FantasyLion.com: All Day

1. Hey John,
What is your take on this trade?

Trade Reggie Wayne and Brandon Jacobs for Cedric Benson and Wes Welker?

I have Reggie Wayne on my team and am concerned of him not playing later in the season. This is my first year but I have been told that star players will sit out if their team has already clinched the play offs. My team is very fragile and if Wayne were to sit, it would really hurt my team. Also Benson has some real good match ups coming up and for the rest of the season and Welker isn’t bad either. I feel like Benson and Welker both have better upcoming match ups than Wayne and Jacobs. I also have a lot of RB Depth with Peterson, Mendenhall, McCoy, and Jacobs. Jacobs hasn’t been playing much for me lately so he wouldn’t be a loss with Benson. Welker is pretty consistent. The deadline for all trades this week is this friday. Should I do this? I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

-I wouldn’t worry about Wayne too much. The only time guys miss time is in week 17. I don’t expect the Colts to stay undefeated and they will need Wayne to lock up homefield advantage for the playoffs. I would never advise to trading Reggie Wayne, but in this instance if you look at it like this..

Reggie Wayne for Wes Welker and Cedric Benson
-Jacobs is a wash as you don’t need him with your other 3 RBs

That’s a pretty fair deal if this is a points per reception league. If your league doesn’t reward points for receptions, then I wouldn’t do this deal as Wayne has scored almost every week, while Welker is scoring about every other week.

2. Arizona at ST. Louis or New England at home against the Jets????

-I would go with the Pats. The Cards have a nice matchup but something just tells me the Pats will be on a higher level playing at home, coming off a tough loss and wanting to avenge the earlier season loss they had to the Jets. The Cards D might not play as aggressively as they have been coasting and are playing a weak team on the road.

3. Vince Young has Chris Johnson and a new lease on life. Jay Cutler has a mountain of interceptions which are major costly in my league. Whats your opinion? what do you got to back it up?

-Cutler had a bad game, but he still put up 10 points which isn’t good, but it’s not the end of the world either (just ask people who started Alex Smith last week). He gets a lot of crap, but he doesn’t have much to throw to, has a bad oline, and the running game just can’t get it going. That’s the bad news. The good news is Cutler is very talented and no matter what he’s going to sling the ball. He’s averaging almost 38 attempts a game while Young in his 2 starts has only put up an average of 22. Culter also has the better matchup as the Eagles have given up 18 points a game to QBs over the last 3 weeks, while Houston has only given up around 13. I know that people can’t handle the INTs that Cutler throws, but screw it, it doesn’t bother me.

4. Do i start sidney rice or steve smith (nyg)? my other recevier is brandon maarshall.

-Tough to sit Rice after such a huge game and such a favorable matchup vs Sea this week. All 3 of the Cards WRs had great weeks last week vs the Seahawks. I’d go with Rice, but the other 2 are great ones to have as well.

5. Mccoy vs the bears or carnell williams against the saints?? For my flex spot

-I like McCoy because he’ll be the main ball carrier and Chicago sucks. Cadillac is in a timeshare and more of a crapshoot for production.

6. here’s my current bench weight…
i need to keep my backup qb, otherwise wavering on:

te- ben watson
wr- hakeem nicks
wr- chris chambers

i’m struggling with who is more likely to help me in the upcoming weeks-
forsett is available as is betts, and rb’s are worth a bit more in general in this league. i’m not positive on who is most useful for my bench/matchups - help?

-I’d drop Watson and Chambers for Forsett and Betts. RBs are hard to come by. Each week there are usually viable guys at the WR and TE positions.

7. Which two should i start at RB.

Micheal Turner (vs. Gaints)
Jonathon stewart (vs. maimai)
Ryan Moats (vs. tennesse)
Ladell Betts (vs. Dallas)

-Turner is probably out this week and Moats is in a timeshare playing a rejuvenated Titans D so I would go with Betts and Stewart.

8. Schaub for Fitz good deal?
P Thomas+M Austin for VJAX?
Which should I do or both?
Or should I go for AJ instead of VJAX?
I’m 2-6 so should I do something?

My Team:
Brees, Schaub
MJD, Rice, P Thomas, Addai
Colston, Megatron, DJAX, M Austin, Cribbs, Burelson
Vernon Davis
Nate Kaeding
N.O. DEF

FAs available:
Big Ben, McNabb
J Stewart, Mendenhall, Jamaal Charles, Grant, Fred Jackson, Bradshaw
S Smith(CAR), S Rice, Hester, D Bowe, D Mason, Collie
Gonzo, Celek, Shiancoe
BAL, DEN, NYJ

(6 team h2h league w/return yards)

-Schaub for Fitz good deal?
-If you’re getting Fitz.
P Thomas+M Austin for VJAX?
-Fair either way.
Which should I do or both?
-I’d do both if you’re getting Fitz.
Or should I go for AJ instead of VJAX?
-I’d go for AJ.
I’m 2-6 so should I do something?
-You have to, 7 losses and you’re done.

9. What about Wayne+Chris Johnson for P Thomas+Megatron+Schaub?

-I would do this if I were getting Wayne and CJ, but I wouldn’t trade Wayne and CJ for those 3 guys.

10. NEED HELP!!! Drew Brees or Matt Schaub?

-Brees, he’s a better player and he has a better matchup. The Titans have been playing better, so Schaub may have a harder time than Drew.

11. Think Jamaal Charles can produce from here out? I lost R Brown and need to know if i should make a move or ride this guy a few weeks.

-I don’t know if he can be counted on each week because the Chiefs are so bad. For instance, I would not play Charles this week vs PIt. There should be several guys out there worth picking up that I like more, including, Beanie Wells, Justin Forsett, Jason Snelling, Bernard Scott, and/Larry Johnson.

12. I have Dwayne Bowe. I clearly need to drop him given the 4 game suspension.

Question: Do I pick up Chris Chambers who will step into the KC#1 spot or one of these other WRs off waivers?

Terrell Owens
Roy Williams
Santonio Holmes
Anthony Gonzalez
Donnie Avery
Lance Moore
Domenik Hixon
Deion Branch

-I would only drop him if you don’t need him for a month. I would pick up Santonio over Chambers.

13. I feel Forsett is the real deal and is good enough to take over the #1 spot. But I don’t know anything about this Seattle coach to feel that that may actually occur come wk 14-16. Should I pickup Forsett as my insurance runner in the playoffs knowing that Jones may come back then?

-Yea I’d pick him and expect him to be the starter the rest of the way. Who knows how long Jones’ broken rib takes to heal. Stash Jones on your bench if you can afford the roster space.

14. ok, don’t ask me exactly how i managed to get my team to this, but this is it:
Peyton
Fitzgerald
Wayne
AP
Deangelo Williams
Gates
Megatron (flex)
bench: Breaston, Fred Jackson, Maclin, Ladell Betts.

i am in 1st, outscoring the next closest by over 100 points. i am worried about the playoffs (wks 14-16). if the colts have locked up everything and peyton doesn’t play, i may be in trouble. i have 2 trades that have been discussed and accepted: Fred Jackson and Betts for McNabb (his #2 and EVERYONE of his RB’s is injured wtbrook/brown/portis/j jones) that could replace peyton. i have then also been offered my choice of a couple lower level rb’s, the best being benie wells for Breaston. Return yards count (1 pt = 25 yards) so a couple of these guys are semi more valuable. thoughts on making these moves or holding pat?? sorry for the 1 page essay

-I’d stay put. The only week Manning won’t play is week 17. I doubt the Colts stay undefeated so they’ll likely be playing in a meaningful game come week 16. Even if they don’t have much to play for, Manning should still be good for 3 quarters in week 16 and 3 of Manning’s quarters are better than a lot of other starters full games.

15. Start Forsett vs Min or Barber vs Was this week???

-Forsett simply for the volume of touches he’s going to see. Barber competes with 2 other backs and plays for an OC who abandons the run once things turn sour. I love Forsett going forward, especially in PPR leagues.

16. Id anyone else sick of ‘experts’ calling for Sproles to go off every week? Why do they even predict that when he isnt getting enough touches to put up numbers. I realize that he can break one off any time he touches the ball, but hes a back up, and week after week he doesnt break one off, but it seems to be a disease to boost him up. Should he even be owned in leagues that dont count return yards??

-I’ve given up on him as well. If you’re in a 10 team league, I would release him. If you’re in a 12+ team league, I would hold on to him as his value goes up should LT miss any time. But I agree with you, he can’t be counted on as a weekly starter, not even as a #3 RB.

17. I can afford to drop a QB (Sanchez). What FA WR should I pick up?

Donnie Avery
Mohamed Massaquoi
Santana Moss
Nate Washington
Lance Moore
Mike Thomas
Muhsin Muhammad
Michael Jenkins
Andre Caldwell
Antwaan Randle El
Sammie Stroughter
Mark Clayton

-I like Caldwell and Avery. Three other guys I’d take a look at too are; Chris Chambers, Lance Long, and Brandon Gibson.

18. Here’s my team, what do I need to do?

a rodgers/ d garrard
mjd/mccoy/westbrook/ jacobs/stewart/ larry johnson/norwood
fitzy/ r white/ v jackson/ machlin/ roy williams
tony g
akers
miami/arizona

im 9-1 first in my league clinched playoff spot
10 team league ppr 2 game league on 2nd place team

-Your team is pretty solid. If you had to make a move, I would suggest packaging 2-4 of these guys for a stud WR or TE.

jacobs/stewart/ larry johnson/norwood/roy williams

I like Tony G, but if you can trade let’s say Stewart or LJ and Tony G for Dallas Clark then I would do that in a heartbeat. Or another option is to trade Tony G and Stewart or LJ for a lesser known but similar producing TE like Brent Celek and a studlier RB like Ray Rice. I always try to unload as much of my bench for studs. It’s nice to have depth, but you can only have so much and the less points you leave on the bench the better.

19. Betts, Forsett, Snelling, Jamal Lewis, Bernard Scott???

I need somone to make a huge impact this week..who should I pick up and start at flex???

-I like Betts, Forsett, then Snelling in that order this week. I like Scott too, but the addition of LJ is making their backfield murky.

20. how many points will Mc coy get in a (1pt) ppr league standard scoring 1 pt/10 yds 1pt/10 yds receiving 6 pts/td

-This week vs the Bears, I’d expect at least 15 points. The Bears are giving up an average of 22 points in PPR leagues to RBs, so I’d expect him to have at least 15 points with a max around 25.

Email your questions to john@fantasylion.com