Top Targets for 2011 Week 8

Quarterbacks

Not So Obvious

Christian Ponder, Minnesota Vikings – I am upgrading Ponder this week from a Hail Mary for a couple of reasons. Firstly, he had a decent week in his debut, but he was playing a terrible pass defense and was behind a lot. But more importantly, after his bye week he faces terrible pass defenses down the stretch. If you really need help, Ponder could be your guy.

John Beck, Washington Redskins – Shanahan said before the season started that he had complete confidence in John Beck’s ability to lead to this team, he confirmed that this week by benching the ineffective Rex Grossman in favor of Beck. John responded with 279 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The best part of having a Redskin QB on your team is that, like Christian Ponder, Beck faces bad pass defenses from here on out. Worth a look if you are in dire straits.

Running Backs

Head Smacker

DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys –I am going to say it again this week, DeMarco Murray should be owned! The guy set a franchise record this week, man i hope you are paying attention!

Ryan Torain, Washington Redskins The Shanahan running back roulette game may be over for the season. With the season ending injury to Tim Hightower, Mikey only has one real option and it’s Ryan Torain. Roy Helu will get some touches but it should be in more of a change of pace capacity.

Not So Obvious

Delone Carter, Indianapolis Colts –Carter’s impressive performance on Sunday with 89 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown took away some of the sting of his ugly fumble. It also may have given him the leg up in the RBBC that the Colts have embraced this year. If Addai missed time (which he will) Carter is the only Back that holds value on this team. The problem is that the Colts without Peyton Manning are TERRIBLE, so the running game has been taking a back seat.

Hail Mary
Keiland Williams, Detroit Lions – My Ronnie Brown call went astray last week when Jerome Harrison was diagnosed with a brain tumor and negated the trade. We wish Jerome the best and a swift recovery. So, I am going to take another swing with a Lions running back. Williams looked decent last year in his stint with the Redskins and looked equally decent again in his debut with the Lions. He took the featured back role in the second half on Sunday and ran well, with more burst than Morris.

Wide Receivers:

No So Obvious:

Steve Breaston, Kansas City Chiefs – Breaston is very quietly becoming an extremely consistent fantasy performer. With Dwayne Bowe getting all the attention from DBs, Breaston has been left to run free most of the time. He has responded with 4 grabs and close to 70 yards per game. These are not WR1 numbers or even WR2 number in a 8 or 10 man league, but they will help you through a bye week.

Top Targets for 2011 Week 7

Lloyd to the Rams, Palmer to the Raiders, Brown to the Lions. Lots of movement around the league but not a lot that will affect fantasy.
Quarterbacks

Hail Mary:

Christian Ponder, Minnesota Vikings – The Ponder era has officially begun in the twin cities. He will start his career in a situation that could be a lot worse. Christian will have all pro Arian Peterson behind him in the backfield, the tutelage of a vet who has been very successful and a defense that has the personnel to be a lot better than it is. This is a long shot, but aren’t all hail marys?

Carson Palmer, Oakland Raiders – This is the definition of long shot! Palmer has not touched a football this season and is going to a team who has not had a consistent fantasy quarterback since Rick Gannon! Palmer was badly in need of a change of scenery and there is not bigger change in the world than Ohio to California. Maybe………just maybe.

Running Backs

Head Smacker

DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys –If you are a Felix Jones owner, this is an absolute headsmacker. Romo has been taking a lot of shots this year but it terms of fantasy production the cowboys have always been able to put up numbers, this goes for their running backs too. One of the few things you can count on from Felix Jones is that he will not play the whole season so DeMarco Murray should have value all season.

Not So Obvious

Montario Hardesty, Cleveland Browns –Looks like the Madden curse is alive and well in Cleveland. Hillis tweaked his injured hammy this past weekend making Hardesty in play once again. Although Montario is not the downhill runner that Hillis is, he is much better out of the backfield and has been effect when given a shot. The Browns have a couple of tough match ups in the upcoming weeks, but if Hillis continues to have legs problems, Hardesty could be good down the stretch.

Maurice Morris, Detroit Lions – Mo Morris is not very good but he plays for a very good team. If Javid Best does not respond well during his concussion eval this week, Maurice will be the go to guy for now.

Hail Mary

Ronnie Brown, Detroit Lions – The Lions traded Jerome Harrison and a pick to the Eagles for Ronnie Brown. Brown will not be a factor immediately but if Best misses substantial with his concussion Brown could end up as the featured back on a good offense.

Wide Receivers:

No So Obvious:

Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks – Baldwin has become the first look in Seattle. He continues to get open, continues to produce and continues shine. He is going into a bye week so he might not get a look this week from a lot of people, but if you can spare a week Baldwin is a good stash.

James Jones, Green Bay Packers – Jones has found the end zone in 3 consecutive weeks. Although Jones is never going to be the first look with Jennings and Jermichael Finley on the team, he is on one of the best offenses in the league and never faces doubles. In addition, the packers only face 2 pass defenses inside the top 16 the rest of the season. Great offense, soft schedule, good pick up.

Top Targets for 2011 Weeks 6

See the dust cloud? It is everyone screaming to pick up Tim Tebow! His athleticism and ability to run for yards and touchdowns make him a intriguing thought, but if I have not caved on Cam Newton, how can I tell you to pick up Tebow??

Quarterbacks

Head Smacker

Not So Obvious:

Curtis Painter, Indianapolis Colts – With everyone clambering to scoop up Tim Tebow after the announcement that he will be the starter, Painter’s great improvement over the last couple of weeks has gone largely unnoticed. Although Painter is no Peyton Manning, he is still surrounded by Manning’s talented support staff and if the Colts continue to spend the season trailing he could put up respectable numbers. Curtis appears to have sent Collins back where he belongs, the training table!

Hail Mary:

Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts – The Colts owner said that he gives 50/50 odds that Manning will be back before the year is over. 50% of Peyton Manning is better than most QBs…metaphorically speaking. But is all seriousness if you are in a league that gives you tons of bench space, he might be worth a gamble if he has even a chance of making it back down the stretch.

Running Backs

Not So Obvious

Jonathon Dwyer, Pittsburgh Steelers –Remember everything I said about Redman last week…apparently it applies to Dwyer instead. After averaging over 9 yards per carry, you can’t help but be enticed by him. The reason I have him down graded from Redman’s rating last week is that Mendenhall will be back at some point and it looks like the Steelers are going to continue to share the load between Redman and Dwyer. Jonathon won’t be a surprise to the Jags next week.

Jackie Battle, Kansas City Chiefs – Battle should be a head smacker because he looks like the heir apparent to the injured Jamaal Charles. But a bye week next weeks makes him moderately less valuable. Plus, the Chiefs have been able to move the ball on the ground in exactly one game all season, so Battle might not be what he seems.

Wide Receivers:

Head Smacker

Darrius, Heyward-Bey, Oakland Raiders– I know, I know I said that Raiders were not good fantasy options, but I can change my mind right? Heyward-Bey was the quintessential Al Davis draft day muddle, ignore the needs of the team and draft speed! Al is gone and will be missed by many but Darrius is still here and he is still fast and has developed some real chemistry with Jason Campbell. Raiders might actually be for real.

No So Obvious:

Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks – Robinson was a player that was mentioned a few times last season in this column. He has good skills and given an opportunity he could become a very consistent WR2. With Miles Austin and Dez Bryant trading stints on the trainer’s table, Robinson might be getting that opportunity.

Top Targets for 2011 week 5

Cam Newton is doing everything he can to make me look stupid, but I am not biting! Man those 2 rushing TDs are making him look good though. He is not available in your league at this point so I am not going to talk about him again unless he really burns me and it gets funny!

Quarterbacks

Head Smacker

Matt Hasselbeck, Tennessee Titans – I mentioned Hasselbeck earlier in the season as a “not so obvious”, but he has since become glaringly obviously a good pick up. Hasselbeck is averaging almost 300 yards per game and it is not powered by a 500 yarder. In addition he is averaging 2 TDs and less than 1 interception per game. Hasselbeck is a wile veteran who has never been prone to big gaffs injury yes, mistakes no. (unless you count engaging his sister-in-law in a political discussion) If you are looking for help with the upcoming bye weeks, or you just need a better QB, Matt might still be available.

Not So Obvious:

Jason Campbell, Oakland Raiders – Campbell was one of our hail marys a couple of weeks ago and after another 300+ yard game we have to upgrade him even though he plays for the silver and black. If history repeats itself, he looks to be a great play every other week! Too bad it is not that easy to predict which games he is going to step up. Campbell is nowhere near an every week start but he could help through the tough spots.

Running Backs

Head Smacker:

Isaac Redman, Pittsburgh Steelers –If you have been watching the Steelers at all this season, you could see the Redman was going to start carving out carries whether Mendenhall got hurt or not. He had been averaging over 4 yards per carry all season compared to Mendenhall’s sub 3 and when given the opportunity he was running downhill with purpose which the Steelers love. Whether Rashard misses time or not, Redman will continue to take work away from him.

Stevan Ridley, New England Patriots – Ridley was the preseason darling after a couple of huge games but was widely forgotten after that. But, he has very quietly started to take more and more carries away from the man of many names, BenJarvus Green-Ellis. He has gone from no carries in game one to 2 in game 2 and in the last two weeks his workload has increased steadily 6 last week andand 10 yesterday for 97 yards and a TD. If he is available in your league and you need support in the backfield, scoop him.

Hail Mary:

Ryan Torain, Washington Redskins – Torain is a good running back who has a history of success with Shanahan. He is a hail mary because if he stays healthy, Shanahan will use him the question as always with Mike is how much and when. This is the beginning of a very frustrating year for people who reached for Tim Hightower.

Wide Receivers:

Head Smacker

Kevin Walter/ Jacoby Jones, Houston Texans – If Johnson misses time, which he has and could again, Walter and Jones will be WR1 and WR2. The problem is that it is a crap shoot as to which one holds the most value. Walter has been the guy who has always stepped up in Johnson’s absence but he was non-existent this week even with Andre out of the game and he will be facing the Raiders’ Stanford Routt next week if Johnson can’t go. This makes Jones the guy most likely to be open. Both have value but Jones is more likely to be available.

No So Obvious:

Laurent Robinson, Dallas Cowboys – Robinson was a player that was mentioned a few times last season in this column. He has good skills and given an opportunity he could become a very consistent WR2. With Miles Austin and Dez Bryant trading stints on the trainer’s table, Robinson might be getting that opportunity.

Victor Cruz, New York Giants – Cruz caught 2 touchdowns last week, but I was far more impressed by his 6 grabs for 98 yards this week. There have been many wide receivers who have had big weeks and then disappeared for the rest of the season, remember Snoop Minnis? Didn’t think so. Back to back weeks with 95+ in yardage and more looks each week are the sign of growing trust by your quarterback and as we have seen with Eli in the past, he gets very attached to guys he trusts (see Steve Smith and Plaxico Burress). My only real concern with Cruz is that he has to compete with both Nicks and Manningham for looks, but Eli does play favorites and look for Manningham to be the odd man out.