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The WN Fantasy Football Report: Week 12 Starts & Sits

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Last week I needed to go 3-0 across my fantasy leagues to stay in the playoff hunt. Two of those games I not only won, but won in convincing fashion as both were over 30-point victories. The third I lost and it wasn’t pretty. Not only did I lose by 17 points, I lost to the future Mrs. Wayniac. It didn’t hurt as much as I thought, it was more like when Anakin Skywalker betrayed Obi Won Kenobi and became more powerful. She was a novice for the 2013 season and picked my brain for every ounce of fantasy information I had. She then joined my league with Kid Robot and the apprentice has beaten the master. So congratulations, but just remember what happened to Darth Vader’s empire. They crumbled when the pressure was turned up. So, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb. I’m coming for you Shiny New Toys.

Well, if you listened to my starts and sits, you hopefully were able to win all of your games. Philip Rivers was my start of the week at QB and while he played mistake free football and still mustered 15 points, there is clearly something wrong with him. Whether Antonio Gates was right about the ribs or not, Rivers is not the same QB he was just a few weeks back. Mark Ingram continued to tear it up with another 17-point day. Roddy White was able to get in the end zone yet again and the Packers defense was the highest scoring defense of the week.

Mark Sanchez was able to salvage 23 points in garbage time after looking completely lost and miserable, giving more touchdowns to the Eagles, but it was still pretty smart to sit him. Ryan Mathews, Marques Colston, and the Eagles defense all under performed while Vernon Davis actually improved. Last week Davis had one catch for seven yards. This week he had one catch for eight yards.

This is the last week of byes. The good news is that it is the Steelers and the Panthers so their aren’t a ton of fantasy relevant superstars you need to worry about their absence. Still, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell, Kelvin Benjamin and Ben Roethlisberger need replacing. Who do you start this week? You know the Wayniac Nation has your answers!

Onward to Week 12’s Starts and Sits

Fantasy Football, NFL, Sports

The WN Fantasy Football Report: Week 11 Starts and Sits

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Week 11. It is a pretty big week for most people, but for me it’s a bit different. You see, in my BFFL, acclaimed member of The Thread, Kid Robot thought it would be an interesting idea to have my fiancé join his fantasy team. Last year was her first year doing fantasy in her own league and she is pretty darn stout. She asked for my tutelage prior to her 2013 draft and learned the rest on her own. Last year, she made the playoffs. This year, in her FFFL, she is in first place. This week I play her. Win or lose, she is one of the biggest Patriots fans there is and I have Tom Brady and Shane Vereen going against her Sunday night. I know that is tearing her up inside.

Last week, we were a few experts short because of busy weeks. Ted Reed was really busy in particular. I want to give a huge shout out and big congratulations to the newest dad on the Wayniac Nation staff. Congrats, Ted, and welcome back. You only have so many leaves of absence during the fantasy football season.

The experts that were here knocked it out of the park. Fee hit on everything. Justin Forsett went off for 112 yards and two touchdowns, Kelvin Benjamin went for 70 yards and two touchdowns and Matt Ryan had a decent enough day. His sit, Ryan Tannehill, had a whopping 10 points. J.D. was right about Mychal Rivera and his 20-point performance, although he missed on Jeremy Hill who fell back to reality with a 6 point day. He told you to sit Odell Beckham, Jr. who somehow performed well against the Seahawks, but told you not to be duped into starting Bobby Rainey against a weak Falcons defense because Charles Sims was healthy and would steal carries. Sims did just that, with two more carries and 9 more yards. Me? I definitely missed telling you to start that soulless ginger Andy Dalton, but Denard Robinson (20 points), Mike Evans (32 points) and the Packers defense (17-20 points depending upon format) cleared my name. Sitting Jay Cutler and Vernon Davis and his huge 8-yard catch in a week short on tight ends and quarterbacks hopefully helped you as well.

This week, aside from the Dallas Cowboys offensive stars, there isn’t too many relevant people on a bye. Of course, if you are starting any Jets or Jaguars on a regular basis, you need way more help than my experts can give you anyway. But we will certainly do our best!

Week 11 Starts and Sits!

Fantasy Football, Sports

The WN Fantasy Football Report: Week 10 Starts and Sits

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Man. Week 10 is upon us and there are another bevy of fantasy superstars on the shelf with byes. I have six of my nine starters out in one league this week. I have never been an advocate of drafting a team around byes, after all, it’s only one week you have to suffer. Karma isn’t kind to me this time around, as I am rolling into battle with the ferocious backfield of Frank Gore and Jonathan Stewart against the team one game ahead of me for first place. Well played, schedule makers, well played.

Last week, when some of fantasy’s biggest scorers were on bye, you relied on us to get you the right starts and sits. How did we do? Fee missed on starting Russell Wilson who had a quiet game against the Raiders, but hit big with Jeremy Maclin‘s 35-point performance. He was right in sitting Doug Martin, Cam Newton and Stewart, but Percy Harvin surprised a lot of people (including yours truly who had him on my bench) with his 2014 breakout performance. Ted Reed hit on Shane Vereen with his 17-point day and looked like he was right about Andrew Hawkins, who was averaging 10 yards per catch before leaving the game injured. Ted was also correct in sitting all of the Rams’ running backs. J.D. was right in both of his Starts of the Week as Ronnie Hillman and Martavis Bryant both had multiple touchdown days. Me? My Start of the Week Ryan Tannehill blew up for 30 points, while my Sit of the Week Andy Dalton finally had a good game. It still wasn’t a monster output for a quarterback (23 points) but it’s amazing what A.J. Green can do for a slumping QB.

This week, names like Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Andrew Luck, T.Y. Hilton, Philip Rivers, Arian Foster and Alfred Morris are on a bye. Once again, our gurus had to dig deep for some important starts and sits for you. As the season has gone on, we have gotten better and better. Hopefully, you have been listening to us and doing the same!

Continue to Week 10 Starts and Sits

Fantasy Football, NFL, Sports

The WN Fantasy Football Report: Week 9 Starts and Sits

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What do Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffrey, Jay Cutler, Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Eddie Lacy, Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Roddy White, Martellus Bennett, Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford, Golden Tate, Reggie Bush, Joique Bell and Matt Forte all have in common? Clealry it isn’t that they are all mature leaders on their teams because Jay Cutler is listed in the mix. No, these are all big-scoring guys that all have a bye this week. Picking the right people to start is leaps and bounds more imperative than picking who to sit this week. One of my teams has six people on a bye this week, for crying out loud. What that basically comes down to is if you are on the schedule, you are suiting up for my Fighting Blue Hose.

Last week, I called out our three worst statistical fantasy gurus. I told you that their first half of their rookie fantasy expertise was under par. How did they respond? Dunton was perfect last week as his Start of the Week, T.Y. Hilton, dropped 26 points and his Sit, Marshawn Lynch put up a meager seven points. Fee also went perfect, getting 30 points out of his Golden Tate start and  a mere 16 from his Matt Ryan sit. Ted Reed responded by pulling a Larry Fitzgerald 32-point performance against a tough Eagles defense out of nowhere, and agreeing with Fee on the Matt Ryan Sit of the Week. Six-for-six, folks. If you had doubt in us before, that should erase any left.

Keep on keeping on for your STARTS AND SITS

Fantasy Football, NFL, Sports

Sunday Morning Football Poll: Did You Like It?

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This Sunday, NFL fans experience the earliest game played in football history. I’m very curious on what my loyal Wayniacs thought about the game. Well, not so much the game in particular. I live in Atlanta, I have heard plenty about the Falcons epic collapse in Jolly Old England. Thomas Dimitroff needs to go. He went all in on the Julio Jones trade and has a team that has absolutely no depth. The NFL is a league in which someone gets injured on a weekly basis, sometimes by celebrating a sack (LaMarr Houston, you sir, are an idiot). Mike Smith has no one to turn to on his depleted offensive line and paper thin defense. His coaching calls are a bit peculiar, but so are Ned Yost’s and he is in the World Series. He needs players that play, and maybe this team can return to that 13-3 level they were just a few seasons ago.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

But I digress. I am torn on how I feel about the game. You know by now that I am a total football geek, so a literal full day of football was pretty much like porn. But was it necessary? How many people said screw it and didn’t wake up?  Football is about beer and buffalo wings and none of those go particularly well with 9:30 in the morning. Here in Atlanta, without a special permit, bars can’t serve alcohol until 12:30 on Sundays. Who wants to go to a bar for football when you can’t booze?

It also totally screwed up my fantasy team. I had several running backs on bye, so I had to plug-and-play Bernard Pierce. Pierce was announced inactive at noon, but unlike every other Sunday in the history of time, the waiver wire had locked at 9:30 AM. I couldn’t make a move and had to roll into Sunday’s action down an RB. I know, I know, most people think that the NFL doesn’t care about fantasy football, they care about that dollar bill. Then why does NFL.com, the official site of the NFL, have it’s own fantasy football site with league play and experts? Why does the NFL Network air Fantasy Football Live twice a day? Why do active NFL players tweet about benching themselves and losing? Fantasy football is played by everyone, it is a very real issue in pondering moves Goodell makes. Of course, Goodell doesn’t put much thought into anything, so this shouldn’t be shocking.

So I don’t know how I feel about it. I am a traditionalist at heart. I don’t even like Thursday Night Football even though it gives us an extra day. I remember in my youth after midseason, we had Saturday games. What happened to those? It’s so much better than Thursday because teams have the right amount of rest. Anyhooo…. I think I would rather the normal slate of 1 PM and 4 PM games and never have to watch football before I finished my coffee and eggs again. What do you think?

Fantasy Football, NFL, Sports

The WN Fantasy Football Report: Week 8 Starts and Sits

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Well, fantasy folks, we are essentially at the hallway point of the season. As we are cruising along in the 2014, I thought it would be fair to let you know where our experts stand and take some accountability in our first season as fantasy gurus (that term is used very loosely here at The Nation!). Fee, Dunton and Ted Reed have struggled thus far all coming in at around 30 percent accuracy in their predictions. J.D. has been the all-star of the bunch and his starts and sits have hit almost every time coming in at almost 90 percent correct. The Wayniac? Well, I am right around 70 percent accurate, but in my defense, I pick eight more starts and sits then the rest of the bunch.

So, are we there yet? Not quite, but we have succeeded in getting you some wins. Last week, for example, J.D. was on again. He told you to start Odell Beckham, Jr. who went off for two touchdowns, 34 yards receiving and a 13-yard rush for a 20 point day. He also told you to sit Zac Stacy who got the ol’ goose egg this past Sunday. Ted Reed was right in sitting Frank Gore who was shut down and eventually made a non-factor in the 49ers blowout loss registering two points. Fee and I nailed it on Lamar Miller who is quietly becoming a solid RB1 with the backfield finally all to himself. I missed big on Kirk Cousins who got benched for the lowly Colt McCoy, but I hit on starting Owen Daniels who returned to the end zone, and sitting the way overblown flavor-of-the-week Andre Holmes.

This week the Giants and the 49ers are on byes. Those are two teams that are pretty heavy in fantasy talent. This is also the time of the fantasy football season that if your hovering around .500 with a 4-3 or 3-4 record that every game counts if you want to make the post season. So, who gets you those extra fantasy points this week? We got you covered!

Continue onward for your Week 8 Starts and Sits

Fantasy Football, NFL, Sports

The WN Fantasy Football Report: Week 7 Starts and Sits

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You know what I love about having quality fantasy footballers helping me with your weekly starts and sits? I am in three leagues. Two of those leagues I am doing just fine as I am top scorer in one and six points of the lead in the other. My third league has been a nightmare. I was on a three-game losing streak and faced a must-win situation. Rolling into Sunday’s game, I had Pierre Garcon slated in my wide receiver slot. Right before the game, I listened to our own J.D. who has been on fire with his picks, and benched Garcon for Mohamed Sanu. Sanu had a monster game, going off for 29 points in a PPR league, while Garcon turned in 13 points. That’s a difference of 16 points. I won my game by 15. Had I not started Sanu, I tie. Thanks, J.D.

We had a few other picks that made us look very good last week as well. I told you to start Blake Bortles and Joe Flacco with confidence. Bortles threw for over 300 yards and Flacco set a touchdown record with five in 16 minutes. Steve Smith was a solid start, as was Lamar Miller. Our experts did get burned a few times. Eli Manning was Fee’s start of the week and he was embarrassed by the Eagles. J.D. said to sit Cam Newton who had one of the best games by a running back all weekend, despite being a quarterback, and Dunton missed on Rob Gronkowski despite being accurate that Tim Wright would steal his touchdown. Gronk still went for seven receptions and 94 yards, so he turned in a very respectable game.

This week the Eagles are on bye. That means Nick Foles, LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, Zach Ertz and the Eagles defense will all be on the pine. There has also been a bevy of major injuries leaving fantasy’s biggest stars in doubt. Will Megatron suit up? What about A.J. Green? There is no denying so many big names are out this week and fantasy owners will have a lot of questions to answer. Don’t worry, folks, that’s what we’re here for!

Continue on to see this weeks best Starts and Sits

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The WN Fantasy Football Report: Week 6 Starts and Sits

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Our fantasy staff had a mixed bag of results in our starts and sits last week. That being said, if you listened to most of what we said on who to start and sit, you should have propelled yourself to victory. Tom Brady and the Patriots came out and redeemed themselves after an embarrassing week in Kansas City. This hurt Fee and Dunton on their sits. J.D, Ted Reed and I, however, didn’t miss on ours. Ted foresaw a dismal day by the Cardinals defense and J.D. nailed it with Alfred Morris and his two points. I told you to sit Colin Kaepernick. There were 15 quarterbacks who scored better than this over rated chump, so even if you were in a 14-team league, he didn’t fare as a starter. Montee Ball, Eddie Royal, Travis Kelce and the Bears defense (my other sits of the week) all registered under ten points. If you listened to me and started Greg Olsen, the Lions defense, Eli Manning and DeAndre Hopkins, you probably walked away with a win.

Last week was marred by some big time injuries. Calvin Johnson is highly questionable and very uncertain to play in Sunday’s bout against the Vikings. Donald Brown, Rashad Jennings, Montee Ball, Jake Locker, Zac Stacy, Jimmy Graham and Reggie Bush all left games hurt last week. This week, the Saints and Chiefs are on byes, and they are two teams with some explosive fantasy starters that will need to be replaced. So who do you turn to this week? You know we have your answers!

Continue on for the best starts and six for Week 6

Fantasy Football, Football, NFL, Sports, Uncategorized

The WN Fantasy Football Report: Week 5 Starts and Sits

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The Wayniac Nation fantasy football experts are really coming together. Last week, Dunton hit on his starts for you as Aaron Rodgers and Philip Rivers went bananas. Sure, they were easier picks, but he also told you to sit Tom Brady, who may be a sit every week now. Fee missed on Kirk Cousins, but he hit on sitting both Reggie Bush and Joique Bell who, like Brady, scored well under ten points. Ted Reed was on with Reggie Wayne as he dropped a season best 23 points. J.D. hit the nail on the head starting Matt Asiata who went off for 30 points, and his sit, Vincent Jackson, had three points until the final 30 seconds when he caught the game winning touchdown. Myself? I admit I swung and missed telling you to sit Eli Manning, but come on, the guy rushed for his first touchdown in a decade! If you started Big Ben and his 32 points like I said, you still did just fine. I was also right on starting Kelvin Benjamin, who is now a verified fantasy star, and Jason Witten, who wasn’t spectacular, but had his best game of the season to date. I also told you that if you had the gamble in you to go with Teddy Bridgewater. Coming off a 300-yard performance in his first game, I’d say I was right!

This week, only the Raiders and Dolphins are on bye, so your lineup should be pretty much in tact, aside from maybe Lamar Miller. There are some juicy match ups this week, and it is a pivotal week in fantasy. If you can get your team to its fourth or fifth win, you are cruising to a playoff lock. If you already have three or four losses, another one can end your season early. If you are sitting at .500, this is your week to start over and get going.

Continue on to see who we have pegged as starts and sits!

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The WN Fantasy Football Report: Week 4 Starts and Sits

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Week three was a mixed bag as far as the Wayniac Nation experts Starts and Sits picks went. Fee, Dunton and Ted Reed took some gambles and missed, but J.D. and I were dead on. If you listened to J.D. and benched anyone in the Patriots backfield, you did ok as Vereen and Ridley COMBINED for a measly 12 points. If you started Pierre Thomas like he told you, then you got 15 points from your RB2 which is pretty stellar. Sits that made me look good were Jake Locker (who had less than 10 points), Vernon Davis (who was scratched) and Wes Welker (12 points). Starts that made me look like a genius were Knile Davis (19 points), Greg Olson (17 points), Alshon Jeffery (20 points) and Jay Cutler (23 points). So, it took a few weeks, but I told you we’d come around!

This week is the first week of byes, so, especially with teams like the Broncos and Seahawks off, filling the void is crucial. As Benny Smalls said, “This is a critical week for starts as there are six teams on byes. Trust your waiver wire skills and draft prep… translation: Dunton is screwed!” So who is out there worthy of a spot start with so many big names on the golf course this weekend? We got the answers for you, that’s why you clicked here after all, isn’t it?

Continue onward to Week 4’s Starts and Sits