Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Fantasy Football Sleepers/Creepers - 11/4


Fantasy Football Sleepers/Creepers
Our thoughts on some possible undervalued and overvalued players...

Updated November 4, 2009  JunkyardJake.Com




Malcolm Floyd ,WR

- Well apparently the Chargers had enough of watching Chris Chambers get in the way of their other receivers who have a chance of catching the ball. They summarily granted the 31 year old receiver his release on Monday, leaving career backup Malcolm Floyd to vie for the residual passes that don't go in Vincent Jackson's or Antonio Gate's direction. At 6-5 and 225 lbs, Floyd is a huge target, and has decent speed to boot, so it wouldn't be surprising if he does well as a starter. Keep in mind however that the Charger's passing offense is still largely controlled by a Phillips/Jackson/Gates oligarchy, so Floyd's value will likely be limited to a speculative play going forward.


Dustin Keller ,TE

- Dustin Keller finally broke out of his slumber against Miami to deliver the respectable fantasy output he is capable of. Unfortunately, many fantasy managers probably either dropped him or watched Keller help their bench players outscore their selected week 8 lineup. It's difficult to say if Keller will be trustworthy going forward, but note that he led the team in targets with 13 in week 8. Also consider that Keller was the preferred target over Jerricho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards in the redzone, where he was targetred three times this past week.


Jamaal Charles/Kolby Smith ,RB

- The Kansas City Chiefs offense no doubt spent the bye figuring out different ways that they could represent an abject embarrassment to professional sports. Of course, we won't see the details of this plan in action until Sunday, but what we do know for certain is that the scoreboard operator will not be deprived of his typical naptime and Larry Johnson will be suspended for at least one game. Jamaal Charles should be the primary beneficiary of the Johnson suspension, but don't count out Kolby Smith, who returns from injured reserve this week. Whatever the ultimate RB mix this week, the Chiefs get a decent matchup versus the Jacksonville Jaguars, so either guy is worth flex consideration.


Zach Miller ,TE

- Zach miller is kind of like the conscientious GM assembly line worker helping to churn out Chevy Aveo's for a bankrupt and languishing organization. Of course, the sad thing about this analogy, is that comparing the Oakland Raider offense to a Chevy Aveo may actually be too generous. For now, Miller remains the only member of the Raider offense who is arguably worth consideration as a fantasy starter, and you can't help to wonder what Miller could actually accomplish on a functional offensive team with a competent quarterback.


Mike Thomas ,WR

- Mike Thomas is an interesting rookie receiver who has quietly been assuming a more significant role over the past two games for the Jaguars, where he has accumulated over 50 yards in each game. Against the Titans this past week, he actually had more pass targets (7) than Mike Sims-Walker (3). He is almost certainly still available on your waiver wire, because at a dimutive 5-8 (5-9 with his fancy shoes), he is a little bit difficult to locate. If you need depth at receiver though, he's not a bad guy to consider, especially in leagues that award points for return yardage.








Josh Freeman/Antonio Bryant ,QB/WR

- To any saavy fantasy player, this will not occur to be a revolutionary thought, but it needs to said anyway - It seems very unlikely that a midseason transtion to rookie QB Josh Freeman is going to help reverse the fortunes of the team's dreadful passing offense. Freeman does have a rocket arm, but will need to improve his accuracy to make an impression in the pros. Moreover, he is considered quite raw, even compared to the typical rookie QB. Really, the only way that the Buccaneers could have sent a clearer signal that they were conceding the remainder of the 2009 season, is if they replaced the pennant on the Raymond James Stadium pirate ship with a white flag exhibiting a new team symbol of Droopy Dog holding a bottle of Prozac.


Steve Slaton ,RB

- Given that Steve Slaton was abruptly pulled after serving up his 3rd turnover in three weeks, it's probably safe to conclude that Houston head coach Gary Kubiak has a low tolerance for chronically fumbling runningbacks. At least Slaton got his day over early, because his fumble and immediate benching occurred on his very first carry of the game. Maybe we should have seen this coming, as Kubiak still makes his youngest son do 75 pushups and a couple laps if he drops a cookie on the kitchen floor.


Donnie Avery ,WR

- Donnie 'Peanut Brittle' Avery had his big chance to do something significant against the Lions in week 8, and as we should have expected, he blew it. At least the fragile 2nd year receiver seemed to emerge from the Rams latest passing offensive debacle without hurting himself again. Unfortuately, fantasy teams who chose to start Avery had no such luck, as they absorbed the usual damage that results from starting any receiver associated with the Rams.


Mohamed Massaquoi ,WR

- How long is Browns head coach Eric Mangini going to stick with his awful decision to start Derek Anderson ? Maybe he is waiting for Titans owner Bud Adams to give him a call and tell him to switch back to Brady Quinn ? That seemed to work, at least temporarily, in the Vince Young situation. Please Bud Adams do Cleveland Browns fans a favor and give Mangini some much needed QB advice so Derek Anderson can pack up his 36.2 QB rating and head back into hibernation.


Julius Jones ,RB

- Julius Jones started off the season on a very optimistic note, with 119 yards and a TD in week one. However, considering Jone's undistinguished performance over the past couple years, we should have suspected that this one week explosion was just a cruel hoax. Sure enough, as the 2009 season has progressed, Julius Jones is drifting deeper into the Seattle fog. He's now reached the point where he is now almost exactly on pace to match his unmemorable 2008 season, when he finished with 698 yards, and a paltry 2 TDs. Seattle plays Detroit this week, so if by some miracle Jones has a significant game it would be a great opportunity to dump him in a trade of some kind.


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