Week 9 Sleepers

Below you will find some early sleepers for Week 9. Good luck this week and Happy Halloween!

*Vernon Davis

*Lee Evans

*Jerious Norwood

*Vincent Jackson

*Oakland’s defense

*Mike Furrey

Monday night fun

Could the Packers' running back situation change any more? With the fragile DeShawn Wynn on the sideline, Ryan Grant looked very impressive. Grant is worth grabbing in all leagues and you can safely drop Brandon Jackson and Vernand Morency.

Also, keep an eye on Denver's Andre Hall who picked up his first career carry tonight. Selvin Young is clearly Denver's best running back when Travis Henry is out, but Young is also injury prone and Hall could get some touches if Henry's suspension goes through. Don't pick Hall up yet, but keep one eye on him.

MAIL BAG

Question:

Hi Tony....What's your opinion on Shaun Alexander? He was my first pick this
season (4th overall) and as you know, he hasn't done much this season.
Obviously, he's killing me every week yet I can't seem to sit him - very
frustrating! It's a miracle I have 3 wins so far.
Anyway, do I continue to play him after this week or should I try to
trade him? If I look to trade him, what type of caliber player should I
be looking for. I would think I would be selling low but I don't want
to go too low.
Thanks...Brian from Norwich

Response:

Hey man,

It's kind of tough to tell you who you should be
looking for because I don't know what your roster
looks like or what your needs are, but you should be
thrilled to pull off an Alexander for Marshawn Lynch
deal right now. Or, perhaps a Jamal Lewis + a decent
WR for him.

Hope this helps.

--Tony

Sleepers

Below are some of my favorite sleepers this week…

*Michael Robinson

*Alex Smith

*Jason Wright

*Jesse Chatman

*Jerricho Cotchery

Need a laugh?

I just had to pass this information along because I read it 30 minutes ago and I'm still laughing...I've copy and pasted it from www.rotoworld.com...Enjoy!

"Dolphins LB Channing Crowder, who appears likely to start in the middle Sunday against the Giants with Zach Thomas ailing, says he didn't know until Tuesday that people in London speak English.
'I couldn’t find London on a map if they didn’t have the names of the countries," he said. "I swear to God. I don’t know what nothing is. I know Italy looks like a boot. I know London Fletcher. We did a football camp together. So I know him. That’s the closest thing I know to London. He’s black, so I’m sure he’s not from London. I’m sure that’s a coincidental name.' "

Eat the meat

By now Jesse Chatman has likely been plucked from your free agent pool and some lucky sole is dangling him like a piece of meat in front of the owners desperate for running backs.

While I don’t normally advocate feeding waiver poachers, I have to suggest it here. Cam Cameron has always been in love with Jesse Chatman and there’s no reason to suspect Chatman will see less carries than Brown had been getting thus far this season. Chatman will get a chance to be a feature back and if he fails he may be forced to split time with Patrick Cobbs and/or Lorenzo Booker, but I don’t think he’ll fail.

Unfortunately, the loss of Chris Chambers hurts Chatman’s value (and it would have hurt Ronnie Brown’s just as much, if not more) and he’s on an awful team which will be trailing late in many games. Still though, Chatman will be a No. 2 or No. 3 running back for the rest of the season and I would trade guys like DeShaun Foster or Warrick Dunn for him in a heartbeat.

Need a TE rental?

I’ve gotten two emails this week asking for help selecting an emergency tight end. It’s no surprise since New England tight end Benjamin Watson and Falcons tight end Alge Crumpler will likely be out this week along with starters Donald Lee, Antonio Gates and Kellen Winslow Jr.

This wasn’t easy and it took some time, but I think I’ve dug up a couple gems for this weekend who are sure to be available in your league if you’re in the same boat as the two emailers. Interestingly they’ll both be playing in the same game. Grab Kyle Brady and David Martin.

Wire grabs

Here is a list of people you should consider grabbing if available in your league.

Roydell Williams - He's getting a chance to start with Brandon Jones out he's got something to prove. Also his bye week is done so he can provide you depth every week.

Priest Holmes - Worth an add in deeper leagues or TD heavy leagues. I don't know what to expect, but if you have the moves why not try it?

Chris Henry - I've explained this before, he'll be great when he comes back from suspension.

Nate Kaeding - The Chargers offense was coming to life before the addition of Chris Chambers, the trade only means more weapons ans more points.

Devin Hester - Hester showed what he can do on offense last week and the Bears offense has no choice, but to keep trying him out.

Vernon Davis - People may be throwing the bust card on Davis already, but trust me he's not. He's back from injury this week, go get him.

L.J. Smith - He may still be a week or so away from being a big impact, but L.J. Smith would be nice to have on your bench if you play Donovan McNabb in the playoffs.

Weekend surprises

Below are a couple surprises to look for this weekend.

*I fully expect the Rams to notch their first win this week against the Seahawks.

*Lee Evans will grab 6-7 catches against the Ravens which is saying a lot since the Ravens are a good defense and Evans has been a complete disaster this season.

*Plaxico Burress will not put up the type of numbers he has been. He’ll get one touchdown if he’s lucky, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he was held out of the end zone and didn’t reach 100 yards.

*Peyton Manning won’t throw more than two touchdowns.

* Drew Brees will throw for 289 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and 9 rushing yards.

FYI

The fantasy page will run in Saturday's paper this week rather than Friday's paper. Also, I'll be updating my blog tonight so look forward to another post soon.

Monday night advice

Below is some quick advice for Monday's game.

*The Giants defense should go off against an Atlanta offensive line which has several key players missing from it. Expect 5+ sacks from the G-Men.

*I don't expect much from Norwood or Dunn because of the aforementioned O-Line woes. I would start Derrick Ward over Dunn or Norwood if you have the chance to grab him from the FA pool.

*If, by chance, anyone needs a sleeper this week...start Michael Jenkins.

Watch ‘em

Below are two deep sleepers who could be on the cusp of helping your team, but I’m not confident enough in their ability to suggest picking them up. If any of these players bust out in the next few weeks, pick them up because it should be a sign of things to come.

*Ashley Lelie: Lelie’s lack of statistics is not the result of poor play, it’s the result of not playing. The 49ers receiver has only been on the field for 10 snaps, and coach Mike Nolan is saying Lelie will see more playing time going forward.

*Sidney Rice: The Vikings passing game isn’t very sexy, but Rice might be turning into the team’s best receiving threat. Keep an eye on this rookie.

Jackson out until Week 10? Told ya.

According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Steven Jackson could be out until Week 10.

I challenge the world to find one fantasy expert, besides myself, who went on the record after Steven Jackson’s injury and said he would be out for more than two-three weeks. I did just that in my In my September 27th column titled “Hit the waiver wire now” and I feel confident saying I’m literally the only person on the planet who was correct about this. If I’m wrong send me the link and I’ll give you credit on my blog, but I’ve tried myself and couldn’t find one so chalk another one up for the Coach.

Incase you missed it, here’s what I said in the aforementioned article, “The Rams claim their top back will be out two-three weeks with a partial groin tear (ouch), but you’ve got to wonder if they’re downplaying the injury. The last thing the morale of a 0-3 team needs is news that their franchise back is out 5-6 weeks.”

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/sports/fantasy/x680958000

And for the record, I was also one of the few who was on Leonard’s bandwagon prior to the season.

Cast your votes

Feel free to reply to this thread and let us know you think is the biggest fantasy bust so far:

*Shaun Alexander

*Larry Johnson

*Maurice Jones Drew

*Lee Evans

*Drew Brees

My vote is for Brees because there were some warning signs with the first three players and Evans had a great year last year, but not close to Brees' production.

You've been Warnered

I swear I’ve been meaning to make a post encouraging you all to pick up Kurt Warner, and now that he’s officially Arizona’s starter it’s a no-brainer.

Luckily nobody can accuse me of being a Monday morning quarterback since I have a history of massaging Kurt Warner’s ego and I did briefly mention on the 27th in the Bulletin, “If you’ve got roster space and Kurt Warner is a free agent in your league, go get him. It seems inevitable Warner will take over as the team’s top quarterback and if he does, he’ll have more weapons than Lockheed Martin and a favorable schedule.”

That favorable schedule is as follows: Carolina, Washington, bye, Tampa Bay, Detroit, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Cleveland, Seattle, New Orleans, Atlanta, St. Louis.

Warner’s numbers have been solid in limited time this season (five total touchdowns, one interception) and don’t forget that two of his three games were against two of the toughest defenses in the NFL (Baltimore and Pittsburgh). Also, Anquan Boldin wasn’t available for two of those games and he will be in the future.

Oh, and don’t let other people tell you he’s too old to make it an entire season because Warner just turned 36 (he’s younger than Favre) this summer and his body has had plenty of time to rest. I've had Warner on the bench is several of my leagues and I was thrilled to see Leinart get hurt Sunday.

Sit ‘em

I highly recommend sitting anyone listed below in Week 5. You’ve been warned.

*Warrick Dunn – Jerious Norwood is always a threat, but the Titans defense is better against the run than you think.

*Seattle defense – They might force a couple turnovers, but if your league penalizes for points allowed, sit Seattle this week.

*Jamal Lewis – He won’t touch the ball more than 17 times and that’s not good for his final stat line.

*Rian Lindell – His team should be on the wrong end of a blowout.

That didn't take long

Before the season began I said, "Go pick up Selvin Young from your free agent pool. Mr. Young is Denver’s new backup to Travis Henry, who has missed 14 games in the last three seasons."

Now reports indicate that Travis Henry will be suspended for the entire season thanks to a positive marijuana test.

Score another one for the Coach. Oh...and you're welcome.

Sleepers

Below are my favorite Week 5 sleepers:

*Sam Hurd

*Ladell Betts

*Donald Lee

*Antwaan Randle El

*Drew Brees (I’m giving him one more chance)

*Kurt Warner (Nobody will have the guts to start him, but I have a good feeling here against his former team in the dome)

BFCC Schedule

Week 5:

Tony Farmer (2-2) vs. Stan Sims Sr./Jr. (3-1)

Chris Fabry (0-4) vs. Ned Higgins (3-1)

Laura Steinmeyer (3-1) vs. Don Benjamin (3-1) *

Matt Stout (1-3) vs. Toby Stanley (2-2)

Lee Elci (1-3) vs. Aaron May (1-3)

MVP (1-3) vs. Chris/Joe Truman (4-0)

*Game of the Week

Need some depth?

Remember Chris Henry? Perhaps you should start remembering the last time he was on the field for a regular season game. Henry torched a good Steelers defense for 124 yards and a touchdown, and he’s scored five times in his last four regular season games.

Why am I bringing this up? You should be adding Chris Henry to your fantasy team right about now if you can afford to have a “dead” roster spot until he is eligible to play again in November.

Make no doubt about it, Henry is without a doubt the best fantasy No. 3 wide receiver in football. If you own Rudi Johnson or especially Carson Palmer, adding Chris Henry is a must.

Since I know you’re wondering…Henry and the Bengals will play St. Louis, San Francisco, and Cleveland weeks 14, 15, and 16.

BFFC trades

Below are some recent trades in the Bulletin Fantasy Football Challenge. Please weight in and express your opinion.

September 29th: Chris and Joe Truman trades Javon Walker and Roddy White to Aaron May for Wes Welker and Joey Galloway.

September 27th: Tony Farmer trades Anquan Boldin and Travis Henry to Aaron May for Frank Gore.

September 27th: Tony Farmer trades Lendale White and Arnaz Battle to Chris and Joe Truman for Derrick Mason and Warrick Dunn.

Note: My previously mentioned Derrick Ward-Joe Horn for Joey Galloway-Wes Welker trade was vetoed after four owners expressed concern.