Ryan Dembinsky Posts

In preparing this weeks defensive unit rankings, I came upon a glaring oddity. The Seattle Seahawks rank dead last at intercepting opposing quarterbacks. Why you might ask then, do we rank them number one this week?

Well, first of all the Lions passing game continues to struggle with both Matt Stafford nursing and injury and Calvin Johnson looking unlikely to return (check back for the game-time call) in time for Week 9, but also Seatle cornerback Marcus Truffant has something to prove. After missing the first six games of the season, the 2007 pro-bowler played like absolute garbage last week, earning three pass interference calls that led to touchdown drives. Hence, look for Truffant and company to take it out on Detroit.

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Fantasy FanHouse's "Bust a Move" segment provides quick-hitting insight on the most popular adds and drops across Fleaflicker fantasy leagues between Tuesday and Wednesday of each week. Knowing who is on the move during this 24-hour period often provides a valuable edge with regard to outperforming or underperforming players, injuries and depth chart shifts. So do as the man says, "Don't just stand there..."

The Adds

Ryan Moats (RB, Texans, 5,087 adds) - With over 5,000 adds in a single week, Moats becomes the most added player of the year (for one week). Three touchdowns and 126 yards will do the trick every single time. Frankly, I'd file this one under "big time fluke" and expect to see Steve Slaton back in the lead role by week's end. Coach Kubiak already gave Slaton the pep talk and said he expects him to remain a key part of the running game. So the bottom line here is as follows: go ahead and add Moats, but unless you are in dire need of a leak plug at running back, wait to see how this shakes out before making him your starter.

Weeding through those unwieldy waiver wires requires a keen eye and a quick trigger. Thus, Waiver Wire Wonders provides a weekly snapshot of players worthy of consideration who should be available on a good portion of league waiver wires.

We're halfway home, folks, and if history has taught us anything, the second half of the season is when fantasy football requires the keenest attention. At this point, draft day means nothing. First-round draft picks mean nothing. It's the waiver wire that wins championships.

With that in mind, Week 8 leads us into the home stretch with a nice batch to consider. The key to note for this week's waiver wire action is that pickups will likely depend more on roster needs, as we did not see any glaring adds for those who are quick on the trigger. Still, consider a breakout running back performance by a backup including three touchdowns, the solidifying of a hot rookie prospect, and a good sign from one of the league's most popular rookie quarterbacks. Plenty to do, so don't get caught on your heels.

Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

The news just keeps getting better for Hakeem Nicks owners. We've been touting Nicks since day one as one the potential big surprises this season at wide receiver and he proved us right, having now scored a touchdown in four consecutive games. After moving into the starting lineup shortly after returning from his early-season injury, he now looks poised to move ahead of Mario Manningham for the No. 2 spot.

While Manningham currently holds down the gig, Newsday reports that he left practice right after stretching in warmups. The story lacks clarity as to whether Manningham left due to his lingering chest injury or because of a lineup change, but Nicks assumed the starting role in Friday's walk-throughs. Regardless of the reason, this bodes very well for Nicks owners who already have a gem on their hands.

I gotta tell you, the conviction level feels a little low this week. Anybody who drops by Fantasy FanHouse from time to time knows that rarely will anyone around here ever admit to being wrong and never do we hold back on predictions, but man this week's matchups look like a crapshoot, as nothing jumps out screaming "me, me, me."

Fortunately, the Golden Rule of 2009 D/ST ranking reads as follows: "Unless otherwise instructed in a hallucination, stick with whoever plays the Raiders." The Raiders play on the road this week where they tend to lay down and die, and they face an improving San Diego team that looks to be finally shaking off the rust, so the Chargers get the nod for spot-start of the week. I just read a great stat on JaMarcus Russell -- he ranks 30th or worse in every single major quarterback category. That's about all you need to know.

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Fantasy FanHouse's "Bust a Move" segment provides quick-hitting insight on the most popular adds and drops across Fleaflicker fantasy leagues between Tuesday and Wednesday of each week. Knowing who is on the move during this 24-hour period often provides a valuable edge with regard to outperforming or underperforming players, injuries and depth chart shifts. So do as the man says, "Don't just stand there..."

The Adds

Shonn Greene (RB, Jets, 3,866 adds) - No secret here as the Irish eyes smiled upon Shonn Greene this past weekend. Just as it looked like Greene's odds at making an impact in his rookie season were getting close to nil, Leon Washington suffered a broken leg and headed off to the old sawbones. Given his chance, Greene earned his keep with 144 yards and two touchdowns in a rout of the hapless Raiders. Miami should prove a better test in Week 8 as to Greene's real worth, but for now he represents a must-add in all formats.

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Weeding through those unwieldy waiver wires requires a keen eye and a quick trigger. Thus, Waiver Wire Wonders provides a weekly snapshot of players worthy of consideration who should be available on a good portion of league waiver wires.

You can't paint a turd, folks. Week 7 gave us slim pickings in terms of waiver wire action. We saw a couple of interesting stories to add to the watch list, the reemergence of a quarterback long thought to be lost for dead, the first start of a highly-touted rookie, and a few other odds and ends, but really only one quality add via a huge day from a previously third-string rookie. All in all, it looks like a week to focus on lining up that blockbuster trade to take you down the backstretch, because the waiver wire gods did not offer us up much this week.

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Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

Since there appears to be little to nothing of real fantasy interest today, we'll just pick on T.O. with our lead in today. Halloween is just around the corner, so let's call attention to two of the most bizarre stories of 2009 to date: 1) We haven't heard a peep out of Terrell Owens and 2) Terrell Owens averages just two and half catches per game.

In even stranger news, according to Rotoworld via the Bills' Web site, coach Dick Jauron gave Terrell Owens the day off on Friday. Considering Owens' uncharacteristically poor performance thus far this season, this does not seem to be the most logical of times for Owens to be missing practice. Who knows, maybe coach Jauron thinks T.O. needs a good day out on the town with Ferris and Sloane in the old man's Ferrari to get his season back on track.

Bring on the games already. Week 7 provides a great week for gutsy defensive starts and -- mark my words -- will spark some big upsets. Three of our top five picks this week come from relative newcomers to upper echelon with the No. 1 spot going to the Indianapolis Colts. Not only do the Colts currently allow the league's second lowest average point total, but 1) this week will likely see the return of Bob Sanders and 2) they play the struggling Rams. Mark Bulger seems to offer a bit of a spark for the Rams, but realistically how much will the Colts' defense really even be on the field?

The No. 2 spot goes to the Packers, who face the lousy Browns at home. The Green Bay secondary -- a unit with the league's second highest interception total with 10 -- should eat the Browns' passing game alive. Our third best goes to the Patriots playing Tampa Bay, who come off one of the most lopsided routes in decades. The Patriots sit at No. 3 in the league in points allowed and have seven forced fumbles in six games. Look for more of the same against Josh Johnson and the Bucs.

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Fantasy FanHouse's "Bust a Move" segment provides quick-hitting insight on the most popular adds and drops across Fleaflicker fantasy leagues between Tuesday and Wednesday of each week. Knowing who is on the move during this 24-hour period often provides a valuable edge with regard to outperforming or underperforming players, injuries and depth chart shifts. So do as the man says, "Don't just stand there..."

The Adds

Laurence Maroney (RB, Patriots, 2,615 adds) - Proving yet again that fantasy football players are gluttons for punishment, Laurence Maroney leads the way as the most transacted player of the week. We already witnessed how this story goes with Fred Taylor and then Sammy Morris, so expect more of the same with Maroney. This backfield is just not reliable from a single-player perspective. On the positive side, both of those two previously mentioned runners suffered injuries, making Maroney's carries likely more consistent, but the Patriots also scored 59 points last week. Tom Brady threw five touchdown passes in a single quarter. Call it Seahawks vs. Jaguars 2.0 and look how the Seahawks followed that up this week. Anyway, Maroney's 123 yards and a touchdown effort may well have been a fluke. We can count on continued performance from Tom Brady, but if Maroney has showed us anything in the past three seasons, it's inconsistency.

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