Sam Bradford, QB, STL – Active
Jared Cook, TE, TEN - Active
Joseph Addai, RB, IND - Inactive
Jermaine Gresham, TE, CIN – Active
Kevin Kolb, QB, ARI - Inactive
Lance Moore, WR, NO – Active
Nate Washington, WR, TEN – Active
DeSean Jackson, WR, PHI – Inactive. Disciplinary Reasons.
Question 1: Asked by Valeri
Should I start Tim Tebow or Ryan Fitzpatrick this week? Thanks.
Answer
I have to give the nod to Tebow. Fitz has a fairly decent match up against the Cowboys secondary but with LT Demetrius Bell still looking like he will be sidelined again, I am concerned about Demarcus Ware severely limiting his ability to extend plays. This game will become about Fred Jackson for the Bills. If Jackson gets going, the pass rush should need to respect him enough that Fitz can make the big play. Tebow on the other hand IS the running threat that slows the pass rush and McGahee doesn’t hurt. Even if Tebow plays bad, he is almost a lock for double digit points because he will be giving you 5-6 in rushing yards alone.
Question 2: Asked my @MFarrell21
Benson vs Pitt or Donald Brown vs the Jags with Addai likely out?
Answer
It has to be Benson. Not many guys see 20-30 touches per game and Benson has fresh legs after the Bye and his one game suspension. Pittsburgh’s defense has been playing better as of late, but they are far from as lights-out against the run as they have been in recent years. Start Benson with confidence this week but do not expect too much from him. Be happy with 70 yards and hopefully he finds the end zone.
Question 3: Asked by Zach
Hey so what’s your take on Ryan Mathews? He did not get nearly as many carries as I expected him to last night, probably a result of his injury and the Chargers wanting to ease him back into play – as you stated in your love/hate list; but what do you think about going forward, after a 10 day stretch do you think he will start getting the bulk of carries again? I have Starks on my bench and depending on how he plays this next game, I may consider playing him over Mathews week 11.
Answer
I think Mathews is doing fine. He only had 6 carries, but I am not really surprised that they split the carries evenly. Both backs were running well and if Tolbert can be productive, he will see touches. Mathews was averaging 5.7 yards per carry last night and had it not gotten out of hand and San Diego would have continued to pound the rock. My only issue with Mathews is health so if he is active and practicing all week, I think you have to start him. Especially over Starks who is on a by far pass-first team and sharing some touches with Ryan Grant.
Patriots at Jets
The AFC East is still up for grabs. Brady and the Pats have already lost more games than they did during the entirety of last season and after losing the the Giants when they didn’t have their two top offensive weapons (Bradshaw and Nicks), I am starting to think they might not be as invincible as they’ve been in years past. Thankfully for them, I think they match up well against the Jets. Welker has not really had too much issue being productive against the Jets in the past and usually Revis does not follow him all over the field. Teams have had success against the Pats this season by locking into man-to-man coverage on the less than elite receiving corp of New England and sending as much pressure as possible at Brady. In order to get the win, Sanchez needs to play a perfect game and not give up any turnovers. If he can do that, there will be plenty of yardage and opportunities to get points on the board. The Pats secondary has been just awful this season and still may prove to be their Achilles heel, much like it was for the Texans last year. Brady and the Pats need to lean on Law Firm and the running game in order to limit the time that their defense can be out there giving away the game. I like the Patriots to win a high scoring affair after New York gets off to a slow start and is unable to catch up. Welker and Brady are must-starts despite the less than appealing match-up but you should stay away from Deion Branch. Upgrade Sanchez and the Jets receivers going against the NFL’s worst pass defense and feel free to use Shonn Greene in his typical RB2 role.
Saints at Falcons
Atlanta sits a game behind the Saints for first in the NFC south and with the game being at home, I like Atlanta in this game. They need to get back to running most of their offense through Michael Turner so that Roddy White and Julio Jones are able to see more man-to-man coverage and make big plays. Neither team has a scary defense that should make you concerned about giving them a start this week. Atlanta needs to find a way to slow the Saints’ pass rush and and Turner is their best bet to do so. Once they are able to bring the 8th man into the box, their receivers will be able to make the difference and get the win. This game could easily go either way but Matt Ryan is almost a completely different quarterback at home and the Saints lack the depth at receiver to exploit Atlanta’s secondary. Start all your typical players with confidence as this is not likely going to be a low scoring affair but do NOT expect a repeat performance from Julio Jones, who I anticipate being a very hit or miss player for his fantasy owners. I am considering him as a very good flex play for the rest of the season unless he is able to consistently hit double digit points.
Lions at Bears
Don’t worry I won’t make a joke about Tigers here, but this game should make a HUGE difference later on as the NFC wild card spots start to get figured out. I think we all expect the Packers to win the NFC North and I would be surprised if at least one more team from the division didn’t make the playoffs. Detroit is up a game on the Bears at the moment and getting this win would be huge for their playoff hopes this season. Detroit’s front seven has slipped in recent weeks and their issues with stopping the run has caused them to have issues late in games when they had been able to be so effective early on this season. Unfortunately for them they face Matt Forte this week and he has been simply incredible for the Bears. For the past few weeks the Bears’ offensive line has been playing much improved football and when Jay Cutler has time to throw, this Bears offense is very difficult to stop and the Lions’ secondary has not been playing that great either. This is a very difficult game to predict the outcome for however with the Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson connection being near impossible to stop. I wouldn’t use a Lions receiver outside of Megatron unless I absolutely needed to and I also am downgrading the Lions’ running backs. If Best can play, which I doubt, I wouldn’t think he would see his normal workload and Maurice Morris is not quite good enough to run wild against the Bears stout defense. I like Chicago to win this close game and Cutler has a relatively clean jersey at the end of the game.
Love
Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, JAC – Most of us doubted whether MJD could stay healthy this entire season and he has shown no signs of old age or wear and tear over the first half the year. The Colts are an abysmal rush defense and are currently allowing over 21 points per game to opposing RB’s. MJD is the feature back and workhorse for the entire Jags offense. He is normally a must-start but I am looking for a huge game from him this week.
Jeremy Maclin, WR, PHI – DeSean Jackson may be a disappointment for fantasy owners this year due in large part to opponents scheming to keep his explosive plays from taking over games. Maclin is now the top fantasy-receiver on the Eagles offense but this will not signal a shift in who defensive coordinators scheme to stop. Maclin should have a GREAT game this week and DJax should draw the attention of Patrick Peterson the vast majority of the time as well as safety help to stop the deep ball from going to Jackson’s side of the field.
Tim Tebow, QB, DEN – Tebow finally played well last week in a win that likely secured his job as the starter for the rest of the season. Funny thing is, he has produced fantasy points no matter how bad he has played. With a match-up against the hapless Chiefs I see no reason why he can’t pass the twenty point mark again this week. I don’t expect another 100 yards rushing but the Chiefs secondary is vulnerable since they lost Pro Bowler Eric Berry.
Steve Johnson, WR, BUF – I sure hope this isn’t wishful thinking on my part as a Bills fan but I think that Stevie matches up very well against the Cowboys secondary. They don’t have an elite cover corner to take him out of the game (and even Revis allowed him to gain 80+ yards in a game where the Bills couldn’t get much done at all on offense). Dallas’ run defense has even been slipping as of late and I think Buffalo’s attack is too well balance for the Cowboys to keep them in check. If Romo tosses a few INT’s it could get out of hand for Dallas, if he doesn’t throw ANY then they have a serious opportunity to win this game though. Either way, you have to put Johnson in your lineup.
DeMarco Murray, RB, DAL – You might be worried because Felix Jones is possibly returning for this game against a soft buffalo rush defense that just had to put Pro Bowl Nose Tackle Kyle Williams on IR. This is a serious blow for the Bills and really impacts their chances at making the playoffs. Jones has been very inconsistent during his time in Dallas and I think that Murray will continue to be the feature back with Jones handling 3rd down work and serving as a change of pace. You shouldn’t need any convincing to start Murray if you have seen him play in the past 3 weeks.
Laurent Robinson, WR, DAL – The Bills secondary might turn the ball over a LOT, but they also allow a lot of yardage to be gained and INT’s don’t negatively impact a receiver’s fantasy point totals. With this match up being very decent and Robinson having an undeniable chemistry with Romo, you are able to grab Robinson off of waivers and immediately throw him into your flex spot.
Chris Johnson, RB, TEN – While it was encouraging to see CJ over 100 all-purpose yards again last week, that is not why he is on this list. He has an unbelievably soft match-up against the Panthers, who have been decimated by injuries on defense. Jon Beason was the glue that held that linebacking corp together and since he went to IR, opponents have been been running all over Carolina. I just don’t think 8 Panthers defenders in the box is enough to slow Johnson in this game.
Hate
Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, NYG – I don’t care how much practice he gets in this week, if any. I also don’t care if Jacobs gets the start this week either, whoever the Giants play at RB is going to have a horrible fantasy performance against the 49ers, unless they do it in the receiving game. San Fran has only allowed 411 yards rushing and ZERO rushing TD’s this season. To put that in perspective, there are five teams that have allowed over 1000 yards rushing already. Jacobs is not start-able this week and if Bradshaw plays, he is just a flex play.
Sidney Rice, WR, SEA – The Ravens defense has been lights out and especially against the pass. I don’t know if anyone has told you this before, but Tavaris Jackson is not that good. I would be floored if he was able to put up 200 yards in this game and that doesn’t bode well for his receivers.
Ryan Mathews, RB, SD – Oakland has a relatively stout rush defense and with Mathews coming off the injury, I expect him to be eased back in. The goal line work is definite Tolbert’s and with limited carries, I don’t think Mathews is a must-start.
Julio Jones, WR, ATL – I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see 100 yards and a score from Jones. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see 2 catches for 15 yards either. This guy is feast or famine and you shouldn’t over react to one game. If you have a really good group of receivers, then you should feel free to leave the inconsistent guy on your bench of trade him before the deadline.
Chris Ogbonnaya, RB, CLE – He just looked awful last week and while he has a nice match-up, there aren’t any teams on a bye this week and you probably have a better option unless you’ve been bitten by the injury bug.
