eagle eye
11-04-2014, 09:57 AM
Week 9 was bizarro. Record setting performance by Ben Roethlesberger and a heart breaking performance by Brandon Weeden and what the hell happened to Phillip Rivers in South Beach? I suppose that's why fantasy is such a maddening game. Big Ben's 300+, 6 TD performance darn near beat me in one of my leagues but fortunately I held on to capture a win. I am not sure if I would rather the Cowboys win and I lose my fantasy games but that seems to have been the way it's gone so far for me. Cowboys win, I lose. Cowboys lose, I win.
One guy you may want to pick up if you, or somebody else, haven't already done so Marc Sanchez with the Eagles is a definite pickup. Sanchez is a lot better than his rep would suggest. Too many judge him on the debacle that is the NY Jets and the infamous "butt fumble" play. When Sanchez had talent around him in New York he led the Jets to 2 consecutive AFC title games. He came in and led the Eagles to a win over the Texans last Sunday in relief of Nick Foles who broke his collar bone and will miss several weeks.
Another obvious choice is Cincinnati's Jeremy Hill. In for the injured Giovani Bernard he blew up to the tune of 154 yards rushing with 2 TDs. He will get at least one more start this week when the Bengals face Cleveland on Thursday night. Hill may find the going a little tougher in the Dog Pound but on a week with 6 teams on a bye you take what you can get.
By the same token, Terrence West seems to have lapped Ben Tate for most carries. It won't mean that the running back-by-committee that Cleveland uses is abandoned. Eau contraire mon frere. But it probably means West will get more looks.
If you need a flex player you could go with St Louis' Tre Mason who have 44 carries over the past 3 weeks or you could go with Bennie Cunningham who has been used as a third down back. Mason has the most upside because he gets more touches. One of these weeks the Rams won't be playing a top 10 rushing defense. Unfortunately, the Rams travel to face the red hot Arizona Cardinals.
The Vikings are a conundrum. They seem to use Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata according to who's hot or maybe last week they defined the roles. Those roles being RB by-committee. McKinnon got 17 touches, 14 runs and 3 receptions while Asiata got 14 touches, 10 runs and 4 receptions. The difference, at least this week, was that Asiata got 3 rushing TDs to none for McKinnon. Will Asiata be the goal line back? Man, it's a coin flip at this point but Asiata seems to be the preferred red zone back and the preferred guy out of the backfield. Both are worth a flex play but Asiata has been a feast or famine fantasy player. Last week it was definitely a feast.
Need a QB during a bye week. Maybe Teddy Bridgewater could be that guy. This past week against the Redskins he threw for 268 yards and TD and rushed 3 times for 20 yards. Under Norv Turner he seems to be getting better every week.
Coming off a bye week the Buffalo Bills will face off against the Chiefs. Since he took over as the starting QB Kyle Orton has been what I predicted he'd be. That's fantasy football owners gold. Not only that but having a decent QB has made Sammy Watkins bloom as a real life player and fantasy option. Even though the Chiefs are tough Buffalo can handle them. The Bills have a good team and just needed a QB to lead them and Orton is that guy. The Bills are going to win and Orton and Watkins are going to be big as well. One other guy to consider is RB Anthony "Boobie" Dixon. In the Bills last game he got 22 carries for 44 yards against a tough Jets run defense which even a mathematical imbecile like me can figure out that's 2 YPC. Dixon and Bryce Brown will be the running game for Buffalo for the foreseeable future as CJ Spiller and Freddie Jackson are out with injuries.
One guy you may want to pick up if you, or somebody else, haven't already done so Marc Sanchez with the Eagles is a definite pickup. Sanchez is a lot better than his rep would suggest. Too many judge him on the debacle that is the NY Jets and the infamous "butt fumble" play. When Sanchez had talent around him in New York he led the Jets to 2 consecutive AFC title games. He came in and led the Eagles to a win over the Texans last Sunday in relief of Nick Foles who broke his collar bone and will miss several weeks.
Another obvious choice is Cincinnati's Jeremy Hill. In for the injured Giovani Bernard he blew up to the tune of 154 yards rushing with 2 TDs. He will get at least one more start this week when the Bengals face Cleveland on Thursday night. Hill may find the going a little tougher in the Dog Pound but on a week with 6 teams on a bye you take what you can get.
By the same token, Terrence West seems to have lapped Ben Tate for most carries. It won't mean that the running back-by-committee that Cleveland uses is abandoned. Eau contraire mon frere. But it probably means West will get more looks.
If you need a flex player you could go with St Louis' Tre Mason who have 44 carries over the past 3 weeks or you could go with Bennie Cunningham who has been used as a third down back. Mason has the most upside because he gets more touches. One of these weeks the Rams won't be playing a top 10 rushing defense. Unfortunately, the Rams travel to face the red hot Arizona Cardinals.
The Vikings are a conundrum. They seem to use Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata according to who's hot or maybe last week they defined the roles. Those roles being RB by-committee. McKinnon got 17 touches, 14 runs and 3 receptions while Asiata got 14 touches, 10 runs and 4 receptions. The difference, at least this week, was that Asiata got 3 rushing TDs to none for McKinnon. Will Asiata be the goal line back? Man, it's a coin flip at this point but Asiata seems to be the preferred red zone back and the preferred guy out of the backfield. Both are worth a flex play but Asiata has been a feast or famine fantasy player. Last week it was definitely a feast.
Need a QB during a bye week. Maybe Teddy Bridgewater could be that guy. This past week against the Redskins he threw for 268 yards and TD and rushed 3 times for 20 yards. Under Norv Turner he seems to be getting better every week.
Coming off a bye week the Buffalo Bills will face off against the Chiefs. Since he took over as the starting QB Kyle Orton has been what I predicted he'd be. That's fantasy football owners gold. Not only that but having a decent QB has made Sammy Watkins bloom as a real life player and fantasy option. Even though the Chiefs are tough Buffalo can handle them. The Bills have a good team and just needed a QB to lead them and Orton is that guy. The Bills are going to win and Orton and Watkins are going to be big as well. One other guy to consider is RB Anthony "Boobie" Dixon. In the Bills last game he got 22 carries for 44 yards against a tough Jets run defense which even a mathematical imbecile like me can figure out that's 2 YPC. Dixon and Bryce Brown will be the running game for Buffalo for the foreseeable future as CJ Spiller and Freddie Jackson are out with injuries.