Fantasy Football's Week 12 IDP's Start/Sit

By Sean Haugh.

Last week I focused on the playoff hunt. For me it was a great birthday weekend, the first time I went 5-0 this season. The capper was setting the scoring record and taking sole possession of first place in our Maniaxs dynasty league. Hope y’all are enjoying similar success.

However, if you are not, week 12 is an important weekend for dynasty and keeper leagues. Now is the time to start looking for those waiver wire prospects that may blossom into studs for you next year.

It’s also a time to watch the waiver wire like a hawk, because others will be doing the same and may drop some prime talent to do so. Owners who are in the playoff hunt and are impatient with a stud who hasn’t produced much in two or three weeks are also prime candidates to give you waver wire gifts.

Week 12's Fantasy Football IDPs Starts and Sits will focus on younger players who may or may not be able to contribute now, but all of whom I expect can help you win games in 2009 and beyond.

Defensive Ends to Start

Gaines Adams, who received a lot of preseason hype, was drafted in most leagues. However, he has only put up one solid game since week 4. I was able to acquire him in one league in week 8, which as it happened was that one solid game.

You need to have patience with these young DEs. If you were convinced of his promise when you got him, don’t let a couple bad games in a row cause you to lose faith. (This message also applies to Tim Hightower owners.) Just about... all first and second year players will sometimes act like it.

This week Adams draws the Lions. If he’s only going to go off once every four weeks, then Detroit showed up right on schedule.

An even more extreme fall from favor carries the name of Elvis Dumervil. I know I preach patience, but you’d have to be a saint to still have him on your roster. Or maybe you knew he would eventually overcome the hand injury that has made the 12.5 sack warrior of last year fade into the mist.

Dumervil’s hand is just about back to normal and so is his play. Although he had no stats last week, he did put some good pressure on Matt Ryan and would be a sneaky play the next three weeks. The tastiest matchup is this week against Oakland. It’s a desperate measure, but if that word describes your DL situation take a chance on Elvis.

But the true forgotten man is Kansas City’s rookie DT Glenn Dorsey. It seems like so very long ago people were predicting he’d be drafted number one overall. Then we turned our backs on him and the whole sorry spectacle that was the Chiefs.

Don’t look now, but Dorsey recorded his first sack against a very stout Chargers' offensive line in week 10 and over the last three weeks is starting to look like the player people expected him to be. This week’s opponent, the Bills, are leaving blood in the water. Dorsey could very well have his breakout game this weekend against Buffalo.

Defensive Ends to Sit

The top fantasy DL question is, what do the Giants do with Mathias Kiwanuka once Osi Umenyiora returns? Frankly, that’s when I believe his value will skyrocket. The Giants are always looking for ways to keep Kiwi on the field. With a full compliment again to start next year’s campaign, look for Kiwanuka to morph into another one of those DE/OLB hybrids like Terrell Suggs or Justin Smith. If we’re lucky, ESPN will still score him as a DE. However, this week he’ll be facing quick draw Kurt Warner and the Cardinals, who won’t give him much of an opportunity for sacks.

The rumor this week in the Charlotte press is that the Panthers will most likely use the franchise tag on Julius Peppers to make sure he stays to sign a new contract. One reason why Peppers has returned to being the sack monster we all knew and loved is that he finally has some help on the other side of the line in Charles Johnson. With three sacks in his last two games, Johnson is gaining his own name recognition in Carolina. This week I believe he will be mostly contained by the Falcons, but look for him to keep on growing as both a real and a fantasy football player in 2009.

Jamaal Anderson is pretty much in the same “we hyped him too early” tier with Gaines Adams. He has only had 1.5 tackles in his last three games and Carolina won’t make it any easier on him. Still Anderson’s fundamentals keep improving and his mental mistakes are less frequent. Fantasy stats will eventually follow. If someone in your league gave up on Anderson, stash him away for next year.

Linebackers to Start

If you’re in an ESPN league, somebody probably already has Thomas Davis and is using him as a DB. But elsewhere people haven’t quite yet caught on to his growing dominance as the Panthers’ weakside linebacker. He’s been tearing it up since the week nine bye, and will keep up the pace this week against the Falcons and in most games for the next few years.

Facing Davis this week, mah Sooner Curtis Lofton has claimed an every down role in Atlanta and continues to improve as a real football player. His fantasy stats have been relatively flat all season, but that should all change soon. One thing is for sure, Lofton will have his hands full of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart all day long.

Joining the premature hype class is Cleveland’s Kamerion Wimbley. After a rather pedestrian set of results in his first eight games, Wimbley has added big plays to his last two outings. His interception against the Bills on Monday night showed a player who has found both speed and quickness. I like him to start fulfilling his earlier promise, especially this week against the Texans.

Linebackers to Sit

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