Don't Sleep on Danny

Scouting the waiver wire earlier this week, I noticed that Danny Woodhead, one of the Hard Knocks darlings, had been granted unique dual positional eligibility (WR and RB) on multiple fantasy sports servers. Based on his Kevin Faulkesque usage and results so far with the Patriots, that’s fantasy gold for any owner looking for a plug or two during the bye weeks. And given the spread offense likely to emerge in the Patriots’ gameplans following the Moss trade, and the dominoes falling in the Patriots’ backfield, there’s little reason not to pick him up as a high-upside wildcard if you’ve got the space. Granted, if you’ve already got your byes mapped out, it may not be worth the bother. But if you think you might need a RB in Weeks 6 and 9, and a WR in Weeks 7 and 10, Danny Woodhead is your one-stop shop. Too bad he doesn’t play tight end as well, but I wouldn’t put it past Belichick to line him up there on occasion.

The James Starks Watch is reaching its crescendo, somewhat more quietly than I expected. The Packers just lost a huge weapon in Jermichael Finley, so their running game is going to have to be better than it’s been to make up some of the difference. They missed out on Marshawn Lynch and there’s precious little left out there with the trade deadline days away. (I’d be surprised if they never received a call about the availability of Jerome Harrison, and if they did, I’d be disappointed if they did not put in an least a cursory bid.) Brandon Jackson is not the answer, and neither is John Kuhn. We’re not talking Correll Buckhalter and Laurence Maroney here, but the two are, at best, only serviceable - barely keeping the linebackers honest. And Dimitri Nance, originally one of only a small handful of hopeful heirs to Grant, has been phased out of the running game entirely. This is a job for the taking, and I say Starks takes it. The management and coaching staff like him, and he’s been fully healthy for a few weeks now, giving him plenty of time to get used to running the offense. Granted, he’s a longshot, and his first games back are RB killers. But I still like him enough to grab him in a league where my best waiver week options are Mike Tolbert, Chris Ivory, and yes, Marion Barber.

Marion Barber is officially unplayable, but don’t cut bait yet. Not with Glass Felix Jones starting to get more carries. It’s only a matter of time before Barber and Tashard Choice are relevant again. And who knows? Maybe with Jones doing the running between the 20s, the Cowboys will be more likely to get Barber those critical touches inside the 5. But it’s impossible to start him right now. Just remember the Felix injury factor and the fact that the schedule gets steadily easier from here into the fantasy playoffs before you decide to walk away.

Chris Ivory, on the other hand, is actually almost startable despite being quite the fantasy enigma. He was supposed to be the new Mike Bell, for short yardage and protect-the-lead use only. But I guess when Ladell Betts is your backfield partner, you can’t help but get half the touches. He’s not getting enough key action to be a real option outside the bye weeks yet, and his touches will only go down when PT and/or Bush return, but it’ll be hard to ignore him if he IS the goalline back after that.

Another season, another reason. (To NOT draft PT, that is.)

Anyone who lost Jermichael Finley this week is on the hunt for a serviceable TE, and an earlier column indicated an abundance. Unless you’re in a two-TE or 16-team league, someone is out there. It may be a choice between Brandon Pettigrew or Tony Scheffler, but that’s not a bad choice at all, although both still face their bye next week. If you’re lucky, Heath Miller or Tony Moeaki is still out there, and you might even catch a Jermaine Gresham owner trying to sneak him out for the Bengals’ bye week. Pounce.