Fantasy Football Week 11 | In the Eyes of The Optiongirl
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 6:00AM
Fantasy Football 2011 has a few weeks to go before the playoffs. Injuries are mounting, for those of you who have used the waiver wire to your advantage you should have a a strong bench and ready for the finals weeks to get into the playoffs. Reversing the thrill of the Jets and Giants both winning two weeks ago last week they both lost. My fantasy team hung on to win by less than one point, with luck coming my way. Now I am in the sixth place with a record of 6-4 in a 16 team league in good position to make the playoffs, Bye weeks are almost complete, the trading deadline is Friday November 18th in Yahoo leagues. Once again make sure your team is set early with Thursday Night Football featuring the New York Jets against the Denver Broncos on the NFL Network channel. Go Jets!
Tidbits
Frank Gore’s should play but lower expectations
Darren McFadden will probably not play in Week 11 so Bush is the man again.
Willis McGahee has not practiced at all as of Tuesday so beware as he plays on.
LaDainian Tomlinson is out for Broncos game
Ben Roethlisberger has a broken thumb but should play
Kevin Kolb is doubtful to return in Week 11
This week I will share with you part of the waiver wire article Quarterback Carnage by Chris Wesseling of Rotworld.com
Starting with Andy Reid’s bombshell in a noon presser, the quarterback hits kept coming Monday afternoon. Michael Vick’s Week 11 status is in doubt after breaking two ribs on the second play of the Cardinals game. Matt Schaub’s season is in peril (he is done) with what is believed to be a Lisfranc fracture. Matt Cassel’s throwing hand injury will require surgery, leaving his season in question as well. (he is done for season)
The quarterback carnage is the kick in the pants that fantasy owners often need as a reminder to break out the handcuffs with the bye-week blues coming to a close. Vince Young, Matt Flynn and Shaun Hill are must-owns for owners of Vick, Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford. Drop low-upside QB2s such as Joe Flacco, Josh Freeman, Mark Sanchez, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Jay Cutler if necessary.
At running back, the top handcuffs include Michael Bush, Ben Tate, Kendall Hunter, Ricky Williams, Felix Jones, Bernard Scott, Lance Ball, Jason Snelling, Dion Lewis, Javon Ringer, Cadillac Williams, Toby Gerhart, C.J. Spiller, Isaac Redman, Deji Karim, and Marion Barber.
Quarterbacks: Vince Young Matt Leinart John Skelton Matt Moore Rex Grossman Dan Orlovsky Tyler Palko
Running Backs: Lance Ball Kendall Hunter Kevin Smith Donald Brown Joe McKnight Kregg Lumpkin Bernard Scott Dion Lewis
Wide Receivers: Denarius Moore Vincent Brown Earl Bennett Harry Douglas Steve Smith (PHI) Jerricho Cotchery Nate Burleson Mark Clayton Damian Williams
Tight Ends: Ed Dickson Brent Celek Jacob Tamme
Defense: Cowboys Patriots Jaguars
Quarterbacks
Vince Young, Eagles - Eagles beat writers are skeptical that Michael Vick will start against the Giants after suffering two broken ribs in Week 10. As Adam Levitan points out in Tuesday’s Daily Dose, Young’s rushing ability gives him a high fantasy floor in this offense. In 47 career starts, he’s averaged 27.9 rushing yards per game and scored 12 rushing touchdowns while averaging between 14 and 17 fantasy points per season. His upside is higher in Andy Reid’s pass-happy offense, leaving him as a high-end QB2 option against the Giants.
Matt Leinart, Texans - Coach Gary Kubiak’s system is quarterback-friendly enough to survive as a playoff contender even with Leinart’s limited skill-set. The Texans have run the football 67 more times than any other team in the league, which means Leinart isn’t going to be asked to do more a series of play-action passes to Andre Johnson and dumpoffs to Arian Foster or Owen Daniels. There’s limited fantasy upside even in the NFL’s fifth-ranked scoring offense.
John Skelton, Cardinals - In addition to the two consecutive wins, Skelton has one marked advantage over Kevin Kolb: He knows how to get the ball to Larry Fitzgerald. Skelton isn’t going to repeat last week’s 315-yard, three-touchdown performance. He’s probably not going to complete more than 50 percent of his passes, either. But the Cardinals are going to take their sweet time ensuring that Kolb has absolutely no traces of injury before even thinking about turning back to their $60 million mistake.
Matt Moore, Dolphins - Signs of life. After going an embarrassing 1-8 in his previous nine NFL games, Moore has won two straight while completing an impressive 71.1 percent of his passes against the Chiefs and Redskins. He’s averaging 15 fantasy points per start, just good enough for solid QB2 value in two-quarterback leagues.
Rex Grossman, Redskins - Mike Shanahan has made a mockery of a distinguished career, starting with a preseason declaration that he would stake his reputation on Grossman and John Beck. After calling five-yard dumpoffs to keep Beck from embarrassing himself against the Niners in Week 9, Shanny turned back to Grossman at last minute heading into Week 10. The results were predictable enough. Grossman tossed his 10th and 11th interceptions in his last five starts, leading to the first five-game losing streak of Shanahan’s career. This offense has managed just 20 total points the past three weeks, so keep expectations as low as possible.
Dan Orlovsky, Colts - Coach Jim Caldwell declined to commit to a starter heading into the Week 11 bye. Curtis Painter was pulled late in the Jaguars game after a fourth consecutive brutal start that has seen him toss six picks versus zero touchdowns while averaging just 127 yards per game. Orlovsky’s history suggests he’s not a major upgrade, but the Colts’ passing-game talent is just frisky enough to provide the opportunity for QB2 value.
Tyler Palko, Chiefs - A fringe NFL talent at best, this weak-armed scrambler went undrafted out of Pitt in 2007. In five NFL preseasons, Palko has completed 133-of-243 passes (54.7 percent) for 1,423 yards (5.86 YPA), five touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while fumbling 10 times. While Palko is certainly comfortable in Todd Haley’s offense, this entire offense gets a massive downgrade with the talent dropoff under center. Palko is more likely to implode than surprise.
Running Backs
Lance Ball, Broncos - After Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno both went down, Ball carried the rock a career-high 30 times in Denver’s option offense. McGahee has been medically cleared to practice on Tuesday and is tentatively expected to start against the Jets Thursday night. We’ve seen all season, though, that any hamstring injury no matter the severity typically sidelines a player for at least one week. If McGahee rushes back too quickly, Ball is in line for a heavy workload.
Kendall Hunter, 49ers - Coach Jim Harbaugh suggested that Gore’s workload could be limited against the Cardinals after leaving last week’s game with ankle and knee pain. With the Niners at 8-1 and a Thursday game against the Ravens looming in Week 12, Hunter should see an increase in carries to keep Gore fresh. Should the starter go down for an extended period, Hunter could find himself with borderline RB1 value.
Kevin Smith, Lions - In a weak waiver batch, Smith is interesting in that he passed Keiland Williams on the depth chart just days after being signed off the street. He could begin pushing Maurice Morris for carries against a Panthers defense that allows the second-most fantasy points to opposing backs.
Donald Brown, Colts - Brown drew his first start of the year in Week 10, functioning as the feature back against Jacksonville’s top-five defense. With two weeks forJoseph Addai to rest his knee and hamstring, it’s anybody’s guess who will start coming out of the bye in Week 12. Brown is worth stashing with the fantasy friendly Panthers on the docket.
Joe McKnight, Jets - LaDainian Tomlinson is questionable for Thursday night’s game after suffering a sprained MCL late in the Patriots game. Should Tomlinson sit out, McKnight would take over as the third-down back. The coaching staff has been talking up McKnight all season, but he’s not going to be more than a flex option in PPR formats against the Broncos.
Kregg Lumpkin, Buccaneers - It’s hard to recommend a back who actually made a spin-move into a tackle last week, but Lumpkin’s workload is enough to gain notice in deeper leagues. Replacing LeGarrette Blount on passing downs, Lumpkin led the team with seven targets while totaling 61 yards on nine touches against the Texans. He’s a low upside flex option in PPR formats.
Bernard Scott, Bengals - A defense and ball-control team, the Bengals aren’t going to turn the backfield over to the less physical Scott. He’s clearly a more explosive runner than Cedric Benson, though, and outplayed the starter in Week 10. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Scott’s workload increase to 10-12 touches per week by the time the fantasy playoffs come around.
Dion Lewis, Eagles - Last week saw quarterbacks dropping like flies. It could be running backs or receivers this week. Should LeSean McCoy go down, rookie Lewis would likely split touches with Ronnie Brown. Lewis is the more explosive of the two backs at this stage with a skill-set suited to Andy Reid’s pass-happy offense.
Watch List: Tashard Choice, Jeremiah Johnson, Taiwan Jones, Jacquizz Rodgers, Derrick Ward, Phillip Tanner, Anthony Dixon, D.J. Ware, Bilal Powell
Wide Receivers
Denarius Moore, Raiders - Despite the consistent Rotoworld hype, Moore is still unowned in nearly two-thirds of CBSSports.com leagues. In addition to nine receptions, 184 yards, and two touchdowns in two Carson Palmer starts, Moore has also drawn 19 targets compared to nine for Jacoby Ford (foot) and one for Darrius Heyward-Bey. He’s emerged as the clear-cut No. 1 option in a passing offense featuring Palmer’s accurate downfield strikes built off a strong ground attack. Calling to mind Brandon Lloyd as an acrobatic vertical threat, Moore has WR2 upside down the stretch.
Vincent Brown, Chargers - It won’t be the case every week, but Brown was the best player on the team against the Raiders in the NFL Network Thursday night opener. The rookie third-rounder isn’t a burner, but he’s better than advertised in traffic, showing an impressive “my ball” mentality on a pair of leaping end-zone catches in traffic. Malcom Floyd (hip) missed practice on Monday, leaving Brown as the likely starter opposite Vincent Jackson at Chicago in Week 11.
Earl Bennett, Bears - A hot waiver pickup last week, Bennett is still unowned in more than 50 percent of CBSSports.com leagues. He’s been Chicago’s leading receiver in each of the two games since returning from injury, averaging 5.5 receptions and 88 yards. Note that he’s caught every pass in his direction, so he’s still not drawing huge target numbers in Chicago’s conservative offense.
Harry Douglas, Falcons - Seven of Douglas’ eight receptions last week came after Julio Jones left with a hamstring injury. The majority of those came in pass-heavy comeback mode late in the fourth quarter. Douglas is worth a look for desperate PPR-league owners, but just remember that he failed to top 62 yards in a game even when Jones was out with the first hamstring injury.
Steve Smith, Eagles - According to Pro Football Focus, Smith played 60-of-67 offensive snaps against the Cardinals while Riley Cooper played just 23. There was in-game sentiment on Twitter that Smith had his pre-surgery speed back, but he still looked pedestrian to me. Pick him up in PPR formats with Jeremy Maclin out; just don’t expect to see much play-making ability.
Jerricho Cotchery, Steelers - Pro Football Focus’ Mike Clay tells us that Cotchery played 34 snaps against the Bengals compared to 10 for Hines Ward. Cotchery immediately surfaced as Ben Roethlisberger’s primary red-zone target, hauling in one touchdown, having another nullified by penalty, and just missing a third. The Steelers have a bye in Week 11, so don’t pick him up as a plug ‘n’ play.
Damian Williams, Titans - Nate Washington is struggling through a hip injury, leaving Williams as the No. 1 option in Tennessee’s aerial attack. With just three games over 60 yards this season, Williams is a risky fantasy play. On a positive note, he’s found the end zone in four of the past six games.
Mark Clayton, Rams - Clayton was eased in with just 10 snaps in his first game of the season. Brandon Gibson was held without a catch on 51 snaps, so it shouldn’t be long before Clayton is starting opposite Brandon Lloyd. Clayton will be only the second or third target regardless, so keep expectations reasonable.
Nate Burleson, Lions - Calvin Johnson has passed his concussion tests and insists he will play against Carolina, leaving Burleson as a low-upside WR3 option coming off a season-high eight receptions for 83 yards against the Bears.
Watch List: Titus Young, Emmanuel Sanders, Jabar Gaffney, Chad Ochocinco, Andre Caldwell, Jerome Simpson, Donald Jones, Andre Roberts, Golden Tate, Big Mike
See more analysis by going to Rotoworld for the balance of the article http://rotoworld.com/articles/nfl/39297/64/quarterback-carnage
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Reader Comments (2)
The quarterback choices are slim pickings. Can you imagine if you need 2 QB's to start?