Fantasy football: Week 10 stock watch

By Mark P. Stopa, Special to the Rocky

Published November 6, 2008 at 11:23 a.m.
Updated November 6, 2008 at 11:23 a.m.

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Photo by Jim Mone/Associated Press

Texans backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels, playing in place of Matt Schaub for the next two to four weeks, would be a good pickup this week for your fantasy team.

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I participated in a midseason draft each of the past two weeks. They are not only a fun way to "start fresh" if your fantasy team is struggling but force you to re-evaluate every player at every position. What happened in Weeks 1-9 is largely irrelevant; what matters is what will happen in Weeks 10-17. With that in mind, we try again this week not to get too stuck on the stats that players have posted so far. Sure, previous stats are often useful, but often it’s even more important to identify players whose role has changed because of an injury, benching or suspension.

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Sage Rosenfels, QB, Texans: Matt Schaub is out 2-4 weeks with a knee sprain, giving Rosenfels the chance to throw to Andre Johnson, Owen Daniels and Kevin Walter. Unlike Rex Grossman, an injury replacement who won’t put up the same stats as Kyle Orton, I expect Rosenfels to step right in and do just what Matt Schaub has been doing, both for the Texans and your fantasy team.

Brady Quinn, QB, Browns: Romeo Crennel made the switch from Derek Anderson to Quinn a few weeks later than many had speculated, but maybe there was a method to his madness. After all, the Browns schedule is very favorable the next four games (Broncos, at Bills, Texans, Colts), giving Quinn a good chance to be successful. Having Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards (if he can ever learn to catch the ball; NFL-leading 12 drops) does not hurt, either. While I don’t think Quinn will light the world on fire, I can't see Anderson getting the starting job back, either.

Tim Hightower, RB, Cardinals: If you think last week was a fluke, it wasn’t. Hightower is a feature back on a high-scoring offense and should be started every week in leagues of all formats. If a midseason draft were conducted today, I’d expect Hightower to be taken at the end of the first round. Don’t let the season stats fool you -- last week showed how Hightower will perform going forward.

Ryan Torain, RB, Broncos: Yes, I know that Torain has zero fantasy points in the first nine weeks. But Michael Pittman and Andre Hall just got put on injured reserve, leaving Torain and oft-injured Selvin Young as the only running backs in Denver. We know that Mike Shanahan does not like Young getting short-yardage carries, so Torain should, at worst, carve out a role similar to Hightower before Week 9. At best, Torain will become Hightower post-Week 9.

Jamaal Charles, RB, Chiefs: Like Torain, Charles should see increased touches simply because of attrition in Kansas City. Kolby Smith is on injured reserve and Larry Johnson, while healthy, is attending the Pacman Jones school of career advancement. Even though Johnson's suspension ends after this week, Herm Edwards has already said that Johnson will be brought back slowly. This is Charles' chance to take the job and, um, run with it.

Antonio Gates, TE, Chargers: Expect him to post a monster second half. Gates has been hurt so long that people forget just how good he is when healthy. The Chargers' schedule is like a dream, with several games against bad defenses. Plus, the Chargers pass defense is so bad (last in the league, in fact), it will force the Chargers to keep scoring. At 3-5, the Chargers know they have no margin for error. In what has become a really down year for tight ends, expect Gates to finish head and shoulders above everyone else at the position. Also upgrade Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson; everything I said about the Chargers' schedule and pass defense applies to them as well.

No change

Rex Grossman, QB, Bears: The Bears are well aware of Grossman’s turnover propensities, so expect them to play very conservatively as long as Kyle Orton is out. Based on recent reports, that may not be as long as originally speculated. If you are scouring the waiver wire this week, I prefer Rosenfels far more than Grossman.

Chad Ocho Cinco, WR, Bengals: I know he had two touchdowns last week, but let’s see him exceed 60 yards receiving in a game before we upgrade him.

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Dan Orlovsky, QB, Lions: Orlovsky has been playing really well the past few weeks, finally giving Lions fans something to get excited about. So what do the Lions do? Sign a retread, Daunte Culpepper, off the streets and all but anoint him the starting quarterback (irrespective of Orlovsky's thumb injury, about which there are conflicting reports). I'd say "only in Detroit," but that would be an insult to Oakland fans.

All Raiders: If parental supervision is required for children under age 18 to attend an R-rated movie, then Roger Goodell needs to enact a similar rule anywhere the Raiders offense plays. The Raiders should be embarrassed, really. Somewhere, Lane Kiffin is smiling. Justin Fargas is arguably a bye-week fill-in, but we're about out of those and every other Raider has no business near your starting lineup.

Willis McGahee, RB, Ravens: Rookie phenom Ray Rice is finally living up to his preseason hype, and that says all you need to know about McGahee's value going forward. At best, McGahee is looking at a timeshare.

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