Wednesday FAABnalysis -- 10/10/12

Going in to this week's FAAB I was very excited, because I knew it'd be a really interesting bidding session.  Cedric Benson goes down with a Lisfranc injury.  Explosive Alex Green steps in.  But plodding workhorse James Starks says, "not so fast."  Ryan Williams goes down with a Virginia Tech-syle sprained mammary gland or whatever (I'm sure he cried after the injury, too.)  Diminutive scatback LaRod Stephens-Howling steps in.  Or maybe something called a William Powell steps in.  Or maybe long-forgotten and never-all-that-good Alfonso Smith steps in.  Or maybe the Cards trade for the Saints' übur-underappreciated Chris Ivory.  Or maybe we should all just say fuck it because the Arizona run game is total shite.  Add to that the ongoing bye week scramble, big games from Jordan Norwood and Robert Meachem on waivers, and lots of younger guys getting more opportunities, and we had ourselves a recipe for a tangy and intoxicating FAAB cocktail today.

I was definitely excited to see this week's FAAB unfold, I was excited to write this week's FAABnalysis, and the fireworks did not fail to impress.  So let's get to it...

$117 spent today on 18 money claims, a cool $6.50 per purchase.  But this week we saw our biggest bid to date, and it was Mark pushing his chips to the center of the table for Alex Green.


Alex Green -- $32 to Mark
dropped: Rod Streater / other bids: $27 to Rookie, $25 to Norris, $21 to Kendall, $18 to Nathan, $13 to Russ, $7 to Kirk, $6 to Ben, $0 to Derrick
Joe cast his lot with James Starks, so I can excuse his lack of a bid in this auction.  Chad, Paul, Patrick, and Alan --- what the hell, guys?  What are you waiting for?  I don't get it, guys.  I just don't get it.  Why not participate in this auction?  You don't owe me an explanation, but I'd love to hear one, because I just don't understand.

Anyway, kudos to Mark for going as high as he needed to go to get his guy, and the potential impact of Alex Green is a very nice red cherry to have right now.  Young, fast, explosive back in a potential top-5 NFL offense stepping right into a massive influx of carries/targets and possessing a skill set that jives particularly well with his offense.  What's not to like?  I almost bid all $37 of my remaining pool, but ultimately decided that I needed to keep some money for emergencies.  I think Mark might get burned by this big bid, but the odds are just as good that he just picked up a top-10 running back for the remainder of the season.  Well done.

Alex Green Claim Grade: A

Robert Meachem -- $15 to Paul
dropped: Kevin Walter / other bids: $7 to Ben
Looks like most of us believed that two-touchdown performance in a revenge effort against his old team was just a fluke, but Paul bought it and he bought the player.  Like I said in Gems to be Mined!: Eventually, the Chargers will start pumping balls to their offseason investment. I'm not a Meachem guy, but he'll get an opportunity and has a pretty good QB rifling those passes at him. They aren't paying Meach $6.5 million per season to run around as a decoy to take heat off of Malcolm Fucking Floyd.

I like it, Paul.  It's not my move, but I like it.  The only bad thing is that you doubled up Ben's bid in order to land him.

Robert Meachem Claim Grade: B-

LaRod Stephens-Howling -- $11 to Rookie
dropped: Russell Wilson (redshirt burned!) / other bids: $8 to Nathan, $7 to Russ, $6 to Kirk, $5 to Mark, $2 to Kendall, $0 to Derrick
Oh man, I love this little guy.  Loved him at Pitt, loved what he's done in the pros when he's gotten a chance.  I'm not sure if he's the guy for the Cards.  If he is, I'm not sure he can withstand the pounding.  If he can, I'm not sure it'll matter -- like I said before, Arizona straight SUCKS at running the football.  If it does matter, I'm not sure LRSH can hold off Powell, Smith, and possibly Ivory.  Add up that uncertainty, and you're looking at a longshot lottery ticket here, in my estimation.  For $11, I think that's fine, because the upside is Darren Sproles.

Of note, Rookie just burned the redshirt of what many seemed to think was [by far] the best redshirt candidate of the 2012 season.  Too bad Russell Wilson's training camp and preseason performance didn't carry over into the regular season.

LaRod Stephens-Howling Claim Grade: C+

Danny Woodhead -- $10 to Patrick
dropped: Ryan Williams / other bids: none
He's been sitting there forever, waiting to be plucked.  Patrick finally did it.  I don't think dropping a Hamilton on the kid was the proper bid, as $2 or $3 could have safely won the auction.  Woodhead's fine as a bench player, as he'll give you some production when/if you need it, but there's nothing exciting about him and his upside is severely limited.  $10 was too much.

Danny Woodhead Claim Grade: D

Golden Tate -- $7 to Alan
dropped: Leonard Hankerson / other bids: $7 to Ben
Dammit.  Damn it.  I had a feeling I was dropping him too soon when I let him go on Friday.  Congratulations, Alan.  You just picked up the Seahawks' #1 wide receiver as they are about to make the switch from Russell Wilson to a real-life NFL quarterback.

Golden Tate Claim Grade: C+

Joel Dreessen -- $7 to Alan
dropped: Javon Ringer (redshirt burned!) / other bids: none
Brent Celek is not on bye, so this was not a bye week filler.  In fact, Celek and Dreessen share the same week 7 bye.  Interesting.  I guess Alan likes how involved Dreessen has been when the Broncos get near the goal line, and he decided to see where this thing goes.  I'm okay with that, but a $0 or $1 bid for a player like Dreessen would have been more appropriate.

Joel Dreessen Claim Grade: D

William Powell -- $5 to Kirk
dropped: Shaun Draughn / other bids: $3 to Nathan, $2 to Kendall, $0 to Derrick
This is what ESPN's Christopher Harris had to say about Powell in yesterday's edition of Free Agent Finds:

I could just as easily have started this section with LaRod Stephens-Howling or Alfonso Smith, because it's unclear how Arizona will replace the missing Williams/Wells combo. Stephens-Howling is the most proven commodity here, with 111 career touches from scrimmage and a reputation as one of the NFL's best kickoff returners, but he's 5-foot-7 and 185 pounds and likely wouldn't hold up to an every-down pounding. The rookie Powell beat out Smith during training camp this summer but may have suffered a concussion in Week 5, and has eight career touches. Smith, the biggest member of the trio, is a practice-squad talent who could be asked to bang near the goal line. The problem all these guys have is that the Cardinals' rushing game has averaged 63.4 yards per game and a league-low 2.7 yards per carry. The offensive line that got Kevin Kolb massacred against the St. Louis Rams last Thursday isn't any better opening holes. So while the desperate fantasy owners among us should probably take a shot at one or more of these guys on the small chance that one of them busts out, expectations should be low. If I had to choose one, it would be Powell, the most complete back of the troika.

For $5, I feel like that was a really savvy bid and claim by a CKL coach who doesn't get much credit for his savviness.  Nice job, Kirk.

William Powell Claim Grade: B+

James Starks -- $5 to Joe

dropped: Greg Little / other bids: $2 to Kendall, $0 to Derrick

Just like with William Powell, I feel like this was a smart claim for a minimal bid.  Alex Green is a bit more exciting than anything Powell faces in his bid for playing time, but the Packers offense is worlds better than the Cardinals offense.  Plus, the Green Bay coaching staff trusts Starks as a blocker.  I think the safe money is on a Green/Starks timeshare for the Packers, and Joe got his piece of that action for $27 less than Mark did.  But make no mistake: Starks has nowhere near the upside that Green does.

James Starks Claim Grade: B+

Jahvid Best -- $5 to Chad

dropped: Anthony Fasano / other bids: $1 to Joe

Like I said in the Gems piece, we still drool over this guy's upside, regardless of whether or not his brains are scrambled eggs.  Shrewd claim for Chad, though I have to wonder if it was the right call to go this route and eschew bidding on the Packer/Cardinal backs.  Plus, he'll have to wait on Best for at least a few more weeks.  Bench space is precious in the CKL, and that seems like a luxury move during the bye weeks.

Jahvid Best Claim Grade: C+

Dumpster Diving...

Charles Woodson, $4 to Alan -- He's a bonafide IDP stud.  Nice buy, Alan.

David Wilson, $4 to Nathan -- Interesting move.  He did look good on that one carry, and he was their 1st round pick.

Geno Atkins, $3 to Kirk -- Best interior pass rusher in the NFL.

Lance Briggs, $3 to Kirk -- Drinking the kool-aid on those two pick sixes.  But Briggs is a proven star, anyway.

Rueben Randle, $2 to Mark -- Ramses Barden, Domenik Hixon, and now Randle... is anyone else developing Giants' #3 receiver fatigue?  All joking aside, this was a smart move for the Hakeem Nicks owner.

Joique Bell, $1 to Kendall -- Put Jahvid Best and Mikel Leshoure together and add in a little bit more power, and you get Joique Bell.  Like I said in FAABnalysis when Nathan picked him up two weeks ago: Joique Bell ends up leading the Lions in rushing and rushing touchdowns this season, and enters 2013 as their franchise-type workhorse back. Just a hunch.

Jordan Norwood, $1 to Nathan -- He's getting targets, and the Browns are showing serious signs of life on offense.  Not a bad grab & stash, to see if he turns into anything.

Jake Locker, $0 to Joe -- I wish I had had a spot available to make this same move.  Nice one, Joe.

The rest were IDPs and kickers, and nothing that I found particularly worthy of a mention beyond a sour lumping into this paragraph.  Mario Williams sucks now, sorry Russ.  Robert Quinn does not suck, so nice job, Rookie.  Antoine Winfield?  Not sure about that one, Kirk.  But congrats on landing yet another Viking.  DeMeco Ryans seems like a pretty ordinary IDP linebacker for the Rookie.  I'm glad Nathan was able to land Von Miller, that seems right.  The rest were just... eh... you know... whatever.  And the cock ticks and I think of you...

Everyone was involved in this week's bidding!  THAT'S what I've been waiting to see!  I love that shit.


Remaining Budgets:

Jesus the Moose -- $83
Blackpool Penguins -- $78
Juris United -- $75
Kick Azz Giants -- $73
Double-O Daddy -- $72
Barclay Street Bruisers -- $69
The Magic Stick -- $65
Glitterfist Lasersnakes -- $61
Achilles Heels -- $52
THUNDER BEAR -- $52
The Champeens -- $51
Nth Degree -- $49
Roo Tang Clan -- $43
Pink Nightmare -- $36


Ben takes the lead for The Golden Sarcophagus.


Biggest Claims to Date:

#1 - Alex Green, $32 to Mark on 10/10

#2 - Kevin Ogletree, $26 to Kendall on 9/12

#3 - Greg Olsen, $21 to Kendall on 9/26

#3 - Chaz Schilens, $21 to Kirk on 10/3

#5 - Andre Brown, $19 to Russ on 9/19

#6 - Daniel Thomas, $16 to Rookie on 9/26

#7 - Robert Meachem, $15 to Paul on 10/10

#8 - Domenik Hixon, $14 to Nathan on 10/3

#9 - Jeremy Kerley, $13 to Derrick on 9/12

#9 - Daryl Richardson, $13 to Derrick on 9/19

#9 - Tashard Choice, $13 to Patrick on 9/26

#12 - Ramses Barden, $12 to Russ on 9/26

#12 - Brandon Bolden, $12 to Paul on 10/3

#14 - Dexter McCluster, $11 to Nathan on 9/12

#14 - Brian Hartline, $11 to Rookie on 9/19

#14 - Sidney Rice, $11 to Joe on 9/21 (Friday FAAB Rebound!)

#14 - LaRod Stephens-Howling, $11 to Rookie on 10/10

#18 - Danny Woodhead, $10 to Patrick on 10/10

That's it for this week. But as always, remember...

GOTTA SPEND TO WIN!