Here is some advice on working the waiver wire in your fantasy league (for personal advice email larry at larrybrownsports.com):
Matchups to Avoid (at your discretion): Packers defense has been awesome, plus Chicago and Pittsburgh’s D have been good too. Avoid Saints, Chargers, and Bears pass defense. Still avoid Steelers, Bears, Giants, Jets run defense. Green Bay’s defense is the best in the league, and Pittsburgh and Chicago are not too far behind.
Matchups to Exploit (at your discretion): Houston, Buffalo, Jacksonville, New England and Dallas’ secondary. Buffalo, Arizona, Tampa Bay, Detroit, Denver, and Indy’s run defense. Start a defense playing Carolina and Tennessee as long as Rusty Smith is starting.
Last week’s must-have gang featured the likes of Santonio Holmes, James Jones, and Brandon Pettigrew, all of whom had huge receiving games. We also recommended Mark Sanchez (315yds, 3TDs), Matt Cassel (192yds, 2TDs, no turnovers), KC (13 points allowed), and Baltimore (two defensive touchdowns) as our monster plays. That should be reason enough to trust our judgment. Here’s our advice for picking up free agents off the waiver wire in week 12:
MUST-HAVE
Mike Tolbert, RB, Chargers – Unlikely to be available in your league once it was revealed Ryan Mathews wouldn’t play last week, Tolbert is a great pickup if he is available. Mathews is probably out on Sunday, making Tolbert a good bet for a score.
Maurice Morris, RB, Lions – Jahvid Best is bothered by turf toe making Morris the likely beneficiary. He can run and receive and should total 100 yards on Thursday.
Vincent Jackson, WR, Chargers – Likely available on your waiver wire, he’s back from his holdout this week. He’ll see even more targets with Crayton and Floyd hurt.
Keiland Williams, RB, Redskins – I wasn’t big on Keiland after his Monday night game, but with Clinton Portis hurt he should have the starting job until Ryan Torain is healthy. Starting running backs on decent offenses have value.
Brian Hartline, WR, Dolphins – We’ve recommended him before as a nice addition, but with Brandon Marshall out he should see more targets. Of course, that means he’ll get more attention from defenses too.
Sidney Rice, WR, Vikings – The big Minnesota target looked good hauling in three passes in his season debut last week. He won’t be the monster he was last year, but he still can do plenty.
*Make sure they’re not still available: James Jones
Redskins D, Browns D, Raiders D – We go with the defense facing Carolina every weekend until further notice, so the Browns draw that honor this week. The Raiders had a stinker against the Steelers, but I can’t see them giving up more than 15 or so points against the weak Miami offense. I think the Redskins will get plenty of turnovers against Minnesota — the Vikings offense has done very little on the road this year.
Matt Hasselbeck, WR, Seahawks – Back-to-back 300-yard passing games and the coaching staff says they’re letting him loose. His upcoming schedule is favorable too. He’s not a great option, but he’s putting up stats.
Reggie Bush, RB, Saints – Bush should be back this week and ready for a matchup Sunday against the Cowboys. Temper your excitement because he wasn’t a huge fantasy asset before the injury, but you could do worse.
*Make sure they’re not still available: Mike Thomas
Robert Meachem, WR, Saints – He had two TDs on Sunday giving him four for the season. He’s simply too inconsistent to trust on a weekly basis.
Donald Jones, WR, Bills – 5 catches, 70 yards, and his first career touchdown against the Bengals. Everybody got into the act last weekend but I don’t expect it to continue.
David Gettis, WR, Panthers – The numbers look nice, but aside from catching a miracle 88-yard touchdown heave, he only had one catch for four yards. Pass on him.
Joel Dreessen, TE, Texans – 4 catches, 106 yards and his third touchdown of the season last week. He’s not bad, I’m just not a fan, especially if Owen Daniels returns this week.
Justin Tuck, DL, Giants – Six of his seven sacks have come in two games. He’s just too inconsistent to rely upon in fantasy leagues.
Tashard Choice, RB, Cowboys – Felix Jones has a hip injury and Choice is a talented back. He still is far from being their primary back, but he’s a good one if injuries give him a chance.
Randy McMichael, TE, Chargers – Put up a stinker on Monday night because of a leg injury but he could see lots of action with Antonio Gates hurt. Keep your eye on him.
Ben Obomanu, WR, Seahawks – Mike Williams has a weird foot thing going on, so if he’s out this weekend Obomanu could be a beneficiary. He does have three touchdown catches on the season.
Evan Moore, TE, Browns – If Ben Watson misses the week, Moore is a more than capable replacement. Delhomme usually targets his tight ends too.
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