Hello and welcome to Market Fantasy!
We are 14 weeks into the professional football season, and have three more weeks of regular season action left. For most teams still playing for something, this week is the only thing standing between you and the championship game. For the vast majority of teams, you’re looking forward to next year or perhaps playing for some sort of consolation prize. This week will go a long way to determine if your real life football team is worth watching for the remaining two weeks as well. For a lot of people, football is but a distant memory and your attention has turned to basketball, hockey or the baseball winter meetings. (Justin Ruggiano to the Cubs! Take that, rest of baseball!)
This doesn’t have to be it, however. Most leagues run consolation games, even if owners have stopped paying attention at this point. Those can still be fun and a good way to slowly wean yourself off the fantasy season. If you’re like me, you just can’t quit on the team that you’ve spent the last four months agonizing over. Well the games most likely don’t mean anything if you’re out of it, you’re still probably playing against friends. Make a side bet, talk the most outrageous trash of the season. Have fun with it. The season can get intense, but fantasy at it’s heart is supposed to be fun. Enjoy these last couple weeks with your team, have some fun, and enjoy the end of the regular season and start of playoffs.
For those with something to play for still, best of luck! I hope this blog has been some small part of your success. Thanks for reading as always!
Go For It!
QB:
Matt Ryan – I recommended Ryan last week in a nice matchup with Green Bay, and he had an ok game. I would roll with him again this week. We all saw what Alex Smith and the Chiefs offense were able to do against the hapless Redskins, and I would bank on Ryan being able to produce as well. If you’re unsure about your QB situation, give Ryan a look.
Philip Rivers – Simply put, I expect the Thursday night game to be another shootout between these two teams. Rivers might seem like an obvious choice, but if you’ve been rolling with him this year, there’s no reason to get off the train this week.
RB:
Chris Ogbonnaya – Willis McGahee is looking very unlikely to play this week, which would leave Ogbonnaya as the starter against the Bears. A starting RB is a very good thing to be against the Bears as they are averaging 157 yards per game. Benny Cunningham gashed them for 100 yards. DeMarco Murray looked like he was on his way to 400 yards Monday night before the Cowboys abandoned the run for some reason. If you need an upside play, Ogbonnaya is as good as it’s going to come this week.
Daniel Thomas – This is largely predicated on Lamar Miller not suiting up against the Pats. If he is the bell cow again, Thomas has a nice matchup. Left for dead last week, he ended up playing and having a huge game in relief of Miller. This week, Miami hosts the Patriots who are giving up the second most yards on the ground. Even if Miller plays, Thomas should have flex value and a good shot at 10 fantasy points through a score.
Jordan Todman – If MJD is out this week, and it’s not looking good for him, Todman becomes a player of interest as he gets to take on the Bills weak rushing defense. Last week saw the resurgence of Bobby Rainey against the Bills, and while I can’t promise that kind of production from Todman, he should be good for 10 points if he is indeed the lead back for Jacksonville.
WR:
Roddy White – Things are looking up for White the lately as he has posted back to back strong performances. This week he matches up against the Redskins, and like I noted for Matt Ryan, the Skins aren’t good at defense. Looking more and more healthy, White should easily provide flex value with a chance for solid WR2 numbers.
Steve Johnson – Johnson has been very inconsistent this year, and largely unproductive as of late. Injuries have had a lot to do with that. Johnson has a good matchup this week against Jacksonville and as the number one option, should produce flex numbers with WR2 upside. While he only had 5 catches last week, he was still targeted 11 times, gained 74 yards, and continues to be the focal point of the Bills passing game.
Jordy Nelson – I know it’s been excruciating for Nelson owners lately, but I think he could come up big this week when owners need him the most. He gets to face a Dallas defense that was annihilated by the Bears last week through the air. It really could’ve been worse if they didn’t just basically call it a game 30 seconds into the fourth quarter. Dallas basically let everyone score last week, and while Aaron Rodgers is unlikely to come back this week, I can still see Jordy Nelson performing well even with Matt Flynn. Dallas has been the cure all for struggling passing attacks so far this season.
TE:
Charles Clay – I talked about Clay in my free agent piece, but I want to mention him again as a solid play this week. He is a big part of the Miami passing game with 20 targets the last two weeks, and in fact has only 3 fewer catches than Mike Wallace. Clay is a beast in the red zone and I like him to find the end zone again against a Pats team that allowed a touchdown to Jermaine Gresham last week.
Jordan Cameron – A lot of times, I advise shying away from a breakout week, but I would roll with Cameron again against a poor Bears defense. Take it from a Bears fan, they have had trouble with TEs for a long time now. Cameron is still the third most targeted TE in football and has the second most receptions. He’s still a huge part of the Browns passing game and I expect him to exploit the Bears’ weakness covering the TE and all the attention paid to stopping the unstoppable Josh Gordon.
Punt!
QB:
Andrew Luck – It was nice to see Andrew Luck post a huge game last week after a string of duds. Unlike Cameron, however, I expect it to be a mirage and not a trend. The Texans have given up the second fewest passing yards this year, and are much more susceptible to the run. I don’t think this will be a shootout with both teams most likely exploiting the other’s weak run defense.
Mike Glennon – The Mike Glennon story was nice while it lasted, but he’s put up two duds in a row now, and this week the very stout 49ers defense comes calling. With Vincent Jackson hurting and the tough matchup, there’s no way I can recommend using Glennon in the semi finals.
RB:
Chris Ivory – Ivory’s team, the Jets are the second worst matchup for opposing RBs. Unfortunately for him, he is taking on the worst matchup for opposing RBs in Carolina. Through 13 games, the Panthers are surrendering just 79 yards per game. I would use Ivory as only a flex play this week.
Chris Johnson – Johnson has been maddening to own this year, and while he’s played better of late with double digits in all but two of his last six (and yes, I’m rounding up last week’s 9.5 point effort), he’s hard to trust this week against a Cardinals that has given up the third fewest rushing yards per game. Johnson is a boom or bust type and if you play him, you’re going to need a score this week. I wouldn’t bet my playoffs on that.
Bobby Rainey – You have to give it to Bobby Rainey, as he’s performed admirably as the Doug Martin/Mike James fill in. He’s performed well in the good matchups he’s supposed to perform well in. Unfortunately, he’s performed poorly in tough matchups and that is exactly what he has this week with the 49ers in town. Rainey is a flex at best this week.
WR:
Hakeem Nicks – We finally had a Hakeem Nicks sighting last week, as the receiver posted just his third double digit game all year. Don’t let the frustration of having Nicks benched last week lead you to start him this week, however. This week, Nicks has a much tougher matchup against the Seahawks. Seattle generates lots of turnovers and gets after the quarterback. With how terrible Eli Manning has been this year, things could get ugly quick for the Giants. Nicks might get some garbage time stats, but I would keep him on the bench and chalk up last week as an aberration.
TY Hilton – Remember when TY Hilton looked like he was going to be a top 10 WR the rest of the way? Well, I think we can probably forget that ever happened. Last week when Andrew Luck and the rest of the Colts went off, Hilton was nowhere to be found. Everything I said about sitting Luck applies to Hilton this week, with the added note that Hilton hasn’t been above five points each of the last four weeks.
Vincent Jackson – Jackson is banged up right now. He didn’t practice Wednesday, and even if he plays Sunday, it’s tough to trust him against the 49ers. Jackson has been in double digits only twice in his last seven games as its’ easy for opposing defenses to target him and shut him down with no other real receiving threat on Tampa Bay. I think this is another week with V-Jax stuck in single digits.
TE:
Scott Chandler – I put Chandler here to remind owners to not get cute. Yes, he faces the Jaguars, but they aren’t terrible defensively and Chandler hasn’t been in double digit points since week 6. Don’t overthink it. You haven’t used Chandler all year. Don’t start now.
Martellus Bennett – I hate to see Bennett stuck in the sit column week after week, but given his lackluster fantasy production this year, it’s hard to trust him in a crucial game for your fake squad. Bennett gets his fair share of targets, but he is generally the third option on any given play, and his catches don’t produce many yards. He is currently ninth in targets among TEs, but only twelfth in yards. He’s going to have to score to be relevant this week, and he’s just not that involved in the passing game to be trusted.
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