Quarterbacks:
Vince Young — Eagles ($4 FAAB value)
Michael Vick has been a shell of his 2010 self this year, and broken ribs look to shelve him in the short term. That means it is VY time in Philly! The “dream teamer” himself, Young has the opportunity and the weaponry to have a great game, but does he have the mettle? He has looked atrocious in the limited action he has seen with the Eagles, and I can envision Young getting yanked for Mike Kafka. This is very much a boom-or-bust proposition, but if you are in dire straits then he is a worthwhile pickup. Beware the last-minute Romo-like heroics by Vick though — he could play with a kevlar vest like he did with a rib injury last year.
Rex Grossman — Redskins ($2)
Sexy Rexy made his triumphant return to the starting lineup against the Dolphins, and the results were fantastic. Oh, wait, I wrote that sentence before the game was actually played. Grossman actually played about as well as we all expected, which is to say his return was not so triumphant. Still, Grossman is a better boom-or-bust prospect than Beck, who is mostly bust. Mike Shanahan affirmed that Grossman will be the starter again this week. With Leonard Hankerson now out for the season to go with Santana Moss' injury, though, Grossman is running thin on potential targets.
Tyler Palko — Chiefs ($1)
In a bit of a surprise, Matt Cassel has suffered a potentially season-ending injury, putting Palko at the helm of a team that has crashed back to earth as rapidly as they ascended against weaker competition. Will Palko turn things around? No, no he will not. Nor will he put up good fantasy numbers, but if you are in a two-quarterback league with some injury or bye concerns, Palko could be your last hope. Really, it is dubious that I am even putting him in this article. Moving on.
Matt Leinart — Texans ($3)
Apparently this is the Week of the Backup Quarterback. In another surprising break, Schaub is likely out for the season with a foot injury — Leinart Time in Houston! This is more of a boon for Arian Foster and Ben Tate owners than it is for Leinart. Defenses will choke up to try to stop the Texans’ vaunted running game, and Andre Johnson’s return is imminent. In theory this means Leinart will have better opportunities in the passing game, but I will not bet on Leinart to come through for my fantasy team. Add at your own peril.
Running Backs:
Lance Ball — Broncos ($4)
The Boise State Broncos throw the ball better than their Denver counterparts these days, and that is evidenced by Lance Ball’s 30 carries last week after injuries forced Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno out of the game. With a short week, it seems like a good bet that Ball will get a good number of carries against the Jets on Thursday Night Football, though McGahee has been cleared to play. Will that translate to a good fantasy night? I have my doubts — Ball accumulated just 96 yards on those 30 carries, and you better believe the Jets will be prepared for the rushing attack the Broncos will unleash. The Broncos do not have many options at running back, though. As a bonus, if the Broncos choose to employ the forward pass again, Ball is a pass-catching threat.
Danny Woodhead — Patriots ($2)
Bill Belichick must sit in his lair and laugh maniacally at fantasy football owners every week as he draws up a game plan for his running backs. A couple of weeks ago it looked as though Kevin Faulk was relevant again, only to fall off the face of the NFL planet a week later. Now it seems Woodhead is back from the fantasy grave, but for how long? With BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Stevan Ridley being ineffective, it seems like Woodhead’s stock is on the rise in that muddy backfield. Of course as soon as you pick him up he will be declared inactive or the Patriots will re-sign Sammy Morris. Beware of the New England backfield — it is very much a lottery ticket.
Kendall Hunter — 49ers ($5)
Hunter stepped in for the ineffective Frank Gore and delivered a touchdown, causing consternation amongst Gore owners everywhere. Frank Gore was already nursing an ankle injury, and he appeared to injure his knee to boot. Both are minor injuries and Gore says he can play this week, but Hunter might have found some more playing time with his good performance against the Giants. The 49ers might want to rest Gore more throughout the game, and there is always the chance that Gore aggravates an injury and Hunter gets another crack at lead back duties. I would certainly try to grab Hunter as your Gore handcuff if he is available. It will be tough to start him if Gore is playing, though, as Hunter is a real threat to post a big fat fantasy zero in that scenario.
Roy Helu — Redskins ($7)
Mike Shanahan put a scare into anyone who may have started Helu last week by trying to get Ryan Torain going, but Helu had a halfway decent day after that for not scoring a touchdown. One has to think that Helu is the obvious choice for more playing time in Washington — he is averaging 5.0 YPC to 3.8 for Torain. Helu also represents a pass-catching threat, one that is unfortunately diminished when Grossman is in the lineup.
Joe McKnight — Jets ($2)
With LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene playing dropsies, and LDT on the injury report, McKnight could actually see that role increase we were promised earlier this season. He was not on the field against the Patriots, and the Jets might be working Bilal Powell into the mix, but McKnight’s versatility gives him some value as long as LaDanian the Grey is out.
Wide Receivers:
Darius Heyward-Bey / Denarius Moore — Raiders ($5 / $19)
As soon as Ford re-establishes himself as a weapon for that Raiders offense, he gets injured again. Denarius Moore was already the better pickup before that, though, and he proved as much with his offensive outburst against the Chargers. Palmer likes to target the rookie — 19 times over the past two games — who is consistently getting separation from his defenders. He sports a +6.3 PFF rating, good for 11th in the league at the position. Darius Heyward-Bey may be putting up goose eggs right now, but he has been leading the team in snaps for a while now and you have to figure Palmer will start to look his way eventually. He had been playing well before Campbell’s injury, so taking a flier on him has good potential to pay dividends.
Earl Bennett — Bears ($10)
The rapport between Bennett and Cutler and the increased playing time for the receiver have combined to form good fantasy value. He has been targeted 11 times with a 100% catch rate over his past two games. The Bears have protected Cutler much better recently, and they get good-to-great passing defense matchups through the fantasy championship game, playing San Diego, Chargers, Kansas City, Denver, Seattle, and Green Bay.
Vincent Brown — Chargers ($7)
He was gypped out of a second touchdown by a dubious ruling on the replay, but Brown otherwise had a fantastic game last week dueling fellow rookie Denarius Moore and the Raiders. Brown is playing better than his Vincent counterpart, Jackson, and looks to stake his claim on more playing time even if Malcom Floyd returns from injury soon. V-Brown played just three fewer snaps than V-Jax and rated +1.0 to Jackson’s -2.1 against the Raiders. Brown’s rest-of-season value is hampered by Floyd, so do not overpay for the talented rookie.
Jason Avant / Steve Smith / Riley Cooper — Eagles ($5 / $3 / $1)
With DeSean Jackson out with an alarm clock injury, I expected one of these three to step in and have a good fantasy game, most notably Jason Avant. Unfortunately for the Eagles receivers, Michael Vick’s rib injury derailed those expectations. With Vick potentially out this week, every Eagles receiver takes a hit, but that hit is mitigated with the potential for Jeremy Maclin to sit as well. Smith actually led all Eagles receivers with 60 snaps last week, and if he can regain some of his Pro Bowl form he could be sneaky good. Avant was right behind him with 54, with Cooper a distant third with 23.
Tight Ends:
Ed Dickson — Ravens ($7)
Just as fantasy owners had given up on him, Dickson explodes for 79 yards and two touchdowns. He has actually been targeted 28 times over his past three games but was not able to capitalize with good fantasy scores until last week. With that many targets, Dickson is a back-end TE1 once again. Do not expect two touchdowns every game, but if he is available on the wire he is certainly worth the pickup.
Anthony Fasano — Dolphins ($2)
It looks as though the Dolphins are finally taking the shackles off Fasano as a pass-catcher, and he is delivering. Fasano was targeted four times last week, catching three passes for 60 yards. He is always a risk to put up a big fat donut, but the Dolphins are on the upswing and Fasano is part of the reason.
Jacob Tamme — Colts ($2)
Tamme surprised me with six catches on eight targets, the most of any Colts player. It looks as though he could have some value after all in an anemic offense.
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