Fantasy Football Week 11: Start’em / Sit’em
Sit’em:
QB:
Tom Brady @CAR (48%, 16): The Panthers have shut down everyone lately and have given up the fewest fantasy points to opposing QBs this year. It’s tempting to roll with Brady this week since the Pats are coming off a bye week, but he has been too inconsistent this year for my taste and the Panthers defense is legit.
Colin Kaepernick @NO (49%, 16): I was ready to start backing Kaepernick again after solid games in weeks 8 & 9, but last week’s disaster (4 points) put him back on the sit list. The fact that he’s playing against the 3rd best pass defense in the NFL on the road is way to risky. If you have another option use it.
Andy Dalton CLE (31%, 17): Dalton had his worst game of the season against the Browns in their week 4 match-up. Joe Haden has done a great job of shutting down AJ Green in the past and Dalton looked so bad the last two weeks (2 TD / 6 INT) that it’s impossible to trust him in this one.
RB: 4 guys on the list this week were top 15 picks. Fantasy football is a fickle beast.
Ray Rice @CHI (71%, 15): In his last four games, Rice hasn’t cracked 75 yards or scored a TD. Maybe the ailing Bears defense is just what he needs to get going, but I don’t think so. Rice looks slower to me and the Ravens coaching staff is already talking about sticking with the hot hand. It’s possible Pierce steals most of the carries in this one.
Trent Richardson @TEN (52%,10): Another double-digit projection for T-Rich even though he hasn’t had double-digit fantasy points since week 4. Fantasy owners are no better as he’s still being started in over half of Yahoo leagues despite having less than 10 carries the last two weeks and being in danger of losing his job because he sucks. Stop starting this bum.
Stephen Jackson @TB (44%, 12): S-Jax has looked slower since coming back from injury and he faces another tough run defense this week (5th overall). Until I see signs of his old burst (which might never come back), I am only starting S-Jax if I have no other options or he has a cushy match-up. I would rather start any of the RBs in the Start’em column than S-Jax.
Fred Jackson NYJ (60%, 12): The Jets have given up the 2nd fewest fantasy points to RBs this year and F-Jax hasn’t scored a TD since Spiller came back two weeks ago. The Jets interior defense is beastly and should shut down the inside runs that Jackson normally gets. I like Spiller and his ability to bounce runs outside much better this week.
Stephen Ridley @CAR (43%,9): He’s been solid lately, but this is a tough match-up. Vereen is back in the mix and I still don’t trust Belichick to give Ridley the bulk of the carries. I am on the fence, but if I had to pick I’d bench him this week.
WR:
Mike Wallace SD (56%, 11): It was obvious that Wallace quit on his team last Monday night when he wasn’t getting the ball enough. His body language was terrible and even though he got 7 targets, Wallace only finished with 15 yards on 4 catches. Even if he wasn’t a whiny B, he hasn’t scored since week 2 and only has 2 100-yard games on the season. I would rather start Miami’s other WR, Rishard Mathews, who at least is guaranteed to give you a full game of effort.
James Jones @NYG (33%, 8): Nothing against Jones’ talent, but without Aaron Rodgers GB’s wide receivers all take a serious hit in value. He has 61 total yards in two games since Rodgers went down. No thanks.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Anquan Boldin @NO (43%, 9): Hasn’t cracked 75 yards receiving in a game the last 5 weeks. But he was great in week 1 right? Stop starting this guy.
Cecil Shorts III @AZ (51%, 13): I thought Blackmon being out would help Shorts since the Jags really have no one else at WR, but Shorts only got 4 targets in their win over Tennesee. This week Shorts will be matched up with Cards CB Patrick Peterson who has looked awesome the last few weeks. Throw in Shorts’ nagging shoulder injury and bad QB play and it makes starting him pretty risky. Every time I bench Shorts he seems to play well, but I’m willing to take my chances this week. 13 points just seems to high to me.
TE: Feels wrong not to have Jared Cook on this list (bye week)
Martellus Bennett BAL (48%,8): Pains me to say it, but Bennett has become a forgotten man in Bears offense and hasn’t scored or cracked 50 yards in his last 4 games. He also looks slower than he did early in the season, possibly due to the nagging injuries he’s dealt with since week 2. I hope I’m wrong and the Black Unicorn has a monster game.
Heath Miller DET (26%, 8): Hasn’t’ cracked 50 yards the last 4 games and looked really slow last week (1 catch). Similar to Bennett, injuries are probably to blame though Miller is pretty old.
Twitter: @MikeFlannery_