Love and Hate Lists for Week 16
Love
Knowshon Moreno, RB, DEN – Moreno is averaging 20 fantasy points per game over the past two weeks against pretty good match-ups. Speaking of good match-ups… The Broncos play against the Browns and the Chiefs to close out the season. Cleveland this week and considering Joe Haden can actually cause some problems for opponents, I look for Denver to give the Browns a heavy helping of the run game. He has a pretty good chance for 100 yards and a score here but he is only listed as an RB2 in my rankings because we haven’t seen enough tape for me to be too confident yet.
Wes Welker, WR, NE - The Patriots aren’t playing for a whole lot this week but come on… Brady vs the Jags? That’s a pretty great match-up for your Super Bowl week! Welker is going to be free to roam around the line of scrimmage all game and Brady is going to use him to pick the defense apart. I like Lloyd a lot too as a really good flex option but Welker is a must-start in almost any imaginable circumstance.
Tony Romo, QB, DAL – I hate to say it but for fantasy purposes, Romo has actually been decent. If you were able to get two serviceable Quarterbacks and did a good job of deciding which to play, you could easily be in the Super Bowl right now. If Romo is one of those guys, he is your choice this weekend against a soft Saints defense. Hopefully Dez Bryant isn’t affected as severely by his finger injury but he was still a quality play for fantasy owners even with visible signs of pain. The Cowboys are also benefiting from the work of DeMarco Murray once again and Romo is most effective in the play-action passing situations.
Alfred Morris, RB, WAS – Morris is a beast. Last week, with Kirk Cousins at QB and the defense knowing that he was going to be a huge factor, he still got it done with 20 fantasy points. RG3 is going to play this week and Philly, who is already weak to the run, will not even be able to bring an 8th man into the box very often. Bottom line is that, in the Playoffs, you NEED consistency at every position and Morris is as close to a sure-thing as it gets for 100 yards rushing for players not named Arian Foster or Adrian Peterson.
Randall Cobb, WR, GB – James Jones may lead the NFL in receiving touchdowns but he isn’t even close to the lead in targets or receptions on his own team. Scores are fluky and not easy to do with consistency. Cobb is a FAR safer option this week and Jones is more of a flex-option.
Hate
Chris Johnson, RB, TEN – There can’t be many of you left in the Super Bowl if you own this guy but maybe you capitalized on Alfred Morris and didn’t use CJ much until late in the season. Either way, if you’ve got him, you may have to start him but try not to. His value is almost entirely in the one big play he has been getting more often than not. If he doesn’t get that play, he won’t have more than 5 points and you can’t take that chance. Not with as bad as his o-line is, especially.
Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, NYG – It’s a shame that the team is in disarray right now because this should be a really nice match-up. Now it’s a complete crap-shoot because given how poor the entire team played last week, Coughlin could potentially do anything with his running backs this week.
Josh Freeman, QB, TB – Steer clear of Freeman this week against the Rams. They are no slouch on defense and after the entire team imploded last week, if your still alive, you wan’t to stay away from them.
Hakeem Nicks, WR, NYG – I have no choice but to play him in a Super Bowl match-up this week and I am really nervous about it. Like I just said, this team is a mess and while they have a really good chance of rebounding VERY strong and blowing up the scoreboard, it’s a gamble and as I’ve said a thousand times so far this post-season… this is not the time for a gamble.
Anotonio Brown, WR, PIT – I loved seeing him rebound last week too but you CAN NOT forget how bad he was for the entire rest of the season, before his injury. WAY too risky.
