Love

Michael Turner, RB, ATL – The Falcons need to prove that they are a Super Bowl contender this year and Turner has been their most consistent performer. Cam Newton has been a play maker and has been finding a way to put up numbers against EVERYONE he has played. With the Falcons’ defense not playing up to expectations either, I think a heavy dose of Turner is the best way for the Falcons to avoid an upset at home.

Miles Austin, WR, DAL – Austin is coming off an injury and I would expect him to have a slow start, but the Patriots score a ton of points and struggle to stop opposing QBs.  I don’t think Dallas wins this game, but Austin and Bryant should be in for big statistical performances as they will play from behind and have little trouble passing the ball.

Cedric Benson, RB, CIN – Last week was a bit of a let-down for Benson owners, but he ran well and was far from a dud. This week he goes against the Colts who have not been able to stop anyone on the ground all season. Benson sees a lot of carries and Cinci tries to run first to take pressure off Andy Dalton, who will hear the footsteps of Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney all day.

Jake Ballard, TE, NYG – Buffalo struggles to defend opposing tight ends. Ballard has TD’s in two straight games and this is not something you can expect to continue after this week, but the numbers say that Ballard is likely to make it three games in a row this week against the Bills. He is still outside my top 10, but if you have to fill a gap for your bye week, Ballard has a pretty good shot at a nice statistical performance.

Daniel Thomas, RB, MIA – He hasn’t been active much, but he looks like a punishing runner when he is. Thomas goes against the Jets this week who have just had a terrible run game as of late and with Matt Moore at QB, Thomas will be the focal point if he is able to go.

Torrey Smith, WR, BAL – Smith had a breakout game in week 3 and then people kind of seemed to forget about him.  He did put up a goose-egg against the Jets the following week, but Flacco looked for him a fair few times and on one play specifically he beat Revis deep. The throw was just a hair too far, but if it had connected we would be talking about him like a top 20 guy right now. He has only had just one game with fantasy points so I don’t think he is a really smart start but with bye weeks upon us, if your digging deep for a flex play… don’t just look past Smith.

Hate

Eli Manning, QB, NYG – I see a lot of people have Eli inside their top 10 QB’s and that is crazy to me. The Bills’ secondary has been playing great as of late and Eli has been known to struggle with turnovers.  Buffalo leads the NFL with 12 INTs on the season and three consecutive games with a pick 6. Eli will keep his receivers’ stats up there, but I think that interceptions will keep him from crossing the 20 point mark this week.

Tim Hightower, RB, WAS – It’s not about his talent and it’s not about the match up. We just simply don’t know how the carries will be divided. I expect Hightower to be the third down back and Torain to see the most work. But I would NEVER bet on how Shanahan will use his running backs. Hightower is a flex play at best this week.

Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, OAK – Playing with a Raiders receiver is a lot like playing Russian roulette for fantasy owners. Heyward-Bey has seen a lot of targets as of late, but I am not going to think that the emotional performances from Sunday are likely to repeat themselves. I have written about Darrius before as well as Jacoby Ford, Chaz Schillens and Denarius Moore over the past few season and not one of them were able to do anything consistently. Jacoby Ford is the receiver I want to start from this team if I need one and it is because they use him in the running game.

Isaac Redman, RB, PIT – Redman is the best bet to see the goal line carries even if Mendenhall was active, but he is not too likely to see much more work no matter who is inactive. Dwyer was just a better runner last week and if Mendenhall doesn’t go, I would rather start Dwyer over Redman.

James Jones, WR, GB – Don’t let one big game cause you to bring a guy from free agency straight into your lineup.  Any receiver can have a big game with Aaron Rodgers at QB and last week was Jones’ turn.  Odds are it’ll be a few games before he manages to make such an impact again.  Jennings, Finley and Nelson are all going to see more targets.

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Studs

Miles Austin, WR, DAL – Austin was on fire in this game and managed to get hurt just to make it all barely worth it. None-the-less, its tough to lose in a week when you have a receiver catch 9 balls for 143 yards and 3 TDs.

Fred Jackson, RB, BUF – If you missed the Bills game this weekend, you missed one hell of a game. Go find a way to watch it.  There were 5 lead changes in the 4th quarter and Buffalo scored on all five of their 2nd half possessions. Jackson just had 15 carries, but was able to rip off some big gains and totaled 117 yards with two TDs.  Surprisingly, Jackson is the 4th highest scoring fantasy RB on the season so far and he is shaping up to be one of the better second RBs out there.  I won’t go crazy over my Bills until they beat New England in week 3 and sit on top of the division, so lessen your expectations for this week as the Bills are going to be passing like crazy to try and keep up.

Jeremy Maclin, WR, PHI – Maclin had a really good game in week 2 and needed to in order to alleviate concerns that his fantasy owners might have had after the illness scare and a sluggish week 1.  Maclin racked up a staggering 13 receptions for 171 yards and 2 TDs. I was never concerned that much and think that Maclin is a top 15 receiver the rest of the way.

Cam Newton, QB, CAR – Even after his big week 1, I didn’t think Newton would be able to be too effective against a VERY good Packers defense. Despite the pass rush and secondary, Cam was the 2nd highest scoring QB in fantasy this week and while I don’t see him keeping up this production consistently the rest of the way, but I see no reason to not ride out this hot streak if you are in need of a QB. He is definitely a must-start for a while in 2 QB leagues.

Jahvid Best, RB, DET – I am not a big fan of Best, but he has big play ability and is on an offense that is clearly going to have little issue with producing stats for fantasy owners. Best was a factor in both the passing and running game this week with 57 yards on the ground and 66 in the air with both a rushing and receiving score. His rushing performance was mediocre at best considering he saw 15 carries but at the end of the day, who doesn’t love 23 fantasy points for your RB2?

Eric Decker, WR, DEN – With Brandon Lloyd inactive in this game, Decker was a fashionable plug-in for people in need of a flex play this week and it paid off big time. He caught 5 passes for 113 yards and had 2 TDs against the Bengals and should have ensured that Orton looks his way more when Lloyd is back and 100%.

Kenny Britt, WR, TEN – I’ll stop writing about him when he stops making me look so smart. Britt had another huge day in week 2 with 135 yards and a TD on 9 catches. He’s a top 10 receiver and at this point it is pretty hard to argue with that. Start him every week.

Duds

Antonio Gates, TE, SD – Gates was double teamed all game in week 2 and shockingly put up zero points against the Patriots. They schemed to take him out of the game and it was a successful strategy.  But let’s not panic, he is still by far the top TE in fantasy football.

Matt Cassel, QB, KC – Cassel was terrible both weeks so far.  I never expected the Chiefs to be what they were last year, but I did hope for something.  In my league (which does not have standard scoring) Cassel lost me three points and even in a standard format, he certainly didn’t do you any favors.  With Moeaki and Charles gone for the season, I have no faith in the Chiefs’ offense anymore and see no reason to risk starting Cassel any longer.

Mike Williams, WR, TB – Zero points? What happened?! This was a weird game for the Buccs and it took them some time to be productive on offense.  Arrelious Benn caught the TD pass from Freeman and LeGarrette Blount led the comeback.  I am not worried about Williams the rest of the way, but I wasn’t quite as high on him as others were going into the season.

DeAngelo Williams, RB, CAR – The rise of Cam Newton seems to be spelling the downfall of Williams.  As long as Cam is able to be effective in pass-first offense, I expect Ron Rivera and the Panthers to let him go for it. Williams isn’t seeing a lot of work and has not been able to do much with his limited touches.  Don’t drop him yet, but he is not a quality start even as a flex play for a while in my opinion.

Marshawn Lynch, RB, SEA – You can’t start Lynch any more and if Seattle can’t drum up any offense next week, I expect to see Lynch show up on my Dump List. He had just 11 yards in week 2.

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Love

Matt Schaub, QB, HOU – With Garrard already listed as out on the injury report for the Jaguars, the Texans are heavy favorites to win this game.  The weakness of the Jags defense is in their secondary.  All season long I have written that the CBs of the Jags have not been able to cover opposing wide receivers with any consistency.  If the Texans have Andre Johnson back and healthy, Schaub should be in for a big game to close out the 2010 season.

Steven Jackson, RB, STL – Last week the Buccaneers had a big second half on the ground against the Seahawks.  There was plenty of success to be had through the air as well, but the Rams are less likely to be as aggressive with a rookie QB on the road.  I expect St. Louis to feature SJax heavily this week and he is among the most consistent performing fantasy running backs in the NFL.

DeSean Jackson, WR, PHI – DJax is a streaky and inconsistent player.  He has HUGE potential going into any given week, but also has a decent chance to flop and get you nothing.  To me, with a player like this (and I owned him last year on my championship team) you HAVE to start them on a weekly basis.  Trying to guess which weeks he will blow up  is a recipe for disaster. After making it through a slow outing last week, can you afford to miss out on his big game next week?

Jamaal Charles, RB, KC – Charles is by far the most productive back in the league’s top ranked rushing offense.  It is a two back system where he shares work with Thomas Jones, but yet he has been a staple inside the top 10 of my RB rankings all season.  This is due to a dynamic play making ability as well as his threat to catch the ball out of the back field.

Miles Austin, WR, DAL – McGee did enough at QB in relief of Jon Kitna last week to keep me confident in Miles Austin’s production.  There has been no declaration from the Eagles about how much time their starters will see but with Andy Reid hinting that he will be benching some starters, Asante Samuel is not likely to play all four quarters.  Look for Austin to put up some good numbers this week even if it is in junk time.

Ryan Mathews, RB, SD – With Tolbert leaving the field on an ugly injury last week, Mathews should be the feature back for the Chargers against the 31st ranked rush defense.  This past week he was able to move the ball effectively and should be a quality RB2 for you in your last fantasy match up of the 2010 season.

Hate

Vincent Jackson, WR, SD – With the Chargers being knocked out of the playoff race, I have concerns that we will not see their best game this week.  Philip Rivers knows only one way to play and that is at an elite level and Ryan Mathews has something to prove.  VJax on the other hand has proven to be a bit selfish by holding out and is the one player that I fear will not give 100%.  He still ranks as a WR2, but lower your expectations.

Joseph Addai, RB, IND – Now that he is back in the lineup, he will be receiving more work with each passing week since the Colts will not trust their younger talent with the entire season on the line.  Dominic Rhodes has been picking up the slack in the mean time and you should expect him to carry the load late in the game if the Colts get ahead.  Addai may very well have a good game this week, but the threat to lose goal line carries and a good potion of the carries is too great to think of him as anything more than a mediocre flex play.

Jahvid Best, RB, DET – It was nice to see this young, exciting player able to make a splash again.  It was however, not enough to trust him in your championship match up! He is the best RB in Detroit for fantasy-purposes, but still should only be used in very deep formats.

Michael Crabtree, WR, SF – With a new head coach installed for just this Week 17 match up, I would stay far away from any 49ers not named Vernon Davis.  The 9ers are not unfamiliar with changes happening in the coaching staff, but this is largely why Crabtree was not a more consistent option for his fantasy owners throughout the season.

Jermaine Gresham, TE, CIN – The Bengals offense looked very good last week, but with the Ravens as opponents in Week 17 there is little reason to expect this rookie to have a big game.  Baltimore is only allowing an average of 4.9 fantasy points per week to the opposing tight end.

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