Week 8 ~ Waiver Wire

The sub-title of this article should be "slim-pickin's and re-runs". As the season progresses, it is becoming more and more of a bench player for bench players.

Here is my "not so indepth" review of those that may be available on your waiver wire...





QUARTERBACKS:



Sage Rosenfels: It looks like Schaub may hit the pine for a week or so, primarily due to his hip injury.... You just can't "plant and throw" without both ya' hips...don't ya' know? Although he is "pick-prone", he has an absolute cannon for an arm. He has speedy receivers in Kevin Walter's and Andre Davis and had shown it this past Sunday. If you are in a 2 deep QB league or simply need someone to pick-up a bye week, he is your man. If you are a die-hard Texan fan and had Schaub as your starter, the question is... why don't you have him all ready?

Brian Griese: The hottest commodity on the Free Agent QB market. Guess what ladies and gentlemen, the Bears have a quarterback. This also improves anyone that wants to gain receptions, as most are on the list. Unfortunately, it does nothing for disappointing Cedric Benson (but only disappointing if you thought he was going to have better than a mediocre year.)

Quinn Grey: No, he isn't a fantasy savior, nor even the savior of the Jags (shown last night). But the bottom-line is this... they have a ton of talent to spread the ball around, especially when you consider that each of the Jags RB has great hands and loves to get it in the flats with room to roam. He had a shaky start, but who wouldn't, coming in the middle of the game (save Brady and Romo).

RUNNING BACKS:


Jesse Chatman: The second hottest player on the free agent market. He looked sharp against NE considering he is facing the number 2 running defense in the nation right now. With Brown gone for the season, it is open game for Jesse to show that the preseason wasn't just...THE PRESEASON.. and that he has something to provide, even considering the state of the offense.

Earnest Graham: "Earnest"ly earning a pay check this week, Graham also had a monster week with 191 total yards. He is slowly coming into his own with every touch. Cadillic better hope that Graham slows down or he will find himself either second string or out of TB uniform by next season. I have seen him dropped in many leagues that I am in because of the arrival of Michael Bennett as well as the recent drop in yardage over the past two weeks.

LenDale White: My, my, my... look who is turning into Mr. Consistent with a pocket-passing QB. LenDale is finally getting his tubby butt enough yardage that when Chris Brown returns, he might return to little or no playing time. They didn't draft him in the first round to keep Chris Brown.... Brown was just available and they, like all teams, needed depth.

Jamey Wright: It does not appear that Jamal Lewis is ready and Wright, in his stead, has done a fairly competent job. I anticipate that he will be a good fill-in while Jamal is out and especially if you are dealing with other injuries (Ronnie Brown), under-performances (Frank Gore) or bye-weeks (Alexander, L.J.).

WIDE RECEIVERS:


Roydell Williams: He was starting to come along strong for Young and has absolutely skyrocketed with Collins at the helm. He is lightening fast and capitalizing on the loss of Brandon Jones and Vince Young. For the next couple of weeks, he is the man of TEN. I believe that Young will see enough from the sidelines to start to depend more on Williams, who has shown flashes of brilliance all season.

Roddy White: Another WR who has been picked up and dropped too many times. He has enough of a consistency to rival Curry & Porter...at least enough to put in when the match-up is right. The problem lies in who is throwing to him. He is the go-to-guy in Atlanta and should be considered as a low end third WR on any given week.

Muhsin Muhammad: He has a bigger week each and every week that Griese is on the field. He may be riding many benches, but he is still only owned in 64% of leagues (according to CBS Sportsline). Here is a chance to steal him and add him to your list of potential starters, especially if the match-up is good.

Nick Hagan: In deeper leagues, he may prove fruitful as he replaces Chris Chambers on the Miami offense. Although Booker will see more touches, he seems to be taken in these larger leagues. Cam Cameron traded away Chambers because he was ready to make Hagan the full-time No. 2 WR on the team. With Cleo Lemon at the helm and Chatman gradually working into the RB role, it is a great time to be a Miami defender.

Kevin Walters: Here is another speedy white-boy that is seeing his stock rising in fantasy leagues all over the nation. Even with Sage playing QB, he is a great find. I recommend grabbing him if you can as he has been phenomenal, fantasy-wise, for the better part of three weeks.


TIGHT ENDS:


David Martin: You need to see how his "foot" injury is, but he has slowly been creeping up the points chart, almost unnoticed. Where Lemon is a more fleet-footed, there will be more roll-outs and better opportunity for a sure-handed TE.

Vernon Davis: It may just be time to insert him back in your line-up. With Alex Smith on the rebound, this team will start to make a name for themselves offensively and Davis should finally have the impact that we have all been expecting.

Jerramy Stevens: With the other Alex Smith down with an injury, Stevens saw 6 receptions last Sunday and should see more as Garcia is a known abuser of his TE. Garcia is a west coast quarterback which means he relies solely on the short passing game. Stevens has been a "butterfinger" spokesman his whole career, but that won't stop Garcia from counting on him... especially with Graham emerging as a catching receiver out in the flats.



This may be a day late and a dollar short, but sometimes your "life schedule" gets in the way of what you love to do most... for me, that is fantasy sports and my ego to believe I know more than most.


Happy Hunting,


Statistocrat