Mulligan’s Fantasy Football Forecast, Week 15
Injuries can really derail your fantasy team’s hopes come playoff time which is why it’s important that you pay attention to the waiver wire throughout the season even if you don’t necessarily need to improve your starting roster. You might not have needed a guy like Justin Forsett several weeks ago when he became a hot commodity but if you’re like me and you just lost Kevin Smith for the season, you could certainly use Forsett right now.
Of course, my team has been ravaged by injuries, leaving me with little chance to make any noise in the playoffs after winning my division. Hopefully your teams are still in good enough shape to carry you through these last few weeks.
Good match ups
Knowshon Moreno vs. Raiders defense: Correll Buckhalter injured his ankle during last week’s game against the Colts and it looks as if he may miss Denver’s next game against Oakland. If you’re familiar with Raider ineptitude you’ll know they have one of the worst run defenses in the league, allowing over 154 yards per game on the ground and 4.6 yards per carry. If Buckhalter sits, Moreno is a must start.
Chad Henne vs. Titans defense: At the risk of jinxing Henne and my Dolphins’ chances this week, I’m going to recommend Henne as a good start against the Titans defense. Without Ronnie Brown, Miami has gone away from using the wildcat formation and the Dolphins are slowly giving Henne a longer and longer leash with each passing week. Titans have the second worst pass defense in the league, so Henne will have an opportunity to put up points this week.
Not so good match ups
Roddy White vs. Jets defense: While Roddy White is the number one option in the Falcons passing game, he’s going up against the best corner in the league this week in Darrelle Revis and he’s doing it without QB Matt Ryan. Give strong consideration to leaving him on your bench this week.
Ryan Grant vs. Steelers defense: The Steelers haven’t allowed an opposing running back to run for 100 yards all season and with the team needing to win out to have a chance at the playoffs, don’t expect them to start now. Grant was fantastic last week against the Bears but look for this game to be a defensive struggle and Grant to be a relative non-factor.
Waiver wire pickups
Quinton Ganther, RB, Redskins: There aren’t a lot of options on the waiver wire at this point in the season. Ganther had a solid showing last week against the poor Raiders run defense but he draws a much tougher Giants run defense this week. Still, he’s the main back in Washington, for better or worse and if you’re in desperate need of RB help Ganther can be a worthwhile pickup.
(ITALICS) Kyle Mulligan is a contributing sports writer for the Observer. He welcomes your feedback and can be reached at kjmulli@gmail.com.