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

Post Week Eleven Waiver Wire

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EJ Manuel
The spotlight on Sunday’s game was entirely on Geno Smith’s horrid performance. But who caught my eye was EJ Manuel who came back strong after a poor return against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After a rough first quarter the Bills ignited thanks to a long sideline throw by EJ Manuel. If he can get back to the level he was playing pre-injury Manuel can be a definite fantasy football asset to a team.

Josh McCown
The longer Cutler is declared out the more the hype around McCown grows. McCown led another comeback win Sunday over the Ravens. This time it was in horrendous field and weather conditions. This Bears offense is setup to produce points and will do so on a weekly basis.

Bobby Rainey
You could see this coming. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had instant success with running backs over the last few years with Cadillac Williams, LeGarrettte Blount, Doug Martin, Mike James, and now Bobby Rainey. The reason Rainey wasn’t high on many fantasy football writers waiver wire lists before was uncertainty on the amount of carries he would have. Based on thirty carries from Sunday, that has been answered. If running to the waiver wire was practical, owners would be scurrying in a marathon sprint type of fashion.

Donald Brown
I’m not going to completely write off Trent Richardson like every sports fan in America. But clearly the Browns disliked Richardson and cast him off to the Colts to get their investment of a first round pick back. To get more consistency at running back the Colts have turned more to Brown. Brown is what the Colts need to sustain a constant and serious threat to keep Andrew Luck and the Colts in playoff contention.

Daniel Thomas
After two total yards rushing against the Buccaneers Miami committed to the run game against the Chargers. It resulted in less pressure on the Dolphins offensive line and better protection for Ryan Tannehill on drop backs. Thomas should continue to see carries as they try to make a wild card playoff push.

Shane Vereen
Vereen is active again and though he will be brought along gradually you can expect the Pats to utilize him quite a bit. Before his injury Vereen was on his way to a stellar season. Even at this point of the season fantasy owners can get a fair amount of value by adding Vereen.

Rashard Jennings
Jennings was a sleeper start of the week and he delivered on the road in Houston with 150 yards rushing and a touchdown. Who would of thought the top two fantasy running backs of the week would be Bobby Rainey and Rashard Jennings? Oakland offers a high opportunity to the starter and right now that is Jennings with McFadden out with injury. With either McGloin or Pryor under center the team values and protects play calling with volume run calls.

Jerricho Cotchery
The Steelers have resorted to Big Ben in hopes of getting back in division and playoff contention. They’re letting Ben throw upwards of fifty times a game to help spark a team that’s ailing defense is surrendering too many points. Cotchery has seen an increased role as the team continues to run and gun for wins.

Michael Floyd
Floyd’s done this before with strong play in the back half of the season. I predicted that Carson Palmer should finish the second half of the season stronger and in turn boost the performance of all the Cardinals receivers. Palmer finally had a turnover free game Sunday and had only twelve incomplete passes. Floyd had the biggest play of the day on a catch and run touchdown in which he shredded several defenders.

Coby Fleener and Delanie Walker
Both tight ends shined in Thursday night’s game. Fleener has had a poor season thus far but figures to have a vital role with Reggie Wayne out. Walker on the other hand will also see more targets with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback over Jake Locker. While in Buffalo, Fitzpatrick even made Scott Chandler a viable fantasy performer.

Stretching the Field Post Week Ten

Tiquan Underwood
Confidence in having Glennon as a permanent future starting quarterback has to be waning. There have been a handful of games the Bucs could have won if Glennon would throw better passes. Monday the Bucs got away with Glennon’s inaccuracy and mistakes. Underwood had 21 yards a catch on three receptions.

Pierre Garcon
After the Redskins woes the first few weeks it looked like RG3 and the offense was on its way to a miserable season. Instead Garcon and the Redskins have been one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL. With Garcon healthy he is showcasing why he received a hefty contract offer from the Redskins. He had seven catches for well over 100 yards Sunday.

Golden Tate
Over the last month there might not be a receiver in the league that has risen from a mediocre week to week performer to a standout. Tate has been sensational and a go to receiver for Russ Wilson when the offense appeared to be struggling. It made some strides against the Falcons thanks to six catches for over a hundred yards.

Riley Cooper
With Nick Foles quarterbacking the Eagles have designed two to three plays a week where a home run ball is going to go Cooper’s way. Suddenly he has risen up the fantasy charts as the deep ball continues to hit for long touchdowns. He hauled in two out of three catches for big touchdowns Sunday.

Tavon Austin
Three touchdowns from Austin made it look like he was wearing his old West Virginia uniform. He was a blur at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and catapulted the Rams to a blowout road win. All St. Louis has to do is figure out a way to keep Austin involved in the offense on a week to week basis. Quick screens and more deep ball attempts have to be in the Rams arsenal.

TY Hilton
For the second consecutive week Hilton was a second half fantasy football killer. He could of scored a touchdown in the third quarter if he did not trip over his own two feet. At any rate Hilton’s fantasy value is growing as he continues to have success as the Colts number one receiver.

AJ Green
Thank goodness for Andy Dalton that he has one of the best wide receivers in football at his disposal. If it weren’t for Green, Dalton may have been seated on the bench a long time ago. Having a guy like Green keeps a young quarterbacks confidence up. Green finished Sunday with a miracle hail mary catch on eight catches for over 150 yards.

Julius Thomas
People that stole Thomas off of waivers early this season are smirking widely that he was able to return quickly from his injury. He is a bonus asset to a position that finding a top tier fantasy scorer is golden. Thomas hauled in three catches for 96 yards on three catches.

Best Catches to Targets From Week Ten

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Rishard Matthews
Matthews had hardly been involved in the Dolphins offense this season, but had eleven catches on fourteen targets Monday night. It’ll remain to be seen if the Dolphins can keep Matthews involved in the offense or if it was a one game ordeal. Based upon the high amount of targets it’s safe to say Miami will continue to find a way to involve him.

John Carlson
If you’re in need of a tight end for a span of a few weeks than here he is. Carlson hauled in all seven targets from Christian Ponder and should continue to see quick route throws his way. We will have to see how Ponder’s non throwing shoulder injury affects the passing game, but look for Carlson to be an adequate tight end.

Brandon Marshall
Fantasy radar alerts before the season were mindful of Marshall’s hip. He had been limited in preseason because of it and it appeared that he may be a liability throughout the season. That has not been the case. Instead Marshall has continued to be a top ten receiver in the NFL. He hauled in seven catches out of twelve targets Sunday.

Jarrett Boykin
Boykin stands to continue to be a fantasy threat with Aaron Rodgers out. With a third string quarterback at under center, Boykin stands to be a familiar option for Scott Tolzien. Reps from third string quarterbacks don’t typically go to the team’s standout receivers. So Boykin’s eight catches on thirteen targets Sunday are a stat to keep looking forward to.

Kendall Wright
Wright continually is a high target receiver. Unfortunately in the Titans offense neither Jake Locker or Ryan Fitzpatrick has had success with throws down the field. That means Wright is great in PPR leagues but does not offer the threat of high yardage or touchdowns. He caught seven of nine passes Sunday.

TY Hilton
Hilton has proved me wrong and has been able to step up as the number one receiver in consecutive weeks. For it to continue the Colts need to run the football more and develop targets to other options. Hilton had seven catches on eight targets, and did most of his damage in the second half.

Others: Jordan Reed 6 catches/9 targets, Harry Douglas 7 catches/8 targets, Golden Tate 6 catches/7 targets, Alson Jeffrey 9 catches/18 targets, Brandon Pettigrew 5 catches/5 targets, Antonio Brown 6 catches/11 targets, AJ Green 8 catches/15 targets, Steve Smith 6 catches/11 targets, DeAndre Hopkins 6 catches/11 targets, Andre Roberts 5 catches/8 targets, DeMaryius Thomas 7 catches/10 targets, All Saints receivers

Who to Use For an Aaron Rodgers Fill In?

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A broken collarbone will cost Aaron Rodgers a crucial period in the regular season on the field and for fantasy football owners. Most people that drafted Rodgers high probably ignored the need for a fantasy backup quarterback. Similar to the way the Packers did with bringing in Seneca Wallace after preseason.

Fantasy owners figured they would just need a spot starter for one game. In all likelihood that led to you just swapping a bench player for a waiver wire quarterback acquisition for a week. Someone serviceable to just get you points at the position for one week. Now you must rethink how you are going to get points at the quarterback position with Rodgers out for at least three weeks.

Here are a few quarterbacks to think about picking up in the time being.

Christian Ponder
I know it draws the ire of Rodgers owners to even have to think about picking up Ponder. It is a tremendous downgrade. In terms of fantasy points though you are going to get a bargain with ponder. The negativity surrounding his name has high merit from his poor performances throughout the last year and a half. Last week he showed signs though with his legs and arm. If he can keep the passing game going with the force of AP, he is going to continue to get chunks of fantasy points with his legs. That’s the type of bonus you want to find at this juncture.

Carson Palmer
Palmer is another name that is one no one would want. He has been a turnover machine. But the Cardinals somehow have managed to be a .500 team and are coming off their bye week. The Cardinals can get themselves in contention for a wild card spot with a strong push. With newfound success with Andre Ellington at running back, the Cardinals are going to come out of the bye week with the ability to attack down the field. Don’t be surprised if Palmer performs better as teams are going to have to trust the Cardinals running game a bit more.

Others: Joe Flacco, Big Ben, and Case Keenum