On The Radar–Week 8

Donnie Avery, WR, St. Louis Rams. The number one free agent in some leagues right now. Avery is leading the charge for wide receivers in this little resurgence of the Rams. It looks like he will take the role that Torry Holt used to play in the Greatest Show on Turf days. Avery is a speedy receiver who can get behind the defense, if you need any help at WR, this would be the guy I would grab.

Malcolm Floyd, WR, San Diego Chargers. If Chris Chambers continues to miss time, Floyd should continue to put up good numbers. At 6′5″ and 225, Floyd is a great target in the red zone for Rivers, and he is making the most of his opportunity. Floyd has been pretty good the last two weeks, with over 10 catches and two touchdowns. I would be surprised if Chambers plays in London, so if he is ruled out, Floyd should be a good play at least for this week.

Pierre Thomas, RB, New Orleans Saints. Thomas has gotten carries when Bush has been hurt before. I’m not sold on the ability of Deuce McAllister to be able to carry the ball 20 times a game, I still think he is a change of pace back at this point of his career. Deuce is as fragile as a dozen eggs. At worst, Thomas could be good for some goal line carries. Watch this week’s game to see how the Saints decide to split their carries with Bush out.

Bobby Wade, WR, Minnesota Vikings. I definitely do not love the Minny passing game but Wade and Berrian have been putting up some pretty decent numbers lately. Frerotte has performed way outside my expectations. As long as defenses have to respect the fact that Adrian Peterson can take any and every carry to the house, the passing lanes should remain somewhat open for the Vikes. Just don’t expect too many 100 yard games from their receivers.

Greg Olsen, TE, Chicago Bears. Olsen had his first really good game last week, and he has shown the ability to be a nice safety net for Orton. He was a former first round pick, and if you are in need of tight end help, Olsen is most likely the best option out there.

Chris Henry, WR, Cincinnati Bengals. If Carson Palmer ever comes back, he will get some deep looks. Despite his numerous personal problems with the law, Henry is a great receiver if he can keep himself away from suspensions. The problem is, as long as Ryan Fitzpatrick is at quarterback, Henry’s talents will most likely go largely wasted.

Josh Morgan, WR, San Francisco 49ers. With the Niners offense starting to stall, they tried to change things up and start Morgan. He responded in a big way with five catches, 85 yards and a touchdown. Morgan had a great preseason, and looked to be in line for a good deal of playing time. With Bryant Johnson not living up to his free agent contract, Morgan could be more and more involved as time goes by. This week will probably show how they plan on handing out playing time under new coach Mike Singletary, so if Morgan is good again this week, he could be a nice pickup in the second half of the season.

Mike Furrey, Shaun McDonald, WRs, Detroit Lions. Now that the Lions have traded Roy Williams, it is either Mike Furrey or Shaun McDonald who will step into the second receiver slot. Furrey and McDonald are the Lions second best receivers over the past couple of seasons, with Furrey starring in 2006 and McDonald in 2007. Someone has to catch some passes now that Roy Williams is gone, and Furrey had a great game in Week 7. Keep an eye on this situation in the coming weeks.

Maurice Morris, RB, Seattle Seahawks. Morris was supposed to be the starter when the season began before he got hurt. Now that Julius Jones is coming back to earth, Morris should start elbowing in on some of his carries. He outgained Jones in Week 7, and if the ‘Hawks can get back to any semblance of respectability, Morris could be a good pickup in the second half of the season. Morris started five games in 2007, and scored touchdowns in three of them. Seattle stinks, but he should be starting soon.

Kevin Faulk/BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RBs, New England Patriots. Laurence Maroney is done for the year and Sammy Morris looks questionable for this weekend. I would bet that Faulk would be the one to carry the load, but Green-Ellis looked like he had some potential on Monday night. He ran hard, but is way down the depth chart. Faulk has been a good target for Tom Brady coming out of the backfield in the recent past, and I think that Cassel will throw him as well. I think the Pats will go to a backfield by committee, so I don’t think that any of their backs will be a great fantasy option.

Ryan Torain, RB, Denver Broncos. For those of you who have a roster spot that is either open or someone who has just been underperforming, you might want to take the chance on Torain. He hasn’t played all season long, but no one on the Broncos has stepped up to claim the running back job. The fifth round pick was great in college, and it seems that Shanahan will give him a chance after the team’s bye this week. So he won’t be playing this week, but if you want to get a leg up on your competition and can afford to take a chance, Torain could be a deep sleeper in the second half.

Brady Quinn, QB, Cleveland Browns. Every week that Derek Anderson goes out there and stinks, we get closer to Romeo Crennel handing the ball to Quinn.  In fact, I’m surprised that it already hasn’t happened.  If it wasn’t for that Monday Night game against the Giants, I believe that the reign of Quinn would have already started.  The leash that Anderson is on has to be extra short these days, and you could be seeing Brady Quinn behind center in Cleveland within the next couple weeks.  This is all speculation, of course, but it only makes sense that they can’t keep throwing Anderson out there for 130 yard passing games.  Something has got to give.

As always, your comments and questions (adds/drops, trade advice, lineup questions, etc) are welcome at [e-mail].  I guarantee a response within 18 hours.