Tuesday November 13th, 2004 Page updated at 12:06pm
FantasyFootball Grab Bag For Week 13
By: David Bachman
Fantasy Football Editor For WagerOnFootball.com

Week 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14  .15 . 16 . 17

Guys Worth Taking A Look At

QB Brian Griese

Sadly, I have been remiss in including Griese in any of my waiver wire write-ups this year, which is a mistake on my part. He’s reached into that pile of you know what and fished out his career, scraped it off, and made it really nice and shiny. You can almost eat off his career now!

QB Kelly Holcomb

I only put him up here because he went stupid Sunday, but pick him up at your own risk. He’s been known to flake out before, and his remaining schedule isn’t exactly conducive to big-time passing numbers.

WR David Terrell

Jeff George has the ability to make studs out of mediocre receivers, and Terrell could prove to be George’s go-to guy. If you have some room, Terrell might be worth the bench spot.

WR Bernard Berrian

WHO???!? If Terrell’s already taken and you’re still looking for a deep sleeper at WR, you might want to consider Berrian. He’s the fastest WR on the Bears squad and has gotten loose deep a couple times this year. Might be worth a gamble, especially considering you never know who George will favor.

RB LaBrandon Toefield

If you’re a Fred Taylor owner, grab this guy as a handcuff. It looks like Toefield is the primary backup for the Jaguars and entering the playoffs without Taylor’s backup is a huge risk.

WR Bobby Engram, SEA

With Koren out for the next 2 games serving a suspension, Engram will see a huge boost in playing time. On Sunday Hass looked for Engram in that mess against Buffalo and he did grab a few catches and caught a touchdown. He plays Buffalo on MNF, this week.

QB Jake Delhomme, CAR

In his last four games, Jake Delhomme has 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He’s made a complete 180 degree turn from his awful first half of the season. At this point, Delhomme is worthy of starting almost every week. A favorable schedule to close the season makes him a perfect acquisition for any team that needs a quality back-up.

QB Kerry Collins, OAK

Collins is finally grasping Norv Turner’s offense. In the last two weeks, he has six touchdown passes and 563 passing yards. If you’ve fallen out of the playoff race and are trying to perfect your role as a spoiler, Collins is an excellent acquisition. His schedule is favorable over the next few weeks, including a great match-up next week against the Chiefs. Consider starting him over disappointing QBs like Matt Hasselbeck and Aaron Brooks.

RB Maurice Hicks, SF

I've been thinking of recommending Hicks for three weeks in a row now. If you haven’t been following the 49ers lately (and I wouldn’t blame you), Kevan Barlow has been losing touches to Hicks. On Sunday, Hicks got four more carries than Barlow, possibly signifying an official changing of the guard. Acquire Hicks this week and don’t be afraid to start him. The 49ers will face the 31st ranked run defense of the St. Louis Rams.

RB Larry Croom, ARI


Emmitt Smith has a sprained toe and is likely to miss the next couple games. Head coach Denny Green has deemed rookie Larry Croom the interim starter. Croom is pretty much an unknown at this point. He was an undrafted free agent out of UNLV. The scouting reports I’ve seen suggest he’s a small back who can catch the ball, but lacks open field speed. The fact that he’s starting against the Lions certainly makes the idea of activating Croom for fantasy purposes intriguing. Detroit gives up about 125 yards per game.

WR Lee Evans, BUF

Rookie Lee Evans looks like he’s the real deal. He had his best game of his young career in Sunday’s throttling of the Seahawks. Unfortunately, he’s a bit inconsistent. He posted a touchdown and 64 yards back in Week 9, then fell flat in Weeks 10 and 11 before re-surfacing Sunday. He’s a great prospect in deep keeper leagues and dynasty leagues. Match-ups against teams like the Bengals and 49ers could make Evans a factor in the fantasy playoffs.

WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, CIN

He’s stepped into a starting role after the season-ending injury to Peter Warrick. QB Carson Palmer has looked more comfortable in recent weeks and could close out the season on a positive note. If he does, Houshmandzadeh and fellow Bengals wideout Chad Johnson will rack up some solid fantasy numbers. At this point, he’s probably best kept on your bench. But if he musters up another 5-6 catch game this week, he could be used as a starter if you’re desperate. A brutal schedule to close the season limits his potential a bit.

TE Erron Kinney, TEN

At the beginning of the season, I thought the connection between Steve McNair and Erron Kinney had potential to generate some decent fantasy points. In seasons past, McNair frequently used former TE Frank Wycheck in the passing game. His retirement opened up an opportunity for Kinney. Unfortunately, Kinney and McNair have been hurt at various times throughout the season and they didn’t get to play together much. But in Week 12, the promise finally materialized into actual fantasy production. Look for continued success in the coming weeks. Kinney and the Titans have a great schedule to close the season.

Detroit Lions Defense


The only positive about the Lions as a defense / special teams is Eddie Drummond. Unfortunately, he got hurt Sunday and will miss the rest of the season. So why am I recommending them? They will face the Arizona Cardinals this week, a team that’s planning to start their rookie, third-string QB John Navarre. The Lions secondary will smell the blood in the water and rack up at least a couple INTs. They’re worthy of an acquisition this week.


Just Cut Bait Now

RB Travis Henry, BUF - It's all Willis from here on out... however, I suggest those in dynasty leagues who are not in the playoff hunt make an offer for Henry, he should be starting somewhere else next year.

WR Jabar Gaffney, HOU - Zero catches the last two games?? Not too sure what is going on in Houston but Carr has really shied away from Gaffney.

WR Ike Hilliard, NYG - Can he help Eli out at all? Hilliard has been awful and Toomer has been almost as bad. Another bad game from Toomer and expect him to make his way into this column next week.

WR Roy Williams, DET - It’s not his fault. There is nobody in Detroit that can get him the ball. Well, I take that back – Mike McMahon might be able to (he looked semi-decent in Thurdsay’s game), but get this – Joey’s still starting!!!! THANKS MOOCH! Sorry Roy, but any chance you had in salvaging your season just flew out the window along with the rest of your team’s confidence.

WR Amani Toomer, NYG - On 2nd thought....Eli is not favoring Toomer as much as Toomer owners hoped he would have, plus when you throw like 5 completions a game it’s pretty tough for one receiver to excel. I’d steer clear of all Giants receivers from here on out.

Not Sure? Neither Am I !!

RB Jamal Lewis, BAL - He might return in Week 13. Lewis has been slowed by injuries and has frustrated his owners recently, yet you can't bench him if he is ready to go against the Bengals.

WR Nate Burleson, MIN - With Moss back in action, he's not going to get as many catches. But don't cut him. He's still going to find the end zone, occasionally.

Some Tuesday Notes

And Antonio Gates just keeps on rolling...

The Eagles clinch the NFC East division in November. Impressive, but honestly, didn't they practically clinch the thing back in the off-season when both the Giants and Redskins hired "new" (or not so new...) coaches and the Cowboys decided Vinny Testaverde and Eddie George were still 16-game starters in this league?

Ben Roethlisberger is on a downward trend in fantasy scoring since about week 5. Pretty soon the real football world is going to catch up and snap that win streak too, just the Redskins were not the right team for the task. Jacksonville on Sunday primetime perhaps? Not that I would wish this on Big Ben, but I'm imagining yet another fall-all-over-themselves fawn, gawk and love-fest by the Sunday night commentating crew, which sounds stupider and stupider as the game goes on when he completes only a dozen or so passes for under 200 yards.

So we came into this fantasy season with the philosophy to draft RBs early and often; wait on QB. Now there are rumblings next year people will be drafting QBs early and waiting on RBs. Screw it. I'm just going to do the opposite what "everyone" else is doing. That's where the value is.

Predicting what coaches are going to be fired isn't that difficult. I'm expecting openings in New Orleans, Cleveland, San Francisco and Seattle (barring some miraculous turnaround) to go with Miami. The difficult part is guessing who is going to fill these jobs. A person would have to be a real visionary to want to take over one of these messes the current administration is leaving behind.

Also, about darn time Jeff George landed on an NFL squad again. I never understood why he was shut out of the game for so long – you gonna tell me he’s not any better than Craig Krenzel, Jonathan Quinn, Joey Harrington, Brooks Bollinger, or Patrick Ramsey? All those guys played in games this week and looked about as competent as Pamela Anderson doing algebra. I know the man was a menace back in the day, but by all accounts he’s straightened up and is hungrier now more than ever. I really think the Bears will benefit from this move and will bump up his contract next year. Kudos to Jerry Angelo for having the balls to make this call.

I'll say this for Najeh Davenport: the guy is a horse. Really, if the inconsistent Ahman Green misses more time, fantasy owners know exactly what to do. How many times last night did a Rams defender move out of the way to avoid the Davenport train running him over? This is more proof that the offensive line is, in many cases, the key. Look at Kansas City. Look at Carolina.

I think Green will return this week, but at first sight of bad news for Green, grab Najeh. As for the Rams, I've been off the Marshall Faulk bandwagon for about six weeks now. He's not fast. Can't hit holes. About the only way he helps is with the pass catching. And Steven Jackson didn't look any better last night.

SEAHAWKS: Never before has a team with a winning record spent so much time in my "what the hell are you thinking?" column. Quite an accomplishment for Mike Holmgren. I have been a Shaun Alexander owner since he broke into the league, and have watched a lot of Seahawks football in Holmgrens era. I can safely say this. There is no coach in the league that makes more stupefying game decisions. He and Mike Martz should both rent their heads out as anvils. The phrase "and it's dropped" is so prevalent during Seahawks telecasts that broadcasters just tape it before the game and hit the button every time it happens. Yet Holmgren keeps launching passes on 2nd and goal at the one foot line. While Alexander blocks. Despite Holmgrens failings, this team is an embarrassment to get jacked up by the Bills at home.

RAMS: If the Rams quest this season was to have the worst divisional champion record in NFL history, they'll have to fight the Seahawks hard for it. This team has lost whatever it had, and I don't think Martz can get it back. Anvils I say.

TITANS: It looks like McNair may have finally been beaten into submission. Can you blame him? Hey Mike Vick, look over here. This is what it comes to in the end. Here's your cane. Enjoy your money. Let us never forget, though we make fun of them and casually criticize them, and curse them like dogs when they let down our teams. These guys pay a heavy price for our entertainment, and McNair has spent more time on the Questionable list than any player I remember.

As always folks check back for my Fantasy Football column tomorrow, and until then good luck with your Tuesday Night waiver wire pickups.

Week 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14  .15 . 16 . 17

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