By Dan O’Shea
Nevermind.
Last week, I recommended about half of the Detroit offense based on the fact that QB Matthew Stafford was healthy again.
Well, his healthy period lasted about one week, as shoulder problems popped up near the end of what was a pretty good Week 9 performance – 240 yards passing, 3 TDs (one running).
If you had him in the lineup last week, you probably did well, but reports out of Detroit suggest Stafford might now be lost for the rest of the season.
Going into Week 10 is a tough time to look for a QB, but if you are looking to trade for one or scour the waiver wire, here are my picks for QBs poised to do big things the rest of the way:
Jay Cutler, Chicago: Don’t laugh. He made some smart throws and smart non-throws last week, albeit against a winless team. What I like going forward is that his coaching staff is focusing more on shorter routes, and has figured out that the passing-rushing play balance really buys him time.
Brett Favre, Minnesota: A lot of people had written him off along with the rest of the troubled Vikings, and while he hasn’t been great this year and still has injury issues, I’d bet on Favre to make a late-season run (unfortunately starting with a game against the Bears this week).
Jon Kitna, Dallas: The Cowboys are terrible enough to have fired their head coach, and Kitna’s got nothing to lose in flinging it around to a top-notch group of receivers. Even if Dallas keeps losing, he should pile up yards.
Shaun Hill, Detroit: The Lions’ offense is not as potent with Stafford out, but Hill should be able to throw for 200+ yards and a couple TDs per game.
Colt McCoy, Cleveland: The caveat here is that he is not assured to start the rest of the way. But he looked pretty good in Eric Mangini’s offense, and it seems like Cleveland will keep things simple for him. Could be an especially good play against Jacksonville’s bad secondary in Week 11.
Expert Wire
* Yahoo! Pickups of the Week likes QB Hill, but also Chester Taylor, RB, Chicago, who has suddenly been discovered by his own team.
* Bleacher Report, like everyone else, likes Jacob Tamme, TE, Indianapolis, who is Peyton Manning’s new favorite target.
* ESPN has updated its top position rankings based on projections, and Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota leads the top 100 overall. I really didn’t think he was going to have a great year, but he’s been the most consistent player on Minnesota and the most consistent fantasy RB week to week.
* ESPN also handed a mid-season award to Arian Foster, RB, Houston. Okay, maybe Foster has been the best fantasy RB, but Peterson still has been more consistently good.
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I’ve been neglecting fantasy basketball, as the world will continue to revolve around fantasy football for a few more weeks, but next week, I’ll take a closer look at the Elton Brand revival.
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Dan O’Shea’s Fantasy Fix appears in this space every Wednesday. He welcomes your comments. You can also read his about his split sports fan personality at his Beachwood blog SwingsBothWays.
Posted on November 10, 2010