The field to find some waiver wire pickups on a scale of 1 to 10, is about a 1.5 or 2. Very slim pickings, but who couldn’t use an addition or two over some busts? Here are some players that can entertain your waiver wire bids of this week.

Quarterbacks

Derek Anderson
He’ll be on every list this week. One week wonder, future bust, whatever the article is called. What you can’t take away from him is the fact that he outdid Carson Palmer and the Bengals offense. The Bengals thought they could blitz the crap out of the Browns like they did on MNF against the Ravens. Except the Browns adjusted in a quarter of time and ripped them apart the rest of the game. Anderson showed he can make quick reads and deliver the football from a shotgun formation. Picking up Anderson should only be a thought if you happened to draft Alex Smith or JP Losman as your starting quarterback.

Trent Green
How long can his arm hold up? He has been throwing the ball a lot and taking a beating for it as well. Miami thought they had their offensive line problems figured out. Guess that is not true. Things could get ugly in Miami, but to keep them even close in games, Green will be throwing it over 30 times a game. The yards and a few touchdowns will be there, but so could four interceptions like last week.

Brooks Bollinger
The Vikings have too talented of a defense to lose games like they did last week. Bollinger came in the overtime period and fumbled a snap that cost the Vikings the game. Maybe he should have practiced a few snaps on the sideline during the OT coin toss. Tarvaris Jackson put on a horrific show that will not go on much longer. Bollinger is next in line, and Kelly Holcomb is right there as well.

Running Backs

Deshawn Wynn
The Packers may have a time share with Wynn and Jackson, but it seems like they found their favorite red zone goal line threat. Wynn got the carries that mean the most to fantasy owners, and that resulted in two touchdowns. Unless Brandon Jackson starts separating himself by posting a crazy yards per carry average, this will keep up.

Selvin Young
Mike Shanahan just always has to use some sort of undrafted rookie in his formula scheme of running backs. Travis Henry has been having great games, but little by little Young is showing signs as well. You never know what could happen with a star back that carries the load like Henry. Any owner that hasn’t handcuffed Henry with Young better do so quickly.

Wide Receivers

Dennis Northcutt
He has passed up Matt Jones and Reggie Williams as the Jaguars number one receiver on the depth chart. Additionally, offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter loves to utilize the deep threat. Even though the Jaguars offense has sputtered thus far, sooner or later they’ll get things going. When they do, Northcutt will be the likely beneficiary.

Joe Jurevicious
Yes he is still around. Jurevicious was part of the offensive show of the Browns vs. Bengals, Sunday. He has a solid track record at times, but injuries and being a part of the Browns terrible offense held him down the past few seasons. Things are looking up and with his size and speed, Jurevicious could help you in the touchdown department.

Brandon Stokely
As the third receiver Stokely has shown before he can be a fantasy worthy starter. That was with the Colts, but he is showing that again with the Broncos. Jay Cutler is doing a good job in spreading the football around to Walker, Marshall, and Stokely. The key here is to leave Stokely on your bench in wait and see how his role excels or declines as the season goes on.

Marty Booker
Hey, the Dolphins receivers are getting fantasy points all across the board. Chris Chambers has had two solid weeks, and Booker got a touchdown and decent receiving numbers week two. All of this of course has everything to do with Miami’s pathetic running game. Ronnie Brown isn’t getting any help from his offensive line. Before you know it, Green has 40 pass attempts. On top of that Miami’s defense looks to be too old, a few years earlier than expected. They’ll be airing it out, and Booker is a sure handed receiver that could actually start for a fantasy team.

Roydell Williams
He had a key drop against the Colts, but dropped balls don’t count as negative points for fantasy owners. Vince Young isn’t throwing for a lot of yards but Williams seems to be his top target. That could be a good or bad thing, but you have to figure Young’s passing yards can’t stay this low.

Fantasy owners have to be alarmed as the week one big shots busted. We all know not to over react but starting off 0-2 in a tough fantasy league can not happen. In order to protect that from happening, the waiver wire must be utilized. Even if you’re not going to insert these guys in your starting lineups, they’ll provide some function ability and stability for your team.

Quarterbacks

Josh McCown
His injury is questionable as the Raiders won’t release specific details on it. McCown had a great statistical week against the Lions but seemed to settle with the short passing game too much. That led to a costly interception when the Raiders had regained a lead at 21-20. Dropping back 40 times is something that shouldn’t happen regularly, but it’s a bonus to look forward to for fantasy owners.

Daunte Culpepper
With Josh McCown likely out due to injury, Culpepper gets his month or so to shine. The pressure is on him though, but he has also been waiting a long time for this. This is his window to show that he can be a starting quarterback for another team next season. With Jamarcus Russell just being signed this could be a two month showcase for Culpepper.

Kellon Clemens
It’s unfortunate to see Pennington ‘s injury woes, and Jets fans should be ashamed of their applause last week. Clemens will get the chance several backups have had for the Jets when Pennington has went down. Since, Pennington still remains the starter obviously backups have not fared well.

Running Backs

Chris Brown
Really no need to write this. Brown had an incredible week against the Jaguars defense and has the Titans looking like geniuses for letting Travis Henry go. This has been a story before from Brown and then he fades away to injury. Expect the Titans to keep the share load at a solid enough level to keep Chris Brown healthy. With that in mind if you have the bench spots add Lendale White.

Kenton Keith
Addai is only going to get around twenty carries a week. The Colts realize they can not over work Addai and will utilize Keith as they did Dominic Rhodes last season. Keith only had five carries week one but expect that to get to around eight or nine a week. Especially if the Colts roll over teams like they should.

Michael Pittman
His role has decreased significantly over the past few years, but he still lies in the wings of Cadillac Williams. Cadillac left last weeks game against the Seahawks with an injury and the Buccaneers other backup Earnest Graham had a costly fumble shortly after. Pittman is the veteran that can stay healthy and can rush and pass catch which is what Jeff Garcia loves out of his running backs.

Derrick Ward
With Jacobs knee injury Ward is just a desperate fill in if you absolutely need a running back. He did a good job but that was against a no defense allowed game. The Giants also have Reuben Droughns who is a previous 1,000 yard rusher.

Lawrence Vickers
The Browns running game may be non existent but they’re going to keep running the ball. Jamal Lewis got off to a shaky start and Vickers was the one who go the Browns lone score. Vickers is more of a keep your eye on guy, as the Browns will not be patient with Jamal Lewis. They’ve ran through more running backs over the last four years then Denver has.

Wide Receiver

Brandon Marshall
Marshall looked comfortable in the second receiver spot opposite Javon Walker. He is a tall big play receiver, that made a heck of a catch in the end zone for the Broncos only touchdown. Rod Smith’s role if he plays will be limited so snatch up Marshall while you can.

Shaun McDonald
McDonald followed up his stellar preseason with a great regular season debut. The Martz transfer from St. Louis knows the system and is going to stay involved with the Lions spread attack. If Furrey, Johnson, or Williams go down, McDonald could be an even deeper sleeper.

Antwaan Randle El
He has surpassed Brandon Lloyd officially on the depth chart. Something that he wasn’t able to do last year, as neither was able to be consistent. Randle El maybe just teased us with his week one performance. Scoop him up just for his big play abilities.

Patrick Crayton
He had a quiet week one as all the pass completions from Romo went to Jason Witten or Terrell Owens. With Terry Glenn’s time table of injury in the air, Crayton will figure to have some big games ahead of him.

Samie Parker
Showed enough week one to think that he may finally be able to outdo Eddie Kennison. Parker has been around for a few seasons and it looks like Parker and rookie Bowe should emerge as the youth receivers of this team.

Any players this week worth picking up are all coming from the rookie class or players in early stages of their career. They could kill you with their mistakes, but isn’t that what Eli Manning and Mike Vick are doing anyways? Over in Chicago Rex Grossman erratic games lately has to be scaring fantasy football playoff owners as much as Bears fans. There is a likely player sitting on your league’s waiver wire that could benefit from Grossman receiving Orton treatment.

Quarterbacks

Vince Young
Young has strung some nice games together for his rookie season, and is proving plenty of doubters wrong. It’s unarguable that Young has had a better start to his career than Mike Vick, and should continue to build upon this. You can see that the Titans team is backing Young one hundred percent. Lets see what he can do this weekend against the Colts. Last time he had them in good shape to pull off the upset and maybe they can work some magic two weeks in a row against the Manning’s.

Jay Cutler
In preseason Cutler looked the best of all rookie quarterbacks. That was the preseason and he is going to be thrown into a tougher challenge than any of his fellow rookie quarterbacks. Yet, he has the skills and a great team around him to step right in and deliver like rookies have been doing in recent years. Can he keep them on target to get a solid playoff seeding and be the main man for a playoff run? Shanahan does not believe in Jake and is willing to give the rookie his time now to work out some rust before the playoffs. With the defense he has and Plummer’s ineffectiveness it may be a better payout gamble then Bill Parcells benching Bledsoe for Romo.

Matt Leinart

David Carr
The Texans and Carr aired out the football over fifty times in their loss to the New York Jets. There will likely not be a trend of that high of rate in passes, but the Texans should look to throw it more. Carr has the weapons out there with Moulds, Johnson, and Putzier. All that has stopped the Texans from throwing more is Carr’s indecisiveness and their offensive line.

Running Backs

Sammy Morris
The Dolphins suddenly have thrived and revived off of that Soldier Field victory against the Bears. Whatever is happening is working, and the chemistry of improvement has all started with the offensive line playing well. Earlier in the year the line could not open holes up for Ronnie Brown or pass protect for Daunte Culpepper. They’re meshing now, and with Brown dinged up, Morris will continue to be a factor. With the way he performed on Thanksgiving, Miami may go back to using the two back formula they did with Ricky and Ronnie last season.
Cedric Benson
Thomas Jones gets the award for stepping up and shutting down any chances for competition. Benson was drafted two years ago, and still has yet to see starting time on the field. He is getting more carries though which is likely an opening test to a move the Bears are going to have to make. Both should be starting backs in the league, and the Bears are going to have to decide which one to keep. Grossman has been very shaky lately and the Bears are going to give him Orton treatment until he proves otherwise. That means heavy looks at both Jones and Benson.

Wide Receivers

Santonio Holmes or Nate Washington
Hines Ward is dinged up so Washington and Holmes boost up for balls being tossed to them. Roethlisberger has been throwing the ball at an alarming rate. Nothing is going to change in the Steelers game plan, as it seems to always lean into the arm and mistakes of Roethlisberger. The Steelers have not been using Heath Miller like they should, so the majority of balls are going to find their ways to the wide receivers.

Turkey week means submitting your lineups three days earlier. There is nothing better then a default win or a loss, from when your opponent actually forgets to get a certain player or lineup in. With three weeks left in the fantasy regular season, standings are heating up. Certain owners have in fact already clinched and have begun the champion talk. As many of you know, seedings for playoff spots in fantasy football is as much of a joke as the BCS. It means nothing.

In this short week, we’ll throw a few names out there that are possibilities of a late November pickup.

Quarterbacks

Bruce Gradkowski
He might not be a legitimate starting quarterback, but down the road you may be able to say you won a fantasy football championship with Gradkowski as your quarterback. For a rookie he has done a great job and seems to have his teams full support. Cadillac Williams had his first decent game in weeks. Expect Williams to finish the season stronger, which means Gradkowski will have some chances to throw it deep to Galloway in games.

Jeff Garcia
Now his fourth team in four years, it’s safe to say Garcia may be pondering retirement after this season. He’ll never be a starter again and this could be a good or bad way for him to end his career. It was this time last season in Detroit that he put up one of the worst games on Turkey Day by a quarterback in recent memory. If he falls a part for the Eagles they will bring in Detmer in a heart beat. They’re still in the thick of the division race, and Andy Reid is going to find a way to try to get this team back on track.

JP Losman
He has been on this list before and will likely be next season. Losman’s throws are looking a lot better with zip and accuracy. His connection with wideout Lee Evans is near the top ten in the league. What isn’t is Losman’s predictability with fantasy owners. He has an arrow going up on him this week, but playing in Buffalo in the cold may not be so fantasy friendly. For now, just pick him up for backup purposes only if you’ve been hit with injuries or poor play at your backup quarterback spot.

Running Backs

Maurice Jones-Drew
If you’re in touchdown heavy points leagues, than there is not even a slim chance that Drew is available. If you’re in a basic points league there is a possibility. Fred Taylor has been complaining on how he feels the team is ready to abandon him for Drew. Well, Taylor has been injury prone throughout his career and is also past the average years running backs stay in the league. It’s just a matter of time before Taylor sees the door but right now he is keeping his name popular for owners owning him. As the season winds down and if the Jaguars fold from playoff chances, Drew is assured of getting more looks.

DeAngelo Williams
The Panthers did not spend a late first round pick on him for nothing. They’re going to test the rookie and see if he can be a full time back or needs to remain a part timer. He has had his ups with last weeks solid game, and his downs with fumbles and injuries. Which back is Williams? The Panthers do not know, but they are not going to head into the off-season with that answer not figured out.

Arlen Harris
Just when Kevin Jones had owners thinking that he was a steal being picked in the fifth or later rounds, he goes down with an injury during the most important part of the fantasy season. Now owners have to scoop up his backup and hope they can manage a game or two without Jones. Harris had some solid runs against the Cardinals last week, but the Lions will use Cason as well to keep both from fumbleitis.

Wide Receivers

Devery Henderson
New Orleans defense has been KO’s in the allowing points category, and does not look to be getting up anytime soon. With the Saints trading touchdowns or either trying to launch a comeback, Brees will continue to show that he has no ill effects of shoulder surgery. With Colston out, Henderson is the new guy in. Need we say any more.

Mark Bradley
Lovie Smith has stated that he has no second wide receiver competition, and that Berrian is going to back as the starter this week. Those are the safe words to say, to keep Berrian’s confidence up in hope of bringing the only thing he offers, big plays, to the table. The Bears do enough throwing to consider Bradley a pickup now even as third receiver, but his value will rise if talk comes up again on Bradley taking over his job.

Desperation is setting in. Last chances to survive as a fantasy football team for 2006 have thin hopes, but still a shot if they can run the table. Should you tank your season or finish the commitment to that team that has drained confidence? Notjustagame takes you in to glance at worthy pickups that could be out there.

Quarterbacks

Trent Green
So much for Huard holding onto that starting job based on his performance. What was talked about so much last week as a quarterback controversy, quickly lost its thunder when Damon Huard performed below expectations in a difficult loss to Miami. Green has been named the starter and rightfully so. He has been one of the best quarterbacks, when healthy, in the game and may spark the Chiefs to make a run for the playoffs.

Luke McCown
Rave all you want about Bruce Gradkowski but he had more downs then ups in his rookie stint. It’s highly likely that Jon Gruden may make the switch soon to see what type of quarterback talent is on the Buccaneers roster. McCown is the backup right now and if thrown in could do some things with the Buccaneers offense. Heck, if Gradkowski has had all of these opportunities then Luke McCown can.

Aaron Rodgers
If this is truly Brett Favre’s last season then the Packers need to get Rodgers in some action. Decide a game to make Favre’s last true home going away party and make the right move for the future. Sure, Favre has performed better than anticipated and may make the decision to keep playing. Based on his off season talk this should be the end, and the Packers organization needs to step in and end it a bit early.

Vinny Testaverde:
Hell we just felt like throwing his name on here. He has had some decent years as a fantasy quarterback, and will keep his name alive for the longest string of years mentioned in fantasy talk.

Running Backs

Ladell Betts:
With Jason Campbell now as the starter and Betts the full time running back, a lot of ugliness could be lurking offensively for the Redskins. The good thing for Betts is he’ll receive plenty of carries to calm the nerves of first time starter Jason Campbell. The bad news is he’ll be the one getting thumped to the ground repeatedly, while any chances to score may go to TJ Duckett.

TJ Duckett
How embarrassing of a season for Duckett. He lost out in Atlanta and was third stringed in Washington. Quickly, he went from the minds of fantasy owners as a potential touchdown hog like Bettis to a back that could be labeled in the nature of Ron Dayne. Now with Portis out though, Joe Gibbs has talked about getting Duckett some carries. What that means we do not know, but in the past it has meant that Duckett is the primary short yardage back.

Wide Receivers

Reche Caldwell
Every week it’s a different target in New England that steals the show. This past week it was Caldwell, and normally we would not highlight that fact. What is drawing our attention is how many balls he received, in nine. Brady was looking for him and finding him, which are great things for fantasy owners. It may have been a fluke but usually a high reception game translates into more solid games.

David Tyree
Where was Tim Carter on Sunday? On Monday he was filling the big fat zero in fantasy columns for anyone that listened to experts on him. Tyree seemed to be the clear number two receiver. Until otherwise you have to go off stats and Tyree caught four to Carter’s zero. As the Giants offense is one of the top in the league at throwing the football, so higher stats are sure to come from the Giants second receiver.

Owen Daniels
With Putzier continuing to be plagued by injuries, Daniels has found a comfortable spot in the Texans offense. If you’re looking for a tight end he is likely out there because of his under the radar name. He is not going to get you extreme points from a tight end, but he is consistent enough to not expect a zero from him either.

Malcolm Floyd
It may have just been a case of Philip Rivers just picking on the Bengals horrible secondary. Rivers and Floyd looked like they were playing simple pass and catch with each other on Sunday. Unless you’re in dire need for a receiver Floyd should not even draw your attention. More then likely he’ll be dropped quicker then he was picked up. After last week though you have to figure and the way the Chargers have been scoring, Floyd is worth a shot because LT and Gates can’t get them all.

Note: We try not to repeat the same athletes so each week we dig for new players. Glance at previous waiver wire articles where certain athletes mentioned may still be floating around in your leagues.

For the most part playoff sports are clinched in fantasy football leagues. There may be some wild card hopefuls but for the most part the season that matters most is around the corner. Just as much as NFL players love to compete for a championship once they enter the playoffs, the same goes for fantasy football. Owners want that title to win their money leagues and brag and boast until the next season’s draft, on how sick their team was and they’ll be repeating. Is there any players out there worth snatching up to add to your playoff roster?

Quarterbacks

Damon Huard
Huard has surprised everyone even his coach, Herman Edwards, with how well he has handled filling in as starting quarterback. He boasts Pro Bowl type numbers with an excellent quarterback ranking that correlates with his high touchdown to interception ratio. Breaking down how Huard has performed could lead to people not believing in him. We do not think he is as good as his numbers show, but that’s hard to keep saying when he has done it for the past month. The great thing about Huard is that he capitalizes and gets his team in the end zone. The Chiefs defense has really been the main catalyst in Huard’s stats, but he has been the one to convert those defensive turnovers into scores. Don’t forget he backed up Dan Marino when he entered the league and filled in well for him when he was injured.

David Garrad
Besides the touchdowns Garrad’s statistics last week and weeks that he has started have never blown away fantasy owners. What does now is that he is going to be their permanent starting quarterback for the remainder of the 2006 season. He is capable of putting up stellar numbers if the Jaguars get down. With the way the Jaguars like to run the football and live off their defense, few games like that may be displayed.

Aaron Brooks
As crazy as it sounds, Brooks name has to float around the waiver wire windmill. Andrew Walter is just not getting it done and looks tired of taking snaps as a Raider. The Raiders need to decide on who is going to be the guy to quarterback this team beyond 06. Walter’s looks like has lost any support to be the Raiders future quarterback, and now Brooks should get some games as starter before the year is over. The Raiders whole offense needs to be reshaped and that may start with tanking the rest of this season to get Brady Quinn in the 2007 Draft.

Sage Rosenfels
Texans lovers and supporters of David Carr have to be growing restless. The years are going by and the time frame to see Carr excel is closing. This is his fifth season and you really can’t say he has approached any corner to turn his career or team for the better. After being benched a few weeks ago, he should have been again last week against the Giants. It was a game that was handed to the Texans but yet they could not get the win. Carr just seemed to centered in on throwing the short dump off pass instead of taking risks on scoring points deep with Andre Johnson or Eric Moulds. Rosenfels will get the call if Carr continues to not be able to generate points for the Texans offense.

Running Backs

Anthony Thomas
At least for a couple of weeks the Bills will have to go without McGahee. They do not lose too much with the A-Train as he did a fine job filling in for McGahee last week. Buffalo needs to run the football to establish anything offensively, so Thomas will be involved in a big way. He’ll certainly have 20 plus carries and should be able to put up noteworthy fantasy points with them.

Michael Pittman
The Cadillac has been mini sized to a cheap vehicle this season. The guy that has to be the bust of the season for fantasy owners early picks, seems to be packing it in this season. If Pittman gets involved he has proven before that he can be a force both rushing and receiving out of the backfield.

Wide Receivers

Joe Jurevicious
His name was around as a sleeper for fantasy drafts, but was quickly added to the drop section in leagues with his off and on injuries. Young quarterbacks like big targets, and Charlie Frye has been zeroing in on Kellen Winslow all season. With Jurevicious back in the fold to go along with Braylon Edwards, the Browns offense should spark up a bit as the season winds down.

Ernest Wilford
Was last week a fluke or are his two touchdowns worthy of looking at? The good news is that the Jaguars did not throw it that much and he still had two scores and decent yardage. Reggie Williams has fallen off a bit and Matt Jones is just trying to come back from injury. We all don’t know who Garrad’s favorite amongst the three is yet, but it looks like it may be Wilford. Keep a close eye on who becomes the main guy.

Ronald Curry
The Raiders complete offense has had a shield against fantasy football points this season. With a change at quarterback something has to change for the better. Even if it is just a tad better there should be some sort of production that does not mean zeroes on the board from the offense for two consecutive weeks. If Brooks gets back under center, that’ll open up things for Moss and Curry to finish the season on a better note.