Author: TJ Streett

Buying Low- Martin Hanzal

After missing two games with a lower body injury, Martin Hanzal is back in action and a viable fantasy option once again.

Analysis: Martin Hanzal has ten points on the year in just twelve games as well as thirty-nine shots on goal. Hanzal is and will continue to be a major player for the Yotes as his nineteen minutes of ice time suggests. He’s second to only Shane Doan on the Yotes in ice time among forwards and that trend will continue throughout this season.

His only fantasy weakness right now is power play points but his performance this year has been so good that you can live with his shortcoming. His penalty minutes remain around one minute per game this year(10 in 12 games) and are on par with his past two seasons. He actually leads all Phoenix forwards in penalty minutes even though he has missed a few games. Hanzal is a twenty-four year old center on the rise and this is shaping out to be a career year for him. He’s available in a little less than half of fantasy leagues due to his recent injury and now is certainly the time to buy him low.

Week Ten- Streaming Defenses- Jacksonville

The Jags have a week ten matchup with the 0-9 Colts.

Analysis: Jacksonville has only given up sixteen points per game over their last three contests. Considering those games were two road contests with the Steelers and Texans and a stellar performance against the Ravens, the Jags D is coming along nicely. Jacksonville is giving up the fifth fewest total yards in the league and the eighth fewest points per game as well. They are simply an underrated unit.

On the other side of the ball you have an Indy team that has just given up on the year. The Indy offense is only scoring fourteen points per game while ranking twenty-eighth in the NFL in passing yards per game. Although Indy quarterbacks have only thrown six picks on the year, their combined 69.2 passer rating is thirtieth in the NFL. Curtis Painter has thrown for over 100 passing yards just once in his last three games. Painter is only completing 53% of his passes and with tight end Dallas Clark out- it doesn’t look good for this offense.

Jacksonville’s defense is available in just about every fantasy league for the time being, but their week ten matchup will get a lot of attention from fantasy owners.

Last Call On Ondrej Pavelec

Winnipeg’s other goaltender, Chris Mason, is set to return to action soon but do not expect Ondrej Pavelec to miss many starts as he continues on his hot streak.

Analysis: Pavelec has been a top fifteen netminder over the last two weeks with a save percentage north of 93%. He has only allowed more than three goals once in the past four weeks despite playing on the road in eight of his last eleven games. He’s looked great against quality teams on the road, peroid. Considering Pavelec’s recent success it is confusing why he is only owned in half of fantasy leagues nationwide. With the season long struggles of Jaroslav Halak and Cory Schneider, it is time to pick Pavelec up.

Pavelec isn’t a sell high goalie like Minnesota’s Josh Harding, he is a legit top twenty-five goaltender now. He’s still only twenty-four years of age and as he continues to improve on a relatively young Jets team you can expect some consistency unlike his performances last year. The Jets have only played four home games this year and you just have to think that will work in Pavelec’s favor in terms of more wins down the road.

PPR Help- Roy Helu

Roy Helu caught fourteen balls Sunday afternoon against the Niners to lead all NFL players on the day.

Analysis: With seventeen targets and fourteen receptions Sunday, Roy Helu has grabbed the attention of all fantasy owners. Helu’s twenty-four total touches against the Niners dwarfed Ryan Torain’s two touches. Obviously, when Mike Shanahan is involved in any running back situation you cannot entirely trust any back but Helu offers some serious upside here. He’s available in over eighty percent of fantasy leagues and if Ryan Torain continues to underperform, Helu just may be a RB3 in standard leagues going forward.

It was clear even before the San Francisco game that Helu was their best passing threat out of the backfield. At the time Tim Hightower went down, Helu only had three fewer targets(12) than him on the year. Meanwhile, Ryan Torain only has two receptions on three targets for the year. With the Skins being down late in games often, Helu’s PPR value could be huge. He also carried the rock ten times Sunday and is sporting a 4.6 yards per carry average on the year. The time to act is now, Helu is now a force in PPR leagues or at least until Mike Shanahan decides otherwise.

Selling High- Matt Cassel

Matt Cassel is owned in most leagues nationwide but it may be time to sell the quarterback before he loses all value.

Analysis: Matt Cassel has struggled this year to the tune of a 79.0 quarterback rating. That’s the same passer rating as one Chad Henne. Regardless, rookie Jon Baldwin looked great against San Diego and hopes are even higher for Cassel and the Chiefs. But, if you take a look at the schedule it gets rather ugly- weeks 11-16 see Kansas City @NE, PIT, @CHI, @NYJ, GB, OAK. The Chiefs will not come out alive in terms of the playoffs when all is said and done which is why now is the perfect time to maximize the value on Cassel.

Despite the Jamaal Charles injury, the Chiefs remain a run centric team with thirty running attempts per game which is good for the sixth most in the NFL. Couple that with the fact that the Chiefs are thirtieth in the NFL in passing attempts and you have a quarterback that just may fall out of the lower QB2 tier soon. Make sure to capitalize on Cassel’s current value no later than next week after his contest with Miami.