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Question 1: Asked by rwfleener

I figure on starting Larry Fitzy but I need to start 1 more reciever which one would you start, Randy Moss or Hines Ward?

Answer

Well, one thing is for sure… Drama doesn’t impact Moss’s fantasy points.  Vince Young has been a phenomenal passer when healthy this year.  He has seen a lot of pressure since teams were stacking 8 in the box to stop Chris Johnson, but now with the presence of Moss that won’t happen near as often. I am a firm believer in the Titans since they have made this trade, if Young can stay on the field for the rest of the season then the Titans will win their division. Moss also has a history of strong outings right after changing teams, so he is worth the risk here. You can see my original answer and the answers of others on Fandemic.

Question 2: Asked by @thebudmonster

I need 1 player at wr, rb & flex? dez, bowe, s. moss, s. smith(south), breaston, t. jones, r. brown.

Answer

Alright, well for your RB I am leaning towards Thomas Jones.  Denver has not been a strong run defense this year and for some insane reason, Todd Haley and Charlie Weiss keep giving him the ball.  Logic says he should see less carries with how bad he was last week, but this is the 15th time I have said that in a post so I expect him to get at least 50% of the carries again this week.  Dez Bryant is essentially the entire running game of the Cowboys in the past few weeks.  They have been using him on a lot of very short routes and bubble screens to substitute for their complete inability to run the ball.  And for any other owners out there, I would put him just outside the top 10 in a PPR format this week.  For your flex go with Santana Moss.  He has been very effective this year and with Vick playing the best football of his career, the Redskins are going to be down and throwing to try and stay in the game.

Question 3: Asked by latinangel5439

Matt Schaub vs Jags or Kyle Orton vs KC Chiefs??

Answer

I have seen a lot of Matt Schaub questions this week and they all are coming from owners who are frustrated and have completely given up on him. I can’t blame you guys, but the numbers don’t lie.  The Jaguars are allowing an average of 18.5 fantasy points per game to opposing Quarterbacks.  With the Texans being the only team in the league to allow more, this should be a very high-scoring and passing oriented game.  It would be a mistake to sit Schaub, since Andre Johnson alone could easily get 150 yards and 2 TDs by himself and he won’t be the only one to catch the ball. You can see my original answer and the answers of others on Fandemic.

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Love

Michael Vick, QB, PHI – The Eagles face off against the Redskins this coming Monday night who have the league’s 31st ranked pass defense.  Vick is such a nightmare to defend against that he should have little trouble moving the ball effectively throughout the entire game. Given all the elite QB’s on BYE this week, Vick came in at number two in my rankings… so don’t make a mistake and leave him on your bench!

Rashard Mendenhall, RB, PIT - With the Patriots defense not being able to stop the Cleveland Browns, they are set to have their hands full when they visit the Steelers this week.  Mendenhall has been a stud for fantasy owners this year, even after the return of Big Ben.  The balance in the Steelers’ attack has been good for Mendenhall thus far this season and you can expect that to continue against the league’s 21st ranked run defense.

Andre Johnson, WR, HOU - Have I mentioned lately how terrible the Jaguars’ secondary is? With all the production from the Texans passing game going to Andre, he is as close to a sure thing as you can get for a big game this weekend.

Matt Schaub, QB, HOU – Despite all of the struggles that the Texans offense has endured this season, they head to Jacksonville this week to face the Jaguars.  Jack Del Rio and his secondary have been abysmal this season, allowing an average of over 18 points per game to the opposing QB.

Mike Wallace, WR, PIT - The Patriots and their VERY inexperienced secondary come into town this week and with how well Wallace has been settling into his role as Big Ben’s deep threat, he is a must start as your WR2.  There will be games where he does not produce, but you can expect 3 to 5 deep shots in his direction every week and that’s enough for me!

LeGarrette Blount, RB, TB – Fantasy owners were brought back down to earth with their expectations of this rookie.  Given his situation, he won’t be the most consistent back you have ever owned, but more often than not he will produce enough to be started as a number 2 RB.  Especially this week against the Panthers who are in the middle of a game of musical quarterbacks and rank 25th against the run.

Steve Johnson, WR, BUF – The TD streak finally ended… but Johnson was still a key part of the Bills offense and managed over 100 yards receiving. Now that they face the Lions, who are missing their franchise QB again, the Bills are actually a favorite to win this game.  This is the first time he has cracked the top 20 in my rankings!

Hakeem Nicks, WR, NYG – With the Cowboy’s as opponents this week, it should be a big week for the offensive players on the Giants.  Particularly Manning, Nicks and the rest of the receivers that will help dismantle a team that was once a super bowl favorite of many.

Hate

Tom Brady, QB, NE – The Patriots passing attack is in shambles.  They don’t have a deep threat and Welker hasn’t been able to shake the double teams to  get open down the field. Going against the Steelers and their best defense in the NFL… you should lower your expectations.  You will likely need to start him anyways though.

Peyton Hillis, RB, CLE – He has earned the right to be started, even against the Jets defense… but don’t expect a 100 yard game!

Ryan Torain, RB, WAS - The Eagles are good at stopping the run and with Portis looking to be a game time decision this week I would try my best to avoid using any of the Redskins’ running backs.

Miles Austin, WR, DAL - It sucks to lose your #1 WR, but it appears like that is the case for Austin owners.   He will still be the best fantasy option on the Cowboys for a little while longer, but if they are still able to use Bryant so effectively as a substitute for their non-existent running game… that may change soon.

Tony Gonzalez, TE, BAL – The Ravens have an excellent line-backing corp. and are only allowing an average of  3.4 points per game to the opposing TE.  Even with all the injuries to the position… you can probably find a better option this week.

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*Game is being played in Toronto

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Question 1: Asked by Jon

I have Gates in one league and Zach Miller in another league.  Jacob Tamme is available in both of them as a possible fill-in for their injuries… but I really only have Ronnie Brown that I want to drop (yes, in both leagues), would you do it?

Answer

Well Jon, that is a tough call.  Tamme should not still be available after the promising performance last week but you don’t need a 2nd TE with the starters you have.  Since there hasn’t been a firm decision yet on either of the TEs, just wait it out and see if either guy starts and save the roster spot.  And don’t worry too much about missing out on Tamme, Greg Olsen is likely available as well and going against the Bills who had allowed seven TDs to the TE position in four games (excluding last week).

Question 2: Asked by littlelucky33

Schaub vs SD or Big Ben @ Cin? I shouldn’t be too worried about one bad week last week for Big Ben should I?

Answer

I wouldn’t worry about one bad game, no.  Especially when Schaub has been a disappointment for about 8 weeks so far =/.  The match-up is what breaks the tie here for me.  Statistically, the Chargers have the best defense in the NFL and that has been especially noticeable when looking at the fantasy points allowed to the QB position.  The not-so-Super Chargers have only allowed an average of 9 points per game to the other team’s signal caller and while this is partially do to an easy schedule thus far, Schaub hasn’t played his best football as of late and I would be more comfortable going with Ben against a banged up Bengals secondary.  You can see my original answer and the answers of others on Fandemic.

Question 3: Asked by@RealBloomington

Pierre Garçon or Dwayne Bowe as 3rd WR???? #fantasyfootball

Answer

Well, you may have heard me talk about Bowe over the past two weeks or you may not have… but I predicted his two good games in weeks 6 and 7.  They where due to great match ups against the Texans and Jaguars who are both unspeakably bad at defending against opposing wide receivers.  Even though it is unclear how effective the Raiders pass defense would be if Nnamdi Asomugha was inactive (and it looks like he will be), Bowe proved last week that he is a risky play for fantasy owners by only amassing 16 yards against the Buffalo Bills.  Garcon is just a much safer play this week, but the decision does get tougher if we hear that Asomugha will indeed be inactive.

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*Game is being played in Toronto

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Love

Tom Brady, QB, NE - The Patriots have quietly been the best team in the NFL so far this season.  As the only team to only lose one game thus far this season, it is hard not to view them as a Super Bowl favorite.  For fantasy owners, this week is a dream come true with the match up against the Browns.  Look for Brady to have a nice game as well as the Law Firm. As far as who will be CATCHING the balls Brady is throwing… who knows.

Michael Turner, RB, ATL - Turner has been a stud for fantasy owners.  There are not many backs left in the NFL that get the number of carries that Turner does and since they are going against the league’s 30th ranked run defense a hundred yards is seemingly guaranteed.

Hakeem Nicks, WR, NYG – With the status of Matt Hasselbeck still unknown and how thoroughly the Raiders decimated the Seahawks, it is hard to fall in love with this season’s breakout receiver.  Nicks has vaulted past Steve Smith to be the goto target for Eli and the Giants passing attack.

Eli Manning, QB, NYG - The Seahawks have an easy schedule this year being part of the NFL’s least competitive division, the NFC West.  The fact that they are ranked 29th against the pass with this easy schedule is a bit misleading… Manning should be in for a 300 yard performance with a couple of TD passes.

Adrian Peterson, RB, MIN - The Vikings offense with Randy Moss was able to stretch the field and pass the ball effectively with Percy Harvin not drawing so many double teams.  Now that they are without Moss again and Favre’s injuries are stacking up, the obvious strategy for Childress and the Vikings offense is a heavy dose of Peterson.  Given that the Cardinals are allowing an average of 143 yards per game it should be a good week for AP’s fantasy owners.

Matt Forte, RB, CHI - This will be interesting to see how this game plays out.  Against the Bills, the smart choice is to run the ball as often as possible, but that really does not fit into the Mike Martz scheme.  Forte has made some BIG plays to help the Bears struggling offense and with the Bills being so bad against the run it is likely that we see a couple big runs this week too.

Greg Jennings, WR, GB - After David Garrard threw four TD passes against the Cowboys secondary last week, it is hard not to love Aaron Rodgers in this match up.  With Driver being hampered by a bad hamstring and shut out for two weeks straight, Jennings is the only trusted target that Rodgers has left.

Hate

Chad Ochocinco, WR, CIN – Conventional wisdom says that 85 is a better fantasy option than TO, but past performance this season says otherwise. I am done sticking to my guns on Ochocinco and while this will likely change before long… start TO and bench Ochocinco for this week.

Jahvid Best, RB, DET – It may have taken fellow Lions RB Kevin Smith a LONG time to fully recover from last season’s knee injury… now that he is back and Best has been under-performing since week 2 the carries are being split.  Until Best shows some flashes of the play making ability he demonstrated at the start of the season, feel free to bench him (though given the bye weeks that will be tough).

Matt Schaub, QB, HOU – Being one of the weeks with six teams on a bye, you aren’t likely to have a better option than Schaub… but he sure has been disappointing to the fantasy owners that drafted him.  Going against the league’s best defense (statistically) means we’ll have to lower our already-low expectations.

Carson Palmer, QB, CIN - I am on record as hating Palmer for a while now.  His play has declined over the years and the only reason his is own-able still is due to the fact that the Bengals refuse to run as often as they did last year.  But, given their tough Monday night match up against the Steelers in week 9, I doubt you need much convincing to sit him.

Dwayne Bowe, WR, KC - The two big games that Bowe had, came with great match-ups and while I spent most of last week trying to convince people that the Bills are not a good match up for your QBs and WRs… it isn’t a bad match-up either.  Last week Bowe only caught three passes for 16 yards and while one was a TD you were probably expecting better.  Don’t do that anymore, he should go back to being just as disappointing as he was earlier in the season.

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*Game is being played in London

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*Game is being played in London

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