Upgrades
QB Daunte Culpepper (Min) - Culpepper keeps throwing up huge
numbers (274 yards and 3 TDs yesterday), but his best stat Sunday was no
turnovers. He is a solid start
regardless of the opponent.
QB Jake Delhomme (Car) - He was not very good at all
yesterday, but good things are coming in the form of the Arizona Cardinals
defense. Delhomme should bounce back in
a big way in week 15.
QB Brett Favre (GB) - Favre was OK yesterday, but he should
be very good this Sunday with the Chargers coming to town. Even Joey Harrington turned in decent numbers
against San Diego.
QB Jeff Garcia (SF) - While he could be listed under
‘Aberrations', Garcia was enormous yesterday with SIX scores (4 passing and 2
rushing). He'll obviously bounce back as
there is no where to go but down, but he deserves the upgrade after such a
massive game. It is safe to say that Tim
Rattay won't be starting the last few weeks.
QB Michael Vick (Atl) - While his passing numbers were
pedestrian (179 yards and 1 interception), Vick was huge on the ground with 141
rushing yards and one TD. We expect that
he will throw for close to 200 yards a contest and should get 50-70 each week
running the ball. Even if he was to just
score 1 TD a week, he would be a top 10 QB with those stats in most scoring
leagues.
QB Trent Green (KC) - he exploded for 397 yards and 1 TD
playing from behind. As bad as the Kansas
City defense looks as of late, he could be asked to do
more and more each week. He goes against
two bad defenses in week 15 and 16 (Detroit
and Minnesota).
*** Waiver Wire *** QB Joshua McCown
(Ari) - He looked good in relief of a flailing Jeff
Blake. The Cardinals are playing for the
future and we could see a lot more of Joshua in the coming weeks. He ended the game going 11 for 20 with 120
yards and 2 TDs against SF backups.
*** Waiver Wire *** Tim Hasselbeck
(Was) - He will be the starting QB for the rest of the season as Patrick Ramsey
has been lost for the season.
RB Kevan Barlow (SF) - In the
first start of his career, Barlow responded with 177 total yards and a TD. Admittedly, he won't get to face defenses as
bad as Arizona every week, but he
still did what was asked of him. Garrison
Hearst could return this week, but we expect the team to sit him another week
to see what they have with Barlow.
RB LaDainian Tomlinson (SD) - He had
236 combined yards and 2 TDs. He is as good as they come.
RB Jerome Bettis (Pit) - While he's no Clinton Portis,
Bettis is still a viable fantasy back against the right teams. The Raiders were the right team yesterday as
Bettis gained 125 total yards and a TD.
The Jets and Chargers will be the right teams over the next two weeks. Keep riding the bus.
*** Waiver Wire *** RB Erik Bickerstaff (Dal) - He's not
going to be an instant starter, but it looks like Bickerstaff will be given a
few touches down the stretch. Yesterday,
in his first action of the season, Bickerstaff gained 41 yards on nine carries.
RB Michael Bennett (Min) - he is seeing more and more
action. Yesterday he carried the ball 25
times for 103 yards. He added another 12
yards on 2 receptions. Because he has
the speed to break it on any run, he is capable of huge days. He faces the soft Chiefs defense in week 16.
RB Travis Henry (Buf) - With his QB tossing a pathetic 72
yards, Henry rushed 32 times for 169 yards and a TD. And he did all of this on a broken leg. What a stud.
RB Edgerrin James (Ind)
- James is still getting almost all of the RB carries (Dominic Rhodes took
one). When that happens, James is a
fantasy stud.
*** Waiver Wire *** RB Thomas Jones (TB) - Jones out-touched
Michael Pittman 22-9 yesterday. There is
no reason to believe that Jones' touches will decrease the remainder of the
season.
RB Clinton
Portis (Den) - Portis exploded yesterday as he torched the Chiefs for 254 total
yards and five TDs. He is hitting his
stride at just the right time. Look for
the Broncos to continue to give him a lot of carries the rest of the way. He faces the Browns and Colts the next two weeks
so he should stay very productive.
WR Marty Booker (Chi) - Over the last few weeks, Booker
has looked like the WR everyone thought he would be this season. He finished the day with 115 receiving yards
and a TD.
*** Waiver Wire *** WR Dante Hall (KC) - Hall had a very big
day with 124 yards on 11 catches.
Because he is so explosive after the catch, the Chiefs like to get him
involved in the offense.
WR Justin McCareins (Ten) - He is the team's #2 WR and will
continue in that role even though Drew Bennett has returned from injury.
WR Randy Moss (Min) - He's simply unstoppable when his QB is
on, and Culpepper has been on this year.
*** Waiver Wire *** WR Marcus Robinson (Bal)
- Another week and another TD from Robinson.
It's apparent that all Robinson needed was a veteran QB throwing him the
ball. While Anthony Wright is not an
elite passer, he is a veteran and he is finding Robinson with regularity.
WR Steve Smith (Car) - He continues to be the focus of the
passing attack. He should light things
up against the Cardinals in week 15 and the Lions in week 16.
WR Deion Branch (NE) - He has
supplanted the always injured Troy Brown as the team's number one
receiver. Despite terrible field
conditions (snow and wind), he caught 6 passes for 93 yards yesterday.
WR Peter Warrick (Cin) - Admittedly,
Warrick got a lot of his yards in garbage time, but he is a huge piece of the Bengals passing game each week. He is finally playing to the potential
everyone believed he had coming out of college.
WR Anquan Boldin
(Ari) - The rest of the Cardinals receivers are so
bad that all Arizona QBs just lock on Boldin. The fact
that the Arizona defense is the
worst in the league only means that this team will be throwing the ball a lot
to catch up.
WR Peerless Price (Atl) - Since the
team is playing Vick to build momentum for next year, we expect the playbook to
be loaded with plays for Peerless Price (their off-season acquisition). He could finish very strong.
*** Waiver Wire *** TE Eddie “Boo” Williams (NO) - After
another score yesterday, Williams continues to perform in the spot vacated by
Ernie Conwell.
TE Alge Crumpler
(Atl) - He might have missed the scrambling Vick more
than anyone. Look for Crumpler to get a lot of looks as Vick scrambles out of the
pocket. Teams are forced to get Vick
before he gets moving which will leave the middle of the field open for the
TE.
PK Mike Vanderjagt (Ind)
- He had five FGs (the longest of which was 36 yards) yesterday. If the Colts continue to struggle in the red
zone, Vanderjagt will be huge. He also
has is a perfect 70 for 70 on FG and extra point attempts this season.
Def New England
- This team is shutting down everyone as of late.
Def Baltimore - Especially at home, this unit is stopping
some very good passing offenses. This
past week they derailed Kitna.
Aberrations
QB Tom Brady (NE) - Brady played excellent ball yesterday
considering the conditions, but his fantasy numbers (163 yards and no TDs) were
pitiful. There's always a chance the
weather could continue to be harsh, but Brady will bounce back over the next
few weeks.
QB Chad Pennington (NYJ) - Do you know how many times the
Jets have not scored a TD with Pennington as their starting QB? Counting yesterday, once. Look for Pennington and the Jets to look much
better against the Steelers in week 15.
RB LaBrandon Toefield
(Jac) - His 10 carries for 54 yards and a TD came on a day where the Jaguars
were winning huge and could afford giving him some playing time.
WR Kelly Campbell (Min) - He will get a few long looks a
game at most. He caught one of those and
scored a TD yesterday. He is still WR #4
on the Vikings.
Downgrades
The Raiders Offense - This team has given up and their coach
lost all their respect so he is not able to motivate them. They look old, tired and bored. Avoid everyone on this unit the rest of the
way.
QB Matt Hasselbeck (Sea) - Hasselbeck turned in a pitiful
effort yesterday (218 yards with no TDs and 2 INTs). The Seahawks have been terrible on the road
and have two more away games this season (including at the Rams in week 15).
QB Rick Mirer (Oak) - Mirer's stat line (10/25 for 68 yards
and 2 INTs) speaks volumes.
QB Dave Ragone (Hou) - Ragone is obviously not ready, but he
was the team's leading rusher yesterday.
QB Tim Rattay (SF) - After Jeff Garcia's 6-TD day, Rattay
won't see the field the rest of the way.
QB Kordell Stewart (Chi) - He was
17 for 40 and had 3 interceptions with just 1 TD. The Bears like his scrambling ability, but he
still throws too many bricks to be counted on with any consistency.
QB Jeff Blake (Ari) - He connected
on just 8 of 20 pass attempts before being benched for Joshua McCown. Based on the
combined performances, we do not expect Blake to start in week 15.
QB Kerry Collins (NYG) - He was just 5 for 14 for 62 yards
before getting hurt and not returning. This
team has fallen apart so it remains to be seen if they will even press for
Collins to play at less than 100%. He
will likely miss week 15 at a minimum.
QB Patrick Ramsey (Was) - He is lost for the season.
QB Quincy Carter (Dal) - He looks
more like the QB we thought he would be as of late.
RB Aveion Cason (Dal) - It looks
like Cason's injury could keep him out for the remainder of the season.
RB Mike Cloud (NE) - Cloud is a fast-track back, but the
Patriots won't play on another fast track this season. There's a good chance that Cloud will be
inactive over the remainder of the regular season.
RB Charlie Garner (Oak) - He is now sharing the rushing
carries with Tyrone Wheatley plus he caught no passes yesterday. This offense is a shell of the team that went
to the Superbowl right now. Since Garner is not the goal line back, he
has become virtually worthless in this limited offense.
RB Tony Hollings (Hou) - With Domanick Davis on the
sidelines, Hollings gained 19 yards on 18 carries. While he likely would have been better off
with David Carr at QB, at least we are sure there will be no RBBC the rest of
the season.
RB Michael Pittman (TB) - Pittman has been surpassed by
Thomas Jones. Ouch.
RB Ladell Betts aggravated his broken forearm on his only carry of the game, and did not return to action. He will likely miss more time.
RB Garrison Hearst (SF) - He may be rested longer than
expected after Barlow's solid game.
WR Tyrone Calico (Ten) - He has been passed by Justin
McCareins and Drew Bennett so don't expect much from
him the rest of the way.
WR Donald Driver (GB) - Driver has been a huge
disappointment this season. He caught
one ball yesterday while Robert Ferguson and Javon Walker combined for 11
receptions.
TE Todd Heap (Bal) - His numbers
are taking a hit now that the offense is looking farther down the field under
Anthony Wright. He had just 1 catch for
14 yards yesterday.
PK Martin Gramatica (TB) - He has struggled this year along
with the Buccaneers and missed two more FGs yesterday.
PK Jay Feeley (Atl)
- Two misses inside the 40 is bad when your team needs overtime to win the
game. He will likely keep his job
because the Falcons won, but he looks awful.
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