The Fantasy 6-Pack

11/11/2009 6:18 PM -  gogobroncos

It’s already week 10 but that means Thursday games are about to get fired up, there are no more stupid baseball games, and it’s time to get set-up for your fantasy football playoffs!

If you’ve made it this far, Congratulations! You don’t suck at fantasy football but now it’s time to make sure you aren’t hung out to dry come playoff time. You’ve more than likely got a few studs lined up for the stretch run but it’s always crucial to continue surrounding your stars w/ depth. Let’s just face it, there aren’t a lot of fantasy football seasons that you’ll experience that will be injury free. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had the luck like that but that’s why we’re here to get you prepared for the worst and, more importantly, primed for success in your fantasy league.

Well, it IS week 10, so that means Steve Slaton can spend the entire week thinking about how not to fumble. Larry Johnson can sit on his couch and tweet to his tweeples, while the Giants’ secondary can try to remember how to play man-coverage. To hell with them though, because it’s time to get you a “W” and I’ve got a hankering for another Fantasy 6-Pack!

Josh Freeman - Tamp Bay Buccaneers

I know I’m putting a rookie QB up on the board but Josh Freeman has a distinct advantage over the other QBs on your waiver wire and it’s the fact that he has yet to have his ass completely kicked into submission. I have to admit that I read a ton of scouting reports about “this kid from K-State that was a legit Roethlisberger clone” and of course I immediately dismissed that thinking like so many others but after watching a little film on him last week, there’s a lot more to that Big Ben comparison than I originally thought. Not only is Freeman huge at 6′6″-250 but he’s just tough to get a handle on with his great feet and size combo. It’s not that he’s got a lot of speed, he’s just got a natural ability to evade the pass rush on toughness and quickness more than anything. I’m not expecting blow up stats but with Tampa Bay playing a lot of games from behind, Freeman is going to put up plenty of passes going forward. He’s definitely a great add if you’re in a deep league and you need more depth at QB because the Freeman Era Has Begun and it’s not stopping anytime soon.

Ladell Betts - Washington Redskins

Once again, this isn’t somebody that will save your season, but Ladell Betts stands to see a significant increase in touches with Clinton Portis concussed and virtually ineffective. Betts is going to be a terrific value in PPR leagues and is a great add for depth with the league paying a lot more attention to concussions this year than ever before. I doubt Clinton Portis misses a ton of time here but Betts should definitely be a nice start against a Denver defense that just got exposed by Rashard Mendenhall and the Steelers Monday Night to the tune of 155 rushing yards. I doubt Betts gets that but he should provide great depth in almost all league formats for the next few weeks and he’s a good option this week as well. This week off should give Portis plenty of time to come up with some costume ideas that are hopefully a little better than Dolemite Jenkins.

Kevin Faulk - New England Patriots

I know I know, BORING! This guy isn’t going to get a bulk of the carries unless Maroney or BenJarvus Green-Ellis gets hurt but he IS always going to be involved in the passing game and last time I checked, Maroney hasn’t proven to be the perfect picture of health thus far in his career by any stretch. The one thing that you can always count on in New England is Kevin Faulk catching passes until they’re done playing games. Belichick loves the veteran from LSU and he always seems to have the ability to stay healthy enough to last into the playoffs. I’m seriously thinking that if some plague hit the world, the only things left alive would be cockroaches and Kevin Faulk. The bottom line here that I’m trying to stress is that if you’re in a deep PPR league, this guy is always worth rostering and the Patriots also have a nice run of three games against the Panthers, Bills, and Jaguars right during the fantasy playoffs. You could do a lot worse if you get hit by the injury bug at the wrong time, so go ahead and add him if you need some depth.

Andre Caldwell - Cincinnati Bengals

I know that I’ve already put it out there that I love this guy but I’m seeing too many questions and scenarios out there that he’s still available in. He’s got to be picked up now with Chris Henry out, so if you have yet to do so, go get Andre Caldwell on your rosters now before you finish reading this. . . I’m glad you’re back. Palmer loves this kid and he’s fitting in nicely with what the Bengals want to do in the short passing game. Coles has proven to be very inconsistent throughout the season and the Bengals want to get Caldwell the ball more in space with the extra moves he can make in the open field. He’s going to be even better next season but I expect more targets for Reche’s little brother Bubba.

Lance Long - Kansas City Chiefs

He’s just barely good enough to get trade value out of in Miami, he can’t keep his job in San Diego, but Chris Chambers can just blow up for 2 TDs with a terrible team. Seriously though folks, all the little brother of Eyeball Chambers did was distract people from the real gem in Kansas City’s passing game and that’s Lance Long with his 8 receptions for 74 yards last week. Sure, the Chiefs were playing the Jaguars but Long is bringing a nice skill set to the table for Kansas City’s offense. He’s a crafty route runner, who is explosive in space and he just might provide Mr Matt Cassel with a Welker-esque relief outlet in the passing game. Once again, I’m looking at this from a deeper league perspective but this is a guy who might be used a lot more going forward and he’s a very intriguing PPR league prospect.

Jason Hill - San Francisco 49ers

I thought he fell down in the old abandoned well outside of 49ers headquarters but it turns out he’s actually claimed a role in the passing game regardless of Michael Crabtree’s presence. It was rumored that Josh Morgan had the starting role over Jason Hill but they are apparently in a rotation and more than anything, the 49ers are running a few more spread formations with Alex Smith in the lineup. The idea is to keep Smith in the shotgun more often but the bottom line is that Jason Hill looks to be seeing more of the field, so he’s another nice add for depth at the position. He might not win you the league but I’ve got to look at some nice match-ups coming up against Chicago, Green Bay, and Jacksonville that make Hill worth a look in deeper leagues.

Thanks for reading folks and if you’ve got any comments, questions, or complaints please bang them out below and you can also send ‘em my way to thefantasyexchange@gmail.com