Week 10: This week’s fantasy football darling, and others to grab

I took a beatdown this week I will not forget. Most of my teams had the opportunity to create some separation with the pack but instead fell back to earth. The halfway point is here, and I’m taking a hard look at some of them, as should you.

While our teams may be competitive, we need to make sure they’re built for the stretch run. Questions are abound for players like Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis, wide receiver Santana Moss, San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte, free agent running back Larry Johnson and others like them. Do we trade them, waive them or hold on to them? Is there even anything better on the waiver wire? Probably not, but the ones listed are only trade-worthy so we’re probably stuck.

Other players such as New Orleans wide receiver Lance Moore, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens or Pittsburgh Steelers RB Willie Parker may not even be trade-worthy – so many questions and not enough answers. Once you review your team you’ll be able to decide how good it is to make a playoff run. One key to review is your player’s upcoming schedule. From there you’ll be able to make a better decision on whom to trade, keep or waive.

Some players to consider short and long term:

Washington Redskins RB Ladell Betts will be this week’s fantasy darling for good reason. Head coach Jim Zorn said to look for Clinton Portis, the starter, to be doubtful this week. Betts is not a high-quality No. 1 back for the team, but he’s the best they have. That makes him a waiver wire pickup. When Portis went out, Betts came in and saw 16 touches, 70 yards and one touchdown. He faces a Denver Broncos team this week that is slowly falling apart since their bye week three weeks ago.

With this guy hurt, Betts will be a popular pickup

Oakland Raiders RB Justin Fargas will probably begin to hit many waiver wires as most owners believe Darren McFadden will see most of the carries upon his return. That may be so, but head coach Tom Cable likes Fargas, and there’s no guarantee how effective McFadden will be when he gets back. If you own McFadden, Fargas is a definite grab – even if you don’t have McFadden and are in a deep league with enough roster space, grab Fargas! Let’s see how he and McFadden coexist before deciding what to do with him. Over his last four games, Fargas is averaging, per game, 17.0 utilizations, 73.6 total yards and 0.25 scores (one total touchdown in that span) – not exactly earth-shattering numbers, but good enough for a bye week or injury fill-in role.

Cincinnati Bengals WR Laveranues Coles was on my list last week, and he’s on it this week again. Why? Wideout Chris Henry (forearm) is out for the year, which chips away at the receivers that cannibalize one another. This past week Coles went 6-72-0 with 10 targets, and in his last three games he has gone for 12-149-2. Not too shabby; I picked him up in one league already as I’m struggling with Santana Moss‘ inconsistency.

Cincinnati Bengals WR Andre Caldwell runs in the same thought process as Coles because of Henry’s injury. He’s not a high-target receiver; he’s a clutch receiver. Quarterback Carson Palmer loves him in the red zone and when the team is playing from behind – 19 of Caldwell’s 29 receptions have come with the team trailing. In the last four weeks (three games) he has gone for 11-91-1 with 16 targets including one in the red zone, and for the season he does have three touchdowns. He’s nothing more than a bye week or injury fill-in.

Kansas City Chiefs WR Chris Chambers will probably be a hot pickup after his two-touchdown game. He went 3-70-2 with four targets. If you have the roster space, grab and stash him and see what happens. No one knows what to expect, but odds are one of these two things will happen: Chambers will play solid football because he’s in a contract year, or this game is an aberration and what we see out of Bobby Wade is what we’ll get out of Chambers. For the record, Wade is averaging 3.50-37.7-0.33 on the year – OUCH!

Drink from this Stroughter

Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Sammie Stroughter is someone I’ve stayed away from because of whom he plays for and an unproven rookie quarterback in Josh Freeman. However, he has been fairly steady the last three games, averaging 3.00-49.0-0.33 (one touchdown in that span) with 16 total targets, including one in the red zone. He’s only worthy in larger leagues and as a bye week or injury fill-in.

Miami Dolphins WR Greg Camarillo is streaky, but as with Stroughter, if you’re in a larger league, take a look. He’s averaging 3.50-43.5-0.00 in the last four games, seeing 20 targets in that time span. He’s only worthy in larger leagues and as a bye week or injury fill-in.

Green Bay Packers TE Jermichael Finley is 50-50 to play this week, and he said he doesn’t feel anything and the doctors are being cautious. It’s time to pick him up and stash him if you can. He was starting to play well before the injury; let’s see if he can pick up where he left off. In Weeks 4 and 6, when healthy, he posted 11-182-1 with 12 targets. Donald Lee is not a fantasy option for any owner.

Just remember, it’s up to you to make sure the players listed are good fits with your league’s scoring rules. For other players and detailed breakdowns, check out KFFL.com’s Waiver Wire and other articles. You can also check out my videos at http://www.kffl.com/static/video-archive.php.

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