Pickups of the Week

Chris Ogbonnaya, RB, Browns (16.0 percent)
Week 10 stats: 19 carries, 90 yards, 2 rec, 19 yards
Week 11 stats: 21 carries, 115 yards, 1 TD, 2 rec, 19 yards
Believe it or not the Jaguars are a top-10 run defense, but perhaps not anymore after Ogbonnaya ran for 115 yards at an unbelievable 5.5 yards per carry. As long as Montario Hardesty doesn't come back, Ogbonnaya will be a decent flex play against a Bengals defense that allows the third fewest rush yards per game, but also has given up 10 rushing touchdowns on the year.

 

Kevin Smith, RB, Lions (0.7 percent owned in ESPN Standard 10-Man Leagues)
Week 11 stats: 16 carries, 140 yards, 2 TDs, 4 rec, 61 yards, 1 TD
He will end up being the #1 waiver-wire addition this week, but expectations should be limited as the Carolina Panthers have the worst run defense in the league. That being said, the rumor mill is suggesting Jahvid Best won't return until later in the season, leaving Smith as the #1 RB. Smith proved he is a capable pass-cathing running back, which will be helpful considering the Lions will most likely fall behind early against the Packers next week. He is a low-end #2 RB from here on out.

Riley Cooper, WR, Eagles (0.1 percent)
Week 11 stats: 5 rec, 75 yards, 1 TD, 12 Targets
I have a theory that backup quarterbacks tend to target backup wide receivers more often when the starting quarterback goes down. This could possibly explain Garcon's emergence when Painter got the starting job and also Cooper's with VInce Young at quarterback. If Michael Vick ribs keep him out another week, Cooper has flex play potential next week against the league's worst passing defense in the New England Patriots. Cooper's 12 targets were four more than any other Eagles receiver.

Matt Moore, QB, Dolphins (2.8 percent)
Week 11 stats: 14-20, 160 yards, 3 TDs
That Matt Moore, the one who sucks? Yes, that Matt Moore. The Dolphins have won three games in a row and Moore has six touchdowns in the last three games. Moore is a low-end #2 QB play next week against Dallas and is possibly a high end #2 in two weeks against Oakland.

Rex Grossman, QB, Redskins (7.4 percent)
Week 11 stats: 25-38, 289 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 1 Rushing TD
Most career negative fantasy games isn't an official statistic, but if was, Grossman would be leading it. However Grossman does have his moments and he does have plus match-ups against the Patriots and the Vikings in weeks 14 and 16. Unless you're desperate for a quarterback, try to avoid him next week against Seattle. On a somewhat related note, this isn't the last big game of the season from Jabar Gaffney, who Grossman has consistently targeted deep going back to the first few games of the year.

Toby Gerhart, RB, Vikings (1.7 percent)
Week 11 stats: 7 carries, 18 yards, 1 rec, 7 yards
Adrian Peterson at the very minimum will miss one game and will likely be out for multiple games with a high ankle sprain, which is terrible news for Vikings fans. There's only a few running backs on the planet that can run as well as Peterson has with an offensive line as terrible as the Vikings', and Gerhart isn't one of them. Against a sub-par Oakland run defense Gerhart finished with sub-par rushing stats, which is a tell-tale sign that Gerhart won't produce much going forward.  Only in super deep leagues should Gerhart be considered a fantasy play against a stingy Falcons' run defense.

Broncos D/ST (3.5 percent)

 

Believe it or not, the Broncos defense has been the 5th highest scoring defense over the past three weeks. The Chargers have given up the 8th most fantasy points  to opposing defenses.

Rams D/ST (5.9 percent)
The Arizona Cardinals are going to send out either John Skelton or Richard Bartel. For as bad as the Rams defense has been this year, they have put together 4 straight weeks of at least 7 fantasy points in standard scoring leagues. On an unrelated note, doesn't Kevin Kolb looks like the world's worst problem drinker. Yeah, I don't think he lasts beyond this year in Arizona either.

Deeper League Quarterbacks for the Desperate

Matt Leinart, QB, Texans (1.6 percent)
Leinart faces a Jacksonville defense that just lost its top cornerback in Rashean Mathis and Andre Johnson is finally making his return. The Texans will likely try to keep the ball out of Leinart's hands as much as they can, but with weapons like Johnson and Owen Daniels, Leinart could end up with Matt Schaub like numbers.

Vince Young, QB, Eagles (4.3 percent)
Week 11 stats: 23-36, 258 yards, 2 TDs, 3 WRs
Any quarterback that plays for the Eagles has the potential to put up big points.

Jake Locker, QB, Titans (0.3 percent)
Week 11 stats: 9-19, 140 yards, 2 TDs, 1 carry, 11 yards
I'm not sure how Larry King was able to play half a season at quarterback, especially considering how brittle that guy is, but considering how well Locker performed in his place, the Titans will likely want to wait him to heal fully before he comes back. Make no mistake about it, Locker is playing for the starting job right now and if he can repeat his second half performance against Tampa Bay, there's approximately a zero percent chance that Larry King comes back.

How Are They Still Available?

Laurent Robinson, WR, Cowboys (50.1 percent)
Week 9 stats:     5 rec, 32 yards, 5 Targets, 1 TD
Week 10 stats:   3 rec, 72 yards, 3 Targets, 2 TDs
Week 11 stats:   4 rec, 34 yards, 11 Targets, 1 TD
Robinson's receptions to targets ratio was pretty low, however he did manage to score another touchdown and Romo hasn't lost any confidence in him. That's four touchdowns in three weeks. Gotta love the consistency.

Jacoby Ford, WR, Raiders (38.3 percent)
Week 9 stats:     5 rec, 105 yards, 6 Targets, 1 TD
Week 10 stats: 1 rec, 41 yards, 2 Targets
At this point in the season, fantasy owners should be stocking up their benches with high upside guys like Ford. His chemistry with Palmer is remarkably good and if he can stay healthy, the Raiders have plus match-ups against Miami (ranked 25th against WRs) and Green Bay (ranked 27th) in weeks 13 and 14.

Denarius Moore, WR, Raiders (89.1 percent)
Week 9 stats:     4 rec, 61 yards, 12 Targets
Week 10 stats: 5 rec, 123 yards, 7 Targets, 2 TDs
Week 11 stats: 1 rec, 14 yards, 2 Targets
Moore fought in-game injuries week 11 so fantasy owners shouldn't hold his low production against him. He's a low end #3 WR with ridiculous upside.

Carson Palmer, QB, Raiders (58.1 percent)
Week 9 stats:     19-35, 332 yards, 3 TDs, 3 INT
Week 10 stats:   14-20, 299 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Week 11 stats:   17-23, 164 yards, 1 TD
Somebody has to throw to Ford and Moore, right?

Ben Tate, RB, Texans (81.0 percent)
Week 9 stats:     12 carries, 115 yards, 1 TD
Week 10 stats: 13 carries, 62 yards, 1 TD
The playoffs are coming up so remember that nobody cares about the guy with the best regular season record. The goal is to win the championship and in weeks 15 and 16, the Texans face the Panthers and the Colts who rank 32nd and 30th against opposing running backs. Tate is a legitimate #2 RB play for those two weeks.

Antonio Brown, WR, Steelers (53.2 percent)
Week 8 stats:  9 rec, 67 yards, 15 Targets, 1 TD
Week 9 stats:      5 rec, 109 yards, 11 Targets
Week 10 stats: 5 rec, 86 yards, 6 Targets
Hines Ward is now officially an afterthought. Just kidding, Hines Ward will always find a way to annoy us, whether it's through reality TV shows or commercials. The guy just doesn't stop. He might even steal a touchdown or two from Brown the next couple of weeks, but that shouldn't stop owners from picking up the highly-targeted Brown if he is still available. 

Mark Sanchez, QB, Jets (85.3 percent)
Week 9 stats:     20-28, 230 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Week 10 stats:   20-39, 306 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
Week 11 stats: 24-40, 252 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT
The Buffalo Bills just gave up three touchdowns to Matt Moore. For as bad as Mark Sanchez has played recently, he is still better than Matt Moore.

Tim Tebow, QB, Broncos (80.4 percent)
Week 9 stats:     10-21, 124 yards, 2 TDs, 12 carries, 118 yards
Week 10 stats:   2-8, 69 yards, 1 TD, 9 carries, 43 yards, 1 TD
Week 11 stats: 9-20, 104 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs, 8 carries, 68 yards, 1 rushing TD
Haters keep on hating, Tebow's keeps on Tebowing. It's safe to say Tebow is a reliable fantasy option after what he did to the Jets on Thursday night. On an unrelated note, after Thursday night's game, Tebow's post-game interview with Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders absolutely hilarious. By my count, there were at least four "So what do your receivers say to you after you completely miss them when they are wide open" questions. Still, you can't blame Irvin for unintentionally making fun of Tebow. He was just nervous as it was probably the closest Irvin has been to God in years. Or maybe he had just got done sniffing cocaine, who knows.

 

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