Sunday Bloody Sunday

I don’t recall another Sunday like this past Sunday in terms of the number of key players who did not make an impact due to injury. As far as Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice, you had to live under a very heavy rock not to know that they would not be playing. But, on top of that, there were the late Inactives, such as Carson Palmer, Doug Martin and Jordan Cameron. Reports of Alshon Jeffery AND Brandon Marshall being very questionable to play had to scare their owners, especially when ESPN reported a source saying that he was 75% sure that neither would play. Those who benched Marshall because of that report has to be more than a bit upset. You had to be going into your matchup(s) feeling pretty good if you survived that early onslaught of player benching and rumors of more.

And then the games started and news started pouring in about stars dropping like flies; A.J. Green, Dez Bryant, RG III, Knowshon Moreno, Allen Hurns, DeSean Jackson, Mark Ingram, Marcedes Lewis, and Jamal Charles were all hit early and hard, with only Bryant coming back into his game and looking like he will play this weekend. The late afternoon games started and the slaughter continued and Eric Decker, Ryan Mathews, Charles Tillman and finally, Vernon Davis, all hit the pine with injuries. It was a tough week not to have implemented In-game changes for many and for those who own multiple players from this list, it could be a struggle to field a decent team in the next few weeks as Bye weeks are just around the corner as well.

As always, don’t be the owner that didn’t back up their top picks, such as Charles with Knile Davis or Martin with Bobby Rainey. If you are, I hope you have a good waiver priority this week as they will be in high demand.

Waiver Wire Fodder

QB: Kirk Cousins (WASH) – for many owners, RGIII was a backup QB since he didn’t look good in pre-season and was an injury concern so not having Cousins is understandable. However, Cousins would fit nicely on anyone’s bench, as as a starting QB, since he has proven his talent and does have a number of weapons in DC, even with DeSean Jackson and TE Jordan Reed hurting.

RB: Donald Brown (SD) – Brown had a nice season in Indianapolis last year and should have been handcuffed to Ryan Mathews this year….but he is available in 50% of leagues so look to pick him up for RB depth since Mathews is out for a month.

RB: Knile Davis (KC) – The Knile was flowing freely on 25% of waiver wires at last check and is a must-add this week. He flashed his skills late last year and was ready to play last week in Denver when summoned. Charles has a tricky high ankle sprain, which is definitely a worse injury for running backs than many other positions. The Chiefs will not rush Charles back if Davis stays healthy and productive so he will be the lead back for at least a couple of games.

WR: Mohamed Sanu (CIN) – Even though the Bengals finally employed the youth duo of Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill this past week, as was expected going into the season, they will air it out at times and Sanu is one of the few healthy receivers left on the team. He broke out for 3/84/1 receiving and tossed a 50-yard pass in week 2. While I wouldn’t expect the passing yards to continue, he should provide decent receiving numbers going forward.

WR: Andrew Hawkins (CLE) – A former running mate of Sanu’s, Hawkins has shown good repertoire with QB Brian Hoyer at the start of his Browns’ career and has breathed a bit of offensive spark into their offense. With TE Jordan Cameron out, the Browns have no go-to red zone option but love Hawkins speed and elusiveness and will work to get him the ball.

TE: Delanie Walker (TENN) – Walker had a huge game last week against Dallas in week 2. Now, Dallas was lit up by TE Vernon Davis of San Fran in week 1, so temper your expectations on a weekly basis but the Titans don’t have the kind of running game to keep defenses honest so Jake Locker seems to be looking his way as an outlet often.