Question 1: Asked by Emily

Should I drop D. Driver and pick up Britt??

Answer

No, even though Britt has been surprisingly consistent at finding the end zone this season, Driver is an integral part of one of the best passing offenses in the league.  The Packers are riddled with injuries and they will get better.  This week Britt’s TD streak is in question as we do not yet know if Vince Young will be playing.  You very well may have someone worth dropping for him on your team, but you can’t do it for Driver.

Question 2: Asked by Anonymous

I drafted Finley, then traded for Clark and now I am screwed! Which TEs that are likely to be on free agency do you like the most?

Answer

I feel your pain, but luckily for you there are a TON of serviceable replacements.  You will likely need to swap them a few times throughout the year, but I will list off some of the options you have to chose from.  They are in order of how much I like them: Tony Moeaki, Heath Miller, Marcedes Lewis, Benjamin Watson, John Carlson and if Chris Cooley sits, Fred Davis ought to be a great play this week.

Question 3: Asked by @benstori

BenJarvus Green-Ellis or Brandon Jacobs as a flex play this week? #fantasyfootball

Answer

I am pretty well known for disliking Brandon Jacobs. I don’t tend to have any nice things to say about him, most adjectives including fat, slow, worthless, etc. When I read this and didn’t know my answer immediately… I surprised myself.  Once I thought about it, I did end up realizing that Jacobs is still fat, slow and worthless so I have to say go with the law firm this week.  Despite how unpredictable his value is sure to be all year long, he is going to be the back that the Patriots trust on the red zone.  His membership in the committee backfield is always something to be concerned with, but he is more than just a goal line back.  Jacobs is able to be dropped in a standard ten-team league and has no big games left in the tank.

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Giants at Cowboys

Looking at the depth charts on each team, I would not pick the Cowboys to be the 1-4 team.  But… here we are after 6 weeks and the Cowboys are at the bottom of the division.  Statistics aside, they are still alive in the playoff race and will be scratching and clawing for every win they can get until it is not a possibility.  They may be lacking on locker room leaders, but that can change if someone (Tony Romo… cough… cough) steps up so I am not panicking quite yet.  I like the Cowboys to win this home game to keep their divisional and playoff hopes alive.  I have not been impressed with the Cowboys secondary, so downgrade Bradshaw slightly and despite a shutout last week, I have left Hakeem Nicks in the top 10 with all the top receivers on Bye this week.  Prime-time NFC East divisional games are always great to watch so make sure your tuning in!

Vikings at Packers

After winning last week’s Panic Bowl, the Vikings will look to get their offense back to firing on all cylinders against a banged up Packers team that was expected to be at the top of this division.  A win here would do WONDERS for both teams’ hopes to win the division.  While it is a little to early to say this definitively, I am going to anyways… The loser of this game CAN NOT win the NFC North.  I think both of these teams rally to an elite level of play before long and this game could very well be the entire difference between the two and the end of the year.  Thankfully for us, this is also a prime time game so end your weekends on the couch like the rest of us and don’t miss this game.  The secondaries on each team are where most of the injury concerns lie and this could just end up in a shootout, so upgrade each of the receivers slightly… but match up makes very little defense for fantasy owners of any Vikings or Packers.  I like the Vikings to win and highlight the Packers need to fix their running game (which given the trade deadline having past, they can no longer do).  For now, it looks to me that it will take the Packers too long to get healthy and they will miss the Playoffs this year.

Patriots at Chargers

The injuries to the Chargers already-weak receiving corp are going to rob us of a truly great game, but if Ryan Mathews is able to make the most of his increasing workload and have a breakout game… it just may be a good one after all.  It is starting to look more and more like Antonio Gates will be able to play and if that happens the Patriots weak defense just may prove to be their Achilles heel.  Despite all the injuries at receiver, don’t downgrade Rivers this week, he is uniquely talented and capable of utilizing a variety of sub-par receivers as needed.  If he is indeed missing Gates then you still have to start him, but lower expectations as they would likely run as much as possible.  Ryan Mathews is about to have the best game of his career in my opinion so make sure you start him if at all possible.  As for the Patriots receivers… other than Welker and Hernandez, just sit them and wait for everything to calm down.  I like the Patriots to win a close road game.

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Love

Ray Rice, RB, BAL – It is almost inevitable that the running back that has to face the Bills each week will be on this list.  It didn’t pay off for MJD owners, but you can’t ignore the numbers. The Bills give up over 20 points a game to opposing RBs and are allowing an AVERAGE of 182 rushing yards per game.

Frank Gore, RB, SF – The 9ers, under Mike Singletary, are a run-first team and despite their struggles this is not going to change.  With their new offensive coordinator, they are striving for more balance but they are still running to set up the pass… not the other way around.  With the Panthers giving up 134 yards per game to the run, Gore is sure to at least tally a hundred yards.

Dwayne Bowe, WR, KC – The Jaguars pass defense is just about as bad as the Bills run defense. The corner backs of the Jaguars have not been able to stop opposing WRs all season and after his best game in years, you may as well use him in the best match-up possible.

Matt Forte, RB, CHI – The Redskins have the worst overall defense in the NFL.  They allow over 100 yards per game rushing and just under 300 yards passing.  This suits Forte and the Bears offense perfectly, The Skins have not been able to generate much of a pass rush and with Forte being an integral part of the passing game and running game… as scary as this sounds Forte could have his best game of the season this week. (but, given he has two 30 point games so far this season I am not making that prediction… just saying it is possible)

Ryan Mathews, RB, SD – As the injuries stack up for the struggling Chargers offense, the likelihood that they lean on Mathews over the next couple weeks increases.  The Patriots defense has been terrible this season and if Gates and Floyd are out, expect a lot of carries for Mathews.

Josh Freeman, QB, TB – The Buccaneers defense has been solid against the pass, but has struggled with the run.  This will be a game of two franchises struggling to return to playoff form and the Buccaneers have been far more consistent and successful thus far.  After seeing the Rams completely collapse to the Lions two weeks ago I am expecting big games from both Freeman and Mike Williams this week.  What has really turned me into a Freeman believer is his ability to close out games in the 4th quarter.

Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI – Max Hall is definitely not the reason that Fitz is on this list, but the Seahawks pass defense is.  Seattle allows 290 yards per game through the air and while that wont happen, I would say it is likely that the best receiver in football is able to beat a bad defense deep at least once.

Marques Colston, WR, NO – I understand your frustration about him having yet to score a receiving TD, but I am seeing flashbacks of Anquan Boldin scoring three times in one game against this secondary.  Colston may not have reached double digit points yet this year, but this is the week that changes.

Todd Heap, TE, BAL – Believe it or not there are two things that the Bills suck at.  First is defending the run… but after that its defending opposing Tight Ends.  They are the only team to give up 5 TDs to the TE position and Heap will match up well against the Bills linebackers and secondary.

49ers, D/ST, SF – The Panthers offense has been inept all season.  DeAngelo Williams has been their only bright spot and with zero consistency at the QB position the 9ers defense should have little trouble containing them.  So far this season the Panthers offense has allowed the most fantasy points to opposing defenses (averaging 13 per game).

Hate

Fred Jackson, RB, BUF – He ran very well in his first game after the Marshawn Lynch trade, but going up against the Ravens is not where you want to start someone on this struggling Bills offense.  I expect a very lopsided game this week, even with the Bills having an extra week to prepare.

Ricky Williams, RB, MIA – Apply this to Ronnie Brown too.  The only person on the Dolphins worth starting against the Steelers is Brandon Marshall.

LeSean McCoy, RB, PHI – The Titans defense has been quietly great this season and especially against the run.  The Eagles also have some injury concerns on the offensive line so given the pass rush of the Titans I think the Eagles lose the game before their bye week.  With a bad match up and being on an almost pass-only offense, McCoy’s only chance at a big day will come through the air.  With his high level of play so far this season you still need to start him, but lower expectations.

Kenny Britt, WR, TEN – With all the talk about the Eagles being about the Quarterback position, it has largely gone unnoticed how effective their pass defense has been.  The Eagles have only allowed an average of 15 fantasy points per week to all WRs on the opposing offenses.  Since we can’t assume that Britt catches every pass in this game, its is extremely unlikely he is able to have a good week.

Michael Crabtree, WR, SF – I think he will be able to maintain value for fantasy owners, but this is not the best week to use him.  The Panthers are 5th in the NFL in pass defense and it is largely due to the ease in which people are able to run on them.  Knowing this makes it all the more likely that Frank Gore has a huge game and Crabtree sees his lowest targets in 3 weeks.

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