Stock Market Friday: NFL Week 11

Stock Up

Ricky Williams: Ronnie Brown was placed on injured reserve Wednesday with a fracture in his right foot.  Ricky Williams will now be the featured running back for the rest of 2009.  Williams has been very productive all year rushing for 559 yards on 105 carries (5.3 YPC) and six touchdowns.  Miami plays Carolina Week 11, and Chad Henne will be central as to whether Williams will have a productive day for fantasy owners.  Carolina’s rush defense has been steady all year, so they will zone in on Henne.  If Henne can hit his quick hitters and slant routes then that should balance out the defense, and Williams will have a great day.  While Brown’s injury hurts Miami’s playoff chances, Williams as the feature back will improve every fantasy owner’s chances of winning their league this year.  Update: Williams had a big night against the Panthers, running for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns, and had 2 receptions for 19 yards and a touchdown.

Jason Snelling: Michael Turner is out with a sprained ankle for an unspecified amount of time.  Turner says he wants to come back for this week’s game against the Giants, but it’s considered unlikely at this point.  Snelling is more than capable of carrying the load for Atlanta as his last two games have been very productive.  Snelling is averaging 4.9 YPC and is a dual threat rushing and receiving, be sure to pick up Snelling off the waiver wire if available because the timetable for Turner’s return is unclear.

Chris Chambers: The NFL is great; a player gets cut from one team (Chargers) and get picked up by another (Kansas City) and immediately become their #1 wide receiver.  After falling down the depth chart due to being completely unproductive in San Diego, Chambers has had a resurgence in Kansas City pulling in six catches for 130 yards in two games.  Let’s not get carried away as he is playing in KC after all, but he is worth a start if the right situation presents itself.  Otherwise, Chambers should be valued no higher than a #3 receiver or flex option.

Stock Down

Cedric Benson: Benson could very well return this week and resume his role as the game-breaker that he has been all season.  However, the hip flexor injury looks as though it will keep Benson on the shelf for this week and that could open the door for newly acquired Larry Johnson and season-long backup Bernard Scott to shine.  If Benson does miss this week’s game, and LJ and Scott play well, that will surely decrease Benson’s carries once he makes his return.  Keep an eye on Benson’s status throughout the remainder of the week, and hope he plays, because if he doesn’t, your reliance on his consistent production may prove to be detrimental to your fantasy team’s success this year.

Brian Westbrook: Westbrook suffered his second concussion in three weeks in Philadelphia’s home loss against San Diego.  While Westbrook’s long term prognosis is encouraging, his season may be in jeopardy as the team will be extremely careful with him as there has been harsh criticism in regard to concussions over the past couple of years.  Westbrook’s concussions coupled with his ineffective play for much of the season (one 100 total yard game, 2 TD), he hasn’t been in favor with fantasy owners anyway.  Rookie LeSean McCoy will take over the #1 running back duties for the remainder of the season.

Joe Flacco: After a hot start to the season in which the Ravens suddenly transformed into a spread offense, the honeymoon has been put on hold as Flacco has struggled since the Week 7 bye.  In three games against Denver, Cincinnati, and Cleveland, Flacco has only one touchdown and two interceptions.  From here, the Ravens must rely heavily on the legs of Ray Rice and hope that Flacco will leave his sophomore slump behind.  Keep Flacco on your bench indefinitely until he regains that inhuman resolve that carried him through his rookie campaign.