The Tradeoff gives our Scott White a chance to react to actual trades made in CBSSports.com Fantasy leagues, declaring a winner for each trade after weighing the pros and cons for each side.
Your commissioner drew the line months ago.
You didn't think it mattered at the time, not when it seemed so far away. Nov. 26 ... make it Nov. 1, for all you care. You have so much football to play between now and then that it can't come fast enough.
Or so it seemed back in August. But now, staring down the barrel of tomorrow, you start to sing a different tune.
Oh yes, it's deadline time. Will you pull the trigger?
You've deliberated all you can, exhausted every "just one more week" you have to see if that iffy proposition will pull through. This week, if you still hold out any hope of making that big acquisition to help your team turn the corner, it's now or never.
So if you have a plan, act on it now -- right now, as in before you even reach the end of this column. And if you don't have a plan, perhaps the trades assessed here will help you concoct one. Hey, if these guys can swing blockbuster deals at the deadline, so can you.
Clock's ticking.
As with all the teams featured in this column, the names have been changed to protect the ignorant:
Trade No. 1: The rising cost of a quarterback
The Belly of the Beast gets: Bernard Berrian, Maurice Jones-Drew and Kurt Warner
The Sundried Tomatoes get: Joseph Addai, Ryan Grant and Marques Colston
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In some cases owners could bring back quite a haul for Kurt Warner.
(US Presswire)
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Leave it to me to begin with a deal so even-steven I chase half my audience away in the very act of picking a side. Then again, I just told half to leave and go make a trade, and half probably never started reading because their trade deadline already passed. So since we're already dealing with fractions of fractions of viewers consuming this piece, I might as well chase the rest of you away. Let's make this easy: Under the assumption I can play all three, I want Addai, Grant and Colston.
Oh, now you want to know why, don't you? Typical. I'll make that easy, too: I like both Addai and Grant more than I like Jones-Drew.
But what about those other guys -- Warner, Berrian and Colston? Fine players, all of them, but I don't consider them at the crux of this deal.
Sure, Warner now ranks as the highest-scoring quarterback in Fantasy, but that designation in and of itself leads me to believe the Sundried Tomatoes must have a decent alternative at quarterback, either a slow-to-emerge early-rounder like Peyton Manning, a similar late-round breakout like Aaron Rodgers or even a sudden overachiever off the waiver wire like Tyler Thigpen. Whoever they have, they feel like they can survive the loss of Warner (otherwise, they would have asked for a quarterback in return), and for the bounty they stand to receive, I have to agree with them (again, assuming they have places to start both Addai and Grant).
I realize if the Belly of the Beast had a hole at quarterback holding it back all season, it just filled it the best way possible by acquiring Warner, but look at all it gave up. It cast aside two early-round picks finally beginning to show their promise for Jones-Drew, who has strung together a couple of good weeks but remains the most inconsistent player of the three with the least potential to blow up going forward, especially when you look at Addai's cupcake schedule.
The Belly of the Beast filled one hole by creating another, likely debilitating itself as much as anything else, and while the Sundried Tomatoes ride their new running backs into the playoffs, the Belly of the Beast, with its patchwork backfield, will limp to the finish line clutching its 37-year-old arm.
Not to mention it gave up the better receiver in Colston for Berrian, but like I said, that doesn't even matter when you consider the rest of the deal.
Winner: The Sundried Tomatoes for sacrificing one part of their lineup to improve three others.
Of course, after reading that assessment, you might assume I don't like Warner. To that, I say au contraire, mon capitan, and wish I knew of a more fitting way to address you in French.
Trade No. 2: Now announcing the great McGahee giveaway
The Inner Workings of a Clock get: Kurt Warner
The Hand Removed from the Body gets: Willis McGahee
Warner is, statistically, the best quarterback in Fantasy. He's also the most consistent, throwing multiple touchdowns in all but two games this season -- his first and his last -- and throwing for less than 300 yards in only four. He succeeds every week, regardless of matchup, and I can't envision too many scenarios where I'd bench him. So let's get this straight upfront: I like him.
But I applaud this trade by the Inner Workings of a Clock not so much because I like Warner, but because I hate McGahee. I hereby wash my hands of him -- and I say that as a guy who drafted him in two-thirds of his leagues.
You can't count on him for anything. He has exactly three weeks where he pulled his weight in Fantasy, and each time, he disappeared into the unknown void the next.
Matchups don't matter -- he averaged 2.5 yards per carry against the Raiders. Health doesn't matter -- he was active and didn't play two times this season. Every time you start McGahee, you risk Fantasy suicide, and with Ray Rice and LeRon McClain consistently cutting into his carries, when do you expect it to end?
Quite frankly, 11 weeks is long enough to risk suicide. You can't mess around with unpredictability, not when the downside means you end up with nothing.
So I'm done with McGahee. He could run for 250 yards one week, and I doubt I'd start him the next. So what good does he do me? Give me the No. 1 quarterback in Fantasy. I'll fill out my lineup with Antonio Pittman, Peyton Hillis, and whatever else turns up on the waiver wire, thank you very much.
Winner: The Inner Workings of a Clock for finding some sucker to take McGahee off their hands.
But maybe you consider that trade an easy call. If you can get the top Fantasy quarterback for McGahee, you'd do it, obviously. So what about this one?
Trade No. 3: Want more? Get Moore.
The Unnecessarily Relived Tragedies get: Lance Moore
Bring Back the Monacle! gets: Willis McGahee
Now you get a better idea how far my hatred of McGahee extends. I would deal him for a guy who's bounced on and off the waiver wire at least three times this season.
But that doesn't mean I'd waive McGahee himself, nor does it mean I'd trade him for waiver fodder. Yep, I pulled the old switcheroo on you again. I'm here to talk about Moore, not McGahee.
Because in case you haven't noticed, Moore is good -- as in No. 2 Fantasy wide receiver good or start-him-at-all-times good.
Think Eddie Royal. Think Jerricho Cotchery. Think Vincent Jackson or DeSean Jackson.
Moore's name belongs among them, maybe even above them considering the offense he plays for. Just look at the numbers. He has at least six catches for 75 yards and a touchdown each of the last three weeks, compiling 49 of his 52 catches and 585 of his 609 yards over his last eight games for averages of 6.1 and 73.1 per game. And considering Marques Colston returned from his thumb injury three weeks ago, I think we can assume Moore doesn't figure to go away anytime soon.
Hey, with Drew Brees throwing for nearly 400 yards every game, someone has to end up on the other end. Scratch that -- multiple someones.
So try trading for Moore while he still wallows in relative anonymity. You might not even have to give up a player as good (good?) as McGahee.
Winner: The Unnecessarily Relived Tragedies for swapping the overrated for the underrated.
Trade No. 4: It looks and feels good as new
The Plastic Souvenir Cups get: Jake Delhomme and Marvin Harrison
Timeout for Tonya gets: DeAngelo Williams
The average Harrison owner who saw him break out with nine catches for 77 yards and a touchdown in Week 11 probably said, "Perfect! Now I can start him."
I saw it myself, and know what I said? "Perfect! Now I can trade him."
Ladies and gentlemen, the performance screams fluke. I actually heard it during the telecast in a shrieky voice that I knew didn't belong to either of the commentators. Freaky, I know.
Yes, you might try to claim Harrison just suddenly, magically got back in form, but stop and ask yourself which argument has more validity: that coming off a major knee injury, a 36-year-old simply needed 10 weeks to shake off the rust and became as good a player as ever, or that he, in light of his age and his injury, simply doesn't have the speed and agility he once did, happened to have a good game with Reggie Wayne hobbled by an ankle injury, and will revert back to his pedestrian ways Week 12 and beyond.
I think I'd bet every last penny on the latter scenario. I mean, for all his supposed greatness, the guy averaged only 8.6 yards per reception.
This deal looks like an absolute coup for Timeout for Tonya, who managed to couple Harrison with Delhomme, a No. 2 Fantasy quarterback coming off two miserable performances, and get an up-and-coming running back like Williams -- who, by the way, quietly has 368 yards and four touchdowns over his last three games. I realize he has to split carries with Jonathan Stewart, but with those numbers, who cares?
Winner: Time Out for Tonya for picking the perfect time to get rid of rubbish.
Trade No. 5: When the love of Manning goes too far
The Steadfast Refusal to Play Chinese Checkers gets: Dwayne Bowe, Ronnie Brown and Tyler Thigpen
The Understated Misnomer of "Glove Compartment" gets: Peyton Manning
Whenever you see a three-for-one deal in Fantasy, you have cause for pause.
It just looks so unnatural, like some Fantasy veteran convinced some newbie that quantity trumps quality when we all know that, outside of especially deep leagues, it doesn't.
But every once in a while, you'll find an experienced Fantasy owner so madly in love with a player that he'll pack plenty of quality into that quantity. Clearly, Manning caught the Understated Misnomer of "Glove Compartment's eye.
Which is understandable. He looks like the best player involved in this deal, his recent resurgence making him one of Fantasy's elite again. But having said that, I'd have no problem with someone trading him for Brown straight-up. A No. 1 Fantasy quarterback for a No. 2 Fantasy running back sounds about right.
So you can imagine how I'd think the Steadfast Refusal to Play Chinese Checkers really pulled ahead here by acquiring the K.C. connection of Bowe and Thigpen, who've worked in conjunction to rise to Fantasy prominence.
I don't know if Thigpen can keep playing as well as he has. I certainly don't think he'll play as well as Manning. But after four weeks of stud numbers, he deserves the benefit of the doubt, especially with Oakland and Denver coming up on his schedule. If you have Thigpen as your starting quarterback, you can survive. For Brown and Bowe, you can make do.
But even more important than his own numbers, Thigpen's unexpected breakout has had a trickle down effect to his receivers -- none more than Bowe, who can finally add some touchdowns to that consistent yardage he's racked up all season long. As a big, physical target and the clear No. 1 wide receiver on a team with a suddenly competitive passing game, he looks like no worse than a No. 2 Fantasy option, better than Braylon Edwards, Plaxico Burress or Lee Evans.
For a must-start running back and a must-start wide receiver, I don't see how the Steadfast Refusal to Play Chinese Checkers couldn't give up Manning, especially when it gets a quarterback like Thigpen to soften the blow.
Winner: The Steadfast Refusal to Play Chinese Checkers for getting a stacked lineup with just one player.
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