The market took a wicked turn this past weekend for those who loaded
up on shares of WANR (Kurt
Warner). Hopefully, those of you who did so saved a little resources
for a preseason Penny Stock called Trent
Green. Those who didn't own Warner but picked up Green for a song are
likely sipping a tropical drink on a sandy beach in the Caribbean somewhere
lighting cigars with 20s. Or, well, their fantasy team is at least looking
better or something.
Here's the current market commentary ...
UPGRADES:
THE "NO-DUH" UPGRADES
Trent
Green (QB, Stl) - Obviously, he's an incredibly attractive pickup if
he's available in your league. He's expected to start 4-6 weeks because
Kurt
Warner is expected to be out that long, and he's no slouch. There should
be little drop-off with Green in. Some think he doesn't have Warner's arm,
but he does.
Albert
Connell (WR, Was) - Uh ... that was a pretty big game.
James
Stewart (RB, Det) - He is, of course, a good runner and a great goal
line back, his OL has slowly improved all year, and Bobby Ross is committed
to the run, so his good production should continue.
Corey
Dillon (RB, Cin) - Yeah, this was real easy to predict. The Broncos
had the second-best run defense in the league heading into this game and
a potent offense capable of taking Dillon, who had something like 16 yards
on his final 15 carries last week, out of the game. At least Dillon has
more upside now.
Ricky
Williams (RB, NO) - What else is there to say? Mike Ditka is a genius.
Charlie
Garner (RB, SF) - This guy is unbelievable. He didn't score, but how
about those 199 total yards?
REGULAR UPGRADES
Daunte
Culpepper (Min) - This may have been his best game of the season from
a pure football perspective in terms of the decisions and key plays he
made. Believe it or not, with Kurt
Warner likely out for a while, Culpepper could be the fantasy QB of
the year. He's on a pace for 41 TDs, and I still contend he hasn't had
his best game of the season (fantasy-wise) yet.
Rich
Gannon (Oak) - Again, there is nothing wrong with this guy. The Raider
passing game still hasn't peaked, either.
Steve
Beuerlein (Car) - Vertigo, shmertico. The Panthers had more balance
this week and their WRs were as active we should expect, so his stock is
back on the rise.
Brad
Johnson (Was) - Five of his final eight games are against poor pass
defenses, so he should finish the season with a bang, especially when you
consider he's a streaky player on the verge of a hot streak. He's an unrestricted
free agent afterward, too, so he'll be plenty motivated.
Lamar
Smith (Mia) - I said early this year that he could be this year's version
of Wheatley, and by golly it looks like he is. Incredibly, he runs better
on tough Ds.
Fred
Taylor (Jac) - He continues to run very well and would be a stud if
the rest of the team weren't so bad. Still, unless this team completely
falls apart, he should be golden with this easy upcoming schedule.
Stephen
Davis (Was) - There was some concern with Davis because he's been taking
a pounding as of late (but still very effective, of course). But again,
I see good things ahead for the Redskin passing offense, so Davis should
have some heat taken off him in the coming weeks.
Tim
Biakabutuka (Car) - It was certainly encouraging to see him get 19
carries, and equally encouraging to see him get those two looks in the
red zone and those six catches total. Even more encouraging for this week
is that the Falcons may have all three of their starting LBs and a top
backup, out this week.
Kimble
Anders (KC) - Yes, he got 100 yards. Yes, he scored twice. Yes, he's
a decent pickup if you need help at RB. But can you rely on him for the
rest of the year? Who knows? But at least he's getting the ball.
Vinny
Testaverde (NYJ) - The guy is mixing two, three, even five TDs in with
ugly play. Production is production is production, though.
Jim
Miller (Chi) - Miller, who looked rusty this past weekend, should be
better prepared the next time out, and it looks like he'll be starting
for a while because Cade
McNown is be out a 4-6 weeks with a separated shoulder. The word is
the job is Miller's to lose even with McNown back.
J.R.
Redmond (NE) - His emergence has been coming on for weeks, and he finally
may have completely supplanted Kevin
Faulk for the starting job. Redmond is as versatile as Faulk, but he
is probably more capable of carrying the load and is generally a little
more productive.
Sammy
Morris (Buf) - There he is again, the Bills' most-valuable fantasy
back. His versatility remains the key, since he's a great receiver.
Tim
Brown (Oak) - It sure looks like QB Rich
Gannon only has eyes for Brown, and Brown seems to have all kinds of
gas left in the tank.
Cris
Carter (Min) - Nothing wrong with this guy the last two weeks. While
the Colts have the Big Three, the Vikes have the Big Four.
Jay
Riemersma (Buf) - He was close to returning last week, so it's fair
to speculate that he'll return this week. He may have been dropped in your
league, so get him now. When healthy, he's a top-five fantasy TE.
Mike
Hollis (Jac) - Nothing wrong with this guy, either. He booted a 51-yard
field goal with 3-4 yards to spare this past weekend.
Steve
Christie (Buf) - A fantasy stud a couple of years ago, he's quietly
having a good year.
DOWNGRADES
The Browns - It's bad news all round for the Browns because this offense
is going nowhere with Doug
Pederson at the helm.
Mike
Alstott (TB) - Alstott had yet another fumble this past week, and his
carries could continue to be limited because of this fumbling problem.
Kevin
Faulk (NE) - The fact that rookie J.R.
Redmond started, not to mention that Redmond did well, can't be good
for Faulk's fantasy value.
Michael
Pittman (Ari) - Leave it to the Cardinals to let a horrific Cowboy
team score 48 points on them. That was absolutely pathetic, and their falling
way behind early has been a pattern this year, and a killer to Pittman.
Granted that they have a lot of injuries, but this team is about as frustrating
as a team can be.
Terry
Glenn (NE) - Listing him here is probably a knee-jerk reaction to the
past two weeks, but he hasn't gotten nearly as many looks these last two
games.
Travis
Taylor (Bal) - He's now the No. 3 option on a team that hasn't scored
an offensive TD in what seems like decades.
Jamal
Lewis (Bal) - He's certainly not a terrible guy to have, but you may
want to play him only when he has a good match-up. Like Week 10 vs. Cin,
Week 12 vs. Dal, Week 13 vs. Cle, and Week 16 vs. Ari. In between, he has
more tough match-ups.
Shaun
King (TB) - It certainly looks like you can't hang your hopes on King
on a weekly basis. He's been pretty inconsistent this year and may not
even be fantasy backup worthy.
Kent
Graham (Pit) - Graham will be shown a seat on the bench.
Herman
Moore (Det) - There was no instant karma between him and QB Charlie
Batch and (big surprise), Moore got hurt again this past week. It's
hard to just "lose it" as quickly as Moore has.
Plaxico
Burress (Pit) - Oh, just forget him ...
Peerless
Price (Buf) - This guy has been an abomination this year.
Rickey
Dudley (Oak) - Knowing this guy, he'll probably start producing when
you least expect it. But, at this point, it's real hard to expect the unexpected.
Jackie
Harris (Dal) - Okay, buddy, you've been a little too quiet lately.
I'm starting to wonder if your TDs were a fluke.