Sneaky Fantasy Football Play of the Week: Jamal Lewis

Last week, I told you to use Ryan Moats as a smokescreen while pursuing other running backs on the waiver wire.

Until a touchdown reception off a play-action fake, it was obvious that Steve Slaton was the more effective runner throughout the day. 

This week I am advocating for Jamal Lewis.

The Cleveland Browns stink, and the fact that every NFL fan is forced to watch them Monday night is not something to which I am looking forward.

However, the Browns’ win-loss record and awful play has very little to do with Fantasy Football.

Lewis is finding himself on the waiver wire in nearly half the fantasy football leagues on the Internet by no fault of his own. At various times, Lewis has looked more than effective and continues to get the bulk of the carries for Cleveland.

The hot waiver wire pickup of the week was Ladell Betts, as he figures to get the nod over the injured Clinton Portis in Washington. If your team is playing well, you probably didn’t have the necessary waiver position to get Betts. I do believe you should be able to grab Lewis.

Fantasy prognosticators like to say, “Baltimore Ravens, great defense, bad matchup for (fill in the blank here).” I am convinced that this has become the “no research” position for those giving fantasy previews each week.

A deeper look inside the numbers reveals that the Ravens aren’t quite as scary as they used to be. How could they be? They lost playmakers Bart Scott and Jim Leonhard to the Jets. Ray Lewis is on the “back nine” of his NFL career, and they have lost other players like Brendon Ayanbadejo and Samari Rolle to injury. Haloti Ngata will play, but will be limited because of an ankle injury.

The Ravens hadn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in over a year until Cedric Benson turned the trick last month. Three weeks ago, Adrian Peterson repeated the performance and then some, rushing for 142 yards against the vaunted Ravens.

So if you are hurting at running back, Jamal Lewis can be the way to go. Lewis will get the bulk of the carries as the younger Jerome Harrison continues to struggle with pass protection schemes and still has the legs to put up some decent numbers and perhaps even sneak in a touchdown.

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Fantasy Football: Don’t Waste Your Time On Ryan Moats

Let another owner make the mistake of claiming Ryan Moats off of waivers. Sure, he had a monstrous day racking up 126 rushing yards and three TDs, but this is not a sign of things to come for the journeyman running back.

First, let’s be logical: Do you really believe Moats will repeat this performance? An owner making the claim on Moats is making the claim a week too late. 

Not to say anyone should have seen this coming. Moats has shown flashes; a 59-yard run as a member of the Eagles in 2005 comes to mind. But Moats is what he is: a journeyman backup type.

Every year, a player will have a breakout-type game, he will be the hot waiver pickup, and he will never be heard from again. Moats is this year’s version. Slaton is still the man there and was this week’s victim of a coach sending a message. Moats performed well, but Coach Kubiak knows he needs Slaton if his team is to go anywhere.

The smart fantasy owner will use Moats as a smokescreen. Every other owner in your league will put a claim on him. Use that knowledge to your advantage. 

While everyone in my two leagues focuses on Moats, I will be scouring the wire for other talent.  

Remember, the claim will pass through all other owners first. As such, Moats will be run as Claim No. 1 by every other team, and you gain the advantage. This is a good time to pick up a top defensive matchup or a top kicker sitting on the wires.

For instance, one of my leagues is very shallow. It is a 12-team league, but you only have four bench spots and the waivers are where the action is at. 

Stephen Gostkowski was dropped Sunday morning, as he had a bye week. I will be taking advantage of that mistake. I will be buying low on Willie Parker, Donald Brown, and Maurice Morris hoping one of them will pan out. 

In my second league, which is much deeper, while other owners waste their time putting a claim on Moats, I will again be targetting Maurice Morris and buying low on high-end potential players like Kenny Britt and Dustin Keller.

Good luck!

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Darrelle Revis: Best Cover Corner In The NFL?

Darrelle Revis may be No. 24 on the field, but he may just be No. 1 when it comes to cornerbacks in the NFL.

In just his third year in the NFL, Revis routinely and willingly accepts the challenge to cover the top receiver on the opposing team week after week. For two years, Revis has performed admirably, but his performance in the Jets’ first two games of 2009 has been off the charts.

In week one, Revis drew Andre Johnson, the ultra-talented wide-out for the Houston Texans and covered him one-on-one most the game. Benefiting greatly from pressure up front, but running stride for stride and cut for cut with Johnson, Revis held Johnson to just four catches and a paltry 35 yards, an average of under 9 yards a reception.

Johnson and his teammates failed to score an offensive touchdown.

These are incredible numbers, considering Johnson has caught a total of 175 balls and averaged about 14 yards a catch the past two seasons.

For comparison’s sake, Johnson and the Houston Texans played the Titans today in Tennessee. Johnson, feeling free of the Revis stranglehold, caught 10 passes for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns.

To back up his previous performance, Revis covered Randy Moss today. In a game that featured the hoopla and pregame smack talk of a playoff matchup, Revis certainly played his part.

Revis held Moss to four catches and just 24 receiving yards. Revis also soared over Moss to snatch a ball out of the air for a sensational interception!  And for the second straight week, Revis kept his man out of the end zone. 

The Jets’ defense, in the first two games of the season, has surrendered only three field goals and it partially has its number one corner to thank for that impressive stat.

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Brett Favre Used The Jets

While it’s painful to admit as a Jets fan and ardent Brett Favre supporter and admirer, Favre used the Jets to get what he truly desired: the opportunity to fire back at the Green Bay Packers.

If any of you truly believe Favre isn’t foaming at the mouth at the opportunity to play in the NFC North, in a nice dome stadium for a Minnesota Vikings team with arguably the best running back in the NFL, you are either a bitter Packers fan or someone who believes musicians and boxers when they claim retirement.

Favre walks around with a sheepish grin, acts like a “good ol’ boy” from the south and seems to be a simple man who wears his Wranglers and plays football in the mud with the local kids on the sandlot. 

However, under that seemingly simple exterior, the gun-slinging quarterback has a cunning and calculating side. There is no question he waited for the Jets to draft Mark Sanchez, the soon-to-be highly paid, future face of the Jets for the next decade, before asking for and obtaining his release.

Despite the fact that the 2010 NFL season is slated to be an uncapped year, the Jets can’t afford to have $25 million+ scheduled to be paid to two quarterbacks. The Jets simply couldn’t afford to allow a sudden itch by the flip-flopping Favre to handcuff the Jets in a similar position that the 2008 Packers had with Favre and Rodgers on their roster.

However, for the Jets, the situation would have been even worse! The Jets would have already had the large sum of money and time wrapped up in Sanchez, and would have the extra handicap of the “poison pill” in surrendering three first-round picks by the Jets if Favre were traded to the Vikings—making it nearly impossible for the Jets to trade Favre.

Furthermore, Favre’s true desire is to play for the aforementioned Vikings. So when the Jets took Sanchez, and Favre vehemently re-affirmed his retirement to ESPN personality and fellow member of the Quarterback fraternity, Trent Dilfer, the Jets granted Favre’s request to be released.

Now, barely a week later, Favre is set to be wined and dined by Brad Childress and the rest of the Vikings brass. It’s simply an offer to good for Favre to refuse. 

As a Jets fan, you can’t be upset. He thrilled you for a year, gave you some hope, and is partially responsible for the new and aggressive direction the Jets are taking. 

Good luck Mr. Favre, you got what you wanted all along, your chance to avenge the way you were treated by the Packers. Hope it’s worth it!

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