Fantasy Bye Week Savior

Did you get spurned by Matt Ryan sitting out of week four? How about Jay Cutler and Drew Brees taking a break in week five? If not, what is your plan to keep your record intact when your all Colts offense of Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark relax for their week six bye?

The list goes on and on of elite players that must be replaced, but let’s break it down for you. Dallas, Indianapolis, Miami, and San Francisco all have week six off. That’s right. Frank Gore and Ronnie Brown are on vacation while you sweat over Ahmad Bradshaw or Larry Johnson to replace them. Here’s five players that could save the day.

David Garrard, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Garrard went from a hero to a zero in a matter of one week. After kicking some serious butt in week four, Garrard and the Jags got shut-out by Seattle in week five. You can count on him and the rest of the Jaguars bouncing back at home against the lowly Rams. Garrard is better than the performance he gave last week. Besides, his number two target, Torry Holt, will want to get back at his old team.

Brett Favre, QB, Minnesota Vikings

They tried easing him into things, but the Vikings were forced to unleash Favre by week three, and since then we’ve seen nothing but wins and magic. Baltimore is almost certainly going to do their best at shutting down Adrian Peterson, which will make Favre have to win or lose the game with his arm. Considering Brodie Croyle had decent success against this suspect Ravens pass defense, you have to like Favre’s chances.

LeSean McCoy, RB, Philadelpha Eagles

McCoy is splitting carries with Brian Westbrook full-time now, which means he’s guaranteed at least eight touches per game. While both McCoy and Westbrook heavily disappointed last week, he could be a nice bye-week fill-in as the Eagles face the Raiders, who couldn’t stop the run to save their lives.

Leon Washington, RB, New York Jets

Washington hasn’t topped 60 rushing yards or scored a touchdown all season, which puts the label “fantasy bust” directly on his forehead. However, if  for only one week he could break-out and be a star, it might be this week.

The team he’s up against, the Buffalo Bills, can’t stop anyone who runs the ball, and even allowed Jamal Lewis to trudge his way to 117 yards. Yeah, Washington’s gonna be fine.

Donnie Avery, WR, St. Louis Rams

It’s hard to vouch for a guy who not only plays for the Rams, but also dances after he scores a touchdown when he’s still down by 21 points. Don’t hate Avery for being a jackass, though. Just look at his tasty match-up with Jacksonville’s awful secondary and throw him in your WR3 slot.

Other solid, slightly more obvious bye week (potential) saviors could be Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, Torry Holt, Ahmad Bradshaw, Jason Campbell, Matt Cassel, and Marcedes Lewis.

Fantasy Football:

Shaun Hill San Francisco 49er’s

NFL odds are not pretty for the St. Louis Rams this weekend. The 49er’s had their hearts broken last week by a guy named Brett Favre and will want a little revenge. Shaun Hill is looking for his third straight game against St. Louis with at least 2 touchdown passes in what looks to be a blood bath. The 49er’s are not looked at as a passing team, but when facing an opponent that allows an average of 255 yards per game you can’t overlook the match-up.

Derek Anderson, QB Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals game is one of the few NFL Week 4 match-ups that pits division rivals against each other, and it should be an interesting contest. On one hand, many people want to give the Bengals a lot of credit for toppling the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers over the last few weeks, but it might be premature to start hopping on the Bengals Super Bowl odds.

Derek Anderson will get the nod for Cleveland this week and given his track record against the Bengals, he’s worth a look if you are in dire need of a starting quarterback.

Anderson has played three games against Cincinnati in his career and he has a quarterback rating of 82.9 against the Bengals. Fantasy players will be more interested to know that he has eight touchdown passes in those three contests and has averaged 239 passing yards per game.

Dustin Keller, TE New York Jets

Many a sports betting blog were high on Jets tight end Dustin Keller entering the season, but the results have been mixed. After notching four catches for 94 yards in the first game, Keller has just five catches for 46 yards in the last two weeks.

The Jets are going to be in a shootout this week, no matter how much they try to control the clock and pace of the game. The Saints will score, which means the Jets will have to match them. As the Jets look more to the air, look for Sanchez to rebuild his strong connection this week with Keller for over 50 yards and a touchdown.

Fantasy Football:

The ultimate goal in Fantasy Football is to draft a team that you can start each week without any line-up guesswork. Unless you get hit with injuries, the first few picks in your fantasy draft should start every game, and only get benched when they’re on a bye week. Bye weeks in fantasy football are basically opportunities for other teams to upset you, because you’re without your work horses. This is Gridiron Experts top bye week replacement player list, to ensure you have the best fantasy weapons each week even when your stars are on a bye. WR’s are not much of a problem as there is plenty of depth at that position; RB’s and QB’s are harder to replace, so we’ll be focusing on those two positions.

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Fantasy Football: