Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Hitting The Waiver Wire For Week Eleven; Matchups To Watch For


Welcome in week 11 of the football season and week 11 of your fantasy season. Like last week I will go over the top five waiver wire acquisitions as well, the top three matchups I like that could potentially help you get a win over your opponent.

The first player I see jumping off the boards this week is Green Bay Packers quarterback Scott Tolzien, who is owned in just over one percent of leagues. With Aaron Rodgers down for a few more weeks, and Seneca Wallace likely out for the same time, Tolzien will be getting the nod in Green Bay. In his time last week Tolzien threw for 280 yards and a touchdown but did throw two interceptions. I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt and say the interceptions came as he was thrown into the fire against a hot Philadelphia Eagles squad, so I still like Tolzien as a spot start going forward against the New York Giants.

The second player I like this week is Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Brian Leonard, who is owned in just over three percent of leagues. With the Buccaneers original backup running back Mike James done for the season with a broken ankle, now its time for third down back Leonard to get his share of carries with the first team offense. While Leonard managed just 57 yards on 20 carries last week against Miami, I could see his value spiking this week against the Atlanta Falcons. Going forward the Buccaneers play the Buffalo Bills and New Orleans Saints so I could see Leonard having sustainable value. I like Leonard as a bye week start this week or a flex start in deeper leagues going forward.

The third player I see coming off the boards this week is Cleveland Browns running back Chris Ogbonnaya, who is owned in just over three percent of leagues. With Willis McGahee not turning the page in his career as far as making an impact with the Browns offense, it looks like Ogbonnaya might start getting more plays. However, this might not mean Ogbonnaya will become the starting back, but will take some carries away from McGahee. So far on the season Ogbonnaya has topped out at five carries, with his best production coming in week six against the Detroit Lions with seven catches for 61 yards with a touchdown and five rushes for 24 yards. I could see this kind of production coming back to life as the Browns faceoff against the Pittsburgh Steelers twice and the Jacksonville Jaguars in the final weeks of the season. I like Ogbonnaya as a spot start for a flex in deep leagues.

The fourth player I like this week is New England Patriots running back Shane Vereen, who is owned in just over 70 percent of leagues. I like Vereen coming back this week on Monday night football against the Carolina Panthers. Despite being out of action since week one against the Buffalo Bills I have high hopes for Vereen. While I don’t expect Vereen to have a 100-yard showing in his first game back, I do expect him to have a good showing with a possible touchdown in the mix. I like Vereen as No. 2 running back or a flex start.

The fifth player I would take a shot on this week is Miami Dolphins wide receiver Rishard Matthews, owned in just over three percent of leagues. While I don’t see Matthews putting up quite the same numbers as he did Monday night in the Dolphins game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I do see his workload ramping up as the season progresses. I like Matthews as a spot play this week for a bye week receiver or a flex receiver in a deeper league.

Now that I have gone over the top five waiver wire pickups I will go over the top three matchups I think you could benefit from starting players in to get a jump on your opponent this week.

The first matchup I like this week is the San Francisco 49ers at the New Orleans Saints. Two NFC teams bound for the playoffs facing off in a week 11 matchup. The 49ers are coming off a loss in which they failed to reach double-digits in scoring while the Saints are coming off a blow out loss to the Dallas Cowboys. This game is going to be a good barometer for each team to see what they need to fine-tune going forward to the playoffs. While I don’t see this game going over 60 total points, I could see each team scoring in the high 20s. On the 49ers side I like Colin Kaepernick, Frank Gore and Vernon Davis. On the Saints side I like Drew Brees, Jimmy Graham and Marques Colston.

The second matchup I like this week is the Kansas City Chiefs at the Denver Broncos. In an AFC West showdown the undefeated Chiefs go into Mile High to take on the Broncos. This matchup pairs up two teams looking to ride into the playoffs with the AFC West crown in their back pocket. The Chiefs are coming off a bye week in which they had two weeks to prepare for Peyton Manning’s aerial-assault, while the Broncos are coming off 28-20 win over the San Diego Chargers where Manning himself went down along with the collective breath of the fan base. I see this game being somewhere in the teens to low 20s favoring the Chiefs. On the Chiefs side I like Jamaal Charles and the Kansas City defense. On the Broncos side I like Peyton Manning, Knowshon Moreno and the Denver defense.

The third matchup I like this week is the Washington Redskins at the Philadelphia Eagles. The Redskins and their pitiful defense will travel to Philadelphia to take on the red shot Eagles. The Redskins are coming off a loss to the Minnesota Vikings while the Eagles are coming off back-to-back wins in which they were the underdog. Now the Eagles are favored, so time to stick with them and their red-hot backup gunslinger Nick Foles. On the Redskins side I like Robert Griffin III and Alfred Morris. On the Eagles side I like Nick Foles, LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson.

That’s all for this week, check back next week when I go over the top five waiver wire pick ups and the top three matchups to watch for.

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