Post Week Four Waiver Wire Pickups Follow@cimini One month is in the books. Are you sitting at 0-4 in dire need of a win like the Giants and Steelers? Ouch. Just like in the Pros you still have time to recoup for a winning streak. It’ll take an overhaul of trades and waiver wire acquisitions to do so. Here are some guys to take a flier on this week.

Quarterbacks

Brian Hoyer Hoyer was not just a game manager for the Browns Sunday. The running game for the Browns only managed 89 yards total. It was Hoyer that led key drives, including a back breaking touchdown drive that sealed the deal in the fourth quarter. Sorry Brandon Weeden but you’ll be seated on the bench for quite some time. Hoyer gets a nice matchup against the Bills Thursday.

Running Backs

Danny Woodhead I keep adding Woodhead’s name to the waiver wire field each week and he is still available in sixty percent of Yahoo leagues. Fantasy owners want a back who has a chance to carry the ball. Deviate from that mindset. Woodhead has a unique role as a tailback specialist similar to Darren Sproles role of a few years ago. He is getting catches every week, and caught two Sunday. Don’t wait any longer. Kendall Hunter Gore is aging and declined a bit as the year wore on a year ago. Hunter had some nice solid runs with his eleven carries in Thursday night’s blowout over the Rams. Hunter is not more than a deeper league pickup at this point. Others just keep an eye on the 49ers running back situation. If Gore struggles you may want to think about adding him. Fred Jackson It doesn’t appear that the Bills are going to mandate a specific amount of carries to Spiller over Jackson. A year ago Jackson had a strong start only to get bumped out of favor with nagging injuries. He is up there in age but if he can avoid injuries there is no reason for him to be available in 28% of fantasy leagues. Grab my NFL or College plays this week. I went 4-1 in the NFL this past week in LVH's Superbook Handicapping Contest. Currently I'm four games behind on the leaderboard after four weeks. Purchase my plays here or at kellyinvegas.com Rashad Jennings Jennings has filled in for spot duties before in Jacksonville. Darren McFadden just can’t avoid the injury bug. Even if he is back soon, Jennings is worth taking a flier on. McFadden’s track record proves that even a minor injury can derail him with other setbacks throughout the year. Willis McGahee Unlike the Giants pickup of Brandon Jacobs, McGahee figures to have a prominent role forthcoming as a Brown. He put up decent numbers in Denver a year ago and is going to see his role expand as a Brown. This past week he received fifteen carries against the Bengals. Yardage wise his numbers were not impressive. Don’t expect that to be the norm with the Browns passing game expanding. Le’Veon Bell Who knows if the Steelers will be able to mix in run plays with the holes they dig themselves in every week. Bell put on a strong debut fantasy wise with two touchdowns and over sixty yards total. That’s good enough to add him if you’re in one of the 28% of Yahoo leagues that he is available. Ronnie Hillman When an offense is clicking at the velocity of the Broncos, you want any player that sees action on the field. At the first part of this season it looked like Hillman would be the odd man out. But he has crept back in to a role a tad bit higher than Montee Ball. It looks like the Broncos want Moreno as their brute tailback and Hillman as their change of pace and out of the backfield threat.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Doug Baldwin No one was involved in two crucial plays that won his team a game than Doug Baldwin. He made an outstanding grab on the edge of the sideline that was ruled incomplete initially. It was a third down play with the Seahawks down two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. They went on to score that drive. In overtime he made another quick hitch catch that drew a horse collar penalty. It seems that Baldwin’s appearance in the Seahawks offense is not going anywhere. Wilson will have much better passing days ahead, and Baldwin should be a key recipient of that. Jerome Simpson Greg Jennings and Simpson benefitted from a more open passing attack with Matt Cassel. It may be short lived due to the ups and downs we have seen from Cassel as a Chief. But with AP in the backfield it should add a few notches to Cassel’s overall ability. Clearly the announcement and switch to Cassel permanetely will be made. That makes Simpson a strong pickup this week. Sean McGrath The Chiefs dink and dump offense is working…..for now. The game of Alex Smith getting those short routes picked off is only a matter of time. For now the Chiefs play calling is mixing it up just enough to play things safe. McGrath is just the latest of newly employed dink and dump route runners that can have prime interest for a fantasy owner. Alshon Jeffrey Jeffrey is still available in over fifty percent of Yahoo fantasy leagues. That’ll decrease drastically after his show out performance against the Lions. Jeffrey’s is starting to emulate his fellow star receiver Brandon Marshall. They have the same type of physique, and all Jeffrey’s has to develop is more of a role in the Bears offense to flourish. That’ll be up to the Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, who seems more willing to spread the football around. Robert Woods Woods is an extremely polished and talented receiver coming out of USC. Buffalo likes his big play ability and quickness on quick screen wide receiver throws. One strong key that fantasy owners should like is that EJ Manuel targets him quite a bit. He had eight targets Sunday. Manuel is still developing but Woods can be a nice bench depth filler for one looking to upgrade their bench.

Post Week Three: Stretching the Field

Follow@cimini Week three is in the books and it’s time to see which player’s did the most with their receptions. Yards after the catch and stretching the field reap the big rewards in terms of fantasy points. Here is a look at player’s that had success in week three. Antonio Brown I listed Brown as a fourth quarter killer for week two. He did much more than have a stellar fourth quarter statistically. He averaged over twenty yards a catch and added to the plethora of receivers that have scorched the Bears secondary to start the season. Nate Washington Days that a Tennessee Titans quarterback throws for over 250 yards you can expect Washington’s name to dot the fantasy spectrum of top performers. Sunday, Locker had an unordinary passing day that was brought to life by Washington’s 130 yards receiving on eight of ten targets. Will Locker find confidence in his arm, or will the Titans rescale back to a basic offense yet again? Josh Gordon Returning from suspension Gordon was the biggest impact player in the game even over Adrian Peterson. Gordon’s presence allowed Brian Hoyer to rip apart the Vikings atrocious secondary. Gordon hauled ten catches for nearly fifteen yards a catch. Donnie Avery Avery had a gem of a day with over twenty yards a catch against the hapless Eagles secondary. Kansas City has a package of plays called specifically for Avery. Alex Smith doesn’t look down the field much and a lot is expected of Avery and playmaker’s such as Jamaal Charles and Dexter McCluster to take Smith’s short passes for big gains. Avery has small value in PPR leagues and slim to none in others. Jimmy Graham Graham was the latest tight end to join the ranks of shredding the Cardinals secondary. Jared Cook did so week one, and the Lions had some success with their tandem as well in week two. Graham is paying strong dividends for those that went against the grain and drafted him in the second round of fantasy drafts. He had two touchdowns with a near 15 yards a catch average. Nate Burelson Detroit’s loss a week ago to the Cardinals came on a fourth and four in which Burelson could not break a tackle of Tyrann Mathieu. Sunday Burelson was a difference maker in getting the Lions their second victory of the season. He had right under twenty yards a catch with six catches. With him now out due to a broken arm in a car accident, Ryan Broyles will fill in and take a bump up in fantasy leagues. Tedd Ginn Jr The Panthers have enjoyed and welcomed the edition of Ginn Jr to their receiver group. He fits in perfect and relishes his role as the third receiver. Often times a team’s third receiver is a young player trying to work his way up to the number one receiver. For Ginn Jr. he knows that is not his main goal. He is just trying to show he can be an asset as a situational receiver. For the second straight week Ginn has caught a deep throw from Newton. His catches aren’t high but he is stretching the field for the Panthers. Torrey Smith Baltimore was in total disarray as their offense tried to figure out its way without Ray Rice in the first half Sunday. A pick six defensive touchdown and special teams touchdown seemed to relax the passing attack in the second half. Joe Flacco and Torrey Smith connected on a fabulous sideline throw, and Smith finished the day with five catches for just over ninety yards receiving. Stephen Hill and Santonio Holmes The Jets resorted back to phase one of offensive 101 basics. Establish the run and the passing game will flourish. Hill and Holmes have hardly been as impactful as a Jet as they were Sunday. Limited receptions for both did not matter as Hill and Holmes received a few big pass plays from rookie Geno Smith. Holmes caught the game winner on a tough grab in which he outran the defender for a 69 yard touchdown. Cecil Shorts III Shorts was tagged as a must sit by many fantasy football analyst, in a tough matchup against the Seahawks. I had him listed as a fourth quarter killer but was impressed with the all around game Shorts had. With Justin Blackmon returning after another week, Shorts and the Jaguars overall passing attack should see vast improvement. Shorts finished Sunday with 8 catches and over 140 yards receiving.

Best Target to Catch Ratios From Week Three

Follow@cimini Did you have Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks in your starting lineups Sunday? Any Giants for that matter? Ouch, the low output of points blasted on your fantasy leagues front webpage will be a stinger for a day or two. Here is a look at receivers that fared well with their quarterbacks and others that disappointed. Alshon Jeffrey Though Jeffrey’s has yet to have a prototype fantasy breakout game, signs are in the making. Cutler is not as radar locked on Brandon Marshall as he was last season, and that is allowing for Jeffrey’s to grow in the Bear’s offense. He had seven catches on eight targets Sunday. Jordy Nelson You can visualize Trent Dilfer’s laser projector for his weekly segment of “Dilfer’s Dimes” pairing Nelson and Aaron Rodgers every week. They have arguably the best connection of knowing what each other is thinking when a play breaks down. Nelson’s toe tapping sideline grabs and Rodgers spots of the football are becoming masterful. While the Packers offense was held in check Sunday, Nelson had a solid day catching eight of nine targets. Danny Woodhead Woodhead continues to be a pest for opposing fantasy teams. He isn’t doing much damage running the football but is a high volume receptions back each week for the Chargers. Philip Rivers loves his outlet backs and has made Woodhead a fantasy commodity. Woodhead had another seven catches on eight targets against the Titans Sunday. Santana Moss His age continues to be a question each year, but Moss remains a strong presence as a Redskin. With how much the Redskins are throwing the football each week, Moss’s value will be much higher than it has the last two to three years. Moss had seven catches on nine targets Sunday. Darrius Heyward-Bey I listed Bey on waiver wire pickups this week and think he’ll have a few big games ahead of him in upcoming weeks. He is running great routes and catching some tough throws from Andrew Luck. Bey finished Sunday with five catches on five targets. Look for the Colts to increase Bey’s role in the near future. They have yet to release him on any deep ball throws yet. Sidney Rice Rice finished Sunday with five catches on seven targets. He made the most of those five catches with two touchdowns. It seems that both Rice and Golden Tate are starting to develop in better progression than they did last year with Russ Wilson. Health will remain a lingering factor in Rice’s continued progress. Donnie Avery The Eagles seem to make it easy for receivers. Donnie Avery is the latest wideout that can attest to that. He had a field day catching all seven passes his way for over 140 yards receiving. Continuation of this success by Avery should not cross your minds. Avery has been around the NFL long enough to know his true fantasy value. So has Alex Smith and his dink and dump arm. Others: Antonio Brown 9 catches/13 targets, Nate Washington 8 catches/10 targets, Jimmy Graham 9 catches/15 targets, Pierre Garcon 8 catches/13 targets, DeAndre Hopkins 6 catches/7 targets, Julio Jones 9 catches/12 targets, Brandon Gibson 6 catches/8 targets, Golden Tate 5 catches/8 targets Players that did not fare well: Kenbrell Thompkins 3 catches/7 targets, Vincent Jackson 3 catches/6 targets, Marques Colston 5 catches/8 targets, Steve Smith 3 catches/7 targets, Victor Cruz 3 catches/8 targets, Hakeem Nicks zero catches/1 target, Stevie Johnson 6 catches/13 targets, Robert Woods 2 catches/10 targets, Kyle Williams 2 catches/6 targets, DeSean Jackson 3 catches/8 targets

Post Week Three Waiver Wire

Follow@cimini It’s time to scour those waiver wires. Bye weeks are upcoming and some of you might be in desperate situations for personnel. Take a peak on who to seek for your waiver wire deadlines this week.

Quarterbacks

Jake Locker Anytime you can be a threat with your legs as a quarterback you have a shot at being fantasy worthy. Locker’s arm is a whole different story but he outperformed many top tier quarterbacks Sunday with near 300 yards passing. His consistent fantasy threat will be with his legs. His creativity to scramble helped keep drives alive and opened up the passing game a bit. One Week Wonders: Geno Smith

Running Backs

Jonathan Franklin In a bizarre fate of Green Bay running backs the mystery of falling backs continues. I found it awfully weird how Franklin hardly received any carries in preseason, and had zero in the first two weeks and one quarter. Sunday that changed due to injury and Franklin made the most of his time on the field. Packers fans won’t be happy with his fumble but fantasy owners can only be pleased with his stats. Bilal Powell Powell had the biggest surprise day of any back. New York’s running game had been abysmal last year and to start this season. Powell though had a surge for the ground attack against the Bills, which allotted the Jets to use play action passes for some big plays. Now for Powell can he keep his legs churning week to week with a high amount of carries (27 Sunday)? LeGarrette Blount This isn’t an immediate waiver wire pickup. If you’re in a position to take a flier for potential, than Blount is an option to test for a few weeks. Stevan Ridley has hit a wall of sorts and the lack of rushing attack has been part of the blame for the Patriots lighter scoring performances. Blount did okay in fill in duty Sunday, and is just a few years removed from his breakout rookie campaign. Once Shane Vereen comes back though Blount’s share of the carries should diminish to where they were at the start of the season. Jacquizz Rodgers Atlanta’s had no problem moving the football. Their woes in scoring position have cost them two games that could have easily been decided with one extra touchdown. They’ll have to get that corrected either by advancing the running game or getting targets to the right people. Rodgers may see an increase in carries even with a healthy Steven Jackson, as the Falcons look for long term protection if they make the playoffs.

Tight Ends

Andrew Quarless Quarless is a familiar name in the fantasy football world as he has had to fill in before when Jermichael Finley went down a few seasons ago. Based on the severity of Finley’s concussion Quarless should see some field action once again. Keep on eye and see if Finley’s status is doubtful before picking up Quarless. A Packers tight end is an automatic upgrade if you do not have one of the top six to eight tight ends.

Wide Receivers

Sidney Rice Jacksonville’s secondary continued to be woeful Sunday and that led to Rice having a big day. Yardage is something we can tend to expect Rice to be fantasy worthy once in awhile. He seems to be healthier now and if he can find the end zone more frequently he can be a welcomed edition to fantasy rosters. Santonio Holmes Disregard Stephen Hill completely. If the Jets are going to keep throwing the football and have established success, it’ll come on the hands of Holmes. If Holmes is back to the capabilities the Jets expected of him when they signed him, than Hill can be a deeper league fantasy asset. One thing to love about Geno is he looks to throw the football down the field and take chances. Mohammed Sanu I’ve listed Sanu for a few weeks now and will continue to do so. He is underrated in an offense that has a lot of growing to do still this year. Sanu’s size makes him a prime target to continue to improve week to week and blossom for fantasy playoff weeks. He did have a key drop Sunday but had a solid day otherwise. Josh Gordon Gordon’s availability in 30 percent of Yahoo leagues likely had to do with his two game suspension. I would tab Gordon as a one week wonder except that he has shown enough even as a Brown to be fantasy worthy weekly. Minnesota had no answer for him Sunday as their secondary looked awful from start to finish. With rumors that the Browns are looking to deal Gordon, he could end up on a more prolific offense. Darius Heyward-Bey I’ve been impressed with Bey’s demeanor and the way he has handled his role as a Colt. Other first round picks told to have a smaller role on a new team might have fizzled and got themselves cut. Bey is the Colts second receiver and has taken considerable value away from TY Hilton as a fantasy receiver. Bey is showing to be more polished than the home run or bust tag he had in Oakland. Maybe Reggie Wayne is rubbing off on him. Kenbrell Thompkins Thompkins flourished for the Patriots in red zone packages as the Buccaneers seemed to blanket Edelman in that area. With Danny Amendola’s injury history it may still end up being up to Thompkins or Aaron Dobson to pick up the slack. Thompkins did it week three and may have gained the Brady trust for future games. Brandon LaFell LaFell’s been a cellar fantasy wide receiver. If he is on a fantasy team, he is likely on a fantasy team that has issues at wide receiver. Carolina’s offense has been up and down the last few years, but defeating the Giants could be the turn up they need. It seemed the Panthers allowed Newton to do some early designed runs. After that the offense seemed to pickup all around. LaFell has a golden opportunity with the decline of Steve Smith and a speed threat also on the field in Ted Ginn Jr. One Week Wonders: Donnie Avery

Best Target to Catch Ratios from Week Two

Follow@cimini Paying attention to stats and not your fantasy points is how you can dive into your roster and decide to make necessary improvement. Each week I give a breakdown of a key category in best targets to catch results ratios from NFL players. Here is a look at who put up stellar numbers and others that did not. Julio Jones Jones ripped apart a St. Louis secondary considered strong. His biggest play came when he was lined up in the slot and the Rams failed to give the nickel back corner any help. That resulted in an eighty one yard play. Jones completed the game with eleven catches on fourteen targets. Stevie Johnson Stevie Johnson is used to playing with a different quarterback constantly. EJ Manuel may end up ending that trend for Johnson. That will allow Johnson to garner extra respect in fantasy leagues. He finished Sunday with eight catches on ten targets, including a game winning touchdown with two seconds left. Greg Jennings Jennings was in my personal dog house, but crept out momentarily after Sunday’s game. The Bears secondary is not the best at halting catches, their strong area is creating turnovers. Jennings was brought in to give Christian Ponder some confidence and comfort ability in finding a receiver to throw to. Sunday Jennings had five catches on six targets, and made the tough grabs over the middle you’d expect from the veteran. James Jones and Randall Cobb If Aaron Rodgers keeps slinging the football the way he is you might as well hand him the MVP. It’s only two games in but Rodgers nearly pulled off the upset at San Francisco, and torched the Redskins week two. James Jones enjoyed a monster game with eleven catches on twelve targets, and Randall Cobb finished the day with nine catches on ten targets. Mike Wallace Miami satisfied their well paid receiver with nine catches on eleven targets Sunday. They intermixed designed quick hot routes with also finding him on normal pass patterns. It seems that Wallace feeds off just getting the ball in any fashion possible to propel him. That’s a good sign for a Miami team starting to show strong signs. Others that did well: Greg Olsen 7 catches/8 targets, Dez Bryant 9 catches/13 targets, Eddie Royal 7 catches/8 targets, DesSean Jackson 9 catches/15 targets, Antonio Gates 8 catches/10 targets, Nate Burelson 7 catches/8 targets, Jimmy Graham 10 catches/16 targets, Cecil Shorts 8 catches/14 targets, Eric Decker 9 catches/13 targets, Julian Edelman 13 catches/18 targets

Not so Good

Tavon Austin 6 catches/12 targets, TY Hilton 6 catches/12 targets, Dwayne Bowe 4 catches/8 targets, Torrey Smith 7 catches/13 targets, DeAndre Hopkins 7 catches/13 targets, Vincent Jackson 5 catches/11 targets, Wes Welker 3 catches/8 targets, Brandon Myers 6 catches/10 targets, Anquan Boldin 1 catch/4 targets, Aaron Dobson 3 catches/10 targets, Kembrell Thompkins 2 catches/7 targets

Post Week Two: Stretching the Field Follow@cimini Getting big plays results in the theatrical crowd woos and celebrations. In fantasy sports bonus it’s a high indicator that perpetual success can be found on a weekly basis. Here are some quarterbacks and wide receivers that had big days yards per completion or for their receiving averages.

Quarterbacks

Aaron Rodgers and Company If Green Bay can get themselves in playoff contention, Rodgers may be on his way to MVP. Two weeks in a row now he has put up incredible numbers that have reflected in his teammates results. James Jones(16 ypc), Jordy Nelson(22ypc), Randall Cobb (14ypc), and Jermichael Finley all had great fantasy days. That happens when Aaron Rodgers only throws eight incompletions on forty two attempts with an eleven yard per completion average. Ryan Tannehill Tannehill had the best throw of Sunday in my mind with his third down absolute beaut to Brian Hartline. Tannehill had an amazing day even though he was sacked quite a bit. Sacks can derail some quarterbacks, and for others it’s smart to not make a mistake that is not there by forcing the ball. Tannehill recouped every time he went down, and finished the day with nearly ten yards a completion. Mike Vick If Vick can stay healthy he may have his best season to date. Sunday he made things look too easy, and that was with several dropped balls by DeSean Jackson. His near twelve yards a completion average are gaudy numbers that should propel owners seeking an upgrade at quarterback to try and trade for Vick.

Wide Receivers

Dez Bryant Bryant looked like he may easily have himself a 200 yard receiving game Sunday. Then a third and goal play that Bryant did not get a look by Romo, and went incomplete seemed to phase the rest of Bryant’s day. Before that play was enough to give Bryant another monster game in which he averaged over fifteen yards a catch. Pierre Garcon Garcon is starting to enter the category of best garbage time fantasy wide receiver producer in football. With the Redskins down 31-0 and every Redskins fantasy owner peeved, the team was able to move the football against a Packers defense that relented with a huge lead. Garcon finished the day with nearly 18 yards a catch with over 170 yards receiving. Chris Givens Givens continues to excel in the department of yards per catch as he did last year. Sunday he averaged over 21 yards a catch. Sam Bradford is still getting use to his new talent around him. When it all comes together, Givens may be a top twenty fantasy wideout. Tedd Ginn Jr Ginn has not lost a step and has got himself off to a solid start as a Carolina Panther. Sunday he had three catches for sixty yards, including a nice forty yard touchdown catch. We will all just have to see if Ginn remains a constant in the offense or fads down the depth chart as the season goes on. Brandon Marshall Marshall may find himself on this list each and every week. The connection that Marshall and Cutler have is second to none, and dates back to their days in Denver. Sunday Marshall averaged nearly 17 yards a catch, including catching a Dilfer Dime for a touchdown. Megatron After a big 72 yard touchdown the Cardinals sort of held Johnson and the Lions offense in check from halftime and beyond. The offense scored just two touchdowns as their other score came off of a pick six. All it takes is one big play and Johnson got it, and finished the day with over twenty yards a catch thanks to his big touchdown. Jimmy Graham For the second consecutive week teams have had great success at attacking the Buccaneers with their tight end. Graham made up for his low output of week one with an off the meter type of performance. It could have been even better if a second quarter touchdown was not called back. Others: Greg Jennings: over 16 YPC, DeSean Jackson 21 YPC, Antonio Gates 15 YPC, DeAndre Hopkins 17 YPC, Victor Cruz 15 YPC, Hakeem Nicks 20 YPC,