Waiver Wire Week 12

Welcome to another week of Waiver Wire Work. The number of games left in the season is rapidly dwindling, and the playoffs are fast approaching. A few key late season additions could be the difference between being a pretender or contender for your league championship. With that said, here are some players to keep an eye on.

WR Pickups (Immediate)

Reggie Brown (Phi) – Brown had a good game against the Giants this weekend and was the most frequently targetted WR in the Eagles offense. He now appears to be the Eagles’ chief deep threat and looks to be gaining confidence each week.

Braylon Edwards (Cle) – Edwards was the top WR for the Browns this Sunday and now appears to really be pressing for field time. Look for more strong performances from Edwards in the last part of the year.

Bobby Engram(Sea) – Engram seems to be fully healed from the rib injury he suffered earlier this year and turned in a very good performance in San Francisco. The Seahawks have a pretty favorable schedule on out, too.

Antonio Chatman (GB) – Outside of Donald Driver, the Packers’ WRs were a no-show this past game. I wouldn’t expect that to continue for too long. Look for better things to come for Chatman.

Robert Ferguson (GB) – See Antonio Chatman. This was Ferguson’s first game back from injury so look for him to slowly get back to form.

Amani Toomer (NYG) – Toomer had a very solid game once again for the Giants. He was tied with Plaxico Burress for looks, and it appears that Eli Manning is becoming more comfortable with moving the ball around in this offense.

Matt Jones (Jax) – Jones turned in another solid effort in the Jaguars’ win over Tennessee. The passing game in Jacksonville continues to grow and look very promising. The team also has a very favorable schedule down the stretch.

Ernest Wilford (Jax) – Wilford bounced back after being injured the previous week and had a good game. Wilford and Jones seem to be the beneficiaries of the coming of age of the Jaguars’ passing game.

Brandon Lloyd (SF) – There’s a chance that Lloyd was released by a frustrated owner or two after the 49ers were forced to play Cody Pickett at QB. With Ken Dorsey back in the fold, Lloyd turned in a super day for the 49ers. The schedule appears somewhat favorable down the stretch as well.

WR Pickups (Worth a Look)

Roddy White (Atl) – White has turned in three pretty solid weeks in a row in what is becoming a somewhat reliable passing game in Atlanta. Although a rookie, White looks to be in position to be on the field quite a bit with his performance.

Michael Jenkins (Atl) – Jenkins came back in his first game after injury and had a good showing for the Falcons. He was the most targetted Falcon WR this past weekend and could potentially be solid down the stretch.

Brandon Jones (Ten) – Jones is still battling back from injury but appears to be getting the starts opposite Drew Bennett on out for the rest of the year. The team will have a pretty favorable schedule down the stretch so he may be worth a flier.

Koren Robinson (Min) – Robinson had his most productive game of the year for the Vikings. Being a former 1,000-yard WR makes him an interesting wild card heading into December.

RB Pickups (Immediate)

Heath Evans (NE) – On Sunday, Evans shared the ball-carrying duties for the Patriots with Patrick Pass in Corey Dillon’s absence. Both backs turned in productive days for the team. Dillon’s injury appears to be rather nagging so expect more of the Evans/Pass show in New England until Dillon is healthy.

Patrick Pass (NE) – See Heath Evans. Until Dillon is healthy, Pass should continue to get looks and carries along with Evans.

Marion Barber III (Dal) – While Julius Jones was healthy enough to finally garner his first start since being injured, it was Barber who came up with the team’s two rushing TDs. It appears that head coach Bill Parcells is more than happy with Barber’s performance to the point that Barber is seeing much of the goal-to-go work.

TJ Duckett (Atl) – Duckett finally appears to be healthy and once again is involved in the potent running attack of the Falcons. Though he is sharing the RB duties with Warrick Dunn, Duckett is the goal-line RB and is a pretty good bet to score a TD in most weeks.

Greg Jones (Jax) – Fred Taylor surprisingly made the start for the Jaguars this past Sunday but was not effective, and Jones ended up seeing the majority of the work. The Jaguars may need to sit Taylor down for a while to help get him healthy for a playoff run. Jones has been able to produce well in his absence.

Chester Taylor (Bal) – Chester Taylor had a nice performance for the Ravens as Jamal Lewis was rendered ineffective against the Steelers. Coach Billick has since stated that Taylor will be a bigger part of the game plan from here on out. While it is a platoon situation, Taylor should produce more for this offense with more touches.

JJ Arrington (Ari) – Arrington scored another TD this weekend for the Cardinals and is still the only sign of life from the running game in Arizona.

Dominic Rhodes (Ind) – This one is out on a limb a bit, but hear me out. The Colts are off to a dominating start to the season so far this year, reminiscent of the Philadelphia Eagles’ run last season. One would think that Tony Dungy and company may opt to rest some of their stars near the end of the season if the Colts keep cruising along at their current pace. If that ends up being the case, Rhodes may be one of the key recipients of additional playing time.

QB Pickups (Immediate)

Brad Johnson (Min) – Johnson didn’t set the world on fire against the surprisingly stingy Packers, but he did provide serviceable numbers.

Mike McMahon (Phi) – Donovan McNabb appears done for the year and headed towards surgery. McMahon played reasonably well for the Eagles and should carry the torch for the team from here on out.

Jeff Garcia (Det) – Joey Harrington did nothing to keep the starting QB job in the Lions’ latest loss. Look for Garcia to take back the reins this weekend.

Kurt Warner (Ari) – Warner turned in his best performance of the year, and in quite some time, this past weekend against his old Rams team. One thing the Cards can do is pass, so if you are hurting at QB, Warner is a very good pickup right now.

Chris Simms (TB) – Simms only passed the ball a handful of times in Atlanta but still is a starter on a pretty decent team with good WRs.

Jamie Martin (Stl) – Marc Bulger reaggravated the shoulder injury that had him sidelined for a couple of weeks. The initial report is that Bulger will miss about two-to-three weeks, although nothing is firm yet. Martin had played pretty well in his place. He could be a very nice addition considering that the WR corps is finally all healthy and back on the field again.

Kicker Pickups (Immediate)

Joe Nedney (SF) – Anyone who can make a field goal in the conditions that he was kicking in this past weekend deserves to be picked up. The offense in San Francisco has been at least decent enough to get into field goal range recently, and Nedney has been cashing in.

Billy Cundiff (Dal) – Cundiff is back for a second tour of duty with the Cowboys. He has a chance to score quite a bit with the revamped Cowboys offense.

TE Pickups (Immediate)

Heath Miller (Pit) – He should start contributing more once Big Ben is back, which could be as soon as this week.

Erron Kinney (Ten) – Kinney once again had a strong game for the Titans. He is definitely an every-week starter now.

Dallas Clark (Ind) – Clark was an early-season bust, but recently he’s been coming on strong. He turned in a 100-yard receiving effort and a TD in the Colts’ win over the Bengals. He appears to once again be a factor in the Colts’ passing game.

Defensive Pickups (Immediate)

Denver – The Broncos are flying high after shutting out the Jets. They are a very solid unit.

Tennessee – Regardless of the opponent, the Titans defense has continued to produce big plays for the team, scoring a TD this Sunday. Their schedule is pretty favorable down the stretch, making them not a bad defense to grab at all.

 
Scott Houlding, known to forum regulars as MadScott, made it through another week in the Cafe’s Sweet Sixteen contest thanks to wins by Indianapolis and Chicago.

 

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