Week 14 Pickups

Written by Andrew Fiorentino

Wednesday, 05 December 2012 07:43

Greg McElroy

It seems wrong to write anything about football without making note of the unimaginable tragedy in Kansas City last weekend.

I suspect we won't really know why the Jovan Belcher murder-suicide happened for a while – maybe never – but it's a sobering reminder that maybe we shouldn't like football so much. Reports have come out that Belcher was suffering from concussion symptoms, and you have got to wonder how much "getting his bell rung" over and over again had to do with what happened. Not to mention how Romeo Crennel actually managed to coach a football game so soon after seeing that.

As fantasy sports writers, we constantly find ourselves conceptualizing men largely based on their statistics. It can be hard to remember as a fantasy player in general that the guy who crushed your team by only catching one pass for five yards is a real, actual person, with his own motivations and dreams and friends and family, and football is his job – a job that puts him in potentially mortal danger every single week.

In many ways, fantasy football is about injury. Winning in this game is all about having the guys who don't get hurt and picking up the guys who step in for the ones who do get hurt. In the NFL, injury is opportunity. And so we've come to look at these injuries in such a figurative sense – this guy's got an ankle, that guy's got a collarbone, the other guy's got a knee; okay, when's he gonna be back? It's all a little bit cold, isn't it? When guys have season-ending injuries, we just stop hearing about them except in terms of how their absence will affect the team's play.

It all seems more than a little wrong. And yet here I am, feeding the machine again.

Quarterbacks

Greg McElroy, NYJ – It took until a Tim Tebow injury gave the Jets a reasonable backup quarterback, but Mark Sanchez finally found the bench in the third quarter Sunday after leading the Jets to precisely no points against Arizona. McElroy came in and did a fine job in limited work, going 5-of-7 for 29 yards and a touchdown. He's not going to blow you away with huge stats, but McElroy was a winner in college and he takes care of the ball – a fine combination. Don't forget, too, that the Jets have a terrifically easy schedule down the stretch – Jacksonville, Tennessee, San Diego and Buffalo. Good times could be had by McElroy and Jets fans if Rex Ryan puts his foot down and leaves the ineffective Sanchez on the bench. Word is he's leaning that way.

Running Backs

James Starks, GB – Starks has the big end of the timeshare in Green Bay, as he carried 15 times for 66 yards and a touchdown in the win over Minnesota. Alex Green was still very much in the mix with 12 carries for 58 yards, but it was Starks whose 22-yard TD run changed the complexion of the game. He's widely available and should be running a lot again this week against the Lions.

Bilal Powell, NYJ – Somewhat lost in McElroy mania was Powell's continued effort in securing the job of being the Jets' primary back. Shonn Greene carried 24 times for 104 yards, a fine day, but Powell took a larger share of the carries with McElroy in than with Sanchez – eight of his 12 totes came during the McElroy era, and he beat Greene in yards per carry, 4.8 to 4.3. He's going to continue to see his share of touches, which should generally be closer to 50 percent of the Jets' run calls, plus several passing looks out of the backfield per game. Gotta love that Jacksonville's on the slate this week.

Jacquizz Rodgers, ATL – Although Michael Turner looked young again in the win over New Orleans, Turner continued to get touches (eight carries, two catches) and produce (5.4 YPC). Next up: the run-vulnerable Panthers. Rodgers should already be owned in most PPR leagues; if he's not in yours, do something about it.

Wide Receivers

Danario Alexander, SD – Somehow, this guy is still widely available. Instant stars like Alexander don't come along the waiver wire every day; be sure to snag him if he's still around in your league. His upcoming matchup against Pittsburgh this week isn't a good one, but it's smoother sailing thereafter (Carolina, Jets, Oakland).

Josh Gordon, CLE – After a fairly quiet last few weeks, Gordon lit it up against Oakland on Sunday, catching six of seven targets for 116 yards and a touchdown. He's got fantasy-friendly matchups on tap the next two weeks (home games with Kansas City and Washington), but bad ones in weeks 16 and 17 (at Denver and Pittsburgh).

Donnie Avery, IND – Avery hadn't caught a touchdown since Week 1, but he broke out in a big way in Detroit on Sunday, catching five balls for 91 yards and two touchdowns. It's concerning that he caught just five of 14 targets – and his 49 percent catch rate on the year is far from impressive – but Andrew Luck's gonna keep on throwing and the matchups (Tennessee, Houston twice, Kansas City) are quite friendly.

James Jones, GB – With Jordy Nelson hurt, I like Jones again. Greg Jennings isn't at full speed and someone besides Randall Cobb and Jermichael Finley has got to catch some balls from Aaron Rodgers. Detroit presents a tantalizing matchup this week.

Chris Givens, STL – If Danny Amendola (foot/heel) remains out, Givens is a great bet, especially in PPR, against the Bills this week. Sam Bradford seems to just love throwing to one guy half the time, and right now Givens is that guy.

Tight Ends

Brandon Myers, OAK – Still widely available, Myers did his best garbage-time impression of Jason Witten against the Browns on Sunday, catching 14 balls for 130 yards and a touchdown – about half of that in the game's final three minutes. He's caught five or more balls in five straight weeks and seven of eight, and all four of his TDs have come in the last five weeks. This is going to be your very last shot at Carson Palmer's new favorite target.

Tony Moeaki, KC – Moeaki's been quietly useful for the last four weeks, collecting 40-plus yards in each game, including reeling in all four targets for 54 yards and a touchdown in the emotional win against Carolina. He gets Cleveland, Oakland and Indy the next three weeks, as good a trio as a tight end can ask for. Brady Quinn isn't much good, but he can get his tight end the ball enough to make him fantasy-relevant.

Dallas Clark, TB – Clark's got touchdowns in three of the last four weeks and a matchup coming against an Eagles team that was easily exploited up the seam by Jason Witten last week. You could certainly do worse at tight end than Peyton Manning's old safety valve.

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