For more on the Browns, check out SBN's Dawgs by Nature
First up in our weekly Fantasy Friday team reports are the...Cleveland Browns! They actually have a pretty favorable matchup with the Chiefs this weekend, so if you're desperate, they could be sneakily useful.
Odds are that you are in the playoffs right now. Although the Browns' offense has been the worst in football all year long, who would've ever expected that fantasy teams around the country would be considering adding members of the Browns to their roster in Week 15? Let's find out why!
START 'EM!
TE Evan Moore: Again, I'm going to point to a situation where you might have a guy like Dallas Clark on your roster. If it's determined that he will only play a half, Moore is a viable option. He only had two catches last week, but most of Quinn's incompletions came on passes over the middle to him. The windy conditions caused the throws to be just out of his each, but if the throws were better, Moore had the linebacker beat and could've broke a few plays for touchdowns. Moore appears to be Quinn's new favorite target/security blanket; even if you want a backup tight end in case of an injury to yours, Moore is definitely worth picking up. The Chiefs have been susceptible to giving up yardage and touchdowns to tight ends as well.
SIT 'EM!
RB Jerome Harrison, Chris Jennings, or Joshua Cribbs: This is way too risky of a situation (signing any of them). Cribbs saw increased activity in the Wildcat last week, but then there are some weeks where he might only see one snap out of the formation. Jennings was productive last week against the Steelers, but there's a chance his playing time was merely the result of "riding the hot hand." Unless you want to take a 50/50 chance between starting Harrison and Jennings in a flex position and dealing with the possibility of one of them getting under 10 yards for the game, don't play either of them.
WR Mohamed Massaquoi: While Quinn still seems to target Massaquoi the most out of his wide receivers, the connections just aren't happening -- last week, Massaquoi only had one catch. With Chansi Stuckey and Brian Robiskie also at the receiver position, the production of all three players is too random to make it worth starting any of them against the Chiefs. K Phil Dawson: The Browns' improvements on offense has led to more opportunities for Dawson, but not enough to warrant him starting over some of the other kickers already on your roster or on the free agent wire.
Browns' Defense: Don't get too excited about adding the Browns' defense just because they sacked Ben Roethlisberger eight times last week. It is intriguing to add them against the Chiefs' offense, but the playoffs are too important of a time to take a chance on a team that was torched by the Detroit Lions and numerous other teams this season.
GAMEDAY INSURANCE!
QB Brady Quinn: Obviously, if you have quarterbacks like Drew Brees or Kurt Warner, you're not going to bench them in favor of Quinn. However, consider a situation where the quarterback you've relied on is Peyton Manning. If Manning plays less than a half, it might be worth adding Quinn to "save" your quarterback position. Before not throwing up very well in the windy conditions as Browns stadium this past Sunday, Quinn was averaging about 24 fantasy points per game over a span of three games. Quinn hasn't thrown an interception in his past four games. The Chiefs don't have an intimidating defense, and without the wind playing a factor, Quinn can actually use the playaction fake to take shots down the field like he did prior to the Pittsburgh game. It's definitely risky to bank on Quinn over a quarterback you've played all season, but if you're definitely going to add a quarterback and will consider using him at the last minute, take him over the other free agents.