The Fantasy Football Sherpa

Week 4 is the first (scheduled) bye week - 6 teams will be off this week:  Detroit, Indianapolis, Miami, New England, NY Giants, and Seattle.  Unless you’re in a league that’s so competitive that team owners speculate on players with bye weeks, I’d avoid picking up anyone from any of these teams this week.

Here’s a list of players who are probably on a roster in your league and will need to be replaced because of the bye week:

Quarterbacks

Peyton Manning, Jon Kitna, Eli Manning, Matt Hasselbeck

Running Backs

Joseph Addai, Brandon Jacobs, Julius Jones, Ronnie Brown, Laurence Maroney, Kevin Smith

Wide Receivers

Reggie Wayne, Plaxico Burress, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson,  Anthony Gonzalez, Marvin Harrison, Amani Toomer

Tight Ends

Dallas Clark, Anthony Fasano, John Carlson, Ben Watson

Kickers

Stephen Gostkowski, Adam Vinatieri,  Jason Hanson, John Carney, Olindo Mare

Defenses

New England, NY Giants, Seattle, Indianapolis

Here’s a list of recommended free agent/waiver wire pickups who may be available in your league.  I’ll give an indication of whether I believe these players should be picked up for just the short term (ST), for the long term (LT), or as speculation plays (SPEC).  Short term recommendations are players who should help fantasy owners in the next few weeks (due to injuries, benchings, suspensions, favorable schedules, etc.) but who will probably drop in value again later in the season.  Long term recommendations are players who have the potential to help their owners’ fantasy teams for the remainder of the current season.  Speculation plays are players who are unlikely to help your fantasy team in the short run (barring injuries, benchings, suspensions, etc.) but may have value later this season or in future seasons (for those in Keeper leagues).

Quarterbacks

Gus Frerotte (LT), Brian Griese (ST), Kerry Collins (ST), Damon Huard (SPEC), Matt Ryan (SPEC), Brady Quinn (SPEC), JaMarcus Russell (SPEC)

Running Backs

Le’Ron McClain (LT), Correll Buckhalter (SPEC),  Jamaal Charles (SPEC), Jerome Harrison (SPEC)

Wide Receivers

Robert Meacham (LT), Ike Hilliard (LT), Brandon Lloyd (LT), Antonio Bryant (LT), Josh Reed (LT), Michael Jenkins (LT), Kevin Walter (LT), Hank Baskett (ST), Devery Henderson (ST), Lance Moore (ST), Antonio Chatman (ST), Jordy Nelson (SPEC), Chansi Stuckey (SPEC), Roscoe Parrish (SPEC)

Tight Ends

Zach Miller (LT), Marcedes Lewis (LT), Justin Keller (LT), Visanthe Shiancoe (LT), Bo Scaife (LT), Chris Baker (LT), Dustin Keller (LT), Jeff King (LT), Robert Royal (ST)

Kickers

David Akers (LT), Ryan Longwell (LT), John Kasay (LT), Neil Rackers (ST), Joe Nedney (ST)

Defenses

Tenessee (LT), Tampa Bay (LT), Philadelphia (LT)

Until next time,

The Sherpa

Since Wednesday is often the day that fantasy football leagues process their free agent/waiver wire claims, today I’ll focus on some potentially useful players who may be available in your league.  Many team owners are wondering where to turn after injuries to Tom Brady, Nate Burleson, Maurice Morris, Marques Colston, Darren McFadden, and others - the Sherpa is here to help!

Quarterback

Amazingly, Jon Kitna and Kurt Warner are still available in a number of leagues.  I’d describe them as the “anti-Roethlisbergers” - they’re more useful to a fantasy team than they are to NFL teams (imagine if you were penalized even more for interceptions/fumbles in key situations in your fantasy league!)  If either happens to be available in your league this week, he’s definitely worth a pick-up (especially if you were a Tom Brady owner).  I doubt you’d find any other QBs available this week who are capable of throwing for 3,500+ yards and 30+ TDs!  If Kitna and Warner are already taken in your league, other widely-available options include Trent Edwards, Matt Ryan, and JaMarcus Russell.  I’d take a chance on Matt Cassel only if the previous options were all unavailable.  I’d steer clear of Tarvaris Jackson and Joe Flacco.

Running Back

Depending on the number of teams and bench spots your league uses, the pickings could be pretty slim here.  In the unlikely event Justin Fargas or Julius Jones are available in your league, they’re definitely worth a claim.  Titans’ rookie Chris Johnson is also likely unavailable in your league.  More likely options include Sammy Morris, Steve Slaton, Tim Hightower, Pierre Thomas, Jamaal Charles, Brandon Jackson, and Leon Washington.

Wide Receiver

Rookies Eddie Royal and DeSean Jackson both had impressive debuts this past weekend.  With Brandon Marshall returning this week for Denver, I think it’s highly unlikely Royal will approach his Week 1 stats anytime soon again.  However, I do like Jackson’s potential to continue posting impressive stats throughout his rookie season.  Royal becomes more attractive than he would be otherwise in leagues that give individual players Kickoff Return yardage, but I still prefer Jackson.  With Marques Colston out for an estimated 4-6 weeks, see if any of the Saints’ WRs are available (David Patten, Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem, in that order).  Kevin Walter, Matt Jones, Devard Darling, and Courtney Taylor are some other potentially useful WRs who may be available in your league this week.

Tight Ends

I like Anthony Fasano, Chris Baker, and Marcedes Lewis more than I like Dante Rosario.

Kickers

Unless you had Mike Nugent on your team, you probably aren’t (and shouldn’t be) looking for a replacement based on just one game.  However, if you did have Nugent on your team (or don’t wish to heed my previous advice), Jason Hanson, Steve Suisham, John Carney, Matt Bryant, and Matt Stover would be my recommended options based on their teams’ matchups this week.

Defenses

As with the Kickers I wouldn’t be looking to make any changes here after one week (even if you own the Rams’ defense!).  If you like to switch Defenses from week to week based on matchups, some Defenses that may be available whose matchups I like this week include Arizona (vs Miami), Carolina (vs Chicago), Detroit (vs Green Bay), Houston (vs. Baltimore), Oakland (at Kansas City), and Kansas City (versus Oakland - yes, I don’t expect much offense in this game!).

Good luck with your claims!

The Sherpa