Week 13 Thoughts
I hope this finds each of you doing very well and in good spirits. I am so excited that the 2012 Toyota Hall of Fame class will be revealed within the next couple of weeks. It truly has been an amazing experience and I can't thank Toyota enough for this amazing honor!
Week 13 was significant for several of my high-stakes teams. As you can imagine I was glued to the TV most of Sunday afternoon. I generally don't check my scores until after the early games. However, this was championship week in several of my leagues so I was checking the computer more than I generally do on a Sunday afternoon. I must say that I won a few, but I lost an absolute heartbreaker to one of my good friends on Sunday night. I was up 61 points in a high-stakes league. My team was finished but the other team had none other than Tony Romo, and, you guessed it, Bryce Brown. Romo played the best second half he has ever played and threw three touchdowns to Dez Bryant and Miles Austin. Meanwhile, Bryce Brown kept rolling up the yards and scored two TDs. I lost the league championship and a nice pay day by 1.5 points. It was not pretty, to say the least. I woke up with a sense of deja vu, because the week before I lost an opportunity to advance to the league championship because of Bryce Brown's 34 point outburst. All I can say is you win some and you lose some. The good news is all four of my high-stakes teams did advance to the tournament. A few teams did not advance because I was hit early on by significant injuries.
Last night I had Robert Griffin III and Pierre Garcon in another league and they didn't disappoint. I drafted Garcon in a few leagues and all I could think about is what could have been if Garcon had been healthy all year.
Last week I said Andy Reid's days were numbered. I think I should have said Michael Vick's days are numbered in Philadelphia. Early on, Andy Reid was adamant that Michael Vick was his starter when he returned. Yesterday, Reid changed his position and said Nick Foles is the starter for the remainder of the season. They obviously want to see if Nick Foles is the long-term answer at QB for the Philadelphia Eagles. Another interesting side story for fantasy players is what to do with LeSean McCoy and Bryce Brown in the same backfield. If McCoy is not in the picture, I can assure you that Bryce Brown is a top five pick next year in a redraft or dynasty league. He's that good.
Lastly, as most of you know, I am not a proponent of drafting a QB early unless you participate in a two QB league or your QB receives 6 points per TD. Most of the high stakes leagues allow only 4 points per TD for a QB. Why draft Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees or Tom Brady when you can draft a stud RB or WR and wait on a solid QB like Robert Griffin III or Andrew Luck?
There were several injuries again this past weekend. Ryan Broyles is out for the season. Donald Brown suffered an ankle injury and Rashad Jennings left the game early with a concussion. Jordy Nelson also left the game early with a hamstring injury, Cecil Shorts left the game early with a concussion, Julian Edelman left with a foot injury and Dustin Keller left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury. Always check the injury report before inserting a player in your lineup.
Week 14 Free Agent Focus
Jordan Todman, Jacksonville Jaguars
Most of my waiver wires are closed for the season but if you can still work the waiver wire, I am going to give you a very deep sleeper. His name is Jordan Todman and he was just signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. With Rashad Jennings' possible concussion issues and Maurice Jones-Drew still out a few more weeks, Todman could be the next RB in line to take over in the backfield. The schedule this week is very favorable as they are playing the New York Jets and their defense ranks 27th in the league against the run. Todman was very good in preseason and I think he will see a bulk of the carries this week against the Jets if Jennings is out.
Other players to look for on your waiver wire are the following: Pierre Garcon, Kendall Wright, Jacob Tamme, Brandon Myers, Chris Givens, Donnie Avery, TY Hilton, and Jonathan Dwyer. I am going to assume most of these players are long gone in your league and I really shouldn't even mention Bryce Brown. I highlighted him two weeks ago and the LeSean McCoy owner in your league should have already rostered Bryce Brown on his team.
Always remember to carry a strong kicker and two good defenses on your team if you have the extra roster spot. I like playing the matchups and own New England and Denver in several places. As for kickers, I like kickers who play preferably indoors in a dome and on a team that has a great offense. Just look at the matchups the rest of the way and manage your rosters accordingly.
Lastly, if you are an Arian Foster owner, you want the New England Patriots to win the game on Monday night. We don't want the Texans resting Foster for more than one game late in the season. With one loss, we need them to lose again so Foster stays relevant for the rest of the fantasy season. There is nothing worse than watching stud players getting benched in Week 16. Remember the Indianapolis Colts a few years ago? I know several people who lost their leagues because Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne were benched late in the season.
Best of luck to you this weekend. Let's go win a league championship!
Kimra was selected by Toyota for its inaugural Fantasy Football Hall of Fame class in 2011.
