Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Week 10 Fantasy Football moves to make now


Another week of football is in the books, which means of course another six passing touchdowns for Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger. What a two-week span it has been. Last week Roethlisberger became the first quarterback in the history of the NFL to have two 500+ yard passing games and this week he became the first quarterback to pass for 12 TDs in two games. We are living in a golden era of NFL history with so many sure-fire future NFL Hall of Fame inductees in Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning, all likely first-ballot inductees, plus Aaron Rodgers, and probably Andrew Luck someday when it is all said and done. On to the waiver advice we go. 

First, at quarterback, Nick Foles was taken down hard to the ground and the end result is a cracked clavicle. Foles could be done for the year, or at least the next month. Mark Sanchez played very well in relief Sunday completing 15 of 22 passes with two touchdowns and he will be a high-priority add this week. Foles was the 14th-best fantasy quarterback on a per game basis coming into the week and there's no reason why Sanchez can't be as effective in his second chance at starting in the NFL in this offense. Sanchez signed a 1-year deal with Philadelphia so he is also playing for a bigger payday in 2015. Sanchez's first start as an Eagle will be this Monday against the Panthers. 

Is it possible – could Adrian Peterson be reinstated? Who knows but he is worth the risk of adding that's for sure if you have roster space. Peterson is reportedly seeking a deal to plead guilty to a misdemeanor (he was charged with a felony), which could be finalized today. However, it's unknown if Peterson would be suspended from here or if the first eight games missed would be counted as time served, nor do we know if Minnesota would want to reactivate him this season (but they have recently softened their stance on him publicly). 

At wide receiver, it is hard to believe that Josh Gordon (Cleveland) is available in 1 of 4 leagues still on waivers. Add him ASAP if he's available in your league. As a reminder, Gordon was the 2nd-best fantasy receiver last year. He is set to return in Week 12. Gordon has been at the team's facilities and in shape, ready to roll. 

If you are desperate for a wide receiver, Corey Washington (N.Y. Giants) should see his role increased. Corey who? Washington went undrafted out of tiny Newberry College and looks to have slipped through the cracks a bit. He has tremendous size at 6-4, 212 lbs and with tremendous 4.5 type speed, plus the Giants need a third receiver with Victor Cruz out for the season. Washington was a star in pre-season hauling in four touchdown catches and finally got some playing time this week and scored in junk-time on Monday night. If you are the Giants, why not put him in the lineup in lieu of Preston Parker (who caught just 1 of 6 targets this week). 

It's hard to trust any St. Louis Rams running backs, but Tre Mason looks like he is settling in as their primary back (Mason had 20 touches this week). He should, Mason is far more talented than Benny Cunningham or Zac Stacy. Mason is decisive and accelerates to top speed quickly, plays with a ton of heart and he has a nose for the end zone (although the Rams scoring chances won't be so great). Mason was the 2013 SEC Offensive Player of the Year and he broke Bo Jackson's single-season Auburn rushing record last year with 1,816 yards. 

I mentioned Buffalo's Bryce Brown a few weeks back and he could have been dropped after having a 7-carry, 15-yard game in Week 8 and then with the Bills on a BYE last week. Fred Jackson though still will not be ready to go this week when the Bills face the Chiefs. Coming off the BYE week, Buffalo has had extra time to get Brown ready for an increased role. Brown is way more talented than Anthony Dixon. Even when Fred Jackson comes back, Brown should move into the role C.J. Spiller used to play. 

Only two teams this year are running more than they are passing – Dallas is running it 50.4% of the time and Houston is running it 52.4% of the time. If Arian Foster (groin) has to miss any time, Alfred Blue would be a viable fantasy start in Week 11 when the Texans come out of their BYE. 

I mentioned Charles Sims (Tampa Bay) last week. Although he didn't play Sunday, Sims was activated from Injured Reserve this past week and he should make his NFL debut this week. Sims draws Matt Forte comparisons and Sims in particular is an exceptional receiving running back (Sims averaged 10.4 yards per catch in college, an exceptionally high number for a running back, and on 142 receptions). 

The Atlanta Falcons' season is in the dumps at 2-6. Why not see what Devonta Freeman can do in more of a full-time role? He is definitely worth adding if you have roster space and he's out on you waiver wire. I also think Antone Smith is due for one of those 4-touches with a super long touchdown type of a game if you are really desperate this week with six more teams on a BYE. 

I mentioned this last week, but if you are in need of a spark a tight end take a look to make sure Kyle Rudolph (Minnesota) hasn't been cut and is on waivers in your league. Minnesota is on BYE next week but Rudolph is trending to return in Week 11. 

Also at tight end, Mychal Riveria (Oakland) is worth a look, especially this coming week if you have Dwayne Allen, Antonio Gates, or Rob Gronkowski on a BYE. Rivera quietly has 15 receptions in the Raiders' last two games and he scored two 1-yard touchdowns this past Sunday. Rookie Derek Carr is going to continue to dump off to Rivera and the Raiders will quickly be in catch-up mode against Denver this week. Also, no team is passing at a higher rate in the NFL than the Raiders (67.2% of plays). 

At defense, I have seen the Denver Broncos dropped in some leagues, and some may do so after the Patriots dropped 43 on them this week. Scoop them up. The Broncos are still a top fantasy defense option most weeks and they will get back to playing with a big lead this week at Oakland. Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware remain one of the league's premier 1-2 combos at rushing the quarterback. 

Other fantasy notes 
It's hard to believe, but Mark Ingram this week became the first Saints' running back since Deuce McAllister in 1986 to have back-to-back 100-yard rushing games. Unfortunately, head coach Sean Payton has said Pierre Thomas and Khiry Robinson will share the running responsibilities with Ingram when they return. Regardless, Ingram is the top running back for the Saints and he will get plenty of work, including a ton of scoring chances in this offense which Ingram has been very effective at converting. 

Michael Crabtree has seemingly turned into just another guy. Crabtree is still seeking his first 100-yard game this year, and he is on pace for misdemeanor 724-yard season. 

Speaking of the 49ers, wow what an unbelievable loss it was this week – off the BYE, at home, the city celebrating a World Series win, and against the Rams who had just lost their best lineman and best wide receiver. This is why you steer clear of divisional rivalries in suicide pools. 

Carson Palmer and the Cardinals are tearing it up. Palmer has thrown at least 2 TDs in every game he's played in this year (he had three this past week) and Palmer is unbeaten on the season at 5-0 (while the Cardinals move to an NFC-best 7-1). Now if he can just get one to Michael Floyd. Maybe this week, Floyd is well overdue. 

Speaking of the Cardinals, it's hard to believe but if the NFL season ended today they would be your number one seed in the NFC (at 7-1). The Eagles would win the NFC East (no surprise there), the Detroit Lions would win the NFC North and join the Cardinals earning a first round BYE (Detroit is tied with Philadelphia at 6-2, but the Lions have the better winning percentage in the NFC), and the Saints would win the dreadful NFC South right now with a .500 winning percentage. The AFC right now is the toast of the NFL. 

Want more fantasy coverage? Check out Fantasy Football Warehouse, where we start the week with the "Monday Morning Fantasy Jolt", Tuesday is "Hot off the Wire", Wednesday sees us covering the Fantasy Football Stock Market, rankings for the week come out Thursday, Friday is the release of the "Dream Team" for the week, Saturday has both "The Daily Space" and "Fantasy Futures and on the Bubble" and Sunday wraps up the week with our "Ask the Experts" article and an updated rookie profile after the some of the day's games. Good luck this week! 

2 comments:

Unknown said...

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Daily Fantasy Football

Unknown said...

Thanks for the feedback Sojon, much appreciated.