NFL Week 14 Waiver Wire Pick-Ups: Waiver Wire Warriors 2010

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pick-Ups: Week 14 Waiver Wire Warriors

Arse’s advice to pick up Tashard Choice could pay dividends down the stretch – but if nothing, it was brilliant this last week. Choice showed why everyone has been wondering why this guy isn’t getting the ball when he toted the rock 19 times for 100 yards and a touchdown in Week 13. Now he’s on all of our lists. We also thought Jon Stewart should be owned in all leagues. He showed why, and we still think it is true!

Outside of that, there’s not much to love about our waiver wire advice from Week 13. I said Davone Bess was a good option, and he did catch 6 balls for 60+ yards, but that was my best. My QB additions sucked it up. Nate suggested Jacoby Ford, and while he scored another TD, that was it for the young speedster. So better luck this week, for sure – playoffs in some leagues, last week in others! Here’s this week’s Waiver Wire Warriors article…

Papa wants to answer your questions, send them to PAPAWEIMER50@hotmail.com – he’ll answer and if it’s good (or if he gets off his lazy rump to copy and paste the interaction), post your stuff in his weekly “Ask Papa Weimer” spot. Here goes Waiver Wire Warriors for Week 14.

(Our WWW pick-ups are limited to guys owned in under 50%. Each writer ranks their Top 6. I’m also going to give you my “Pull The Trigger” area for guys that are obvious pick-ups and still owned in less than 70% of fantasy leagues. And there’s going to be an area called “End It Already” for guys that I consider drop-worthy, or try to trade now-worthy, regardless of their %-Owned.)

Top Waiver Wire Pick-Ups

Top Waiver Wire Pick-Ups (Week 14)

Ryan Kauffman	Josh Arsenault	Papa Weimer	Lucky Lester	Nate B. Kuhns
Tashard Choice	James Starks	Tashard Choice	Tashard Choice	Tashard Choice
Jon Kitna	Tashard Choice	Roy Williams	James Davis	Brandon Gibson
Anthony Armstrong	Roy Williams	Dexter McCluster	Alex Smith	Jacoby Ford
James Davis	Anthony Dixon	Earl Bennett	Brian Westbrook	Roy Williams
Ben Obamanu	Chris Ivory	Davone Bess	Chris Ivory	Alex Smith
Roy Williams	Alex Smith	Brandon Petitgrew	Davone Bess	Jon Kitna

Pull The Trigger

Josh Freeman – (56% Owned): Here’s what I said last week, “All there is to say is Atlanta then Washington, Detroit, Seattle for Fantasy playoffs….” – So feel me on this one when I say, Washington, Detroit, Seattle – Your ticket to good QB points during the fantasy playoffs.

James Davis- (.5% owned): Shanny might just go nuts and give Davis the full workload and see what he can do with it over the final weeks of the season. Splinter’s done crazier things. Davis has looked good with his chances in Washington.

Alex Smith – (6% owned): He plays Seattle this week, so yeah, I seem to appreciate him more than your normal fantasy writer – but it’s not like Alex was BAD when he was the starter – I expect them to lean on him a bit more than usual with Frank out, more spread passing that he’s used to.

Roy Williams – (38% Owned): I’ve been saying, “Drop this guy, quick.” But as circumstance would have it, Dez Bryant looks out for the season with a broken wheel. Enter Roy E. Williams having more value than Wylie E. Coyote moving forward.

Chris Ivory (38% Owned): Okay, I know Pierre should be coming back from a sprained ankle that lasted damned near 3 months – and Reggie Bush is already back, but have you seen this guy run? I figured trading him for value was a good move a few weeks ago, but the Saints have smart people, right, right? This guy should continue to get carries, he runs real hard.

Davone Bess (28% Owned): He may have disappointed those that thought he’d go for 100+ yards again, but Bess still looked good, still is reliable, had 6 catches for 60+ yards, and I think you should still own him.

Anthony Dixon (3% Owned): Dixon out-rushed Westbrook in Week 13, and maybe he’ll get a couple more carries this week against the Hawks. I think Westy might be the better play this week, but if you’re in a bind like me in one league, Dixon might be a nice bet for a goal-line TD chance.

Joel Dreessen (3.9% Owned): .2% of the fantasy people listened to me last week, but catch my drift this week – this Dreessen kid is good, he’s still unlikely to be owned in your league, and he had 5 more catches for 63 yards against the Eagles last week. He has a tough match-up against Baltimore, but then it’s Tennessee and Denver and Jacksonville to finish out the season. Could be a money TE pick-up from here on out.

Sidney Rice (55% Owned): Because he’s nasty, that’s why – look at that guy, a beast.

Dexter McCluster (8.5% owned): This one makes sense – it comes from Papa, but he noticed that MC Dex started at WR opposite Dwayne Bowe last week, and while he didn’t produce as hoped, it could mean big things ahead for the gamebreaking talent.

End It Already

Last week I suggested axing Gore, McNabb, Barber, and Berrian – I still am a full believer in those, though Gore is kind of a gimmie. This week I have a couple more guys I’d feel fine giving the axe, to.

Brett Favre (71% Owned): I know Jackson didn’t come out and light the world on fire, but Favre hasn’t had it all year, and the Vikings played well under Tarvaris. Bottom line, it’s not about Jackson, but Favre and the Vikings tough fantasy playoff road, Giants, Bears, Eagles = tough sledding.

Donovan McNabb (74% Owned): I’m telling you, Andy Reid is a quarterbacking genius and Shanny is not. Splinter can get a different running back to go for 1000 yards almost every year, but dude has struggled with signal callers. McNabb has thrown more touchdowns than interceptions once this season – Week 2. He’s thrown multiple touchdowns once this year. That was a game where he got picked three times. Let it go.

Guys I want to drop but can’t because of Fantasy Playoff Match-Ups: Ronnie Brown (Buffalo and Detroit, Weeks 15 and 16) – Randy Moss (Houston and KC, Weeks 15 and 16) – Steve Smith (CAR) (Arizona, Week 15) – But seeing that I want to drop them, at least a little, enough to write about, shows how far these fantasy heroes have fallen.

A couple guys WE think should be owned in ALL LEAGUES….

Jonathan Stewart (68%) Davone Bess (25%) Chris Ivory (38%) Sidney Rice (55%)

Week 10 Waiver Wire Pick Ups: Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Warriors

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pick-Ups: Week 10 Waiver Wire Warriors

If you want some proof of our work, check last week’s Waiver Wire Warriors article where we advised the masses that “Mike Wiliams-TB (56%), Steve Johnson (51%), Davonne Bess (51%) Josh Freeman (26%) and Sam Bradford (28%) should be owned in all leagues.” As it just so happens to be, every single one of those guys (aside from Sam I am, because he was on bye) produced starter-worthy stat-lines. Steve Johnson was the #5 WR with 11 grabs for 145 yards. Mike Williams was the #16 WR with 4 grabs for 89 yards and a touchdown. Davone Bess didn’t light it up, but 5 grabs for 50 yards made him startable as teh 30th WR for Week 9. And Freeman put up 17 fantasy points, good for 14th amongst QBs. Believe! And that’s just the beginning, because if you listened to me about James Jones you probably got a huge day from a rarely owned WR, and the same can be said for guys that listened to Josh and Nate about Jacob Tamme – dude put up monster stats in Dallas Clark’s spot- I think it’s a trend. Here’s this week’s WWW!

Papa wants to answer your questions, send them to PAPAWEIMER50@hotmail.com – he’ll answer and if it’s good, post your stuff in his weekly “Ask Papa Weimer” sections. Here goes Waiver Wire Warriors for Week 10.

(We are switching our WWW article from guys under 20% owned in ESPN leagues to guys owned in under 50%. Don’t worry, we’ll still have some low-level guys to pick-up, we just don’t want to leave out obvious options. Just like the weekly fantasy rankings, each writer ranks their Top 5. I’m also going to give you my “Pull The Trigger” area for guys that are obvious pick-ups and still owned in less than 70% of fantasy leagues. And there’s going to be an area called “End It Already” for guys that I consider drop-worthy, or try to trade now-worthy, regardless of their %-Owned.)

Top Waiver Wire Pick-Ups

Top Waiver Wire Pick-Ups (Week 10)

Ryan Kauffman	Josh Arsenault	Papa Weimer	Lucky Lester	Nate B. Kuhns
Sam Bradford	Colt McCoy	Davone Bess	David Garrard	Sidney Rice
Jon Kitna	David Garrard	Jabar Gaffney	Shaun Hill	Mario Manningham
Mike Hart	Jimmy Graham	Nate Washington	Sam Bradford	Mike Goodman
Marcel Reece	Arrelious Benn	Sidney Rice	Nate Burleson	Brian Hartline
Sidney Rice	Tashard Choice	Ryan Fitzpatrick	Mike Goodman	Mohamed Massaquoi
Nate Burleson	Sam Bradford	Blair White	Josh Freeman	Sam Bradford

I cut off everyone from picking up guys going into that players’ bye week, so James Jones won’t be seen on anybody’s list and neither will any other Packers, Saints, Raiders, or Chargers… I’ll list a couple guys we’re interested off of those teams below.

Bye Week guys that could be solid pick-ups (We all think picking up VJ is a good idea, Vincent Jackson 52% owned, Arse and Papa both like Jacoby Ford .1%, James Jones 5.4% owned, Arse likes Jimmy Graham .1% owned, and then there is Seyi Ajirotutu – if Charger receivers still aren’t ready after the bye, keep him on your minds)

Pull The Trigger

Steve Breaston - (53% owned): Breaston didn’t have a great week to follow up his big performance two weeks ago, but he still has a lovely schedule in the next four games, going up against Seattle’s little corners the KC, San Francisco, and St, Louis. He could have a nice little stretch there if Derek Anderson can complete at least 50% of his passes.

Steve Johnson (64% Owned): Steve jumped another 13% in ownership this week, making that nearly 40% more people owning the top Buffalo WR. Something tells me that next week he won’t be under 70% owned, making him unavailable for this list. Still, what’s not to like? Now with Roscoe Parrish out, Steve will likely see even a couple more targets per game. Fitzpatrick has been the best thing Buffalo WRs have had going in years – take advantage and get Steve if he’s there to be got.

Josh Freeman (43% Owned): Aside from his elite consistency (another 17 point week in Week 9 means he’s finished with 17 points or more in 6 games this season) Freeman has one hell of a playoff schedule, and you know the Bucs aren’t going to be “resting their starters” come playoff time. All Josh has done is be one of the most consistent sophomore QBs in some time. Can you say Washington, Detroit, and Seattle? That’s money right there. That’s like no lines at 6 flags, like free gummy bears for life, like double pay-checks – it’s good.

Mario Manningham (49% Owned): Just 4 catches for 56 yards last week, but Manningham is basically good for that just about every week. He didn’t score any fantasy points in Week 4 and Week 5, but he’s been good for 12, 20, 13, 14, 13, and 9 in those other 6 weeks – ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Nate Burleson (26% Owned): Nate has been doing work if you haven’t noticed. He had his best week as a Lion in Detroit’s tight loss to the Jets, doing work on that famed Jets secondary, going for 113 yards and a touchdown on 7 catches. That’s 24 catches for 210+ yards and 3 touchdowns over the last 4 games. He’s scored 15 or more fantasy points in 3 of those 4 games.

David Garrard (26% Owned): David played awesome coming off a week off when he and the Jags visited Dallas a week after he sat due to injury. Well, after another week off (his bye) Garrard plays the chronically poor Houston Texans secondary where he might just have another huge game. If you need a good week from a guy, going with DG for Week 10 might be a great option.

Sidney Rice (31% Owned): Sidney is a huge pick up right now. He could be playing as early as next week, and he could be playing a lot in 2 to 3. That kind of possibly production, really high upside, is worth stashing right now. Go. Stash. Hurry!

Blair White: With Collie out he could be a solid fill-in. Brian Hartline: At least 4 catches for 40+ yards in 5 of his last 6 games. Shaun Hill: Had 27, 11, 27, and 23 fantasy points in the 4 games he started and finished for the Lions this year – sees Buffalo, Dallas, and New England in the next 3, not really shut down secondaries – if he starts he could be great for you.

End It Already

Deion Branch (52% Owned): It may be his hamstring, it may be that once defenses realized they actually had to guard him now that Tom Brady was throwing the ball, but I don’t Branch having an upside over 5 grabs for 50 yards the rest of the season.

Marion Barber (69% Owned): Have you had enough yet? Only 3% of you cut Barber last week. It’s time. Take your chance on a guy like Hightower, Woodhead, Mike Goodson, even Tashard Choice (at least we don’t know what he’s going to do, yet). I’ve always been a big MBIII fan, but he’s lost something and I don’t see him finding it this season.

Lance Moore (82% Owned): Okay, last chance, it’s either hold on to him and hope his value doesn’t take a huge hit with Bush’s return, or find some owner that thinks Moore is going to continue his production (that’s foolish, but you never know).

Steve Smith (CAR) (97% Owned): Can you drop him? Probably not – but it wouldn’t be as crazy as it seems. Look at the numbers – are Tony Pike and Jimmy Claussen going to get the ball to SS enough to make him fantasy worthy down the 2nd half of the trail? I don’t think so, do you? Find somebody who does, or maybe it’s best not to rely on Steve at all – bench him (at least) until you find out he can produce with the guy throwing the ball.

Kenny Britt (68% Owned): If it’s a deep league, hold on just in case. In fact, hold on until further notice unless you can get top dollar for Britt. Kenny is rumored to be out 6-8 weeks, aka the rest of meaningful fantasy football. If you have an IR spot in your league, go ahead, stick Kenny there, but if you don’t and you need guys, it might be best to cut your losses and pick up another up and coming WR.

A couple guys WE think should be owned in ALL LEAGUES….

Brett Favre (77%) Steve Johnson (64%) Davone Bess (31%) Vincent Jackson (52%) Sidney Rice (31%)

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pick-Ups: Week 9 Waiver Wire Warriors

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pick-Ups: Week 9 Waiver Wire Warriors: Well, team LuckyLester hit a couple right on the head in our 1st Waiver Wire Warrior s article. The new addition to our weekly writings was a big hit, not only in mass readership, but in the production our pick-ups gave owners this week. Of course we’re not going to nail every waiver pick-up, but certainly those of you who grabbed LaGarrette Blount, Danny Woodhead, Steve Johnson, Davone Bess, Brandon Tate, or Brandon Pettitgrew all ended up with touchdowns and more for your Week 8 match-up. Hopefully we can give you some more pearls of wisdom for Week 9.

Remember, if you have any fantasy football questions, and want to get them answered by Papa Weimer himself, send your questions to PAPAWEIMER50@hotmail.com – you’re bound to get something informative at the very least. Here goes Waiver Wire Warriors for Week 9.

(Our Waiver Wire analysis, and top pick-ups, will be limited to guys that are under 20% owned in ESPN leagues. That means the guys we suggest should be available in about 80% of fantasy leagues out there and should help you out. Just like the weekly fantasy rankings, each guy agreed to give their Top 5 (even though we play in the same leagues together and that might be considered top-secret information). I’m also going to give you my “Pull The Trigger” area for guys that are obvious pick-ups and still owned in less than 60% of fantasy leagues. And there’s going to be an area called “End It Already” for guys that I consider drop-worthy, or try to trade now-worthy, regardless of their %-Owned.)

Top Waiver Wire Pick-Ups

Top Waiver Wire Pick-Ups (For Week 9)

Ryan Kauffman	Josh Arsenault	Papa Weimer	Lucky Lester	Nate B. Kuhns
Troy Smith	LeGarrette Blount	Jordy Nelson	LeGarrette Blount	Anthony Gonzalez
LeGarrette Blount	Rams D/ST	LeGarrette Blount	James Jones	Darrius Heyward-Bey
Mike Hart	Jordy Nelson	Jason Campbell	Patrick Crayton	Jacob Tamme
Jason Campbell	Damian Williams	Roscoe Parrish	Mike Thomas	Mike Hart
Brandon Tate	Troy Smith	Patrick Crayton	Brandon Gibson	Josh Freeman
Patrick Crayton	Jacob Tamme	Brandon Tate	Troy Smith	LeGarrette Blount

I like James Jones while nobody else does. This is my thinking. At the #2 this week or the #3 (behind Jordy Nelson) whichever he plays, he’s still going to get plenty of looks. James has huge play potential, and with Finley out for the season and Driver hobbled and likely at least out for this week, Jones should be in line for some solid looks in Week 9. Their thinking could be his zero catches last week against New York. We all dig LeGarrette Blount, still, obviously – we liked him last week and he did some big things in Week 8  – he’s a beast and you never know, he might just punch you in the face. I’ve always liked Troy Smith and I’m willing to bet he holds onto the job even when Alex Smith comes back – so if you’re in a deep league, he might be a nice pick-up for you.

Pull The Trigger

Mike Williams -TB (58% owned): I can’t believe it, but the masses don’t think like I do. Weird. What do I mean? I listed this guy at the top of my list for cats you should pick up and hurry, and he dropped a percentage this week. So what did he do? Oh, just score again, on a big time play – so what is this, his 5th double digit fantasy day as a WR, and his 2nd 20+ point game already this season. Just pick him up already, Roy Williams and Deion Branch owners…

Steve Johnson (51% Owned): Steve jumped more than 36 percentage points in ownership this week, and for good reason. Still, he’s owned in just half of leagues out there (well a percentage over half, but you get me). You can’t get him in all your leagues, but this guy is probably a better option than Donald Driver, Roy Williams, and Braylon Edwards moving forward – I’m not saying drop those 3 guys immediately, but find room for Steve -he has a touchdown in 5 straight now, and 5 or more catches in each of his last 3 games. Ryan Fitzpatrick likes his style, and so should you.

Josh Freeman (26% Owned): All Josh has done is be one of the most consistent sophomore QBs in some time. I know that “consistent” isn’t fantasy-speak for “sexy” but hey, what more can you ask for from your #2 QB than what Freeman is dealing out every single week? For being 26% owned, it’s crazy how solid he’s been. Only once this season has Freeman finished under 14 points (against Pittsburgh, give him a break), and already 5 times he’s finished with 18 points or more. Sure, he hasn’t scored more than 20, but what do you want from your fantasy guys (especially #2 QBs)? Do you want a guy that gets 26 then 4 then 22 then 8? No thanks, I’ll take 15 every week, and that’s what Freeman gives you, except it’s usually 18.

Davone Bess (31% Owned): Bess jumped 12% from last week, but he’s still owned in just under 1/3 of fantasy leagues. If it’s being the #3 receiver that worries you, he just took the #2 spot from Brian Hartline. The bottom line here is that Bess is the biggest play guy opposite Brandon Marshall, and BM gets most of the coverage and attention so Bess should continue to capitalize.

Jabar Gaffney (54% Owned): Not a flashy player by any means, but you could do a lot worse than a WR play for 4 catches and 50 yards at it’s lowest total. Because that’s what Gaffney has (at the very least) in each of his last 6 games. He has just 1 TD on the season, and he rarely gets above 14 fantasy points (just twice) but as far as sure thing numbers go, for a fill in guy, he’s a pretty solid bet.

End It Already

Deion Branch (71% Owned): Honestly, I know he came in and rubbed fantasy points all over the field, but I’d rather have Mike Thomas, Steve Johnson, James Jones, Danny Amdendola, and Davone Bess than Branch, and all those guys are way less owned than Branch.

Marion Barber (72% Owned): Still here from last week, but more people are dropping him… (down nearly 10% from last week) I don’t know if it’s Marion’s fault, but that running game in Dallas is atrocious, and Barber didn’t look good this weekend despite his touchdown.

Lance Moore (73% Owned): I’m sticking with dealing Moore – now’s the time, even better than last week. Bush will almost certainly be back after the Saints’ bye, and that’s when Moore will submit to a lesser role. You have a week of value left, treat it wisely!

Donald Brown (67% Owned): I’ve always liked Brown, but Mike Hart ran with much more success than Brown, seemingly taking the #2 spot from the former #1 overall pick, and Brown has another injury after Monday Night’s game – might be a good time to deal him if someone still believes in him as a handcuff.

Roy Williams (74% Owned): If somebody still buys the 5 touchdown guy from week 3, 5, and 6 then SELL!!!! If not, well, he’s hard to drop, yes, but I don’t think he’s easy to hold onto either. I’m predicting maybe 2 double digit fantasy performances over the rest of the season, a drop to 3rd on the depth chart (soon), and a pretty-unownable guy moving forward. I wouldn’t drop him yet, for the chance that I’m wrong, but if you can trade him to help your team somewhere, as a throw in with another good player for a better player, I think it’s a great move.

A couple guys WE think should be owned in ALL LEAGUES….

Mike Williams-TB (56%) Steve Johnson (51%) Davone Bess (31%) Josh Freeman (26%) Sam Bradford (28%)

Fantasy Football Pick-ups: Know Your Bench

KNOW YOUR BENCH: Upside over Mediocrity

Top “SKY” Players

1. Ricky Williams, RB, Dolphins
2. Ryan Torain, RB, Redskins
3. Benjarvis Green-Ellis, RB, Patriots
4. Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Steelers
5. Vincent Jackson, WR, Chargers
6. Shonn Greene, RB, Jets
7. Santonio Holmes, WR, Jets
8. Steve Slaton, RB, Texans
9. Javon Ringer, RB, Titans
10. Sidney Rice, WR, Vikings

I had a flashback today as I was having a discussion with a fellow fantasy fanatic regarding how fantasy football use to be. No in-depth analysis, no player projections, and certainly no NFL-Redzone. A scramble for the morning paper to get the sports section. First scanning the page for big point totals and then slowly browsing down the box-score hoping to discover your player’s name followed by my favorite two letters TD. The title League Commissioner wasn’t merely a title, it came with a list of chores, requiring a B. A in mathematics, tediously adding each TD (+6), 100 yards (+3), and don’t forget the 50 yard bonus (+1). My how times have changed.

Mediocre “Dropable” Players

1. Mike Sims-Walker, WR, Jaguars
2. Marion Barber, RB, Cowboys
3. Carson Palmer, QB, Bengals
4. Justin Forsett, RB, Seahawks
5. Kevin Walter, WR, Texans
6. Jericho Cotchery, WR, Jets
7. Clinton Portis, RB, Redskins
8. Cadillac Williams, RB, Bucs
9. Darren Sproles, RB, Chargers
10. Brandon Jackson, RB, Packers

The same tools that make the life of League Commissioner more efficient today can be used to be a smarter fantasy manager. Live scoring, match-up breakdowns, depth charts, etc. Don’t just hit the “total points” tab and search for who has produced. Find who has the potential to produce.

A player’s production is often directly correlated with his involvement in the offense. The more touches a running back gets, the more targets a WR/TE gets the more likely they are to add to your point total. Pretty simple concept, however in some cases, individual talent is over-glorified when a player’s productivity is more a result of the system rather than individual excellence. Identifying these systems can help you strike gold right when the bye weeks role around. (example: any RB in the Shanahan’ Broncos era)

The technique often referred to as “Hand-cuffing”-owning a high-valued player’s backup in case of injury- is great for insurance, however only maintains your team’s production. You want to find the diamond in the ruff that adds to your team’s production. In order to do so you must eliminate the mediocrity from your bench. Many leagues these days have ample roster space for the necessary back-up, however a mistake I see too often is managers owning similar tiered talents. Players who have the same eligibility and production ceiling. These are the players that you should eliminate and replace with “Sky players”, players who aren’t necessarily producing week to week yet have a huge upside. Whether; baring injury, suspension, or an evolving talent with increasing involvement in the offense. There are a handful of these talents emerging each week and the unfortunate saying “A play away” is a reality. One that could bode well if you’re ahead of the game.