Fantasy Sports Review

Well here we are approaching the end of the season and you are still hangin’ in there. Chances are, if you’re in the play-offs, your team is already pretty solid but look the list over anyway.

The pickings are a little slim this week but ya never know this time of year, especially when some of the big teams start thinking about sitting guys to get them ready for the playoffs. Here’s what I could find this week. Let me know if I’m missing anyone.

May be available now…
Anthony Gonzalas WR (IND) - Since we really don’t know when Marvin is coming back, you might want to take a look at Gonzalas. With his 6 catches for 134 yards and 2 touchdown performance against the Ravens, he now has two 100 yard games in three weeks.

Darius Walker RB (HOU) - The latest back to take a turn in the Texans backfield rushed for 46 yards and caught 6 catches for 35 yards. Might be decent in a RB3 role the remainder of the season if they roll with him. He has Denver next week followed by Indy and Jacksonville. Denver is iffy against the run and who knows if Indy and Jacksonville will be playing everyone or prepping for the playoffs.

Samkon Gado RB (MIA) - This pretty much all depends on the status of Chatman but he may be serviceable as a RB3. He had 53 yards on 12 carries with 2 TD’s and 2 catches for 41 yards against the Bills.

Reggie Williams WR (JAC) - He has four touchdowns in his last six games and this week he caught 5 for 90. The Jags passing game has been serviceable lately and he could be a nice WR3 in a pinch.

Todd Collins QB (WAS) - He will be at the controls for the rest of the year. he gets the Giants next week, Minnesota and then Dallas. He’s available but it may not matter at this point.

Brian GreiseKyle Orton QB (CHI) - Rex will be out for awhile and we’ve seen that Griese can hold his own we don’t know if Orton can hold his own. If you are “really” desperate for a QB, he is your man. Min, Green Bay ad New Orleans left on the schedule.

Keep an eye on…
Luke McCown QB (TB) - If the Buc’s continue to let Garcia heal up for the playoffs McCown could be a decent play in the coming weeks with games against Atlanta, San Fransisco and Carolina left on the schedule.

Jereme Urban WR (ARI) - Not sure what happened to Bryant Johnson in this game but Urban took up the slack left by an absent Boldin. 6 catches for 123 and a touchdown. If Boldin misses more time this guy might have some value with good match ups against New Orleans, Atlanta and St. Louis left on the schedule.

Notable performances…
Derek Hagan WR (MIA) - I recommended him about three weeks ago and he disappeared. Today I will just mention him. He had 8 catches for 93 yards.

Robert Royal TE (BUF) - Posted 46 yards and 2 touchdowns. This week he plays Cleveland.

A few other resources you should check out are Fantasy Football Librarians waiver wire report and the Bruno Boys week 14 waiver wire report

As always I will be updating throughout the week if anyone jumps out at me. Also, I know many of you see things I don’t, feel free to throw down some of your thoughts below in the comments.

Did you know that Vinnie Testaverde outperformed Brett Favre, Vince Young and Kurt Warner last Sunday? Crazy isn’t it? Well this week I looked and I looked and I think I found a prediction almost as ludicrous.

But, before I tell you who and why, here’s a little reminder of how I have things set up. I list two players who I think deserve a start and two players that I think should ride the pine. Also, I have another section that will deal with some of the gray area associated with some players.

This section is called Sleepers: Don’t be surprised if. It will deal with players who, regardless of stature, will perform better or worse than expected. Rather than tell you that you should start or sit these players - since I do not know every circumstance surrounding your team in particular - I am just offering up a little food for thought for those of you who have tough decisions to make this weekend. So lets get to it.

Start’em if you got’em

Jeff Garcia QB (TB) - Is it just me or does it seem like everyone that plays Detroit - except my Vikings - get their passing game going? No reason that should stop this Sunday. Jeff has held his own this year against much stiffer competition. Last week he threw for 274 and a TD versus a very solid Titans defense. The week before that he posted two TD’s against Indy. There is no reason the Lions can’t yield 275 and, I’ll go big, 3 TD’s.

Final stats: 37/45 for 316, 2 td’s and 10 rush yards.
Final thoughts: Almost had that 3rd TD but Garcia fumbled on a first down and goal at the one. Tampa dominated the game but found a way to lose it.

Washington D - This defense is playing great right now. They are third in total defense, third in passing defense and seventh against the run. Did I mention 10th in sacks? Now just think of what they could do to a rusty journeyman at home. Look for the Skins to just abuse Tim Rattay and the Arizona Cardinals this week. Perfect bye week defense. Hell, its possible they could be laying around on your waiver wire yet. Mark them down for 13 points allowed, 5 sacks, 3 picks and a TD.

Final stats: 19 points allowed, 1 sack, 2 picks, 2 fumble recoveries and a TD.
Final thoughts: Pretty surprised they only had one sack. Kudos to the Arizona line.

Sit’em if you got’em

Minnesota D - They are my team but I have to call a spade a spade. They are last at stopping the pass and they are playing Dallas, the third best team in the league at slinging it. If you have a better option, use it. Ouch! 28+ points allowed, 1 sack, 1 turnover.

Final stats: 24 points allowed, 2 fumble recoveries and 3 sacks.
Final thoughts: They actually didn’t do to bad containing the Cowboys but the offense couldn’t stay on the field. They had a defensive touchdown called back because of a penalty.

Brian Greise QB (CHI) - Bad news for Brian this week; he’s not playing Minnesota or Detroit. Instead he will be playing on the road against the Eagles who are 10th against the pass and are quietly getting healthier. 150 yards, 1 garbage TD, a fumble and 3 ints.

Final stats: 27/41 for 322 and a TD
Final thoughts: Pretty solid game. Took them on a long game winning drive and didn’t turn the ball over. Downgrade the Eagles pass defense and give Greise props. He gets Detroit next week.

Tom Brady QB (NE) - Last year Miami shutout the Pats and treated Brady like their perty new cellmate. This year… I’m just messing with you to see if you are paying attention (remember that whole opening bit about Vinnie? Kidding there too. I just thought it was worth mentioning). Anyway, for the record, the Pats really did get shutout by them last year. Not sure how that happened. But hey, there is no way in hell that happens this week. While we are on the subject, how about a few Brady stats predictions. I see 500 yards passing, 10 touchdowns and another week on the injury report with that sore arm.

Final stats: 354 and 6 TD’s. Perfect passer rating by the way.
Final thoughts: I was just joking and I wasn’t far off. Wow. Can you say fantasy God!

Sleepers: Don’t be surprised if…

Kevin Jones RB (DET) has a solid day against Tampa Bay. Outside of the fact that Tampa Bay is 21st against the run I don’t have many stats to support my position. I just know that he has been slowly working his way back into the line-up. And now that he has had a full bye weeks worth of work with the first team, I think he is finding his rhythm. Also, I think that the Lions are going to try and run more to keep the defense from teeing off on Kitna (the Lions have allowed 25 sacks this year, most in the NFL). This is almost a complete gut call; I bet he gets 150+ all purpose yards, a touchdown and about 4 receptions.

Final stats: 76 rushing, 34 receiving on 6 catches and a TD.
Final thoughts: Looks like the Lions were actually trying to run in this one. Even Duckett had 4 for 30 yards. Promising day all around for Kevin Jones owners.

Tavaris Jackson QB (MIN) has a solid outing against the Cowboys. Last week if his receivers could have just held on to the ball, he would’ve had much better stats and maybe even another touchdown. This week he will need to hang with the Cowboys who, by the way, are 24th against the pass and bang up to boot. Adrian Peterson gets all of the attention this week and takes the pressure off Tavaris. He goes for 250+, 2+ touchdowns (one to AP of course) and one int.

Final stats: 9 for 16 for 72 yards and 20 yards rushing.
Final thoughts: After shoing promise against the Bears last week he regressed big time. He looked terrible and I don’t think I’ll be picking him for again awhile, if ever.

As always, that is not all my friend. You can get more in-depth NFL player projections throughout the week by checking out the Bruno Boys website over on MVN.com. Also, be on the lookout for the weekly fantasy football start’em sit’em podcast I co-host with Marc Caviglia.

If you think you are good and want to compete for some weekly cash, stop over to Fantasy Sports Live. You can submit a new line-up every week and win real cash playing in 8, 10 and 12 team leagues. Hell, just go head to head with some other fantasy fanatics and win $80 like I have the last two weeks.

Every week this year there has been some solid players available at each position. That is why, bad draft or not, if you are good at playing the waiver wire you can build a pretty good team down the stretch. Here are some waiver wire and sleeper picks that I didn’t see on the Bruno Boys week five waiver wire report. Check them out:

Arizona Defense - They were able to keep a very good Pittsburgh offense in check for most of the game and have a pretty decent schedule coming up starting with the Rams in week 5.

Selvin Young RB (DEN) - Keep an eye on Travis Henry’s injury because if he misses any time this is the guy who will step in. Young looked very good yesterday so I find a way to add him now if you have Henry or if you have room to stash him on the bench.

Kenton Kieth RB (IND) - It doesn’t look as if Joseph Addai will miss any time with the should injury. However this is a slight wake up call if you are an Addai owner and someone with room on bench. Kieth looked good in relief and would be a great pick-up if Addai were to miss any time.

New York Giants Defense - Wow! Where did these guys come from. Three points allowed and twelve sacks. If they keep getting better they will make a nice addition to your team with their upcoming schedule.

Quinn Sypniewski TE (BAL) - If Heap misses any time with the hamstring injury you might want to take a look at this guy. He finished with 6 catches for 34 yards and a TD.

Daunte Culpepper QB (OAK) - Not much for passing yards but he did have two passing TD’s and three rushing TD’s. Besides, who need to pass when you and your teammates can run all day. Could be a decent bye week replacement in a pinch.

Damon Huard QB (KC) - This has more to do with Dwayne Bowe than Huard but he may be worth a roster spot in two quarterback starter leagues. Bowe seems to have sparked the entire offense. Gonzalez and LJ had their best games of the year.

Trent Edwards QB (BUF) - Granted it was against a defense that hasn’t shown much at all this year but if you are in a league that starts a two QB’s there could be some value here.

Brian Griese QB (CHI) - He might kill you if you get docked for interceptions but if you are in a pinch he might be able to get a few TD’s and some yardage.

Oh and Trent Dilfer and David Carr may also be available but I’m not sure I want to recommend them just yet. Neither looked very good at all.

Also, I mentioned it earlier but if you missed it check out the Bruno Boys week five waiver wire report because it lists some of the more obvious picks that I didn’t feel the need to list twice.

There was a lot going on yesterday so there is a lot for you to choose from. Here are a bunch of not so obvious waiver wire and sleeper picks for you to consider:

Roddy White WR (ATL) - I think I mentioned him last week too but here’s a reminder. I don’t care what team your on or who your quarterback is, if you get 7 catches for 127 and a touchdown you should be on someones roster. Why not yours.

Mike Furrey WR (DET) - If Calvin Johnson is out for an extended period of time Furry should see an increase in action on this high powered passing attack.

Greg Jennings WR (GB) - He might be available if previous owners dumped and forgotten about him in the first few weeks. He had pretty darn good return with 4 for 82 and a TD and Favre is hot.

Samkon Gado RB (HOU) - You may not need to pick him up quite yet but keep your finger on the trigger by keeping a close eye on the status of the guys ahead of him on the depth charts. As of now I am not sure of Ahman Greens status but he hurt his knee and left the game. Also, Ron Dayne was out yesterday with bruised ribs.

Sammy Morris RB (NE) - Could be a decent bye week replacement if you are in a pinch. He gets the goal line opportunity’s and we all know that there are plenty of them now-a-days.

Reuben Droughns RB (NYG) - Speaking of goal line opportunities, Brandon Jacobs will be out for a few more weeks and Reuben had two TD’s yesterday on 3 carries. Can you say TD vulture? Not a huge pick-up but if you are scraping the bottom for someone to throw in, you could do a lot worse.

Tampa Bay D - They are starting to look similar to the Tampa defense of old. They are causing turnovers and holding opponents to low scores. Plus, next week they play at Carolina and may get a have a chance to get a few sacks against David “hold the ball to long” Carr.

Kyle Boller QB (BAL) - McNair’s groin injury is an ongoing issue and besides Boller hasn’t looked to bad. Might make for a nice bye week replacement down the road.

Brian Griese QB (CHI) - Keep an eye on the Bears quarterback situation. Grossman seems to be getting worse (if thats possible). How much longer can they let him lose games.

**Update** Brian Leonard RB (STL) - Whether you need him or not, go grab him. Stephen Jackson is going to miss at least one week with a partially torn groin muscle (sounds like something that could linger).

Also, check out the Bruno Boys week four waiver wire report because it lists some of the more obvious picks that I didn’t feel the need to list twice.