This is an exciting time to be a NFL fan. Peyton Manning and DeMarco Murray are re-writing history.
You take one look at Peyton Manning and you see one thing; a living legend. Well there is the mysterious triangle that forms on his forehead that you see after he removes his helmet at the end of a drive, but besides that he is a living legend. Shattering Brett Favre’s record of 508 passing touchdowns, he has to set his sights on a loftier goal. 600, maybe?
Then you have Demarco Murray racking up at least 100 yards per game in seven straight games. He’s on pace to join the much coveted 2,000 yard club with Eric Dickerson’s 2,105 rushing yard record in his sights.
After the toil and turmoil the NFL was facing earlier this year, which is apparently a long forgotten tale at this point, we have some real art coming from these top performers.
This begs the question, why can’t we be legends? Why can’t we rewrite the history in our fantasy leagues? Why not?
If you’ve been using Tune-up Tuesday to navigate the waiver wire in your league and have been trouncing your enemies in doing so, please share your success story with me on Twitter @LWOSCaseyBow. And if it hasn’t been going so well and you’d like to burn me alive, I welcome your tweets as well.
Let’s get down to the wire and pickup these warriors in the waiver wire.
Tune-up Tuesdays
Ryan Tannehill, MIA QB- Tannehill should have a shot at playing under center for your team for the rest of the year. With only one matchup against the mighty Lions defense in the way, the rest of the schedule looks plushy, starting with the Jaguars this week. If you have a struggling QB facing a tough defense (i.e. Matt Ryan vs. DET) consider Tannehill as a decent plug-n-play option.
Austin Davis, STL QB- At the rate that this undrafted rookie is going, he could rack up 4,000+ passing yards and flirt with 30 TDs. The most exciting part of Davis’ schedule is during the playoff weeks he’ll face WAS, ARI, and NYG. Washington actually has a better ranked pass defense, but should surely diminish with the heart-wrenching season ending injury to Brian Orakpo.
Anthony Dixon, BUF RB- In his five year career, Dixon has only logged 175 carries and has rumbled for 595 yards amounting to a measly 3.4 yards per carry (YPC). Ever since he came out of college he’s been a backup. Sometimes he’s been a backup to a backup. Bryce Brown is lurking in the trenches to make sure that Dixon keeps that role. This is a murky situation, but I’d pick up Dixon before Brown based on the fact that Brown hasn’t had any action on the field as a Buffalo Bill yet.
Tre Mason, STL RB- It seems that the Rams have given up on the plodding Zac Stacy and have gave way to the rookie Tre Mason. Looks can often be deceiving, but the choice should be obvious here. Mason is the most naturally talented back with cut and power. Benny Cunningham has already been a guest on this column in the past, and continues to be an object of desire since he possesses the passing back skill set, which is where Mason lacks.
Dernard Robinson, JAC WR, RB- Finally, someone in the Jacksonville backfield is showing some life. If we remove the 22 rushes and 127 yards that he piled up in the Cleveland contest, his average was at about 3.4 YPC. I isolated this game because of the rare production and the dysfunctional offensive line. I’d pick him up just to stash him to wait and see if this kind of production keeps moving along.
Doug Baldwin, SEA WR- Amid the drama and insanity that ensued last week after the Percy Harvin to the Jets trade, the new opportunities at the WR spot in Seattle was left widely undiscussed. Baldwin reminded us after he was targeted 11 times and wound up with seven catches with 123 yards and a touchdown. Harvin can be quite demanding and his talents warrant the attention, but with the need to satisfy that headache gone and forgotten, Seattle can harness their energy and focus towards their compliant receivers. I’d like to see Jermaine Kearse get a bump in production as well.
Don’t be fooled!
Gavin Escobar, DAL TE- The second year TE out of Dallas had himself a little bit of a game this week, eh? With three touchdowns in the past two weeks that should put him on the radar, right? Wrong. His three targets he received last week were the highest in his short career. Could that change? Sure. Could the Raiders run the table and finish the season 10-6 and contend for a wild card spot? Sure. But you’re shooting for the moon. Stay away!
Charles Clay, MIA TE- At the beginning of the season I placed a lot of hopes and dreams on Charles Clay as a late round diamond in the rough. I knew he was headed into a new offensive scheme, but I thought hybrid run/catching talent would transcend the boundaries of the offensive coordinators brain power. It was not to be. His recent stat line of four receptions, 58 yards, and a touchdown changes nothing for me. Back into the recesses of my mind you go!
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