Studs

Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, JAC – There is certainly no better place to start than the guy who ended my season and the season of many others.  MJD went absolutely crazy this week against the Buccaneers and totalled FOUR TDs on 136 all-purpose yards.  He was the highest scoring player from week 14 and if he can carry the Jaguars’ offense, he can carry your fantasy team too.

Tony Romo, QB, DAL – Yes, Dallas lost the game.  Tony Romo still had a big statistical performance for fantasy owners after starting RB DeMarco Murray went down early in the game.  Felix Jones filled in well against a soft rush defense but it was Romo’s 321 yards and 4 TDs that really kept Dallas in this game and it took some late heroics from Eli to take this game from Dallas.

Shonn Greene, RB, NYJ – Assuming you didn’t reach for him as your RB1 at draft time, you may have gotten by and into the playoffs with Green as your RB2. Good for you if you did because now that he is on fire late in the year, he is fast becoming one of the best second RBs that you could ask for. And you have to love a player that is at his best when it matters most for you.

Julio Jones, WR, ATL – These big-play guys can be frustrating but you have to start them when they have a soft match up.  And if you did this week with Jones, it paid off in a big way.  He only managed 3 catches but they totaled 104 yards and two scores.

Rob Gronkowski, TE, NE – The only thing crazier than how unbelievably good Gronkowski has been this season is how early he will be taken in fantasy drafts next year.  He has already set the single-season TD record which was previously 13 for tight ends.  His current tally is 15 and counting with 3 games remaining. I heard an interesting fact on ESPN’s Fantasy Focus Podcast this week; If you took away all the TDs from Gronkowski and let all the other players keep theirs, he would still be the 4th highest scoring TE in the NFL for fantasy.

Marques Colston, WR, NO – The Saints offense did not look like it has in recent weeks.  They don’t play near as well outside and the Titans secondary did a great job of bottling up the receivers of New Orleans until the 4th quarter.  When it mattered most, to win the game, Brees found Colston twice on scoring plays and managed to squeak out a win.

Duds

Calvin Johnson, WR, DET – The Lions passing game was working pretty well with a soft match up this week and yet Calvin Johnson only had 29 receiving yards and 11 rushing.  Three fantasy points is not enough from the top receiver in the NFL for fantasy football and it hurt a lot of people in a bad way. You have to keep starting him but I don’t expect teams to stop double covering him anytime soon.

Jermichael Finley, TE, GB – Zilch. Zippo. Nadda.  This is exactly how many points and catches Finley had this week.  Just one target too, that is what legitimately scares me. I expected more from Finley this year but his targets have been low and aren’t getting any better.  He is not a top 5 option like he was drafted as.

Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, NYG – Hey, Bradshaw… how about you show up to team meetings…  He was benched for the first half of the game and wasn’t that productive in the 2nd half. Brandon Jacobs ran well in his place but there wasn’t much warning about this and it destroyed a lot of match ups this week.

Greg Jennings, WR, GB – This isn’t the first time Jennings’ numbers have been low but it is the first time that the entire Packers passing game had a mediocre day.  That’s what happens when the running game gets the job done for a change. Don’t be too worried about it if you made it through but you could easily have been eliminated by Jennings’ poor performance.

No Comments »

Pickups

Titus Young, WR, DET – In the past few games opponents have left Calvin Johnson in double teams all game long and have forced Stafford to look elsewhere in order to move the ball down the field. Since the double teams have been locked on Megatron, the biggest beneficiary has been Titus Young.  He averaged over 20 yards per catch on 4 grabs and had a TD too.  Very flex-worthy and will be climbing my rankings quickly this post-season.

Kahlil Bell, RB, CHI – For some reason I don’t think Chicago is going to trust Marion Barber so much after a TERRIBLE performance against Tebow.  Barber stepped out of bounds when they were trying to run clock and limit Tebow’s clock late in the game and then fumbled the ball away in overtime just as the Bears entered into field goal range. Bell had a decent game on a limited number of touches and should see more work as the Bears try and limp into the playoffs.

Demaryius Thomas, WR, DEN – Thomas hasn’t looked that great to me on film but after two weeks of being Tebow’s guy, he has to have fantasy value.  Thomas has to be above Decker in my rankings this week but that could change a few times over the rest of the season.  Ideally you don’t need to start Thomas but pick him up to avoid an opponent getting a big game from him against you.

Ryan Grant, RB, GB – You just may have had the bye this past week in the playoffs and now you are stuck trying to fill Forte’s spot.  You also may have to fill DeMarco Murray’s spot for next week.  Ryan Grant came back to life this week with a huge game and with Kansas City on the schedule for next week, I expect Grant to get a shot first.  I have a strong feeling that there will be a lot of carries to go around late in this one.

Matt Moore, QB, MIA – The Dolphins have been a much improved ball team as of late and they play the Bills in week 15.  Buffalo, even when they were on fire, gave up big numbers on defense.  Now they aren’t even getting the turnovers anymore and injuries have decimated the team.  Moore would make a very solid fill-in next week or a viable QB2.

Dump List

Reggie Wayne, WR, IND – Garcon really is just targeted more than Wayne and has been much more productive with these targets.  Neither have been good but you can just drop Wayne now because the match ups are not getting any better.

Chris Ogbonnaya, RB, CLE – I have come across a lot of people that still have this guy on their bench and there is no need for that. The backfield is too crowded and there are not enough carries to go around.

Deion Branch, WR, NE – He is too inconsistent to start and if your opponents are well-off at the WR position, drop Branch to take Grant of Bell away from them.  It isn’t grimy, it’s smart!

Ricky Williams, RB, BAL – I would rather have a guy with more upside than hold Williams.  Unless your a rice owner… then he is just a very smart handcuff.

Matt Hasselbeck, QB, TEN – There are a lot of reasons to dump Hasselbeck.  His numbers are down, he’s hurt and even if he is healthy the Titans might leave Locker in there.

No Comments »

Dallas Clark, TE, IND – Active

Billy Cundiff, K, BAL – Active

Josh Freeman, QB, TB – Active

Kyle Orton, QB, KC – Inactive

Jeremy Maclin, WR, PHI – Active

Adrian Peterson, RB, MIN – Inactive

Christian Ponder, QB, MIN – Active

Kevin Walker, WR, HOU – Active

Kevin Smith, RB, DET – Inactive

Nate Washington, WR, TEN – Active

No Comments »

Question 1: Asked by @E_RICHT5F3LD

There are a ton of options at QB in my league who should I go with? Tebow, Moore, Sanchez, Smith, Flacco, Dalton, Fitzpatrick or Rivers.

Answer

I would have to say that it’s Tebow time!  Unless your league has some goofy scoring, I would take the consistency that Tebow provides.  His rushing ability has made it so that he is able to put up a solid point total every week.  This week he faces off against a tough Bears D but they should be able to wear down Chicago’s defense by keeping their offense off the field.  Without Cutler or Forte to help extend drives and win the field position battle on offense, I don’t see how they are able to bottle up the consistent and punishing run-game of the Broncos.

Question 2: Asked by @JoshVitale

Who do I start at Flex: Plaxico, Benson, D.Moore or K.Smith (if healthy)? Or should I just quit #fantasyfootball?

Answer

Quitters never prosper Josh… Play Benson.  He has a rough match up and while he is probably going to have a mediocre at best week, he is a feature back and therefore will see enough carries to make him worth the start.  We can reasonably expect A.J. Green to force Houston to respect the deep ball and this will open a few running lanes for Benson.  Whether or not he disappoints will come down to whether or not he punches one in but I think you have to play him in the playoffs, where risks tend to back fire.

No Comments »

Giants at Cowboys

If your a football fan, you have to watch this game.  The Giants and Cowboys have to play each other twice still and Dallas has just a one game lead for first place in the NFC East. New York lost to the Packers last week and the Cowboys had a HUGE opportunity to go up by two games against the Arizona Cardinals but they blew it and lost in overtime.  The Giants have had a lot of trouble stopping opposing running backs over the past month to month and a half as teams have really forced the running game in an effort to slow the elite pass rush of New York. Last week the Cowboys made a concerted effort to get Felix Jones more involved and this limited the number of carries that DeMarco Murray saw.  This strategy led to a disappointing performance for both backs and by the end of the game, it was back to the DeMarco Murray show but it was just too late. On the flip-side the Giants have one of the best wide receiver tandems in the NFL and fantasy-owners can go ahead and expect the top 10 performances of both Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz to continue against a very average Cowboys secondary that is currently ranked 14th in the league. The bottom line for fantasy owners is that all the offensive players that you have been starting have to be started again.  Some crazy things happen when two NFC East teams face off and when the playoff implications are THIS high, I think we can expect more of a shoot-out than a defensive struggle over field position.  Miles Austin should be active in this game assuming he finds a way to practice without a setback but I think the Cowboys will continue to use Laurent Robinson in some of the 2 wide receiver sets.  I like the Cowboys to squeak out a win here after such a disappointing game last week with a heavy dose of DeMarco Murray in the running game to keep Eli Manning and his slew of receivers on the sideline.

Texans at Bengals

I hope you like defense because your going to see it in this game.  Despite adding Jake Delhomme and Jeff Garcia to the roster, Houston will continue to start T.J. Yates at QB and rely on him limiting mistakes and taking what the Bengals defense give him.  This game will be about field position and field goals and as a result, you have to downgrade all your fantasy options out of this game.  Arian Foster and A.J. Green remain must-starts due to their track record of performing admirably regardless of match up and to a lesser extent, Cedric Benson also retains enough value to be a decent starter this week.  A.J. Green has been incredibly consistent and has been able to beat every secondary deep with one exception, The 49ers back in week 3.  Houston’s defense has been great this season and is one of the best that Green will have to play this season but after remaining a top 10 receiver against the Steelers twice and the Browns, who are surprisingly the best pass defense in the NFL so far this season, I am not going to bench him now.  Andy Dalton however is not likely to do much more than find Green on one big play so I would definitely look elsewhere as opposed to starting Dalton. Anyone not mentioned needs to be left on your bench unless they are a kicker and even the guys that are mentioned as starters anyways are easily capable of being a disappointment so tread carefully and hope your studs come out of this game with a decent number of points.  I like the Bengals to win this CLOSE game because they are mildly able to pass the ball and eventually Benson will wear out this Texans defense.

Bears at Broncos

Speaking of defensive match-ups… The offense-less Bears are facing off against the story of the past month named Tim Tebow.  Tebow has just been winning games in whatever way has been available to him.  This game could easily be 6-3 going into the 4th quarter (or Tebow-time) and yet by the time it is all said and done, Tebow should be in the area of 20 fantasy points.  Regardless of how well Tebow plays, his ability to run the ball for positive yardage every time he tries translates into a very consistent fantasy QB.  Most leagues also only give 4 points for a passing TD so when Tebow runs one in, it means an extra 2 points.  Tebow remains a top 10 guy for fantasy owners and Willis McGahee is also a very quality RB2 option despite the rough match up.  I think the grind-it-out style of the Broncos will eventually break the Bears D after their offense gets almost nothing accomplished on the game.  I wouldn’t start a single Bear on offense unless you lost Forte and are desperate for an RB, then you can play Barber but do NOT expect much at all from him. Eric Decker is still a poor flex-play option for standard leagues as he is the most likely of the Broncos receivers to catch a deep ball.  Make Thomas have a big game in consecutive weeks before you risk starting him in the playoffs. The Broncos continue their unpredictable run for the divisional title and win this one.

No Comments »

Love

Percy Harvin, WR, MIN – Harvin has been great the last couple of weeks.  He has proven his worth as an impact player on that offense and I think he will still have a ton of upside even if Peterson returns.  He wouldn’t quite be a top 10 guy though because of all the carries that he sees with Gerhart carrying the load.

Marshawn Lynch, RB, SEA – Lynch is the hottest back in the NFL at the moment and he is almost sure to run over the Rams as well this week. St. Louis is ranked dead last in the league in rush defense and the Seattle offense has not had any consistency until Lynch started stepping up 5 weeks ago.  This is probably his last week of considerable production given the match ups coming up down the road.

Matthew Stafford, QB, DET – Stafford faces off against the Vikings this week, who have allowed the most fantasy points per game to opposing QBs. I am expecting big things from both Stafford and Calvin Johnson and just in time for the playoffs.

DeMarco Murray, RB, DAL – Last week Felix Jones was given a chance again to be the difference maker that they hoped for and it was against a soft Cardinals rush defense.  This backfired big time on Dallas and I think Jason Garrett will have to go back to using Murray as the feature back.  New York has allowed some big rushing performances recently and Murray is the Cowboys’ best chance to take sole possession of the division lead this week.

A.J. Green, WR, CIN – If you own Green, you wouldn’t be caught dead benching him.  The match up is rough but at this point you can’t care.  He has managed at least one big play in every game and has been one of the most consistent and productive receivers in the league this year.  He deserves his top 10 status and there are no match ups that will bring him below that mark at this point.

Hate

Mike Wallace, WR, PIT – Wallace faces off against Joe Haden this week.  On top of that, Ray Rice created a pretty solid blue print for dismantling the Browns on the ground.  I fully expect Pittsburgh to keep the ball on the ground like most teams do. To provide some stats, the Browns are only allowing an average of 11.7 fantasy points per game and are the only team that have allowed less than 100 receptions to be made against them.

LeGarrette Blount, RB, TB – The Buccaneer offense needs Blount to provide balance and even then they haven’t been great this year.  Try to leave Blount for a flex play this week as we aren’t sure whether or not Freeman is going to be there this week.

Eric Decker, WR, DEN – Decker has been pretty good for his fantasy owners since Tebow took over.  Last week Thomas stepped up and scored twice as Decker didn’t do much and this week, the Bears are the opponents for Tebow and yardage will be at a premium. I wouldn’t be too shocked to see this game end 10-7.  Tebow and McGahee are about the only offensive players from this game worth a start.

Shonn Greene, RB, NYJ – Greene is a really good RB2 this week but people are really over reacting to last week and I want to be clear.  Even with the favorable match up he is no more than an RB2.

No Comments »