Matthew Stafford

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NFL 2014: Week #9- Five Waiver Wire Pickups + 2 Players To Consider Dropping

Posted by fantasyfurnace on October 28, 2014
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 15 Comments

This week we are listing five waiver wire pickups as well as two drops to consider. Savvy owners are always searching the wire for an edge but for those of you who don’t, the halfway point of the season is upon us. This is the time to begin putting yourself in a better position to make the playoffs in your league!

Martavis Bryant-WR-Steelers- How could you not add a wide receiver who has scored three touchdowns in the last two games? Markus Wheaton has not met his expectations in Pittsburgh and QB Ben Roethlisberger has taken notice and has made Bryant his WR2 thus making him one of the most added pickups this week.

Theo Reddick-RB-Lions- If you are in a PPR league and looking for a  running back who can catch multiple passes from a flame thrower like Matthew Stafford, then Reddick could make for a very serviceable replacement for Reggie Bush who’s been struggling with an ankle injury. Reddick totaled 79 yards and had eight receptions (11 touches) with a touchdown last week vs Atlanta. He should be available and picked up in most leagues.

#41 RB Theo Reddick, a 6th round pick in the 2013 draft out of Notre Dame, is Darren Sproles-like with his abilities to rack up catches in the backfield. says The Furnace. Photo:Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

#41 RB Theo Reddick, a 6th round pick in the 2013 draft out of Notre Dame, is Darren Sproles-like with his ability to rack up catches in the backfield; perfect for PPR leagues says The Furnace. Photo:Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

Donte Moncrief-WR-Colts- Seven receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers! There, that should get your attention…Can’t say that Moncrief will give you these kinds of numbers every week, but Reggie Wayne surely isn’t so why not add the rookie from Ole Miss (especially in deeper leagues).

Latavius Murray-RB-Raiders/Jonas Gray-RB-Patriots- These two backs are similar in that they are our speculative pickups for those in deeper formats who can afford to roll the dice and/or stash one for safe-keeping. Gray had 17 rushes good for 86 yards in Week 8 while with Murray, it’s just a matter of time before his number is called after injury-prone Darren McFadden limps off to the sidelines.

TIME TO DUMP:

Julian Edelman-WR-Patriots- One touchdown- all season. Five catches in his last two games. You could do better.

Cecil Shorts III-WR-Jaguars- With the exception of his performace in week 6, we’re not sure if QB Blake Bortles even knows who this wideout is.

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NFL Week #9: This Week’s Five Best Bets

Posted by fantasyfurnace on November 2, 2012
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

Not a bad week #8 as we went 4-1. Our only loss coming at the hands of the New York Jets. Credit the Dolphins for playing hard and wanting this game much more than their opponents. If the Jets couldn’t get up for a game vs their division rivals and thus trying to avoid going 3-5 then I’m not sure they can get up for much else. We enter the second half of the NFL season with a pretty respectable 26-14 record and, of course, will continue to look to improve this week…

*Home team in CAPS

Lions over the JAGS- It looks like Calvin Johnson (knee) who is currently questionable, will be a game time decision and even though the Jags could be without their two starting cornerbacks, Derek Cox and Rashean Mathis, there just is not enough offense for the Jags to overcome Matthew Stafford who has finally come on of late. Stafford will still have WR Titus Young who we touted in this week’s waiver wire pickups, and the duo of Mike Leshoure and Joique Bell at RB (Bell will get more passes than rushing opportunities). The Jags will still be without MJD but Rashad Jennings is more than adequate and will help those in PPR leagues. In the end however, it will be the Lions defense that will help win this game and so we expect sacks & INT’s from Blaine Gabbert. Suh should shine in this one. (say that 3 times fast..)

#9 QB Matthew Stafford has been coming on like the Stafford of old and should have no problem hooking up with Young & Pettigrew this week. Photo: thepigskinreport.com

GIANTS over the Steelers-They helped us gain our fist win last week so we’re opting to stay with a good thing. The G-Men are now 6-2 and can really pull away from the rest of their division with a win here at home. The Steelers still will be without several of their defensive starters for yet another week and now will have issues with their RB’s. Rashard Mendenhall (Achilles) will miss this week’s action but will probably return in week 10. Jonathan Dwyer (Doubtful) is also expected to miss Sunday’s game, however Isaac Redman will start. Pittsburgh has the weapons to pull off an upset but if the Giants D continues it’s onslaught, they might just end up keeping Big Ben off balance and susceptible to throwing a pick or two. The Giants need to limit TE Heath Miller’s production and avoid a disaster like the 18 receptions they allowed Cowboys TE Jason Witten to amass last week.

BROWNS over the Ravens- This is our “Upset Special” this week. With the exception of their week one shellacking of the Bengals, the Ravens haven’t blown anyone out this season. In fact four of their games were decided by a total of seven points! Cleveland has played some great defense and we give them a chance at this upset by virtue of the their last meeting vs the Ravens AT Baltimore and WITH Ray Lewis in which they lost by a touchdown but succeeded in holding Ray Rice to just 49 yards rushing. We know that Brandon Weeden can pass against the Ravens because he threw for 320 yards in that game. And in last week’s game, the Brownies held the Chargers, who scored 31 on Thursday night, to just 6 points. Going with the underdog here.

#3 QB Brandon Weeden and RB Trent Richardson should have enough to upset the visiting Ravens this Sunday. Photo: speakingonsports.com

PACKERS over the Cardinals- Yes the Pack are prohibitive favorites over ‘Zona but they should have no problem matching the 11 point spread and even winning by a few more in this one at Lambeau Field where the temps are falling as as quickly as a Matt Cassel interception! By game time expect the balmy Cards to experience a drop of 50-55 degrees from what they’re use to. Then there are the two quarterbacks; Aaron Rodgers vs John Skelton. The difference in the amount of touchdowns thrown by these two QBs is 20!  The Cardinals, who started off the season as virtual sleepers, have lost their last four games in a row and we see no reason to believe that they’ll right their ship against the Packers on the road, not after losing by 21 to S.F. last week and by 14 to St. Louis in week 5 scoring just 3 points in both games!

TEXANS over the Bills- This is another game with a large spread that we think the Texans can win by 10 more. The Bills give up way too many points to stay in this one. In fact in four of their seven games this season they have yielded 35 or more points. On the other hand Houston, probably one of the best teams on both sides of the ball are ranked third in offense in the league. On the plus side, Buffalo is a decent 2-2 on the road and Fitzpatrick has thrown 15 touchdowns so far this season. It could be a high scoring affair but we think the Texans will keep the Bills at bay and win pulling away.

Fantasy Football: Week #4 Waiver Wire Pickups

Posted by fantasyfurnace on September 26, 2012
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

We see an annual trend forming as we enter week 4 and that is only a limited number of fantasy relevant RBs remain available on the waiver wire; unless of course, you’re in a league 0f 8 or less.. What there IS an abundance of  are quality quarterbacks. Two such QBs made our pickup list this week, but before we begin, should Andy Dalton or Joe Flacco be available in your leagues, stop reading this and run to pick them up!

This photo of veteran referee Ed Hochuli has absolutley nothing to do with this week’s pickups but it sure is nice knowing that we’ll probably see him on the field as early as this weekend! What a site for sore eyes.. Photo: Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images

Ryan FitzpatrickQB-Bills- There are a couple of things we like about Fitzpatrick. The first is that he hasn’t thrown a pick in his last two games. In fact he tossed three touchdown passes last week giving him a league high 8 on the season. The second is his love for this month. So much so that his 17 TD passes in the month of September are the most in the NFL over the last two seasons. Fitz is owned in around 40% of most leagues and is a Must Add in all formats.

#14 Ryan Fitzpatrick hasn’t had a pick since the week 1 disaster vs the Jets. A must add this week vs the Pats. Photo: nflpassers.com

Christian Ponder-QB-Vikings- We have been touting this kid since last season and he has performed as we predicted so far this year. Against a staunch 49ers defense he completed 21 of 35 passes for just under 200 yards, no interceptions, and two touchdowns in a stunning 24-13 win. On the season Ponder has already rushed for a touchdown and has 41 rushing yards to his credit. This week he makes a high end QB2 option vs the Detroit Lions. Ponder is owned in just 20% of leagues.

Andrew Hawkins-WR-Bengals- This 26 year old breakout slot receiver is still available in 55% of leagues even though he has been averaging 15.46 fantasy points in most leagues over the season so far. He has 208 receiving yards and two touchdowns to add to his resume as well and he has one of the hottest quarterbacks throwing him the ball. If Hawkins is available in your league then consider this: in Yahoo! leagues he has 3 less fantasy points then Roddy White! Need we say more?

#16 WR Andrew Hawkins caught a decisive touchdown last week and is becoming Andy Dalton’s 2nd favorite receiver after A.J. Green. Photo: sportinglife.com

Nate Burleson-WR-Lions- This veteran wideout was targeted a dozen times just last week. He caught 10 passes for 69 yards, had a touchdown, and had 2 rushes for 7 yards. Not overwhelming fantasy numbers but serviceable all the same. Granted his numbers might drop a little should Matthew Stafford not start on Sunday but QB fill-in Shaun Hill who would get the nod in his place had 10 starts in 2010 and averaged 260 yards and threw 16 touchdowns. Burleson is owned in 31% of leagues.

Atlanta Falcons-Team Def- Now that everyone it seems has gobbled up the Arizona Cardinals, and deservedly so, there is still one more 3-0 team that has a defense/special teams group worthy of a pickup: Atlanta. They have a league leading 7 interceptions and are tied with 4 fumble recoveries. With 50% more fantasy points than the N.Y. Giants and facing a Carolina Panthers offense that was only able to muster up 7 points last week, the Falcons only 51%  owned are a Must Add this week.