Football Spikes: Waiver Wire Gold Rush

Posted On Tuesday, September 15, 2009 by JakeTrain |

fantasy football waiver wireFantasy owners far across the nation are panning for fantasy gold on the waiver wire today. Before you stake a claim in Justin Gage, I have a few thoughts to consider in the first ever Football Spikes. Read More

Football Spikes are like slant routes-quick-hitters to keep the chains moving as we plug away at the 2009 fantasy football campaign.

Finding waiver wire gold is much about luck and timing than anything. Having a need to fill forces owners to scan the pool of players. The hard part is dealing with a roster you believe is pretty solid moving into week 2. You like what you have but you also don't want to miss out on the next great fantasy football claim. Worse, you don't want someone else dramatically improving their fantasy squad by adding a guy for nothing. Here are a few of my opinions on the flavors of the week.

WR Justin Gage - Add only if you are in a 12+ league and need depth. By the time your WRs are on a bye week, someone else will be just as good on the wire to plug in.

RB Julius Jones Ok so he is probably only on the wire in 10-team leagues but I just need to make a public service announcement here: SELL SELL SELL! Got it? good.

WR Mario Manningham Deep leagues leave fantasy owners with limited options on the wire so guys like Manningham get some love. Like Gage above, if you need depth to cover an early bye week he is an option. Manningham has the size Manning likes and would have had a TD if Manning wasn't hurried on the play.

TE Ben Watson The TE position is deep. Brady will spread the ball around. He will score, but there are so many TEs on that team fantasy owners are kidding themselves if you think you can get consistent production from Watson this year. I'd rather have the next guy...

TE John Carlson The kid is good but the offense played the Rams folks. If you want to make a change at your TE spot, Carlson is a good option but I'm betting the guy you are dropping isn't too bad either.

WR Patrick Crayton Tempting isn't it? Every year it seems Crayton makes a big play for a score and fantasy owners circling the waiver wire can't turn away. I'd rather take my chances with a Devery Henderson making a long TD grab each week than Crayton.

QBs Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick I'd stay away unless your QB position is in bad shape. Kolb, not Vick, is the guy to add if you choose to go down this road. Kolb isn't great, but he has Trent Edwards-like fantasy upside. There is enough around him to salvage a few starts should you have to lean on him over the next week or two. Keep Vick in the kennel.

One last thing. If RB Rashard Mendenhall has been dropped in your league, scoop him up. It might not happen overnight, but I still think Mendenhall will be in fantasy lineups by the second half of the season.

If you liked this post and are looking for more insight into the waiver wire pickups of the week I suggest taking a look at The Hazean's Fast Starting Fantasy Players To Monitor as well.


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Fantasy Football Hangover - Week 1

Posted On Monday, September 14, 2009 by JakeTrain |

fantasy footballA couple of things really stood out from the first Sunday of the 2009 NFL season. Drew Brees’ touchdown passes should not be a big shocker, nor should AP’s dominance. Schaub took a few hits and actually stayed on the field, but that’s not what really caught my eye. Read More

I have to start in Carolina. The Panthers are in trouble. Williams is a running back you can count on this season and Stewart seems healthy enough to be a positive factor in your fantasy lineup. However, the lack of a passing attack could seriously deflate the fantasy ceiling not only of Steve Smith, but the running backs as well.

Speaking of that Philly game, McNabb is an injury liability so you should have an adequate backup. I was surprised Westbrook had as many touches in the second half as he did. Getting a few extra yards might be good for a few more points but not if he is on the sidelines when your fantasy playoffs come to town. Regardless if you own Westy, McCoy s a nice guy to own moving forward.

The Bengals shocked me. I almost took Cincy in several knockout pools and thought better of it. Maybe I am drinking too much Palmer Kool-Aid, but this was a lackluster effort by the Bengals. Denver had no right even being in this game let alone keeping the Bengals out of the end zone. Bad snaps on field goals, interceptions instead of touchdowns…Cincinnati should be a better provider of fantasy production than they were last night.

Ray Rice had 22 touches but failed to score. Get used to more of this as McGahee settles into more of a short yardage role with the team.

How many people got burned by the Cards this week? First Boldin might not play and fantasy owners everywhere forgot that Breaston himself wasn’t 100% coming into the opener. Then word comes late that Breaston is inactive. Fantasy madness everywhere, or maybe not in your neck of the woods but I’m sure it burned a few people.

The injury with the most fantasy impact may just be Anthony Gonzalez. A lot of owners invested highly in the young receiver and now have a hole in their starting lineup. On the flip side, how about Bucs’ rebuilt Caddy? I’m not sure what his value is amongst your fantasy peers but that kind of production can only help his cause to get more carries.

In one of my leagues I waited too long on a defense and found myself knee deep in playing match ups out of the gate. As a result, my last picks in that draft were Seattle and Washington. If you are streaming defenses and looking for a team to pick on I suggest looking up Rams’ opponents.


Bear’s Corner (As a Bears fan I need a small outlet to voice my opinions)

Two main things come to mind after that game last night. 1) The Bears have the talent to win. 2) Talent doesn’t mean squat.

All you had to do is look at Jay Cutler moments before the Bears would receive the kickoff after squandering their lead late in the fourth quarter. Cutler, his team having just driven down the field to take the lead on their last possession, was standing with his arms folded and a blank stare on his face. Where is the leadership? Why wasn’t he talking to his receivers, backs, coordinators, anyone about how to get the ball down the field without any timeouts? Cutler failed to rally the troops when they needed him to lead. The end result was yet another miscue and the end of the game. The Bears have talent-enough to overcome mistakes. They lacked leadership last night. Cutler and the Bears coaching staff lost Urlacher for the season and cost themselves a divisional win. Bears fans can only hope it didn’t cost us a division title.

As for tonight's games, I haven't heard anything concrete, but I think Welker will play

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Let's Get This Fantasy Football Season Started!

Posted On Sunday, September 13, 2009 by JakeTrain |

We were given a football appetizer on Thursday and Santonio Holmes gave fantasy football owners a lot of points on a lot of benches. Furthermore, Justin Gage became the first unofficial hot add of the week while top pick RB Chris Johnson failed to deliver. Yep, it's here and it's Sunday. Hold on tight and let's get this thing started. With the season underway a few content changes will be made here on BOXCAR Football. Read More

BOXCAR Football has grown a good amount since starting back on August 1st. As the word gets out, readership continues to grow. I appreciate those who have stopped by and look forward to the next phase of the fantasy football season. As such, the evolution of BOXCAR Football continues...

I am planning on writing up a Monday post labeled 'Fantasy Football Hangover.' This post is a holdover from my previous fantasy football blogging and will highlight some of my observations from the past weekend. Varying fantasy topics and strategy will be touched and I will also pass a few Monday Night Football notes along whenever possible. If my schedule does not allow me to get the post done on Monday, you should look for it on Tuesday.

The rest of the week is not as concrete. At this point, Hobo Soup, BOXCAR Blitz, and Fantasy Football & A Movie, will continue at my discretion. I cannot provide a specific weekly outline, but readers can expect at least one of these posts to be made each week. I have other ideas for posts should anyone become interested in contributing to BOXCAR Football.

Between the longer, meatier posts of the week will be shorter posts. Football Spikes, will reveal basic information and strategy on a fantasy football relevant topics, including my opinions and insights. The main focus of these types of posts are to keep my readers informed during the week when I cannot devtte the time to a longer, researched article.

Feedback is welcomed and encouraged. BOXCAR Football aims to be a fun informed source of fantasy football advice, strategy and analysis. I look forward to being in the trenches with you throughout the 2009 fantasy football season!

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Start, Sit or Squat and Pray - Week 1

Posted On Wednesday, September 09, 2009 by JakeTrain |

Week 1 lineup choices can be tricky. Pre-season games tell us very little, resulting in very little concrete direction towards player’s values. Furthermore, fantasy owners cannot simply assume the same porous run and pass defenses of 2008 will be susceptible to more damage this season. Read More

Tennessee and Pittsburgh kick things off on Thursday night and with that comes the fantasy football season’s first lineup submissions. I’m hoping to feature a Start, Sit or Squat and Pray post every Thursday or Friday throughout the season. Time constraints may prevent me from doing this, but the plan of attack is to highlight a few guys at each position who may pose tougher decisions to their fantasy owners. There are plenty of other places to get weekly rankings and projections so I’m only going to focus on a few guys each week.

The best thing you can do in week 1 is look back at your pre-season rankings. Don’t try to get cute playing match ups and don’t automatically assume the Chiefs will yield 200 yards on the ground. When in doubt, dance with the lady you brought to the dance in week 1!

Quarterbacks

START: Carson Palmer – If you selected Palmer to be your starter, don’t be afraid trotting him out there against the Broncos. Denver’s defensive unit has not played too many games together and more importantly; Palmer’s elbow is healthy.

SIT: Matt Schaub – Do you really want to take a chance at playing an injury prone quarterback who isn’t fully healed from his previous injury? I sure wouldn’t feel good about it and neither should you.

SQUAT and PRAY: Tony Romo – I’m a little worried Romo may try to do too much in the opening weekend of the season. Forcing the ball to Witten and Roy Williams could spell disaster against the sound Bucs defensive unit.

Running Backs

START: LenDale White – Pittsburgh is the type of opponent you typically avoid starting your RBs against but in this case I’m feeling good about White. There should be plenty of short yardage situations and White is the best bet to tally a TD.

SIT: Larry Johnson – I’m not sure the Ravens defense will be quite as effective as they have been in recent years, but I’d like to see how the Chiefs offense performs in the wake of Chan Gailey’s departure-especially Johnson’s touches.

SQUAT and PRAY: Darren McFadden – I’m not optimistic about playing him in one of my leagues, but the touches should be there in the end. As I said earlier, sometimes you have to just review your rankings and realize you drafted McFadden to be in your starting lineup, not on the bench.

Wide Receivers

START: Vincent Jackson – Oaktown’s franchise cornerback, Nnamdi Asomugha, will be playing this game with a soft cast on his hand. This should make it even easier for Jackson to get down the field and win jump balls.

SIT: Giants WRs – Until someone emerges in the passing game, there is no reason to start a Giants wide receiver. An improved Washington defense only makes this decision easier.

SQUAT and PRAY: Greg Jennings – The Bears are healthier in the secondary and although some switches at the safety position might cause a couple of hiccups, Jennings doesn’t have the elite size or speed to take full advantage. Add in an improved pass rush and I’m seeing a very mediocre outing.

TE/DEF/Kickers

START: Minnesota – The Vikings will have their big guys in the middle and that means, little room for Jamal Lewis. Plenty of three and outs and a few turnovers are on the menu for Eric Mangini’s new club.

SIT: Chris Cooley – The Giants’ pass rush is among the best in the league and Cooley will be needed to help with pass protection. Additionally, Jason Campbell has a 78.8 passer rating in four career starts against New York.

SQUAT and PRAY: Shayne Graham – Cincy’s improved offense should be able to score plenty of points at home against Denver this week. Graham has been sitting out with a sore groin but has been given the nod to start the season opener.


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