Fantasy Football Week 13 Use ‘Em or Lose ‘Em

Use ‘Em

QB

Ryan Tannehill- The Jets are giving up the most fantasy points to opposing QB’s this season and Tannehill has been playing exceptionally well down the stretch, cracking into the top 10 of fantays QB’s. He should excel in a very good match-up Monday night.

Alex Smith- He is going to have to throw when he is behind in Denver. He had a good game last week in a trailing effort against Oakland and finished in the top 12 of fantasy QB’s for the week. He should have another solid game against Denver, giving up the 4th most fantasy points to opposing QB’s.

Phillip Rivers- Baltimore’s secondary has been a hot mess as of late. They are giving up the 4th most passing yards per game in the NFL and are giving up the 8th most fantasy points to opposing QB’s. In a do or die game for the Chargers I expect Phillip Rivers to take advantage of the Ravens secondary and put up numbers.

RB

Arian Foster- Remember the last time Foster played the Titans? When he ripped them for 170 all purpose yards(150 rushing, 20 receiving) and 3 TD’s? If he’s playing your playing him.

Alfred Morris- The Colts played better run defense against the Jaguars last week but Alfred Morris proved last week against the 49ers that he is match-up proof. He should be a top 10 play this week.

Tre Mason- 3 straight games with at least 80 total yards has Mason being a good flex option, especially against a Raiders team that gives up the 4th most fantasy points to opposing running backs.

WR

T.Y Hilton- Andrew Luck is going to shred Washington Sunday, and the main beneficiary of his passes should be Hilton, who should be in line for another big week.

Keenan Allen, Malcolm Floyd- The Ravens secondary has been getting torched recently and they are now giving up the most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers, and I think Allen and Floyd, Rivers’ best two receivers should be able to thrive against Baltimore.

Torrey Smith, Steve Smith Sr.- They were both productive last week against the Saints and I expect them both to remain productive in what I think will be a higher scoring match-up against San Diego.

Kelvin Benjamin- People may have forgotten because of the bye week and due to Odell Beckham and Mike Evans emergence in the last couple weeks, but Benjamin will make people remember he is a legit top 10 receiver this week against a Vikings defense that gives up the 7th most receiving TD’s to wide receivers.

Mike Wallace, Jarvis Landry- Tannehill’s going to be throwing to someone right?

TE

Travis Kelce- Continuing on the theory that the Chiefs are going to have to throw the ball against Denver I think that Kelce will see a good chunk of that work. The Chiefs haven’t thrown a TD to a wide receiver all year and Kelce leads the team in receiving TD’s with 4. Tack that on with the Broncos giving up the 10th most fantasy points to tight ends and I think Kelce is a must-start this week.

Charles Clay- The Jets give up the most fantasy points to opposing tight ends, stemming from the 12 touchdowns they have given up to tight ends this year. Point blank I think he scores if he can give it a go Monday night.

D/ST

Rams- The Rams defense is starting to come alive down the stretch and playing the Raiders makes them a solid stream if you are out of better options, because they will be available in your league.

Giants- Always rolling against who Jacksonville is playing is a solid stream. The Jaguars give up the most fantasy points to opposing defenses.

Dolphins- The Bills D/ST just had a 20+ point game against the Jets(giving up the 3rd most fantasy points to opposing defenses) and I expect the Dolphins D to have a strong performance against them as well.

Lose ‘Em

QB

Josh McCown- It was fun while it lasted, but I don’t think McCown is going to be a good option to stream against 1:00 EST Dalton and the Bengals defense, giving up the 7th least fantasy points to opposing QB’s.

Matt Ryan- The Cardinals are hungry for a win after losing to Seattle and are going to bring their tough defense against Mediocre Matty Ryan this week. The Cardinals are giving up the 8th least fantasy points to opposing QB’s this week and there will be plenty of better options than Ryan now that the bye weeks are over.

Brian Hoyer- The Bills have given up just 14 passing TD’s to 13 interceptions on the season and are ranked 5th in fewest passing yards allowed per game this season. Hoyer just struggled against a plus match-up with the Falcons, I wouldn’t trust him enough to start here in a tough match-up.

RB

Ryan Matthews- You don’t run on Baltimore(giving up the least amount of fantasy points to opposing running backs), as Mark Ingram owners learned the hard way Monday night.

Steven Jackson- Another team that is very hard to run on is the Arizona Cardinals, who are giving up the 2nd least fantasy points to opposing running backs. Jackson has been reliant on TD’s to make him fantasy relevant as he as only had more than 60 yards rushing twice this season.

All Tampa Bay running backs- please just don’t, for your own good and sanity. This is the platooniest platoon of running backs in the league right now and it doesn’t matter that they have a great match-up against Cincinnati, Doug Martin, Bobby Rainey and Charles Sims have earned their way into your line-up.

WR

DeAndre Hopkins, Andre Johnson- The Texans are going to run all over the Titans, leaving few pass attempts for these guys to take advantage of and produce fantasy points with. Play them next week against the Jaguars.

Josh Gordon- Not a gimme top 10 this week. As mentioned above the Bills are giving up the 5th fewest passing yards in the NFL . While Gordon will get force fed the ball like last week I think expectations should be tampered a bit for this game, especially if Hoyer struggles again.

Sammy Watkins- Joe Haden will be checking him, he hasn’t produced since injuring his groin and this is a do or die week, you can find better options.

TE

Tight End is so ugly, I just hate the position in general, not anyone I’m going to pick on this week, good luck if you don’t own a top 7 tight end.

D/ST

Packers/Patriots- Two high octane offenses meeting make both of these fantasy defenses a stay away for this week.

Chiefs- I don’t start defenses against the Broncos, especially not one’s that just got beat by the Raiders.

Washington- The Colts are going to roll them

Fantasy Football Week 13 Use ‘Em or Lose ‘Em Thanksgiving Edition

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope you are enjoying the time off from work/school! Due to the fact that I am going to be a little busy with having a family on Turkey day I am going to write 2 Use ‘Em and Lose ‘Em columns this week, one for Sunday/Monday and one for today!

Use ‘Em

Tony Romo- The Eagles give up the 2nd most fantasy points to opposing QB’s and I think much like last week the Cowboys will have a good day on the ground and give Romo the opportunity to pick apart the defense with plenty of time in the pocket.

DeMarco Murray, Dez Bryant- Start your studs

Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate- One of these players is going to take advantage of the crappy Bears secondary, I just don’t know which one. Calvin Johnson hasn’t looked like the elite receiver we know him to be and if he falters a little bit maybe Golden Tate steps back into the lead receiver role he has played well this season.

49ers/Seahawks D/ST- I think this game is a grueling low scoring gut punch for both teams, and both defenses should be playable, like both defenses were for the Cardinals/Seahawks game Sunday

Lose ‘Em

Jay Cutler- I don’t want any part of this anymore. Cutler has scored less than 10 fantasy points in 3 of his last 5 games(while scoring 20+ in the other 2 games) and he just can’t be trusted anymore. In a week where owners are fighting for their playoff games in what is the last(or second to last) regular season game left you need better than shaky Jay against the Lions top 10 pass defense which is giving up the 3rd least amount of fantasy points to opposing QB’s.

Matthew Stafford- In case you haven’t already heard the Lions haven’t scored more than 24 points since week 2. Stafford hasn’t had 20 fantasy points since week 4 against the Jets and has only had more than 15 fantasy points twice since that week 4 match-up. He has had consecutive single digit fantasy point performances and I just don’t trust him enough in such a critical game despite the great match-up against the Bears(if any of these backfire it’s this one).

Colin Kaepernick- Mediocre fantasy QB faces the defense giving up the 2nd least amount of fantasy points to opposing QB’s, that sounds like a stay away to me. If that doesn’t sour you maybe the fact he has had less than 15 fantasy points in his last 5 games leading up to this does.

Matt Forte- Relative to normal Matt Forte expectations. He should still be in your line-up but I would tamper the expectations because he faces off against the #1 rush defense in the NFL(even after last week) and the Lions are giving up the 7th least fantasy points to opposing running backs

All receivers and running backs not named Marshawn Lynch in the Seattle/San Francisco game- These two defenses are going to step up and I don’t think anyone is safe outside of Lynch and maybe Anquan Boldin

All tight ends playing Thanksgiving- TD dependent Zach Ertz, Brent Celek, fantasy irrelevant Vernon Davis and both mostly fantasy irrelevant(if only tight end wasn’t such crap) Seattle tight ends, Martellus It’s not September anymore Bennett, Eric Ebron(who I feel the best about in this group but still hasn’t done anything this year) and very average Jason Witten.

 

 

Fantasy Football Week 13 Quarterback Rankings

1. Andrew Luck (vs Washington)
2. Aaron Rodgers (vs Patriots)
3. Peyton Manning (vs Chiefs)
4. Tony Romo (vs Eagles)
5. Tom Brady (vs Packers)
6. Drew Brees (vs Steelers)
7. Ben Roethlisberger (vs Saints)
8. Ryan Tannehill (vs Jets)
9. Russell Wilson (vs 49ers)
10. Cam Newton (vs Vikings)
11. Matthew Stafford (vs Bears)
12. Alex Smith (vs Denver)
13. Andy Dalton (vs Tampa Bay)
14. Eli Manning (vs Jaguars)
15. Mark Sanchez (vs Dallas)
16. Matt Ryan (vs Cardinals)
17. Phillip Rivers (vs Ravens)
18. Zach Mettenberger (vs Texans)
19. Joe Flacco (vs Chargers)
20. Josh McCown (vs Bengals)
21. Colin Kaepernick (vs Seattle)
22. Derek Carr (vs Rams)
23. Robert Griffin (vs Colts)
24. Jay Cutler (vs Lions)
25. Ryan Fitzpatrick (vs Titans)

Fantasy Football Week 13 Running Back Rankings

1. Le’Veon Bell (vs Saints)
2. Arian Foster (vs Titans)
3. DeMarco Murray (vs Eagles)
4. Eddy Lacy (vs Patriots)
5. Jamaal Charles (vs Denver)
6. Justin Forsett (vs Chargers)
7. Matt Forte (vs Lions)
8. LeSean McCoy (vs Dallas)
9. Marshawn Lynch (vs 49ers)
10. Andre Ellington (vs Atlanta)
11. Alfred Morris (vs Colts)
12. CJ Anderson (vs Chiefs)
13. Rashad Jennings (vs Jaguars)
14. Mark Ingram (vs Steelers)
15. Denard Robinson (vs Giants)
16. Tre Mason (vs Oakland)
17. Jeremy Hill (vs Tampa Bay)
18. Giovanni Bernard (vs Tampa Bay)
19. Latavius Murray (vs Rams)
20. Fred Jackson (vs Cleveland)
21. Isaiah Crowell (vs Bills)
22. Lamar Miller (vs Jets)
23. Daniel Herron (vs Washington)
24. Joique Bell (vs Bears)
25. Darren Sproles (vs Dallas)
26. Ryan Matthews (vs Baltimore)
27. Shane Vereen (vs Packers)
28. Legarrette Blount (vs Packers)
29. Jonas Gray (vs Packers)
30. Bishop Sankey (vs Texans)

Fantasy Football Week 13 Wide Receiver Rankings

1. Antonio Brown (vs Saints)
2. Dez Bryant (vs Eagles)
3. Demaryius Thomas (vs Chiefs)
4. T.Y Hilton (vs Washington)
5. AJ Green (vs Tampa Bay)
6. Calvin Johnson (vs Bears)
7. Jordy Nelson (vs Patriots)
8. Odell Beckham Jr. (vs Jaguars)
9. Emmanuel Sanders (vs Chiefs)
10. Mike Evans (vs Bengals)
11. Kelvin Benjamin (vs Vikings)
12. Josh Gordon (vs Bills)
13. Julio Jones (vs Arizona)
14. Roddy White (vs Arizona)
15. Randall Cobb (vs Patriots)
16. Jeremy Maclin (vs Cowboys)
17. Mike Wallace (vs Jets)
18. Julian Edelman (vs Packers)
19. Alshon Jeffery (vs Lions)
20. Brandon Marshall (vs Lions)
21. Jordan Matthews (vs Dallas)
22. DeAndre Hopkins (vs Titans)
23. Sammy Watkins (vs Browns)
24. DeSean Jackson (vs Colts)
25. Steve Smith Sr. (vs Chargers)
26. Torrey Smith (vs Chargers)
27. Keenan Allen (vs Baltimore)
28. Anquan Boldin (vs Seattle)
29. Reggie Wayne (vs Washington)
30. Brandon LaFell (vs Packers)
31. Marques Colston (vs Steelers)
32. Kenny Stills (vs Steelers)
33. Charles Johnson (vs Panthers)
34. Dwayne Bowe (vs Denver)
35. James Jones (vs Rams)

Fantasy Football Week 13 Tight End Rankings

1. Rob Gronkowski (vs Packers)
2. Jimmy Graham (vs Steelers)
3. Greg Olsen (vs Vikings)
4. Julius Thomas (vs Chiefs)
5. Delanie Walker (vs Texans)
6. Travis Kelce (vs Denver)
7. Jason Witten (vs Eagles)
8. Larry Donnell (vs Jaguars)
9. Antonio Gates(vs Ravens)
10. Coby Fleener (vs Washington)
11. Dwayne Allen (vs Washington)
12. Martellus Bennett (vs Lions)
13. Mychal Rivera (vs Rams)
14. Jared Cook (vs Raiders)
15. Charles Clay (vs Jets)
16. Jordan Reed (vs Colts)
17. Zach Ertz (vs Dallas)
18. Mercedes Lewis (vs Giants)
19. Tim Wright (vs Packers)
20. Eric Ebron (vs Bears)
21. Tony Moeaki (vs 49ers)
22. Brent Celek (vs Dallas)
23. Vernon Davis (vs Seattle)
24. Jace Amaro (vs Dolphins)
25. Scott Chandler (vs Browns)

Fantasy Football Week 13 Waiver Wire Pick-Ups

The “Duh” Pick-Ups

Legarrette Blount-He racked up 78 yards and two touchdowns after last week’s waiver wire darling Jonas Gray was benched and missed the whole game for dubious Patriot-like reasons. You can add Blount and he might be a good add going into the fantasy playoffs or for the final stretch, or he could blow up in your face like Gray, the lesson as always be extremely wary with the Patriots running backs.

Ryan Tannehill- He is a legit top 10 fantasy QB. I wrote about him way back in week 8 and he has kept up what put him in that column since then. The rushing stats are a big plus(at least 15 yards in every game but 1 since week 4) and the seven turnovers in his last eight games prove that he can be mostly mistake free. Tannehill has taken the leap and needs to be owned everywhere.

Delanie Walker- He’s finally healthy again and I’m sure owners had dropped him while he was struggling with injuries and poor performance. He had 155 receiving yards last week on 5 catches and 9 targets and needs to be picked back up in all leagues because he should resume his status as a top 8 fantasy tight end.

The Other Pick-Ups

Marques Colston, Kenny Stills- I knew at least one of these guys were going to benefit due to Brandin Cooks absence, but I wasn’t sure which one. Turns out it’s both of them, but in different ways. Colston had the better surface fantasy game(4 catches for 82 yards and a TD) but he only had 4 targets. Stills benefited by getting the volume that Cooks was getting. Stills had 8 catches for 98 yards on 9 targets against the Ravens.

Charles Johnson- He has come out of nowhere to have a very productive last two games. He has 9 catches on 18 targets for 137 yards a TD and a 2 point conversion in those two games. If your someone who trusts targets a lot I would gamble on Johnson, he doesn’t have much pedigree but could be worth a shot(RIP Cordarrelle Patterson).

Jarvis Landry- The PPR machine came through in standard leagues last week. He has had at least 3 catches in every game since week 2 and has had at least 5 catches in his last 4 games. The rest of the production varies but he should be added in all PPR leagues and considered in deeper standard leagues.

Latavius Murray- He was amazing when he played last week. He scored 2 TD’s(one of them being of the 90 yards run variety) but got sidelined due to injury and had to be taken out of the game. If he can start this week or even going forward he is a solid options if he can get some good volume as running back has been so brutal this year.

Zach Mettenberger- Mettenberger has put together consecutive games worthy of being started in fantasy. He isn’t great but he has a nice schedule the rest of the way with a game against every team in the division(Colts, Jaguars, Texans) and he gets both New York teams(Jets, Giants). He could definitely take advantage of the Jags and Jets and might play well against the Giants and Colts. He is worth the flier if you stream QB’s, are in a deeper league or a 2 QB league.

Colts D/ST- Favorable match-ups the rest of the way for the Colts D. They have Washington this week with Cleveland, Tennessee, Houston and only Dallas as a tough match-up. They have been up and down all year but have mostly taken advantage of their plus match-ups, especially inside the division where they have multiple 10+ point games.

Rams D/ST- Another defense you might want to consider. This pre-season darling has a great upcoming schedule starting with Oakland this week. After that they have Washington, Arizona the Giants and close with the Seahawks.

NFL Week 13 Picks Against the Spread

After having another subpar week with my picks last week(I went 6-9 against the spread) I am at 84-91 for the season. I have to crank these out(along with all my previews for this week) extra early(or on time) because of the 3 games we have on Thanksgiving this week. As usual spreads are from footballocks.com

Thanksgiving Games

Chicago +7 OVER @Detroit- Detroit has struggled so mightily on offense(24 points or less in every game since week 2 is the popular stat here) I just can’t lay this many points with them, despite how crappy the Bears have been.

@Dallas -3 Philadelphia- The Eagles have beaten the Titans, Texans and Panthers handily with Mark Sanchez at the helm and were destroyed by the Packers. I don’t know if the Eagles will get quite obliterated by the Cowboys the same way they were against the Packers but I don’t trust Mark Sanchez against any team that is above .500, especially getting only 3 points on the road.

Seattle +1 OVER San Francisco- They both have good records(7-4) despite being pretty underwhelming for most of the season and now face off against one another in one of the best rivalries in the NFL right now. I’m taking Seattle on the probably flawed basis that the 49ers have won 3 in a row(against the Rams, crappy Saints, and dysfunctional beyond all belief Washington) and are due for a loss.

Sunday Early Games

@Indianapolis -10 Washington- I doubted the Colts covering a big spread last week and it cost me and I am going to go with them here this week. I think the fact that there could be even more turmoil in the Washington media over Andrew Luck laying waste to Robert Griffin and separating the 1st and 2nd picks of the 2012 draft even further apart is too indicative of the season it has been for Washington for it to not happen.

Tennessee +6.5 OVER @Houston- I think Zach Mettenberger has played pretty solid since getting the starting job and I don’t think the lesser Ryan(Fitzpatrick) on the Texans covers this spread against the Titans, if it was less I would take the Texans but for them to be giving 6.5 is ridiculous.

Cincinnati -4 OVER @Tampa Bay- As much as I would love for Tampa Bay to officially throw their hat in the NFC South division ring with a third win here I can’t go against Daytime Dalton(Andy Dalton is atrocious when playing in any prime-time games. He thrives on the 1:00 EST slate when no one outside of the Ohio/Pennsylvania area is watching the game, don’t believe me? The Bengals are  7-1-1 during 1:00 EST games  and  0-2 in prime-time, getting demolished by the Patriots and Browns) when he only has to beat the lowly Buccaneers by 4 points to cover.

@Baltimore -4.5 OVER San Diego- Loser of this match-up is dealt a significant blow in the AFC playoff race. I’m taking the Ravens riding the momentum of their big win in New Orleans and the fact that they are incredible at home in the John Harbaugh era. They are 4-1 at home this year having outscored their opponents 130-53.

Carolina +2.5 OVER @Minnesota- I’m all in on anything to make the NFC South more of a crapshoot and I think these teams are even(if Carolina isn’t actually a little better). If Carolina can keep Cam Newton protected they easily cover this but if the Vikings get 3+ sacks they are going to crush the Panthers like every other team that has gotten pressure on Newton.

NY Giants -2.5 OVER @Jacksonville Jaguars- I don’t know why this line is so low but the the Giants(along with 20+ other teams in the NFL) can beat the Jaguars by 3.

@Pittsburgh -3 OVER New Orleans- This is the most ridiculous line of the week to me. Pittsburgh has been rolling for most of the year and the Saints are an absolute abomination on defense(and kinda offense some games) and the Steelers should have no problems crushing them.

@Buffalo -1.5 OVER Cleveland- I think the Bills are a better team and have a very strong defense. They have the #4 overall defense against total yardage and points allowed, are 8th in rushing yards allowed per game and 5th in passing yards allowed per game. Brian Hoyer has been struggling as of late and while he did enough to beat the Falcons(along with help from Mike Smith and how not to clock manage football games 101) I think the Bills will be a road block he can’t get through.

Oakland +7 OVER @St. Louis- I flip-flopped on this game the most out of any of them this week so I am just going to take the Raiders and the points and see what happens

Sunday Afternoon

Arizona -2.5 OVER @Atlanta- As much as I want to believe the Falcons will win the NFC South I think the Cardinals are a way better team and should take care of business in this one favored by less than 3.

New England +3 OVER @Green Bay- The game of the week. I think this one could go either way, the two best teams in football squaring off against each other. I am just going to take the 3 and sit back and watch some good football

Sunday Night

Denver -1 OVER @Kansas City- As much as Denver hasn’t looked quite like themselves, I don’t see them losing this game and I am taking the Broncos and prime-time Peyton Manning.

Monday Night

Miami -4.5 OVER @NY Jets- The Jets are terrible, this line is way too low and Miami just hung with Denver and needs a win. They are going to crush the Jets