Big week ahead ladies and gentlemen. Four big teams are on a bye and there are many holes to fill this week in your lineups. First, let me give you the rundown on why you should trust us.
Saucy T was perfect on his picks for the third time this season. QB Andy Dalton‘s 243 yards and three touchdowns surely got you points, no matter what scoring system you play. RB Lamar Miller‘s 113 yards and a TD were certainly helpful while benching WR Antonio Brown (failing to reach 50 yards again) and QB Peyton Manning were both sits that you should have been able to find more points than.
Myself? Not as great as week 5, but I did pretty well. Hopefully you listened and started QB Matthew Stafford because a 405-yard, four TD is good for anyone. I nailed the RB Mark Ingram start predicting a two TD performance, and I also told you that with a new coach that was a former TE, that TE Jordan Cameron would return to the end zone. If you are in a PPR league, WR Jordan Matthews did ok with 11 points, but he certainly should have provided more.
When it came to sits, QB Russell Wilson wasn’t all that impressive behind an 18-point day. I told you not to mess with anyone in the Redskins backfield because I have been seeing so many people starting RB Chris Thompson after one decent outing. They COMBINED for 34 yards rushing and 37 yards receiving. And as I said last week, I had to start him because he was my best option, so I am perfectly happy with the fact that my TE sit of the week in TE Jimmy Graham was wrong. Now let’s see if he can get some consistency.
The Wifeyiac — after trading him to me — told you to sit RB Ameer Abdullah. Not only was she right for fantasy teams, but after yet another fumble, the Detroit Lions benched him as well. These females in fantasy I tell ya… the invasion is upon us!
This week is rough. No Packers, no Broncos, no Bears and no Bengals. That’s easily 20 top fantasy starters right there. So we dug deep for you this week.
(Note to the reader: These picks are made by a collection of experts. I don’t necessarily agree with all of theirs, and they certainly don’t agree with all of mine — I am always the last one on the page. Keep in mind as you read, that these are not always consensus picks, and should you find as the season goes on that you feel more comfortable with one of our experts starts, by all means, make he or she your go-to expert.)
Dunton: If you are like me this is a rough week in terms of byes. I am playing an important division game and have to deal with Aaron Rodgers‘ bye. Yikes!! Well here’s to hoping backups do their job for the one week we drafted them.
Starts of the Week: I may be reaching here but QB Teddy Bridgewater intrigues me going against the Lions. This is the same Lions secondary that allowed the Bears to drive 70 yards down the field and kick a FG to tie the game in the last 21 seconds of the game. I think Bridgewater is a good bye week replacement against this defense.
WR John Brown has become a fun target for Carson Palmer. He makes the most of his targets (Caught 4/7 last week for 47 yards and a TD) and is a good deep threat. The Ravens defense is a shell of its former self and this prime time MNF game could be a break out one for Brown. I expect him to be Gruden’s grinder after this one.
Who is every backup’s, or in this case 3rd string QB’s, best friend? A good pass catching Tight End. Look no further than TE Jason Witten. The Cowboys are coming off a bye week, play the Giants for a chance to stay in the hunt and have Matt Cassell starting his first game under center for Big D. Jason Witten could see over 10 targets against a struggling Giants defense. Get him in your lineup.
Sit of the Week: TE Gary Barnidge has been on a tear lately. He has caught a TD in each of his last 3 games and racked up 219 yards receiving over the same span. The streak stops this week on the road against a stingy Rams defense.
Fee:
Starts of the Week: RB Todd Gurley is a no-brainer against a Browns D that has struggled to stop the run all year. The rookie should have a great game. I think RB Latavius Murray bounces back. He’s struggled for sure, but SD has given up the most fantasy pointts to RBs. QB Carson Palmer and any Arizona WR are must starts. Is it 2008? Larry Fitzgerald and Palmer must starts? But they can’t be stopped on offense and Baltimore’s secondary is like swiss cheese. I love WR Jarvis Landry. He gets a ton of targets form the slot and I believe in Miami after the coaching change.
Sits of the Week: – Just because he was mildly decent against the awful giants, doesn’t mean QB Sam Bradford is startable until I see it more consistently. The same can be said with QB Matthew Stafford – yes he had an awesome game last week, no I don’t believe he can duplicate that again this week. Sit Bradford’s “main weapon” WR Jordan Matthews while you’re at it as well – the Panthers D is suffocating.
Teddy Ballgame:
Starts of the Week: I like WR John Brown to have a great game against Baltimore, their D has been giving up huge points to WRs. I also like TE Ladarius Green to have a big game against Oakland’s defense who never cover tight ends. He has still been producing, even with the return of Gates.
Sits of the Week – Like the Wayniac, I would sit RB Melvin Gordon at home against Oakland, at least until he proves to his coach and all of us he can hold onto the ball. I would sit QB Sam Bradford against a tough Carolina defense on the road considering he struggled against the abysmal Giants pass defense at home.
JD: I missed the last couple of weeks and want to jump in with a bang… I think you should sit Peyton Manning! He’s on a bye? Well, sit him next week too!
Start of the Week: RB Christine Michael – it looks like the Cowboys are finally giving him the reins and I expect him to put up big numbers vs. the Giants. He may be available on waivers in your league. Pick him up and enjoy his points.
Sit of the Week: RB Carlos Hyde. He’s banged up, he’s against Seattle, and he’s playing like Jekyll. If he plays on Thursday, it won’t be worth a start.
Saucy T:
Starts of the Week:
WR Stefon Diggs– By now you’ve all heard Diggs mentioned as a guy to pick up off of waivers and stash, but I’ll go one step further and say you should feel safe playing him this week and going forward. As a Maryland fan I’ve seen Diggs play longer than most. Diggs may have been a 5th round pick out of an unimpressive college football program (Fear the Turtle), but don’t let that fool you. Diggs was the No. 2 WR prospect in the country coming out of high school according to Rivals.com. Injuries stunted his career at Maryland, but Diggs has all the physical tools to be what we expected out of Charles Johnson this year. Over the last two games he has built a good rapport with Teddy Bridgewater while catching 13 passes for 216 yards. I expect Diggs to have a top 20 WR performance against a struggling Lions team, and he will be the best Vikings WR rest of season.
QB Landry Jones – I’m not suggesting you bench your top ten QB for Jones, but maybe you have Aaron Rodgers or Andy Dalton (the No. 1 and No. 22 fantasy QBs), both of whom are off this week, or maybe you can no longer trust Sam Bradford of Eli Manning after that terrible Monday Night Football game. Landry Jones showed last week that a capable QB can do great things with all those weapons the Steelers have. Kansas City is a mess after the Jamal Charles injury, and I expect Jones to fill in nicely for one week in Pittsburgh, and he can do the same for your fantasy team.
Sits of the Week:
RB LeGarrette Blount – Blount had a huge fantasy week against the Colts in a game we all thought would be Brady throwing for 1000 yards, but as most experienced fantasy players know, owning a Patriots running back can be maddening. Bill Belichick has never cared what you did the week before, he game plans specifically for each opponent, and going up against a stout Jets run D seems like a game built for Dion Lewis.
RBs Christine Michael/Joseph Randle – I am going to have to disagree with JD this week. It’s hard finding sits this week with so many talented players on bye week, so if you had to start either of these Cowboys running backs I would understand, but if you can steer clear of the Cowboys backfield this week I would. I think Christine Michael will be more valuable going forward, but until I see him perform I wouldn’t feel safe trusting him. He could have a huge week, or gain four yards on his first drive and never touch the ball again. Randle has been a decent fantasy play this season (17th in PPR), but not a good NFL running back (3.9 yards per carry) so he may lose his job outright. Until the Cowboys figure out who they trust filling the void left by Demarco Murray, neither of these backs should be in your fantasy lineups.
The Wifeyiac:
Starts of the Week: QB Eli Manning will bounce back at home against the Cowboys, despite their surprising 12th ranked defense. If he doesn’t, and drops two division games in a row, I would sit Eli until further notice. RB Mark Ingram should find the end zone once again this week. I also love TE Antonio Gates because he is on fire heading into a juicy matchup against Oakland. Keep an eye on WR Brandon LaFell as he returns to New England and the Jets may focus all of their energy (Revis Island) on taking Julian Edelman out of this game.
Sits of the Week: Honestly, I’m glad QB Peyton Manning isn’t playing because I think he has become my permanent Sit of the Week.
The Wayniac:
Starts of the Week:
QB: Unfortunately for me in reality, QB Ryan Tannehill looks like a solid start against my Texans. The Houston D is not what it used to be and the secondary is not good. DB Kareem Jackson — who is ranked amongst the worst DBs in the NFL — is injured this week. I can only imagine that Jarvis Landry and Rishard Matthews will have a field day against his replacement.
RB: The Cleveland Browns have allow nearly 1000 yards on the ground at 5.0 yards per carry this season. Todd Gurley has had a week’s rest and before that looked like he was worth the gamble those took on drafting an injured rookie running back. This could be Gurley’s biggest game of the year.
WR: Martavis Bryant had his coming out party last week — as expected — and that should continue no matter who is behind center this week. Bryant can make a 5-yard screen an 80-yard TD. He will lay some duds, but starting this week and moving forward he should be in your lineup every week.
TE: Easy. Antonio Gates is facing the worst defense against TEs in the Oakland Raiders. Philip Rivers is coming of a 500-yard day. This pass offense is clicking, and Gates will tee off on Sunday.
Def: Want a sneaky spot start? I like the Bucs this week. Kirk Cousins is a turnover machine and the Skins running game is non-existent. They can get you some points… and then drop them!
Sits of the Week:
QB: Because Aaron Rodgers, Andy Dalton, Peyton Manning, and even Jay Cutler are on a bye this week, teams are digging deep for a backup QB. I’m turning to my old Sit ‘Em buddy Colin Kaepernick as my sit of the week. Short rest, Thursday Night Football against an embarrassed and ashamed Seahawks defense. No thanks.
RB: Did you see my article on Melvin Gordon yesterday? It explains it all. Sit him.
WR: Because his partner-in-crime is a sit, so is Anquan Boldin. Again, a week with Cobb, Bebe, Sanders, A.J. Green, and Alshon Jeffery on byes, you need to look deep. Boldin has back-to-back 100-yard days. That’s not happening Thursday night, even in garbage time.
TE: Ben Watson is the hot pickup of the week, but don’t be fooled. Watson is a nice player, but if you watched last week’s Falcons game, their DBs shut down the long ball. Brees was forced to dink and dunk underneath and that was where Watson was left open, due to the holes in the Falcons LB coverage game. The Colts defense is worse off than the Falcons, and Brees will be able to use his full arsenal once again.
Def: The Kansas City Chiefs were supposed to be better than this. But they aren’t. They have the 19th ranked pass defense and the 20th ranked rush defense. Andy Reid should be hoping that Big Ben needs one more week or this could be a blowout in Arrowhead.
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