2014 Fantasy Football Start 'Em/Sit 'Em WEEK 7
A helpful look into who should be in your line up or riding your bench this week.
Always remember one of our biggest rules here at FFChamps.com:
Commandment #10: Thou shall ALWAYS start thy Studs
Weekly Review:
Every major fantasy football site gives you a start 'em or sit 'em article every week to try and help you with you line up selection. Unfortunately we can't always get it right. Some calls looks genius, and others not so much. Each week I will review the past week of my start and sit selections to let you know how well it went. I (like every else in this industry) won't always get every call right every week, and I will share all the results with you so you know where I was right and where I was wrong. Here is the criteria I will use to say when the players from the previous week were a GOOD CALL or a BAD CALL.
For the Start 'Em:
QB - Any quarterback who finished in the top 16 will be a Good Call.
Any quarterback outside the top 16 will be a Bad Call.
RB - Any running back who finished in the top 36 will be a Good Call.
Any running back outside the top 36 will be a Bad Call.
WR - Any wide receiver who finished in the top 48 will be a Good Call.
Any wide receiver outside the top 48 will be a Bad Call.
TE - Any tight end who finished in the top 16 will be a Good Call.
Any tight end outside the top 16 will be a Bad Call.
For the Sit 'Em:
QB - Any quarterback who finished out of the top 16 will be a Good Call.
Any quarterback in the top 16 will be a Bad Call.
RB - Any running back who finished out of the top 36 will be a Good Call.
Any running back in the top 36 will be a Bad Call.
WR - Any wide receiver who finished out of the top 48 will be a Good Call.
Any wide receiver in the top 48 will be a Bad Call.
TE - Any tight end who finished out of the top 16 will be a Good Call.
Any tight end in the top 16 will be a Bad Call.
WEEK 6 RESULTS: (YTD)
Good Calls: 15 (92)
Bad Calls: 9 (57)
QUARTERBACKS:
STUDS
Peyton Manning Denver Broncos vs San Francisco 49ers (Sunday Night)
Drew Brees New Orleans Saints @ Detroit Lions
Aaron Rodgers Green Bay Packers vs Carolina Panthers
Matthew Stafford Detroit Lions vs New Orleans Saints
Philip Rivers San Diego Chargers vs Kansas City Chiefs
Andrew Luck Indianapolis Colts vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Start ‘Em
Tom Brady New England Patriots vs New York Jets (Thursday Night): For anyone who was worried about Tom Brady being Tom Brady, worry no more. In his last 2 games Brady has thrown for 653 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions while completing 69% of his passes. In his first 4 games this year, Brady threw for just 791 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions with a completion percentage of just 61%. I guess all it took was outside questions of the Patriots, a possible knee injury, and a trip to Buffalo. Now Brady gets to face the Jets on Thursday night. The Jets are one of the worst teams at stopping quarterbacks this season, still in the bottom 5. Peyton Manning just shred them on Sunday for 237 yards and 3 touchdowns without a turnover. On Thursday nights, Brady is 6-1 with an insane 13:2 touchdown to interception ration while averaging 244 yards per game. In his career against the Jets Tom has thrown for 32 touchdowns (3rd most versus a single team) to just 11 picks while averaging 232 yards per contests. Even with the short week, play Brady. He's looking more and more like the Brady of old as the season progresses.
Andy Dalton Cincinnati Bengals @ Indianapolis Colts: The Red Rifle statistically had his best game in 2014 against the Panthers last week. Completing 77% of his passes for 323 yards and 2 touchdowns, all season highs. While he did have 2 interceptions as well, the Panthers defense is a lot more ferocious and solid than the Colts defense that will be hosting the Bengals this weekend. The Colts are giving up 19-fantasy points/game to opposing quarterbacks this year, and just let Ryan Fitzpatrick throw for 212 yards and 1 touchdown without an interception. In Indianapolis, the Colts are allowing an average of 248 passing yards to opposing quarterbacks, and haven't played too much stiff competition (Foles, Flacco, and Charlie Whitehurst). Dalton has feasted on the Colts when he has faced them in his career. He took on Indianapolis twice and combined to throw for 539 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 picks while also scoring a touchdown on the ground. That's an average of 21 points per contest. Not too shabby.
Colin Kaepernick San Francisco 49ers @ Denver Broncos (Sunday Night): Kaep loves him some of the big stage! After being down 14-0 to the Rams in St. Louis on Monday night, Kaepernick lead his 49ers to a 31-17 victory, throwing for 3 touchdowns in the process. Since becoming the starter for the 49ers, Kaepernick has thrived in primetime. He has played a combined 9 games (Sunday, Monday, & Thursday) and has thrown for 2,111 yards with 16 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions (3 of which came to the hands of division rival Seattle). This Sunday Night should be no different when Kaep takes his team to Denver for a Sunday Night showdown with the Broncos. Despite the 49ers usually being a great defensive team, and the upgrades made by Denver in the offseason, odds are this bad boy will have a ton of points scored. The Broncos are giving up 22 points/game to quarterbacks this year, while Colin is scoring 23 per game with just 1 contest this year in which he failed to record 19 or more points (he scored 15). Everything is lining up for a shootout style game in Mile High, which should make for great entertainment and huge fantasy numbers for a lot of players, but especially Colin Kaepernick.
Sit ‘Em
Alex Smith Kansas City Chiefs @ San Diego Chargers: We all know that outside of the running backs and the emergence of Travis Kelce at tight end, the Chiefs don't have any offensive weapons. Nothing to instill fear in opposing defenses and that won't be changing this week when they take on AFC west rival San Diego. Even with the bye week to prepare, Smith is coming off a game in San Francisco where he faced his former team. Usually after a player faces a former team, especially one that just dumped him out of nowhere, they don't have the same swagger the next match up they face. In his career Smith is 0-3 against the Chargers throwing 5 touchdowns to 3 interceptions. This season the Chargers are a top 10 unit versus quarterbacks allowing less than 20 points per game, while holding 2 quarterbacks to single-digit games. Another nugget for you, Smith already has 2 games this year with 3+ touchdown passes. In his career he has just 1 season in which he threw for 3+ touchdowns in more than 2 games. That was last year when he did it 3 times. That was when the Chiefs offense seemed like it had it all figured out. This year it's not the same. Odds are you aren't relying on Smith this week with Foles being the only useful quarterback on a bye, and that's a good thing, because I don't see Smith making many waves this weekend in his divisional match up.
Ryan Fitzpatrick Houston Texans @ Pittsburgh Steelers (Monday Night): Fitzpatrick isn't the kind of quarterback you can count on to put up big fantasy numbers. Outside of an 18-point performance against the Giants, Fitzpatrick hasn't scored more than 13 points in a game. He hasn't hit the 300-yard mark at all this season (in fact he has only thrown for 300+ yards 4 times in the last 33 games he has started), and failed to top 200 yards twice. He also only has 1 game with 2 touchdowns, the rest he only threw for 1 or 0. I know Brian Hoyer just lead the Browns to a big win over the Steelers, but that was one of the biggest get up games for Cleveland. Factor in the Steelers will be coming out extremely fired up to play the Texans on Monday night too after that embarrassing loss in Cleveland last Sunday. The Steelers are still a top unit at stopping quarterbacks as well, ranked in the top 5 in fantasy points given up to quarterbacks at just 18 per game. Fitzpatrick has faced Pittsburgh 3 times, averaging less than 200 yards per game with just 3 total touchdowns and 2 total picks.
Cam Newton Carolina Panthers @ Green Bay Packers: Newon put up video game-type number against the Bengals last week. Sure his 284 passing yards with 2 touchdowns and a pick are pedestrian, but he killed it with his legs running for 107 yards on 17 attempts and scoring once. When the Packers have faced a mobile quarterback this season (Russell Wilson & Geno Smith) they gave up a combined 55 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. Cam also hasn't done much in the way of his rushing this season. Before Sunday he had a season high of 19 rushing yards and didn't score a TD on the ground until the past weekend either. From 2011-2013 in his first 4 games of the season (12 games total), Newton scored at least 1 touchdown in 7 (2 in one), and failed to reach 20 rushing yards just 4 times. Kelvin Benjamin stepped up for Cam this year when we thought he had no weapons, but even so, the Panthers backfield has been nothing special and it's shocking Newton hasn't taken advantage of that with his running ability. Odds are at least one of the two Panthers backs, DeAngelo Williams or Jonathan Stewart, will be back this week and that will keep Cam more in the pocket. The Packers D has not allowed a 300-yard passer yet this season, and in 3 of 6 games, quarterbacks failed to reach 200 yards. Plus the Pack has forced at least 1 turnover in each game and has 3 games with 3. Not going to be a good week for Cam.
RUNNING BACKS:
STUDS
Jamaal Charles Kansas City Chiefs @ San Diego Chargers
Matt Forte Chicago Bears vs Miami Dolphins
Marshawn Lynch Seattle Seahawks @ St. Louis Rams
DeMarco Murray Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants
Gio Bernard Cincinnati Bengals @ Indianapolis Colts
Start ‘Em
Justin Forsett Baltimore Ravens vs Atlanta Falcons: Forsett has failed to reach double-digit fantasy points just twice this season. Mind you he does split time even though he is the "number 1 guy" in Baltimore. He's averaging 6.45 yards/carry which is tops in the NFL. He's also put up at least 100 yards or a touchdown in 4 of 6 games this season. Now he gets the NFL worse Atlanta Falcons coming to town. The Falcons are just god awful at stopping the run. A stud back like Matt Forte finally found the end zone on the ground last week against this Falcons squad for the first time all season, and he found it twice. That was just the second game since week 8 of last season that Forte scored on the ground. The Falcons have allowed less than 100 yards rushing just once this season, and that was to Tampa Bay who was down by 56 so yeah. Atlanta also has allowed 2 teams to run for more than 170 yards this year, including a 241 yard output by the Minnesota Vikings WITHOUT Adrian Peterson! Not much else to say but Forsett = good, Flacons run D = bad, Forsett owners this week = happy!
Ben Tate Cleveland Browns @ Jacksonville Jaguars: Last week against a Steelers defense that was in the top half of the league at stopping the run, the Browns running backs looked really good. Both Tate and Isaiah Crowell ran for 75+ yards and each scored a touchdown while Tate found the end zone twice. Tate was set up for exciting things when he signed with Cleveland and looked to be well on his way in Pittsburgh week 1 before getting injured and missing several weeks. Now, in the last 2 weeks he's been back, Tate has ran for 202 yards and 2 scores all while getting at least 22 carries. The Browns love feeding him the ball, and they have an offensive line playing like one of the best in the NFL. A plane ride down to Jacksonville will have Tate foaming at the mouth for this week against the Jags. Jacksonville has given up over 100 yards on the ground in 4 of 6 games this year. They only gave up 70 last week to a weak Titans rush game, but the last time they allowed under triple-digits on the ground (week 4 in San Diego, again without an established run game at the time) the gave up 111 on the ground the next week. I'm not putting Tate on the same category as LeSean McCoy/Darren Sproles (145 yards and 1 touchdown total), Alfred Morris (85 yards and 2 touchdowns), or Le'Veon Bell (118 total yards), but he should be in line for a big day.
Andre Ellington Arizona Cardinals @ Oakland Raiders: So many Ellington owners got stricken with a sense of panic when Ellington was rumored to be missing 4-6 weeks with a foot issue before the season officially kicked off. Andre ended up not missing anytime, and whatever foot problems may have slowed him down before are definitely becoming less and less by the week. While he has had a few weeks without big numbers, he is consistent. After a week with single digit points, Ellington comes back with a double-digit performance. Last week he totaled 8 points. Good news for this week. Also good news for this week is the fact that Ellington and the Cardinals get to take on the Raiders. Even when the Raiders flash seconds of looking good, it’s almost always on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively they are still bad. They are in the bottom 5 at stopping running backs in 2014. Allowing over 23 points per game and giving up 4.7 yards per touch to running backs. In 5 games this year, the Raiders have allowed a running back to rush for over 100 yards or to score multiple touchdowns in 4 of those 5 games. Plus the game is in Oakland where the black and silver have given up 416 yards on the ground to go along with 4 touchdowns to go along with 10 receptions for 87 yards to backs.
Sit ‘Em
Ronnie Hillman Denver Broncos vs San Francisco 49ers (Sunday Night): I know, Hillman ran for 100 yards the first week he got the start and it didn’t look like the Broncos were keen on giving out many carries anywhere else, with just 8 carries going to Juwan Thompson and none anywhere else in the backfield. Odds are they stick with Hillman as the starter but they are in a situation where if Thompson or C.J. Anderson gets a hot hand early in this game, they will ride them. Hillman’s body of work over his career isn’t big enough to justify using him this weekend, especially against a defensive unit that stacks up well against running backs. The 49ers are the 2nd best in the league at stopping running backs from accumulating fantasy points, giving up just 12 per game. They are allowing less than 70 yards per game on the ground, and have allowed just 3 touchdowns to backs, or 1 every other game in 2014. If they can hold the likes of Matt Forte, Andre Ellington, and Jamaal Charles all to less than 100 yards and all without scoring, I don’t see things going well for Hillman. Sure he is on a better offense than those guys, but now that Peyton and the Thomas boys are in a grove I don’t see him looking away from either Julius or Demaryius. In fact, the Broncos have scored just 2 rushing touchdowns all season, Ball in week 1 and Thompson in week 5.
Bishop Sankey Tennessee Titans @ Washington Redskins: I really expected big things from Sankey last week against the lowly Jaguars defense. Most people who own Sankey felt comfortable playing him last week and they should have. Unfortunately he didn’t do big things last week. He didn’t really do mediocre things last week truth be told. He scored 6 fantasy points. Pathetic considering the Jags were giving up over 24 fantasy points per game before last weekend. Now the up and down Sankey is facing the Redskins. While the Skins tend to give up a lot of points, against the running back not so much. Just 12 per contest running backs are scoring on Washington on top of the fact that the Redskins have allowed just 2 total touchdowns to running backs this year, 1 to Marshawn Lynch and 1 to Andre Williams while the Giants blew them out on Thursday night a few weeks back. Sankey is becoming the Titans go-to back, which bodes well for the foreseeable future as well as those in dynasty leagues. However don’t expect this week to be one of the performances out of Bishop that makes you love the fact you drafted him. Keep him benched.
Khiry Robinson New Orleans Saints @ Detroit Lions: Several factors as to why I am not a Robinson guy this week. I am a fan of him overall but too many things could slow him down in Detroit. First is the potential of Mark Ingram coming back. Much like the Lamar Miller/Knowshon Moreno situation last week, even if Ingram can play this week he will be eased back in. Second is the Jimmy Graham factor. No Graham means linebackers can stack the box against the Saints and if that happens this weekend, I expect Pierre Thomas to get a majority of the snaps since he is the top pass catching back for New Orleans. Finally is the Lions defense. They are solid. Against running backs they allow just 14 points/game and have given up just 3 total touchdowns. The best performance by a back vs the Lions was Rashad Jennings back in week 1 when he put up 96 total yards and a touchdown. Jennings was the main guy on a team that was inept at throwing at the time. Robinson is in a backfield with 4 guys who can potentially get the carry, on a team that will always look to throw first. Nothing this week screams play Robinson.
WIDE RECEIVERS:
STUDS
Demaryius Thomas Denver Broncos vs San Francisco 49ers (Sunday Night)
Dez Bryant Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants
Calvin Johnson Detroit Lions vs New Orleans Saints
Brandon Marshall Chicago Bears vs Miami Dolphins
Julio Jones Atlanta Falcons @ Baltimore Ravens
Antonio Brown Pittsburgh Steelers vs Houston Texans (Monday Night)
Jordy Nelson Green Bay Packers vs Carolina Panthers
Start ‘Em
Percy Harvin Seattle Seahawks @ St. Louis Rams: Harvin has definitely not been providing owners with what the expected from him. We saw how explosive he is with Minnesota, and when he finally got to play last year in the Super Bowl, we all thought a full season of Harvin would have been a dream for fantasy owners. So far that hasn’t been the case. Percy posted 2 straight double-digit games to open 2014, and then proceeded to combine for 7 points over the last 3. If we go back 2 weeks ago to Washington when he had 3 touchdowns called back because of penalties it is obvious it’s not from a lack of trying or skill. This week against the Rams, I believe Harvin gets back on track to being the player we expected. The Rams are right below dead last in stopping wide receivers. They are allowing 28 points/game (3rd worst in the NFL), and the 8 touchdowns they’ve let wide receivers catch are also 3rd worst in the NFL. Let’s not forget that Cordarrelle Patterson also had his only decent game of the year in St. Louis when he rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown. Harvin has a similar skill set to Patterson, and he tends to play better in domes where he averages 11 points/game vs just 8 per game outdoors.
Golden Tate Detroit Lions vs New Orleans Saints: Tate may be one of the best free agent signings in the history of the Lions franchise. They finally got someone who can help open up the field for Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. So many times in the past we saw Stafford try and force-feed Megatron who was always double, if not triple covered. Now with a legit threat across from Johnson, Stafford can scan the field and not lock in on Calvin. This year Tate is on pace for a career high in receptions (currently at 38, on pace for 101), and yards (currently with 495, on pace for 1,320). He is also on pace to add 3 touchdowns. Even when Calvin Johnson missed last week, Tate had 7 catches on 12 targets for 44 yards. Doesn’t sound that impressive, but honestly the Lions offense wasn’t that impressive against Minnesota that game as a whole. The Saints are letting wide outs post 27.5 points per game on them, and have been scored on 5 times in the last 2 games by receivers. Johnson or no Johnson this week, Tate needs to be in your line up no matter your scoring system.
Cordarrelle Patterson Minnesota Vikings @ Buffalo Bills: Just like aforementioned Percy Harvin, Cordarrelle Patterson has “the sky’s the limit” type potential as a receiver, rusher, and return man. He put it all together as 2013 came to close and many people thought 2014 would be his year to come into his own. He hasn’t. Not yet at least. I know Patterson owners are getting frustrated with him after spending a much higher draft pick on him than they should have, but hope springs eternal. Rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is still learning and if he and C-Patt stay together for an extended period of time they will become a great tandem. Also, as well as Matt Asiata and Jerrick McKinnon have played, they aren’t Adrian Peterson, so that loss in the backfield also hurts Patterson. Outside of his 18 points week 1, Patterson has combined for 14 points week 2-6. Horrendous. With a nice match up against Buffalo this week, Patterson has a great opportunity to break out and get his 2014 season back on track. The Bills have given up the 4th most receptions (83), 8th most yards (1,065), and 2nd most touchdowns (9) to wide outs this year which gives them an average of 27 points/game when they take on the Bills. The Vikings need to get the ball into Patterson’s hands and let him make plays. If they can’t do that this week, then I’m not sure they can do it at all this year.
Sit ‘Em
Odell Beckham Jr. New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys: I love the potential for Beckham for the rest of the way in 2014 with Victor Cruz being lost to a knee injury the rest of the season that he suffered Sunday night in Philadelphia. Beckham can be that possession receiver that Eli can go to across the middle, or even take defenders deep with his speed and catch a long bomb. Odell has only seen action the last 2 weeks after missing all of the preseason and the first 4 games of the year with a nagging hamstring injury. He caught 6 of 9 targets fir 72 yards and a score in his first 2 weeks as a pro. Not bad at all. The Giants and Cowboys usually score a lot of points but Beckham probably won’t be one to get into the end zone or put up a ton of stats this weekend in Big D. First, the Cowboys are the 2nd best team in the NFL at slowing down wide receivers. They are just 1 of 3 teams to allow 16 points or fewer per game to wide outs. They’ve given up just 2 touchdowns all season to wide receivers (tops in the league). Let’s not forget that the Cowboys are also one of the worst at stopping tight ends too, but more on that later. Factor it all in, and while Eli will have to start trusting his rookie receiver a lot sooner than anticipated, don’t expect any gaudy numbers this weekend from Beckham even with Victor Cruz sidelined.
T.Y. Hilton Indianapolis Colts vs Cincinnati Bengals: What a show Hilton put on last Thursday in Houston! Dude went bonkers with 9 catches for a ridiculous 223 yards and a trip to pay dirt. I know most of you guys won't be able to sit Hilton. Whether it's because of byes, or you just want to ride a hot hand I get why you feel like you can't sit Hilton, but you need to. Why? His 223 yards was a career high and the 12th time in his career he's gone for over 100 in a game. Over the past 11 instances, Hilton hit the 100 yard mark in back-to-back games just one time, and his career average for yards in the game following his 100 yard efforts? Just 45 yards per contest. Hilton has only scored 1 touchdown in those 11 games, and don't forget of his 13 career scores that 6 have come against the Texans. This week he takes on the Bengals. Cincinnati is a top unit against wide receivers allowing the 2nd fewest touchdowns in 2014 (3) and are just 1 of 6 teams to be allowing 18 or fewer points/game to wide outs. In his only career game against the Bengals, Hilton had 2 catches for 7 yards, or 0 fantasy points. I know he's skittering like gold after last week, but it's more like fools gold. Don't buy into it.
Eric Decker New York Jets @ New England Patriots (Thursday Night): I'm down on Decker this week for two big reasons. One, he plays on Thursday night and I'm not a fan of starting players on Thursdays usually. Second, he takes on the Patriots in Foxboro this week. We all know that the Patriots are one of the best at stopping the pass this season (5th best against wide receivers), and that the Jets have one of the worst offenses in the league. If that doesn't make you think twice about starting Decker, what about the fact that last season he didn't score a touchdown in 3 straight games. This season he has scored in his last 2. Last year he had Peyton Manning. This year he has some sort of Smith-Vick-can't-tell-time-or-be-prepared-hybrid. He won't score in 3 straight with that under center. Still not convinced? What if I told you in 3 career games against the Patriots that Decker is averaging 2 catches for 16 yards per game and has never scored a touchdown when he's taken on New England. Keep Decker buried on your bench this week. #facts.
TIGHT ENDS:
STUDS
Jimmy Graham New Orleans Saints @ Detroit Lions
Julius Thomas Denver Broncos vs San Francisco 49ers (Sunday Night)
Rob Gronkowski New England Patriots vs New York Jets (Thursday Night)
Start ‘Em
Larry Donnell New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys: No more Victor Cruz means more balls to go around, and until Odell Beckham Jr. is ready to be the guy, Larry Donnell will benefit most from Cruz’s absence. Even though he did not score a single point in the last 2 weeks, Donnell will have a monster game this week. He played 2 top teams at stopping tight ends the last 2 weeks in Atlanta (1st) and Philadelphia (8th) who have allowed a combined 1 touchdown this year and both allow less than 6 points per game to tight ends. Now Donnell faces the opposite end of the spectrum in the Dallas Cowboys who are the worst in the NFL at stopping tight ends.They’ve given up the 2nd most receptions (42), 4th most yards (424), and 2nd most touchdowns (6). When it comes down to fantasy points, the 13 the Cowboys allow per game is the most in the league. Plus Eli Manning has thrown a touchdown to one of his tight ends in 3 of the last 4 games against Dallas, with his tight ends averaging just under 5 catches for 44 yards per game. Love Donnell this week.
Dwayne Allen Indianapolis Colts vs Cincinnati Bengals: Dwayne Allen may be the Cris Carter of tight ends, cause all the guy does is catch touchdowns. He has scored a touchdown in 4 of his 6 games this year, and outside of the Monday night game versus the Eagles, has at least 38 yards on at least 3 catches each week. Now he gets to take on the Bengals who are ranked near the bottom in every category against tight ends. 3rd worst in receptions against (40), dead last in yardage allowed (473), and 5th worst in touchdowns (5). The 13 points/game allowed is tied with the Cowboys at the bottom of the NFL. Outside of the game against Atlanta week 2, the Bengals have allowed the starting tight end they have faced to accumulate at least 54 yards and catch at least 4 balls. The last 2 weeks they have given up a combined 18 catches for 263 yards and 3 touchdowns. Even the Patriots back up tight end Tim Wright racked up 85 yards and a TD a few weeks ago. Play Allen, and even Coby Fleener if you need a tight end this weekend.
Jordan Cameron Cleveland Browns @ Jacksonville Jaguars: Another man back into fantasy relevance with his performance last week. Had him in my starts then, and I bet all the positive Jordan Cameron vibes flowing this week against the Jaguars. Jacksonville is 1 of 4 teams allowing over 12 points/game to tight ends, and of the 5 touchdowns they have let bye them, 3 have come in Jacksonville. Listen to these stat lines they have allowed to tight ends; Zach Ertz: 3-77-1, Niles Paul 8-99-1, Dwayne Allen 4-43-1, Coby Fleener 4-49-1. Hell even when they slow down someone like Delanie Walker he still caught 3 for 57 (without a decent quarterback throwing him the ball). Cameron finally got to double-digit points last week for the first time all year, and in 2013 when he scored in double digits, which happened 5 times, he followed it up with at least 80 yards 3 times. Anytime someone plays the Jags I tend to go all in, and until Jacksonville proves me wrong, I’m sticking with it again this week.
Sit ‘Em
Andrew Quarless Green Bay Packers vs Carolina Panthers: I’ll keep this one short and sweet. Most people saw his game-wining touchdown catch last week, and may think hmm I need a tight end this week and the Packers put up a lot of points, why not Quarless? Here’s why. He’s never scored more than 2 touchdowns in a season. He’s already there this year. The Panthers are 5th best against tight ends, and haven’t allowed a touchdown to them yet in 2014. Quarless won’t be the first. The Packers have a lot offensive mouths to feed and Quarless is too far down the pecking order behind Eddie Lacy, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, even Davante Adams now. Don’t pick up Quarless.
Eric Ebron Detroit Lions vs New Orleans Saints: Man what a year Ebron is having … a bad year. I really thought he’d be the best rookie tight end this season. He’s on a high-powered offense that gets to play in a dome all year. He has guys like Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate, Reggie Bush, and Joique Bell to keep defenses honest. Even when Megatron AND Bush are on the bench like last week, Ebron still isn’t producing. He managed just 2 catches on 4 targets for 23 yards and 0 touchdowns last week against Minnesota. The Vikings were good at stopping tight ends. The Saints are even better. Allowing just 4 points/game to tight ends. That’s the number that Ebron is averaging himself per game this year. Even if he stays true to his weekly average, you’re maybe, MAYBE, getting 4 points out of him. Not only should he not be in your line up this week, he shouldn’t be wasting a bench spot on your team wither until he starts to come alive in this offense.
Greg Olsen Carolina Panthers @ Green Bay Packers: This guy is going to be in line-ups, and I get that, but he is more of a temper-your-expectations-this-week-kinda-guy. Olsen is a huge part of the Panthers offense, and will remain so the rest of the season, but the Packers shut down tight ends. Outside of Martellus Bennett a few weeks ago who put up 9 catches for 134 yards, the Pack are amazing at stopping tight ends. No one else they have faced has gained more than 42 yards. NO ONE HAS SCORED ON THEM! And in games in Lambeau Field, tight ends average 3 catches for just 38 yards. If Kelvin Benjamin misses this game with a concussion than Olsen will be getting more looks, but if Benjamin misses the game then the Packers have just one receiving threat to shut down in Olsen, and you better believe they will.
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