Playoff Pick Ups Part 2

OK, this time I am going to focus on late season RB pick ups to help you make and win in the Playoffs. The top 3 contenders you can make waiver claims are, Brian Westbrook, Toby Gerhart & Jonathon Stewart.

We will start with the Ol' man of the bunch or the "Wizard" as he is known, Brian Westbrook. Gore is done for the season, so Westbrook is the man, again. In 2007 & 2008 westbrook was an elite back running over everyone and catching a lot of balls to boot, then he started getting some nicks,Philly didn't re-sign him and he wound up in San Fran. The Only Concern here is can he stay healthy, he has already proven he can stay in a game longer than Chad Pennington. Can He hold it together for 5 games? This is a gamble I am willing to take. In Philly Westbrook's name always seemed to be on the injury report, but he always seemed to play on Sunday and have a big game. Thats what the Wizard is a Gamer. He is available in 71% 0f Yahoo Leagues and 85% in CBS Today, tomorrow after waivers he'll be gone.

Next Up is Jonathon Stewart, who appears to be healthy. With Deangelo Williams on IR and Mike Goodson being...well Mike Goodson Stewart should remain the starter. Unfortunately The Panthers still want to platoon RB's so Stewart will share some of his carries. He Is Available in 46%  Yahoo leagues and 30% of CBS.

And now presenting your new starting tailback in Minnesota (maybe) Toby Gerhart.
If you are an A.P. owner and don't already have Gerhart handcuffed, we may have to come and take your man card. Sure Gerhart wasn't the fasted RB in his draft class, and he's not even the fastest on his team, but he is faster than Favre, meaning he will be open when ol'#4 scrambles. If Gerhart starts this week I expect big #'s. The Vikings are being very quiet so far to the extent of A.P.'s injury, But I am assuming that he won't start this week against Buffalo. That single fact alone means you should snag him and start him if only for this week as the Bills are giving up 167 yards a game on the ground.


Of The 3 RB My first Choice would be Westbrook other than Seattle every team he is going up against allows over 100 yards a game, and if your in a league that has your championship on week 17 your in luck The Niners get to play Arizona again but this time its a home game.

Must have Playoff pick ups

As the regular fantasy football season is winding down, its time to bolster your roster for the playoffs.  First off how good is your Back up QB?I can know that over 40% of Fantasy players can upgrade their teams at Backup QB. I'll throw a couple of names out.
 Ryan Fitzpatrick ( available in 47% of Yahoo Leagues 18% of CBS). Fitz is a geat backup capable of giving you big numbers and is worthing of spot starting due to Matchups.

Sam Bradford (available in 67% of Yahoo and 38% CBS) While not as consistant as Fitzpatrick he has turned the corner as is worth the roster spot as a backup and especially in keeper leagues.

But The Main guy I think you need right now is.........

Jon Kitna, thats right I said what I never thought I would say, but go pick up Kitna. I promise you he is producing better than your back up, in fact he is producing better than 25% of starting QB's on fantasy roster's! Want proof ? These stats come from a standard Yahoo! league. In the Last 6 games Kitna has scored 107.14 points. While Peyton Manning in His last 6 starts has scored 102.6 points. so if you need depth don't wait , grab Kitna. You won't be sorry everybody in Dallas is playing for their jobs, so expect a lot of passing from here on out,meaning lots more points for Kitna.

2010 Fantasy Draft in Retrospect

I commish a Yahoo Fantasy football league, Standard Yahoo scoring 12 teams. just for fun I analyzed the first round picks compared to the 12 best players in the league to date.


here is the braek down.



Here are the first round picks from our league and how many points they have scored up to date.



#1 Chris Johnson RB TEN 157.80 (Ride This!)



#2 Adrian Peterson RB MIN 188.70 (Colts)



#3 Maurice Jones Drew RB JAC 157.30 (Norsemen)



#4 Drew Brees QB NO 207.74 (Beer Thirty)



#5 Aaron Rodgers QB GB 235.30 (Voodoo Hounds)



#6 Rashard Mendenhall RB PIT 156.00 (T.I. Pirates)



#7 Peyton Manning QB IND 208.16 (MightDogs)



#8 Ray Rice RB BAL 138.70 (TN Rookies)



#9 Michael Turner RB ATL 146.70 (Dakota T-Wolves)



#10 Andre Johnson WR HOU 116.70 (Caballos Cowboys)



#11 Frank Gore RB SF 151.30 (RoadWarriors)



#12 Ryan Mathews RB SD 53.10 (Cuervo Gold)







Now Here are the current top 12 the second set of numbers indicate round and pick in wich they where selected in the draft. ND indicates not drafted.





#1-1.5 Aaron Rodgers QB GB 235.30 (Voodoo Hounds)



#2-5.8 Arian Foster RB HOU 233.80 (TN Rookies)



#3-5.6 Philip Rivers QB SD 217.38 (T.I. Pirates)



#4-13.3 Kyle Orton QB DEN 214.06 (Colts)



#5-1.7 Peyton Manning QB IND 208.16 (Mighty Dogs)



#6-1.4 Drew Brees QB NO 207.74 (Beer Thirty)



#7-ND Peyton Hillis RB CLE 202.42 (Mighty Dogs)



#8-3.2 Tom Brady QB NE 201.52 (Colts)



#9-ND Michael Vick QB PHI 200.54 (Ride This!)



#10-1.2 Adrian Peterson RB MIN 188.70 (Colts)



#11-9.5 Matt Ryan QB ATL 185.80 (Voodoo Hounds)



#12-7.8 Eli Manning QB NYG 183.64 (TN Rookies)









So here are some quick observations.



100% of teams Drafting QBs in the first round, that QB is still in the top 12 in points.



12.5% of teams Drafting RBs in the first round, that RB is still in the top 12 in points.





It is becoming more and more obvious to me that the era of taking a "RB" in the first 2 rounds should be over, but every year it seems that the RB's go first. In this particular League I Took Brees in the first round, and got Steven Jackson in the second round as the 21st overall pick. My next RB pick was in the 6th round Ahmed Bradshaw with the 69th pick. I went for a more balanced teamthis year.



Here are my pics.



1. (4) Drew Brees (NO - QB)

2. (21) Steven Jackson (StL - RB)

3. (28) Larry Fitzgerald (Ari - WR)

4. (45) Dallas Clark (Ind - TE)

5. (52) Hakeem Nicks (NYG - WR)

6. (69) Ahmad Bradshaw (NYG - RB)

7. (76) Johnny Knox (Chi - WR)

8. (93) Justin Forsett (Sea - RB)

9. (100) Terrell Owens (Cin - WR)

10. (117) Lee Evans (Buf - WR)

11. (124) Carson Palmer (Cin - QB)

12. (141) Miami (Mia - DEF)

13. (148) LaDainian Tomlinson (NYJ - RB)

14. (165) David Buehler (Dal - K)





As you see I got tremendous value for Tommlinson and I traded him & Santonio Holmes holmes



LT became expandable because I picked up Green Ellis



dropped Palmer at QB and pick up Fitzpatrick.



When Dallas Clark went down I grabbed Tamme.



I won't bore you with all the minor changes. I am just glad to say I am not a Pick a RB in the first 2 round guy anymore.....



Oh and as far as my team is concerned I am 8-3 tied for first and already have this week locked up, My only regret was not having a low enough waiver slot to grab Hillis or picking him a week sooner, I have him in my other 3 leagues and he is pure Gold!

Run for the Hillis!

Ok week three in the NFL is in the bag and some great sleepers have come to light. If Peyton Hillis is available in your league snag him now, he is pure 100% Stud! I was already big on Hillis but after dropping  144yds on the Ravens, he is now bonafide.

anothe good waiver pick up would be Benjarvus Green-Ellis or the Law Firm as he is known. Now that Faulk is out for the season and with Fred Taylor being so dang old it is time for the Law Firm to be the man.....

Picking Up Naanee & Jackson

Just some moves I made in one of My Yahoo! leagues and my though process involved in making the moves...

Sometimes you need to change but you need to research a little to make sure your change actually helps, positive change good, change for the sake of change bad.

I won last week but I still made 3 moves This morning.

Move 1 Drop Kareem Huggins picked up Brandon Jackson

Reason for move 1 Huggins was a sleeper RB pick in our draft, he did not play this week, Jackson is a Green Bay RB who is now their starter because of Ryan Grants Injury, Upgrade

Move 2 Drp Lee Evans Picked Up Legadu Naanee

Reason for move 2 Lee is an accomplished WR in Buffalo but their offense is lackluster, Naanee is a WR in SD whose offense is really active in the passing game, with Vincent Jackson's holdout it appears Naanee is step up to the plate with scoring.

Move 3 Drop David Buehler sign John Kasey

Reason for move 3 I picked Buehler with my last pick in the draft(I always pick a K last, no reason to waste a higher pick, no one has ever won their league because of their K) My thought in taking Buehler was he kicks for the Cowboys he'll get lots of chances... well he got his chances last week and missed every field Goal so I grabbed the veteran Kasey who is going against TB this week and should have plenty of opportunity, I may swap K's a half dozen times in a season.

Week One NFL, Dump Kolb!

OK week one is in the books, and there where quite a few surprises out there.
Two big performers where Arian Foster and Matt Forte. Both should be held on to as they should continue to rack up points, especially Forte, as he is going to have a monster year with Mike Martz calling plays (think Marshall Faulk with the Rams!)


The real big disappointment was Kevin Kolb

Kolb is going to be a messy situation, even before He got hurt Andy Reid kept inserting Micheal Vick in the game. Kolb Left with a concussion completing only 5 passes with a QB rating of 56.2, Vick came in and in the second half found his stride and really made a game of it. Reid claims there won't be a QB battle, but I don't see how their won't be if Vick keeps coming into the game.

I recomend dropping Kolb and picking up either Matt Hassleback, Derek Anderson I might take a flyer on Vick if I already had a decent backup QB.

Carson Palmer Big Value....

I have done a handful a drafts in the past few weeks and I am surprised how undervalued Carson Palmer has been in most drafts. I have drafted him in two different Leagues he fell to 12th round in one league and the 13th in the other. According to Yahoo! Palmer is going in the middle of the elenth round on Average, this is a terrific Value pick to make, I feel Palmer will put up better #s this year than he has lately. I wouldn't be surpised at the end of the year if he is top 5 in passing yards.

Kareem Huggins Update..

For those that took Huggins late in the draft looks like you'll get a payoff, as Tampa Has released Derrik Ward and Huggins has the #2 spot at RB, and we all know how injury prone the "Cadilac" is so its just a matter of games before Huggins is Tampa's #1 RB.

Sleeper WR'S

If your looking for a late round sleeper WR I have two to choose from, first is Greg Camarillo, who just got traded to the Vikings, with Rice out for at least the first 4 games and with Harvin having migraines he could quickly become Farves new favorite target.

My other sleeper is Oaklands Louis Murphy, He should get a chance to start the first few games of the season due to Chaz Schillens injury, if he can perform in the regular season like he has been tearing it up in the preseason he could be a real bargain.
Both Guys are worth a late round flyer..

Football Sleeper Alert: Kareem Huggins

IF your looking for depth on your football roster take a flyer on Tampa's Kareem Huggins. Kareem was undrafted in 2009 and was on Tampa's practice squad. This year he has a legitimate shot to make the team, He has severely outplayed Derrik Ward and has better stats than Cadillac.

So far in preseason action he has 99 yards on 16 carries that's a 6.2 yards a carry and he has been playing in the first half of games, so the competition level is there.

This Hofstra product is definitely worth a late round flyer in your draft!

Picks for Sprint Cup at Watkins Glen!

OK Road race fans here is NASCAR's second forray into road course racing this season. Here are my pics for my Yahoo! Racing leagues.

A List Driver Juan Pablo Montoya Starts 3rd and was 2nd fastest in practice.

B List Drivers Jamie MacMurray Starts 2nd and was 8th in practice.

Marcose Ambrose Starts 11th 3rd in practce ( Marcose has won the last 3 Nationwide races he has raced at the Glen)


C List Drivers Boris Said Starts 13th 19th in Practice, Boris is Racing for redbull this weekend so he will have good equiptment under him.


Here is my bench A List, Tony Stewart. B List, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex Jr. C List, Robby Gordon

Shooting Starlin

Looking for some depth at SS? Pick up Cubs Rookie SS Starlin Castro. He has been promoted to the #2 spot in the batting order and is hot right now. here are his stats in the last 30 days.H/AB 31/82 R 10 HR 0 RBI 12SB 3 AVG .378 He is not a power hitter but he is making a lot of contact. and has had several multi hit games recently. he is available in 79% of Yahoo! Leagues and 45% of CBS Leagues.

Kissing Bricks

Here are my pics for The Brickyard 400.
Its mid season so I have to watch my driver allotments more carefully. Drivers like Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Burton make great picks this weekend. But most of us have only a handful of starts left for these two.

My A List Picks. Jeff Gordon Tony Stewart

My B List Picks. Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick,David Reutiman & Clint Bowyer

My C List Picks. A.J. Allmendinger Reed Sorenson

It should be a great race as this summer classic always is enjoyable.

Lifelock.com 400 Picks

Nascar is racing tonight at The Chicagoland Speedway I have submitted my picks for my Yahoo! Leagues. Here they are for your consideration.

A List- Jimmie Johnson (qualified 2nd and has been fast in practice)

B List- Kasey Kahne
Clint Boywer (Both Clint and Kasey are consistent in practice and Qualifying)

C List- AJ Allmendinger (AJ qualified 13th but has been getting faster during practice, in the second session he was 6th fastest.

Here is my Bench Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick,Matt Kenseth (matt has been dismal all week do not start tonight) and reed Sorenson.

After last weeks fiasco or as I call the Daytona Blender it is nice to actually use some logic in trying to pick winners this week

20 Years of Days of Thunder!

Wow time flies its been twenty years since Days of Thunder made its theatrical debut.
My favorite quote from the movie.."he didn't slam you, he didn't bump you, he didn't nudge you... he *rubbed* you. And rubbin, son, is racin'" what's your favorite quote?

Barry Enright or Wrong.....Story of a fresh Arm!

Looking for a fresh arm? Check out rookie Barry Enright (SP- AZ). Enright was just called up from the minors and is taking Dontrelle Willis' spot in the rotation. In his first start he earned a win against the Cards, Enright allowed one run, 4 hits, 4 walks while throwing 5 strikes in 5 innings. Not Strasburg but still a solid first effort. Best of all he is available in over 90% of all Yahoo! & CBS leagues.

Jamarcus Russell, Dumb or Dumber?

Free agent Jamarcus Russell was arrested Monday afternoon for possession of a controlled substance, said to be codeine syrup or "Sizzurp."

The arrest took place after an undercover investigation of Russell's home. Booked at 4:22PM Monday, the former No. 1 overall pick was released "minutes later" after posting $2,500 bail. Already drawing scant interest on the free agent market, Russell won't latch on with an NFL team anytime soon after this news.

Wow this guy is an accident and apperently has no desire to play in National Football League.

Barmes & Torres for your Consideration.

If your looking for some depth on your baseball rosters I have two pick ups for you.

#1 Clint Barmes (COL 2B, SS) First off I get excited when I can find a multi position pick up. and Barmes is hot lately. in the last 30 days he is batting .330
15runs, 3HR, 15RBI & 2SB. He is available in 41% of yahoo! leagues and 75% of CBS Leagues.

#2 Andres Torres (SF OF) Looking for a gem in the outfield?? try Andres Torres this young speedy fielder is coming on strong this summer. In the last 30 days he is batting .296 17runs, 1HR (in the park) 10RBI,8SB. This guy is quick and he can make things happen on the base paths, and best of all he is below most peoples radar currently, available in 11% of Yahoo! leagues and 29% of CBS leagues.

Picks for Coke Zero 400 at Daytona

Its here again a restricter plate race! What I have learned from past racers at Daytona and Talledega is nothing really matters, not having the best equipment, not having the best crew, not being the best driver etc... it all comes down to missing the big one. I am not using any of my drivers with less than 8 starts left(except Dale JR.) as I don't want to lose the start just to end up in the big one and ending up finishing 39th (it has happened to me several times over the years) So I am starting drivers with several starts left, some are surprising that they have so many starts left, others it is obvious why.... here are the drivers I am allocating for Yahoo! qualifying...

A List

Kurt Busch 8 starts left, he has been under utilized this season and it might pay off later this season.

Tony Stewart 9 Starts left, Smoke under performed early in the season but I think he has found his groove.


B List

Dale Earnhardt JR. 5 Starts left, I plan on using him here and at Talledega, not going to count on him other than that.

David Ragan 9 starts left, been running strong might survive the blender.

Jamie McMurray 9 starts left, another under utilized driver that could pull it off.

Brad Kesolowski 8 Starts left, He might cause the big one but not get taken out by it.

C List

Bobby Labonte 9 starts left, crafty veteran has a better shot to avoid the big one then some of the other drivers.

Reed Sorenson 9 starts left, I am choosing Sorenson because he better equipment than most of the remaining drivers on the c list.
in

Once again its a crap shoot I could just pick names from a hat and be more successful, but such is restricter plate racing....

Another Molina??

The injury-riddled Red Sox placed Martinez on the DL on Tuesday because of a broken left thumb and selected catcher Gustavo Molina from Triple-A Pawtucket to replace him.

It almost seems like every team has a catcher Named Molina.
Gustav is not related to josie, Bengie or Yadier who are brothers.
I would wait and see how he does before I'd put him on my team.