Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

9/16/14, Fantasy Apocalypse, Waiver Wire Wonders

Avast, ye mateys. We're sailing fer Fantasy Island. Yea, I've got no more pirate lingo for you, but I just HAD to use this awesome picture of Giovani Bernarrrrrrrd that Dave put together for one of my fantasy teams. I needed a replacement after Purple Jesus's fall from the league and my team's moniker.

Anyways, back to the podcast. During the show, we enjoyed a Maharaja courtesy of Dave's chili cook-off win and had more than a little Glen Grant Single Malt Scotch Whiskey. All in all, it was a wetter show than normal.

This week, we broke down some of the upsets from last week, talked about the major injuries from week 2. Spoiler alert, this took a little while to get through. Finally, we broke down a couple of games coming up in week 3. I even made a bold bet that the Giants will beat the Texans at home this week. Loser buys beers for the show next week.

Make sure to join us next week, live at 9pm CST on blogtalk radio (blogtalkradio.com/drinkfive). Feel free to send us your questions and we'll answer them on the podcast! Ask us on our Facebook page, follow us on twitter (@drinkfive), or send us an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can also grab the podcast on iTunes.

On this episode of the Fantasy Finish Line podcast your hosts Jason Evans and David Biggs will take a long trip through the injury list and what their fantasy implications are (how will the depth chart change, will fill-ins have worthwhile production for your team, etc), cover some quick player trends from the past three weeks, and go through the (Jay)cutlist. Cheers!

This video/podcast will go live at 9pm CT on Wednesday, October 13, 2021 - it will also be available on all major podcast channels and remain available on YouTube for later review and comments. Join us live and add your comments/questions to the show!

This video features the songs and artists listed below, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license: - Various original music by David Biggs

Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes to get notifications whenever we release a new episode. We also broadcast the shows live on our YouTube channel Wednesday nights at 9pm CT. Feel free to browse over and join in the discussion in the chat room and subscribe to the drinkfive channel for updates!

On the podcast this week, we touched on some major and minor injuries throughout the league which I've included below. We also branched out the discussion to news, waiver wire picks, overachievers and much more. Give the show a listen to really dig into the meat and potatoes this week!

(Listen to the Fantasy Football Podcast, 9/15/15: Week 2 Preview) 

Quarterbacks

Derek Carr (OAK): What looked like a bruised hand may have been something more, but we weren’t certain. An MRI on Monday didn’t reveal any lasting damage – just a bruised thumb on Carr’s right throwing hand. They were exploring the signing of Christian Ponder, among other veteran QBs.. thankfully we should see Carr back in the saddle in week 2, or week 3 at the latest (in which case backup Matt McGloin would fill in against the Ravens). Editor's Note: Looks like Carr will in fact start in week 2 barring setbacks.

Josh McCown (CLE): A concussion sustained on a dive into the end zone has sidelined McCown for the time being, leaving Manziel the heir apparent. It remains to be seen whether or not McCown will be able to suit up for week 2’s game but believe me, the Browns would really like for that to be the case after Manziel’s performance on Sunday.

Running Backs

Andre Ellington (ARI): Grade 1 PCL sprain. Not as bad as it could have been, Ellington will likely miss all of September and most of October recovering from this injury. It does afford new Cardinals running backs Chris Johnson and David Johnson an opportunity to show their worth to the team. Expect David Johnson to continue to impress but have his carries limited, as Arians would prefer not to let a rookie shoulder the load. We already know what Chris Johnson can do..

C.J. Anderson (DEN): Anderson’s injury is being shrouded in a little bit of mystery here and that is rather concerning for fantasy owners. He was expected to produce top-10 numbers this season and so any bad news here will likely result in some butt-hurt team managers. Whispers of this injury being more than just something day-to-day have catapulted Ronnie Hillman’s stock on the waiver wire and I would be surprised if he doesn’t end up being a top pickup this week.

Wide Receivers

Dez Bryant (DAL): Suffering from a “Jones” fracture (the same injury that kept Marvin Jones and the NBA’s Kevin Durant out for a season), Bryant was a huge part of the Cowboys offense and now they may have to face being without him for at least 6-8 weeks, if not the rest of 2015. What should you do as a Bryant owner? Well, after a little light weeping, try to scoop up one of the top receivers available on the wire this week. From the Cowboys’ perspective, Terrance Williams, Gavin Escobar and Cole Beasley all benefit – this injury will also likely bring Jason Witten back up to TE1 status for the remainder of the Bryant’s recovery.

T.Y.Hilton (IND): It looks like a particularly badly bruised knee – that kind of injury could sideline a player for a few days or a few weeks depending on how it heals. Should Hilton not play in week 2, reports say that Donte Moncrief will be the guy who fills his shoes and is immediately start-able on your roster as a WR2/3.

DeSean Jackson (WAS): Alas poor Washington, it was not to be. Pierre Garcon and Jordan Reed will try to lap up Jackson’s missed production so consider starting either while Jackson recovers from the this hamstring issue (he should be back sometime in October). Andre Roberts is an intriguing option here as well, but we’re shying away from the Redskins offense in general.

Tight Ends

Delanie Walker (TEN): Walker has a splint on his right hand – certainly not a good sign for a pass-catching TE that excels in PPR leagues. Looks like he has successfully avoided a major injury, though, so he may end up being on the field in week 2. If not, Anthony Fasano will fill in but he should be avoided even as a spot starter – there are better options available. Kendall Wright gets the biggest boost from this injury, should Walker be forced to sit out the game.

Week 8 was one of the worst injury weeks in recent memory. Even the return of Dez Bryant and Ben Roethlisberger couldn't soften the blow. Several big names went down in a set of noon games that seemed to have a new injury every 15 minutes. So, pardon my slight exaggeration as we get on with this week's casualty report.

Quarterbacks -

Josh McCown has been injured two weeks in a row. He hurt his shoulder week 7, and now his ribs in week 8. He left the game with a few minutes remaining, and now his status for week 9's Thursday night matchup with Cincinnati is up in the air. McCown has averaged 20 points/game over his last 6 games.

Ryan Fitzpatrick injured the thumb on his non-throwing hand and his status is currently day to day. Geno Smith inspired no confidence from the Jets, who were reportedly calling around for a QB before the game was even over. We'll know later on in the week if he'll be starting against the Jags Sunday.

Running Backs -

Le'Veon Bell has been placed on IR, and his torn MCL means that his season is done. He seemed to pick right up where he left off, so it's a shame that he goes down right as Big Ben comes back. He'll be back in full force next year, and for now, he makes Deangelo Williams the hottest waiver pick up this week.

Matt Forte exited Sunday's game against the Vikings, and of course, the Bears were very hush-hush about it. They did clue us in a little bit later on - Forte hurt his MCL, but doesn't need surgery and should only miss a couple weeks. Forte's absence makes Jeremy Langford possibly the second hottest waiver pickup this week.

Reggie Bush slipped on some concrete and tore his ACL, ending his season, and possibly his career. The 49ers are one of the biggest messes in recent memory, so whoever does wind up replacing Bush will have a really hard time being fantasy relevant. The only hope for fantasy value there is when Carlos Hyde returns.

Khiry Robinson wins the most painful injury of the week award - the worst award you can win on a weekly basis. A broken tibia will end his season, where from fantasy football's perspective, he was just vulturing TD's from Mark Ingram. The Saints will likely sign a third guy, but look for Ingram to monopolize the Saints backfield for now.

Wide Receivers -

Steve Smith Sr. is a guy who I've come to really admire as an NFL player. He's of the toughest players that I can remember watching, so seeing him be carried off the field with a towel covering his face was a little hard to watch. I don't want to see this be his last moment on an NFL field, and hope, like Jim Harbaugh, that he comes back next year. For the rest of 2015, Kamar Aiken will move up to the #1 WR spot in Baltimore. Aiken is still young, and won't be able to produce anywhere close to Smith's numbers.

Calvin Johnson suffered an ankle injury which was probably minor, but since it occurred in a blowout loss, he didn't return to the game. The Lions have the week off coming back from London, so we won't know a lot about Johnson until next week, but there's no reason to think he'll miss week 10.

Keenan Allen has an interesting injury track from the game Sunday. He left, reportedly with a shoulder injury, then it was called back spasms, but now the Chargers report that he is out indefinitely with a kidney injury. It's pretty safe to assume that he will miss week 9 and try to get back after the Chargers' week 10 bye.

Kendall Wright suffered a sprained MCL, which reportedly feels "horrible". Hey, it's nice to know that not everyone has a canned cliché response about an injury. Wright's absence from the lineup may finally lead the way to Dorial Green-Beckham getting some action week 9, when Marcus Mariota is expected to return.

John Brown is a savage, apparently. Go read his twitter if you're trying to figure that one out. Brown disappointed everyone who started him this week by pulling the rare move of being active, but not getting into the game. Clearly, his hamstrings are an issue, but he has a bye week to heal up and we'll know more about his week 10 status a week from now.

Tight Ends -

Larry Donnell was carted off the field in New Orleans, but his injury was just apparently a muscle spasm in his shoulder or neck, which is good news (relatively speaking). It's not clear if he'll be playing week 9 yet, we'll know more by Wednesday. Either way, he's not fantasy relevant for now.

Ladarius Green was in line to get a lot of work with a hobbled Antonio Gates, but then went down with his own injury in the first quarter. With Gates back on the field, the Chargers won't rush Green back, though they really are hurting with injuries this year. The Chargers play Monday night, which means we won't have an official injury report until Thursday night.

Garrett Celek left the game with a concussion, but is now the top tight end in San Francisco with Vernon Davis being traded to the Broncos. Celek won't be a TE-1, especially on this anemic offense.