Fantasy Football Week 4: Wandering the Waiver Wire

By Alexander Hough in News on Sep 27, 2011 6:00PM

I have lost way too much sleep over strangers' knees. Last week, Jamaal Charles, the Chiefs' stud running back on whom I spent a quarter of my auction budget, was lost for the season after suffering a mascot-related ACL tear. This week, Kenny Britt, my top-performing receiver, is also done for the year after tearing his ACL.

Why am I telling you this? For two reasons: First, because the most enjoyable aspect of fantasy football is complaining about your own fantasy football team. Second, because when fantasy football gives you lemons, you have no choice but to grab some sugar out of the waiver wire pantry and try to make some lemonade.

So, without further ado, here's the Week 3 fallout and some recipes that might help sweeten your situation:

Kenny Britt (WR, TEN)
Man, he was having an awesome year. The talented Britt was playing with the best QB he's had since entering the NFL and the Titans have been throwing it a ton. Unfortunately, WRs aren't as interchangeable as RBs. Matt Hasselbeck might be having a good year, but that doesn't mean that Nate Washington is all of a sudden going to start getting Kenny Britt's stats. That said, with Chris Johnson running with somewhat less than getting-away-from-the-cops speed, a healthy (for now) Hasselbeck, and having piled up a very respectable 258 yards on 21 catches so far (albeit with Britt drawing defenses' attention), Nate Washington is a reasonable pick-up. Just don't get too excited. He's Nate Washington.

Here are some other WRs that might be available in your league and worth taking a chance on:

• Torrey Smith (WR, BAL) - The Ravens' 2011 second round pick caught three TDs on his first three NFL catches Sunday, eventually tallying 152 yards on five catches. This was against the crummy Rams secondary and rookie WRs are notoriously inconsistent, but the Ravens have been jonesing for a speedy deep threat, and who knows when Lee Evans, whom the team traded for this offseason to hedge against Smith, will return. Just be careful starting Smith when he plays in stadiums near fault lines.

• David Nelson (WR, BUF), Denarius Moore (WR, OAK), Eric Decker (WR, DEN) - Any of these guys is worth a roll of the dice. Nelson is the Bills' slot receiver now that Roscoe Parrish is done for the year, a valuable position in Chan Gailey's offense, and apparently the Bills are good. So are the Raiders, which is weird, and everyone loves Moore. The Broncos are not good, but Decker was targeted a whopping 12 times Sunday, even with Brandon Lloyd back from injury.

• Jerome Simpson (WR, CIN) - Just kidding. We just felt like mentioning his recent arrest for having a newborn baby worth of pot.

Michael Vick (QB, PHI)
Philadelphia QB and former small business owner Michael Vick injured his non-throwing hand in Sunday's home loss to the New York Giants. I'm also an Eagles fan, by the way; the football gods really pummeled my speed bag this week. Anyhow, head coach Andy Reid claims it's merely a contusion, not a break as originally reported. Reid also said Vick was over his Week 2 concussion and the QB sure looked sluggish Sunday. If it's just a bruise, Vick might not miss any time. If he does, he'll be replaced either by former Northwestern Wildcat Mike Kafka or noted Stephan Antwain Pittman impersonator Vince Young. We're sure there are better short-term options on your league's waiver wire (Hasselbeck, for instance), and, in any case, if you have the brittle, risk-taking Vick, you should already have a good back-up on your roster. Keep an eye on Vick's health and who replaces him - with all the weapons in Philly, any QB has fantasy value, even if WR Jeremy Maclin misses time with his hamstring injury.

Matthew Stafford (QB, DET)
The latest reports say that Stafford's penis injury will not keep him from playing in Week 4.

Other Players to Monitor

• Montario Hardesty (RB, CLE) - The second year RB had a decent day after Peyton Hillis's mom kept him home for soup and saltines to combat his strep throat. Hillis slowed down the stretch last year and has been averaging a meager 3.4 yards per carry this season, so even when HIllis returns to health, Hardesty, who missed his rookie season because of a knee injury, might pick up work.
• Kendall Hunter (RB, SF) - It doesn’t feel like an NFL season until Frank Gore gets injured. The Niners RB might be out next week (and beyond) with an ankle sprain, and Hunter got some decent work during Sunday's slapfight with the Bengals.
• Roy Helu (RB, WAS) - No one seems to remember that Tim Hightower has never been good. Helu should get more chances as he gets his NFL sea legs.
• Stevan Ridley (RB, NE) - The Patriot backfield is always messy, and BenJarvus Et Cetera was on the field way more, but the rookie got 7 carries to Green Ellis's 9 (and averaged 4.5 more yards per carry, to boot). Speculative beat writers think the rookie is going to see an increased workload.
• James Casey (TE, HOU) - Casey makes this list because he has RB and TE availability in Yahoo leagues. His huge game last Sunday (135 total yards and a TD) may have been fluky, but given the quality of Houston's offense and Casey's talent, he's an interesting add, if you have the roster room.