Fed up with one of your players? Eyeballing a player on the wire, but don't know who to drop? So Long, Suckers examines a few widely-owned players that probably shouldn't be.Last week we suggested owners in shallow leagues dump Brian Westbrook. This week, after suffering another concussion, it's safe for teams in all but the deepest of leagues (i.e., leagues where this week's waiver wire darlings Justin Forsett and Jason Snelling were owned heading into Week 10) to cut the Philly back.
Absolutely best case for Westbrook in my mind is to miss two weeks, play sparingly in Week 13, and start against the Giants, 49ers and Broncos during your fantasy playoffs. Would you really rely on him at that point? I know I wouldn't.
Who else deserves a pink slip this week? All the following players are owned in 60 percent of Fleaflicker leagues.
Willis McGahee, RB, Ravens. Some of you are probably wondering what McGahee is doing back in this column -- not because he's been playing well, rather because he hasn't been playing at all. Maybe we'll wake up on Tuesday and see McGahee with two TDs and double-digit carries (I am of course assuming no one is watching the Baltimore-Cleveland game), but considering he had zero yards rushing in four games prior to Monday night's game (on a total of 11 carries), color me pessimistic. Yet he's oddly owned in 65 percent of Fleaflicker leagues.
[Editor's Note: McGahee finished with 13 carries for 35 yards and no scores Monday night. Dump him already.]
Kyle Orton, QB, Broncos. He was in the middle of a pretty good game on Sunday, but an ankle injury put him on the sidelines for the rest of the game, and possibly next week's game as well. I think we can throw Orton's good half in the trash bin, as the Redskins didn't even bother covering Brandon Marshall for an entire half. Who wouldn't throw TD passes with receivers that open? You likely don't need to hang on to Orton as a QB2, especially with how well the top QBs have been playing all season. When setting your waiver claims, don't be afraid to let go of your backup QB, Kyle Orton.
Willie Parker, RB, Steelers. Like seeing your players play just one series per game? Then I've got a back for you! It seems silly to comprehend, but Parker is still owned in six out of ten leagues. Rashard Mendenhall is clearly the workhorse back, and you Parker owners should FWP -- Free Willie Parker.
New York Jets, TM, Jets. A popular sleeper heading into the season, the Jets are in the bottom six of the league's fantasy defenses. It's even worse than it seems -- their ranking is only that high thanks to a major beatdown of the Raiders a few weeks ago. Against the rest of the league, they're one of the worst fantasy defenses around. I hope you're only carrying one defense on your roster at this point after the bye, and with a game against the Patriots up next for this team, your defense had better not be the Jets.
