Waiver Wire week 10

First, apologies for the late publishing of this article, sometimes family comes first. Sick kids take time. Now on to football. Not a huge amount of guys that have good prospects this week on the wire. But there are some guys that have some good match ups and opportunities with another week of 6 teams on bye. Let's take a look.

RB

Alfred Blue (HOU) may be set up to start if Arian Foster misses any time with a groin injury. The Texans are on bye this week, but if you have a need at running back going forward, Blue is still the top add this week. Houston is a run heavy offense, and if Foster is out in week 11, it's Blue's job.

Charles Sims (TB) is still a guy that should be added in all leagues. Sims was inactive in week 9, but should soon see action. He is a fresh face who can catch passes out of the backfield, so a PPR league is the best spot for him. If nobody has snatched him up in your leagues yet, get him.

Terrance West (CLE) is the flavor of November for the Browns. Dominating the touches the last 2 games, West is back on the top of the pile for Cleveland. The Thursday night game against Cincinnati in week 10 provides a decent match up against a depleted defense without a lot of time to prepare. I can't tell you his stats have been impressive the last few weeks, having 15 carries for 48 yards last week and catching one pass for 2 yards and a score, but he has been getting the bulk of the carries. If you are in a bad spot for byes this week, he may be able to help you.

WR

Taylor Gabriel (CLE) has appeared on the waiver wire article before. This week he caught 5 passes for 87 yards and a score. With heavy byes again this week, Gabriel can likely be a decent fill in for you in week 10.

Mike Evans (TB) had a breakout week for the Buccaneers in week 9. With 7 catches for 124 yards and 2 scores, Evans showed up in a big way. Going forward expect him to get more use as Lovie Smith said the Bucs need to get him more involved in the passing game. If Evans is available in your league, snatch him up for this week and beyond.

Brandon LaFell (NE) is on bye in week 10, but is still a guy to add. Making 6 catches on 13 targets (team high) for 53 yards and a score. LaFell seems to have cemented his role in the Patriots offense. While he won't be helping you this week, but he's a good option for the rest of the season.

Davante Adams (GB) has been coming on in recent weeks. Coming off the bye in week 8 for Green Bay, Adams is a good add for the rest of the season. In week 7 he had 7 catches for 75 yards. Green bay passes enough to support 3 wide receivers, and if you need receiver help, you should definitely add Adams.

TE

Mychal Rivera (OAK) is a good bye week replacement at the tight end position for week 10. Coming off a good match up against the Seahawks in week 9, Rivera had 8 catches for 38 yards and 2 scores. He moves right into a good match up against the Broncos in week 10 who have trouble defending tight ends. Rivera has had two straight weeks of good production having 15 catches for 121 yards in the Raiders last 2 games. Pick him up if you have a bye week tight end need.

Charles Clay (MIA) is a hit and miss guy. Last week Clay had 5 catches for 65 yards and a score. This week the Dolphins face off against the Lions and their 5th ranked pass defense. I can't say that I am excited for the possibilities, but in a bye week bind, Clay is a tight end.

QB

Ryan Tannehill (MIA) had another great game for the Dolphins. Tannehill had 288 yards and 3 touchdowns passing and rushed for 47 yards. He has been playing extremely well over the last few weeks. Tannehill has about a 50/50 schedule of good versus bad match ups for the rest of the season. If you have a bye week guy, or are playing match ups at quarterback, he is a good guy to add to your rotation.

Mark Sanchez (PHI) is back from the dead. Yes, Zombie Mark Sanchez. And he has landed in a great spot. With Nick Foles out for the rest of the fantasy season, Sanchez finds himself in a high powered pass heavy offense. It is highly unlikely that anyone in your league owns him, so if you need a quarterback, snatch him up. Sanchez is similar talent wise to Foles, and should find success in the volume offense of the Eagles.

That brings us to the end of our waiver wire look for the upcoming week 10. Good luck this week!

Match Up Monsters And Misses

Week 7 in the NFL has some fantastic match ups for individual units on offense, and some match ups that look to be more on the negative side for offenses. Without further ado, your match up monsters and misses.

The Good:

Image source pressboxonline.com

Baltimore Ravens running backs should be able to put up some numbers this week against the Atlanta Falcons 27th ranked run defense. The trick is to figure out how to rank the Ravens backs. So far it seems that the pecking order is Justin Forsett followed by Bernard Pierce, with Lorenzo Taliaferro third string. If you have him, Forsett is the only one I would be confident playing this week as the role for the other two has been minimal and inconsistent. The Falcons are allowing 140.2 yards per game and have given up 12 touchdowns on the season to opposing running backs. You could gamble on one of the other two as a flex that may get some goal line work, but that would be purely a gamble in my opinion.

Image source usatoday.com

New England Patriots versus the Jets on Thursday night sets up to be a big game for the Pats offense. The run game is an enigma with the injury to Stevan Ridley and the constant shifting by coach Bill Belichick. The Jets allow 92 yards per game and have only given up 2 touchdowns on the ground this year, but in the last 2 weeks they have allowed the opposing number 1 back to gain 100 yards. The passing defense of the Jets does not fare as well, allowing 235 yards per game and having given up 15 touchdowns on the season with only 1 interception. This probably the easiest start of the year if you have Tom Brady. Rob Gronkowski and Brandon LaFell  are also good starts for your fantasy teams. Julian Edelman should be his usual self, a solid flex play in a PPR league.

The Miami Dolphins and the Chicago Bears play each other in week 7, and should be able to put up good passing numbers against each other. The Dolphins give up 221.6 yards per game through the air, and have given up 10 touchdowns versus making 3 interceptions so far this season. This bodes well for Jay Cutler. The Bears have tall wide receivers that could find themselves in mismatch situations against the shorter Dolphins corners. Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, and Martellus Bennett are all good starts against the undersized Dolphins this week. On the flip side Chicago gives up 246.2 yards per game and also 10 touchdowns on the season, but has made 8 interceptions already. This makes Ryan Tannehill a more risky start, but elevates the value of Mike Wallace. Keep an eye on Jarvis Landry for the Dolphins as well. The rookie has been gaining momentum as of late, catching 6 balls on 8 targets last week for 75 yards and a score.

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A power run game by the Cleveland Browns will look to take it to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Ben Tate is a must start this week against the Jags. Isaiah Crowell is a good flex possibility for a team that ran the ball 36 times against the Steelers last week. Look for that trend to continue for a ball control running team. I would expect the Jags to fall lower than their 19th ranked run defense after the Browns are done with them this week.
week 7. The Jags are giving up 117 yards per game on the ground and have given up 5 rushing touchdowns on the year.

The Houston Texans love them some Arian Foster. After getting routed on the ground by the Browns in week 6, the Pittsburgh Steelers will not be looking forward to the stout Texans running game. The Steelers give up 111.2 yards per game, and have allowed 6 rushing touchdowns on the season. The Texans will feast on the depleted defense of the Steelers Monday night.

The Bad:

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Minnesota Vikings running backs are in for a long week. This week they face the top ranked run defense of the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo is allowing a paltry 67.5 yards per game on the ground, and have not allowed a rushing touchdown on the season. With a rookie quarterback and questionable talent at wide receiver for the Vikings, it seems likely that the Bills will stack the box and dare Teddy Bridgewater to beat them through the air. Sit your Vikings running backs this week.

The Detroit Lions are playing some inspired defense so far this season. Ranked 1 in total defense and 2 against both run and pass, the New Orleans Saints have a monumental task ahead of them. And let us not forget that they will be without the services of Jimmy Graham this week. If you had a good bye week fill in for  Drew Brees last week, you may want to run him out there again this week. Add to that the fact that with the return of Mark Ingram makes the Saints backfield a quagmire once again, I am sitting any of my Saints this week.

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The San Francisco 49ers face off this week against the 4th ranked rush defense of the Denver Broncos in Denver. This is an exceedingly difficult task for the 49ers, who must play in that elevation on a short week. They also have not shown much of a commitment to running with Frank Gore or Carlos Hyde on a consistent basis so far this season. Denver is only allowing 76.5 yards per game on the ground, and has only allowed 5 rushing touchdowns on the season. Sit your 49ers backs this week.

A stout passing defense by the New England Patriots and a lack of talent on the part of the New York Jets on offense makes your Jets players good guys to be on the outside looking in this week. The Pats only allow 208.5 yards per game through the air, and have 7 interceptions on the season so far. They have allowed 10 touchdowns so far, but have stiffened in the last few weeks. If you were playing Geno Smith you are likely in trouble already, but sit him this week. Jace Amaro has been emerging of late, and with some weakness due to injuries in the middle of the Patriots defense may be able to continue his 10 catch for 68 yard and a score performance last week. Eric Decker is your only viable option in the passing game that could have good numbers, but being on Revis island is likely in his future, never a good thing.

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The Carolina Panthers are a mess in the backfield. They have their best match up of the season against the Green Bay Packers 32nd ranked run defense, but who can you trust? They are all hurt. They all get hurt. In my opinion, Cam Newton is the only guy you can trust this week in the run game for the Panthers. And after last week he is seemingly ready to run again. If Kelvin Benjamin is out this week due to his concussion, it's going to be a difficult week for the Panthers. Greg Olsen has been a bright spot this season, and he and Cam are the only ones I would trust this week if Benjamin doesn't play. The Packers are 5th ranked against the pass, possibly because it is so easy to run. This game seems to line up as a bad and banged up run game against a bad run defense, and a bad pass game against a good pass defense. Your guess is as good as mine, but I certainly can't say I like anything in this match up for the Panthers.

Good luck and good decisions this week!