Player News – Page 88 – FantasySP Blog

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.

Buying Low- Kellen Winslow

Kellen Winslow continues to be dropped from many fantasy squads around the country but you may want to take a deeper look.

Analysis: Kellen Winslow only has one touchdown and does not have a seventy yard ball game for the year. His 282 receiving yards rank sixteenth among NFL tight ends and as of now he is not considered a TE1. However, if you take a deeper look you may like what you see.

Winslow is fourth among NFL tight ends in targets for the year with fifty-eight. That’s more targets than Tony Gonzalez, Dallas Clark, Greg Olsen, Owen Daniels and Jermichael Finley. There has to be a rule somewhere in fantasy football where you absolutely cannot drop the fourth most targeted tight end in the NFL from your squad. But Winslow is being dropped and you have to buy low on him right now. He has stayed healthy his two and one half years in Tampa and he’s averaged about 800 yards with five scores per season with the Bucs. He may not be putting up numbers yet but he will explode sooner or later and that is when you’ll at least have an option to keep or sell high.

Stick With Marek Zidlicky

Minnesota defenseman Marek Zidlicky may not be on the Wild’s first power play unit for the time being but that doesn’t mean he isn’t valuable.

Analysis: Zidlicky’s play this year has been rather pedestrian, however, you just cannot deny what he has done over the years. He would have four straight forty plus point seasons had he not missed significant time last year. As far as under the radar offensive defenseman go… Marek Zidlicky is right up there. His case is not an unusual one, he is on a prolonged cold streak and typical fantasy owners lack the patience to keep him. Zidlicky is available in just over thirty percent of fantasy leagues nationwide and if he is on the wire in your league then he is a must add. He’s still getting a team high twenty-three minutes of ice time per game and despite just two points on the year… he still leads all Minnesota defensemen in points.

Whatever way you slice it, Zidlicky is still a viable option in all fantasy leagues. He’ll put up numbers, he’s just too talented of a player not to.

Buying Low- Ville Leino

With just two points in ten games, Sabres’ forward Ville Leino’s season has gotten off to a rough start.

Analysis: Yes, the Sabres did overpay Leino with the six year/$27 million contract but it hasn’t been all his fault. Leino will still stay at center for the time being where he is more comfortable but the big plus here is that he will be playing alongside Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville now. Vanek is a former forty goal scorer and has eight goals in ten games this year. Pominville is off to a career year with fourteen points in ten games. All signs point to more ice time and production from the struggling Leino. He only has five shots on the year while averaging just thirteen minutes of ice time per game. The center is available in sixty-one percent of CBS leagues and forty percent of ESPN leagues and now is the perfect time to buy low.

If this move for the Sabres does not work the only available option would be to play him back on the wing but even that hasn’t worked yet this year. Leino is one talented player and playing with an elite winger like Thomas Vanek has to bring out the best in him, right?

PPR Help- Kevin Faulk

After missing a year of action due to a torn right ACL, thirty-five year old Kevin Faulk is fantasy relevant again.

Analysis: Most experts have already wrote Kevin Faulk’s career off but not here. Faulk caught five balls and tallied six carries Sunday against the Steelers. In deeper leagues, backs with five plus reception ability are extremely rare on the wire and seeing how Faulk is universally available… he’s worth consideration. Take into account that from 2006-2009 Faulk’s reception totals were 43, 47, 58, 37. Faulk may not have big play ability but he will haul in his fair share of balls and he’s only fumbled one time in the past five years.

Faulk actually had one more carry Sunday than BenJarvus Green-Ellis who has averaged nineteen carries over the last three weeks. Danny Woodhead is a non-factor this year which can only boost Faulk’s value. Faulk isn’t going to rack up tons of yards or score touchdowns in bunches but in deeper PPR leagues he is a reliable source of receptions. Considering only two backs(Rice, Sproles) caught more balls than Faulk heading into the Sunday night game, it’s time to check out Kevin Faulk.