IDP Report Week 14 (Mario Haggan, Pernell McPhee, Craig Steltz)
It is playoff time for fantasy football owners. Whether you are playing for the championship (Yee-haw!) or are stuck in the consolation bracket (Wait'll next season!), unless your league prohibits roster moves, you should still be scouring the wire for help. Fortunately for us, as the regular season takes its toll on the players, we are treated to some rising stars and promising rookies that make for tasty keeper material.
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Haggan and Grant are both beneficiaries of injuries to teammates, Von Miller in Denver and Patrick Willis in 'Frisco. So long as they are starting, they are worthy of a roster slot. Houston is one of those rookies you stash away in dynasty IDP leagues, hoping for a late season breakout, and when the reward arrives, you feel so vindicated. Playing along side Hali in KC, he is potentially a breakout star. Smith is only worth rostering if Desmond Bishop has to sit out this week.
McPhee is making a name for himself as a big time rookie pass rusher, adding a couple to his season total of 6 sacks in last week's game. His schedule (Indy, San Diego and Cleveland) favors a strong finish. I really like Bowers against the Jags this week and their mediocre QB, Blaine Gabbert. Joseph is a powerful force on the inside of the Giants' D-line, and if you need a DT, he's yours for the taking, most like. Heck, I like him as a DL3 if you league plays with rosters that deep.
With Major Wright on the shelf for the near future, Steltz looks like he wants to make the most of his opportunity. 10 tackles and a forced fumble will always earn you a spot on my roster. Dahl is another injury replacement (Darian Stewart), and did even better than Steltz with 13 tackles and forced fumble. Our final injury fill-in, Sanders, led the Falcons in tackles last week, and may have carved out a nice starting role even when Atlanta decdes William Moore is ready to play again.
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We are looking at two pretty nice players here, who just seem a bit down on their luck. Urlacher seems to be the victim of overly long stints on the field, as his team's offense sputters under Caleb Hanie. That interception that his teammate knocked away was just bad luck. Levy is someone I've watched closely in Detroit, and while he continues to play hard, but the PT isn't there and it shows in the stat line.
Carter was putting up great numbers during a run earlier this season, but perhaps he missed his pit stop and is now running on fumes. I wouldn't drop him necessarily, but the options above are better sources for points in fantasy. Avril was completely shut down by the Saints and that could be a factor of Suh's suspension and Fairley's recurrent foot problems. In any case, sit these guys for the time being.
Man, I've drafted Reed for all the years I've played fantasy with excellent results but not to beat a metaphor to death, is he just running out of gas? His tackle numbers are trending downward as Pollard has become the DB to own in Baltimore.
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All the injury reports below need to be evaluated at kickoff. Teams are notoriously sketchy about injury reports, and we often do not know a player's status until just before game time. The list below is intended as a "heads up" as to what is going on early in the week, and should not be considered definitive.
LaMarr Woodley PIT (hamstring)
Patrick Willis SF (hamstring)
Ndamukong Suh DET (suspended week 13 & 14)
Michael Bennett TB (groin)
Jason McCourty CB TEN (concussion)
Charles Woodson CB GB (concussion)
Aqib Talib CB TB (hamstring)
Nmamdi Asomugha CB PHI (concussion)
Brent Grimes CB ATL (knee surgery)
Kenny Phillips S NYG (MCL sprain)
LaRon Landry S WAS (groin)
Major Wright S CHI (shoulder sprain)
Darian Stewart S StL (concussion)
As ever, good luck and godspeed in your fantasy efforts. If you have a specific IDP question, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected]
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