Injuries make for several waiver options after Week 10
Not much time for exposition – the start of my workday and your waiver deadline are both fast approaching.
Based on this week’s games, and today’s announcements (Dwayne Bowe suspended four games!), there are a couple guys you might want to think about picking up. There are some other guys you want to leave for somebody else.
No time for further rambling, on to the main course:
Larry Johnson – Signed a one-year deal with the Bengals. Does Cedric Benson’s hip flexor concern Cincy? Does LJ just need a change of scenery. More to come in the weeks. I put in some hefty waiver bids and waiver priorities on Johnson in a couple leagues.
Brandon Gibson – Both Gibson and Avery are available in a lot of leagues. You already know to pick up Avery because of his preseason rankings and such, and the fact that he scored two TDs. As for Gibson, he had nine targets, caught 7 for 93. Marc Bulger is still the Rams’ QB, but Gibson is the new No. 2 starter on a team that finds itself trailing a lot.
Ricky Williams – He’s owned in most leagues because of his great recent play, but it’s worth noting that his value spikes depending on the length of time Ronnie Brown will miss.
Josh Freeman – Hey, he’s not awesome, but Freeman hasn’t been awful either. Sunday he threw for 196, a TD, an interception and rushed seven times for 36 yards. Still intrigued by his potential, dynasty-leaguers should be, too.
Bernard Berrian – Despite Sidney Rice’s nuts 7-catch, 201-yard game, Berrian had only one less target (8-to-9). He did far less with his chances.
Ladell Betts – Smart owners who put in waivers for Betts reaped a 26-114-1 game from him against the once stout Broncos defense. Betts has proven himself a better option in the time he’s had to be the main ballcarrier, but coach Jim Zorn said Portis is not getting Wally-Pipp’d. I’d be shocked if Betts doesn’t get more touches for the rest of the season, though.
Chris Simms – Came in for the injured Kyle Orton and put up some disastrous numbers 3-13-1 for 13 yards. Pre-injury Orton, meanwhile, threw two TDs and had 193 yards.
Correll Buckhalter – Benched and finished with 11 yards on two carries. Meanwhile, Knowshon Moreno had an 18-for-97 day. Buckhalter phase out process under way.
Jason Snelling – I put in a handful of waiver claims for Snelling. He’s been on my radar since the preseason and he looked decent in place of the injured Michael Turner on Sunday. Snelling’s not a beast, but is a good pickup if “high” keeps it’s position in front of ankle sprain in the injury column next to Turner’s name.
Jamaal Charles – Surprisingly found him on one waiver wire earlier today. I put in a claim. Now, his 103 yards and a TD came against the Raiders, but Charles has already shown he’s got more to give the Chiefs than LJ did.
Chris Chambers – Put up some solid numbers Sunday – 60 yards on just 3 catches and five targets – but with Dwayne Bowe’s four-game suspension for what seems like PEDs or PED-masking agents – Chambers stocks up considerably. I’d pick him up as your fifth WR. Lance Long is a long shot to reap some big rewards too.
Raiders offense – Stay away. I got one report this morning telling me that Bruce Gradkowski, who came in for a benched JaMarcus Russell, is potentially worth a pickup. I gotta tell you, I wouldn’t give up anything for the players on this team. Too many drops. Too much of a we-can’t-win attitude. Again, I say, stay away. OK, Michael Bush was 14-119 on the ground, but it came against the Chiefs and Darren McFadden’s contribution to the three-headed monster is back.
Spencer Havner – Gawd, this is painful. He’s not even technically a TE, but he’s had at least one TD in three of the last four weeks. If you have some turd sitting as your TE2, having a guy who pops out an occasionally regular TD might not seem too bad. He’s better than Sean Ryan.
JerMichael Finley – Speaking of TE2s, Finley is expected back next week. His arrival could be awesome and cut into Havner’s value. Full disclosure, folks.
Beanie Wells – Wells continues his arrival with two TDs and some nice runs. The Cardinals find a way to make use of his talent the rest of the way.
Steve Breaston – He’s only supposed to be good when one of the big two guys are hurt, but Breaston had a 4-79-1 line on just six targets. If you’re desperate for a WR5 and he’s available, pick him up and start him in a pinch.
Justin Forsett – The initial diagnosis on starter Julius Jones was a broken rib and punctured lung. Luckily for his owners, it turned out to be a bruise that sent some blood into his lung. While I’m sure it was painful, it should recover faster than the initial report suggested. Still, Forsett had a fine 17-123-1 game on the ground and caught 5 balls for 26 more yards. Pick him up. He should get more action at least next week if not for the rest of the season.
LeSean McCoy – His value takes an immediate hike in all formats, including keeper leagues. Brian Westbrook’s concussion Sunday, his second in three weeks, wasn’t as severe as the first, but it proves the fact that severely concussed players tend to keep getting concussed more frequently after the fact. Westbrook might be done. McCoy is his replacement. McCoy gained only five yards on three carries and caught three balls for 12 yards. Hardly great stuff, but he’s shown flashes of brilliance in his rookie campaign.
Jason Avant – Had the best day of any Eagles receiver, catching eight of his nine targets for 156 yards. Jeremy Maclin and Brent Celek each had a TD. DeSean Jackson was targeted a ridiculous 16 times (McNabb threw 55 times and finished with 450 and two TDs). Avant was the new face of the Eagles offense this week. Like Maclin before him, don’t expect this every week, but the Eagles throw an awful lot and that won’t change with Westbrook’s injury.
Ladainian Tomlinson – Turned back the clock for at least a week. He had two TDs and 96 yards on 24 carries. He didn’t have a single catch and was targeted only once. Not sure how you want to take it, because he’s got quite a few miles, but the message he got before the game about his wife being pregnant is significant. Apparently, they had been trying to have a child for years. I wonder how much of that carried over to game day for a couple years? He’ll never be LT circa 2006 again, but I’m interested to see where he goes from here.
Legadu Naanee – He ran one time for 10 yards out of a wildcat and caught three passes for 42 yards and a TD. There are a bunch of Chargers I’d rather have on my team before Naanee, but if the Chargers commit to more Wildcat with him, I could eat those words. He’s a good athlete.
Joseph Addai – Another injury case – there were a lot. Hope most of them get mentioned here – although his wasn’t as severe as several of the others. He hurt his finger and returned to the field. He finished with one TD each on the ground and through the air. Donald Brown was decent, but didn’t get many opportunities. As long as Addai’s finger injury doesn’t radiate down his arm and cause serious problems, he’ll be go and continue to be the Colts best backfield option for fantasy owners. I do like Brown’s long-term value though.
Pierre Garcon – Won the weekly Colts No. 2 wide receiver competition, that I’ve followed in just about every update since I heard they were calling Garcon the next Reggie Wayne. Thing is, Garcon caught only three of his 11 targets, but finished with 50 yards and a TD. Collie was targeted three fewer times and caught three more balls, but finished with five less yards. Confused? Me too, let’s move on.
DeAngelo Williams – His injury had the ESPNers all freaked out on Sunday. He was fine – 19 carries, 92 yards. Jonathan Stewart was better with two TDs and 82 yards on 11 carries.
Jake Delhomme – I know, right, Delhomme. He was 15-for-24, not bad, for 195 yards, not bad again, and two TDs. No picks. That’s right, NO PICKS.
Brady Quinn – Taking over for your JaMarcus Russell line this week, Brady Quinn. He was 13-for-31 with two interceptions and only 99 yards. He finished with a 23.5 QB rating. That, friends, is terrible.
Mike Furrey – Targeted by Quinn eight times and amazingly caught six of them. He only had 30 yards though. I’m not excited, even in PPR leagues.
Joe Flacco – Surprised he didn’t do better than game manager numbers against the Browns.
Ray Rice – He only had 89 yards and a score and caught three passes for 15 yards. I realize those are decent numbers, but it came against the Browns.
Hey, fast report, so sorry for any typos or noun-verb disagreements that you may have experienced during your reading adventure. Thank you for reading this far, and may all your waiver selections turn into keepers.
