Fantasy Football: Waiver Wire Wonders Week 4

Great column. Was glad to see Sims-Walker available on my wire.

i swear you play in my league.

Kyle Orton- undervalued early this season because people don’t realize he left a poor offensive system in Chicago, and joined one of the best QB coaches in Denver (Josh McDaniel).

Question for you, Scip…

Here are my running backs:

Adrian Peterson
Ryan Grant
Cedric Benson
Ray Rice
Chester Taylor

But my receiver situation is dire this week (still have Roddy White (BYE), Anquan Boldin (BYE), Devin Hester) as Anthony Gonzalez and Laurent Robinson both screwed me.

Which back would you trade to pickup a WR? And is there any way in hell this team (with Phillip Rivers at QB) doesn’t win the title?

Some advice needed – I am in a 12 team league where we start one QB. I have Kurt Warner (bye this week), Jake Delhomme (bye this week) and Byron Leftwich (who I drafted just for this week). Damn – he up and gets demoted to third string.

So, I gotta pick up a QB. Unfortunatley, I am in 1st place in my league and have last free agent pick-up. Derek Anderson got picked up already. My choices should be from amongst:

Wallace, Seneca SEA
Bulger, Marc STL
Russell, JaMarcus OAK
Boller, Kyle STL

Hasselback is day to day in Seattle – but Boller is sure to start this weekend. Should I jump on Boller? JaMarcus Russell sucks.

scagnetti:
 
My advice is that you trade me your best player for someone marginal.
 
Taylor:
 
We’ll see what happens with ‘ol Kyle down the stretch. I agree that he has value situationally for sure.
 
ctex:
 
I think you’ll have to work hard not to win your league. I’d drop Gonzalez and shop the waiver wire at WR. Also, how is your league structured – 3 WR? 2 WR/1 Flex? That would influence my desire to shop Ryan Grant. You might be able to get by this week with a waiver pick and keep the RB depth.
 
Ag_in_Tx:
 
Ditch Leftwich and Delhomme both, obviously. I’d actually probably pick up Seneca Wallace instead of Boller. I don’t like St Louis on the road against SF without Laurent Robinson. Are you sure David Garrard/Kyle Orton/Shaun Hill is not available?

Not one of those guys is available in my league.

None of those guys are available in my league either. Don’t you think Boller has more potential to be starter for a while?

Ag:
 
Why would you care? He’s a shitty, marginal starter. You’re just looking for a one week solution before you plug Warner back in.

ctex80,

That is a scary lineup at RB. I would trade Grant and keep Peterson/Benson as your workhorses with Taylor as a handcuff and Rice for good matchups. Last year I had Peterson and Taylor and occasionally started both because of Taylor’s receiving prowess. This isn’t normally recommended but it works in Minny.

Scip’s Scorecard:

RB — A+. Truly prescient, slightly creepy. GM potential?

WR — D. Galaxies away from usefulness. Not giving up on Nicks but Steve Smith is the man right now. I think Manningham fades.

TE — B+. The timing of this column is more than coincidental given Vernon Davis’ 2 TD performance last week, given he had 2 TDs all last year. Nice call. Finley is more productive for Twitter than he is for the Packers at this point. Give Celek a different last name and he’s a starter on most rosters. Curse of the Polish.

Surprises on my work squad have been Schaub, Harvin, and Benson. Disappointments have been Housh, Roddy White, and Michael Turner given the level of performance you’d expect from these picks. It’s still early though.

I picked up Fred Taylor when Felix Jones went down, complementing my impressive arsenal of backup RBs (Chester Taylor and Beanie Wells). Also nabbed Burleson off the waiver wire. Jets D has been money, as expected under Rex Ryan. Cooley is the TE Scipio wishes he always had.

Schaub was hanging around late in my league so I picked him up even though I already had Rodgers. I need to trade one of them for a stud RB or WR and have ground to make up after losing the last two weeks by a combined 5 points. Usually those heartbreaks come later in my season.

How has everyone else fared through week 3? Who do you think breaks out after a slow start?

bighorn:
 
You play in a rational league then. Keep your eyes on the waiver wire though – bye weeks will cause some people to try to slip a couple of these guys through the cracks.

Scip,

We start 2 RB’s, 2 WR’s, and a WR/TE. I already dropped Gonzalez. His replacement was Robinson (fuck me).

I’m torn because Celek is available, but does nothing for me when I need him most (this week). All of the WR’s you mentioned are gone from the wire.

I’ve got waiver claims pending for T.O. (slim chance) and Justin Gage (slightly less slim). If I get one of those guys, I’ll be fine. If not, I think Vasherized may be onto something. After watching Benson against Pittsburgh, I’m finally convinced.

Vasher,

I’m 3-0 right now. Won week 1 on Rivers’ last completion that put him over 350 yards. NEEDED Jamarcus Russell to hit that 57 yard TD on 4th and a mile to give Rivers a chance. Who says fantasy is luck? Sucked this week but my opponent had the worst team in the league.

Roddy White is who I’d love to see pick it up. I know Tony Gonzalez is going to steal some targets, but shouldn’t he also open up some coverage for White? Kicking myself for listening to the mags and taking him instead of Vincent Jackson.

I also have Jets D, love love love them. Revis is a beast.

As to your QB situation, it’s only a matter of time before Schaub or Andre Johnson gets hurt. I’d sell high on Schaub.

ctex80 –
 
I don’t know who you’re starting at TE, but Celek is worth making room for.
 
Grant would be the guy to shop for sure.
 
Vasherized:
 
Given that I recommended one WR, my report card there is an INC – Brian Davis told me I’ll be fine.
 
The obvious breakout candidate – who is available in many leagues – is Royal from Denver. He’s done absolutely nothing so far and owners are cutting him in frustration. I think his game against Dallas will tell me what I need to know.
 
I hope both Roddy White and Greg Jennings get it together.

bye week is killing me, mostly due to my stupid 2QB league experiment.

i’m starting josh johnson this week. he better have 50 yards rushing on busted plays. how’s that for confidence

Josh Johnson – brutal.

Startintg Josh Johnson is the FFL moral equivilent of screwing on the floor of a restroom at JerryWorld – it’s still doin’ it, but dayum…..

so I’m guessing you’re gonna be there for the Hogs????

Screwing on the bathroom floor? No sir!

And couldn’t afford the parking at TTR’s house either, so I’ll watch on TV.

Scip,

you can choose only one for this week:

T Owens
E Bennett

Flip a coin?

Gristle:
 
Jeeezus. Gotta love the Detroit match-up for Bennett, but he’s Chicago’s de facto #3 with Knox and Hester. TO is always a red zone scoring threat and the Bills won’t be able to run it against Miami effectively. Hmmmm….
 
Anyone else have a thought here? I’m a bit torn.

I’d go TO. He’s gonna score eventually. Getting embarrassed may be just the motivation he needs, and you know he’ll be in Trent Edwards’ ear all week. I anticipate a concerted effort to get him the ball this week.

I’d go with TO – you know he’s gonna get his eventually.

Thanks to all.

I have both Tony Romo and Jay Cutler on my team. I’m inclined to go with Cutler against Detroit, who had a skightly hotter hand than Homo last week and seems to be coming around. The Bears have no running attack, but also have no discernible offensive game plan, as per usual. Da Bears are also playing a somehat weaker opponent than Da ‘Boys . Besides, Homo’s such a goofy bastard you never know what he’s gonna do, but I would appreciate some advice from you afficianados.

Cutler, imo.

Calvin Johnson/Kevin Walter/Earl Bennet/Johnny Knox in a 3WR format. Who sits?

c&d: Cutler, easy choice. You knew it before you asked. You just wanted a rubber stamp.
 
mojave: Calvin and Kevin are must starts. From there, it’s really about your gut and risk tolerance. Earl is the most likely to get 60 yards. Knox is the most likely to catch a 50 yard TD.

Let me know what you guys think. I’m in a PPR league and can start 2 RB’s, no flex position. i have Slaton, Coffee, Julius Jones and Marshawn Lynch which two do I pick?

3 wide outs out of Driver, Cotchery, Sims-Walker and Marshall. Is Marshall still the odd man out in this one?

Thanks for the input.

PPR is gay, but…
 
Slaton, Coffee.
 
WR – You’re good with any three of those four. I like Sims-Walker vs. Tennessee so don’t sit him even though he’s the lesser name/

Question: Correll Buckhalter or Mike Bell? Who has the better upside down the road?

Hopefully LT has a good year. Pittsburgh is NOT the way to start that though. I ran into a firewall on draft day and had my first five autopicked. Michael Turner, LT, Brandon Jacobs, Greg Jennings, and Anquan Boldin.

The rest of my first FF draft follows: Roy Williams (influenced by sentiment), Marshawn Lynch, Lee Evans (questionable), Leftwich (oops), Orton (maybe oops), Mike Bell, Ben Watson, Buckhalter, Mark Sanchez, Brandon Stokely (oops), Sims-Walker, Marcedes Lewis (kinda oops), Chansi Stuckey, Kelley Washington, Denver D, Rian Lindell, New England D.

I’ve dropped Stokely, Lewis, Leftwich, and Buckhalter (oops) to pick up Tashard Choice, Kevin Kolb, Vernon Davis (nice), and Jacoby Jones (eh). I probably should have dropped Bell to pick up Choice.

League plays 2QB, 5WR, 4RB, TE, WR/TE, K, Def; 10 teams total. My scheduling is solid (except at K), but I don’t know enough to see where my real weaknesses are.

PPR is a lot of fun. It creates more scoring and another factor to consider when evaluating players. I think it makes it more interesting. Watching the games you’re screaming at the tv for them to throw your guy the rock, and with so many offenses going to RB by committee and a more spread style offense it increases the relative value of running backs which in recent years has been diminished.

This is probably my 8th or 9th season of fantasy football, I’d been in standard scoring leagues all those years until 2007 when the commish of a league I joined went to PPR. I was skeptical at first but it ended up being a lot of fun. When I started a league this season I went with PPR and so far have had positive feedback from the guys in the league. Most are new to it but seem to like the additional points that get put up.

If you haven’t tried it you should before you write it off. If you have tried it and didn’t like it then I guess it’s not for you.

@Current: I’d say Buckhalter has tons more potential. Mike Bell is hurt and has two other RB’s in front of him. At least Buckhalter is in the lineup and getting touches. Even if Bell does get back on the field you have to have two guys in front of him go down.

That is a crazy format you are in. That’s a lot of players to start each week.

Been a rough start for me… in back to back weeks I went up against Chris Johnson’s huge day and then Peyton’s (in a league where passing TDs count for 6…).

If Tom Brady gets it together, I still like my team for the long haul though…

Which 2 of my RBs should I start –
Pierre Thomas vs Jets
Ray Rice vs. Patriots
Darren McFadden vs. Texans
Donald Brown vs. Seahawks
Glen Coffee vs. Rams
Also have Kevin Smith, but with the injury questions I just can’t see putting him in the mix right now…

CLS -
 
I posted my thoughts on Buckhalter in the original column. Some believe that Mike Bell will come back later and beat out Pierre Thomas for the New Orleans starting job. I don’t. I think Thomas cements his job if he can stay healthy. You’re fine cutting Bell short term to make waiver moves, if necessary.
 
The Bobs:
 
The good news is you’ve got OK matchups across the board. The bad news is that no two leap out and that makes you racked with indecision knowing that at least one guy you don’t play will score 18.
 
I like Coffee vs. the Rams very much. I think he’s a must play. You’ve got to throw a dart for the other 4.
Consider:
 
Find out if Vince Woolfork is playing for NE. That might tip me on Rice. I love RR in the passing game against the New England LBs.
 
With PT, you’re counting on goalline carries for a score. The Jets will not allow the Saints to run.
 
Brown is splitting carries and touches with Addai. So you’re holding out for a long screen pass or a big run.
 
McFadden could be a great play, but playing any Raider is a risky deal. If they keep the game close, he’ll score 10 points for you.

Ugh. Posted this in the wrong article (headslap)

First, the bye week article was terrific, even if you are pulling for Jawja.

Second, please pick three from: P Thomas (NYJ); K Moreno (DAL); J Addai (SEA); and R Rice (@ NE)

Scip-eee-oooohhh.

Well, well, well. You are offering advice on Fantasy Football. Interesting. Your Fantasy prowess is accepted, albeit not as an expert. I remember you advocating the current crop of scoring systems now in play at the various Fantasy Football Hosting sites, some time ago. With that theme in mind, please afford me a moment at the podium….

Ahh-huumm. Thank you for your this brief moment of limelight.
To begin, I despise leagues that reward, on an equal basis, yardage production without the corollary reward of escalating points for the degree of difficulty in scoring a touchdown. A 50 yard touchdown run is much more difficult to pull off (and happens much less frequently) than say a 3 yard dive. I offer that a 3 yard dive is worth say, 5 points, and a 50 yard run is worth 15-20 points. Yet most leagues reward them equally. Thus, this scoring inequity shapes your advice to Rube Nation here at BC, Scipio. Further, there should be strict roster rules that state one must carry two QBs, three RBs, five WRs, etc (no flex – that is pansy ass to be certain, and functionally serves as helping bottom feeders compete with seasoned pros). And, why are there little to no transaction fees associated with these modern leagues? It is unconscionable to not be charged for a roster change – I have seen guys make as many as 10+ roster changes in a day. And don’t defend this with “…the waiver wire is the equalizer.” BS – put a buck or two in the kitty every time you have to make up for drinking too much beer on draft day. No, I much prefer the scoring systems that spawned this multi-billion dollar industry, the Rotisserie leagues of the early 70’s. Where picking players who scored (in meaningful ways, read: long TDs) is of more import than shuffling scrubs week in and week out.
Nonetheless, you are quite adept at waiver wire pick ups as they round out your weekly roster. And, to many here on The BC, you border on Sage status (your advice to p/u the SF defense against STL was brialliant.) But, I just can’t get over you being beholden to these newer fantasy scoring schemes…