Category: Fantasy Football (Page 257 of 324)

Last week’s sleeper, Justin Fargas, didn’t score, but he gained 104 total yards and caught five passes against the Bears, so he was a solid start in PPR leagues and a decent start in standard performance leagues.

This week’s sleeper is…

Kyle Boller (vs. CLE)
Owners in need of a sneaky good play at QB should look at Boller, who faces a Browns defense that is 31st against the pass. Cleveland has allowed 273 yards and 2.4 TD through the air in the first nine games, so Boller should be good for at least 200 yards and a TD, maybe more.

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: Eli Manning has a nice matchup against the Lions, who have allowed 257 yards and 2.0 TD through the air this season. Detroit is playing a little better of late, but they are still susceptible to the pass…Matt Schaub is healthy again and he faces the Saints, who are 29th in the league against the pass…Kurt Warner’s non-throwing hand is a little dinged up, but there’s no denying that he has a great matchup against the Bengals, who have been pretty brutal against the pass…Daunte Culpepper (@ MIN), Vince Young (@ DEN) and Phillip Rivers (@ JAX) also have good matchups for those fantasy owners looking for good plays at QB.

RB: Chester Taylor will take over while Adrian Peterson is out with a knee injury. He faces an Oakland defense that is great against the pass, but can’t stop the run. They’ve allowed an average of 144 yards and 1.4 TD on the ground, so Taylor could be in for a big day…Maurice Morris had a nice game Monday night and this week he faces a Bears defense that has been surprisingly porous against the run this season…Ryan Grant is a good start against the Panthers, who have allowed 113 yards and 1.1 TD on the ground this season. The Packers’ running game is looking better.

WR: Andre Johnson is finally back on the field and he has a great matchup against the Saints, who have allowed a ton of points to opposing WRs this season…It should go without saying, but Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin should start due to their terrific matchup against the Bengals…Mark Clayton is a sneaky good play against the Browns, who are 31st in the league against the pass…Ronald Curry faces the Vikings, who can’t stop the pass. He’s a little bit of a risk with Culpepper starting at QB, but he should post nice stats against Minnesota.

SIT ‘EM

QB: Don’t get too excited about Rex Grossman starting for the Bears again. He faces a Seattle defense that has allowed just 0.6 pass TD to opposing QBs this season…Jay Cutler may find the going tough against the Titans, who are 7th in the league against the pass and have allowed just nine pass TD all year…Kellen Clemens had a good first start against Washington, but this week he faces the Steelers, who have the top pass defense in the league.

RB: Don’t expect Thomas Jones to break out of his slump against the Steelers, who have the league’s best rush defense. They’ve allowed an average of 72 rushing yards and 0.2 rush TD this season…Jamal Lewis figures to be in for a tough day against the Ravens who are great against the run, but can’t stop the pass…Kevin Jones is probably a must-start in most PPR leagues, but in non-PPR leagues, expect him to have a quiet day against a streaking Giants defense.

WR: I don’t like to recommend to bench studs like Steve Smith, but he’s nicked up and the Packers have been great against the pass lately…Dwayne Bowe is one of the league’s best rookies, but this week he faces the Colts, who have the league’s 2nd best pass defense…Roddy White has a tough matchup with the Bucs, who have allowed just 173 yards and 0.7 TD through the air this season.

Post all of your fantasy questions here.

Every week, I highlight a few players that you should target in waivers. I’ll use the ESPN league data when filtering players, so the only players eligible for discussion here are those that are available on the waiver wire of at least 40% of ESPN’s leagues. I’ll list each player’s percentage-owned after their name so you have an idea of how available they are in leagues around the country. I’ll always try to talk about a player or two that are available in 90% of leagues for those of you in 12-team leagues or leagues with big rosters.

PICKUP OF THE WEEK

Chester Taylor, Vikings (62.8)
He falls just out of my self-imposed criteria, but Taylor is available in 37% of ESPN leagues, and he should be picked up immediately if he’s available on your league’s waiver wire. It looks like Adrian Peterson will miss a few games with a knee injury, so Taylor will resume the role of RB1 behind Minnesota’s big offensive line. As RB1 last season, Taylor gained over 1500 total yards from scrimmage and scored six times. While Peterson is out, Taylor should be a good RB2 in most leagues.

QUARTERBACKS

Jason Campbell (46.5) doesn’t have a very good matchup in week 12, but otherwise his schedule isn’t bad down the stretch. He’s been a little spotty this season, but he played well against the Eagles…Kurt Warner (33.4) has a torn ligament in his left (non-throwing) hand and lost a few snaps to Tim Rattay around the goal line. Still he threw for 259 yards and three scores against the Lions and can be started if he has a good matchup (which he has in weeks 11, 13 and 15)…He doesn’t have a particularly good schedule, but David Garrard (30.6) was solid as the starter earlier in the season, averaging 214 yards and 1.2 TD over the first five games…Kellen Clemens (9.7) doesn’t have a good matchup in week 11, but things lighten up considerably (@ DAL, @ MIA, vs. CLE) until a week 15 matchup with the Pats…Rex Grossman (8.4) might be the starter again in Chicago now that Brian Griese is nicked up. He played OK against Oakland and has a few good matchups coming up…Brodie Croyle (1.8) will get the start in week 11 and Kyle Boller (2.2) may usurp Steve McNair as the starter in Baltimore. Neither guy can be trusted, but starting QBs do have some fantasy value in deep leagues.

RUNNING BACKS

Chester Taylor (62.8) is the biggest waiver wire prize this week…Justin Fargas (58.0) is the clear RB1 in Oakland and should be owned in all leagues. He’s a serviceable RB2 going forward…Selvin Young (55.4) played great in place of Travis Henry, who missed Sunday’s game with an injury. Young should be owned in all but the shallowest of leagues…Priest Holmes (45.6) carried the ball 20 times for 65 yards on Sunday. He didn’t look like the ol’ Priest we remember from a few years ago, but he’s RB1 in KC as long as Larry Johnson is out…Ryan Grant (42.8) should be owned in all leagues. Against the Vikings, he ran very well behind Green Bay’s offensive line, which is doing a much better job of opening up running lanes…Anthony Thomas (21.1) would be first in line to take over for Marshawn Lynch, but it looks like Lynch may play in week 11… Ron Dayne (13.3) can’t be trusted, but as long as Ahman Green is out, he is first in line for carries in Houston. He had a nice game against a poor Raiders defense and has the Saints and Browns over the next two weeks…Maurice Morris (8.3) appears to be the RB1 in Seattle as long as Shaun Alexander is sidelined. He carried the ball 28 times for 87 yards and a score against the 49ers.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Muhsin Muhammad (58.9), Roddy White (58.3), D.J. Hackett (49.8) and Shaun McDonald (46.8) are all good options, especially in PPR leagues. Hackett was especially impressive on Monday night, catching eight passes for 101 yards and a score…Mark Clayton (45.2) has had a very disappointing year, but showed some signs of life with eight catches for 107 yards on Sunday…Joe Jurevicius (41.7) has caught 14 passes for 189 yards over the last three weeks, which makes him a serviceable WR3 or WR4 in PPR leagues…Andre Davis (34.9) and Brandon Stokley (34.1) are still decent options as long as Andre Johnson and Javon Walker are out…James Jones (29.9) is serviceable in PPR leagues as he’s caught at least three passes in each of the last three weeks…Over the last four weeks, Kevin Walter (27.8) has averaged 7.0 catches for 92 yards and 0.3 TD, but has seen his yardage decrease each week. He’s still a nice option in PPR leagues, especially with the Saints and Browns up next…David Patten (23.7) only caught three passes for 37 yards on Sunday, but has been pretty consistent of late, catching 4.4 passes over the last five weeks…Ike Hilliard (23.7) has been a nice surprise this season and, in PPR leagues, has surpassed 10 points in five of the last six weeks…Like the rest of the Seattle wideouts, Nate Burleson (21.8) should benefit from Seattle’s new aerial attack…Drew Bennett (13.8) is back on the fantasy radar after two weeks totaling 10 catches for 100 yards and a score…Brandon Jones (5.9) is healthy again, and returned to action by catching five passes for 51 yards against the Jaguars.

TIGHT ENDS

If the St. Louis offense is indeed on the upswing, Randy McMichael (55.7) should be able to build on his four-catch, 41-yard day against the Saints where he also caught a TD…Donald Lee (48.7) continues to linger on more than half of ESPN’s waiver wires despite having caught at least three passes in each game this season. On Sunday, he caught four passes for 27 yards and a score…L.J. Smith (45.3) appears to be feeling better. On Sunday he chipped in with four catches for 49 yards and a TD…Eric Johnson (30.6) caught three passes for 38 yards and a TD against the Rams and continues to play a prominent role in the Saints’ passing attack…Tony Scheffler (21.8) has posted an average of 4.5 catches for 39 yards and 0.5 TD over the past four games and has been the most effective TE for the Broncos…Leonard Pope (3.3) had a breakout game with two scores against the Lions, but he’s not a good option in most leagues…Will Heller (1.2) has hit paydirt three times in the last three weeks, but has been very spotty otherwise…Zach Miller (2.9) hasn’t been very consistent, but he caught four passes for 43 yards against the Bears.

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 (HOU, WAS and ATL) were a mixed bag. Houston and Atlanta played well, but the Redskins had a pretty tough outing against the Jets. 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):

NO (vs. STL), ARI (vs. DET), KC (vs. DEN) and OAK (vs. CHI)

Good luck!