Fantasy Minute: Time for reinforcements

As we reach Week 10 of the NFL season you might want to take a minute to check out your league’s rules to see when the period for picking up free agents expires. Now is the time to find some reinforcements. I’m in one league in which Week 11 is the deadline so I did a review of my team’s needs (of which there are many) and grabbed “insurance” guys at kicker and QB.

“Bye the way”, the “byes” end this week, but even though there are just four teams off, there are a slew of fantasy starters sidelined – half of which are from the Patriots. In need of some free agent help? Call 1-800 -...no, I mean you might want to consider Priest Holmes who is projected to start for an injured Larry Johnson; Justin Fargas who has been installed as the Raiders’ new starting RB; or Maurice Morris who the Seahawks might turn to given Shaun Alexander’s injuries (and poor play).

One week wonders? Watch it with Jaguar WR Reggie Williams who’s coming off a season-high 128 yards and a TD last game. In giving up 41 points to the Saints, the Jags had to throw more than normal. Williams had a total of 119 yards in the seven games prior to last week. Ditto for Warrick Dunn who had a season-high 100 yards last game. In their victory over San Francisco, the Falcons were in the unusual position of staying on the ground enabling Dunn to get a season-high 27 carries.

This week’s booms and busts...
This one might be a reach but, I like Carolina back DeShaun Foster this week against Atlanta. Foster had his best game of the season against the Falcons (122 yards) earlier in the year and Atlanta has had issues at LB and DT the last few weeks...

Drew Brees and the Saints appear to be on track now and I like their matchup against St. Louis. The Rams have yielded four multi-TD passing days and this might be a good reason to have David Patten in a fantasy lineup...

If Cedric Benson doesn’t do better against an Oakland D he should be benched. The Raiders have been horrendous against the run giving up over five yards per carry. Six backs have topped 100 yards against them...

Unless the Giants have devised a way to slow the Cowboys’ juggernaut, look for another high-scoring game. Dallas beat New York in a 45-35 shootout on opening day and a repeat would be favorable for all involved in New York’s passing game. Amani Toomer deserves extra consideration this week...

I’m not looking for a repeat of Jamal Lewis’ four TDs of last week; one might be a stretch.  The Steelers have not only manhandled the likes of Willis McGahee (50 yards), Travis Henry (51) and Frank Gore (39), but that TD run by McGahee against them last week was just the second rushing score on this defense all season...

In addition to battling rib and knee injuries, Travis Henry also has to be concerned with his workload. It has been tough for Denver to stick with its running game while giving up an average of 34 points in its last five games...

Sneak pick of the week....
Cincy WR Chris Henry makes his first appearance of the 2007 season and after watching Baltimore give up 5 TD passes to Ben Roethlisberger on Monday night, the matchup doesn’t look bad.

If you’re playing the guy who has Tom Brady this week, nice planning! You have a chance!

Good luck to everyone!

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