Be sure to check out Week 11’s Fantasy Fallout and our Waiver Wire Watch for Week 12. Still have questions? Fire away, but be sure to tell me about your league’s roster requirements and whether or not you’re in a PPR league.
Tag: fantasy football strategy (Page 34 of 80)
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 players eligible for discussion here are those that are available on the waiver wire in at least 50% 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, PPR 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.
Alex Smith (12.8)
Why Smith is still available in 87% of leagues is beyond me. Since taking over as the starter, he is averaging 207 pass yards and 1.8 pass TD. Moreover, he has three good matchups coming up — JAX, SEA, ARI — and another good matchup in Week 16 (DET).
Mark Sanchez (43.5)
He had a rough go of it against New England, but with a pair of nice matchups in Week 14 (TB) and Week 15 (ATL), he wouldn’t be a bad backup for the home stretch.
Vince Young (9.4)
Jason Campbell (19.5)
Jake Delhomme (11.8)
Matthew Stafford (6.8)
He’d be higher on this list if not for the injury to his left shoulder that he suffered at the end of Sunday’s game.
Josh Freeman (3.1)
Ryan Fitzpatrick (0.6)
Every week, I pick one question from our Fantasy Football Q&A and post it on Sunday morning. This week’s question comes from Pradeep, who is wondering how he should replace Michael Turner.
“I need to replace Turner. I have J.Stewart on my roster…so he is the current pick. I also have Bradshaw and Sammy Morris on bench but they don’t look attractive to me. I can pick up Beanie Wells, Snelling, Forsett, or Betts from the waiver. What are my options both for next week and to build a little more depth into the RB position going forward?”
My answer: I’d dump Morris for Snelling and start him while Turner is out.
The simplest thing for Turner owners to do is to run Snelling out there until Turner gets back. That way, you’re pretty much guaranteed the starter in ATL for the rest of the season. The value of some of these other RBs depends largely on how long the starters for their respective teams are going to be sidelined. Sammy Morris is on his way back, but Maroney has been decent as the Pats’ starter, so NE may elect to go with a RBBC to ease Morris back in. Julius Jones will miss this week, but SEA is optimistic that he’ll be back soon. Still, Forsett has value in PPR leagues because he’s going to get extra snaps now that Edgerrin James out (even if Jones is healthy). The Falcons are optimistic about Michael Turner’s injury, but high ankle sprains are tricky, so no one really knows how long he’ll be out. Clinton Portis is dealing with a concussion and is seeing specialists about it. It wouldn’t be surprising if they shut him down, since the Redskins are pretty much out of the playoff hunt. Cedric Benson said that he’d play this week, but it looks like he’s going to be out, so Bernard Scott looks like a great one-week start. Beanie Wells continues to earn more work in the ARI backfield and with a relatively easy schedule coming up, it wouldn’t be surprising if he gets a ton of carries as the Cards try to protect the lead.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Every week, I will highlight a few players to start and a few players to sit at each position. I’m a firm believer in starting your studs, so I won’t tell you about how Drew Brees or Adrian Peterson has a tough matchup – just go ahead and keep them in your lineup. Instead, I’ll focus on the borderline guys – players you’ll only start under the right circumstances. It’s important to note that depending on your roster and situation, you may not be able to follow these recommendations. For example, if I suggest you bench a solid starter like Tony Romo, only do so if you have a clearly better option on your bench.
The “love ‘em” players are listed in the order that I’d start them this week.
Matt Schaub is coming off his bye and has a tasty matchup with a Tennessee defense that has given up an average of 270 yards and 2.6 pass TD per game…Eli Manning is also coming off his bye and has a date with an Atlanta defense that is 28th against the pass…The KC DT has been a little better versus QBs of late, but Ben Roethlisberger should still have a nice game. On the season, the Chiefs have given up an average of 234 yards and 1.6 pass TD per game…It’s tough to run on the Vikings, so look for Matt Hasselbeck to pass early and often to try to take advantage of Minnesota’s 23rd-ranked pass defense…The Giants have struggled against the pass of late, so Matt Ryan will have an opportunity to break out of his recent funk…Desperate? Miami has really struggled against the pass lately, so (gulp) Jake Delhomme should be able to post some good fantasy numbers.
The strategy behind DTBWW is that each week, you pick up a defense, preferably one playing at home against a bad offense. And each week, you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position. To see how this approach performed last season, click here.
Last week, I recommended three DTBWW picks. Let’s see how they fared…
#1 Dolphins: 23 PA (0) + 3 SK + 1 INT + 1 FR = 5 fantasy points
#2 Titans: 17 PA (2) + 2 SK + 2 INT + 2 RET TD = 18 fp
#3 Cardinals: 20 PA (0) + 4 SK + 2 INT = 6 fp
The Dolphins were a little disappointing considering their opponent (TB), but they put up a serviceable point total. The Titans were excellent — TEN is averaging 14.0 fp over the last three weeks (in three very good matchups). Arizona was mediocre, but at least they didn’t put up a goose egg like my bonus pick (ATL).
On the season, my #1 pick is averaging 10.1 fantasy points, my #2 pick is averaging 10.7 fp and my #3 pick is averaging 6.8 fp. As a whole, DTBWW is averaging 9.2 fp, which are DT3 numbers. Not bad.
Let’s take a look at this week’s picks. Keep in mind that to be eligible for DTBWW, a defense must be available in at least 40% of ESPN fantasy leagues.
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