NFL Fantasy Football, Start or Sit

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Fantasy Football, Start or Sit!

The Special Affect!

We have been on such a roll here at SU that we are expanding the fantasy to please the readers. More content!

So I am planning my 10 years old daughter’s birthday party for this Saturday and when I use the word planning, I mean I am running around getting everything my wife is telling me too. Kid’s parties these days are nothing like they were when I was young, we pretty much had a cake, a present, some friends, the outdoors, and booze for the parents. Now the party is a sign of some kind of display of love and the kind of parent you are. So I have to get welcoming bags, entertainment (not including the imaginary friends I have), crafts, an appetizer table, dinner table, desert table, candy bar, and much more for this party. I of course do not understand what we need all this for but the wife insists it’s important to make the event what it needs to be.

My wife is an amazing woman, but if you listen to one piece of advice I offer, make it this, do not marry an event planner. She takes every holiday or birthday or special event and blows it to the max size it can be. Well of course I argue that this stuff is not important and that sets her off. She tells me how the welcoming bags take down the barrier as soon as they get there. How the different tables serves as an ice breaker, but how it also makes the people who already ate feel comfortable because they have an appetizer selection. How the crafts are good for down time and the candy bar will let the parents be kids as well. We are also giving till next time bags, which will have them talking in the car about what a great time they had and leave the right memory. So after hours of explaining what each piece did for the party I understood, all the pieces together make the party.

It is a lot like fantasy sports (esp football), all the positions coming together to form your team. Your team needs to be made special through drafting, pick-ups, trades, and even drops. Your team is formed week after week to leave the impression we know what we are doing and how good we are at it. We long for the bragging rights of the league, the cash prize, or even just the high score. Something that shows we are special or at least the team we put together is. This week when I was making sure my lineup is something to remember, my wife was doing the same for a special 10 year old. It is funny how life and fantasy all too often line up.

Let’s get this out of the way now, if you are looking for someone to tell you to start Adrian Peterson or anyone else that is an obvious start you are in the wrong place. We will tell you about the guys that you are on the fence about or that you might not think are worth the spot but are. These are the players that make the difference between a win and a loss. We will also talk about the guys with the great names but may not follow up with a great week. I don’t like the phrase start or sit, love or hate, or anything else that drastic. I just want to point out guys that in my opinion (with some facts and info) should (key word) perform well or guys that shouldn’t perform well. I will tell you reasons but at the end of the day trust your gut, you will get some right and you will get some wrong, just like us (the ones they call “experts”).

QB’s to Play

• Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles: Foles was the top or near the top QB last week in almost every format for fantasy football. He gets to face a beat up Cowboys defense and plays for a team that cannot stop anyone (meaning he has to put up numbers). I see him as a top seven QB this week.
• Phillip Rivers, San Diego Chargers: I have to take back all the bad things I said before the season about Rivers. He is the 3^rd highest scorer in the league right now and could get better.
• Eli Manning, New York Giants: Listen for a second, he isn’t that bad. He might have a hundred interceptions this year but he is also top 10 in passing yards and passing touchdowns. I am saying that so you know there is still hope for him at least.

QB’s to Sit

• Sam Bradford, Saint Louis Rams: Tell me all the positives about this guy, how he is in the top 10 fantasy QB’s this year and had a great game last week. However, he is going against the defense that has given up the fewest points to opposing QB’s to this point; the Carolina Panthers.
• Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens: Flacco has been a big letdown this year for fantasy, which should continue this week. His history against the Steelers isn’t great and his team this year isn’t either.
• Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons: This will be his first game without Julio Jones, Roddy White, and probably Steven Jackson. Less big plays and more running plays, equals disaster for fantasy points at QB.

RB’s to Play

• Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers: Drafting Lacy is looking to finally pay dividends for those owners that didn’t listen to me about not drafting him. The Packers are beat up at the wide receiver position and will probably look to run the ball even more than they have the last few weeks (which has been a good bit!). Lacy should also be used a bit more in the passing game boosting his potential point total as well.
• Giovani Barnard, Cincinnati Bengals: This kid is getting better and better as the year goes on and he is facing a shabby run defense in Detroit. Bernard is getting more chances and he is taking full advantage of most of them.
• Ryan Mathews/Danny Woodhead, San Diego Chargers: Right, I say play both this week. They play a Jaguars D that made Moreno look like the second coming of Jim Brown. They should dash and mash them.

RB’s to Sit

• Zac Stacy, Saint Louis Rams: Stacy is finding a groove and I am glad because I called this kid as being the best back in St. Louis before the year began. But he is going against one of the best run defenses in the league, so this will not be one of his finest performances.
• Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans: He is getting fewer chances because he cannot get anything going with what he has. The bye week can’t come soon enough. He is a great buy low player but not for this week.
• Steven Ridley, New England Patriots: Ridley owners took a huge sigh of relief last week when he finally showed up and got into the end zone twice. Do not get too excited as he faces a great run defense that already held him in check once this year.

WR’s to Start

• Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers: He gets over half a dozen targets a game and he is going against one of the worse pass defenses. I know this is a tough offense to read but this week I have faith.
• Julian Edelman, New England Patriots: Edelman torched the Jets earlier in the year and with Amendola likely out, he should be the main wide receiving target.
• Hakeem Nicks, New York Giants: Let me thank the person on twitter that asked me about Nicks. When I looked closely I saw this is a big game in the making. Nicks should keep up the good play at least for another week. He is also playing for next season’s contract, so he needs to start showing up.

WR’s to Sit

• Anquan Boldin, San Francisco 49ers: Boldin has been holding his own for the most part in the fantasy football world. That all changes this week against the Titans, who give up the second fewest throwing touchdowns in the league.
• Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs: Bowe is killing all his owners, something that won’t change this week. He is playing the team that makes catching the ball feel like heart surgery, not good.
• Mike Wallace, Miami Dolphins: He has been a letdown so far for me and I don’t see him getting on track this game. Buffalo’s secondary is getting healthy and should shutdown Wallace this week.

TE’s to Start

• Jermichael Finley, Green Bay Packers: By default he has to get more targets and more opportunities, which means better numbers.
• Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings: He is beginning to get involved and the combination of Freeman and the Giants defense will help him have a big game on Monday night.
• Scott Chandler, Buffalo Bills: A young QB and limited weapons should get move some targets his way. Add that to Miami giving up more TD’s to tight ends than games played, making Chandler a solid play.

TE’s to Sit

• Garrett Graham, Houston Texans: The Chiefs have a great defense and the Texans cannot find a QB to get the ball to the right team. This is a player I would leave alone.
• Charles Clay, Miami Dolphins: He is becoming less and less involved in the game plan and the Bills hold TE’s pretty good. Clay might be the odd one out in the Miami offense.
• Martellus Bennett, Chicago Bears: Everything points to him having a big game but its only one ball and too many weapons. He will fall short this week but not for long.

Thank you for visiting us at SU and good luck in your games. You can find me on twitter @CoachF22 where I answer every question sent my way. Oh and long live fantasy!