The DeCon’s Replacement: Week 7 Fantasy Football Picks
Editor’s note: Since our guy The DeCon is wandering the desert for 40 days and 40 nights, his buddy Hunter is filling in. I’m posting on his behalf.
So I’ll try and fill the shoes of the DeCon this week and, Man, those are big shoes to fill.
As most of you know, it doesn’t help to tell you to play your studs where I subscribe to the philosophy you start no matter what the matchup unless there is a real health concern. But I will tell you, don’t play any Jets, Colts, Lions or Texans this week. Since the DeCon will be somewhere in the vast, fantasy unknown, I will pitch in with any questions you may want to send to beargoggles.decon@gmail.com. Just address them to the Altar Boy.
Bye Week Pick-Ups
- Sam Bradford, QB – St. Louis: He had a nice showing in beating a Chargers Pass D that ranks in the Top 3 depending on your league’s scoring rules. If you’re without Manning or Schaub, he’s not a bad replacement.
- Chris Ivory, RB – New Orleans: If he’s still out there, he’s got a nice matchup against Cleveland with no Thomas or Bush still. He had 15 carries for 158 yards against a sloppy Bucs D so 100 yards this week is not out of the question.
- Patrick Crayton, WR – San Diego: With Floyd, Naanee and possibly Gates looking like they may not play this week, Crayton and Buster Davis should start against a lousy Patriots Passing Defense. With Rivers at the helm, this team looks to have gone to a pass first offense with the Titans and Texans up next – nice!
- Tony Moeki, TE – Kansas City: With the first appearance of Dwayne Bowe last week (sarcasm), expect the Jags to key on him and leave the soft underbelly of what they call a defense open for the Iowa rookie.
Guys to Start
- Deangelo Williams, RB – Carolina: I’m going to believe the Bye week woke John Fox up to the fact that no matter what QB they throw in there, they are not going to win without running the ball. Stewart will see his touches but Williams will be the bigger fantasy producer.
- Hines Ward, WR – Pittsburgh: With Ben (don’t call him BIG) back, Ward and Wallace will start making up for some lost time on the fantasy circuit. Especially if you have Ward in a PPR league, he’s your guy now and going forward.
- Johnny Knox, WR – Da Bears: I’ll have to admit, I have no Bears WR’s on any of my three teams. But if I did, it would be Knox. Look for him to have a nice day against a Redskins secondary that was pummeled by the Colts last week.
- Mike Williams, WR – Tampa Bay: Just like the Steve Smiths there are two Mike Williams’ and I’m not talking about split personalities. This one resides in Tampa and has the better matchup against the Rams this week.
- Knowshon Moreno, RB – Denver: While Denver is also a pass-first offense, they want to get a now healthy Moreno involved in the game plan and once they get up on the Raiders, Moreno will be in line for lots of yards and a chance to break a long one.
Guys to Sit
- Ronnie Brown, RB – Miami: Sharing carries and facing the Steelers is not what you would call a great combination for the week. This Wildcat has been declawed.
- Beanie Wells, RB – Arizona: The Seahawks are dominant against the run and every team is stacking the box and daring Max Hall to beat them. The Cardinals are also not committed to the run at all.
- Ryan Matthews, RB – San Diego: At the beginning of the year, Matthews looked like he had the ingredients to be Rookie of the Year. No one thought Tolbert would be eating into his production. Besides, playing the Patriots, they are going to need to pass (see Crayton above).
- Felix Jones, RB – Dallas: Why ‘America’s Team’ is so enamored with Jones over Marion Barber is beyond me. Not too mention last week Jones was seen losing his lunch on the sidelines last week due to the pressure. You think that was pressure try the Giants D on Monday Night.
- Santana Moss, WR – Washington: While the Bears struggled against the pass – and run – last week, there is no way they are going to go out and get torched again by a teams #1 WR. Sure McNabb may find him for a few completions here or there but look for Washington to feed the Bears a big dose of Ryan Torain.
(Just a side note here, if somehow McNabb needs to leave the game, you do know who their backup QB is, don’t you?)
This is one man’s opinion so I hope I can help some of you with some difficult Bye week decisions. The DeCon should be back next week and be more in tune with his fantasy self then.