Love

The Seahawks! – against the Rams, who love to give up big points to the passing game.  Forsett will have a huge game too!

Jason Snelling – he is no Michael Tuner, but he’ll do! ESPN is projecting 123 yards and two TD’s I won’t go that far but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did it!

Marion Barber – Raiders are terrible and Barber will be the workhorse to get this offense back on track.

Michael Crabtree – Look at what Ryan Fitzpatrick was able to do to this Jaguars defense.  I expect Crabtree’s second consecutive game with a TD.

Cedric Benson and Chad Ochocinco – Two studs at their position against a team that let the Lions score at will, gotta like the odds!

LeSean McCoy – He looked great last week and should have a monster game versus a soft run D that is also the top passing D.

Ricky Williams – Bills did contain MJD pretty well last week but that is the only back all season that they can say that about.  Trust the history more than the single performance! (for all Bills players!)

Brandon Jacobs – Ahmad Bradshaw was on crutches tuesday and now has two injured feet!  Jacobs will be the primary back again… If he wants to keep his career going he needs to step it up.  I think he will!

Hates

T.O. – Phins are too good on D to trust the inconsistency at QB

Matt Forte – great run D and unless he gets it done in the air he shouldnt do much at all!

Matt Shaub – Coach Kubiak keeps ruining this team by taking away thier balance.  Without a running game they cannot be successful, and CHRIS BROWN GOT MOST THE CARRIES?! Over Slaton!? Insanity!

Pierre Thomas – This should be a shootout, and Thomas doesn’t get the goal line carries.

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Studs

A breakout game this week from the Cardinal RB Beanie Wells. This back made a huge impact with 16 carries and 85 yards and TWO scores. Hightower still knows the blocking scheme’s better and is better at blitz pickup so Beanie will not become the feature back this season, but from a keeper league stand point I really think that next season he will be just that. For the rest of the season Wells is a great option if the Westbrook Turner or Brown injuries hit you particularly hard, or as a flex play depending on match up. Great upside from here on out, he seems to have taken the top fantasy RB spot between the two in Arizona. In ESPN standard scoring Wells was third this week in fantasy points with 23 and has a great match up vs a terrible Rams team.

If you had Reggie Bush in your flex this week than you’re probably in a good mood after this weekend. The speedy back rushed only 6 times but totaled 83 yards rushing and had both a rushing and receiving score. Bush has a speed and elusiveness that makes him a threat from anywhere on the field. Bush becomes a solid flex play and has an excellent match up vs a surging Buccs team. Regardless of how promising play has been from the Buccaneers lately this is the 9-0 Saints so there is no concern in starting Bush in a flex role.

LaDainian Tomlinson was running for two this Sunday in a great game vs the Eagles that no one, myself included thought he had left in him. His wife left him a surprise of a positive pregnancy test in his locker for game day morning and he has his best game of the season with 24 carries 96 yards and a pair of touchdowns. This comes one week after his appearance on a great many dump lists so check your waiver wire and see. LT will be a solid flex play in some deeper leagues, but apart from a really good matchup we should see any more games like this. LT isn’t that old, and he can run through big wholes if they are there. Play him vs any bad defenses he is going to face such as KC and Cle in weeks 12 and 13.

Sydney Rice racked up just over 200 yards Sunday in a Vikings win over the Detroit Lions. Rice is a talented receiver that has built a relationship with Brett Favre. We will need to keep an eye on his production with Berrian back in the lineup and Favre’s recent trend of sliding off late in the season.

Lee Evans has put up respectable fantasy numbers with as much consistency as the Bills have had at quarterback. Evans will remain a flex option in desperate times that might be ahead given the lack of depth many of us are experiencing after this weeks injuries. Bowe was just suspended and this creates a small void for some fantasy owners. Evans can help you through this 4 week gap, but you don’t want to have to play him each week. Also worth noting is that while writing this entry the Bills fired Dick Jauron, how this will effect the offense is unknown but the defensive coordinator is taking over on an interim basis.

Duds

The Cowboy’s new fantasy stud Miles Austin had a terrible game this weekend vs a solid Green Bay secondary. Austin saw four catches for only 20 yards and showed his ability to be contained by a good defense that is able to plan for him. I believe whole-heartedly in Tony Romo’s inability to perform after the month of December begins, but typically this is after a near perfect November for the Cowboys QB. Austin will not be more than a flex play except against good match ups from here on out. With that said, he will be a very good flex play as Roy Williams get introduced into the passing game more and more. This will cause defenses to pick their poison over the course of a game by double covering one of them, leaving the other in single coverage where both are very dangerous.

Nate Burleson wasn’t able to catch a single ball Sunday versus a better than advertised Cardinals secondary. His teammate T.J. Houshmandzedeh saw 17 targets while pulling down 9 of them for 165 yards! It certainly is starting to look like the primary receiver in Seattle is Houshmandzedeh, however Burleson will not be gone completely. I do expect a role reversal here fantasy wise.

Marques Colston gobbled up every pass thrown to him Sunday against the Rams.  Yep, both of them!  The Saints WR was held in check the entire game and only totaled 17 yards in what should have been a big game.  So far this season defenses have been rolling coverage Colston’s way all season.  This hasn’t helped a single team to beat the undefeated Saints so I would expect decent production from Colston the rest of the way, just not at the level we hoped in the preseason.

Joe Flacco had a TERRIBLE game (from a fantasy perspective only!) Monday night versus a VERY favorable match up… the lowly Browns.  There was an inability on a part of the Ravens offense to move the ball in the first half.  This was definitely the case on the other side of the ball, so there was little urgency on the part of the Ravens to take any risks at all.  To compound the issue, very shortly after this first TD there was an pick six for the Ravens D, and from then out it was a ball control game featuring Ray Rice.  Don’t panic here Flaccoholics, no picks, no risks, and a good completion percentage.  This was no where near a game where Flacco needed to make plays.

Lastly, Pierre Thomas had only 11 carries and 37 yards in the same great matchup that Colston under-produced in.  Reggie Bush was the top Fantasy RB in New Orleans this weekend, however neither saw a large amount of carries.  We’ve seen Thomas’ ability after returning from an injury in week 3, and this is still the same guy.  He is the main back for the Saints still, he just had an off week.  I read nothing into this at all!  This is still his job, and Bell shouldn’t see any added work because of this performance.  Bush may see a few while he has the hott hand, but thats about it.

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