DLF’s Weekly Impact Events
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:
Marvin Jones, WR CIN
A few weeks ago, Bengals rookie wide receiver Marvin Jones suffered an MCL injury that has kept him out of action the past four games, but that has not stopped Cincinnati offensive coordinator Jay Gruden from gushing about his progress this season. Gruden claimed that Jones was “coming on like gangbusters.” Jones should be back soon and if he is sitting on the waiver wire in your league, now is the time to add him.
Danny Coale, WR DAL
Cowboys rookie wide receiver Danny Coale, who many had high hopes for before he suffered a broken foot in the preseason, has now torn his left ACL. Coale was cut by Dallas, but has been on the team’s practice squad the entire season. He has no dynasty value in any format.
Ryan Lindley, QB ARI
Early in their week 11 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, Cardinals quarterback John Skelton was benched in favor of late round rookie Ryan Lindley. The Cardinals have dealt with poor quarterback play from Skelton and Kevin Kolb all year and the decision was made to see what they had in the rookie. While it is a long shot that Lindley will be the answer, he is worth stashing on deep dynasty rosters just to be sure. Kolb and Skelton both have no value and can be dropped. Expect the Cardinals to select a new signal caller in the first round of the 2013 draft.
LeSean McCoy, RB PHI
Eagles starting running back LeSean McCoy suffered a late game concussion in week 11 and his status for week 12 is up in the air. We don’t normally cover “minor” injuries here, but if McCoy can’t go, rookie Bryce Brown will get the start. If Brown is not already on a roster, make it happen now. Even if McCoy does play, Brown makes a great high upside player for the end of your bench.
Bilal Powell, RB NYJ
The Jets gave running back Bilal Powell additional carries in week 11 and it paid off, as he rushed for 42 yards and two scores. Fantasy footballers have long thought starting running back Shonn Greene should be playing a smaller role in the Big Apple and this may be the beginning of a running back by committee. As it stands, neither player has much dynasty value, but Powell certainly has more upside than the plodding Greene. Powell and Greene split the carries on Thanksgiving as well, with Greene recording 71 yards on 14 carries and Powell gaining 40 yards and a touchdown on 12 chances.
Justin Blackmon, WR JAX
Jaguars rookie wide receiver Justin Blackmon eclipsed most of his season long receiving numbers in one game as he hauled in seven passes for 236 yards and a touchdown in a close loss to the Houston Texans. Blackmon’s value had been on a steady decline all season long as he failed to live up to the hype of dynasty owners who spent an early rookie pick on the wide receiver. While this performance is impressive, he still has a long way to go to earn the trust of dynasty owners.
Chad Henne, QB JAX
Another impressive player for the Jaguars in week 11 was backup quarterback Chad Henne, who took over for starter Blaine Gabbert after the latter suffered an elbow injury. The injury was thought to be relatively minor, but as Henne continued to play well, Gabbert was ruled out for the rest of the game. Henne finished with over 350 passing yards and four touchdowns. The Jaguars brass must have felt comfortable with Henne’s performance, or Gabbert’s injury was worse than we first thought, because Gabbert was placed on the season ending injured reserve list. Later, Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey told reporters that Henne could start next season as the team’s starter if his strong play continues.
Brian Quick, WR STL
Even though the Rams acknowledged the importance of getting rookie wide receiver Brian Quick more involved earlier in the week, Quick managed just one catch in week 11 action. Don’t expect this to turn around this season, but Quick would be a fine buy low target this off-season.
Jalen Parmele, RB JAX
In somewhat of a surprise, running back Jalen Parmele drew the week 11 start over the struggling Rashad Jennings and rushed for 80 yards on 24 carries. In fact, Jennings only carried the ball three times and failed to gain positive yardage. Parmele was a must add in this week’s waivers and makes a solid start in week 12. Neither Jennings nor Parmele have much dynasty value.
Danario Alexander, WR SD
Chargers wide receiver Danario Alexander continued his surprising rise to fantasy relevance by grabbing seven balls for nearly a hundred yards and two scores. While it is obvious that Alexander’s dynasty value is soaring, owners should be careful. This could easily be a repeat of what we saw from Laurent Robinson’s career year in 2011. Following the breakout season, Robinson was rewarded with a huge contract from a bad team and has been hampered with injuries all season. Like Robinson, Alexander has an extensive injury history.
Rob Gronkowski, TE NE
After a dominant week 11 performance, Patriots stud tight end Rob Gronkowski suffered a broken forearm near the end of the game, which will cost him the next few weeks of action. While the Patriots will obviously miss Gronkowski, it may be fantasy owners who miss him even more. Often times when a player is injured, owners can add his “backup” via waivers. In this case, it will be Aaron Hernandez who will return to action and should greatly benefit. Of course, Hernandez is already rostered in every dynasty league. Even with the injury, Gronkowski’s dynasty value is not affected as he remains one of the top two dynasty tight ends in the game.
Titus Young, WR DET
After being benched for the final possession of the team week 11 game following an argument with his coaches, the Lions suspended wide receiver Titus Young for the Thanksgiving Day game against the Texans. Even with starting caliber talent and high fantasy upside, Young’s dynasty value is suffering due to his off the field concerns and poor attitude. It won’t help his cause that Ryan Broyles caught six passes for 126 yards as his replacement. Broyles is another great off season target in trade talks.
Beanie Wells, RB ARI
The Cardinals have activated running back Beanie Wells from the injured reserve list. Even though Larod Stephens-Howling has been impressive of late, Wells will likely regain his starting position. He’s a cheap starting running back for teams lacking depth at the position, but he will have to finish strong to gain any of his dynasty value back.
Willis McGahee, RB DEN
Broncos starting running back Willis McGahee suffered a torn MCL in week 11 and was placed on the injured reserve list. It’s a blow to the Broncos and McGahee’s dynasty value. In his place, Denver will turn to rookie Ronnie Hillman with veteran Lance Ball and Knowshon Moreno likely to carry the ball as well. This is a chance for Hillman to live up to some of the preseason hype. If he plays well, he could go into 2013 as the team’s starting running back.
Plaxico Burress, WR PIT
The injury riddled Steelers turned back to wide receiver Plaxico Burress to fill out their depth chart, signing the free agent to a one year deal. Both wide receivers Antonio Brown and Jerricho Cotchery are dealing with injuries and the Steelers needed some depth. After his solid play for the Jets last year, it is a bit surprising it took this long for Burress to get a job. He has very little dynasty value, but could be a good red zone target down the stretch for the Steelers.
Alshon Jeffery, WR CHI
Rookie wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, in his first game back from a broken hand, suffered a knee injury and was forced from his week 11 Monday Night Football matchup. It’s not a major injury, but did require surgery and will cost Jeffery at least two weeks. Jeffery’s long term value does not take much of a hit and he makes a great buy low if any owners are growing frustrated.
Colin Kaepernick, QB SF
Starting in place of the injured Alex Smith, second year quarterback Colin Kaepernick led the team to a big win over NFC foe Chicago Bears. Kaepernick threw for 243 yards and two scores and created an instant quarterback controversy. Most reports say that Kaepernick has now earned the starting job over Smith for the team’s juicy week 12 game against the Saints. If Kaepernick has another impressive performance, his dynasty value will skyrocket.
Baron Batch, RB PIT
The Steelers waived running back Baron Batch, a sleeper favorite of many, and then quickly signed him to their practice squad. Batch has no dynasty value, even in the deepest of leagues.
Laurent Robinson, WR JAX
The Jaguars placed wide receiver Laurent Robinson on the injured reserve list after he suffered a concussion in week 11. Robinson has been a huge disappointment after the Jaguars rewards him with a big free agent contract last off season and had fallen behind wide receivers Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon on the depth chart. Head coach Mike Mularkey even said that he is unsure if Robinson will ever play again following his fourth concussion in four months. Don’t be surprised if Robinson is not with the team in 2013. He has very little dynasty value and is barely worth your injured reserve spot.
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