Cowboys severed up a big dose of reality to the Giants on Sunday.
– Jim Mashek of the Sun Herald states that the Saints loss to the Rams was inexcusable.
– Les Carpenter of the Washington Post says that the Redskins gave up on Joe Gibbs in their 33-25 loss to the Eagles.
– Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press notes that the Lions’ loss in Arizona is proof that they still haven’t earned the benefit of doubt from fans to just assume games like Sunday’s against the Cardinals are automatic victories.
– Due to his conservative approach during the Panthers’ 20-13 loss to the Falcons, Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer notes that John Fox won’t be around much longer in Carolina.
– David Climber of the Tennessean says that the Titans lack of offense is causing Jeff Fisher to make poor in-game decisions.
– Greg Cote of the Miami Herald is wondering why the Dolphins are keeping John Beck on the sidelines despite having nothing to play for.
– Despite their 31-28 loss to the Steelers, Bud Shaw of the Cleveland Plain Dealer notes that the Browns have no need to panic and that the defeat should be chalked up to growing pains.
– Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star says that despite their issues, the Colts pride shined through their 23-21 loss to the Chargers.
– Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star says that the Chiefs should dump this current team and plan for next season.
– Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle says that Raiders’ head coach Lane Kiffin needs to re-think his strategy behind the use of his players (most notably LaMont Jordan).
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