Week 11: Player Upgrades

As Tedy Bruschi put it in an interview on WEEI in Boston "Its moving on Tuesday". Yes it was a tough loss, it has a major impact on where the Patriots will be seeded, and it was arguably the worst regular season loss and single worst gamble of the Bill Belichick era. New England fans were devastated just as I was at the outcome of the game, but what it really comes down to is the Colts made the right decisions and made the plays when it mattered most and they deserve a ton of credit for that. The New England Patriots will move on and focus on the Jets this weekend, and that is a lesson most fantasy owners can relate to as well.

This past weekend the injury bug hit fantasy owners hard; heck even I got chest pain watching the Patriots squander a fourth quarter lead, and almost broke my hand punching a wall after Laurence Maroney fumbled into the end-zone, but that's besides the point. Significant injuries to a number of reliable fantasy contributors at the running back position occurred this weekend, and fantasy owners are going to have to move on without them and focus on the future. A few of the bigger names that went down this past weekend were Michael Turner, Brian Westbrook, Cedric Benson, Ronnie Brown, Julius Jones.

This Week 11 edition of Player Upgrades focuses on solutions for fantasy owners who need replacements at running back off the wavier wire. In order of how I would rank them, fantasy owners need to target: LeSean McCoy, Justin Forsett, Jamaal Charles, Ladell Betts, and Jason Snelling. Also featured in this week's article are several wide receivers fantasy owners should target either via trade or off the wavier wire because their stock is on the rise: Mike Sims-Walker, Sidney Rice, Chris Chambers, Davone Bess, and Isaiah Stanback. Isaiah Stanback? If you're wondering who Isiah Stanback is, keep reading; as always, best of luck to all fantasy owners in Week 11, and be sure to check out the FFToolbox.com Podcast on Itunes. In this week's edition your host Ben Standig is breaking down every Week 11 game, and will be joined by not only myself, but Rob Warner as well.

RB Ladell Betts, NO

Watching Brian Westbrook return from a concussion and subsequently suffer another concussion in his first game back, leads us to believe that the Redskins will be extremely cautious bringing Portis back from a concussion as soon as this weekend when the Redskins travel to Dallas for a pivotal NFC East division showdown. Ladell Betts was featured in Player Upgrades last week as a pick-up and a start against the Denver Broncos (who have been porous against the run in recent weeks). Betts started in place of Portis and racked up 114 yards and a score on an impressive 26 carries.

Head Coach Jim Zorn has stated that Clinton Portis will regain the starting job once he is healthy, but odds are even if he plays against Dallas he won't be one hundred percent and will be very limited. Until Clinton Portis has completely recovered and the Redskins are confident he can carry a full workload, Ladell Betts will play a critical role in the Redskins' backfield rotation. Ladell Betts will likely start this weekend, and is for the second week in a row an excellent pick-up and start against Dallas (who ranks 10th best in the NFL against the run, giving up just over 100 yards per game).

RB Jamaal Charles, KC

After a lackluster first start in place of Larry Johnson, it was announced that Kolby Smith would start for the Chiefs against Oakland this past weekend. Long story short, Kolby Smith looked terrible and Jamaal Charles was excellent. Charles has made numerous appearances in my Player Upgrades articles this season (including last week when I reminded fantasy owners -- who may have forgotten over the Chiefs Bye Week -- that Charles is a must have pick-up). Jamaal Charles ran for a season high 103 yards on 18 carries, breaking away for a 44 yard touchdown in the Chiefs' 16-10 win over the Raiders. Charles also played a small role in the passing game as well, contributing 14 yards on four catches.

Jamaal Charles is a must own / must start for the remainder of the season -- especially in point-per-reception leagues. The only two terrible match-ups where fantasy owners should approach with caution is this weekend against Pittsburgh, and Week 16 against Cincinnati (both defenses rank #1 and #2 against the run respectively). Charles is a smaller back and isn't built like a Maurice Jones-Drew, which will make those two tough match-ups where the big plays won't be there even more difficult; his speed, ability as a receiver out of the backfield, and big play ability make him an excellent play against weaker run defenses for the remainder of the season.

RB Justin Forsett, SEA

Julius Jones suffered a bruised chest this past weekend. While the injury isn't believed to be serious, Jones will miss some time, which will give Forsett an opportunity to win the starting job for the remainder of the season. After Jones went down against Arizona this past weekend, Forsett took over rushing for 123 yards and 1 touchdown on only 17 carries, and also caught five passes for 26 yards. Much like Jamaal Charles, Forsett is a smaller back at only 5 foot 8; what he lacks in size, he makes up for in excellent speed and ability as a receiver out of the backfield. The biggest thing fantasy owners need to know is that Forsett looked better this past weekend than Julius Jones has at any point this season. Forsett has major fantasy star upside, and to put it in perspective: they didn't run the ball that much in this game because Hasselbeck threw the ball 52 times.

Forsett is the number one wavier wire pickup in my book this week, especially if you are in a point-per-reception league. Seattle does have a very favorable schedule the rest of the way (except for this weekend against Minnesota), featuring match-ups against St. Louis, San Francisco, Houston, Tampa Bay, Green Bay, and Tennessee. Forsett has major upside and is your man off the wavier wire if you are in need of a running back because of injuries.

RB LeSean McCoy, PHI

After suffering a second concussion in as many games, Brian Westbrook is likely done playing football for the remainder of the season (and possibly the rest of his career). With Brian Westbrook unfortunately out of the picture for an extended period of time, rookie LeSean McCoy will inherit the starting role from the veteran for the remainder of the season. McCoy has been featured in Player Upgrades more than any other player this season, and as a McCoy owner personally I have to say it will be exciting to see what McCoy will do in the featured role. McCoy has started three games in place of Westbrook this season already, and was extremely productive in all three starts.

McCoy has tremendous upside because (as I have stated before) he is a virtual Brian Westbrook clone with a very similar skill set as a powerful runner, and excellent hands and ability as a receiver out of the backfield. McCoy has the potential to be a major difference maker for fantasy owners for the remainder of the season, and can be counted on as a sure-fire #2 fantasy running back every week.

RB Jason Snelling, ATL

I was asked about Snelling on the FFToolbox Weekly Podcast a couple weeks ago when Jerious Norwood went down with an injury, and my response was that it would take a significant Michael Turner injury for Snelling to have any fantasy value. With Michael Turner suffering a high ankle sprain and Jerious Norwood still out, Snelling was the last man standing for Atlanta this past weekend against Carolina. Snelling came in and played well, rushing for 61 yards on 18 carries scoring a touchdown, and adding 3 catches for 32 yards in the Falcons' loss to the Panthers.

Jerious Norwood's return is still up in the air at this point, and the only other option on the Falcons' roster at this point is Aaron Stecker (who was just resigned this week after being cut to make room on the roster last week). Snelling has fantasy value on a temporary basis until either Norwood or Turner return healthy, because the one thing the Falcons will do is run the football. Snelling is a definite pick-up and start this weekend when the Falcons battle the New York Giants on the road.