2011 IDP Dynasty Buy Low/Sell High: Week 8
Written By: Eric Olinger
This is one of the best times in Fantasy Football Dynasty Leagues. After 7 weeks it’s basically the half way point for Fantasy Seasons and we pretty much know which teams in our leagues are playoff bound and which ones are storing canned goods for a long cold winter. In Dynasty Leagues, now is the time to be hammering out trade offers to the bottom feeders. If you feel you’re in a position of power to make a long legit playoff run, you can mortgage the future slightly and trade future draft picks and or fluky type players to bolster your lineup. It’s sort of kicking a guy when he’s down, but anyone who has been on the “wrong end” of a fantasy team through 7 weeks knows, sometimes you just have to swallow it and build towards the future. So this week’s BUY/SELL article will hopefully help you make some future planning decisions.
This is one of the best times in Fantasy Football Dynasty Leagues. After 7 weeks it’s basically the half way point for Fantasy Seasons and we pretty much know which teams in our leagues are playoff bound and which ones are storing canned goods for a long cold winter. In Dynasty Leagues, now is the time to be hammering out trade offers to the bottom feeders. If you feel you’re in a position of power to make a long legit playoff run, you can mortgage the future slightly and trade future draft picks and or fluky type players to bolster your lineup. It’s sort of kicking a guy when he’s down, but anyone who has been on the “wrong end” of a fantasy team through 7 weeks knows, sometimes you just have to swallow it and build towards the future. So this week’s BUY/SELL article will hopefully help you make some future planning decisions.
BUY
David Hawthorne- MLB- Seattle Seahawks
We’ve been sticking to our guns here at IDPGuru about Hawthorne and in week 7 he finally paid off. Anyone that is not fortunate enough to have the Sunday Ticket and actually had to watch this dumpster fire of a game, I’m sorry! But if you did, you seen 3 things. 1) Charlie Whitehurst is HORRIBLE. 2) The Roughing the Passer penalty on Kam Chancellor’s sack of Colt McCoy was complete BS. 3) Hawthorne is healthy and a freaking beast. He will haunt Montario Hardesty’s dreams at night. In one of my IDP Dynasty Leagues, he actually got dropped the week leading up to this game and I was super excited to pick him up. He had 11 tackles (7 solo), a sack, a pass defended, and an interception. He is definitely a guy you want on your team for the playoff run.
Aaron Maybin- OLB- NY Jets
I’m probably showing my age a bit here but Aaron Maybin is like Eddie Murphy’s character in “Trading Places”. Rich and highly touted (1st round draft pick), then a worthless bum (cut by 2 teams in just a few short months), and then picked up off the streets and placed in a posh Penthouse (pass rush specialist for the NY Jets). Hopefully he doesn’t expose any insider trading and have the Jets brass arrested. If he does, you heard it here first. But anyways, Maybin has played 4 games with the Jets and already has 3 sacks and 3 Forced Fumbles. For anyone that lost Mario Williams or for some reason was relying on Shawn Merriman (puke!) for production, Maybin is a boom or bust player in “Big Play Leagues” that reward highly for sacks. Rex Ryan did say however that his snap count will definitely increase.
LaMarr Woodley- OLB- Pittsburgh Steelers
I definitely get the feeling the Steelers defense is coming back around. Woodley has been on fire lately tallying up 5.5 sacks in the last 3 games (ARZ, JAX, TEN). But the exciting thing is the amount of tackles he’s also racking up (8 total vs JAX and 7 total vs ARZ). For a guy that has mostly been a sack only kind of guy, it is encouraging. The Steelers D only gets better as the year goes on and with 4 games vs the Ohio teams plus games vs St. Louis and KC still on the schedule, Woodley could be in store for a huge 2nd half.
Jason Babin- DE- Philadelphia Eagles
As a guy that has played well all year, he won’t be a cheap buy but as the season progress, hopefully the Eagles offense does too. The Eagles rush defense his really bad. They need Vick and Co. to put a lot of points on the board so the highly touted CB’s can make plays and guys like Babin and the soon-to-be healthy Trent Cole can pin their ears back and attack opposing QB’s. The next 3 games definitely set up well for Babin, they play 3 straight home games against DAL, CHI, and ARZ. After being quiet the last 2 weeks, Babin should wake up for the next 3.
SELL
Derrick Johnson- MLB- KC Chiefs
This is exactly what I was talking about in my week 6 article. This guy is frustrating to no end. After being quiet all year (“pile jumping” to record assists), he BLOWS UP against Oakland to the tune of 12 solo and 1 assist. Michael Bush must have had Derrick Johnson on his fantasy team because I swear to God it looked like he was a kid running through the yard to jump into his Daddy’s arms. This week vs. San Diego I’m sure he’ll return to the world of “3 solos and 4 assists”. In leagues that don’t separate solos from assists, eat up. But in leagues that do and reward for big plays, this guy isn’t worth the headache. Trade him for someone more dependable while you can.
Kavell Conner- WLB- Indianapolis Colts
Conner has been on a slow downward trend since a huge 3 week stretch from weeks 2-4 where he totaled up 38 tackles. But in the last 3 games, he’s only had 18 total. Conner is a bit of a question mark because he can be the man but teams seem to be going for blood every week against the Colts. Evidently, they took exception to Manning’s dominance over the years, who knew? But this, in addition to the pain in the ass scorekeeper of the Colts giving out assists like freaking Kit Kats at Halloween and solo tackles like they’re God damn gold, and the fact that he has zero big plays this year (sacks, INT’s), Conner is going to be all over the place. His season totals are impressive enough that you may be able to move him for a guy like Jason Babin.
James Farrior- MLB- Pittsburgh Steelers
Farrior has been partying like it’s 2003 these last few weeks but it’s not going to last. Either because of Harrison’s return and Timmons move back to the middle, or simply because his own 36 year old body cannot take the pounding manning the middle week after week, this ride is about over. He had back to back big games before pedestrian numbers against Arizona last week, but that was more a lack of opportunities. Repeatedly going 3 & out kills tackle numbers. He’s not the kind of guy I want to depend on moving forward. He’s been a nice BYE week fill-in, but that’s it.
DeMeco Ryans- MLB- Houston Texans
The Texans Defense has been a real surprise this year, but they’re starting to catch some unfortunate luck with key injuries. They lost Mario Williams for the year and now they lose Danieal Manning for 4 weeks. This may lead to a slightly less effective defense that could see a few more snaps a game but Ryans has been beat to hell. He’s still not right from the Achilles injury he suffered last year, the elbow injury he suffered in the pre-season, and now he’s got a hamstring injury too. All this adds up to Ryans having the mobility of Frankenstein. He doesn’t play in Dime packages and is far less effective in Nickel packages playing next to Cushing. He’s not worth the effort.
Thanks for reading! Comments, suggestions or questions are welcome below or by email at ericolinger@idpguru.com. You can also follow my active Twitter feed @Olinger3781.
Last Updated: October 26, 2011