Love

Alfred Morris, RB, WAS – To be clear, I couldn’t care less if RGIII plays or not.  Even if he plays, Morris’ workload WILL increase as a precaution to try and keep Griffen from running too much.  Morris was already an irreplaceable factor for this offense and given his youth, they won’t be afraid to lean on him.

Vincent Jackson, WR, TB – The Buccaneers are headed on the road to New Orleans this week and that means there are two bad defenses on the field and the potential for a lot of points to be scored.  Jackson has been an amazing addition for Tampa and they have been able to keep him VERY productive.  They are going to have to throw deep to keep up with Brees and that should mean plenty of opportunity for VJax.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB, CIN – The Law Firm has been on a tear lately and with a game against the Eagles (among the worst defenses in the NFL since firing Juan Castillo) this week, there is no reason to expect a change.  Law Firm is typically a mid-to-low end RB2 but in this matchu-up, he falls just outside the top 10.

Danario Alexander, WR, SD – Alexander continues to be a force for the Chargers offense that took down Pittsburgh this past week.  Danario is a large man that uses that size to box-out defenders and give Philip Rivers somewhere to throw.  So far he is the only guy getting open with any consistency and that isn’t likely to change against a shaky Panthers secondary.

Cam Newton, QB, CAR – There is no hotter QB in the NFL at the moment and especially so for fantasy owners.  Newton has had 37, 28 and 36 fantasy points in the past 3 weeks. Atlanta is the only defense that was really any good in this stretch but San Diego is far from a great defense too and I think, if your still alive in the playoffs, you’ve GOTTA keep Newton in there.

Jamaal Charles, RB, KC – This may seem like an obvious one here but Charles owners should have high hopes this week.  The Raiders are just 26th against the run and they are struggling as of late.  Charles is the entirety of the Kansas City offense and is almost certain to see the 100 yard mark this week.

Hate

Michael Turner, RB, ATL – The fact that Turner keeled over in exhaustion at the end of the game and by coincidence fell over the goal line does not give me any confidence.  Watch the tape people, this isn’t the same guy you had on your team three years ago.  He’s too slow to get through a hole and into the second and third levels like he used to, leave him on your bench because ALL of his value is at the goal line.  It’s like starting Michael Bush.

Denarius Moore, WR, OAK – I won’t be surprised if he gets a big game here but it’s about risk in the playoffs and that is one thing that Moore has in spades.  The whole Raiders team is floundering a little bit and while Moore was good for you in the middle of the season, don’t look for it here.  I know the match up is appealing but you need safe and consistent, not a hail-mary.

Jay Cutler, QB, CHI – The Packers do not have a crippling defense by any means but the Bears DO have a pretty bad offensive line.  Clay Matthews is set to return and with all that rest, he’s going to be coming back with a vengeance. If he gets in Cutler’s face early on, it will frustrate the Bears signal caller and we’ve all seen him play when he is frustrated.

Torrey Smith, WR, BAL – Mr. Smith, have you met Champ Bailey?  You are about to.  Old man Bailey has been playing like he’s 25 again this season and he’s doing that all with the added experience that comes from actually being 34 years old.  Jim Caldwell will utilize Ray Rice much more now that he has the offensive coordinator position and that makes Smith nothing more than a poor flex option this week. 27th among WRs in my rankings.

Bryce Brown, RB, PHI – I can’t believe analysts can still put Brown as an RB 2 this week.  I had him at 20 last week, after consecutive great games and now that he just put up zero points last week, they have him higher… it doesn’t add up to me.  You won the lottery if you started this guy and won last week, don’t try and win it twice.

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So these lists are small and only going to get smaller as the weeks progress through the playoffs.  In fact, this week’s list is more of a catch-all list of guys that simply shouldn’t be available.  This isn’t laziness on my part, I assure you.  It’s MORE important to make moves during this time, if you are still alive that is. The reason that the number of guys worthy of a pick-up shrinks is that there isn’t much time left! Many waiver wire additions require time for you to develop enough trust to start them and this is a ten times more relevant point in the playoffs.  You lose and you are done, are you going to trust someone that you know nothing about other than a single game’s stat line? Not very likely.

Pickups

Danario Alexander, WR, SD – I’m not regaining any confidence in Rivers or the Chargers as a whole but in 5 games, this guy has 467 receiving yards and 3 TD’s.  This is better than ANYONE has done on this offense all year and since they have stayed a bad team throughout this production, I don’t see it dropping off any time soon.  He’s a solid flex-play the rest of the way and he just might be sitting out there for you to pick-up.

Bryce Brown, RB, PHI – The LeSean McCoy injury situation is murky still and even if it was clear, Brown has been statistically more productive than McCoy was all season.  The season is a lost one for the Eagles and given that they will want to evaluate talent for next season, I can’t imagine that Brown takes a back seat when McCoy does return.  Next week is a bad match-up though so if McCoy plays, neither will be worthy of a start for fantasy owners.

Brandon Meyers, TE, OAK – The Raiders are not a great team and they aren’t going to be.  Myers isn’t an elite tight end and he isn’t going to be.  What he is however, is safe.  Myers has had just ONE game below 5 receptions since week 6 and that is an impressive feat for a tight-end this season.  He has just as good of a chance to find the end zone as any other non-elite tight end and is too important to the Raider passing attack to suddenly disappear from the stat sheet. I wish I wasn’t so skeptical about this guy for as long as I was because he is gone in all of my leagues and if he isn’t in yours, your incredibly lucky.

Josh Gordon, WR, CLE – In my one-liners column, I talked about how this guy was a possible flex-starter this past week and I mentioned how sweet his match ups are going forward too.  A big game from him this week should mean he’ll get scooped back up in a lot of leagues but make sure you at least put in a waiver claim if he is out there.  This should happen even if you don’t want to start him (and I’d really rather not in the playoffs) but given his high upside, I don’t want an opponent hitting the lottery when I could have blocked him from picking up his ticket in the first place.

T.Y. Hilton, WR, IND – I know, Avery had the better game… I don’t care.  Hilton has been providing fantasy value for a good long while now.  His targets might not knock you out of your chair but he’s been getting it done and on an offense that passes a LOT.  Teams can’t focus on him with Wayne out there having one of his best seasons either.

Dump List

I know you might think this is a cop-out but you can drop ANYONE that you wouldn’t play AND that your opponent wouldn’t start against you.  Listen, if your holding Donnie Avery and you need a receiver. Drop him for Josh Gordon.  I would personally love it if an opponent picked up my garbage and started it against me in the playoffs.  Also, maybe you own RGIII and Andy Dalton… the three other teams in the playoffs have Brady, Rodgers and Brees.  You can just drop Dalton now because the other teams are not going to waste a roster spot on him.

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Love

Cam Newton, QB, CAR – Newton showed us all, last week, that he can still put up some BIG numbers against bad teams.  The team lost Jonathan Stewart and while fantasy owners wouldn’t believe it, it will have a negative impact on the team.  DeAngelo Williams has been the worse of the two and with him getting the lion’s share of the work, I believe the running game will suffer significantly because of it.  Expect them to ask Cam to pick up the slack around the goal line and expect him to have a nice day throwing as well.  He falls just outside my top 10 but only because Kaepernick has a little more upside to me.

Jamaal Charles, RB, KC – The Chiefs are pretty bad and unfortunately that can mean abandoning the run and looking to the air but Carolina is ranked 25th at defending the run and Charles is better than your average running back.  I think Crennel would like to keep his job and if that means winning more games, he just might give Charles another 30 carry game.  Don’t rely on that but if Charles starts strong, I wouldn’t be remotely surprised to see it.

Reggie Wayne, WR, IND – The way to beat the Lions is by passing.  They will be throwing a ton themselves (the leagues top passing offense), so you will have to keep up and their secondary is pretty porous.  Andrew Luck has been solid and Wayne has been great as he is on pace to beat his personal record for single season receiving yards.

Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, NYG – I don’t think he can hold up all the way through a playoff run, physically, and history backs me up on that.  However, the Giants need to MAKE the playoffs first and a key to that will be keeping Robert Griffen III off the field by running the ball with Bradshaw.  I don’t expect Coughlin to suddenly throw David Wilson out there more than he has to.  The Redskins defense is really bad too so i’m looking for a great performance from Bradshaw as well as the passing game.

Justin Blackmon, WR, JAC - I ranked Cecil Shorts considerably higher but Blackmon was the more surprising to me, considering that he was the second guy to make it into the top 25.  Buffalo’s defense has been pretty stout in recent weeks but that doesn’t mean that there isnt fantasy production to go around.  The weak spot, still, is the secondary and if Henne and the Jags wanna win some games, they will pass a TON this week.  Even if MJD makes it out there, you have to think it’s a limited touches scenario and the passing game will remain the feature of the offense.

Danario Alexander, WR, SD – He’s started three games and even with one of them being as a tight-end, he has been the most effective receiver in every single one.  This is a really good flex-option and he is fast approaching WR 2 territory with another strong game this week.

Hate

Trent Richardson, RB, CLE – I didn’t know I hated Richardson till I finished my rankings and looked at what the other websites had up… TOP THREE?! Not for me.  He’s been great and I think he is one of the best RB2′s you can ask for but he’s a Cleveland Brown and that limits your upside significantly.  I would not start him over any of the elite guys just because of his nice match-up.  So, if you own Peterson, Doug Martin and CJ Spiller, which is incredibly possible, you just keep Richardson on your bench and don’t let anyone make you feel bad about it.

Danny Amendola, WR, STL – I wouldn’t blame PPR owners for playing him but even there he is a flex play at best against the incredibly stout 49er defense.

Chris Johnson, RB, TEN – People, hear me now and remember how right I was later… THIS IS NOT A TOP 10 RUNNING BACK.  He’s put up far too many awful performances, he plays behind an awful offensive line  and plays against the Texans this week.

Brandon Lloyd, WR, NE – I really thought he was going to be a flex play again for one more week but I just couldn’t do it. Not with your playoff chances on the line. Sit him down and live to fight another week.

Dustin Keller, TE, NYJ – I really like Keller but he hasn’t been consistent and all I can think about is the fact that the Cardinals picked off Matt Ryan 5 times a couple weeks ago and now they play Sanchez.

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In case you do not follow me on Twitter, I owe you an apology.  There is no excuse for a bye-week from your favorite fantasy analyst without any notice.  If you don’t know, my grandfather passed away Wednesday morning after we were told that he would have just a month to live the night before.  My heart wasn’t in it and I didn’t want to just spew out random numbers and half-hearted thoughts.   I received a lot of support from you readers and I can’t thank you enough for what your encouraging words meant to me. I hope you all continue to read my musings on the world of fantasy football and it’s time to go get us some championships.

Pick ups

Ronnie Hillman, RB, DEN – With Willis McGahee out for 6-8 weeks with an MCL tear, Ronnie Hillman is the top Waiver Wire pickup of the week. He is going to split some time with Lance Ball, who is also worth a grab in DEEP leagues, but it is Hillman’s opportunity to capitalize on.  If you are a McGahee owner, you need to run (not walk) to free agency or the waiver wire.

Danario Alexander, WR, SD – Alexander is a physically big target for Rivers in the passing game and he is now taking over for Robert Meachem.  Alexander has had two big games this year (the first filling in for Antonio Gates) and actually has a lot of upside.  This team needs to find a way to re-invigorate the passing game and Phillip Rivers.  Alexander might just give them a spark.

Jalen Parmele, RB, JAC – The Jaguars gave no notice to fantasy owners that Rashad Jennings had squandered his opportunity away.  There is now officially a new starting QB, a new top fantasy WR and a new top fantasy RB on this offense going into next week.  Parmele’s value is tied to the return of MJD but in the mean time, the upside is better for Parmele than it was for Jennings because Henne appears to be able to stretch the field with the vertical passing game.  This guy will be an “if your desperate” starter this week.

Justin Blackmon, WR, JAC – Blackmon had a staggering 236 yards and a TD this week against a typically stout defensive backfield as the Jaguars lost a tight game on the road at Houston this past week. Kicker is that it took the back-up QB coming into the game to give this offense a spark.  I was big on Blackmon as a sleeper in the preseason and pin his shortcomings on Blaine Gabbert being a terrible QB more than anything.  If Henne can keep getting him involved, Blackmon could be a HUGE acquisition this week.

James Starks, RB, GB – I said it as soon as Benson went down… Starks is the best RB that the Packers have on the active roster.  He has more experience in the offense and is, in my opinion, more talented. Green was almost non-existent this past week and his ownership levels should be non-existent after waivers get processed this week.

Brandon Meyers, TE, OAK – This guy has been VERY consistent for a few weeks now.  The Raiders offense passes the ball, a lot, and Meyers is clearly a top 10 TE.  I wouldn’t expect a lot of double-digit point games (unless it’s a PPR league) but he is going to see targets and he will get you a respectable fantasy point total for the week.

Beanie Wells, RB, ARI – LaRod Stephens-Howling had a really strong game this past week but Beanie is going to destroy any fantasy value at the RB position on the Cardinals.  The only possible outcomes are that there are no viable options in that backfield or Beanie is a flex-able option with the lion’s share of the workload.

Dump List

Joique Bell, RB, DET – I advocated stashing Bell on your bench for a bit because he was getting a few carries and was involved in the passing game.  With Stafford faltering and his carries down to almost none, you can just drop Bell now.

Dustin Keller, TE, NYJ – He is a very viable waiver wire roulette option still but if he was going to make a serious impact and become a must-start tight end, we would know by now.  This week went as well as it could have for the Jets offense and Keller just wasn’t a factor.

Titus Young, WR, DET – I am not saying you should drop Young, I am saying that I am fine with it.  He’s benched from the Thanksgiving game due to his on field issues and it isn’t clear if his snap-count will be affected by his place in Jim Schwartz’s dog house.

Michael Bush, RB, CHI – 55% of leagues still have Bush as owned. Around 30% of the owners that own Bush should get smacked around.  If you don’t have Forte and there is any chance you want to start the guy holding this roster spot, you HAVE to drop him.  You (if you don’t own Forte) should really only keep him if you are cruising to a playoff spot and don’t have any injury prone running backs.

Andre Roberts, WR, ARI – This team is plummeting and with all the bye weeks behind us, you need to drop Roberts now.  There is an insane amount of free agent talent this week and Roberts only has two even remotely decent match-ups left.

Isaac Redman, RB, PIT – He was barely worth keeping before the concussion. Get one of the guys on the list above instead.

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Pickups

Earnest Graham, RB, TB – Graham did a great job filling in for Blount this week and solidified his spot in this article today by gaining 131 yards Sunday. I expect Blount back, but even as a backup Graham has value in PPR formats. Graham is 4th in the NFL in receptions among RB’s, which puts him above Chris Johnson, Fred Jackson and Ray Rice. Take note PPR players.

Jacoby Jones, WR, HOU – Houston is not the same team without Andre Johnson but as I thought, Jacoby Jones is the guy you want to take a chance on in Johnson’s absence. This week Jones was able to haul in 4 catches on 7 targets for 73 yards and a score. This is more than acceptable for a flex play.

Dallas Clark, TE, IND – Clark was targeted 7 times in this game and managed 53 yards and a score. Losing a fumble kept him out of double digit points, but I think he still needs to be owned. Without Manning he is no better than a top 10 guy, but last I checked that makes him a weekly starter and a lot of people dropped him too soon.

Danario Alexander, WR, STL – I’ve made my choice for which Rams receiver I would want to start should I need to. It’s nothing more than apparent trust with Bradford either. While three different receivers were targeted exactly 10 times, Alexander hauled in 6 of them for a team-high 91 yards receiving.

Arrelious Benn, WR, TB – The Buccs made a statement when they beat the Saints in Tampa on Sunday afternoon. After being dismantled by the 49ers last week, many people (myself included) were questioning whether they would have what it takes to be a playoff contender late into the season. The answer is in: maybe. Tampa is a young and dangerous team, they beat an NFC powerhouse with a total team effort. Back up RB Earnest Graham proved he has fantasy value, especially in PPR leagues by doing a great job filling in for LeGarrette Blount. The defense intercepted Brees 3 times and Tampa put themselves on top of the NFC South. Benn has made some explosive plays and is worth a roster spot to me in some deep formats.

Dump List

Denarius Moore, WR, OAK – I do a lot of warning about Raiders receivers lately. I am OK with picking one up after a big game if you have an open roster spot, but don’t not pick up someone on my pickups list to save room for any Raider receiver not named Jacoby Ford.

Pierre Thomas, RB, NO – Sproles has been the surprise stud of the Saints’ running backs and with Ingram handling most of the traditional carries, Thomas just doesn’t have enough work left over to be much of a factor. Unless someone gets hurt, you can’t risk starting Thomas.

Chad Ochocinco, WR, NE – He’s still owned in almost half of leagues. Really? When will you guys finally give up!? It’s definitely time to drop this once great receiver.

Thomas Jones, RB, KC – Still owned in a quarter of all leagues. Jackie Battle is the guy and Jones is done. McCluster has the 3rd down back duties and I wouldn’t even start Jones if Battle went down for the season next week.

Johnny Knox, WR, CHI – Cutler actually had time to throw this week and Knox STILL couldn’t get it done. I’m more than OK with dropping Knox at this point… I recommend it.

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