Branch or Hackett back Week 9? (1 Viewer)

[MCguidance]

Friday updates from RotoWorldeion Branch (foot) missed his third straight practice Friday, but will travel with the Seahawks to Cleveland and be a game-time decision on Sunday.Branch has been doing running and conditioning drills on the side for the last two days, so the Seahawks remain hopeful he can play. Still, there's no guarantee he'll see a full complement of snaps. The Browns-Seahawks game has a 4:05 ET start. Safer options are advised if they play earlier Sunday.Source: Seattle Times Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren says he doesn't know who his starting split end will be in Week 9 against the Browns.Holmgren will be choosing between Nate Burleson and D.J. Hackett, who is healthy after practicing without restrictions all week. Burleson did nothing to warrant keeping the starting job during his time with the first unit, so it'd be a surprise if he sees more snaps than Hackett against Cleveland.Source: Seattle Times

It's probably just a matter of time before Hackett takes the split end job from Burleson, but I'd probably wait a week on Hackett to see it play out , assuming you have a comparable WR to plug in.

I would agree with you...if they werent playing the Browns. Since they are playing the Browns, I think this is about as favorable a matchup you can insert a guy into without actually "knowing" or "waiting" to see how it plays out, don't you think?

 

[mad sweeney]

Friday updates from RotoWorldeion Branch (foot) missed his third straight practice Friday, but will travel with the Seahawks to Cleveland and be a game-time decision on Sunday.Branch has been doing running and conditioning drills on the side for the last two days, so the Seahawks remain hopeful he can play. Still, there's no guarantee he'll see a full complement of snaps. The Browns-Seahawks game has a 4:05 ET start. Safer options are advised if they play earlier Sunday.Source: Seattle Times Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren says he doesn't know who his starting split end will be in Week 9 against the Browns.Holmgren will be choosing between Nate Burleson and D.J. Hackett, who is healthy after practicing without restrictions all week. Burleson did nothing to warrant keeping the starting job during his time with the first unit, so it'd be a surprise if he sees more snaps than Hackett against Cleveland.Source: Seattle Times

I can't see him playing Branch this weekend. Week 7 Hackett had limited work in practice and was a GTD, didn't play. With no practice for Branch it's an extreme longshot that he'll play. Especially since Obo did well in his snaps. Going in with Engram, HAckett, Burleson, and Obo should be good enough to play with Cleveland. Give Branch an extra week.

 

[mad sweeney]

Friday updates from RotoWorldeion Branch (foot) missed his third straight practice Friday, but will travel with the Seahawks to Cleveland and be a game-time decision on Sunday.Branch has been doing running and conditioning drills on the side for the last two days, so the Seahawks remain hopeful he can play. Still, there's no guarantee he'll see a full complement of snaps. The Browns-Seahawks game has a 4:05 ET start. Safer options are advised if they play earlier Sunday.Source: Seattle Times Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren says he doesn't know who his starting split end will be in Week 9 against the Browns.Holmgren will be choosing between Nate Burleson and D.J. Hackett, who is healthy after practicing without restrictions all week. Burleson did nothing to warrant keeping the starting job during his time with the first unit, so it'd be a surprise if he sees more snaps than Hackett against Cleveland.Source: Seattle Times

It's probably just a matter of time before Hackett takes the split end job from Burleson, but I'd probably wait a week on Hackett to see it play out , assuming you have a comparable WR to plug in.

I would agree with you...if they werent playing the Browns. Since they are playing the Browns, I think this is about as favorable a matchup you can insert a guy into without actually "knowing" or "waiting" to see how it plays out, don't you think?

The matter of time was Wednesday at practice. Holmgren was calling Burleson out before the week 7 game and all reports of Hackett's week at practice were resoundingly positive with Hackett taking snaps as the starter. DJ will be the starter and it's not even a competition until/unless he starts dropping passes and quitting on routes. Nate does well when the ball's in his hands, but sometimes getting it there is a problem.

 

[packersfan]

Friday updates from RotoWorldeion Branch (foot) missed his third straight practice Friday, but will travel with the Seahawks to Cleveland and be a game-time decision on Sunday.Branch has been doing running and conditioning drills on the side for the last two days, so the Seahawks remain hopeful he can play. Still, there's no guarantee he'll see a full complement of snaps. The Browns-Seahawks game has a 4:05 ET start. Safer options are advised if they play earlier Sunday.Source: Seattle Times Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren says he doesn't know who his starting split end will be in Week 9 against the Browns.Holmgren will be choosing between Nate Burleson and D.J. Hackett, who is healthy after practicing without restrictions all week. Burleson did nothing to warrant keeping the starting job during his time with the first unit, so it'd be a surprise if he sees more snaps than Hackett against Cleveland.Source: Seattle Times

I can't see him playing Branch this weekend. Week 7 Hackett had limited work in practice and was a GTD, didn't play. With no practice for Branch it's an extreme longshot that he'll play. Especially since Obo did well in his snaps. Going in with Engram, HAckett, Burleson, and Obo should be good enough to play with Cleveland. Give Branch an extra week.

I'm 99% certain that's how it will shake out. No practice all week for Branch makes it extremely doubtful he plays in my opinion. However, I still think there must be something positive going on that is leading Holmgren to have him travel with the team. Perhaps Holmgren thinks two more days of rehab will get him ready to play. Just speculating but I would still find it odd to have him travel with the team if Holmgren knew for sure today he wouldn't be able to play.If Branch does sit, I think Burleson could be a sneaky play. I love Engram and Hackett this week but this one looks like a shootout and Burleson has certainly proven he can deliver for fantasy owners this season - even if his actual on-field production hasn't met Holmgren's satisfaction.

 

[mad sweeney]

Friday updates from RotoWorldeion Branch (foot) missed his third straight practice Friday, but will travel with the Seahawks to Cleveland and be a game-time decision on Sunday.Branch has been doing running and conditioning drills on the side for the last two days, so the Seahawks remain hopeful he can play. Still, there's no guarantee he'll see a full complement of snaps. The Browns-Seahawks game has a 4:05 ET start. Safer options are advised if they play earlier Sunday.Source: Seattle Times Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren says he doesn't know who his starting split end will be in Week 9 against the Browns.Holmgren will be choosing between Nate Burleson and D.J. Hackett, who is healthy after practicing without restrictions all week. Burleson did nothing to warrant keeping the starting job during his time with the first unit, so it'd be a surprise if he sees more snaps than Hackett against Cleveland.Source: Seattle Times

I can't see him playing Branch this weekend. Week 7 Hackett had limited work in practice and was a GTD, didn't play. With no practice for Branch it's an extreme longshot that he'll play. Especially since Obo did well in his snaps. Going in with Engram, HAckett, Burleson, and Obo should be good enough to play with Cleveland. Give Branch an extra week.

I'm 99% certain that's how it will shake out. No practice all week for Branch makes it extremely doubtful he plays in my opinion. However, I still think there must be something positive going on that is leading Holmgren to have him travel with the team. Perhaps Holmgren thinks two more days of rehab will get him ready to play. Just speculating but I would still find it odd to have him travel with the team if Holmgren knew for sure today he wouldn't be able to play.If Branch does sit, I think Burleson could be a sneaky play. I love Engram and Hackett this week but this one looks like a shootout and Burleson has certainly proven he can deliver for fantasy owners this season - even if his actual on-field production hasn't met Holmgren's satisfaction.

The problem with Nate is how many snaps will he get. Engram moves to slot and Obo came in at flanker for 3 WR sets. Is Burleson going to cover Engram at flanker now, a position he hasn't practiced at? Or is Obo going to continue to do that and Nate only sees action as a #4 and occasionally spelling Hackett? As long as Hackett's healthy, which by all accounts of his practice week he is, I don't see Nate getting a lot of targets. Another reason for Branch to be there is as an emergency. Holmgren's gotten caught with too few WRs on the roster due to injury to run the O he wants to. So maybe Branch is there just in case someone else goes down, but won't play otherwise.

 

[packersfan]

Friday updates from RotoWorld:

Deion Branch (foot) missed his third straight practice Friday, but will travel with the Seahawks to Cleveland and be a game-time decision on Sunday.

Branch has been doing running and conditioning drills on the side for the last two days, so the Seahawks remain hopeful he can play. Still, there's no guarantee he'll see a full complement of snaps. The Browns-Seahawks game has a 4:05 ET start. Safer options are advised if they play earlier Sunday.

Source: Seattle Times

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren says he doesn't know who his starting split end will be in Week 9 against the Browns.

Holmgren will be choosing between Nate Burleson and D.J. Hackett, who is healthy after practicing without restrictions all week. Burleson did nothing to warrant keeping the starting job during his time with the first unit, so it'd be a surprise if he sees more snaps than Hackett against Cleveland.

Source: Seattle Times

I can't see him playing Branch this weekend. Week 7 Hackett had limited work in practice and was a GTD, didn't play. With no practice for Branch it's an extreme longshot that he'll play. Especially since Obo did well in his snaps. Going in with Engram, HAckett, Burleson, and Obo should be good enough to play with Cleveland. Give Branch an extra week.

I'm 99% certain that's how it will shake out. No practice all week for Branch makes it extremely doubtful he plays in my opinion. However, I still think there must be something positive going on that is leading Holmgren to have him travel with the team. Perhaps Holmgren thinks two more days of rehab will get him ready to play. Just speculating but I would still find it odd to have him travel with the team if Holmgren knew for sure today he wouldn't be able to play.If Branch does sit, I think Burleson could be a sneaky play. I love Engram and Hackett this week but this one looks like a shootout and Burleson has certainly proven he can deliver for fantasy owners this season - even if his actual on-field production hasn't met Holmgren's satisfaction.

The problem with Nate is how many snaps will he get. Engram moves to slot and Obo came in at flanker for 3 WR sets.

This is what I asked before. Do we know for sure this is how it will shake out? If so, than Obo is the sleeper pick here. Hackett, though, has also worked at flanker in this offense so he could move there in 3-WR sets. Has he practiced at flanker at all this season - in camp or minicamps etc? If not, I think we can safely predict how this will shake out then:Engram- slot

Hackett- split end

Obo-flanker

If Hackett hasn't taken any reps this season at flanker I think it's doubtful Holmgren puts him there in a game unless he absolutely has to. But if Hackett has seen practice time at flanker now that opens the door for Burleson to get on the field with the 3-WR set looking as follows:

Engram-slot

Hackett-flanker

Burleson-split end

The reason I keep asking is because if you're in a larger league and/or killed with byes or injuries this week that third WR for Seattle could be a very nice pickup if Branch doesn't play. I fully expect this to be a shootout between Anderson and Hasselbeck so that means I'd be starting Edwards and Winslow (obviously) and Jurevicius for Cleveland and Engram, Hackett for Seattle and then give strong consideration to that third WR for the Seahawks as a high upside pick.

 

[mad sweeney]

Friday updates from RotoWorld:

Deion Branch (foot) missed his third straight practice Friday, but will travel with the Seahawks to Cleveland and be a game-time decision on Sunday.

Branch has been doing running and conditioning drills on the side for the last two days, so the Seahawks remain hopeful he can play. Still, there's no guarantee he'll see a full complement of snaps. The Browns-Seahawks game has a 4:05 ET start. Safer options are advised if they play earlier Sunday.

Source: Seattle Times

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren says he doesn't know who his starting split end will be in Week 9 against the Browns.

Holmgren will be choosing between Nate Burleson and D.J. Hackett, who is healthy after practicing without restrictions all week. Burleson did nothing to warrant keeping the starting job during his time with the first unit, so it'd be a surprise if he sees more snaps than Hackett against Cleveland.

Source: Seattle Times

I can't see him playing Branch this weekend. Week 7 Hackett had limited work in practice and was a GTD, didn't play. With no practice for Branch it's an extreme longshot that he'll play. Especially since Obo did well in his snaps. Going in with Engram, HAckett, Burleson, and Obo should be good enough to play with Cleveland. Give Branch an extra week.

I'm 99% certain that's how it will shake out. No practice all week for Branch makes it extremely doubtful he plays in my opinion. However, I still think there must be something positive going on that is leading Holmgren to have him travel with the team. Perhaps Holmgren thinks two more days of rehab will get him ready to play. Just speculating but I would still find it odd to have him travel with the team if Holmgren knew for sure today he wouldn't be able to play.If Branch does sit, I think Burleson could be a sneaky play. I love Engram and Hackett this week but this one looks like a shootout and Burleson has certainly proven he can deliver for fantasy owners this season - even if his actual on-field production hasn't met Holmgren's satisfaction.

The problem with Nate is how many snaps will he get. Engram moves to slot and Obo came in at flanker for 3 WR sets.

This is what I asked before. Do we know for sure this is how it will shake out? If so, than Obo is the sleeper pick here. Hackett, though, has also worked at flanker in this offense so he could move there in 3-WR sets. Has he practiced at flanker at all this season - in camp or minicamps etc? If not, I think we can safely predict how this will shake out then:Engram- slot

Hackett- split end

Obo-flanker

If Hackett hasn't taken any reps this season at flanker I think it's doubtful Holmgren puts him there in a game unless he absolutely has to. But if Hackett has seen practice time at flanker now that opens the door for Burleson to get on the field with the 3-WR set looking as follows:

Engram-slot

Hackett-flanker

Burleson-split end

The reason I keep asking is because if you're in a larger league and/or killed with byes or injuries this week that third WR for Seattle could be a very nice pickup if Branch doesn't play. I fully expect this to be a shootout between Anderson and Hasselbeck so that means I'd be starting Edwards and Winslow (obviously) and Jurevicius for Cleveland and Engram, Hackett for Seattle and then give strong consideration to that third WR for the Seahawks as a high upside pick.

From all that I've read he hasn't practiced at flanker since last year, he was slated to be the starting SE. And I've seen nothing that said he worked this week at anything but SE. I think you could be right about the WR3, but it's a coin flip as to who that might be. If you get special teams TDs for Burleson maybe that's a plus in his favor. I'm not as worried about the Cleveland O. Brian Russell has been schooling the defense on Cleveland all week, including how to deal with the field itself. His inside info helped hold down the Bengals, I expect the D to be ready to handle Cleveland. Not every team is gets to have Julian Peterson manning up with Winslow.

 

[Enforcer]

For what its worth, Engram has been practicing at flanker all week.

 

[mad sweeney]

For what its worth, Engram has been practicing at flanker all week.

That's because he's starting at flanker again, that's a given. Except in 3 WR sets when he'll switch to slot. Which is what we've been discussing.

 

[Enforcer]

For what its worth, Engram has been practicing at flanker all week.

That's because he's starting at flanker again, that's a given. Except in 3 WR sets when he'll switch to slot. Which is what we've been discussing.

Understood. Thanks for the clarification.Not sure if anyone brought this up, but I expect Pollard being out will impact this as well. I remember Sando posting a breakdown of all the formations last year. They ran tons of three receiver sets when their tight ends were all down.Will be interesting to see how this plays out against such a porous pass defense.

 

[plymkr]

bump

After 3 pages...is Hackett startable this week? Over guys like Chambers or Ca. Johnson? Roddy White? I am looking for a big game frome someone because my opponent has a great team. If Branch is out,could Hackett be that guy? I know WR are a crapshoot. Would anybody give up a Portis type for a Branch?

Branch's #ers look good in 3 games, but he isn't necessarily the guy I feel will help me to the Championship. Or is he?

 

[LBH]

i think Hackett is going to have a good game. Im playing him over Bowe and Calvin Johnson

 

[MCguidance]

bump After 3 pages...is Hackett startable this week? Over guys like Chambers or Ca. Johnson? Roddy White? I am looking for a big game frome someone because my opponent has a great team. If Branch is out,could Hackett be that guy? I know WR are a crapshoot. Would anybody give up a Portis type for a Branch?Branch's #ers look good in 3 games, but he isn't necessarily the guy I feel will help me to the Championship. Or is he?

I am going to take my chance with Hackett over the likes of Mark Clayton. I think that if Mark Clayton was the MC of old (when he had two very good games against Pittsburgh last year) I would give Hackett another week. But given his very juicy offensive matchup against the Brownies, this is as good of a chance he can get to start off his year (not technically the start, but basically). Branch has not practiced, but he did make the trip, which leads me to believe that he is getting there, but is a GTD. I would not give up Portis for Branch (he did go for Wes Welker in my team - both teams filled a need, actually) unless you have a plethora of RBs and a glaring need at WR. Hackett may be a decent WR3 play, youll just have to take a risk to find out definitively.

 

[JaxJokers]

i think Hackett is going to have a good game. Im playing him over Bowe and Calvin Johnson

I'm playing Hackett over Steve Smith and Ronald Curry in a PPR league. He'll start along with TO and Brandon Marshall.

 

[Tom Servo]

i think Hackett is going to have a good game. Im playing him over Bowe and Calvin Johnson

I'm playing Hackett over Steve Smith and Ronald Curry in a PPR league. He'll start along with TO and Brandon Marshall.

I'm starting DJ as my WR4 this week ahead of Hilliard; I'm 3-5, what do I have to lose?

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

I am really considering playing Hackett over Driver this week. He has a great matchup and Driver has been avg as of late b/c of the other WRs Favre has. I can easily see Hackett scoring at least 1 TD.

 

[shuke]

Sorry if I am coming across a little pompous on this one...

No you're not. You're not sorry in the least. Especially when you follow it up with this.

The arrogance of people that say "I watched him and I know talent"...please! None of you are scouting for any NFL teams so excuse me if I giggle when you guys start the DJ Hackett hype.

Arrogance? NFL scout? No one has claimed any such thing. I told you what I've observed. Other Seattle homers have said similar things. You say you're sorry and then spout off like that? Are you always like this? Who's being arrogant? My perception is you're trying to convince someone you "know" when you are clearly guessing.If you want to discount the folks that have seen the guy play a lot, fine, but there's no need to be insulting like that. Just don't act like you've got the answers when you haven't seen near the amount of play on the field that the locals have. Most importantly, fans opinions don't carry near the weight of the coaching staff. Our opinions mean next to nothing when compared to Holmgren. He controls the playing time. I'm fine letting Holmgren determine where the talent lies. Further, I'm farily confident that Hackett starts ahead of Burleson as long as he's healthy. If I'm wrong, no sweat.

Well, I think I'll let others vouch for my board credibility and let those bones fall where they may. I watch a lot of Seattle games for a variety of reasons...you know with that Direct TV stuff you don't have to be a local to watch the games bro. (Can you dial it down a touch too so we can have a real discussion)Now you completely ignored all the facts I put up which IMO discredits your posts...and you have a lot of obvious homerism for the Seahawks...and also your ability to be unbiased is low...you sound more like a fan that is selling me something. Now please don't take offense, but I have to acknowledge Rover who is a diehard Seahawks fan, but isn't a homer about it and can actually rate the Seahawks and their FF positional players. And also I want to emphasize that I own Hasselbeck in a lot of leagues, I think I have a good beat on that Seahawk passing attack, and from what I can see this season, it basically is the Matt Hasselbeck show. They lost DJax and his 1,100/8 TD a year, and they have replaced it with a mish mash of players that have been masking a skeleton crew of sorts at WR...having the WR1, and WR2 go down and still being able to win games and for the Qb to post pretty solid numbers along the way is quite a task. I don't think Hackett is anything special at the moment...you feel differently, fine. I invite you into the weekly Qb and RB threads I do each and every week...I have a feeling you read them already but if not, please drop in and post away, we(the SP) love for some heated debate in those threads...but don't take things in here so personal.

You're something else.

 

[Bodysnatcher]

Friday updates from RotoWorldeion Branch (foot) missed his third straight practice Friday, but will travel with the Seahawks to Cleveland and be a game-time decision on Sunday.Branch has been doing running and conditioning drills on the side for the last two days, so the Seahawks remain hopeful he can play. Still, there's no guarantee he'll see a full complement of snaps. The Browns-Seahawks game has a 4:05 ET start. Safer options are advised if they play earlier Sunday.Source: Seattle Times Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren says he doesn't know who his starting split end will be in Week 9 against the Browns.Holmgren will be choosing between Nate Burleson and D.J. Hackett, who is healthy after practicing without restrictions all week. Burleson did nothing to warrant keeping the starting job during his time with the first unit, so it'd be a surprise if he sees more snaps than Hackett against Cleveland.Source: Seattle Times

I can't see him playing Branch this weekend. Week 7 Hackett had limited work in practice and was a GTD, didn't play. With no practice for Branch it's an extreme longshot that he'll play. Especially since Obo did well in his snaps. Going in with Engram, HAckett, Burleson, and Obo should be good enough to play with Cleveland. Give Branch an extra week.

Well, I think that holding Hackett out longer had more to do with the fact that they had a bye week coming up in week 8. So, there wasn't any point in taking a chance at rushing him too soon, when he had 2 weeks to get to 100% if he sat out that game.

 

[mad sweeney]

Friday updates from RotoWorldeion Branch (foot) missed his third straight practice Friday, but will travel with the Seahawks to Cleveland and be a game-time decision on Sunday.Branch has been doing running and conditioning drills on the side for the last two days, so the Seahawks remain hopeful he can play. Still, there's no guarantee he'll see a full complement of snaps. The Browns-Seahawks game has a 4:05 ET start. Safer options are advised if they play earlier Sunday.Source: Seattle Times Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren says he doesn't know who his starting split end will be in Week 9 against the Browns.Holmgren will be choosing between Nate Burleson and D.J. Hackett, who is healthy after practicing without restrictions all week. Burleson did nothing to warrant keeping the starting job during his time with the first unit, so it'd be a surprise if he sees more snaps than Hackett against Cleveland.Source: Seattle Times

I can't see him playing Branch this weekend. Week 7 Hackett had limited work in practice and was a GTD, didn't play. With no practice for Branch it's an extreme longshot that he'll play. Especially since Obo did well in his snaps. Going in with Engram, HAckett, Burleson, and Obo should be good enough to play with Cleveland. Give Branch an extra week.

Well, I think that holding Hackett out longer had more to do with the fact that they had a bye week coming up in week 8. So, there wasn't any point in taking a chance at rushing him too soon, when he had 2 weeks to get to 100% if he sat out that game.

And.... using the same logic, even if it's only 1 extra week, if Branch isn't ready to go they'll let him sit another week to heal. He didn't practice all week, there's very little chance he plays this week.

 

[PlayaHata]

I'm trying to decide if I should start Hackett over any of Marshall, Welker, or (Roy) Williams. He's on my bench at the moment but I'm thinking of sitting him over Williams for a few reasons:

1) DET is playing DEN who has a very good pass D (at least until last week)

2) DET should be able to run the ball easily and often against the weak DEN run defense

3) Branch is injured and may not play, potentially making Hackett the #1 receiving option

4) I'm playing against Hassellbeck

Does this make me crazy?

 

[[scooter]]

Nate's had the dropsies

Burleson has only caught 20 of 47 passes thrown his way. Obomanu has been even worse (6 of 20).

 

[plymkr]

I'm trying to decide if I should start Hackett over any of Marshall, Welker, or (Roy) Williams. He's on my bench at the moment but I'm thinking of sitting him over Williams for a few reasons:1) DET is playing DEN who has a very good pass D (at least until last week)2) DET should be able to run the ball easily and often against the weak DEN run defense3) Branch is injured and may not play, potentially making Hackett the #1 receiving option4) I'm playing against HassellbeckDoes this make me crazy?

No. He is on my WW, and I want to pick him up and start him ove Ca. Johnson. The asst coach forum tells me to play CJ...I need a big game and I am scared of Denver pass D. CLE v. SEA should be high scoring. Someone has to catch the passes in SEA! I think you are sane, and I may go against everyone's advice and do it as well.