DLF’s Weekly Impact Events

Ryan McDowell

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The 2012 fantasy football regular season is winding down. You have to pay close attention to everything in order to stay on top of your dynasty league. For most of us, we do well to steal some time away from our families and jobs to watch the games on Sunday. It becomes difficult to monitor the daily happenings around the league and even more demanding to process how that news affects your dynasty team.

That’s why we’re here!

Each week there are many news items that are important and helpful in the day-to-day managing of your fantasy team, yet have little affect on the dynasty value of players. Because of this, I will not be mentioning those here.

Here is a quick look at the events of the past week and how they impact the players on your team:

Darren Sproles, RB NO

Saints running back Darren Sproles will be out of action for up to eight weeks after fracturing his hand and undergoing surgery. Sproles is well off his 2011 pace which saw him put up over 1,300 total yards and nine touchdowns. This season, he has only 440 combined rushing and receiving yards. While his dynasty value is not greatly affected by this injury, it does open the door for other Saints’ backs like Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram and Chris Ivory to enjoy an expanded role.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB BUF

In a recent interview, Buffalo Bills general manager Buddy Nix sounded like the team is losing confidence in starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, admitting that the team has always wanted to draft a good, young quarterback. Considering Fitzpatrick and the entire Bills offense has struggled this year, it is no surprise that his tenure as the Bills starter may be coming to a close. Fitzpatrick has almost no dynasty value considering he is not even a reliable bye week starter.

Michael Floyd, WR ARZ

Cardinals rookie wide receiver Michael Floyd enjoyed a second straight five catch game, this one was good for eighty yards. Floyd continues to show improvement and earn more playing time and targets for Arizona. During his early season struggles, the value of the former Golden Domer has fallen, but now might be a great chance to buy him before his price goes back up.

Doug Martin, RB TB

Ummmm…WOW! Tampa Bay rookie running back Doug Martin exploded in week nine, rushing for 251 yards on his way to scoring four touchdowns. He also added four catches for 21 yards. It was the greatest fantasy day in recent history and directly follows another great game in week eight when he gained over two hundred total yards and two scores. Martin’s dynasty value has skyrocketed based on these two games and he is now being ranked by some among the top five running backs in the game.

TY Hilton, WR IND

Colts wide receiver TY Hilton posted the second 100 yard receiving game of his rookie year in week nine and also scored a touchdown. Hilton has been gaining targets and playing time throughout the season and has been a good weapon working out of the slot for quarterback Andrew Luck. Hilton is still under the radar in dynasty leagues, but is worth stashing as we see if his role continues to grow.

 Check back next week for another update on the week’s impact events! Follow Ryan McDowell on Twitter @RyanMc23.

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