Love and Hate Lists for Week 7

Love

Trent Richardson, RB, CLE – Did you see what Shonn Greene did to this Indy rush defense? We have a new best match-up for running backs. Richardson is exponentially more talented than Greene is, in all honesty.  The Browns are still not my pick to win the game but I have a hard time imagining an outcome that doesn’t include at least a hundred yards and a score.  He may not be in my top 10 again this season but there is almost NO viable scenario where it is OK to bench Richardson this week.

Kenny Britt, WR, TEN – The Titans offense might not be great but Britt is roughly every time he steps onto the football field.  Buffalo’s secondary has been absolutely terrible and their defensive line has not lived up to the hype and provided the pressure to mask the poor coverage.  He would be top 10 if I was a little more convinced that he was 100% healthy but he’s still just outside my top 15 and a GREAT play this week.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the top scoring receiver on the week.

Fred Jackson, RB, BUF – I can’t remember a pair of backs for the same team being as relevant as Spiller and Jackson appear to be.  Spiller is ranked higher but Jackson is almost must-start status as well. Tennessee’s defense as abysmal in the middle of the field.  No defense has allowed more rushing TDs inside the 5 yard line and Buffalo will want to control the ball on offense because their defense is going to have a HELL of a time covering Kenny Britt.

Lance Moore, WR, NO – I was under the impression that the Saints would continue to spread the ball and that Robert Meachem’s sporadic at best production wouldn’t change the workload distribution hardly at all.  I was WRONG.  Moore is a great flex option normally because of the reliable targets that he has been seeing and this week he has a GREAT match up with 6 teams having the week off.  This is another guy that might not get this high in my rankings again but for this week, he’s a top 10 guy.

Scott Chandler, TE, BUF – Rumor has it, you want to play your guys in this Bills/Titans match up.  Realistically I love CJ, Fitzpatrick, Kendall Wright and Donald Jones considerably more than normal this week too but I only have so many stats about how bad these defenses are so them guys are not going to get their own section of my post. As for Chandler, the Titans are the worst team in the NFL at defending the tight-end.  This isn’t just an opinion either, they have allowed more receptions, targets, receiving yards and touch downs to the opposition’s tight ends than any other team in the NFL. I have Chandler as my 6th ranked TE this week and I didn’t even make a mistake. Start him and thank me later.

Donnie Avery, WR, IND – Avery has been a nice surprise for the Colts this year and defenses can not spare any help to cover him.  Reggie Wayne has been lighting people up all season and Avery has cleaned up in single coverage.  Expect big things from Avery this week and absolutely use him as a fill-in as he faces the Browns and Joe Haden will be locked on Wayne for all 60 minutes.

Hate

I apologize for not having many hates this week but when 6 teams are on bye, you can’t afford to hate a starting RB or WR. There just isn’t enough depth out there to replace them.

William Powell, RB, ARI – I don’t care what he did in the preseason and I don’t care what he did last week.  Neither Ryan Williams OR Beanie Wells was able to run behind this TERRIBLE offensive line and unless its a primo match-up, Powell is nothing but bench depth.  I don’t even mind dropping him to be honest.  28th among RBs in my rankings this week and that makes him BARELY a flex consideration.  Only in the most desperate of circumstances, folks.

James Jones, WR, GB – You might be surprised to see Jones at 29 in my rankings but I have been THAT impressed by the Rams defense.  Looking back, I think I overreacted a bit and he should likely be closer to 25 or so but that is still really low considering his recent performance. He has a history of streaky play and while you may want to ride it out given your bye week problems but I am not betting on him this week personally.

Joe Flacco, QB, BAL – I understand if you don’t trust me here but I am REALLY nervous about what the defensive injuries will mean to this team.  I could EASILY see a blow out win for the Texans in this one as they are bound to be looking for vengeance.  You may be thinking that even a blow out will lead to a lot of junk time points but with the way the Ravens got run on by the Cowboys and the way the Texans run the ball every week, the Ravens offense might not be on the field late in this one.

Jonathan Stewart, RB, CAR – The Panthers offense is sputtering and there is still the obvious time-share concern.  Dallas’ defense has been the only thing keeping them competitive this season and this is just a terrible week to play EITHER Panthers back.  Play Powell instead… and you already know how I feel about him.