Post Week Twelve Waiver Wire Adds

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The fantasy playoffs are just about here. Make the necessary moves before the games on Thanksgiving to give yourself an extra boost heading into week thirteen.

Carson Palmer
For those that have not been reading my weekly waiver wire adds I’ve listed Palmer the last several weeks. Chances are for how poor he was the first eight games of the year that fantasy owners probably wanted to see a few solid weeks from Palmer before considering adding. Well the Cardinals have been winning and the offense is actually matching the solid play of the defense. At this point Carson is an on the bubble fantasy quarterback starter in deeper leagues.

Ryan Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick has done this time and time again throughout his career, where he can be a perfect backup quarterback reliever. The time frame for his fantasy success is limited but he is as sporadic as they come. How else would a team offer him a mega contract like the Bills did? Tennessee could be tied with the Colts if they didn’t let the Thursday night game slip away. They’re by no means out of the division race with the way the Colts are playing and have a shot at the second wild card as well.

Brandon Bolden
The hot pickup was Shane Vereen from the Patriots. He delivered a solid outing in his first major action back Sunday. Owners didn’t expect Bolden to re-enter the fantasy equation. With LeGarrette Blount and Stevan Ridley seemingly ahead of him on the depth chart, but that may be the case after issues with fumbling. Pickup Bolden and see how Belicheck approaches the backfield situation.

CJ Anderson
Ball is owned in quite a few leagues currently. It’s Anderson that got some eye popping carries with the team in position to win. He muffed a handoff that he was fortunately able to get back on top of. Anderson’s fantasy value hinders on Knowshown Moreno’s status after limping considerably in his 200 plus yard effort against the Patriots.

Benny Cunningham
The constant shuffling in the Rams backfield is a conundrum many fantasy owners would just avoid altogether. But week to week since the Rams unseated Daryl Richardson as starter they’ve been one of the strongest teams in the NFL at providing fantasy points from the running back. It’s typically been Zac Stacy as the one headed monster, until Sunday when Cunningham joined in on the parade on crushing the Bears.

Tiquan Underwood
Mike Glennon is finally showing some progression and confidence as the Buccaneers have won three straight games suddenly. It’s not known if the Bucs will give Glennon their full vote of confidence heading into next season, but the talent to prosper is there. Glennon has been efficient by targeting Vincent Jackson for big games. Detroit did a good job holding Jackson in check but they couldn’t do so with Underwood.

Nate Burelson
Detroit’s Burelson was out with one of the flukiest injuries of the football season. His return this past week was needed greatly as teams have began to limit Calvin Johnson’s effectiveness in second halves. With the amount of throws by Matthew Stafford each game, having a guy like Burelson as an option can be the difference in playoff depth success.

Michael Crabtree
The 49ers passing offense can only go up once Crabtree fully returns. For all the negative criticism Colin Kapernick has taken for the 49ers ineffective passing attack, it isn’t all necessarily his fault. Since the 49ers week one shining offensive performance against the Packers teams took away Kap’s best wide receiver in Anquan Boldin. Kyle Williams couldn’t cut it at the second wide receiver position and was ultimately cut. Mario Manningham is still getting back into form and now soon so will Crabtree. This should position Boldin back into his comfortable role while boosting Vernon Davis’s presence. Crabtree should be worth a flier in deeper leagues.

Week Twelve Automatic/Don’t Do Its

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Automatics

Ben Roethlisberger
Ben has had some solid performances even though the Lions allowed him to pick them apart. Having Ben sit back and throw forty plus times is almost the only possible way for the Steelers to win. Both coach Mike Tomlin and Todd Haley have come to the agreement that the defense isn’t what it used to be. Cleveland seems to be hitting that third string starting quarterback wall that is hitting the league hard right now.

Alex Smith
There aren’t many games that you can start Smith but this should be one. San Diego was defeated by the Dolphins last week with their own medicine. With Miami working with a patched line they made things simple for Ryan Tannehill. They gave him quick throwing lanes and three step drops to get rid of the football. It not only prevented Tannehill from multiple mistakes but it helped establish a running game and control the clock. That is Alex Smith’s forte.

Vincent Jackson
Unless Detroit’s defense holds a defensive only meeting nothing is going to be addressed to what is going on with their unit. Around the NFL the Cowboys are getting attacked as the worst defense, but it’s Detroit that has been letting their strong offense down week after week. Tampa Bay seems to have a bit of growing confidence and might be able to steal one on the road in Detroit. One thing is for sure is that Vincent Jackson should be on his way to another stout game.

Brandon LaFell
What Carolina has working revolves around a simplistic offense. The running backs, receivers, offensive line, and Cam Newton are all on the same page when it comes to handling the playbook correctly. Quietly LaFell is starting to get more targets his way as the team lessens the burden on aging wideout Steve Smith. Expect LaFell to continue to see a rise in targets this Sunday in Miami.

Alshon Jeffrey
This is a gut check game for the Bears. The room for error and losses at this point in the season is out the window. They know they are facing a young and hungry team led by head coach Jeff Fisher in the St. Louis Rams but this game boils down to which team has the better backup quarterback. That lies with the Bears who will attack heavily once again with Alshon Jeffrey’s and Brandon Marshall.

Others: MJD, Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, Hakeem Nicks, and Shane Vereen.

Don’t Do Its

Andrew Luck, Chris Johnson, Ryan Fitzpatrick, DeMarco Murray, Daniel Thomas, Adrian Peterson, Geno Smith, and Andre Johnson.

Potential Fourth Quarter Killers For Week Twelve

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Carson Palmer
Carson has it going the way the Cardinals were hoping he would initially to start the season. Thankfully for Palmer the Cardinals have a winning record and are right in the mix of things for a possible wild card berth. To keep the critics silenced in searching for a replacement at quarterback in the offseason, Carson will need to continue to ignite the Cards offense with the passing attack. He gets another great matchup to do so against the Indianapolis Colts.

Ryan Matthews
San Diego has been a hot potato kind of team. A loss down in Miami and one in Oakland a month ago are going to be two losses that may cost the Chargers a chance at the playoffs. Even if they don’t make the playoffs they have to be pleased with the substantial improvement of the offense as a whole and Matthews. Matthews has been able to stay on the field and is coming off a big game against the Dolphins. With the Chiefs showing vulnerability against the run Matthews should see a heavy dose of carries once again.

Rashard Jennings
The dagger on the Texans season was likely a month ago. But it realistically came to a deafening blow with a home loss to the Oakland Raiders as twelve point favorites. Houston decided to take out Keenum after a subpar three quarters to see if Matt Schaub could revive the Texans. That did not work either. Oakland gets to head back home and play a Titans team that surrendered a commanding lead against the Indianapolis Colts. Oakland will attack the Titans the same way they did the Texans and that is to utilize Jennings heavily. I could see Jennings getting over 150 yards this time around.

Tavon Austin
Could the Rams play spoiler to the Bears recent climb back in contention of the NFC North? It would not surprise me. Chicago has struggled all season long at covering guys with speed at receiver. Austin is coming off his best rookie performance before the bye week with two long touchdown passes and a punt return. Expect the Rams to take a couple of shots with him against the Bears choppy secondary.

Vincent Jackson
Payroll doled out on the defensive side is being harped as a mistake in Dallas. Another team that deserves the hammer is the Detroit Lions. Detroit arguably boasts potentially the best front four in football. Yet they have not been consistent at stopping the run or sacking the quarterback. They allowed the Steelers to march down the field repeatedly, including after a fake field goal inside the ten yard line. After another failed offensive series the Steelers yet again scored a game sealing touchdown. Tampa Bay has newfound confidence and will aim to attack the Lions through the air.

Others: Pittsburgh’s Defense, Saints Defense, Ravens Defense, Marques Colston, Greg Olsen, and Jordy Nelson

Stretching the Field Post Week Eleven

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Antonio Brown
By season’s end Brown may land himself as a top three fantasy wide receiver. The first month to six games of the season the offense had no clear direction. Now the offense is in must-win mode. With that Todd Haley has finally given the green light to Ben Roethlisberger to throw the football like he used to.

Calvin Johnson
In the second quarter the Lions offense could not be stopped. It looked as if the Steelers defense was going to surrender touchdown after touchdown like they did against the New England Patriots. Somehow the Steelers coverage held Johnson without a catch in the second half. That wasn’t before over 170 yards receiving in the first half though.

Michael Floyd
Floyd is more of a possession receiver, but he has been good for three to four big plays a season. Sunday against the Jaguars he turned a standard catch over the middle into a despicable highlight reel of how to perform poor tackling. It turned an average day of one hundred yards receiving into nearly two hundred yards.

Josh Gordon
Gordon has had a handful of games with over a hundred yards, and this is with missing the first two games of the season with a suspension. He is probably the best receiver in football currently besides Calvin Johnson with big play ability. To be a more viable fantasy football receiver he is going to need to shed that label and become more of an all-around receiver. He hauled in five catches for over 120 yards Sunday.

Vinny Jackson
He did it again. The adage that a player can’t replicate a performance because they already had a dominate game against them just got thrown out by Vincent Jackson. He had yet another dominating performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers catching ten of twelve from quarterback Glennon. If you got Vincent Jackson via a trade, or as your second/third receiver good for you.

Garrett Graham
Graham exposed a poor Raiders secondary and got the best out of both Case Keenum and Matt Schaub. For the day he had seven catches for over 130 yards receiving. The dysfunctional issues in Houston would be too much for me to consider picking up a waiver wire acquisition on this team.

Best Catches to Targets from Week Eleven

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Coby Fleener
Fantasy owners are saying it’s about time one of the Colts tight ends had an impact from a fantasy football perspective. Fleener has to stay consistent to alleviate some of the pressure on the Colts receivers and Andrew Luck overall. He finished with eight catches on ten targets.

Marquise Goodwin
Credit has to go to the Buffalo Bills front office. They have gotten the biggest bang for the buck in many positions on the field, but especially at wide receiver. Time and time again they’ve relied on low round draft picks or undrafted free agent wide receivers to step into a premier role. Goodwin did so with the top of the Bills depth chart sidelined. He had six catches on eight targets against an alleged improved Jets defense.

Alshon Jeffrey
All the talk is on the Bears quarterback situation currently. It should be on how the offense keeps ticking without missing a bit. A big reason to why they’re so successful has to do with their tall and physical receivers in Jeffrey’s and Marshall. It’s a tandem that has torched defenses week after week. In poor weather conditions as playoff fields will pose a team needs big target wide receivers to get the ball to. Jeffrey’s finished with seven catches on eleven targets.

Vinny Jackson
When you get the majority of your quarterback’s yards you know you’re having a good day. Jackson caught ten balls on twelve targets for over 160 yards receiving. Glennon on the day only threw for around 230 yards.

Garret Graham
Graham had a significant day for a tight end that could have been picked up on waivers. More than likely people scooped up John Carlson instead. I wouldn’t rush to sub out a tight end for Graham just yet. Houston has issues galore at quarterback and now commotion has started with Andre Johnson. This will likely be Graham’s top game of the season.

Jordy Nelson
A poor decision by the Packers to do a fake punt instead of pinning the Giants turned out to cause an avalanche of issues. For the most part Scott Tolzien performed solid besides for a poor fourth quarter. Nelson hauled in eight catches on nine targets.

Others: DeLanie Walker 10 catches/10 targets, Kendall Wright 9 catches/12 targets, DeSean Jackson 4 catches/4 targets, Pierre Garcon 6 catches/10 targets, Tony Gonzalez 7 catches/9 targets, Michael Floyd 6 catches/11 targets, Ace Sanders 8 catches/10 targets, Andre Johnson 10 catches/17 targets, Charles Clay 6 catches/7 targets, LaDarius Green 4 catches/5 targets, Marques Colston 5 catches/8 targets, Victor Cruz 8 catches/11 targets, John Carlson 5 catches/7 targets, Wes Welker 8 catches/10 targets, Brandon LaFell 7 catches/8 targets