On the Wire

If you are playing a week 17 championship, my condolences. You really should try to get that changed for next year–and I do mean really.

Week 17 is unpredictable because you don’t know who will start let alone who will show up to play well. Lucky for you, plenty of injuries this week will give you players to vulture off the waiver wire.

Najeh Davenport, RB PIT
Najeh will fill in for an injured Willie Parker. If he plays like he did this week in Parker’s absence, he just might be the hottest pick up for week 17. The Stealers play Baltimore, but the Ravens have nothing left to play for this season. Keep in mind that the Steelers could rest him for their playoff run since they clinched their spot this week.

Musa Smith. RB BAL
If he takes on the full load in Willis McGahee’s absence, he could be a somewhat decent fantasy start. Against he Steelers, I wouldn’t expect much, but the Steelers have already clinched their spot in the playoffs. They might not care about giving Musa or whoever fills the McGahee void a few yards.

Laurent Robinson, WR ATL
Laurent was a pre-season standout for Atlanta in a season that was never looking good. This week, he had a breakout performance with over 100 yards and a TD against Arizona with Chris Redman at the helm. He is trying to impress–and succeeding. I had him on my sleeper list to the begin the season–yeah, I’m that good. If you are hurting at receiver, he could put up another standout performance against a Seattle team resting it’s starters.

Ahmad Bradshaw, RB NYG
If you didn’t notice him breaking for an 88-yard TD run late in the Buffalo game this week, you should have. Bradshaw will do some great things for the Giants with his speed in the playoffs and could be decent for week 17. Look for him to get some more touches than usual next week against the Patriots. My guess is that the Pats will put a hurting on the Giants to clinch their undefeated season, and the Giants will rest most of their starters for the playoffs–including Jacobs since he is ailing again. Bradshaw could have a decent number of yards but probably won’t have another one of those breakout runs. A short yardage TD might be all to hope for in this one.

Luke McCown, QB TB
Tampa Bay sat their starters early this week, so McCown is sure to see a lot of playing time next week against Carolina. He might be your QB of choice if you were starting Jeff Garcia or someone likely to sit out this last week.

Seneca Wallace, QB SEA
Like McCown, he may see some playing time with Seattle are locked into the playoffs.

If you are looking for subs for your usual starters, try to find players that have something to play for this week. Avoid starters from any of the already clinched teams that look to sit. You might even try to find some young talent that will see more playing time with their starters resting. Follow the reports through the week and see which coaches are looking to play safe and sit their best guys.

Don’t run out the door like Petrino when your team takes an injury late here in the playoffs–or just stinks. There’s a few sneaky plays this week that could still save you and win your championship.

RB Help

Darius Walker, RB HOU
Word is that Ron Dayne will be out week 15. If that happens, there will probably we a running back committee setup, but Darius Walker is likely to be the head of any committee. He got close to 100 yards in his relief role after Dayne went down this week, and the match up for week 15 is the ever-tricky Denver run defense.

Samkon Gado, RB MIA
With Jesse Chatman hurting, Samkon Gado will take the hand offs from Cleo Lemon. Unfortunately, even if Chatman doesn’t start, he is up against Baltimore, who could shut down the running game of Miami even if it is the only offensive weapon they have.

Aaron Stecker, RB NO
If no one grabbed him when Reggie Bush went down, you should have by now. Stecker will be starting the rest of the season since Bush broke down. Get him while he’s hot coming off a 100 yard performance on Monday night.

WR Help

Jabar Gaffney, WR NE
I don’t know if anyone has noticed that Gaffney is really the third receiver in the Patriot offense, not Stallworth. While Stallworth hasn’t been dancing to the goalposts much at all this season, Gaffney has been scoring TDs in the Patriots games. Look for him to continue to be a risky WR but a great play if you need a potential upset sub in a 3 WR roster.

Anthony Gonzalez, WR IND
I think he finally woke up and realized he was in Marvin Harrison’s shoes. He should be a nice sub until Harrison comes back–wait, who am I kidding? He will play out the rest of the regular season. Don’t expect 2 TDs, but he can put up yardage and possibly a TD every week with Manning throwing the way he is. As a cautionary note, the match up for this week is not that great since Oakland should let Addai take an express train to the TD every time he gets the ball.

Reggie Williams, WR JAX
The butterfingers of Williams have gotten a better grip with Garrard at the helm. Look for him to have a big day whenever Garrard does, but don’t start him over a stud since he is risky except for 3 WR sets.

QB Help

Trent Edwards, QB BUF
Edwards is the choice pick coming off his 4 TD performance against Miami. He now faces Cleveland’s pass defense, so grab him if your stud has a HORRIBLE match up or if you just like taking chances for big plays this week.

Sage Rosenfels, QB HOU
Sage is a wise one. Even in tough match ups, he tends to perform well. He does get to throw to Andre Johnson. While Edwards is the better grab. If you miss him, Rosenfels could help you out at QB this week.

We will do something a little different this week.

Considering that you are probably either entering the playoffs or crying with the stall door closed in the men’s (or women’s) restroom, we are just going to take a look at the players that could replace your injured starters.

Of those players that are starting, just look back through previous week’s waiver pick ups to see who you might have missed, but I would assume the names are probably familiar to you if you have been doing your research all season. These guys might not be on your radar.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Bryant Johnson, WR ARI
Everyone is hurting in Arizona WR group. Watch the injury reports, but Johnson should be one of the two starters come Sunday. He has already been involved in the offense and should continue to be.

Arnaz Battle, WR SF
Battle has a TD in his last two games and headsinto some nice match ups with the Vikings and Bengals in weeks 14 and 15.

Sidney Rice, WR MIN
He did it again. Rice has a TD in his last two games as well. Even though the Vikings passing game hasn’t been a highlight this season, Rice has the big play ability. Take a risk on him only if you have a receiver not playing up to their potential here at the end of the season, but I mentioned him last week as well.

Mike Furrey/Shaun McDonald, WR DET
If the rumor that Roy Williams is out for the rest of the season is true, these two should clean up catching passes from Kitna in his absence. They definitely won’t have much luck running the ball in the fantasy playoffs against Dallas, San Diego and Kansas City.

RUNNING BACKS

Chris Brown, RB TEN
LenDale White’s injury is not too serious–just a finger–but he will probably continue to split time. If you are desperate, he breaths and runs with a football. The Titnas don’t have a great match up until week 16 against the Jets, but by then, they will probably have all three running backs taking carries against the weak Jets run defense.

Ladell Betts, RB WAS
If you have Portis, it is a must to have Betts on your roster. This week especially since Portis was hurt in the game and may/may not start this next week.

Reuben Droughns, RB NYG
Droughns could be the starter for a few games with Jacobs out and Ward breaking his leg this past Sunday. Watch the injury reports on Jacobs. If Droughns finishes the regular season, he will have a nice match up against Buffalo behind the strong Giants line in week 16.

Fred Jackson, RB BUF
He just might be the starter for Buffalo agianst Miami this weekend, but Marshawn Lynch might also return this week and make things difficult to call. He looked good starting this past week and broke 150 yards with his rushing and reception yards. Check Lynch at practice this week.

QUARTERBACKS

Sage Rosenfels, QB HOU
Word is that Schaub might be out for the season with his dislocated shoulder. Rosenfels would finish out the season against Tampa Bay, Denver and Indy. Not promising, but if you need a QB, he might now be the starter.

Gus Frerotte, QB STL
He’s only valuable for a few games until Marc Bulger comes back for the Rams, which might be this week, but he has a miraculous match up against Cincinnati in week 14 if Bulger does sit before it gets darker from there with Green Bay and Pittsburgh. He is prone to throw INTs, but he also likey the touchdowns.

Vinny Testaverde, QB CAR
Vinny might be the starter now in Carolina, and even though they aren’t utilizing Steve Smith lately, they are still scoring TDs. They play the Jags this week, so you know they are going to have to throw. Follow that with a Seattle and Dallas match up that are decent but not great for the old guy.

Dangerous plays at QB: Rex Grossman, Brodie Croyle, Trent Edwards, John Beck
Use them at your own risk. They have no good match ups and could leave you with more turnovers than TDs in the playoffs. A quarterback is one of the positions that can make or break your week–especially this year.

Oh, you weren’t starting to settle into a nice little butt groove going into the last week before playoffs were you? I’m sorry. If you didn’t notice, several starters just fell apart this week leaving you in the position to grab up the next starter before you playoff opponents or in great need of grabbing your back ups if you didn’t handcuff.

This week we’ll combine the injury report and waiver wire.

Philip Rivers, QB SD
Keep your eye on Rivers. Even though he has been inconsistent, he could emerge as a promising starter for your playoff run if another owner has already given up on him.

Kolby Smith, RB KC
If no one picked him up last week, does 150+ yards and 2 TDs convince you? Of course, that was against Oakland, but Smith should get his yards as the focus of the Kansas City offense as long as Larry Johnson stays out.

Roddy White, WR ATL
Harrington is going to look to White when they make a play. He’s consistent if you have a hit or miss WR that might give you trouble in the playoffs.

Trent Edwards, QB BUF
If you are hurting–and I mean hurting–at QB, you are probably stuck with one of the Trents. Trent Edwards was not much more than a game manager during his previous stint as a starter in Buffalo. He needs to meet a guy name Lee Evans before he will make his mark fantasy-wise, but for the moment, he will start over J.P. Losman to end this season. If you just need a starter, he is breathing and starting for the moment for the Bills.

Trent Dilfer, QB SF
He’s the other Trent. With Alex Smith in recovery, Dilfer put up decent numbers–250+ yards and 2 TDs. It’s hard to say which Trent would be a better addition to your roster, but Dilfer does have the better match up this week with Cleveland.

Anthony Thomas, RB BUF
Marshawn Lynch looks to be out again this week, so as long as Thomas’ own injury from Sunday is minor, he should get the start. Considering the Buffalo Trent, Trent Edwards, is back as a starter for the first game in his new stint, look for them to give Thomas plenty of carries against Washington.

Adrian Peterson, RB CHI
Peterson is now the full-time starter with Cedric Benson ending his dismal season with injury on Sunday. Don’t expect big numbers because the Bears don’t have an easy street schedule to end the season, but Peterson can be a decent number 2 RB.

Andre Hall and/or Cecil Sapp, RB DEN
The value here is all about injuries. Travis Henry is out with his knee, and Selvin Young was hurt last week and sat out Sunday. Andre Hall tweaked his own ankle in the game Sunday but played through the injury. Depending upon who returns, Hall and Young could split carries or if everyone is hurt, Cecil Sapp could start for the Broncos. Shanny is unpredictable, and this call could all come down to a game time decision.

Patrick Cobbs, RB MIA
With Ricky Williams ending his NFL season with less than 20 yards and a fumble and Chatman going out again Monday night with a neck injury, the Dolphins might have to look at Cobbs for the remainder of the season or until Chatman gets back in shape. He’s a dangerous start, but he could be a factor against the Jets.

Reuben Droughns, RB NYG
He wasn’t completely dismal against the Vikings tough run D and unless Derrick Ward returns to start this week, look for Droughns to get the start again against the low-ranked Chicago run defense.

Tony Scheffler, TE DEN
Back from injury, Scheffler has become a factor with Jay Cutler in the second half of the season. Consider picking him up if you need a good back up TE for the playoffs or have an underperforming TE–even one like Greg Olsen or Owen Daniels.

LJ Smith, TE PHI
Some owners gave up on him as he struggled to get healthy at the beginning of the year, but LJ is now back to his usual in Philadelphia. I think Scheffler has the bigger upside, but Smith can be consistent as long as the Eagles QB situation doesn’t get too chaotic.

Sidney Rice, WR MIN
He’s hit or miss, but if you want a big play WR to help you out for this final week of glory or in your playoff run, Rice has big play ability.

I am featuring The 5 Minute Drill once again this week just in case you missed last week’s posting and because they have some good advice for defenses down the stretch and in the playoffs.

Pick up Tampa Bay or Arizona if you defense is putting up something close to Bengals numbers–and punch yourself in the face for not doing it sooner.