Hot Pickups: Week 12

FOUR STARS (Out of five)

RB ROCK CARTWRIGHT, Redskins: Somebody's got to run the ball for Washington, and with Ladell Betts out for the year and Clinton Portis still woozy, Cartwright's the man. He totaled 140 yards on 20 touches last week against Dallas, and though he'll be facing some challenging defenses, starting with Philly this week, he should at least be getting a heavy workload.

TE JERMICHAEL FINLEY, Packers: Finley got dropped in a lot of leagues after sitting out three games with injury, but he announced his return with 7 catches for 54 yards last week against the 49ers. He's sure to do some damage on Thanksgiving against the Lions' spotty pass defense, so pick him up if he's available and start him.


THREE STARS

QB VINCE YOUNG, Titans: The numbers haven't been anything special, but he's been making plays and winning games since he got another opportunity to play. He's worth a shot if you're in a pinch at QB this week (vs. Arizona) or like his upside in some favorable matchups down the stretch (vs. St. Louis, Miami, San Diego, at Seattle in the season's final four weeks).


TWO STARS

QB DAUNTE CULPEPPER, Lions: The former fantasy star is likely to start Thursday in place of Matthew Stafford, and we've seen some crazy performances on Turkey Day before, but I'm not sure you really want to go down this road unless you're desperate.

Photo by The Associated Press

Hot Pickups: Week 10

FOUR STARS (Out of five)

RB LADELL BETTS, Redskins: Clinton Portis' understudy normally doesn't get a lot of touches, but with Portis knocked out last week, Betts carried the ball 15 times - his most since 2006 - for 70 yards and a TD. You may recall Betts had a dominating stretch of five straight 100-yard games at the end of the '06 season when he served as the Skins' feature back, so this isn't his first go-around. He's definitely worth a grab, and this week's matchup against Denver doesn't seem quite as tough after they let Rashard Mendenhall run wild.

THREE STARS

WR CHRIS CHAMBERS, Chiefs: A perennial disappointment, Chambers got cut by the Chargers just a week ago, then goes out and scores not one but TWO TDs in his first game as a Chief. Both scores came in garbage time, mind you, but K.C. will continue to have a lot of that this year, and Matt Cassel definitely seems to have some kind of a connection with Chambers, so why not give him a shot?

WR ROBERT MEACHEM, Saints: I've been waiting for this kid to break out for about 3 years now, and maybe last Sunday's game (5 catches, 98 yards, TD) was what I've been looking for. Everyone who plays a skill position for New Orleans is worth some fantasy consideration, and Meachem might make a good flex play in the following two weeks against St. Louis and Tampa Bay.

TWO STARS

QB JOSH FREEMAN, Bucs: There was plenty to like in Freeman's starting debut: the strong arm, the quick feet, the poise and the 3 TDs vs. 1 INT. Will there be bumps along the way? Of course. But keeper leagues and those that start two QBs have to take notice.

TE BRANDON PETTIGREW, Lions: The rookie from Oklahoma state had 7 catches for 70 yards - both career highs - and caught his first NFL TD in Week 9. He might be hard pressed to duplicate those stats again this season, but if you're in a deep league that carries two TEs per team he's certainly worth a shot.

Photo by The Associated Press

Week 9 Recap

Some random fantasy thoughts while crafting a petition to the Bucs to wear their creamsicle uniforms every week ...


- Michael Turner topped 150 yards for the second straight game and extended his scoring streak to eight straight games (166, 2 TDs). He's looking like the top-3 back we thought he'd be.

- Turner's counterpart, Clinton Portis, was knocked out against Atlanta and is looking doubtful for what could have been a decent Week 10 matchup vs. Denver. Ladell Betts (15 carries, 70 yards, TD) wasn't bad in his stead and could soon be in a Hot Pickups blog post near you.

- Who needs Anquan Boldin? The disgruntled and disappointing Cardinals WR was scratched because of a nagging ankle injury and the field conditions in Chicago (and he was none too pleased with how he was informed of the benching) ... and Kurt Warner still threw 5 TDs.

- Do Matt Forte's 6 catches for 74 yards make up for his 5 carries for 33 yards? I say no.

- Of course Greg Olsen would catch 3 TDs after I benched him at the last minute Saturday night and subbed in Heath Miller (3 catches, 18 yards).

- I gotta give it to Cedric Benson for proving me wrong so far. He's exceeded all my expectations in Cincinnati (117 more yards and a TD vs. Baltimore) and has become a must-start, even Week 10 against Pittsburgh and beyond.

- Laurence Maroney got his biggest workload of the season (20 carries) and scored for the third straight week. Is he finally a dependable fantasy starter? I'd give him a serious look for this week's showdown with Indy.

- The Packers' James Jones now has 3 receiving TDs this year, or 1 more than teammate Greg Jennings. That ain't right.

- Do we have a new fantasy star in Bucs QB Josh Freeman (14-for-31, 205 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT)? Anything's possible, but let's see what happens after the rest of the league gets some actual film on him. Encouraging start, though.

- So Chris Chambers gets released by San Diego last week, picked up by the awful Chiefs this week, plays his first game for K.C. on Sunday and has his most productive day (70 yards, 2 TDs) since Week 2 of last year. Go figure.

- Twelve carries, 22 yards for LaDainian Tomlinson. How the mighty have fallen. Last time he played the Giants, in 2005, he busted them for 192 yards and 3 TDs. Those were the days.

- Alex Smith sure does love him some Vernon Davis (10 catches, 102 yards, both career highs).