Each week I
have been walking through the Twitterverse extracting some of the best
commentary from trusted fantasy football minds and delivering to the general
public. Twitter can be overwhelming with
the amount of information that streams live, but it also proves to be one of
the fastest and easiest ways to communicate.
In 140
characters or less you can learn something about a player you would have never
thought to analyze. Trends, stats,
analysis and simple suggestions pour out weekly after the NFL action is
completed and below are some of the highlights to consider when hitting the
waiver wire or seeking trades to win your fantasy championships this season.
Broncos RBs – I started off last week’s article with opinions and
thoughts on who the beneficiary of McGahee’s injury would be. No one was predicting Moreno as the man, but
as Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) showed us, Moreno was the only RB worth
owning. “Final touch count from yesterday in Denver's backfield: Knowshon
Moreno 24, Ronnie Hillman 3, Lance Ball 0.”
Moving forward Moreno is the BR to own, Hillman still worth a spot if
you can hold him and Ball should be on waivers.
Recap: Moreno once again dominated the touches
getting 24 to Hillman’s 5. Hillman did
produce 5.8 yards per carry compared to Moreno’s 3.5, but doubt the Broncos are
looking to change it up while they continue to win.
Pierre Garcon, Redskins – Garcon was a
pre-season favorite of mine and many others but his injury derailed his
season. Moving forward though he might
just win your season as Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh) tweeted, “Still not 100%, Pierre
Garcon played WR3 snaps, but led team in targets (7) and production, 5-93-1.” Unless the injury keeps him from playing,
Garcon should be considered an every week start worthy of at least your flex.
Recap: We will learn more tonight, but expecting
him to emerge again as the #1 target and WR for the Redskins and someone to
trust as a WR2 throughout the fantasy playoffs.
Colin Kaepernick, 49ers – Kaepernick
has stepped in and delivered 3 solid fantasy performances for the 49ers. As Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) reported, “Colin Kaepernick is Jim
Harbaugh pick as QB of future and after beating Bears and Saints in 6 days, how
can he be taken out now?” While Harbaugh
keeps dancing around who the starter each week will be I think it is safe to
assume Colin is the man and Alex Smith is droppable. But with all the hype I think Frank Dupont (@FantasyDouche)
makes a great point stating, “…about Kaepernick, the peak attempts for 49ers
QBs is 35. They average about 24. Creates sort of a ceiling.” The 49ers defense is still great and when
they get a lead the team looks to burn the clock rather than the
scoreboard. Kaepernick will be solid,
but likely never a top producing fantasy QB.
Recap: Kaepernick only threw for 208 yards on 32
attempts with no TDs or INTs. He we the
leading rusher for the 49ers with 9 carries for 84 yards including a 50 yard
scramble. The bigger problem was the
49ers lost, but I doubt Harbaugh is looking to change his starter this
week. Another lackluster performance and
a loss could change things.
David Wilson, Giants – Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL)
offers simple advice after Andre Brown broke his leg in week 12, “Now the clear
No. 2 back, David Wilson a must-own in all formats. Guy is a fragile Bradshaw
injury away from being, at least, a strong RB2.”
Recap: It will be interesting to see how many
touches Wilson receives tonight. It will
also be imperative that when given opportunities Wilson holds onto the
football.
James Jones, Packers – Jones’ fantasy
season may be over for his owners as Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh) clearly indicates, “Would say Greg
Jennings return would come at expense of James Jones. But Jones played like Jennings was already
back last night, 0 catches. Man, James
Jones didn't even get a TARGET last night.”
Jones is pretty much droppable at this point as there is no way you can
start him with any confidence.
Recap: Jones had 2 catches for 40 yards, but one
of those was a 32 yard TD. Rodgers only
threw 1 TD on the day and Jones was lucky to be the beneficiary. Still don’t like Jones as a weekly start
unless Jordy’s injury this weekend proves to sideline him.
Matthew Stafford, Lions – Stafford is
fantasy’s 8th overall QB and maybe not living up to expectations as
a 2nd round pick in drafts, but as Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat)
tweeted, “Stafford leading the NFL in yards per game, has fewer turnovers than
Brees, Matt Ryan. Only real difference from his '11 is fluky TD total.” He has had multiple TD games in 2 of the last
3 and will always be throwing. I would
only be starting four QBs over him on a weekly basis the rest of the way.
Recap: 300 yards and 2 TDs this week when many of
the other big names struggled. Moving
forward not sure there are many other guys I would want starting for my team in
the fantasy playoffs.
Darren Sproles, Saints – Last year
Sproles was practically the main attraction in the Saints offense. After the week 12 game, Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh)
summed up why it would be tough to start him moving forward. “Sproles not getting carries with Ivory
active, and he and Ingram effective.”
Starting any Saints RB is tough these days and Ivory, Ingram and Sproles
all limit each other’s fantasy potential.
Thomas can be dropped at this point.
Recap: Sproles did not register a carry on
Thursday and caught 5 passes for 47 yards.
The Saints appear dedicated to their running game flowing through
Thomas, Ingram and Ivory so Sproles will continue to have limited fantasy
upside having to rely on receptions to produce.
Andy Dalton, Bengals – Interesting
point from JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB)
when he tweeted, “Andy Dalton and Aaron Rodgers have the same amount of 3+ TD
pass performances this season.” Dalton
is averaging less than 3 points per game than Rodgers this season but was
drafted 8 to 10 rounds later. If you
have never checked out JJ’s work, you
should as his mantra of drafting QBs late has proven very credible this season.
Recap: Dalton struggled posting 211 yards with 1
TD and 2 INTs. He also scored as many
points as Rodgers.
Jamaal Charles, Chiefs – Charles has
been up and down in 2012, but now is not the time to second guess him as Josh
More (@4for4_Josh)
points out, “Another 20 touch day for Jamaal Charles (23). On 20 touch days
Charles avging 18.8 #fantasyfootball PPG. < 20 touches, avging 4.6.” With the 26th, 18th, 30th
and 22nd ranked fantasy run defenses the rest of the way, expect
Charles to get over 20 touches and deliver top fantasy production.
Recap: 27 carries and 127 yards. Hillis did get the short TD but you can’t complain
about the production. The coaching has
given Charles an average of 22.5 carries a game for the last 4 weeks so
continue to ride Charles into the fantasy playoffs, particularly against
Oakland and Indy weeks 15 and 16.
Alex Smith, 49ers – This thought from
Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom)
might be more valuable for dynasty owners of Alex Smith, but one to consider
before dropping him to the heap after his recent demotion. “The shortage of franchise QB level prospects
in the draft next year will surely set off a bidding war for Alex Smith in free
agency.”
Recap: See Kaepernick above.
Brandon Lloyd, Patriots – Rumford
Johnny (@RumfordJohnny)
delivered this quick note on Lloyd saying, “Lloyd’s YAC is virtually
non-existent. Yet another Pats FA/WR acquisition that failed miserably.
Droppable.” I have included this
mini-rant just for the fact that I see Lloyd being started in fantasy leagues
every week still. Don’t let the name and
team get you to believe he can still help you.
Only in 14 team, 4 WR leagues would I start to consider him an every
week play.
Recap: 1 target, 1 catch, 10 yards. Might need to be a 16 team 4 WR league before
considering a start.
C.J. Spiller, Bills – Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL)
points out what everyone else may not be understanding in regards to the Bills
RBs, “Fred Jackson played more snaps than CJ Spiller yesterday (32-to-29). Jackson
the more trusted blocker.” While Jackson
may be more trusted in pass protection, Spiller is still the start every week
as Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh)
highlighted, “CJ Spiller out-touched Fred Jackson 15 to 7 and out-gained him
103 to 24.”
Recap: Well that was an absolutely maddening game
for Spiller owners seeing Jackson get 25 carries to Spiller’s 14. Jackson also saw 3 targets compared to just 1
for C.J. If it weren’t for a 44 yard TD
run in the 4th quarter Spiller owners might have stormed the stadium
and coaches would not have made it out alive.
If you own Spiller you have to start him. Same thing probably goes for Jackson. Just don’t watch and rely on Spiller being
Spiller.
Mohamad Sanu, Bengals – Sanu should
already have been on your radar averaging double digits fantasy points the last
three weeks. Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh)
highlighted his week 12 performance tweeting, “Sanu locked in as WR2. 9 targets
tied AJ Green for team lead. 5 catches a team high. Only 29 yards but 2 TDs.” With defenses obviously paying attention to
the Bengals’ #1 WR, Sanu should continue to pay dividends with Dalton and the
offense trusting him.
Recap: Sanu was injured and did not play this
game. Unfortunate for the kid who was
coming on strong.
All of the above information and tweets came across the News page of my website, Fantasy Football Aggregator. Twitter can be overwhelming for most, but the FFGator News feeds take out much of the noise and provides the ability to search on specific players as well. News from top sources and fantasy football analysts are aggregated in one place, so if you enjoyed the above breakdowns, check out the site for even more. If you are on Twitter I also suggest following all of the above for great fantasy football analysis and commentary.
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Luke Wetta on Twitter @FFGator
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