DeAngelo Williams

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Fantasy Mailbag 2016: Week 2

Week 1 is in the books and man…did football get off the bus running or what?

A few new names made quite an impression on Fantasy Football enthusiasts, like Jalen Richard above. Or Eli Rogers and his ricochet touchdown catches.

However, the Week 2 edition of Thursday Night Football featured much of the opposite. The key offensive players on the Jets are all 30 and over: Ryan Fitzpatrick (33), Brandon Marshall (32) and Matt Forte (30). Forte ran the ball 30 times to rush for 100 yards and 3 touchdowns. FitzMagic threw for 374 yards and 1 touchdown in a 37-31 Jets victory.

Quick Hits

  • Some of you were smart and drafted DeAngelo Williams in the 8th round or later (hopefully handcuffing him to Le’Veon Bell). Some of you were smart about picking up Spencer Ware on waivers right after, or drafting him late. Williams owners were treated to an AFC Offensive Player of the Week performance of 171 yards from scrimmage with 6 catches and 2 touchdowns. Ware owners were rewarded with 199 yards from scrimmage, 7 catches a touchdown. They may be placeholders for Bell and Jamaal Charles for now but Williams and Ware are playing at level that’s worth riding for as long as you can, considering they were both Top 4 in total yardage.

  • Carson Wentz impressed a lot of people across the league in his NFL debut. Completing 22 of his 37 passes for 278 yards and 2 touchdowns earned Wentz the 7th highest quarterback rating by a rookie on opening day. Although it doesn’t count for Fantasy points, there were more Wentz jerseys sold than any in the league over the 2 days following the opener. Wentz will have an opportunity to build on his success and become the 5th NFL quarterback since 1960 to start his career 2-0 against a shaky Bears secondary on Monday Night Football.

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  • On the flip-side of the Week 2 Monday Night matchup, Alshon Jeffery could be in for a big night. The Eagles will be without starting CB Leodis McKelvin and will depend on a 7th round pick Jalen Mills in his place. Also being counted on to cover Jeffery is Nolan Carroll, who was lit up by the BROWNS (all caps necessary) in Week 1. Jeffery became the first Bears player since Forte (in 2010) to record 100+ receiving yards in the first half, against Houston, and should do even more damage when Chicago hosts Philly.

 

Mail Time!

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I love the repertoire Willie Snead and Drew Brees have. Snead had the best game of his young career in Week 1 (9 catches, 172 yards, 1 TD) in a shootout with Oakland. A game with the Giants has potential for similar results, but I still lean toward Spencer Ware while you can still use him. The Saints have a heck of a wide receiver group and anyone can be in-store for a big day. Ware is guaranteed to get touches against a Texans defense that allowed 57 rush yards and a touchdown to Jeremy Langford a week ago. Alex Smith is also bound to continue dumping the ball off to Ware over the pass rush.

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Going back to the potential shootout between the Giants and Saints, I would go with Snead in this case…mostly because I think Eli Manning will be targeting Odell Beckham Jr. more than Victor Cruz after just 4 catches a week ago. OBJ is 9 catches away from becoming the youngest receiver to 200.

Remember the 52-49 game a year ago? Round 2 has a lot of hype to live up to.

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Flex: Safest play would be Golden Tate, who will be a target machine in his hometown of Nashville. Boom would be Demaryius Targaryen against a weak Indy secondary, but he’s dealing with a bad hip. Melvin Gordon may be taking a step back, as his team should be playing a lot of catchup against the high-powered (that’s right) Jaguars offense.

QB: I’m not particularly high on a less-mobile Russell Wilson against one of the best pass rushing front-7’s in football. Wilson has proved me wrong in the past, but I see the Seahawks attacking St. Louis better by handing off to the Rawls-Michael tandem. Trust the Jim Bob Cooter offense and Matthew Stafford this weekend.

 

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Einhorn. Sean Young, FTW.

 

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I do like Houston better, you’re right…but way more because of Whitney Mercilus than JJ Watt. The pass rush that they hoped to get from Jadeveon Clowney has arrived in the form of a man with a great football name, from the University of Illinois. While Cincy-Pittsburgh always lives up to its “rock’em, sock’em” reputation, but the Steelers offense is too good (even without Martavis Bryant and Le’Veon Bell) to bet against.

 

screen-shot-2016-09-16-at-9-53-55-am I hope you didn’t go with McCoy…

A tandem of DJ2K (David Johnson) and Williams is a tough one to beat. They are also two of the most reliable backs you can find, with schemes that will always put the ball in their hands. Have fun.

 

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I like Stefon Diggs the most, as a receiver, but I don’t like the quarterback situation throwing him the ball. It will either be an under-prepared Sam Bradford or Shaun Hill against the Packers 3-4 pass rush. Does that inspire confidence in you? I didn’t think so…

Emmanuel Sanders may be the best option for the sole reason that he is the healthier than Thomas and he’s going against one of the worst secondaries in football.

 

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Jay Cutler and I think you should go with Will Fuller.

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Have more Fantasy lineup questions? Don’t hesitate to ask on Facebook or Twitter. 

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Fantasy Football Awards 2015

Has your Fantasy Football withdrawal kicked in already? Are you already thinking about next year’s draft? Yeah, me too…That’s why I’ll be frequently updating my draft boards on MichaelPiff.com starting next week.

But first…

We have some awards to hand out from the 2015 season!

 

This season was wild. Injuries, suspensions, surprises, Gary Barnidges, backup quarterbacks, drama and more drama…We’ll look at all the impact players, and some of the worst, that dictated your fantasy season this past season.

 

MVP

CamVP

Cam Newton, Panthers

Every year you do your Fantasy draft, who usually goes off the board first?…Running backs. Then someone drafts Aaron Rodgers (probably Andrew Luck this year too) ridiculously high and some wide receivers will round out your first round. Quarterbacks don’t typically start to go in bulk until the 4th round and Cam Newton wasn’t even being considered until the 8th. His average draft position was 77.1 overall, average round was 8.4.

Those who rolled with Newton, and weren’t afraid of the lack of hype around his wide receivers, reaped ALL the benefits of #1 scoring quarterback in football. He finished the season leading the league in total touchdowns with 45 (35 passing, 10 rushing) and added 4,473 yards from scrimmage (3,837 passing, 635 rushing). Newton’s stretch from Week 11-15 (19 total touchdowns) likely helped carry you to your league’s championship too.

Next Best: Carson Palmer

Hard not to consider Carson Palmer as an MVP as well since he regularly gave you at least 290+ yards and 2-3 touchdowns through the air.

Biggest Bust of the Year

Lacy Bust

Eddie Lacy, Packers

I can’t fault players who miss time or underperform due to injury. The top tier of the running backs almost all suffered this, besides Adrian Peterson. Eddie Lacy wasn’t hurt though. Lacy was a Top 5 pick in most leagues, and he gave you just 3 rushing touchdowns and 758 yards on the ground in 15 games. He was out of shape, missing curfews, and just simply…bad. If any of his 3 games of 100+ yards helped you, I imagine it was because you were desperate at running back. It took Lacy until Week 11 to do so.

Next Worst: Dez Bryant 

I’m probably breaking my injury rule here, but you likely picked Bryant late 1st or early 2nd round, held on to him while he was injured, and got just 3 touchdowns and 401 yards in 9 games for your patience. Tony Romo or not, Bryant is supposed to be a game changer…not THAT.

 

Draft Steal

Devonta Steal

Devonta Freeman, Falcons

If you paid close attention to the Falcons in the offseason, you were weighing your options of taking rookie Tevin Coleman or 2nd year RB Devonta Freeman as one of your flier picks. If you picked Freeman, you CHOSE WISELY. Freeman went 119th overall on average, 2 rounds or so after Coleman, and he gave you 1,639 yards from scrimmage and 14 total touchdowns (most in the league). He also helped you stack up some wins from Weeks 2-6 with 10 touchdowns (9 rushing, 1 receiving).

Next Best: Tom Brady

If you picked Tom Brady before his suspension was lifted, you got him at backup value in later rounds. If you took him after, you still enjoyed his #RevengeTour with 36 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions.

Waiver Wire Pickup of the Year

NFL: Oakland Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers

DeAngelo Williams, Steelers

While Le’Veon Bell served his 2 game suspension to start the year, DeAngelo Williams filled in with 204 yards and 3 touchdowns (all in one game). After Bell went on IR following Week 8, Williams gave you high-end RB1 production, averaging 125 yards from scrimmage and finishing tied with Freeman for the league’s lead in rushing TDs.

Next Best: Gary Barnidge

Might gut went with Gary Barnidge initially, but Williams’s value after Bell went down was just too strong…Barnidge was certainly the breakout player of the year, posting 1,043 yards and 9 touchdowns on 79 catches at the age of 30. Before this year, Barnidge’s career totals were 604 yards, 44 catches and 3 touchdowns over 7 years.

Comeback Player of the Year

DMartin Comeback

Doug Martin, Buccaneers

I’ll admit it. I wrote off the Muscle Hamster. After recording nearly 2,000 yards yards from scrimmage his rookie season, the guy barely hit half of that total over the next 2 years because of injuries, bad offensive lines and worse offensive coordinators. Bucs OC Dirk Koetter figured it all out though and made Doug Martin into the league’s 2nd leading rusher, picking up 1,402 yards on the ground. For someone who went in the 9th round on average in most fantasy drafts, I think you’d take that.

Next Best: Ryan Fitzpatrick

Ryan Fitzpatrick is the definition of a journeyman quarterback. 6 teams in 10 years, never making the playoffs and a career high of 24 touchdown passes in both the seasons he started all 16 games…until this year. Surround his beard with 2 excellent possession receivers, a quality offensive line, and 2 viable running backs and Fitzpatrick turns into FitzMagic throwing 31 touchdowns. He threw multiple touchdowns in 12 of his 16 starts…Who figured Geno Smith getting punched in the face would benefit them so well?

 

Rookie of the Year

Gurley Rookie

Todd Gurley, Rams

It’s hard not to picture Todd Gurley being drafted in your first round next season. In 12 starts, the rookie out of Georgia 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground (2nd highest in the league). Gurley was the Rams’ only source of offense, which explained some of the slow down in production down the stretch as opposing defenses keyed in on him. Expect Gurley to just get stronger and scarier now that he’ll have a full offseason without rehabbing an injury.

Next Best: Jameis Winston

It’s easy to compare Jameis Winston with Marcus Mariota, both rookie QBs with Heisman trophies in their mantles. Winston separated himself from Mariota with big play ability, ranked 2nd in yards per completion (13), and was more consistent for scoring in the 2nd half of the season.

 

Best Lineup

QB: Cam Newton, Panthers – 3,837 yards, 35 TD passing / 636 yards, 10 TD rushing

WR:  Antonio Brown, Steelers – 1,834 yards, 136 catches, 10 TD

WR: Julio Jones, Falcons – 1,871 yards, 136 catches, 8 TD

WR: DeAndre Hopkins, Texans – 1,521 yards, 111 catches, 11 TD

RB: Adrian Peterson, Vikings – 1,485 yards, 11 TD rush / 30 catches, 222 yards receiving

RB: Devonta Freeman, Falcons – 1,061 yards, 11 TD rush / 73 catches, 578 yards 3 TD receiving

FLEX: Odell Beckham Jr, Giants – 1,450 yards, 96 catches, 13 TD (15 games)

TE: Rob Gronkowski, Patriots – 72 catches, 1,176 yards, 11 TD 

K: Stephen Gostkowski, Patriots – 33/36 FG, 52/52 PAT

DEF – Denver Broncos – 52 sacks, 14 INT, 16 fumble recoveries, 5 TD

 

Rising Lineup

QB: Kirk Cousins, Washington 

WR: Allen Robinson, Jaguars 

WR: Doug Baldwin, Seahawks 

WR: Brandin Cooks, Saints 

RB: Todd Gurley, Rams 

RB: David Johnson, Cardinals 

FLEX: Lamar Miller, Dolphins 

K: Brandon McManus, Broncos 

DEF: Minnesota Vikings 

 

Who are your picks for our Year-End Fantasy Awards? Let me know on Facebook or Twitter! Stay tuned for year-round Fantasy Football info for next year’s draft!

 

 

 

 

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NFL Week 13 Fantasy Mailbag

Each Week 13 I like to remind Fantasy Football participants to thank their league commissioners for organizing everything…as long as they scheduled the playoffs to start next week and the championship to take place Week 16.

JJ Watt yell

By the end of the season, you’ve come too far to worry about players on teams who have their division clinched and will potentially be rested Week 17 to make a run in the playoffs. Right now, I would worry about the Patriots, Cardinals and even the Panthers (who could be undefeated still) doing exactly that.

Now for immediate concerns, you are…

A) all good and have clinched a playoff spot. Just playing for the best seeding possible.

B) fighting for a playoff spot. It’s already win or go home.

C) hoping to spoil things for anyone that (B) applies to. It’s about pride at this point.

There is a “D” but you don’t want to be that person. You know, the person who drafted a team and didn’t give enough of a shit to do any maintenance on their roster at all, even after paying dues for a cash league. I played against Jordy Nelson last week. That’s all you need to know.

Quick Hits

  • Perhaps the most exciting individual matchup this weekend will be Odell Beckham Jr. vs. Darrelle Revis. In the past, Revis Island had scared away fantasy owners from even considering starting a #1 WR against him, even quarterbacks at times. In recent weeks though, Revis has allowed big games to DeAndre Hopkins (5 catches, 118 yards, 2 TDs) and Allen Robinson (6-121). Meanwhile, Beckham has cracked 100+ yards in 4 straight weeks, and has done so 13 times in his last 20 games.

[Update] Jets Head Coach Todd Bowles was asked about Revis’s status this week and responded with “I don’t think so.”

ODB dive

 

  • Another team that could potentially clinch their division by Week 17 are the Minnesota Vikings. Big reason why, and the player they’d likely be resting, is Adrian Peterson. AP has 634 yards and 5 touchdowns in his last 5 games, is 72 yards off his 2012 pace when he recorded 2,097 yards, and faces a Seattle defense this week that allowed 117 total yards to DeAngelo Williams. He’ll be the Viking’s best chance against the Seahawks in a black and blue matchup.

AP TD

  • The funniest thing in football may in fact be the biggest difference for tonight’s matchup between the Lions and Packers…Jim Bob Cooter. The Lions have won 3 straight and now have a chance to sweep Green Bay. During that win streak, Matthew Stafford has thrown for 861 yards, no interceptions and 7 touchdowns (5 last week against Philly). Amazing how good Cooter, the OC (try not laughing), looks when his quarterback actually throws the ball to Calvin Johnson.

Stafford to Megatron

 

Mail Time!

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I don’t like Antonio Andrews, or any Titans RBs, at all but seeing Charcandrick West practicing with the Chiefs again leads me to believe Spencer Ware is going to lose a lot of touches. If West plays this week, go with the starters in Andrews and Shaun Draughn. I wouldn’t expect touchdowns out of either, unfortunately. If West doesn’t go, plug Ware in for Andrews.

 

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I understand the concern with Tom Brady, but haven’t we seen this story before? Without Gronk, Julian Edelman, and Danny Amendola, Brady threw 3 touchdowns against the best defense in the league. This week he plays the Eagles and could likely have Amendola back. Philly has given up 10 touchdowns in the last 2 week, and Brady has built a reputation for making something out of nothing (no-name receivers).

If you’re having strong enough doubts, this could be a great week for Ryan Fitzpatrick if he’s miraculously available on your waivers. Bryan Hoyer and Ryan Tannehill could be okay plays if you’re desperate.

 

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The James Starks thing has come and gone, as Eddie Lacy has woken up finally. Now it becomes a question of whether or not you believe in CJ Anderson or not…

If Anderson is going to keep coming back into our good graces, it would be against the Chargers. They have allowed double-digit rushing TDs and 1,800+ rush yards. My gut tells me the Broncos will ride the hot back, just like they should ride the hot quarterback. So start CJ.

For matchup reasons, I have to lean toward LaGarrette Blount over Latavius Murray. The Chiefs have only allowed one back to run for more than 71 yards and have given up 1 rushing touchdown since Week 5. Meanwhile, the Eagles look like they’ve quit on their coach.

 

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Similar to my reasoning to start Tom Brady and LeGarrette Blount, that’s why I like Scott Chandler this week. I picked him up in both my leagues (starting him in the one without Gary Barnidge), because Brady loves targeting his tight end. Last time Gronk missed significant time, Brady made Mike Hoomanawanui relevant.

If that doesn’t convince you, Eric Ebron would be a sneaky pickup tonight as the Packers have allowed a touchdown to TEs in 4 straight matchups. The even sneakier move would be Cameron Brate against the Falcons with Austin Seferian-Jenkins still down.

 

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RB: If the Rams offense wasn’t a complete dumpster fire right now, I would say Todd Gurley is a no-brainer. But they are and that means he isn’t. Tony Romo going down means Darren McFadden is going to get all the checkdown passes he could dream of from Matt Cassel. I feel better about McFadden’s floor than Gurley’s ceiling this week.

QB: If Jay Cutler is available, go get him. The 49ers defense is a very different squad on the road than they are at home, allowing 35 points per game away from Levi’s Stadium.

 

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WR: TY Hilton and Eric Decker are easy picks for me. The Steelers are giving up the most catches and  2nd most yards to receivers, and Decker is a touchdown machine scoring in 8 of 10 games. I like what D-Jax has done since returning, but the Cowboys pass defense is brutal.

 

QB: I am going to go with my common theme for this post, trust the Cooter. I am going to use the Lions OC’s name for as long as I can, so deal with it. Stafford’s got a hot hand and Rivers has a bad matchup.

 

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I feel weird saying this, but I like Ryan Fitzpatrick a lot more this week. The Giants secondary is allowing 250+ yards and at least one touchdown to every QB they’ve faced. Meanwhile, I think the Packers are going to get Rodgers killed tonight…but he could always be “RODJAS!” again.

 

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We do have a “Thor” in our league. Otherwise, I recommend GREG, SON OF OLSEN!

Greg son of Olsen

Have more lineup questions? Feel free to ask on both Facebook and Twitter! Also, don’t hesitate to post any questions for next week’s Mailbag. Good luck this weekend! 

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NFL Week 12 Fantasy Mailbag

Due to Thanksgiving and 3 games tomorrow, we’ve moved the mailbag up a day to give you plenty of time to adjust. Speaking of adjusting, how many of you made the savvy move to pickup Thomas Rawls to plug-in after Marshawn Lynch was ruled out?

Marshawn and Rawls

Rawls may be 2 inches shorter than the man patting his head above, but he certainly plays a lot like him. He craves contact, never willingly runs out of bounds, and delivers punishment to defenders in all four quarters.

Rawls ran for 209 yards on Sunday against the 49ers, which were the 2nd most in franchise history, and added 46 more receiving with 2 touchdowns. In 3 of his 4 starts this season, Rawls has run for more than 100 yards and proved last Sunday he can be a factor in the pass game. Rawls is also leading the league with 6 yards per carry, and ranks 14th in total rush yards with 604 despite having fewer carries than anyone in the Top 25.

Quick Hits

  • While it may seem like Cam Newton gets a lot of love on here week-to-week, it’s because he’s always doing something deserving of it. After throwing 5 touchdown passes last weekend, Newton goes into his Thanksgiving matchup with the Dallas Cowboys tomorrow with the 2nd most total touchdowns in the league (26), just one behind Carson Palmer. Newton became the first player to record 100 TDs passing and 25 rushing in his first 5 seasons. The Cowboys have allowed the 3rd fewest pass yards and 4th fewest touchdowns through the air. If he can’t go through the air in “Jerry World” tomorrow, you can expect Newton to get his numbers on the ground…and some lucky fans will get memorable souvenirs.

 

  • DeAndre Hopkins is not only matchup-proof, after burning Darrelle Revis for a 61 yard touchdown last week, but apparently he’s also quarterback proof too. Even with his 3rd quarterback under center this season, TJ Yates, Hopkins was able to catch 5 passes for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns. Hopkins is now the 3rd youngest receiver to record 3,000 yards and 200 catches. The 23-year-old better leave some room tomorrow to eat up the Saints horrid secondary on Sunday.

DeAndre vs Revis

 

  • CJ2K is now CJ2.0 and that’s very okay. The last time the Arizona Cardinals went to the Super Bowl, they rode the 2nd coming of Edgerrin James. The 2015 Cardinals look destined for the NFC Championship at least, with Carson Palmer almost eclipsing Kurt Warner’s numbers from that season and Chris Johnson as the league’s 3rd leading rusher. Johnson is nowhere near as fast as used to be, but he has evolved similarly to how James did and faces a Niners defense that just gave up 255 total yards to Thomas Rawls. Last time Johnson played against San Francisco, he racked up 150 yards and 2 touchdowns earlier this season.

CJ2K

 

Mail Time!

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Not that much of a dilemma for me at all. I take TJ Yeldon in a heart beat and that’s because I saw Spenser F’ing Ware pick up over 100 yards and 2 touchdowns in less than a half against the Chargers. Ameer Abdullah, James Starks, and Duke Johnson all picked up over 90 yards and a score against San Diego, and Yeldon is a better back than all of them. I don’t find the Seahawks to be as scary as they used to be, but I see the Steelers getting their points in the air more than on the ground.

 

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A nice segue here, but I’m leaning toward Philip Rivers this week against the Jaguars. 4 of the last 5 quarterbacks to face the Jags have thrown multiple TDs, and Rivers still has Stevie Johnson, Antonio Gates and Danny Woodhead to throw to. I mentioned that I’m not “as scared” of the Seahawks defense, but the Legion of Boom can still cause some problems for Big Ben. Go with Rivers simply for confidence in his matchup.

 

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I post these question in the order I get them, and the segue session continues…

TE: Rivers is going to chuck it this weekend against a much worse defense than the Chiefs and Gates is one of just 3 reliable options for him. Also consider how Delanie Walker broke 100 yards on 8 catches on the Jags defense last week.

Flex: Considering only Tyler Eifert and Rob Gronkowski have been successful against the Bills from the TE position, I would rather go with V-Jax. He came back last weekend and got a touchdown right away. If Mike Evans is drawing coverage from Vontae Davis, I anticipate Jameis Winston to keep things hot throwing to his #2 option in Jackson.

 

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3 Chargers questions in a row and I’m going to go 3/3 in Chargers answers. Andy Dalton is for the most part consistent, but the matchups favor Rivers this week. You’re also going to get a higher volume of throws from the King of the Bolo Ties.

 

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That’s a nice problem to have. 2 of the top 3 tight ends? While Greg (son of) Olsen is a much more consistent receiver, Tyler Eifert is leading all TEs in touchdowns and he’ll be Andy Dalton’s best chance to succeed against the Rams. Go with Eifert for the higher ceiling.

 

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QB: I may have taken Rivers over him earlier, but it wasn’t by a wide margin. I think there’s a lot to Ben Roethlisberger’s 379 yards and 3 touchdowns coming off the bench last we saw him. The fact that Blaine Gabbert had a decent game against the Seahawks last week makes me feel better about Big Ben than Derek Carr going against a Titans defense that hasn’t allowed more than 266 yards to anyone other than Drew Brees.

Flex: Just keep Rawls’n, baby.

Have more lineup questions? Feel free to ask on both Facebook and Twitter! Also, don’t hesitate to post any questions for next week’s Mailbag. Good luck this weekend! 

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NFL Week 10 Fantasy Mailbag

Last week was quite the 4-touchdown party for quarterbacks and their fantasy owners. Marcus Mariota did his best “Breesus” impression with 4 touchdown passes against the awful New Orleans pass defense. Derek Carr went Air-Oakland, with the help of Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper, with 4 TDs and 301 yards in a losing effort to Pittsburgh. Then the tables were turned for Aaron Rodgers, as he had to throw 4 TDs to keep pace with Cam Newton and his 4 total touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing).

A week ago, Cam Newton was being compared to Colin Kaepernik by their stats and win loss record.

As we all know, the big difference between the two is the record. For fantasy owners, it’s also the touchdowns and rush yards. Before the season started, people avoided Newton in their drafts like the plague after his #1 receiver, Kelvin Benjamin, was ruled out for the year with an ACL injury. If you were like me (perhaps drafted Peyton Manning and traded him for Tony Romo after Week 1), you are so glad Newton was available on waivers even after Week 2.

Despite throwing interceptions in 6 of his 8 games, Newton has thrown multiple touchdowns in 5 of them and has added 5 rushing touchdowns as well. This week, Newton can keep things rolling against a Titans defense missing their top 2 corners.

Quick Hits

  • #BORTLEKOMBAT! (Blake Bortles) is currently rolling. He’s thrown multiple touchdowns in 6 of his last 7 games and goes up against the a Baltimore defense that has coincidentally given up multiple pass touchdowns in 6 of its last 7 games. After throwing 381 yards and 2 touchdowns against the vaunted Jets secondary, you should feel a lot better starting Bortles for the rest of his schedule.

BortleKombat

  • Every week we like to bring up how bad the Browns run defense is. Last week they seemed to hold the combo Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard in check, although it just set up a killer 3 touchdown performance from Tyler Eifert. Alas, they have still allowed 1,700+ yards rushing and DeAngelo Williams is next in line to eat. In 3 starts this season, Williams has at least 25 touches in each. There seems to have been an overreaction to an ache in his foot, because he appears set to go Sunday. That’ll happen when you go from 3 carries per game to 27 for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns. Williams is also dishing the pain too.

DeAngelo block

  • The biggest benefactor to the “Tom Brady Revenge Tour” (besides his fantasy owners) is probably Julian Edelman. Edelman has caught exactly 1/3 of his career touchdown total this season (7). He also leads the league in red zone targets. This week Edelman faces a Giants defense that has allowed 8 touchdowns to opposing receivers over the last 5 weeks.

Mail Time!

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I feel this deserves some public attention, since Craig has tried to pull this a few times now. What are your thoughts on someone asking their opponent for Fantasy advice the same week they play them?

Anywho…

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Nice save. TJ Yeldon is an easy pick for me. He has a touchdown or 100+ rushing yards in 4 straight games and Baltimore’s defense is a tire fire right now.

Patriots running backs not named “LeGarrette Blount” are too much of a gamble for me at this point. You’re left wondering who will get Dion Lewis’s touchdowns, especially in the red zone. James White had the opportunity in this situation before and squandered it. Brandon Bolden did get a receiving touchdown a week ago, and has more experience with Bill Belichick. Brandon LaFell finally had a nice game a week ago with 102 yards, but I still feel better about Edelman, Gronk and Danny Amendola before him.

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Sure, you’ve got back-to-back weeks of 300 yard games from Ryan Tannehill…but he hasn’t thrown a single touchdown pass in either of those games. Derek Carr is also coming off of back-to-back 300 yard games, but has 8 touchdowns to show for it. The Vikings are the best pass defense on the road, but matchups don’t really worry me after Carr lit up the Jets too weeks ago for 333 yards and 4 touchdowns.

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The return yards makes Ted Ginn Jr. a start for me in this group. Ameer Abdullah is swiftly fading away with the rest of the Lions backfield. Then I’m left with a choice between Martavis Bryant and Danny Amendola…Ben Roethlisberger or not, Bryant’s chances to score are a lot better than Amendola’s based on the receiving groups alone. If Antonio Brown isn’t getting the ball thrown up to him, Bryant is. Amendola has to share balls with Edelman, Gronk, LaFell, a second no-name tight end (probably, and whoever fills in for Lewis. Bryant is better bet.

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You’re right about Sammy Watkins, and I also don’t like him against Darrelle Revis in primetime.

If Allen Hurns is healthy, play him. #BORTLEKOMBAT is going to have flawless victories against the Baltimore secondary all day. Then you’re left with two Kansas City players against the best defense in football. In this situation, I go with the running back who is guaranteed touches. If the Chiefs offense has any chance at production against the Broncos, it’s going to be Charcandrick West trying to impersonate Jamaal Charles in Week 2 (125 rush yards, 1 TD).

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QB – Yeah…ouch. I feel for Marcus Mariota’s wellbeing against the Panthers. You will get plenty of volume out of Brian Hoyer though. Bill O’Brien still hates his run game without Arian Foster, which has turned into a chuck fest for the Texans offense that’s usually playing from behind. You also have to feel better about DeAndre Hopkins and Nate Washington catching passes over the whoever is doing it in Tennessee.

WR – Now that James Starks is officially the starting RB, you have to play him. The Lions have given up the most rushing touchdowns in the league.

Have more lineup questions? Feel free to ask on both Facebook and Twitter! Also, don’t hesitate to post any questions for next week’s Mailbag. Good luck this weekend! 

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NFL Is Picking The Wrong Fight With Recent Equipment Fines

During a month commercially recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the NFL appears to be taking steps backwards in their efforts PR wise. The recent fines against Pittsburgh Steelers teammates Cam Heyward and DeAngelo Williams are becoming tougher to justify. Heyward was fined earlier this month for honoring his late father and former NFL player, Craig, with “Iron” and “Head” on his eye black. Williams was fined today for promoting Breast Cancer Awareness, but not in the way the NFL would allow it?

Williams lost his mother to breast cancer a year ago and wished to honor her all season with pink in his weekly uniform. He asked the NFL and they rejected his request. Williams has been wearing the same message on his eye black for 5 years though, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

The NFL has a penchant for weird timing when “setting a precedent” handing down punishments. After reducing Greg Hardy’s 10-game domestic violence suspension to 4 games, they elected to hand Tom Brady the same sentence for maybe deflating footballs (we know how that went). While trying to come back from dv backlash, Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Ray McDonald and Hardy all included, the NFL chose to also fine a third Steelers player for wearing purple cleats in honor of his mother, who was killed in an act domestic violence. William Gay was fined today $5,787 for his cleats, which he’s worn for the past two seasons. NFL.com actually ran a story just a year ago promoting Gay’s purple cleats.

The fines come off as petty because they are. October is widely regarded as both Breast Cancer and Domestic Violence month, thanks in part to NFL marketing. It seems like two players, who have both worn their own personal messages for their respective causes for years, are being fined because Heyward was punished first. All three cases are even tougher to justify when the league and its network partners promoted former Bengal Devon Still’s “Leah Strong” campaign for his daughter and never fined him for wearing his eye black. Still pointed this out himself after hearing about Heyward’s fine.

This past weekend, Heyward wore eye black again with “Tackle Cancer” written because the NFL sanctioned that specific message for players to use. He won’t be fined for it. So now it’s okay to promote a message toward a cause as long as it’s consistent with your organization’s marketing?

While the NFL is enforcing this storm trooper uniform culture, we are still talking about the causes that Williams, Gay and Heyward were hoping to raise general awareness for. In a sense, that honors the memories of their parents who suffered but at the expense of the NFL looking like an evil empire. What’s the point? No, it doesn’t hurt the NFL’s popularity. Yes, I’m still going to take Fantasy Football questions later today for tomorrow’s Mailbag. I’m still going to watch on Sunday with the millions of others wearing NFL products. And so will you. However, you and I both will add this to the long list of issues the NFL has proven to be inconsistent and insensitive with.

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