Fantasy Fab Fives: Week 13

Welcome back to our weekly article, where we highlight fifteen players/units that you should definitely make a move on, or in some cases, avoid like the plague. Another note-worthy week in the NFL has come and gone, as Tony Romo and Josh McCown both broke their respective collarbones, while Big Ben departed early in Seattle (Concussion), while Jimmy Graham saw his season end in that very same game.  And speaking of Tight Ends, the one and only Gronk will miss some time with an ailing knee.  But hey, at least the officiating was still abysmal around the league, so there’s that…  Once again, this season continues to be ruled by utter CHAOS!!!!  But hey, fret not my friends, for The Oracle has got you covered with the MOST COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS IN THE BUSINESS!!!

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QUARTERBACKS

• START ‘EM: Cam Newton, Panthers @ Saints (Last Week, 16/27, 183 yards, 12 carries, 45 yards, 1 TD @ Cowboys) – So if you’re a regular visitor to this column, you should know by now that I’m rather fancy picking anyone playing against the Saints’ beleaguered defense.  Outside of 2013, they’ve been absolutely abysmal on that side of the ball.  in 2015 all they’ve managed to do is give up a league-worst 30.8 points per game, and go back-and-forth with the Giants as to who can give up the most yards.  Basically, any skill position player facing these guys is a MUST PLAY this season!!!  Which brings us to this week, and one Cam Newton.  The star of the league’s last remaining undefeated team has really steeped up his game, racking up a total of twenty-seven touchdowns to this point.  Though he’s coming off a mild performance on Thanksgiving in Dallas, it was far from his fault; teammate Luke Kuechley’s two interception returns for touchdowns took away a pair of possessions where No. One could have thrashed the Cowboys’ defense.  Odds are he’ll get plenty opportunities in New Orleans; when these teams met earlier in the campaign, the former Heisman put on a show, completing 6.5% of his passes for a season-high 315 yards and two touchdowns, while also picking up another thirty-three yards and a score on seven carries.  As Carolina continues to build momentum rolling to the Playoffs, I just can’t see them hitting a pot hole in the Big Easy.
  

  Newton eviscerated the Saints in their previous meeting, totaling 348 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns.

• SIT ‘EM: Matt Ryan, Falcons @ Buccaneers (Last Week, 22/31, 230 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs v. Colts) – Oh, Matty Ice, what the hell happened to you?  After leading the Falcons to a surprising undefeated 5-0 start, Matt Ryan and the Dirty Birds have fallen back down to Earth, losing five out of their last six outings.  There are many factors in this skid, with a concussed Devontae Freeman being a prominent one, but the play of No. Two has arguably been the most perplexing.  Usually a solid start in the realm of Fantasy, carless interceptions has been the bane of his 2015 season to this point; in eleven starts, he’s already thrown a dozen interceptions, with a large chunk f them occurring in the Red Zone.  Furthermore, over the last five weeks, Ryan has thrown eight opposed to an equal amount of touchdowns.  Yikes!!!  And this week’s opponent, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is not an ideal matchup for him to break out this funk; when they met four short weeks ago, Ryan had his way with Lovie Smith’s emerging defense, completing 37-of-45 attempts for 397 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a losing effort.  Since then, Tampa has steadily improved on both sides of the ball, forcing seven turnovers in that time.  Takeaways have been a huge factor for these guys (20), as they have come up with the sixth-most in the league.
• SLEEPER:  Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jets @ Giants (Last Week, 22/37, 277 yards, 4 TDs v. Dolphins) – Hail Harvard!!!  The most academic Quarterback in the league looks like he’s finally getting over the injured hand that he suffered over a month ago, while also trimming his fabled beard in the process.  The results were outstanding last week, as he torched the hapless Dolphins’ defense for a season-high four passing touchdowns.  With Gang Green in the thick of the Wild Card chase, the oft-traveled veteran looks to have returned to top form after a two-week period in which he was rather dreadful; against the likes of the Bills and Texans, Fitzpatrick completed a mere 46.6% of his throws for an average of 204.5 yards, with three touchdowns and four interceptions.  Granted, Buffalo and Houston sport stellar defenses, which is not something that I can say about his opponent this week, the New York Giants.  Their fellow tenants at MetLife Stadium have relinquished more passing yards than any team in the NFL at the moment (309.2 yards per game) on a porous 7.5 net yards per attempt (31st Overall), which means they’ve been terribly prone to yielding the big play.  Look for No. 14 to expose a suspect Secondary on Sunday…

RUNNING BACKS

• START ‘EM: C.J. Anderson, Broncos @ Chargers (Last Week, 15 carries, 115 yards 2 TDs, 4 catches, 40 yards v. Patriots) – Remember last winter when C.J. Anderson ignited the Denver Broncos dormant running game?  Well, he must have checked his calendar, for he was right on time last Sunday in Denver’s upset of the previously undefeated New England Patriots.  Anderson was explosive on virtually every touch, racking up a total of 155 all-purpose yards and two scores against one of the better run defenses in the league.  If that was his audition to Head Coach Gary Kubiak who has longed for a competent running game since arriving to Mile High, then I would wager that this kid will be the Feature ‘Back moving forward, particularly with the young Brock Osweiler under Center.  His opponent this weekend, the Chargers, have been inept in stopping the run all year long; San Diego has been gashed for at least 100 rushing yards in all but two of their twelve outings, yielding 123.7 yards (26th Overall) on a league-worst 4.9 yards per carry (32nd Overall).  All Anderson needs is the carries, and with Osweiler a fixture under Center for the foreseeable future, he should plenty of action again on Sunday.
  

  With Lynch on the mend, Rawls will receive the bulk of the carries, which means big numbers for the rookie.

• SIT ‘EM: Todd Gurley, Rams v. Cardinals (last Week, 9 carries, 19 yards @ Bengals) – Now I know, going to the well too often may seem in poor taste, but I simply can’t help myself this week, as rookie starlet Todd Gurley is once again my Tailback of choice to sit.  Fantasy is a fickle beast, as the same kid that burst one the scene with 655 yards and four touchdowns on an insane 5.9 yards per carry in his first five starts, has virtually disappeared over the last better half of the past month.  My opinion is Gurley has hit that dreaded Rookie Wall, which so many first-year players tend to do at this juncture of the campaign, and the numbers prove it; over the last three games, he has rushed for just 130 yards on a miserable 2.8 yards per carry, lowlighted by a disappointing nineteen yards on just nine carries at Cincinnati last weekend.  So let’s wait just a little bit longer before we crown him as the next Adrian Peterson, OK?  Anyway, don’t expect him to break out of this slump against the Cardinals, whose rugged run defense has limited five out of their last seven opponents below 100 yards rushing, ranking fourth overall at 91.1 yards per game.  Granted, Gurley’s initial breakout performance was against these same Cardinals (146 yards on 19 carries), but folks, that seems like a lifetime ago.  And in this What Have You Done For Me Lately? world of Fantasy, it really is.
• SLEEPER: Thomas Rawls, Seahawks @ Vikings (Last Week, 21 carries, 81 yards v. Steelers) – Ok, now would be the time to really start showing this kid some love, because if you still don’t know who the hell Thomas Rawls is, you are about to get acquainted.  With Marshawn Lynch on the shelf for at least a month following Sports Hernia Surgery, and the Jimmy Graham Experiment coming to an abrupt end last weekend, I have a strange feeling that Pete Carroll and the Seahawks are going to get back to basics as they pursue one of the Wild Card births in the NFC.  Rawls, the unheralded dynamo out of central Michigan, has seen his production come and go thus far as he’s shared carries with Lynch, who has battled injuries throughout the term.  However, when he’s received the ball in volume, he’s been pretty damn good; Rawls has carried the ball at least sixteen times on just five occasions in 2015, but has averaged 122.2 yards in those games.  Hell two weeks ago, he put up a staggering 255 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns against San Francisco.  Now, I’m well aware that his opponent this week, the Vikings, have been beyond solid on defense this season, but their rush defense can be exploited; Minnesota allows an average of 110.6 yards per game on the ground (20th Overall) on 4.3 yards per carry (24th Overall).  They’re small in the trenches, relying on speed and quickness rather than brute force.  I’m banking on Seattle being able to push them around up front, which should open some major opportunities up for this guy.

NFL LOCK OF THE WEEKS ARE NOW 10-2 FOR THE SEASON!!! ANSWER MY HINT QUESTION TO GET IT FREE!!!

HINT — What do Wofford and TCU have to do with my NFL Lock Of The Week?

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WIDE RECEIVERS

• START ‘EM: Brandon Marshall, Jets @ Giants (Last Week, 9 catches, 131 yards, 2 TDs v. Dolphins) – Honestly, this matchup could go either way.  While I love the odds of Brandon Marshall manhandling the Giant’s weakened Secondary this weekend, his teammate Eric Decker is just as likely to steal his thunder at MetLife Stadium.  As I detailed earlier in this column, Big Blue has been rather Pink on defense, relinquishing the most yards in the NFL through twelve games (419.7).  Of the two, I’ll side with Marshall in having the better day since the 6-4, 229 behemoth is starting to really enjoy solid chemistry with his Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.  Last week, No. 15 hauled in nine passes for 131 yards and a pair of scores, the sixth time this season in which he has topped the 100-yard plateau, yet only the second time he has done so since Week Six.  I’ll take last Sunday’s outburst as a sign that Fitzpatrick is getting more comfortable playing with the torn tendon in his non-throwing hand, which should translate into a nice spike in Marshall’s production.  On the season, the tenth-year veteran has averaged 84.6 yards on 13.1 yards per catch, both of which are the highest such figures since his first campaign in Chicago three years ago.  And did I fail to mention that New York has allowed over 300 passing yards in each of their last two games?
  

  While explosive, Watkins has been quiet far too often in 2015. with less than 60 yards on six occasions thus far.

• SIT ‘EM: Sammy Watkins, Bills v. Texans (Last Week, 6 catches, 158 yards, 2 TDs @ Chiefs) – Picking against young players who are coming off season-best performances is a risky proposition, but hey, in the words of Austin Powers, “I like to live dangerously, BABY!!!!”.  All jokes aside, Sammy Watkins is an outstanding talent that just went off last Sunday against one of the best Secondaries in the NFL.  However, performances like that have been few and far between, as the sophomore has battled nagging injuries throughout the term; Watkins has posted a 168-yard performance to pair with last week’s 158-yard outburst, but apart from that has been largely quiet, racking up 200 receiving yards COMBINED over the course of the other six games.  In essence, he’s been the Fantasy equivalent of a lumbering slugger in baseball who either hits a home run or strikes out 78% of the time.  And I’m banking that it’s going to be hard to go yard on Houston’s suddenly suffocating defense, which has torn down much better passing attacks, most notably the Saints last week; the Texans held Drew Brees and Co. to just 218 passing yards and six points (WTF?!?!?!).  Furthermore, they’ve permitted third-fewest passing yards (219.6) on a scant 5.8 net yards per attempt (4th Overall).  Besides has anyone heard of some guy named J.J. Watt?  Watkins might wanna ask his Quarterback Tyrod Taylor after the game…
• SLEEPER: DeVante Parker, Dolphins v. Ravens (Last Week, 4 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD @ Jets) – Holy @#$% we have a DeVante Parker sighting!!!  Who???  I wouldn’t blame you guys if you didn’t know who this kid was, particularly when you take into account that he has been M.I.A. for the most of the season (see what I did there?).  For those who aren’t familiar with him, Parker was the fourteenth overall pick in May’s NFL Draft,  after spending a few seasons as Teddy Bridgewater’s top target at Louisville.  Now, I can’t hold him completely accountable for his play (or lack thereof) on the field thus far, because the Dolphins have been a complete dumpster fire on both sides of the ball, evidenced by their firing of Offensive Coordinator Bill Lazor on Monday.  Now you know that when Interim Head Coaches start handing out pink slips, the @#$% just got real.  Anyway, Parker is coming off his finest day as a professional, as Sunday’s performance was littered with career-bests, and broke a streak of six consecutive games in which he failed to register a single catch.  However, if memory serves me right (and it usually does), Miami’s offense exploded after changes were last made to the coaching staff, and with fellow Receiver Rishard Matthews out with ailing ribs, the opportunity to develop some chemistry with Ryan Tannehill has become very real.  And why not against Baltimore’s hapless pass defense?  The ravens have given up 258.6 yards through the air (24th Overall) on 6.6 net yards per attempt (19th Overall), along with twenty-one touchdowns (23rd Overall).  At 6-3, 209 lbs, this kid has plenty of size, which has given the Ravens’ Defensive Backs a world of trouble this season.

CHECK OUT OUR CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND INCLUDING AN ANALYSIS ON ALL 8 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!

TIGHT ENDS

• START ‘EM: Greg Olsen, Panthers @ Saints (Last Week, 5 catches, 70 yards @ Cowboys) – I picked his Quarterback earlier in this column, so it’s only natural that I would choose his preferred target against one of the worst pass defenses I’ve ever seen.  Seriously, New Orleans’ ineptitude in defense is well beyond coaching as new Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen looks just as bewildered on the sideline as predecessor Rob Ryan (albeit more calm).  Back in Week Three they failed to stop the Panthers offense, and I can’t think of any reason why they’d be able to do so here, even with the requisite hexes and voodoo from the Super Dome crowd.  Entering the season, we all wondered exactly who Cam Newton was going to throw the ball to with Steve Smith in Baltimore and Kelvin Benjamin out for the year with a torn ACL, but fortunately Greg Olsen has provided us with an answer.  The ninth-year veteran has put in a career year, averaging 71.6 yards on 14.9 yards per catch, both of which represent career marks.  Furthermore, his six receiving touchdowns leads the team, and the last time he saw the Saints’ Defensive Backs, all they could see was the back of his jersey; in their previous meeting Olsen torched their division rivals for 134 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches, easily his most productive performance of 2015.  Good ol’ New Orleans, I can always count on them…
  

  Olsen has shouldered the burden of the passing game this season, posting career bests in a number of categories.

• SIT ‘EM: Julius Thomas, Jaguars @ Titans (Last Week, 9 catches, 116 yards, 1 TD v. Chargers) – Remember Julius Thomas?  The unheralded Tight End who exploded onto the season two years ago in Denver, reeling in two-dozen touchdowns in just twenty-seven games?  What the @#$% ever happened to that guy?  One word: Jacksonville.  Not to be harsh on Northwestern Florida, but their football franchise has had a way of killing the Fantasy buzz for some pretty good players.  Anyway, last week there were real signs that the Artist Formerly Known as Julius Thomas may indeed be turning back into that Julius Thomas, posting 116 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions.  However, as is the case with pass-catchers, their fortunes live and die with their Quarterbacks, and Blake Bortles, while dramatically improved from his dreadful rookie campaign, still has a long ways to go.  Which means days like last Sunday are going to be hard to put forth with any consistency at this juncture.  Playing the Titans for the second time in three weeks doesn’t really help matters, for Tennessee sports a sneaky good pass defense, which has allowed just 224.1 yards through the air (6th Overall), while sacking the Quarterback thirty-two times.  Two weeks ago, they managed to drop Bortles four times on their way to giving up 218 passing yards.  And how did Thomas fare you ask?  Not all that great, for while he did manage to find the End Zone, he was only able to amass twenty-eight yards on five catches.
• SLEEPER: Scott Chandler, Patriots v. Eagles (Last Week, 5 catches, 58 yards, 1 TD @ Broncos) – Oh, how the grass must seem greener in New England for Scott Chandler.  After spending four years as one of the Patriots’ primary whipping boys in Buffalo, Foxboro must be akin to Paradise.  And don’t look now Mr. Chandler, but you just became Tom Brady’s primary target.  It’s no secret that Brady loves throwing to his Tight Ends, as Offensive Coordinator utilizes Two Tight End Sets with the best of them.  However, with Rob Gronkowski suffering a knee injury in last Sunday’s loss at Denver, Chandler becomes the proverbial Next Man Up on a team that has been littered with them of late.  With Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, and Dion Lewis all on the shelf with an assortment of maladies, it became quite clear that No. 12 would be looking for No. 88 quite often once No. 87 bit the dust (or snow).  The Patriots’ passing attack has managed to remain prolific even without so many cogs in the machine, and with Chandler becoming a greater cog, I don’t really see that working against them as the Eagles pay them a visit.  Philadelphia has been a bonafide mess of late, dropping four out of their last five games, all the while relinquishing a staggering 409.0 yards per game over that span.  They’ve allowed the second-most passing touchdowns in the league to this point (25), and with Defensive Back Nolan Carroll now out for the season with a broken ankle, they’re down one more ballhawk on the back end.  I sincerely hope that you’re ready for the spotlight Mr. Chandler, because you’re about to meet it…

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS

• START ‘EM: Seahawks @ Vikings (Last Week, 30 points, 538 yards allowed, 2 sacks, 4 turnovers v. Steelers) – All this nonsense about the Seahawks’ vaunted defense no longer being great needs to stop.  Yes, I’m well aware of the litany of blown fourth quarter leads that this unit has relinquished this season, but when you take a look at the numbers, this group is still every bit one of the five best in the league.  Period.  Thus far, Seattle ranks eighth in points allowed (20.2), third in total defense (324.9), ninth in passing yards allowed (232.0), eleventh in net yards per pass (6.2), fifth in rushing yards allowed (92.9), and seventh in yards per carry permitted (3.8).  Furthermore, they still force plenty of turnovers (16), exert plenty of pressure (27 sacks), all the while yielding the fewest passing touchdowns in the league (11).  So what if the Steelers hung over 500 yards on them…  Fortunately for Pete Carroll and Co. their opponent this weekend, the Vikings aren’t nearly as potent offensively, although there is the not-so-small matter of one Adrian Peterson.  With that said, the Legion of Boom have relegated half of their opponents below 100 rushing yards this season, but the real reason I love them this week is because of Teddy Bridgewater.  Now I like this kid, I really do, but as the season has worn on, he has regressed a bit.  Despite high completion percentages, he’s not stretching the field (5.9 net yard per attempt), while developing the troubling tendency of holding the ball far too long, which has led to thirty sacks as well as a plethora of knockdowns and hurries.  In fact, he’s only topped 190 passing yards once over the last five weeks, with as many touchdowns as interceptions.  This is NOT the defense to break that slump against, kid, it most certainly is not.
  

  Despite yielding over 500 yards last week, the Legion of Boom forced 4 turnovers.

• SIT ‘EM: Jets @ Giants (Last Week, 20 points, 363 yards allowed, 3 sacks, 2 turnovers v. Dolphins) – After a hot start to the 2015 campaign, the Jets have since come back to Earth, but don’t blame their defense, which has been pretty damn good for the majority of the term.  However, I’m not particularly fond of them this week against their neighbors at MetLife Stadium.  Didn’t Eli Manning just channel his old turnover-prone self last week at Washington?  Yes, Eli was pretty bad early (3 interceptions), but cleaned some things up late as the game was within reach for Big Blue in the end.  Ironically, Manning has been somewhat of a paragon of caution this year, throwing just nine interceptions thus far, with the trio from Sunday marking just the third time in 2015 that he has been picked multiple times.  As a result, he’s led a fairly prolific passing attack to 274.6 yards per game (9th Overall), which is an area that they can exploit against the Jets.  Sure Gang Green’s rush defense is top-notch (84.4 yards per game), but Big Blue doesn’t run much anyway, which means No. 10 will be on the lookout for Odell Beckham Jr. roaming through a Secondary that has been riddled with injuries of late.  All-World Cornerback Darrelle Revis missed last weekend with a concussion, and is uncertain for this Sunday, while fellow Defensive Backs Marcus Washington (knee) and Deion Bailey (ankle) are both listed as Doubtful.  Simply Put, this isn’t a really good matchup for Todd Bowles and Co., particularly given their relative health at the moment.
• SLEEPER: Redskins v. Cowboys (Last Week, 14 points, 322 yards allowed, 3 sacks, 3 turnovers v. Giants) – Waitaminute, how in the @#$% did the Washington Redskins creep into first place in the NFC East????  Well, it’s really simple, folks, for a little bit of home-cooking goes a long way in the nation’s capital.  The Redskins are 5-1 at FedEx Field this year, and have already punked a pair of division rivals there, so with Dallas coming off of yet another debilitating Thanksgiving Day loss and Tony Romo’s once again in a sling, this matchup has easy pickings written all over it.  Jay Gruden’s defense has held all but one of their opponents at home to twenty points or less, and even shut out the Giants until the fourth quarter last Sunday.  However, if I’m going to be completely honest, this play has more to do with the Cowboys’ offense, which has looked lost without No. 9 under Center.  In this lost season they have only scored a meager 18.5 points per game (29th Overall), with 229.5 yards through the air (27th Overall), while that number is even inflated due to the four games that Romo participated in.  Matt Cassel has been a wreck in his stead, arriving midseason to complete just 62.6% of his passes for 180.4 yards per game (5.7 net yards per attempt), five touchdowns and as many interceptions.  Granted, Jason Garrett may just hand the ball to Darren McFadden all night, but sooner or later the ball is going to be in the hands of his Quarterback, which has brought nothing but misery to the faitful in North Texas this year.