Week 16: Player Upgrades

The time has come: all those hours of pre-draft research, quality draft picks, wavier wire moves, start/sit decisions, it has all built up to this point. The time has come, this is your moment, this is fantasy championship week. Hopefully your fantasy team doesn't need any wavier wire additions, but if you are looking for a sneaky flex play this Week 16 edition of Player Upgrades features seven options for fantasy owners to consider: Quinton Ganther, Jerome Harrison, Maurice Morris, Chris Well, Chris Chambers, Devery Henderson, and Jermichael Finley.

This past week's edition of Player Upgrades talked about a term I invented a couple years back: "Pierre Thomas Syndrome" Every single season there is a player who emerges out of nowhere and leads fantasy owners who started that wild card player to a fantasy championship. The re-incarnation of Pierre Thomas circa 2007 this past weekend was Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Harrison, much to my frustration.

The night before the Cleveland Browns were set to face off with the Kansas City Chief's, I made the move. I dropped Jerome Harrison in favor of his teammate Chris Jennings. There was no doubt in my mind that Harrison is by far the more talented player, but given the performance of Chris Jennings and Josh Cribbs in recent weeks, Harrison simply wasn't being given an opportunity to produce much to my disappointment. I picked up Jerome Harrison prior to Week 4, and had held onto him until this past week, deciding to finally cut bait the night before Harrison's career game.

I talk about this under Harrison's profile, but I have been driving Harrison's bandwagon since Week 5 Player Upgrades, and it's ironic that the week I gave up on Harrison he went off. That's fantasy football, its why we play it, that's what makes fantasy football great. We play not only for that feeling of genius you get when you make the right call on game day, but for that feeling of agony you get when you drop a player who goes off for over 60 points in the fantasy playoffs!

Best of luck to all fantasy owners during fantasy championship weekend, its all built up to this. Remember one thing: trust your gut, do what you feel is the best move; it is your team, you're clicking submit. Follow your gut, and may the fantasy gods be on your side! Also start Jerome Harrison, I told you in Week 5 this guy was going to be a beast! I like to blow my own horn when I'm right ,even if it's once a season.

RB Quinton Ganther, SEA

Quinton Ganther only rushed for 21 yards on ten carries Monday Night, but he managed to score a touchdown. The reason he didn't play a larger role in the offense was that the Giants pulled out to a huge lead against the Redskins and Washington was forced to abandon the run. Ganther has scored three touchdowns in the past two weeks, and will likely add to that total with a match-up against the division rival Dallas Cowboys this weekend. Dallas is ranked 6th against the run this season, but Ganther is really all the Redskins have in their backfield. Odds are Ganther scores double digit fantasy points, which makes him a flex starter in my book.

RB Jerome Harrison, CLE

Nobody could have anticipated the explosive comet that ripped through the Kansas City defense this past weekend called Jerome Harrison. Harrison ripped apart the Chiefs' defense, breaking the Browns' franchise record for rushing yards in a single game and in the process turning in the third best performance in NFL history. Harrison took 34 carries for 286 yards and three touchdowns this past weekend, vaulting any fantasy owners who took a chance on him to the fantasy championship in the process. Jerome Harrison is this year's Pierre Thomas, and I hate to say I told you so, but I did all the way back since Week 5.

Direct quote from Week 5 Player Upgrades, "Harrison could lock up the starting job for the remainder of the season if he continues to produce at the level he did this past weekend (against Cincinnati). Also fantasy owners should take into account Harrison's extremely friendly fantasy playoff schedule: Kansas City, Oakland, Jacksonville (who rank 23rd, 26th, and 12th against the run). A prime target on the wavier wire, Harrison could be huge come playoff time for fantasy owners."

You are playing with fire by starting Harrison this weekend, but you don't want to feel like I did watching the Harrison explode on the wavier wire after dropping him the night before his career game after holding on to him since Week 4. I gave up on Harrison following the emergence of Chris Jennings and Josh Cribbs, which makes Harrison a risky play this weekend. Cribbs and Jennings could steal some of Harrison's workload, but against the Raiders (who have given up a league high 20 rushing touchdowns this season) Harrison will likely carry you to a championship. You're welcome if you listened to my advice earlier this season about Harrison!

RB Maurice Morris, DET

Not a fan of Maurice Morris, never have been, never will be, but you have to take notice when he performs at the level he did this past weekend against a typically stout Arizona run defense. Morris took over the starting role in place of an injured Kevin Smith, and rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Morris was also a factor in the passing game, hauling in 5 passes for 35 yards. Maurice Morris is the ultimate "are you feeling lucky" lottery pick in fantasy championship week.

Detroit faces the San Francisco 49ers on the road this weekend, and Morris will once again receive the start. Morris doesn't have the most promising match-up this weekend against the #5 run defense in the NFL, but neither was the match-up last week against Arizona. Morris could turn in another nice game, and is worth at least a pickup in your fantasy league.

RB Chris Wells, ARI

Chris "Beanie" Wells needs to be in your starting lineup this weekend, despite the presence of the biggest vulture in fantasy football history Tim Hightower, Wells is having an extremely productive second half of the fantasy season. Wells and the Arizona Cardinals face the St. Louis Rams (who rank 27th against the run this season). Wells rushed for 74 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries in Week 11 against the Rams, and this past weekend Wells recorded the first 100-yard rushing game of his career against Detroit. All the signs point toward Beanie Wells having a huge game against the Rams this weekend; another flex option that fantasy owners need to use this weekend.

WR Chris Chambers, KC

Week 15 Player Upgrades direct quote "Sometimes you have to just roll the dice, and this call is based purely on a gut instinct that Chambers breaks a couple of big plays against a defense prone to giving them up, the Cleveland Browns. With the return of Dwayne Bowe, opposing secondaries will no longer be able to roll coverage toward Chris Chambers, and this in theory should allow Chambers to get open downfield where he is most dangerous. Bowe's presence may result in a decrease in the number of targets, but it should open the door for Chambers to make more big plays in the vertical passing game."

Turns out I was completely right on this call as the return of Dwayne Bowe benefited his counterpart Chris Chambers, who went off catching 5 passes for 114 yards and one touchdown against Cleveland. Chambers will be in a similar situation this weekend when the Chiefs face off with the Cincinnati Bengals. Bowe's presence will open up Chambers for opportunities down the field. Chambers may only catch a couple of passes, but if he can make them count with big plays, Chambers is worthy of flex play consideration.