By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

For once the Cardinals front office did something they tend to never do. Sign a marquee player that was an original draftee. Time and time again the Cardinals would let a player walk instead of electing to fork up the millions. There were likely other variables to the Cardinals not resigning anyone. Including the top fact that they were a bottom cellar team for years that players wanted to bolt from.

There were only a handful of players that could be linked back to the Cardinals from the 1990’s. David Boston because of a steroid scandal and monstrous statistical year. Jake Plummer because he actually led the Cardinals to a playoff victory, but was a roller coaster pocket passer. Aeneas Williams and Larry Centers are two guys that actually stayed with the team for quite some time and had individual success. Pat Tillman goes without any elaboration.

This team has seen its ups and downs. When the team ultimately decided not to renew Anquan Boldin, many fans figured this was the same old Cardinals front office. In this short off-season, they also let Steve Breaston walk from his expired rookie contract. So now two of the three Cardinals receivers that Kurt Warner counted on were gone.

In comes new quarterback Kevin Kolb who luckily had been training most of the summer with Larry Fitzgerald. Something finally clicked in the Cardinals front office when they leashed out millions on Kolb. He is a young quarterback with many years in front of him. Why not give him a premier receiver to throw to for an x amount of years. Eight years, and $120 million later the Cardinals took care of business before it got ugly.

Fitzgerald had the right to walk without being labeled with the franchise tag. A poor sixteen games with a new quarterback, and maybe Fitzgerald’s mind wanes and looks elsewhere. Now if that happens, the hard worker in Fitzgerald will have Kolb on speed dial to get things better in the off-season. Scenarios that probably won’t be as drastic as mentioned, but if you’re a GM those are things you need to think about.

Two pieces are put together, and they are two very big ones. Behind Fitz though there will be some no name young athletes. Which ones will step up and be relied upon for fantasy football teams?

Looking at the Cardinals roster, you can see where the shift of salary at wide receiver lies. Right at the top. Not much is coming out of the wallets of the Bidwells behind Fitzgerald. Factor in Todd Heap as a significant upgrade at tight end to what fans have been accustomed to the last fifteen years.

Chansi Stuckey has been written off and right now is drifting from team to team as a special teams player. Spread formations will likely be ran by the Cardinals, and the two that will be in should be Early Doucet and Andre Roberts. Doucet is the more experience and has been working behind Fitz and Boldin for years. He has the frame of Boldin, but has been too inconsistent.

If he drops the ball, look for Andre Roberts to slip past Doucet. Roberts had a decent rookie season, and has electrifying speed. For the quarterbacks Roberts had last year, you could say he had an above expectations type of year. Unless you’re in deep leagues, both Roberts and Doucet could end up undrafted. We like Roberts as a better option as the season extends, and for a bigger fantasy impact.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

All the trash talking amongst your buddies and you’ve made it. Distinguished and separated yourself from the majority of your buddies to reach the playoffs. You don’t want the praise of yourself to end just there. If you win it all you can rant and rave until next August or September’s fantasy draft. Heck, if there is a lockout you could extend it over a year. Nobody wins a fantasy title the easy conventional way. You have to go outside the box and take risks. Who are some contrarian players you can utilize for the final stretch?

Quarterbacks

Chad Henne- It sounds insane to think about plugging in Henne, but a quarterback with his strengths figures it out that last month of December. You see it almost every year where a promising quarterback starts to produce without hiccups and gives their team hope going into the off-season. Currently, Miami is a .500 team because they’ve been inconsistent. That’s exactly what Henne’s problem has been. With Miami basically eliminated, look for Henne to play with free reign and perform better.

Shaun Hill/Drew Stanton- We’ve never been too high on the Detroit Lions but Jim Schwartz has things turning around up there. This team is fighting hard each week, and they’ve fared well with three different quarterbacks. Stanton doesn’t make poor decisions and being a former running back in high school, has the ability to scramble. The timetable for Hill’s return is in the air, but he is a better option with his arm. One plus to either or is Jahvid Best’s health. His role has still been diminished the past few weeks, but he is showing that early season explosion in the open field. That should open things up big time for the Lions to hit Megatron deep.

Ryan Fitzpatrick- Fitz had his poorest outing of the year this past weekend against Minnesota. It was a surprise considering how well he has done against top tier defenses, which the Vikings have not been. The problem in that game was critical turnovers, that just got the offense in a funk they couldn’t get out of. Other than that game though, Fitz has been reliable. He runs the Bills offense extremely well and is going to make a big play or two every game.

Running Backs

Knowshown Moreno- Virtually non existent due to injuries and poor offensive philosophy by the Broncos, Moreno broke out this past week. With the firing of Josh McDaniels you’d expect the play calling to shift to more of a balanced attack. Orton’s hot start has faded fast as teams are applying pressure and shutting off the quick dink and dump outlet throws. Players may want to plan their vacations now, but with an interim coach he’ll make these last four games feel like September.

James Starks- We profiled Starks with Legarrette Blount as our second half of the season sleeper running backs. Starks took a bit longer than Blount but got the bulk of the carries this past week. He wasn’t stellar but seems to be the new favorite back in Green Bay. With the potency of Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, Starks should be Rodgers-fed from a fantasy standpoint. Capitalizing off their quick drives and red zone possessions.

Rashad Jennings- Jacksonville’s starting to figure out they have a duel threat backfield. Jones-Drew and Jennings have been a combined tear as of late. If Jacksonville wants to hold off the rest of their divisional rivals then they’re going to need to continue to run the ball. Jennings is becoming a factor notching eleven fantasy points the past two weeks.

Wide Receivers

Davone Bess- At this point Miami doesn’t know if Brandon Marshall’s lingering injury will prevent him from stepping back onto the field. Even if he does, Marshall and Henne have not necessarily been the best of connections. Who has been is Davone Bess. Bess runs the short routes that Henne is comfortable in delivering. They seem to be on the same page every week. Bess is an extreme deep play but his upside comes in the department that you know he is going to catch six to eight passes as week.

Justin Gage- Tennessee can’t even get the ball to Randy Moss. Quietly that story has not surfaced as a headliner. Kerry Collins was rushed back due to how poor the rookie Rusty Smith performed. With Collins he has always been able to deliver the ball to Gage and Britt. Britt is out, so that makes Gage his top target. Hopefully Collins can get back in rhythm, as they face a Colts team that’s been giving up a ton of points.

Blair White- Peyton has had to deal with a plethora of mounting criticism since Sunday. How will he respond? We don’t doubt him, and we think he’ll deliver a fabulous finish to the season. Injuries have killed him but in the past he has found a go to guy to replace that area. White’s done it a few different weeks. As their third receiver, we think he’ll resurface as a monster December receiver for stats.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

We are now officially past the half way point this year. Kiss your fantasy football playoff hopes good bye if you’re not at least a game out from .500. Owners looking to keep stock piling depth for injury purposes or needing a spark; we have your waiver wire pickups for the week.

Quarterbacks

David Garrard- Quietly over the last month, Garrard has emerged as a solid fantasy option. After struggling mightily his first month, Garrard has a total of eleven touchdowns his last four games. The offense seems to be running a bit smoother but will have to see how he performs not playing a bottom rated defense. Give him credit for bouncing back as many thought he was on his way to the bench for good.

Chad Henne- More and more Henne is looking comfortable running the Dolphins offense. The problem isn’t the Dolphins moving the football, it’s scoring within the red zone. Dan Carpenter has made fantasy owners very happy by booting eighteen field goals already this season. We think over the second half of the season Henne will figure out how to get the ball to Brandon Marshall inside the red zone.

Derek Anderson- The Max Hall era seems to have come to a quick halt. Hall never looked like a viable starting quarterback, but Whisenhunt tried to sell him the best he could. Two quick pick six’s to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers found Hall sitting on the bench. Anderson has had accuracy issues but should remain the Cardinals starter the rest of this season. Fitzgerald’s healthy now, and Steve Breaston returned this past week in a big way.

Troy Smith- It appears that San Francisco will let their next few games ride on Troy Smith’s shoulders. After having a hard time moving the ball during the first half, Smith got things going and saved Mike Singletary. The throws he made for big plays could have easily been intercepted. What makes Smith entertaining is what he can do with his feet. He’ll extend the plays and should benefit greatly by having one of the better backs in the league.

Mike Vick- He should be announced starter again as he is apparently back to full health. The Eagles have a solid chance at making a run for a wild card birth. We think the Vick that everyone will see won’t be as potent as the one we saw earlier this year. He’ll provide enough statistically to warrant being a rated quarterback in the ten to fourteen range.

Running Backs

LaRod Stephens-Howling- Patience is growing thin with running backs Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells. Both have struggled with fumbling woes. Hightower drew just one carry Sunday, while Howling was a tremendous spark for the Cardinals. He broke a thirty yard touchdown and has been dynamite on special teams. He is the type of guy that needs more time on the field with his game breaking abilities.

Mike Tolbert- San Diego actually implemented a balanced attack against the Titans. There questionable play calling all season shifted to a rush attack against the Titans. Tolbert carried the ball eleven times, Sproles four, and Matthews fifteen. Look for the Chargers to keep to this offensive game plan for the rest of the season.

LeGarrette Blount- We’ve profiled him for the past month, hopefully you listened. He’s still available in a wide array of leagues. That won’t last much longer after his breakout game against the Cardinals. The game plan Sunday featured Blount as the main back, with Cadillac Williams/Earnest Graham as third down backs. Scramble to the waiver wire.

Wide Receivers

Steve Breaston- Not often a player returns and provides a tremendous spark like Breaston did Sunday. He stepped in as if he had been playing all season. For the first time this year, Fitzgerald was able to get open because of an opposite legitimate threat.

Nate Washington- With Kenny Britt out for an extended time, the ideal replacement to emerge will be Washington. He actually has four touchdowns this season and should see obvious more targets now.

Robert Meachem- When Drew Brees officially gets out of his two month rut, the Saints will once again have officially three fantasy wide receivers that you can start. Most owners have Lance Moore and Marques Colston. Meachem can be picked up and provide a spark as your third receiver or flex option. Brees doesn’t seem to have a favorite target but Meachem has been getting solid looks the past few weeks.

Brandon LaFell- Carolina’s running game with Jonathan Stewart/DeAngelo Williams figured to be one of the top rushing attacks in the league. They haven’t had it going. With Matt Moore in the lineup the past few weeks, the passing attack has been somewhat formidable.

By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

Fantasy owners we already leery on where to take Brandon Jacobs after his dismal season a year ago. Yet he allegedly was healthy and ready to bounce back into his 2008 form. It didn’t take long for Tom Coughlin and the world to see that Jacobs can not be an every down back. Commend Tom Coughlin for pulling the plug early and shifting the weight of carries to Ahmad Bradshaw. Bradshaw’s done a solid job gaining yardage for fantasy owners, but when it comes to touchdowns it’s one sided.

Over the last four games Jacobs has scored five touchdowns and is averaging a little over twelve fantasy points a game. His doing all of this while only garnering around eight carries a game. That tells you he and the Giants are making the most of his plays on the field. Now Jacobs is not taking too large of a load that he can’t handle. He is coming in and being that big bruising back we’ve come to expect, instead of stutter stepping and being hesitant.

Ahmad Bradshaw has done nothing but overachieve for fantasy owners. Basically having an equivocal year statistically to what he accomplished a year ago. As the season wears on a red flag has to start to be waved by the Giants and fantasy owners. For the Giants they want to protect Bradshaw from overexerting himself. They’ll need him to perform the way he is now deep into the season and playoffs.

He is not a back that’s had full time carries before in his career. Where that jumps out more than anywhere is his fumbling issues. Bradshaw already has four lost fumbles on the year. Talk about Tiki Barber all over again. He is fumbling the ball once every thirty three carries. Coughlin will not stand for that.

If it were not for Jacobs fumbling the ball in the second quarter, we believe the carry ratio would have expanded more evenly starting against the Cowboys. Jacobs has worked his way out of the doghouse, and we expect him to get between ten and twelve carries a game the rest of the season. The Giants offense is one of the top five in terms of scoring. Let downs offensively don’t seem to be in the picture. Manning has the top set of trio receivers in the league. Pouring it on and scoring 30 plus points a game may happen.

So if you’re a Brandon Jacobs owner he is an automatic flex starter from here on out. If you’re struggling at running back, he is even a viable starter. He is on a fantastic touchdown streak. Like backs in the past that gobble up touchdowns in the redzone, Jacobs could be due for a two to three touchdown game in the near future. Finishing with double digit touchdowns is an easily foreseeable goal. Who would of imagined Jacobs fitting in the Giants plans the way he was sobbing and looked after week one?

By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

If you had a fantasy football team that didn’t have at least minus six or more points due to turnovers we applaud you. The amount of interceptions and fumbles lost on Sunday were staggering. That led to a lot of high scoring affairs which bodes well for fantasy teams.

If you had the over in Vegas on this week’s action than you cashed out without sweating. Fantasy football owners though are panicking. Again big play draftees are not performing up to par. It’s the second tier and third tier players carrying teams. Heck, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Carson Palmer, and Matt Moore were in the category of top fantasy quarterbacks. At running back it was Darren McFadden who outplayed backs two through seven combined in relevance of fantasy performance. At wide receiver, Kenny Britt, Steve Johnson, Lee Evans, Dwayne Bowe, and a cast of others shadowed over the elites.

Quarterbacks

Ryan Fitzpatrick- It’s crazy that I went to the same high school as Fitzpatrick. He went from being not recruited by any division one schools besides Harvard, to making the most of being a 7th round draft pick. Fitz has had his struggles as a backup forced to start in St. Louis and Cincinnati. Finding a home seems to be what Fitzpatrick has done in Buffalo. He’ll come back to Earth as teams stop taking Buffalo lightly, and prepare in normal fashion. At the end of the season though, Fitzpatrick can be a dynamite performer to get you top notch fantasy points.

Tavaris Jackson- Will Favre play or sit? If he does sit and Jackson steps in, we don’t know if Favre will come back. He said it would be his last year and if Jackson gets the Vikings rolling, maybe Favre will bow out. Jackson’s carried this team to a 10-6 record and has watched Favre for a year and a half. He has to of gained a few things to help him become a better quarterback.

Matt Moore- DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart continue to be shut down. Moore’s ability to shake off a fourth quarter pick six, and get his team a victory shows a lot. He had a decent game and should stave off Jimmy Clausen from reappearing as a starter the rest of the season.

Mike Vick- If he’s still available in leagues that owners got impatient snag him back. He’ll be back out as starter after the Eagles bye week. Kolb threw a lot of ducks against the Titans, who bottled him up inside the pocket. Those are two things that Vick has a substantial game changing ability to do. You won’t ever hear of Vick being bottled up in the pocket or not able to throw the ball deep.

Running Backs

LeGarrette Blount- We profiled Blount the past few weeks as we saw this coming. Hopefully everyone listened as he’ll know be the hot commodity on this weeks waiver wires.

Dexter McCluster- The Chiefs are mixing in plays weekly for McCluster. When he is on the field he is more of a legitimate threat than a decoy. Whether out of the backfield or as a receiver, McCluster is part of a backfield that’s going to be very scary if they make it to the playoffs.

Wide Receivers

Riley Cooper- Cooper is a buried special teams player, but if DeSean Jackson’s not able to return after the bye week than Cooper could be a deep fantasy waiver wire pickup. He made the bulk of his yardage on a deep duck by Kolb, but also scored a nice touchdown.

David Gettis/Brandon LaFell- These guys both could be one week wonders, but one is going to step in and fulfill the second receiver role. It was supposed to be LaFell’s but Moore’s favorite target Sunday was Gettis. Gettis made some solid moves and created separation to give Moore great spots to throw the football.

Bills Receivers- Chances are Lee Evans, Steve Johnson, and Roscoe Parrish are widely available in leagues. Johnson’s been a fantasy gem but owners were likely hesitant to pick him up due to Buffalo’s inability to move the ball. That’s changed as of late, and you have to take notice when they light up a defense like the Ravens.

Jordan Shipley- The Bengals seem to be abandoning the run more and more by the week. Palmer’s either killing them with interceptions or keeping them in the game with huge passing days. He is throwing a high amount of pass attempts, and all three Bengals receivers are becoming beneficiaries of this.

Davone Bess- Bess is becoming one of the better hot route receivers in the league. Miami nixed the wildcat and Bess has been there new quick dink/dunk recipient. In the red zone when teams are doubling up on Brandon Marshall, Bess is getting open looks to sneak in the end zone.

Patrick Crayton- Rivers may be throwing to receivers that are practice squad caliber, but Crayton is not. He has fit in well with the Chargers having dinged up receivers all across the board. It’ll be interesting to see where Crayton falls on the depth chart when Naanee and Floyd are both healthy.

Fred Davis- Chris Cooley did play against the Bears but probably had no business in doing so. He looked a few steps slow but was a factor in the game. Davis stepped in last year when Cooley went down. Cooley’s health is worth keeping an eye on, especially with all the other tight end injuries throughout the league.

By Zack Cimini

We’re getting close to the mid season stretch. There’s no bye weeks in the fantasy world and a shortened fantasy season at that. It’s basically panic time to do a trade or find that waiver wire gem to convert your team if you’re winless or only have a win or two. Whose available to look at? Last year we told you to snag Jamaal Charles around this time before Larry Johnson went his final slide. We’ve got some backs we think we’ll enter the fold this year and provide a huge mid to late season spark for your teams.

Quarterbacks

Josh Freeman- Of the young quarterbacks in the league Freeman is starting to emerge from the pack. He has a solid reportoire of throws and doesn’t destroy a fantasy team with interceptions. He is consistently targeting rookie Mike Williams and taking a bigger role with a lackluster running game. As the season wears on Freeman is going to be counted on to make even bigger plays with his arm. They’ve been winning tight games to have a winning record at 3-1. Take a flyer on Freeman if you’re hurting at quarterback or looking for one that will be pivotal during fantasy playoffs.

Kevin Kolb- Chances are he was abandoned by any owner that drafted him once Vick entered the fold. He made some solid plays against the 49ers and the Eagles got a pivotal win. The back and forth circus with the Eagles quarterbacks is going to have to end soon. A hot streak by Kolb would force the Eagles to keep playing whose winning games.

David Garrard- Garrard’s put together two solid fantasy games in a row. Scoring three touchdowns in both. The yardage isn’t there and at best Garrard is only an option in deep fantasy leagues. You could plug him in as a bye week filler or give him a shot a few times when matchups present themselves.

Running Backs

Fred Jackson- With Marshawn Lynch out of the fold we all did not know how the Bills would divide carries amongst Jackson and Spiller. Jackson seems to be the number one back as he doubled Spiller’s Sunday. It could be a back and forth carry load between the two. Value is there with Jackson though especially with the Bills trying to control the ball and limit their passes.

Javon Ringer- Keep an eye on the Titans love affair to fill Chris Johnson’s preseason predictions. They’re giving him a ton of carries and he has taken a beating for five games for it. The breakaway runs are not occurring at the high pace we saw last year. He’s still piling hundred yard games but they’re in the power back style of yards not the flashy explosive way of a year ago. If this style keeps up there is no doubt Johnson will get hurt. He doesn’t have the size to take the hits he has for sixteen games. Ringer can fill in and prove to be a fantasy midseason gem.

LeGarette Blount- Tampa Bay needs to make a decision at running back. Cadillac Williams and Earnest Graham are not going to be backs that can carry you to a playoff run. This team will fade if they keep putting it in those backs hands. Blount has had more opportunities as a young back than anyone could of imagined. The talent is there and Tampa will slowly but surely move the carries into his hands.

Jerome Harrison- He is back to full health and getting a handful of carries the past few weeks. Don’t wait for a monster game from him before getting him on your roster. Bury him now and wait for the magic.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Marcedes Lewis- Sooner or later facts are just facts. His whole career Lewis had one fantasy game a year that he would dot the radar. Now he is an emerging force that has to be recognized. He has five touchdowns on the year and has bypassed all Jaguars receivers as Garrard’s favorite target. Yardage still is not very high but that’s correlated to David Garrard’s overall numbers.

Danny Amendola- The Rams are going to have to rely on Amendola the Hard Knocks profiled Cowboy of a year ago booted out. They’ve had a cast of receivers drop that made them trade for Mark Clayton. Now that he has went down it’s going to be Amendola’s show. Poor Sam Bradford.

Deion Branch- Reuniting in New England makes Branch a season long waiver wire play to a guy worth looking at. He’ll step in an offense that needs his play and is one he is familiar with. Injuries may have slowed him down but expect extra pep in his steps now that he is on a winning team.
Ted Ginn Jr.- Ginn was a first round pick do not forget. Number ninth drafted in fact. Even a year ago he was shockingly the Dolphins number one receiver. He’ll never be a number one go to guy but can flourish with his speed opposite someone like Michael Crabtree. Ever since the 49ers fired the offensive coordinator Alex Smith’s yards have went up and the offense has clicked better. Who knows how much longer Smith will be out under center for the 49ers. Ginn’s made a small impact his first two games back and should continue to get more involved as he gets back on track from early season injuries.

Steve Johnson- Any time Ryan Fitzpatrick has a decent throwing day, Johnson’s in the stat column. Four touchdowns on the year already and getting involved more and more on every down situations. Lee Evans has taken a step back this year and Johnson appears to be the emerging option as sad as that sounds.