Week 13 Pickups

By: Gabriel Harber

Howdy folks and welcome to the last week we’ll share together.  Sad, I know.  I’ll be traveling for most of December which means I’ll be unable to catch the weekend action in a timely fashion.  I’ll have to rough it like my grandpappy did before the interwebs and all that jazz.  Oh well, I’m sure I’ll be replaced by someone far more talented but much less good looking.  Happy trails and see you in the championship.

Pick Ups

Dan Orlovsky:  Out of nowhere came Orlovsky on Sunday, painting us a picture that made us completely forget Curtis.  Yes it was the Patriots, and yes the playoff schedule is brutal, but if you’ve had injury problems or are in a 2 QB league, any starting quarterback sitting on the wire this late in the season is a godsend.  There’s enough talent surrounding him that he should be able to piece together some reasonable stats in the upcoming weeks.

TJ Yates:  Anyone who watched Sunday’s contest knows that the end result for Yates was much more impressive than the final stats indicated.  The athletic talent from North Carolina was asked to manage the game and allow Arian Foster and the defense to win it.  He looked extremely poised and one can only imagine that as he becomes more acclimated to his role that Gary Kubiak will open up the offense for him a bit.  Keep an eye on Andre Johnson’s hamstring aggravation as it could go a long way towards determining Yates’ value.

Donald Brown:  As predicted, Brown has secured the leading backfield role in an offense that suddenly has a little life to it.  The more the Colts receivers continue to improve upon their hot streak, the more value Brown will hold during the stretch run.

Marion Barber:  In my opinion the must add of the week is Barber.  A reeling Bears team has revealed itself to be less than capable of chucking it through the air and suddenly finds itself without its best offensive weapon, and the facilitator of over 50 percent of its total offense, Matt Forte.  I would grab Barber and hope we see a renaissance over the last four games reminiscent of his time in Dallas that earned him the nickname “Barbarian.”

CJ Spiller/Toby Gerhart/Roy Helu:  These three should already be owned in every league, regardless of format.  I’m simply listing them as a reminder so that if one happened to slip through the cracks you can pounce.  I rate them Helu, Gerhart, and Spiller.  Spiller would be second but there are rumors coming out of Minnesota that the Vikings may shut down Adrian Peterson for the season in order to protect their investment.

Demaryius Thomas:  I had a strong feeling that Thomas would step into prominence this weekend, and stopped myself just short of adding him to last week’s pick ups article and my FanDuel article on another site.  I wish I had pulled the trigger as I would have looked like a genius, but now I just look like another idiot.  Regardless of how you view it, it breaks down like this; Thomas is the Broncos purest talent at wideout and is an impressive physical specimen.  Decker, while providing an excellent safety valve for an emerging Tim Tebow, will fall into a natural WR2 role in Denver as Thomas is simply too good to stay silent for much longer.

Reggie Wayne/Pierre Garcon/Jacob Tamme/Dallas Clark:  You may find that over the course of the season some very impatient owners dropped one of these guys (I dropped Garcon after week 10 myself.)  It really says something about how bad a quarterback is when he can take talent like this and render it waiver wire fodder, but that’s exactly what the Curtis Painter era accomplished in Indy.  Now that Dandy Dan Orlovsky is firing rockets (I kid) the Colts offense resembles a living entity once again.  There’s no guarantees here as the playoff schedule is as rough as anyone’s, but there is certainly some sky-high upside should you choose to take the risk.

Visante Shiancoe:  Shiancoe has been mostly quiet this year, but a few factors have me convinced that he’ll be relevant for the last few weeks of the season.  One, Adrian Peterson may be out for the remainder of the season which means a definite uptick in looks for the other offensive players, and two, his schedule.  Once you get past a Lions defense that hasn’t really been intimidating anyone lately, you have one of the softer set of matchups for any tight end in the league over the last four weeks.

Thanks for reading this year folks and have a great holiday!

Be sure to give me a follow here.

Crazy Gabey's Week 6 Pick Ups

By: Gabriel Harber

The bye week madness is fully upon us and for those of you sitting at 2-4 or 3-3 this means scrambling on the wire to find a suitable replacement, before you drop too far out of playoff contention.  It’s important to keep your cool in these frantic times as I’ve seen more than one owner in my leagues throw a guy like Steven Jackson or Antonio Gates on the wire for a one week fill-in.

Don’t be that guy.

The human psyche is an interesting place indeed.  Capable of producing the greatest scientific, philosophical, and technological accomplishments, we can also become creatures of base instinct at the first sign of chaos.  I say this all to serve a cautionary tale.  Be careful of the activity you engage in during these trying times.  Should I blow my number 1 priority?  Am I just going to drop him after this week?  Do I think my injured/underperforming stud will get it together after I drop him, not only weakening my team, but strengthening another?  All questions that need to be asked before you make any move from here on out.

Take a slow, deep breath, and let’s look at our options this week.

Remember Us? (Bye Week Steals)

Jackie Battle:  If no one snagged him after his week 4 coming out party, then they most likely forgot about him again because of the bye week.  Against a weak Oakland run defense this represents more than just a bye week fill-in, but a long term option.  The buzz coming out of KC is that coaches have faith in his ability, and as long as he performs, the starting gig is his to lose.  It’s a rare gem indeed to find a feature back this late in the season.

Doug Baldwin:The name isn’t recognizable, and the team is unassuming, but Baldwin has quietly been the most productive offensive weapon on a suddenly surging (and I use that term loosely) Seahawks team.  As the Birds continue to find their stride, I expect more games like he had in week 4.  You’ll want to grab him no matter what.

If They Are Still There

Antonio Gates:  I noticed many disgusted owners dropping him after he posted pathetic numbers followed up with a goose egg against New England.  You can take advantage of those who refused to read in between the lines, as Gates has been planning on returning after the bye week all along.  He practiced Monday and claims that while he can never guarantee how his foot will feel day to day, it currently feels 100%.

Steven Jackson:  This is another guy that was prematurely dropped.  I’m sure most owners had full intentions of riding out the injury on account of their 3^rd round pick investment, but when the Rams started sucking figured it was time to look elsewhere.  SJax has looked as powerful as ever the last two games, and with the addition of Brandon Lloyd on the outside to stretch the safeties, better days are ahead in St. Louis.

Earnest Graham:  He should have been grabbed before this week with report of Blount’s injury ranging from 1-2 weeks to “several.”  An MCL tear of any variety is cause for concern, and with the performance Graham gave on Sunday, the Bucs will be in no hurry to rush their young franchise player back.  If your league is PPR you have an additional interest here as Graham is an exceptional pass-catcher.

Fred Davis:  There was a moment where everyone on the Freddie-wagon was worried that Cooley had swooped in, and in one hunk of a man Fabio moment, stolen his job back.  I scoffed and quietly held onto Davis in two of my leagues.  Now it seems that Cooley is out for significant amount time again, and the Redskins are back to giving their second most talented offensive weapon his due targets.  Davis is a top 10 play from here on out.  If you can grab him off the wire consider yourself blessed.

The Pick-Ups

Demaryius Thomas/Eddie Royal:  With Brandon Lloyd on his way out of town, someone will have to step up in the new Tebow led offense, opposite of Eric Decker.  Both wideouts are expected back against the woeful Dolphins this week, and I actually like Thomas a little more here as the flashes of brilliance he displayed before going down with an injury last season have me excited about his potential.  Regardless, these are more boom/bust than usual, as the offense could take some huge steps backwards and become much more run-oriented.  Proceed with optimistic caution.

Preston Parker/Arrelious Benn:  These two are a little safer as we already know what to expect.  Both receivers have put in an  above average body of work thus far, and I see the Tampa offense continuing on an upward trend from here on out (think Josh Freeman finding his stride mid-season last year.)  Parker probably represents the greater value if you’re PPR, while Benn is the better standard league option.

C.J. Spiller:  Let me start off by saying this is a guy I have never been a fan of.  Do you ever have someone that gets under your skin for no real reason?  That’s Spiller for me, and I suppose it probably has something to with all the hype he has continually received in place of Fred Jackson, whom I’ve been saying is the real deal the past two and half seasons.  Well it finally seemed like the rest of the world had caught up to my genius, and then the Bills coaching staff gives me a reason to actually endorse the guy.  Spiller lined up as a wideout Sunday and played the role to moderate success, especially for those of you in PPR formats.  While I don’t think he’s going to blow our minds and take Stevie Johnson’s place, he could develop into a unique talent with RB/WR eligibility making him a rare breed, and one that you wouldn’t mind rostering for softer matchups or bye week fill-ins.

Jake Ballard:  In a suddenly high flying show in New York, a new tight end has emerged.  Ballard has caught at least 3 passes in the past 3 games, went for over 70 yards twice, and scored a touchdown in two of them.  As long as Nicks, Manningham, and Cruz continue shredding the corners, the seam will stay open and Ballard represents strong TE2 value.

Other Notables:  John Beck, Greg Little, Danario Alexander, Greg Salas, Torrey Smith, Visanthe Shiancoe.

Take a deep breath, consider your options carefully, and click that “add” button with confidence.  Until next week gentlemen, g’day.

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