WEEK 4 Waiver Wire Pick Ups
(don't forget about byes: Cardinals, Falcons, Panthers, Eagles)
DBs (Defensive Backs)
Chicago DB Zack Bowman made his first start Sunday in place of CB Nathan Vasher. He finished with a team leading 9 solos and 1 pd. I'll keep a close watch on this for you this week and let you know later in the week if he's starting again vs. Detroit who almost always has to throw to catch up in games. Teams will continue to pick on him because he's new and that's always good for FF #'s. I think chances are good that he will start again. Vasher is having a terrible year.
CB A. Henry & SS L. Delmas of Detroit are the REAL DEAL & should both be owned for the year.
I continue to like Oakland's SS T. Branch better than both of these guys for the year and even this week so I would target him first.
C. Woodson(GB) does not belong on a waiver wire pick up list, but amazingly he's on my wire so if he's on yours, he would be the highest target on my list out of anyone I talk about on this page. He's the most consistent high scoring IDP corner in the league right now. He's not a DB pickup of the week because this is a waiver wire specific column and, chances are, he's not on most people's wire.
Last weeks "call of the week" S Antoine Bethea(IND) is a steal off the waiver wire and will score many points for you as long as Manning keeps putting up crazy points and forcing opponents to pass in order to catch up. This week against Seattle for instance. Think Seattle will fall behind & need to pass? Me too.
My DB week 4 pick up of the week is SS A. Elam(CLE)! If he's still on your wire, get him! He's been extremely solid. He's putting up starting linebacker numbers from the SS position. They get inner Ohio & division rival Cincy next week and the D will be more fired up than usual for that matchup. The Browns D will also be on the field a lot. There offense looks pitiful. A strategy "Mad"gini might want to think about is punting on 3rd down to avoid throwing INTs. Play field position and let your defense try to win you the game. (I'm kidding about punting on 3rd down. That would be silly. Instead, take a kneel down on 3rd down and punt on 4th. Much better strategy. How bad do you feel for me that my 2 favorite teams are the Redskins and the Browns?)
Trend Watch
SS Brandon Meriweather(NE) vs. Baltimore this week. Many have dropped Meriweather due to his very slow start. 3solos 5assts 1st game, 2solos 2assts 2nd game, 3 solos 4 assts week 3. No sacks and no INTs. Yuck! However, let me tell you the stats of each SS that has faced Baltimore this year. Week 1 KC SS Mike Brown 8solos 4assts(not much since), week 2 SD SS Weddle 9solos 1 asst, week 3 SS A Elam 7solos 3assts.
Those guys are all great athletes that I listed but, Meriweather has been projected to be a top 10 SS this year by most IDP experts. He's going to bust out at some point. He's too good not to and chances are good that this could be the game where he does.
To put things in perspective, I'd still rather start potential waiver wire grabs like like SS T. Branch from OAK, SS Bryan Scott from Buf and SS Delmas(OaK) over him this week because they've proven to be more reliable. But if you're in a pinch for an SS and need a potential homerun guy who has the potential to get you 14-20 points this week. The odds are in his favor vs. the Ravens.
LBs (LineBackers)
Who is David Hawthorne(SEA)? He's the guy who just got 15 solos, 1 asst, 1 INT, & 1 pd subbing for the injured Lofa Tatupu!!! What do you do with David Hawthorne this week? Nothing. Unless you have the room to store him and watch. Tatupu has an aggravated hamstring. That doesn't sound like a long-term injury to me. Will Hawthorne start again next week against the Colts? We don't know yet. Will he get the same production against the Colts as he did against the Bears? That depends. When Indy played the Dolphins, they threw every series and MLB Channing Crowder got 1 solo tackle. Against Arizona in week 3, they got so far ahead Sunday night that they ran the ball to control the clock. So Arizona LBs Dansby & Hayes ended the night solid. The Colts are far from a run first team though and there are just too many "ifs" in this scenerio to justify picking up Hawthorne. Not on my roster this week anyway. If you have the room, it's very tempting to grab a guy who just had a 40 point week in IDP.
D. Levy(DET) appears to be serviceable while Ernie Sims is out. He get's Chicago next week and Chicago desperately wants to get Matt Forte and their run game established. That equals lots of tackles for ILBs.
I'm jealous of K. Ellison(BUF) owners this week going up against the most run heavy team in the NFL, Miami. If you can get him. Do it and smile!
SLB Cushing(HOU) has some risk, but might be worth a spot on your bench if you have the room. He did get 6 assts, but only 2 solos week 3. Add in his 2 pass deflections and those are good numbers. He gets Oakland next week and I'm afraid his numbers will be low in that game. Although Oakland is a bad offense and that seems like a good thing, it also means Houston won't be on defense as often. When they are on D, Oakland could be throwing deep to catch up. So my recommendation is to continue to keep Cushing high on your "watch list" for now.
ILB Demorrio Williams(KC) is my LB Pick Up of the WEEK Why? week 1 vs. the run heavy Ravens, he got 7 solos 3 assts. Week 3 he got 8 solos vs. Philly. Week 4 he get's the 2nd most run heavy team in the NFL, the Giants. The most important point is it's rare to get a team's starting inside linebacker, let alone one on a bad defense that will be on the field ALL day vs. the Giants.
DLs (Defensive Linemen)
DE Elvis Dumervil(DEN) is an absolute stud! He is the top DE to target off the wire if he's on yours.
NT K. Gregg(BAL) continues to be consistently solid as a DT. He probably won't hit you a grand slam, but he has little risk of putting up a goose egg for you week to week.
DE Kiwanuka(NYG) goes up against KC week 4. If Tuck is still out and Kiwa is available on your wire, that's a good matchup.
DE A. Smith(HOU) is going against Oakland week 4. All DEs have a decent chance of having a good game against the Raiders and Smith has been productive this season.
DE Alex Brown(CHI) goes against division rival Detroit. You really want him in your lineup for that game. Watch the gimpy ankle he's trying to heal from though.
DE Ray Edwards(MIN) is my DE week 4 pick up of the week as he gets the very beat up Green Bay line in week 4. That is a great matchup for a defensive end who has 16 total tackles and 2 sacks in just 3 games.
Let's see last week's prediction recap. How'd I do in week 3?
DB Great Calls: Antoine Bethea(IND 1 INT 6 solos 2 assts 1 FR), A. Elam(CLEV 7 solos 3 assts), D. Manning(CHI 6 solos), T. Branch(OAK 8 solos 2 assts 1 pd), L. Delmas(DET 5 solos 1 pd), A. Henry(Det 5 solos 2 pds)
DB OK Calls: B. McDonald(Clev 3 solos 1 pd), S. Piscitelli(TB) 4 solos 1 asst
DB Bad Calls: M. Brown (KC 3 solos)
LB Great Calls: K. Ellison(BUF 5 solos 4 assts), Watch S. Nicholas(ATL 5 solos 4 assts)
LB OK Calls: G. Guyton(NE 3 solos 4 assts), Watch B. Cushing(HOU 2 solos 6 assts 2 pds)
LB Bad Calls: A. Jordan(PHI 4 solos), Andra Davis(DEN 2 solos 1 asst)
DL Great Calls: E. Dumervil(DEN 3 solos 2 sacks)
DL OK Calls: A. Carter(WAS 2 solos 2 assts), T. Tyler(KC 3 solos), R. Edwards(MIN 2 solos), A. Smith(HOU 2 solos), A. Odom(CIN 2 solos), G. Ellis(OAK 2 solos), Seymour(OAK 3 solos)
DL Bad Calls: none
