Be sure to check out Week 9’s Fantasy Fallout and our Waiver Wire Watch. 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 36 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.
I’d grab Matt Hasselbeck (73.2) and Matt Cassel (68.0) before moving onto this list. I’d take Smith over David Garrard (78.2) right now.
Alex Smith (16.5)
Since taking over in Week 7, Smith is averaging 230 yards and 2.0 TD per game, and has a pretty nice schedule going forward.
Mark Sanchez (44.3)
He’s not going to put up consistently good numbers, but nice matchups in Week 10 (JAX) and Week 14 (TB) make him worth rostering in deep leagues.
Vince Young (6.0)
Young has been solid if unspectacular. He’s not going to rack up a ton of passing yards, but he’s a threat to score on the ground.
Jason Campbell (20.6)
Trent Edwards (29.4)
Matthew Stafford (5.9)
Josh Freeman (0.7)
Chad Henne (4.2)
Every week, I pick one question from our Fantasy Football Q&A and post it on Sunday morning. This week’s question comes from Lauren, who is wondering if it’s time make a trade to compensate for Kurt Warner’s poor play of late.
“I currently have Kurt Warner and due to his poor performance in week 8 I have been offered a trade of Favre for Roddy White or Palmer for Roddy White. My other receivers are Hines Ward, Driver and Steve Smith (carolina) I also have Michael Turner and Addai and Bradshaw as my starters. I will keep Kurt Warner on the bench but I need a stronger QB to win. Who would you pick? Palmer or Favre?”
My answer: Don’t trade Roddy White. There is a lot of depth at QB and this guy is trying to sucker you into making a trade when you don’t need to. Which QBs are available on your waiver wire? Of the two, I’d rather have Favre, so offer up Ward, Driver or S. Smith (CAR) and see if the guy bites. Any of those guys would be fair value for Favre. (Make sure you mention that he’s an injury risk and that there’s a lot of depth at the QB position.)
It turns out that Matt Hasselbeck, Matt Cassel, Alex Smith, Jason Campbell and Vince Young were available on her waiver wire. She eventually traded Steve Smith 1.0 for Carson Palmer, which depletes her depth at WR but does give her another good option at QB.
There is usually a lot of depth at the quarterback position. This season the difference between QB10 (Eli Manning) and QB18 (David Garrard) is only 24 points, so it’s not worth trading away a player like Steve Smith to upgrade from Kurt Warner (QB15) to Carson Palmer (QB12).
Besides, Warner had a bad matchup last week — the Panthers’ pass defense is actually pretty good — and has a nice upcoming schedule. He’s a good bet to bounce back, even though he’s already had a solid fantasy season.
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.
This should go without saying, but just in case: Aaron Rodgers should be in your lineup against a Bucs’ pass defense that has yielded 2.3 pass TD per game this season…Donovan McNabb has a very good matchup against a struggling Cowboys secondary…Matt Hasselbeck faces the Lions. Two words: Start him…Cincinnati’s pass defense is ranked 30th in the league, so Joe Flacco should have a nice fantasy line this week…As it stands, Matt Cassel has his last great matchup of the season this week, coming off a bye against the Jaguars’ 26th-ranked pass defense…So, last week, was the Titans’ pass defense that good or was Jacksonville’s pass defense that bad. Alex Smith faces Tennessee’s league-worst pass defense this week and is a pretty nice start…I’m a little hesitant to recommend him again after his brutal showing against the Titans, but David Garrard has another nice matchup this week against the Chiefs and isn’t a bad start…For the desperate, Jason Campbell is a sneaky good start against a Falcons defense that has struggled to stop the pass in recent weeks.
Want my take on what happened in Week 8? Fantasy Fallout
Wondering who to pick up? Waiver Wire Watch
Looking for a defense this week? DTBWW
Still have questions? Fire away. Be sure to let me know whether or not you’re in a PPR league.
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