UPGRADES/DOWNGRADES FOR ROSTER FLEX, BENCH DEPTH, AND BORDERLINE STARTERS

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Upgrades

Terrelle Pryor Pryor is showing enough with his legs to warrant fantasy consideration as a borderline starter. Hold the inserts into your starting lineups just a tad bit more. He’ll need to show consistency for four complete quarters before he gets the bump up. As of now though he is an adequate fill in if needed for bye week or injuries with an asterisk on the uptrend. Bilal Powell Powell appears to be entering that fantasy realm where Alfred Morris was a year ago. A back that shouldn’t be a top ten to twelve fantasy running back but may crack it because of the system he is in. He has a great offensive line and a system that flourishes off the running game. The best games for Powell are ahead of him. Antonio Gates While Jimmy Graham treads to astronomical territories for tight end statistics, Antonio Gates is having a comeback year. I was one that didn’t believe Gates would get back to this type of level. After two consecutive years of down numbers it appeared his injury woes and age would continue his downfall. Similar to the way Tony Gonzalez kept at it, Gates has as well. He has transformed from a smooth effortless tight end to one that uses his size and nimbleness to outwit defenders. Jerome Simpson The Vikings didn’t bait to trade for Josh Freeman and still landed him. Sounds like a move they did years back to land Brett Favre. No one can perform under the scrutiny and non-belief of your abilities as were the situations with Freeman in Tampa Bay. I love the fact that the Vikings are not inserting Freeman right away this Sunday. He gets a chance to breathe in soak in this new opportunity. Something the Raiders did not do when they acquired Carson Palmer via a trade two years ago. Freeman doesn’t have to be an all-world quarterback in Minnesota. If Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel could find success with the Vikings than Freeman can as well. With confidence Freeman had Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams as fantasy studs. The same should happen with Simpson and Greg Jennings. Others: Alshon Jeffrey, TY Hilton, James Jones and Vernon Davis

Downgrades

Mike Wallace Wallace was never a high catch per game fantasy juggernaut. Miami’s offense isn’t predicated on any main strengths. They seem to be winging it every series hoping for success. I don’t like that recipe as the season stretches on. The Fins’ need to find a neutralizer of go to plays and players to perform them. Wallace can be that guy but it appears that Tannehill and Wallace need an offseason to get on the same page. Based on Wallace’s targets per receptions it’s obvious these two need to build a stronger connection. Larry Fitzgerald I’m not knocking Fitzgerald’s skillset but he is on a team that strangles his talents. If you’ve watched Arizona this year, Carson Palmer is under extreme duress every passing down. It’s to the point that Palmer will likely be sidelined with an injury before the end of this month. It has happened a couple of times as a Bengal and even last year as a Raider. Pocket passers need protection to succeed and Arizona doesn’t have the line or running game to sustain that. Fitzgerald has to be downgraded after four straight games of poor yardage totals. Danny Woodhead Kudos to Ken Whisenhunt for implementing a quick strike passing attack. Plays have been implemented to ensure Philip Rivers gets rid of the football much quicker than he has in years past. That philosophy is going to take a hit with Ryan Matthews now out for at least a month. Woodhead showed in New England that he can’t handle twenty or more plays on the field. Quite frankly Ronnie Brown’s in the Chargers system based more on his mental strengths for pass protection than he is as a rusher. That means Woodhead has to try and be a feature back for the next month. His effectiveness as a pass catcher has to diminish quite a bit now and may be levied off for the rest of the season. Doug Martin Of all rookie quarterbacks to get starts over the last two to three years I believe Mike Glennon is right near the bottom from a talent standpoint. You have the Buccaneers organization mired with controversy. They had a locker room MRSA virus outbreak that affected two players. On top of that the team seems to be rebelling against head coach Greg Schiano. No team has performed worse offensively than the Buccaneers. Discounting one drive against the NY Jets the offense has done absolutely squat against the Patriots, Buccaneers, and Saints. With Glennon in, even more attention can be placed on Martin. The workload may prove to be too much for the second year back. Others: Eli Manning, Dwayne Bowe, Tavon Austin, and Marshawn Lynch

Upgrades/Downgrades for Roster Flex, Bench Depth, and Borderline Starters Follow@cimini Do you have the guts to start demoting your personnel that’s useless? Don’t have the wait and see approach. If you’re 1-2 or 0-3 you need to be creating a plan now to get back into contention in your fantasy leagues.

Upgrades

Geno Smith Smith is going to continue to make the mistakes that cause you to gaffe out loud. Results are happening and the future seems in much better position for the Jets than it was a year ago. He has a creative element that Mark Sanchez did not have. New York seems to be calling better game plans as a result. Keep Smith stashed in deeper leagues and consider him a long term dynasty stasher in keeper leagues. Sam Bradford The Rams have been walloped early in their past two games. So why has Bradford cracked my upgrade list? His running game has been woeful the past two weeks. It can only get better. Bradford has avoided the mistakes we’ve seen him make, and seems to be growing comfortably with his new receivers. The matchup against the 49ers will be a big test for Bradford’s continued improvements in 2013. Jonathan Franklin The switch-a-roo maneuvers the Packers have had to do at running back just puts a staple of truth on the fact that running backs are devalued. They have had no problem inserting running backs. Jonathan Franklin appears to be a back that can add a different dimension to the Packers offense. The it-factor is one that any non-scout can see after limited game action. Franklin had that Sunday and should be bumped up considerably in all fantasy leagues. Giovanni Bernard The law firm in Cincinnati seems to be under new advisement from Green-Ellis to Bernard. Green-Ellis can still be counted on for tough yardage. Big plays are the contrary to what Bernard provides. You need that from your running game, and Ellis does not provide it. The Bengals seem to already be making a concerted effort to get Bernard his share of carries. 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 Josh Gordon Gordon was too fast for the Vikings secondary and has used that asset to become the top Cleveland Browns fantasy producer the last few seasons. The quarterback situation is not a problem for Gordon as he had a great connection with Brandon Weeden a year ago as well. Turnovers may be the only issue to worry about when Cleveland is in their opponents territory. Ryan Broyles With Nate Burelson now out with a broken arm, Broyles gets to step up in a role no one would have thought he’d be in a year ago. The loss of Burelson and last year’s third wideout, Titus Young, have opened the door for Broyles to be in a prominent role. He’ll be in a great position in one of the top offenses for passing yards in the NFL. Others: Kenbrell Thompkins, Santana Moss, Joique Bell, Ted Ginn Jr., DeAndre Hopkins, Bilal Powell, Stevie Johnson, Ahmad Bradshaw, Darius Heyward-Bey, Cecil Shorts III, and Alshon Jeffrey.

Downgrades

Mike Vick The early bell rang on the Eagles once again. They looked splendid and ready to overtake the NFL with Chip Kelly’s dynamic offense. Only the rest of the NFL realized controlling the clock diminishes the Eagles plan in a hurry. It’s caused the offense to have a skirmish feel to it which has resulted in turnovers. Vick has been accustomed to being injury prone and one that doesn’t play well amidst adversity. This has the signs of Vick being exiled out of Philly the same way Donovan McNabb was. Christian Ponder After Sunday’s loss at home, Adrian Peterson poked a little humor into the loss starting on twitter that even his daughter was stupefied by it. The finger pointing when losses start to mount usually falls squarely on the shoulders over the quarterback and coach. Christian Ponder’s days as a Viking quarterback have been on the edge for quite awhile. He is getting zero protection from his offensive line. I believe he’ll be the next quarterback to sustain a lengthy injury because of it. Once he is out I don’t know if he’ll regain the job. Carson Palmer The same old Cardinals offensive line and running back issues are lurking its head again. There will be games that offensive guru Bruce Arians can use Palmer’s skillset to offset those issues. But it’s going to be too inconsistent to feel comfortable inserting Palmer in your fantasy lineups. Especially in road games where the Cardinals have notoriously struggled. Doug Martin Part of the blame for the Buccaneers offensive woes has to shoulder some on Doug Martin along with Josh Freeman. Martin has had a tough go and has been stifled to start the season. The former Boise State back is starting to get the predetermined label of a fantasy bust. He is quick switch back that can make up for his poor start with one great game. It needs to happen soon to propel the Buccaneers offense. For now Martin is on the fringe of a top ten fantasy back. David Wilson New York fans are not use to the performances they’re seeing from the Giants. Issues started with David Wilson’s fumbling issues week one against Dallas. Since the Giants have free falled in a new area every week. It was the offensive line this past week. If they’re not going to protect Eli, how is Wilson going to find holes? Anquan Boldin Coming into the season I was tough on Boldin in his role as a number one receiver at his age. Week one he made me eat my words, but it appears the last two weeks no 49er receiver is able to get separation in man to man coverage. Boldin is better suited as a wide receiver two with speed opposite him. If the 49ers don’t pull a trade it could be a long season for Boldin and the 49ers. Others: Josh Freeman and Matt Schaub