Short
week this week as the dreaded Thursday night games begin. With the short week,
and it being this late in the season, here’s a short list of free agents
to target. As we get towards the end of the season, I won’t beat the ‘look
for the defense that is playing
Washington or
Detroit (or similar)’ any
longer. However, it’s starting to get cold outside, do yourself a favor
and start looking for a warm weather and/or dome kicker as either your starter
or your backup. Owners should also review their league rules to make sure
you know if/when the waiver wire closes up. You don’t want to be making a
playoff run without a kicker that will be on the field.
On to
this week’s waiver wire wonders ...
Smokin’ Hot RBs Kolby
Smith/Jamaal Charles, Kansas City
Every week there seems to be a pretty obvious “waiver wonder of the week”
candidate, and this week we go to Kansas City. The Chiefs dumped Larry Johnson,
so the starting running back position is up for grabs. Before you get too
excited, this is the Chiefs, and
Kansas
City plans on splitting the time with both of these
guys. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so if you are hurting
at the position, these guys will at least be seeing the field. I can’t
recommend one over the other; I see an even split for the rest of the
season.
RB Ladell Betts,
Washington
Someone related to the above, there are some voices that are calling for Larry
Johnson to land in
Washington. Ok,
when I say voices, I mean the voice of the owner that likes to make a splash by
signing name players that are washed up. Clinton Portis will be out this week,
so that opens the door for Betts to be the starter. The Redskins have a tough
matchup against the Broncos this week, and besides that, they are the Redskins,
so 50-60 yards on the ground no matter who is running the ball is as high as
the
Washington
starter will get.
Solid Pickups WR Jason Hill,
San Francisco
Let’s be honest here: we all knew that Isaac Bruce wasn’t going to last the
entire season before getting hurt, right? Given the chance this week, Hill went
for 50 yards and two scores, not a bad week for a guy that wasn’t getting any
playing time (literally, only one target all season prior to this week!) With
Michael Crabtree grabbing the headlines, and the coverage on the other side,
there is potential here for Hill to put up 50 yards and a touchdown on a weekly
basis.
QB Josh Freeman, Tampa
Bay
Either it was the uniforms, a new starting quarterback with no game film for
study, or a horrendous offensive line that would allow Moe, Larry, and Curly to
record a sack ... whatever it was, it spelled victory for the Buccaneers this
week over the Packers. Freeman gets a win in his first start, and the Bucs
are now undefeated as underdogs when playing a game after a bye week which was
after a game in England (useless gambling fact of the day, sock this one away
for the next time this comes up). Freeman went for just over 200 yards and
three touchdowns against only one interception. The Bucs have some favorable
matchups coming up (
Miami,
New Orleans) so if you are in need of a
backup QB, there are worse choices out there than Freeman.
WR Jacoby Jones,
Houston
The Texans were touting all week that they were going to spread the field with
four wideouts and that Jones would see some increased playing time, and they
didn’t disappoint. Jones caught four balls for 67 yards. As is the case with
Hill, with Andre Johnson getting the attention, that creates some opportunity
for the other wide outs in
Houston.
On The Radar RB
Sammy Morris,
New England
The Patriots are looking to get Morris healthy and on the field in Week 11. Yes,
this is a week away, and my distaste for the
New England
backfield for fantasy purposes is well documented ... but, Morris was the most
effective runner before going down to injury. Laurence Maroney has been
carrying the load, but surely Bill Belichick will look to shake things up when
Morris returns. Don’t expect a lot here, but if Morris grabs the starters role,
60-70 yards and a touchdown in late November and December is not out of the
question.
WR Chris Chambers,
Kansas City
Chambers has a lot going against him here, specifically that he’s now a Kansas
City Chief. That said,
Kansas
City will be playing from behind a lot, which creates
yardage opportunities. He scored twice in his debut this past week and the old
timer has proven in the past to have the skills to be a decent wideout. I’d
like to see another week of production out of him before giving him my stamp of
approval, but those of you in deep leagues with the room can take a chance here
to see if Chambers turns his season around in
Kansas City.
Deep
and/or Dynasty Only RB Michael Robinson, San Francisco
With Glen Coffee out, Robinson moves up the depth chart to stand right
behind starter Frank Gore. Though Gore has been a workhorse, he has missed some
time this year so those of you in deep and dynasty leagues may want to take a
look here.
RBs Mike Sellers/Rock
Cartwright,
Washington
The Clinton Portis injury shuffles up the Redskins depth chart, with Sellers
and Cartwright poised to grab at least some time on the field. Sellers will
likely be the third-down guy catching the ball, and Cartwright will be the change
of pace to Ladell Betts. Not a lot to be excited about here, but at this point in
the season it’s difficult to find running backs that will see the playing field
in deep and dynasty leagues.
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