Did you get the text(s) yet?

“My season’s over!”

“2-4? Might as well start playing for the first pick, heh heh?”

“Bobby Wagner hates me!”

Puh-lease. They aren’t fooling you and they surely aren’t fooling me.

And you leave Ricky Bobby Wagner out of this. You don’t put this on him.

Or maybe you should, he’s really struggling.

We are at the pseudo halfway point of the 2018 fantasy football season, but don’t y’all start brewing the sympathy tea quite yet. Repeat after me:

“Never give up,

Never surrender,

No white flag,

Unless your Vance Joseph and Denver.”

So begins the yearly endeavor that we all secretly love fantasy football the most for: it’s #COMEBACKSZN, baby!

So fire up those deep sleepers…

Start the man who you always want to start but just can’t bring yourself to…

Got a hunch that the LT on the Team X is a yet to be exposed as a turnstile? Go get the DE or DT then set him and forget him…

Don’t you dare take the floor play! Reach for the-

I’m doing too much, I need to chill. My bad, I get real worked up about fake football.

Look, now may be the fall of our discontent, fellow 0-6, 1-5, 2-4ers. But it just as easily can evolve into the winter of our revival.

As mother Mermel so poignantly reminds us, always dig deep my fantasy brethren; the good stuff is at the very bottom.

Unfortunately, many an IDP hit their own sort of [rock] bottom and left injured this week, so let’s get to el hospital before we hit the farm for some classico buffalo cookies.

2018 Fantasy Football Week 7 IDP Waivers

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Week 6 Infirmary

Nick Vigil, LB, Cincinnati Bengals

The #Bengals are expected to be without prolific LB Nick Vigil for about a month, source said, as he suffered a sprained MCL on Sunday. It came on a cut block in the first quarter. — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 15, 2018



Oy, Vey! Just when you think you found one of this year’s diamonds in the rough, Queen City gets hit hard. If fake football were easy, this would be perfect for Burfict (throwin it back to ourselves), but he’s done the thinkable and angered basically everyone in another loss to the Steelers. Looks like he won’t be suspended but it never hurts to dig deeper and be prepared.

Oy, Rey! Vincent Rey is more than serviceable as 2-4 week pick-up in Vigil’s absence. He’s on the wrong side of 30 (aren’t we all), but he’s been serviceable the last few years (11 starts in 2017, 12 in 2016) and isn’t that far removed from a top 15 LB season.

Next Men Up: Vontaze Burfict & Vincent Rey

Joe Schobert, LB, Cleveland Browns

LB Joe Schobert “will be down for a little while.” Week to week, Hue Jackson says. — Andrew Gribble (@Andrew_Gribble) October 15, 2018



Oh Ohio…thoughts and prayers to you. Why can’t Ohio NFL teams ever have nice things for more than a minute? I was very much looking forward to sharing BrownsZone writer Scott Petrak’s piece about Schobert. Have at it anyways.

First and foremost, bump Jamie Collins Sr. and Christian Kirksey; they’re gonna have to eat a lot more, especially after last week’s anti-tackling clinic via Melvin Gordon.

Directly? James Burgess Jr. is set to take over as he did this weekend; he started 9 games last year and got after the quarterback (4 sacks, T-2nd on team) and is an undrafted/chip on the shoulder kinda guy.

*Sigh* Charlie Brown. Cleveland Browns. It all makes sense.

Next Man Up: James Burgess Jr.

Marcus Maye, DB, New York Jets

#Jets safety Marcus Maye is expected to miss 3-4 weeks with a thumb injury suffered in yesterday’s win over #Colts, I’m told. Maye left the stadium in a cast last night. — Manish Mehta (@MMehtaNYDN) October 15, 2018



Right when we got him back – maybe nobody is allowed to have nice things? Doug Middleton was the man who kept the seat warm before, and he did an admirable job doing so in three starts: 19 solo, 4 ast, 2 pds.

Sam Darnold and Co. are moving the ball, they’re keeping these games healthy for back and forths; Middleton is a get.

Next Man Up: Doug Middleton

The 9-1-1 Rundown

There’s a bit more to get through but not a lot of time, so let’s train through some other infirmary news…

Tennessee Titans‘ LB Wesley Woodyard is expected to return this week, apologies to LB Jayon Brown owners…

Staying in Ca$hville, OLB Derrick Morgan is expected to miss a few weeks, so it might be time to for the world to finally meet an uncaged OLB Harold Landry…

Adam Schefter says Detroit Lions 2018 All-Pro Returner and DB Jamal Agnew is headed to IR but could return if the Lions stay in the playoff hunt…

Atlanta Falcons HC Dan Quinn says that DT Grady Jarrett could return this week…

Minnesota Vikings 1st round pick DB Mike Hughes is headed to IR, so fire up DB Mackensie Alexander, who got to Josh Rosen for a rare DB sack last week…

Sacksonville Jaguars DE Calais Campbell left Sunday’s Zeke-Beat-Down with DE Taven Bryan taking his place, so monitor as the week goes on.

Week 7 Pickups

Matt Milano, LB, Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano’s best performance of the season sees him named as a Secret Superstar by @PFF_Neil. See the rest of the list below: ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ https://t.co/JnjRpWLtHl pic.twitter.com/IwcBbaBnsD — Pro Football Focus (@PFF) October 10, 2018



Ah, the classic Milano cookie from Pepperidge Farm. Delectable. A welcomed cheat day treat. One could go as far as saying underappreciated.

The same could be said about Matthew Milano, PFF’s third-ranked rookie linebacker last year.

Now enjoying a continuation of his breakout season on a previously underrated/currently emerging Bills defense, Milano is a budding star. He’s been on the field for nearly all snaps in multiple games this year, including weeks 5 and 6.

Allow BuffaloRumbling.com’s Skarekrow to walk you through an extensive analysis of Milano’s game tape from Buffalo’s narrow week 5 win over the Titans.

All Monkees should fast become believers. Any piece of this Buffalo defense we can get into our lineups is worthy of a pickup. Especially Matt Milano.

Damontae Kazee, S, Atlanta Falcons

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I know; I’m late on this one. Since week 2 when he was ejected for the ten-millionth cheap shot on Cam Newton, Kazee has played every defensive snap (94% week 3, but every was great for dramatic purposes) for a Falcons teams constantly involved in pass-happy shootouts.

He has a pick in three straight games, including one of my personal favorites this year, when he ripped the ball from AB84 at the end of the first half of the Falcons Week 5 loss at Pittsburgh.

This one’s a no-brainer. If he’s still out there in your league, go get him.

Jonathan Allen, DE, & Da’Ron Payne, NT, Washington Redskins

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The Redskins are instilling a classical approach to winning football games; they’re building on both sides of the trenches.

Let’s focus on the defensive side of the ball; Jonathan Allen (2017 1st Rd Pick) and Da’Ron Payne (2018 1st Rd Pick) are teaming up in the interior and getting more impactful, week by week.

Allen is coming off a Lisfranc injury in a rookie season that saw him dominate through four games before being sent to the IR bin.

Payne is 21, he dominated in last year’s National Championship game, and his usage along with Allen’s has leveled out at around ~80% since the Redskin’s week 4 bye.

Unimpressed? DC Greg Manusky runs a 3-4 on paper, but in the NFC East and in this modern NFL in general, the increased amount of 3 WR sets leads to adaptive personnel alterations.

Ryan Kerrigan and these two gentlemen are on the field at the max usage they will see. Payne personally has seen a 20% increase in play time after a ~60% usage rate in weeks 1 and 2.

The next three weeks bring Dallas and scrambling Dak, the Giants and mouth-breathin’ Eli, and Matt Ryan and the pass-happy Falcons; all three teams give up good to great numbers to lineman.

Get in on these two Crimson Tiders now, before it’s too late. ROLL TIDE!

Just an FYB, I’ve been repeatedly uttering “Da’Ron Paynnnnnnnnne” like JR Smith says “LeBron Jammmmmmmmes,” for no apparent reason, and it’s single-handedly ending all my interpersonal relationships.

Su’a Cravens, DB, Denver Broncos

Cleared to PRACTICE 👌🏽 see yal against the Texans ! #2moWeeks — Su’a Kristopher Cravens (@iammsuzy) October 15, 2018



If we (F6P) are going to ask you (reader) to dig deep, then we have to back it up with some iron shovels and deep digging of our own. Remember Su’a?

The Redskin’s second-round pick in 2016, Cravens was traded to Denver in the offseason after dealing with family issues; admittedly, he comes with the caveat that many thought he had quit on the game before returning and being traded.

You can peep some of his rookie year highlights here. Music is NSFW (I think? be safe, amigos) so mute on.

As of this writing, he has been officially designated to return from IR by the Broncos front office after suffering a knee injury in the preseason finale.

He can start practicing immediately and is eligible for game action week 9 when the Broncos host the Texans. Lamar Miller and Deshaun Watson plodding right into Su’a’s impaling shoulder? I know you can see it. FEAST!

The Broncos have been god awful against the run for the better part of two years. Isaiah Crowell busted them for 15/249/1, and I do not even have to mention what Gurley did last week.

Methinks fancy Vancy Joseph (or speculative interim coach) would surely deploy a hard-hitting safety that also can cover the TE and RB out of the backfield.

As Adam Aizer mentioned/alluded to on the 10/14 CBS Fantasy Football Today Podcast, it’s the Broncos’ DB’s ineptitude that’s hurting them the most against the run.

Go #StashSu’a

Fantasy football is not just luck; it’s also when and how you seize every and any opportunity.

Regret nothing.

Go HUGE, then linger for a bit, then stumble home drunk and rowdy, regardless of the outcome.

But don’t you ever regret playing the deep sleeping, questionable floorage, out-of-nowhere IDP you believe in.

It’s officially #F6PCOMEBACKSZN

Check out the rest of our 2018 Fantasy Football content from our great team of writers.