Fantasy Football Waiver Worthy Week 11: Buy 'em or Deny 'em

Eric StashinNov 15, 2010

There were some surprising performances from Week 10, but does that mean the players are worth owning? Let’s take a look:

Josh Freeman – Quarterback – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers are very much for real. Freeman went 18 for 24 for 241 yards and two touchdowns, giving him touchdown passes in six consecutive games and eight of nine overall. He’s thrown for at least 200 yards in five of his last six games.

Over the next few weeks Freeman gets the following defenses:

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Week 11 – San Francisco – 13th-worst passing defense (231.1 yards)
Week 12 – Baltimore – 17th-worst passing defense (216.7 yards)
Week 13 – Atlanta – Seventh-worst passing defense (245.3 yards)
Week 14 – Washington – Second-worst passing defense (280.9 yards)
Week 15 – Detroit – 11th-worst passing defense

In other words, it is a very favorable schedule. With the way he’s produced and the outlook over the next few weeks, Freeman is a nice sleeper quarterback the rest of the way.

Verdict – Buy ‘Em

Tyler Thigpen – Quarterback – Miami Dolphins
He entered the day as the third quarterback on the Dolphins depth chart, but injuries to both Chad Pennington and Chad Henne (who had played well, going 19 for 28 for 240 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) forced Thigpen into action. Of course, the Dolphins seemed reluctant at first, running a few plays in the Wildcat formation before ultimately putting him in.

He performed well enough, going 4 for 6 for 64 yards and a touchdown, but it’s impossible to have much faith in him. With the fear being that both Pennington and Henne have had their season’s ended, Thigpen is a must own in two-quarterback formats. In one-quarterback formats, however, he’s not worth owning.

Verdict – Deny ‘Em

Mike Goodson – Running Back – Carolina Panthers
With DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart out with injuries, Goodson had 23 carries for 100 yards, as well as adding three receptions for 13 yards. He did, however, lose a fumble hurting his performance slightly (if your league gives negative points for lost fumbles).

Williams is expected to return next week (though you never know, as the team could be cautious with him), so the outlook doesn’t look great for Goodson’s upside potential. Of course, Williams return is no lock and Goodson looked good enough to warrant attention in all formats. With the Panthers struggling, they may want to get a better look of what their future may hold. That would mean carries for Goodson moving forward, making him worth stashing in all formats.

Verdict – Buy ‘Em

Brian Hartline – Wide Receiver – Miami Dolphins

He had five receptions for 98 yards in Week 10, but he’s the third receiver behind Brandon Marshall and Devon Bess. Throw in the question marks hovering over the quarterback at this point and it is impossible to trust Hartline at this point.

Verdict – Deny ‘Em

Zach Miller – Tight End – Jacksonville Jaguars

The “other” Zach Miller could easily be confused with the Oakland Raiders tight end after he had four receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown. However, he’s not even the best tight end on his own team, with Marcedes Lewis having earned those honors. Tight end is an unpredictable position, and this Zach Miller is not worth owning.

Verdict – Deny ‘Em

Mike Thomas – Wide Receiver – Jacksonville Jaguars

He had a monster game, with eight receptions for 149 yards and a touchdown against a Houston Texans defense that continues to struggle against the pass. Of course, part of his success has to be taken with a grain of salt. The touchdown came on a miraculous hail marry pass to close the game, where the Texans defender went to knock the pass down and instead knocked it right into the waiting arms of Thomas.

He also was targeted just nine times, meaning that he converted all but one of the passes thrown his way into receptions. Of course, in his previous five games he had 21 receptions in 25 targets (including another eight reception in nine target day), so that is not all that unrealistic.

Thomas now has touchdowns in back-to-back games and may have overtaken the enigmatic Mike Sims-Walker as the go-to receiver for Jacksonville. For those in three receiver formats, he is well worth owning.

Verdict: Buy ‘Em

Anthony Fasano – Tight End – Miami Dolphins

He led the Dolphins with five receptions (tied with Hartline) and 107 yards. He also scored a touchdown. It’s only the second time this season he’s had more then three receptions, but with the problems the Dolphins have at quarterback right now, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him adopt a bigger role in the offense.

They easily could try and play it safer, looking for more short passes and dump offs to get their quarterback comfortable. Is he worth owning? Probably not, as there are likely similar players available on the waiver wire. The position is very unpredictable, and Fasano is not someone that I would trust yet as my top tight end. Leave him on the waiver wire for now until he can back up this performance.

Verdict – Deny ‘Em

Jon Kitna – Quarterback – Dallas Cowboys

The Giants defense has been impressive, but Kitna torched them as he went 13 for 22 for 327 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He continued to show a tremendous rapport with Dez Bryant, as they connected for three completions for 104 yards and a touchdown (while also coming close to another big play).

He had limited attempts, but the Cowboys didn’t need to go too pass happy given the lead they maintained. This is the second time he’s thrown for over 300 yards since taking over for Tony Romo, and while he’s proven to be interception prone that could simply be a product of getting on the same page as his receivers. With a tremendous matchup against the Lions coming up, he’s worth owning at this point.

Verdict – Buy ‘Em

Carnell Williams – Running Back – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It was a nice performance, with 62 yards and a touchdown, but realize that he had just five carries in the game. The lead back duties now belong to LeGarrette Blount, meaning Williams is only worth owning as a handcuff.

Verdict – Deny ‘Em

Troy Smith – Quarterback – San Francisco 49ers

It doesn’t appear like he’s going to relinquish his hold on the 49ers starting job anytime soon, does it? He went 17 for 28 for 356 yards and a touchdown in an overtime win against the Rams in Week 11. However, do we really expect him to be able to replicate this type of performance often?

This is a much more high-powered offense then they’ve shown to date, but averaging 12.7 yards per attempts is not going to continue. The 49ers also appear to have lost left tackle Joe Staley for the season, so you have to wonder how that will impact things moving forward. Smith is worth owning in two-quarterback formats, but is still a little too risky in shallower formats.

Verdict – Deny ‘Em

Rob Gronkowski – Tight End – New England Patriots

He exploded on Sunday night, with five receptions for 72 yards and three touchdowns while Aaron Hernandez was completely shut out. The problem is, at this point, can anyone say for sure who the top tight end is going to be in New England? For as good as Hernandez has been this season, it’s hard to imagine the Patriots simply burying him and handing the role to Gronkowski.

Chances are, they both are going to see plenty of opportunities, but who is the bigger fantasy provider is going to be unpredictable. That is sure to frustrate fantasy owners, making this a situation you probably want to avoid.

Verdict – Deny ‘Em

What are your thoughts on these players? Who would you pick up? Who would you avoid?

Make sure to check out our Week 11 Rankings: