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      Waiver Wire Watch, Week 8: Is LeGarrette Blount the new feature back in Tampa?

      October 26, 2010 /
      TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 24: Running back LeGarrette Blount of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers straight arms safety Oshiomogho Atogwe of the St. Louis Rams during the game at Raymond James Stadium on October 24, 2010 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

      Every week, I highlight a few players that you should target in waivers. I use the ESPN league data when filtering players, so the only guys eligible for discussion here are those that are available on the waiver wire in 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 mention a few players that are available in 90% of leagues for those of you in 12-team leagues or leagues with big rosters. I’ll rank them in the order I’d pick them up in a league with a high-performance scoring system.

      Please note that these rankings are for total value through the end of the year. Players with particularly good matchups this week are in bold.

      Tony Romo owners: Don’t get depressed. It’s no fun to lose your star QB, but of all the positions in fantasy football, QB is one of the easiest to mask/fix. If you don’t already have a capable backup, target two decent QBs that look to have a fairly easy combined schedule and form your own midseason QBBC.

      Chad Henne (59.7)
      Henne has averaged 289 yards and 1.8 TD in the last four games, and Brandon Marshall and Davone Bess are a pretty good pair of wideouts to throw to.

      Matthew Stafford (21.9)
      Stafford should return in Week 8 and has several good matchups (WAS, NYJ, BUF, DAL, NE) over the next five weeks.

      Ryan Fitzpatrick (5.3)
      I thought Fitzy might struggle against the league’s 3rd-ranked pass defense, but that didn’t happen (374 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT). The Bills’ defense is pretty bad so he’ll have to throw, throw and throw some more, and Lee Evans and Steve Johnson are coming on. The schedule isn’t great, but after Week 7…does it matter?

      Jon Kitna (0.1)
      Kitna had a few good fantasy years in his day and he’ll take over as the starter or as long as Tony Romo is out. The Cowboys have a ton of offensive weapons, so he could be a serviceable starter.

      Matt Cassel (37.8)
      True, he looked brutal early in the season, but he has five TDs and zero picks in the last two games, and another easy matchup against the Bills in Week 8.

      Josh Freeman (16.5)
      Steady as she goes: Freeman has at least 212 yards or two TD passes in five of six games this season. And the one bad game was against Pittsburgh. With Arizona and Atlanta up next, Freeman is a decent spot starter in the short term.

      Sam Bradford (29.4)
      He didn’t throw for a lot of yards, but the rookie tossed two more TDs to give him a total of nine in seven games. A bad matchup with the Panthers awaits in Week 8, but things get a lot easier after his Week 9 bye.

      Matt Hasselbeck (21.5)
      With just four TDs in the last five games, Hasselbeck has little upside, but he can get you through a rough patch if he has a decent matchup.

      Matt Moore (1.2)
      Who is this guy? Moore looked terrific against the 49ers, and if rookies David Gettis and Brandon LaFell can grow up quickly, Moore could turn into a solid QB2.

      Jason Campbell (4.7)
      He filled in admirably and if he keeps winning, he could stick as the starter even when Bruce Gradkowski comes back.

      Colt McCoy (2.3)
      After a 281-yard, one-TD outing against the Steelers, McCoy only threw for 74 yards against the Saints. It just goes to show that the Browns are going to play conservative when they have the lead.

      Max Hall (1.6)
      He was replaced after a blow to the head, but Ken Whisenhunt says he’s still the starter if healthy. This is a situation to avoid if you can.

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      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Bengie Molina is a great storyline in this year’s Fall Classic

      October 25, 2010 /
      Texas Rangers Bengie Molina (L) celebrates after the Rangers defeated the Oakland Athletics to win the American League West title during their MLB American League baseball game in Oakland, California September 25, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      It’s hard not to like Rangers’ catcher Bengie Molina.

      He’s a throw back player. He’s classy. He’s a consummate professional. He wants to catch all 162 games and he would never tell his manager that he wasn’t available to play. He’s also a competitor and he’s been around long enough to know how the business side works in baseball.

      That’s why he didn’t complain when the Giants traded him to the Rangers on June 30 for reliever Chris Ray and a player to be named later. Molina was well aware that the Giants wanted to bring up rookie phenom Buster Posey as soon as the youngster got more experience calling games in the minors. The trade didn’t surprise him, nor did he express any ill will towards the Giants.

      And why should he? His time in San Francisco was well served. For most of his three and a half years in the “City by the Bay,” he was the club’s best hitter. When the Mets eventually decided to pull an offer to him off the table this past offseason, the Giants welcomed him back with open arms but both parties knew that once Posey was ready, Molina would be out.

      Now Molina is prospering for a Texas team that is making its first World Series appearance ever. He’s currently hitting .333 in the postseason with two home runs, seven RBI and 10 at bats. He also somehow has a stolen base, which is probably even more impressive than the .333 average if you know Molina’s speed (or lack of it, that is).

      Of course, things have worked out for the Giants, too. Posey has met and/or exceeded expectations and their pitching staff hasn’t missed a beat (outside of a rough August) since he took over. For a rookie catcher to come in and call games for one of the best pitching staffs in baseball is remarkable. He’s being considered for rookie of the year honors and had the Giants called him up sooner, he probably would be a shoe-in for the award.

      In a major twist of irony, Molina will have an opportunity to beat his former team in the World Series. He was a member of the World Champion Angels team that beat the Giants in 2002 and while he still considers many of his old teammates friends, there’s no doubt that he would love to break the hearts of San Francisco fans again.

      Either way, he’s going to get a ring – even if the Giants win. While he would be disappointed if his ring had a SF logo on it, he would still be deserving of the honor. That speaks to Molina’s character and proves that what goes around, comes around.

      External Sports, MLB

      It’s high time Jay Cutler learned some humility

      October 25, 2010 /
      CHICAGO - OCTOBER 24: Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears waits for a play during a time-out against the Washington Redskins at Soldier Field on October 24, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Redskins defeated the Bears 17-14. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

      After throwing four interceptions to DeAngelo Hall in the Bears’ 17-14 loss to the Redskins on Sunday, one would have thought that Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler would have shown some respect to the Washington cornerback.

      Then again, if you thought that, then you don’t know Jay Cutler very well.

      “I’ve played against him before, there’s no reason to shy away from him. I mean, that’s hard for me to say throwing four picks at a guy. But I’d still, if we had to play them tomorrow I’d go at him every time, if we could.”

      Hall had this to say on SportsCenter in response to Cutler’s comments:

      “You know what man, Jay’s a little bit, he don’t really understand, I guess, the game, the game of football,” Hall said on Monday. “And in the game of football, you’re gonna see guys several times in their career. You know, he completed four passes against me when I was out in Oakland and he was in Denver on a Monday Night Football game, and I knew leading up to the game he was still feeling good about that. He made some smart, snide comments about that after that game, so I knew definitely he was gonna try to come out there and try me, and it didn’t work for him.”

      Cutler has always been brash and confident – that’s kind of his M.O. He believes that he can get the best of a defense every time and in some respects, quarterbacks have to have that mentality.

      That said, he should learn to show some humility because it would serve him in the long run. You can’t throw four picks to the same guy and then turn around and say that you’d throw on him “every play” if you could. That’s the kind of attitude that got Cutler into trouble in the first place. After the second interception, he should have known that Hall was on top of his game and looked elsewhere. But because he’s so overconfident at times, he kept going at him and it wound up costing the Bears a potential win.

      Look, interceptions are a byproduct of several things – not just the quarterback. The quarterback’s decision making, down and distance, receivers’ route running and pass protection all factor into a pass play. Anyone who studies the Bears knows that not every interception that Cutler has thrown in the last two seasons have been his fault.

      That said: come on already. Cutler has yet to lead a team to the playoffs and maybe there’s a reason for that. I don’t want to get into a debate about how games aren’t won or lost by one player – I know that. But considering he has yet to win anything in his career (college or pro), it’s time for Cutler to learn some humility so that he can become the quarterback that the Bears envisioned he’d be when they traded for him two offseasons ago.

      External Sports, NFL

      Favre has two fractures in ankle, foot currently in protective walking boot

      October 25, 2010 /
      Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre departs Lambeau Field after losing to the Green Bay Packers in their NFL football game at Lambeau Field Green Bay, Wisconsin October 24, 2010. REUTERS/Allen Fredrickson (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Vikings’ head coach Brad Childress told the media on Monday that Brett Favre has been diagnosed with two fractures in his left ankle. While he doesn’t need surgery to repair the injury, he’s currently in a protective walking boot and is in danger of missing Week 8’s game against the Patriots.

      Childress says that Favre’s consecutive starts streak won’t impact his decision on whether or not Brett will play on Sunday, nor should it. Childress’ allegiance is to his team – not to Favre or his personal accomplishments. If Favre isn’t healthy enough to play then it’s Childress’ job to make the decision to bench Brett and get Tarvaris Jackson prepared to play.

      Everyone knows that Favre will say that he’s healthy enough to play. Then he’ll go out there, hobble around for four quarters and either dazzle everyone with a great fourth quarter performance or bury his team’s chances at victory with a couple of interceptions. Favre’s warrior-like attitude when it comes to injuries is admirable, but there comes a time when he actually hurts the team more by playing. (Of course given two of his last three performances, he’s going to hurt his team whether he’s healthy or not.)

      Childress has to put the big boy pants on and not allow his love affair with Favre to get in the way of making the right decision. He considered benching his starting QB in Sunday night’s game against the Packers and if Favre’s health doesn’t improve throughout the week, then Jackson should start.

      External Sports, NFL

      Mike Zimmer rips Bobby Petrino, Bobby Petrino backer rips Mike Zimmer, Anthony Stalter rips backer

      October 25, 2010 /
      NASHVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 07: Head coach Bobby Petrino stands on the sidelines with Joey Harrington #13 of the Atlanta Falcons after taking him out of the game against the Tennessee Titans during their game at LP Field on October 7, 2007 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

      I remember when Bobby Petrino ditched Louisville to join the Atlanta Falcons in 2007. The writers for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution briefly mentioned Petrino’s penchant for leaving teams in the dust for bigger and brighter opportunities, then they moved right into breaking down his offense and how he could transform Michael Vick into an elite quarterback.

      Not too long after Petrino left Atlanta in the middle of the night to go “Call Hogs” in Arkansas, those same writers ripped him for being a coward. He kind of has that way about him.

      When he’s on your side (no matter how briefly), you want to overlook his many weaknesses. But as soon as he shows you his true colors, you hope he never wins another game.

      Mike Zimmer, who was the Falcons’ defensive coordinator in Atlanta when Petrino performed his disappearing act, had some not-so-nice things to say about his former boss in a recent interview.

      “I never even was there,” said Zimmer. “When a coach quits in the middle of the year and ruins a bunch of people’s families and doesn’t have enough guts to at least finish out the year … I am not a part of that.

      “You can put that in the Arkansas News-Gazette. I don’t really give a (hooey). I am serious. He is a coward. Put that in quotes.”

      “Most people in football have enough courage about them and enough fight to stick through something and not quit halfway through the year. It is cowardly,” said Zimmer. “He came in and said he resigned, he would talk to us all at a later date, walked out of the office and no one has ever talked to him since. Not that anybody wanted to.

      “He’s a gutless (expletive). Quote that. I don’t give a (hooey).”

      If you’re abreast of the situation, then you know that Zimmer spoke the truth. But apparently at least one writer in Arkansas is still blinded by Petrino’s lore and took exception to Zimmer’s comments.

      These are excerpts from an article by Jim Harris of ArkansasSports360.com in reference to Zimmer’s comments:

      Zimmer said earlier this week that Petrino ruined lives when he abruptly left Atlanta for Arkansas with three games left in the 2007 season. Please.

      Zimmer’s had a very difficult four years of his life, both on the field and off it. Some of it tragic. His parting with Petrino was not among the tragic occurrences, as Zimmer had a contract and also was able to find work with Cincinnati.

      Lives were ruined by Hurricane Katrina. Lives are ruined daily in Haiti, in the aftermath of an earthquake and now a cholera epidemic in a country with no money.

      Harris’ mention of how Zimmer has “had a very difficult four years of his life” is in reference to the defensive coordinator finding his wife Vikki dead in their home in the middle of the football season. And while Harris has a good point about Hurricane Katrina and Haiti, let’s not mince words here.

      I’m willing to bet that Harris doesn’t know Zimmer personally, so how would he know if the situation ruined Zimmer’s life or not? Besides, isn’t Harris being a little too literal here? I’m sure Zimmer would say that Hurricane Katrina was a bigger deal than Petrino leaving Atlanta, but the situation still affected his life in a profound way. It essentially cost him his job with the Falcons and while he still wound up on his feet in Cincinnati a year later, that doesn’t mean that Harris has the right to downplay the situation and go with the standard “life is bigger than sports” anecdote that some writers use these days.

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      External Sports, NFL

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