Category: Fantasy Football (Page 250 of 324)

Defensive Team By Committee (DTBC) can be an effective approach in fantasy football. While other teams spend middle round draft picks on the Ravens or Bears, an owner going DTBC will wait until the final rounds to grab a mediocre defense with a good matchup in week 1. As the season wears on, they’ll pickup defenses week to week depending on the matchup, because a mediocre defense with a great matchup is as good of a play as a great defense with a mediocre matchup.

Last week, my top three picks were the Bucs, Bengals and Dolphins. Tampa Bay was the defense of the week, holding the Falcons to just three points while scoring two return TD (one interception along with the franchise’s first ever return TD). Starting the Bucs was the difference in a couple of my semifinal playoff games. Meanhwhile, the Bengals laid an egg and the Dolphins played pretty well.

Here are a few defenses that have nice matchups this week and are available in at least 40% of ESPN leagues (in order of strength of play):

TB (@ SF), TEN (vs. NYJ), ARI (vs. ATL), DET (vs. KC) and KC (@ DET).

Good luck!

Even when I don’t have Ron Dayne on my roster, he finds a way to screw with me. Dayne made a surprise start last Thursday and vultured a TD from my sleeper, Darius Walker, who finished with just 13 carries for 66 yards. Walker also caught one pass for two yards, but it wasn’t enough to salvage a very mediocre game. The Walker pick broke a streak of six pretty good sleeper picks.

Let’s see if we can get back on track. This week’s sleeper is…

David Patten, Saints (vs. PHI)
Patten has been boom-or-bust all season. In his five “good” games, he averaged six catches for 99 yards and 0.6 TD. In the other nine games, he averaged 1.6 catches for 22 yards and 0 TD. Needless to say, the guy is a risky play. But with Reggie Bush out (or at least limited), the Saints are forced to utilize Patten more often in their gameplan, and over the last two weeks he has responded by posting 13 catches for 193 yards and two scores. If you’re in need of a sleeper at WR, give Patten a shot.

Every week, I highlight a few players to start and a few players to sit at each position. I’m a firm believer in starting your studs, so I won’t tell you about how Carson Palmer or LaDainian Tomlinson has a tough matchup – just go ahead and start them. I’ll focus on the borderline guys – players you’ll only start under the right circumstances. It’s important to note that depending on your roster and situation, you may not be able to follow these recommendations. For example, if I suggest you bench a solid starter like Ben Roethlisberger, only do so if you have a clearly better option on your bench.

START ‘EM

QB: Brodie Croyle is a sneaky good start this week as he visits the Lions, who are reeling. Detroit is 31st against the pass (258 yards and 1.9 pass TD per game), so Croyle could have a nice week…Donovan McNabb is a little untrustworthy fantasy-wise, but he has a great matchup this week against the Saints, who are 30th in the league against the pass…The super-desperate can look to Tarvaris Jackson (vs. WAS) and Chris Redman (@ ARI) for some help. Both have nice matchups and are probably available on your league’s waiver wire.

RB: Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew look like good starts against a Raiders defense that struggles to stop the run…Kolby Smith has the Lions, who have allowed 169 yards and 2.5 TD on the ground over the last four weeks. He should be a good start for owners looking for a solid RB2…Kevin Jones has been spotty this season, but he has a pretty good matchup with the Chiefs, who have yielded an average of 177 yards and 1.3 TD on the ground over the last four. He could have a nice day, assuming Mike Martz sticks with the run.

WR: Roddy White should be primed for a bounce back game after a miserable week 15. He faces the Cardinals, who have yielded 287 yards and 2.5 pass TD per game over the last four weeks…Even though he has been very undependable, David Patten is a sneaky good start against the Eagles, who have allowed 250 yards and 1.0 pass TD over the last month…Dwayne Bowe also figures to have a nice game against the Lions, who really struggle to stop the pass.

SIT ‘EM

QB: David Garrard has proven to be a capable starter no matter the matchup, but this week’s game against Oakland figures to be a tough one…Jay Cutler faces a Chargers secondary that is peaking right now against the pass…Vince Young has the Jets, who limited the Patriots’ passing game. The Jets are 10th in the league against the pass, so Young may find the going tough.

RB: Cleveland has been pretty good against the run of late, so you may want to bench the disappointing Rudi Johnson if you have other options…The Colts have improved somewhat against the run which means Ron Dayne might be in for a relatively quiet day. Also, there’s a good chance that Houston falls behind, which would reduce Dayne’s role in the offense…Shaun Alexander hasn’t done much to deserve a start, but he’ll find the going especially tough against an embarrassed Ravens defense this week.

WR: I wouldn’t expect Roydell Williams to repeat his terrific week 15 performance against the Jets, who did a nice job against the New England receivers last week…They are still startable, but don’t be surprised if Brandon Marshall (@ SD) and Calvin Johnson (vs. KC) struggle against solid pass defenses.

I surmised on an earlier thread that the presence of Jessica Simpson’s mammaries may have had something to do with Tony Romo’s pitiful performance against the Eagles on Sunday. It turns out that Terrell Owens agrees, sort of.

He wouldn’t point to any specific body part, but he feels that Simpson’s presence as a whole had something to do with Romo’s bad play.

“Right now, Jessica Simpson is not a fan favorite – in this locker room or in Texas Stadium,” Owens said Wednesday.

“With everything that has happened, obviously with the way Tony played and the comparison between her and Carrie Underwood, I think a lot of people feel she has taken his focus away.”

I wonder if Packer Nation could get together and arrange for Ms. Simpson to attend each of Romo’s last two games. It sure would be nice to get home field advantage for the playoffs.

The Pro Bowl rosters for the AFC and the NFC have been announced, and ESPN’s Len Pasquarelli says that the most notable snubs are Houston’s Mario Williams, Green Bay’s Charles Woodson and Jacksonville’s Fred Taylor.

I was surprised to see 10 Cowboys get Pro Bowl when the Packers got only four. Hmm, Dallas must be a lot better than Green Bay.

It was good to see Brian Westbrook get the nod, as it seems like he’s finally getting the respect he deserves. At WR, I’m happy to see Donald Driver make the Pro Bowl, though one could argue that Greg Jennings (and his 12 TD receptions) is having the better season. And what’s up with Nick Folk getting the nod over Mason Crosby, who is leading the league in scoring? Switching Crosby in for Folk and Woodson in for Terence Newman would have made the Dallas/Green Bay a little more reasonable at eight to six.

In the AFC, it’s nice to see Housh get some love, and Big Ben was a fine choice at QB after Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.