Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

WIDE RECEIVERS — CUT THEM LOOSE

T.J. Houshmandzadeh (Seattle Seahawks)

In August, many fantasy football owners drafted Houshmandzadeh thinking a change of uniform would lead to big things after a mediocre 2008 campaign, but that hasn’t been the case. Housh and Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck, have not been able to maintain a solid rapport on a weekly basis, leading to inconsistencies in his performance. Outside of two 100 receiving yard games and one game in which he scored two touchdowns the eight year veteran has been hovering in the 20-40 receiving yard per game range. Over the last three games Houshmandzadeh has just 87 receiving yards on 11 receptions without scoring a touchdown. Drafted as a second wide receiver on many fantasy football teams, Housh has played more like a fourth or fifth option and even if he averages five receptions per game, his below average 10.9 yard per catch average isn’t leading to what’s important, fantasy points. His name alone makes him hard to drop but Houshmandzadeh has done nothing for you lately (but cause you to throw your remote control) so jump ship while you can.

Devin Hester (Chicago Bears)

Earlier in the season, Hester emerged as quarterback Jay Cutler’s favorite target and looked to be a reliable option on a weekly basis in Chicago. Over the season’s first eight games, Hester, caught 41 passed for 548 yards and three touchdowns. His five receptions and 68.5 yard per game average had turned Hester into a hot commodity but everything started going downhill in Week 10. Cutler threw five interceptions in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers and the Bears passing offense hasn’t been the same since. Over the last four games Hester has just 13 receptions for 134 receiving yards and the speedster hasn’t even came close to sniffing the end zone. With the Chicago offense in shambles you can’t expect Hester to get back on track anytime soon, especially since his match-ups over the next three weeks (GB - Week 14, @ BAL - Week 15, MIN - Week 16) aren’t exactly the recipe for success. What started out as a breakout season for Hester has now regressed into one that looks similar to his 2008 campaign.

Keep Them Cut - Austin Collie (Indianapolis Colts), Torry Holt (Jacksonville Jaguars), Johnny Knox (Chicago Bears), Isaac Bruce (San Francisco 49ers), Laveranues Coles (Cincinnati Bengals) Domenik Hixon (New York Giants), James Jones (Green Bay Packers), Bernard Berrian (Minnesota Vikings), Malcom Floyd (San Diego Chargers), Lee Evans (Buffalo Bills), Mohamed Massaquoi (Cleveland Browns)

TIGHT ENDS — CUT THEM LOOSE

Jeremy Shockey (New Orleans Saints

Shockey started 2009 with a bang as he averaged 4.25 receptions and 50.3 yards per game (YPG) to go along with three touchdowns over the New Orleans Saints first eight games. His production made him a reliable starting option for his fantasy owners but this hasn’t been the case of late. Since Week 8, Shockey has averaged just 2.6 receptions and 29.4 YPG without finding pay dirt. During this span Shockey has scored just 12 fantasy points and he has hauled in four or more receptions in just one game. With quarterback Drew Brees not favoring any one receiving option in particular it has made Shockey a hit or miss option in a high powered New Orleans offense. Plus, the Saints have started to use backup tight end David Thomas more in the passing game and this has led to a limited amount of opportunity for Shockey, thus making him expandable. Unless you are in a league that starts two tight ends you are better off letting another owner deal with Shockey’s lack of production.

Keep Them Cut - Spencer Havner (Green Bay Packers), Randy McMichael (St. Louis Rams), Alge Crumpler (Tennessee Titans), Brandon Pettigrew (Detroit Lions)

KICKERS — CUT THEM LOOSE

John Carney (New Orleans Saints

After watching John Carney shank kicks left and right in Week 12 head coach Sean Payton decided to pull the plug on their aging kicker and replace him with Garrett Hartley. In case you forgot, Hartley was the New Orleans Saints kicker at the end of 2008 and was expected to start 2009 in the same role but a four-game suspension due to violating the leagues substance abuse policy put a halt to that. What led to Carney losing his job was his inability to knock down mid range field goals. On the season Carney missed three field goal attempts inside of 39 yards, and while it didn’t cost the Saints in the win-loss column, it ultimately cost him his job. His replacement, Hartley, was 4-for-5 in Week 13 and his game winning 18-yard field goal kept the Saints chances at going 16-0 alive. Don’t expect Carney to win back his job anytime soon.

Shaun Suisham (Washington Redskins)

Any NFL kicker can knock down field goals when the pressure isn’t on but when the going get’s tough you need to have ice in your veins and Shaun Suisham obviously doesn’t. In a Week 11 loss to the Dallas Cowboys Suisham missed two field goals and the Redskins allowed a late fourth quarter game winning touchdown and the same thing happened in Week 13. With 1:52 to play in the fourth quarter ans the Redskins ahead 30-23 they called on Suisham to convert a 23-yard field goal that would seal the victory but he pushed it wide right. On the next possession the New Orleans Saints scored a game tying touchdown and they later ended up winning in overtime.  With this being the second time in three games that Suisham has missed a crucial field goal you can’t expect him to have a job come Week 14. Therefore, if you own him, cut him, just like the Redskins should do

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Keep Them Cut - Jason Elam (Free Agent), Steven Hauschka (Free Agent), Josh Brown (St. Louis Rams), Phil Dawson (Cleveland Browns), Joe Nedney (San Francisco 49ers)

Week 14 Rankings:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  | DEF    (click to read)

Week 14 Start & Sit:  START ‘EM  |  SIT ‘EM    (click to read)

Week 14 Waiver Wire Advice:  PICK THEM UP  |  CUT THEM LOOSE    (click to read)

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