WR Waiver Gems – Week 8

Well, my picks pretty much fell flat last week. Oh well, them’s the breaks. Moving on:

Antonio Brown, PIT, 53% (NE): Brown made an appearance on this list earlier in the year, and last week Big Ben looked his way quite frequently to the tune of 7 catches for 102 yards. This Sunday, Brown gets the porous Pat’s secondary to play with (322 yards passing/game), and I think he makes a great WR2 bye week fill-in: 95 yards.

Michael Jenkins, MIN, 43% (@ CAR): Jenkins broke out last week as a favorite deep threat of Christian Ponder’s. Granted, it was against Green Bay’s sieve-like passing defense, but still, he could prove useful in this bye-ridden week, even against Carolina’s solid secondary (225 yards/game, 9 TDs). I like him as a frequent target of the Viking’s rookie QB, and maybe even to reach the end zone: 50 yards, TD.

Jerome Simpson, CIN, 25% (@ SEA): Simpson had a great game in week 6, grabbing 6 balls for 101 yards against the Colts. Seattle is not too bad with the passing D (250 yards/game, 6 TDs), but with Cedric Benson out serving his suspension, the Bengals should lean more heavily on Andy Dalton’s arm. A.J. Green is the unquestioned 1st option, but Simpson should get his fair share of looks and provide decent yardage: 80 yards.

Deep league special:

Anthony Armstrong, WAS, 2% (@ BUF): Armstrong has a total of 47 yards for the season, so why is he mentioned here? Well, with Santana Moss done for the year, he should crack the starting line-up, or at least get a couple dozen plays out of the slot, where he thrived last year. Buffalo gives up lots o’ yards through the air (284/game), so even with John Beck slingin’ the pigskin around, AA could catch several deep balls, on his way to surpassing his season total in one game: 80 yards.

 

Killin’ the Odds & the NFL Season

Welcome to Killin’ the Odds & the NFL Season! Below you will see my picks to win for the week. I will post either the “Money Line” or the “Point Spread”. The money line is always a “straight up” bet which means your team will never need to win or lose by a specific amount of points. The money line odds represent what amount has to be wagered or what can be won. For example, if there is a minus sign (-) next to an amount, you have to wager that amount to win 100. If there is a plus sign (+) next to an amount, you will receive that amount for every 100 wagered. A “Point Spread” wager is made on either the favorite (-) or underdog (+) team. A wager on the favored team means that this team must not only win but also win by the specified point spread. A wager on the underdog means that this team may either win or lose, as long as they do no lose by more than the specified point spread. If the game ends on the teams meeting the spread exactly, the wager is a push. Example: If the Cowboys are favored by -3 and win the game by exactly 3 points, the wager is a push.

NFL Recap – Week 7

Falcons v. Lions: Matt Stafford had his worst fantasy game of the year here, pretty mediocre (183 yards, TD). He also suffered a knee/ankle injury, but is only in danger of maybe missing this coming Sunday’s game. Matt Ryan was not much better on the other side (218, TD) but did add a rushing TD to boost his point total. Roddy White (5 for 52, TD) and Michael Turner (122 rushing) didn’t disappoint, and of course CJ was CJ (5 for 115, TD), even in a low passing yardage day for his QB.

WR Waiver Gems – Week 7

Last week, I hit on 3 out of the 4 waiver picks (Heyward-Bey didn’t score, but he did post 90+ yards, I’ll take it). Let’s see how I do this week with my four waiver selections:

Devin Hester, Chicago Bears, 52% (Tampa Bay – London): Although Hester suffered a chest injury Monday night against the Vikings, he is listed as probable. No home field advantage in this tilt, and the Bucs have given up 276 passing yds/game to go with 10 TDs. Hester had one of his best yardage showings last week with 91 yards receiving, and I look for him to top that total as the deep threat for the Bears this week; you also never know when he might pop another one in the return game: 95 yards.

Jacoby Jones, Houston Texans, 37% (@ Tennessee): With AJ out again this week, Jones and Kevin Walter will be the starting WRs, Jones being the deep threat of the two. He had 74 yards and a TD against Baltimore last week, never an easy assignment, so I think another low catch/solid yardage day with a possible score is in the works against the stingy Titans pass D this week: 60 yards, TD.

Steve Breaston, Kansas City Chiefs, 28% (@ Oakland): Breaston, fresh off the bye week, gets a favorable match-up with the Raiders (allowing 283 passing yards/game, 12 TDs). He was on a mini-roll before the bye, with 141 yards and two scores in two games, and I can see Matt Cassel looking his way often with Dwayne Bowe drawing most of the secondary’s attention: 75 yards.

Deep League Special:

Arrelious Benn, Tampa Bay Bucs, 9% (Chicago – London): Last but not least, Mr. Benn has shown flashes of why he was a 2nd round pick of the Bucs in 2010. He has 2 TDs thus far, and last week had a 65 yard TD reception. The Bears play fast and loose with the passing yardage on D – 275/game, to go with 9 TDs given up. Benn could provide some value in the flex/WR3 spot this week in deep leagues: 80 yards.

Killin’ the Odds & the NFL Season

Welcome to Killin’ the Odds & the NFL Season! Below you will see my picks to win for the week. I will post either the “Money Line” or the “Point Spread”. The money line is always a “straight up” bet which means your team will never need to win or lose by a specific amount of points. The money line odds represent what amount has to be wagered or what can be won. For example, if there is a minus sign (-) next to an amount, you have to wager that amount to win 100. If there is a plus sign (+) next to an amount, you will receive that amount for every 100 wagered. A “Point Spread” wager is made on either the favorite (-) or underdog (+) team. A wager on the favored team means that this team must not only win but also win by the specified point spread. A wager on the underdog means that this team may either win or lose, as long as they do no lose by more than the specified point spread. If the game ends on the teams meeting the spread exactly, the wager is a push. Example: If the Cowboys are favored by -3 and win the game by exactly 3 points, the wager is a push.

NFL Recap – Week 6

Packers v. Rams: Despite scoring just 3 points, the Rams did have some useful fantasy players. Sam Bradford didn’t have a score, and threw for 321 yards, but suffered a high ankle sprain, no good; Steven Jackson had 125 total yards; and Danario Alexander caught 6 balls for 91 yards. But otherwise, it was all Green Bay. A-Rodg had a ho-hum 310 yard, 3 TD day, and Jordy Nelson (2 for 104, TD), Greg Jennings (6 for 82), James Jones (1 for 35, TD), and Donald Driver (3 for 25, TD) all joined in the passing party. The Pack rushing attack was again mediocre, but with their passing game clicking every week with so many weapons, it has not affected their play one bit.

WR Waiver Gems – Week 6

James Jones, Green Bay Packers, 44% (St. Louis): JJ, coming off two straight productive performances, gets a great match-up with the Rams this week. Sure, St. Lou has actually been decent in the pass D (224 yards/game, 8 TDs), but they haven’t faced an offense like Green Bay’s yet, and they will be locked in on Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finley, leaving James plenty of single coverage. JJ is starting to live up to his upside as the deep threat from the slot, and I think he could be a WR2 this week, with a TD catch for the third straight week: 75 yards, TD.

Darrius Heyward-Bey, Oakland Raiders, 43% (Cleveland): Bey, a first round bust if there ever was one, has shown flashes of brilliance the past two games, going for 100 yards in each, with a TD catch last week. Cleveland is stingy in the passing game (195 yards/game, 7 TDs), but Bey should get decent yardage and possibly another score, as the Browns look to shut down DMC, leaving some openings in the secondary: 60 yards, TD.

Danario Alexander, St. Louis Rams, 11% (@ Green Bay): On the other side of this seemingly lopsided affair, Alexander could rack up significant yardage against the Packer passing D, which has not been that impressive (300 yards/game, 10 TDs), some of that owing to them playing well ahead much of the time. It is admittedly a crap-shoot as to which of the Rams’ receivers offer the most value for today, but I like Alexander to get the lion’s share over Brandon Gibson and Mike Sims-Walker (update: he’s inactive); call it a hunch: 90 yards.

(Really) Deep League Special:

Laurent Robinson, Dallas Cowboys, 3% (@ New England): Robinson looks likely to stay as the #3 WR for Dallas this week, and he could be a sneaky WR 2-3 against the lackluster Patriot’s passing D (327 yards/game, 9 TDs), as Dez Bryant and the now-healthy Miles Austin garner the most attention: 80 yards.

Killin’ the Odds & the NFL Season

Welcome to Killin’ the Odds & the NFL Season! Below you will see my picks to win for the week. I will post either the “Money Line” or the “Point Spread”. The money line is always a “straight up” bet which means your team will never need to win or lose by a specific amount of points. The money line odds represent what amount has to be wagered or what can be won. For example, if there is a minus sign (-) next to an amount, you have to wager that amount to win 100. If there is a plus sign (+) next to an amount, you will receive that amount for every 100 wagered. A “Point Spread” wager is made on either the favorite (-) or underdog (+) team. A wager on the favored team means that this team must not only win but also win by the specified point spread. A wager on the underdog means that this team may either win or lose, as long as they do no lose by more than the specified point spread. If the game ends on the teams meeting the spread exactly, the wager is a push. Example: If the Cowboys are favored by -3 and win the game by exactly 3 points, the wager is a push.

NFL Recap – Week 5

Steelers v. Titans: Big Ben was the story here, as he tossed a career-high 5 TD passes on just 228 yards. Pittsburgh’s running game helped him out immensely, despite missing Rashard Mendenhall: Jonathan Dwyer (11 carries, 107 yards) and Isaac Redman (15 for 49) picked up the slack. That backfield is looking like a committee in the near future, totally destroying Mendy’s value. Mike Wallace (6 for 82, TD), Hines Ward (7 for 54, 2 TDs), and Heath Miller (3 for 46, TD) all had double digit fantasy point days. For Tennessee, Matt Hasselbeck was serviceable (262, 1 TD), Chris Johnson was useless until a late in the 3rd quarter TD run (51 yards rushing, 65 total), and Damian Williams caught the TD pass (6 for 66).

WR Waiver Gems – Week 5

This being the first bye week, it will be even tougher to find a low-owned WR that could bring you a decent return on Sunday. But, there are still a few I think could perform at WR3/flex play levels:

Malcolm Floyd, San Diego Chargers, 58% (@ DEN): Denver has given up 9 TDs and 275 passing yards/game thus far, and Antonio Gates should be out again. Even though Floyd has had a very weak first month, I like him to provide a complement to Vincent Jackson, Ryan Mathews, and Mike Tolbert, and envision him finally having a decent fantasy game in single coverage, including his first TD catch of the year: 50 yards, TD.

Nate Burleson, Detroit Lions, 47% (CHI): Burleson has been quiet the last two weeks, with 4 catches for 28 yards combined. However, he gets to face Chicago’s weak pass defense (301 yards per game) in week 5. With all attention going to Megatron no doubt, Stafford should find Nate and the rest of the receiving corps (see: Titus Young, Brandon Pettigrew) running free early and often: 80 yards receiving.

Preston Parker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 19% (@ SF): Throw out week 3 against Atlanta, and Parker has been a solid WR3. He had his first TD catch last week, to go with 70 yards. This week, Tampa faces a 49er squad giving up 284 yards passing/game. With Mike Williams and Kellen Winslow struggling, Josh Freeman has looked in Parker’s direction more and more, and I can see that continuing this week: 75-85 yards receiving.

Kevin Walter, Houston Texans, 11% (OAK): With Andre Johnson out, Walter should get a few more looks from Matt Schaub, which should translate into several red zone targets as Houston moves up and down the field on the Raiders. Oakland is good for 2 TD passes against per week so far, and I think Walter grabs one of at two, maybe three in a Houston romp: 40 yards, TD.