If you are reading this with any interest other than just admiration for my writing, that means you have made it to the second round of your fantasy football playoffs and likely the final 4!!! Congrats, getting through the first round, to me, is always the toughest. 2 of my 3 teams are through to round 2. Thanks to Eli Manning and an extremely poor DST choice/waiver wire move, my third team got bounced. I did what I preach against…paralysis by analysis. No matter, that league will clearly be won by your favorite lead blogger on BGO, the grand poobah himself, Boomer!!! Ok, enough jinxing Boomer, check out my picks on the other side of this hyperlinky thingy…
Guys I Like
- Bears DST @ Minnesota – Let me just get this out of the way…the Bears DST was embarrassed on Sunday. With a chance to win the division after the Packers lose to the same Pats that just whooped us, I think the Bears D shows up inspired, pissed off and looking to put a beat down on the ViQueens. This pick won’t change even if Gramps decides to give it another go.
- Darren McFadden vs Denver – Denver just made Tim Hightower look like Jim Brown…I think Run DMC goes absolutely bonkers in this game. The Denver DST is playing like pansies and they are the very bain of my existence…they are for here on out, dead to me!!!
- Cedric Benson vs Cleveland – Ced had some tough sledding last week against Pittsburgh, but against a significantly weaker divisional foe, I think Marvin Lewis puts this game on Ced’s back, because Carson Palmer isn’t worth a quart of piss.
- Santonio Holmes @ Pittsburgh – The Jets O has looked miserable, but they will have to throw the ball to win this game, and they desparately need a win. Holmes makes his triumphant return to Heinz Field and I think he looks to stick it to his old team. Don’t forget, Holmes also returns punts and I think he is gonna make some noise this week.
- Joe Flacco vs New Orleans – This is more of a function of the opponent than anything else. If you don’t have a clear cut stud at QB, I think Flacco is a suitable play this week. Likely New Orleans will go up on Baltimore, exploiting their weak secondary, ala the Houston Texans last night, and force Baltimore to open up their passing attack too.
Guys I Don’t Like
- Kyle Orton @ Oakland – Oakland is playing some inspired ball and fighting for their playoff lives and Kyle Orton, well, he’s keeping the seat warm for Messiah Tebow (sarcasm). As bad as Orton looked in a juicy matchup versus Arizona last week, I think this could be worse and then Tebow will get the nod for their final 2 games.
- Dwayne Bowe @ St Louis – This is based on the premise that Matt Cassel is not back from his appendectomy. The KC O looked clueless with Brodie Croyle at the helm and if he has to start again, then you need to bench Bowe, as hard as that is. If Cassel is back, Bowe should get strong starting consideration.
- Greg Jennings @ New England – Um, I think the NE D is actually getting better and if they get anywhere close to their O, you can hand over the Lombardi Trophy now, but of course I won’t go that far since I am eagerly awaiting the 25th Anniversary Rematch of SB XX this year, but I digress. Jennings will be worthless as long as Matt Flynn is leading the Pack and marginally useful even if Aaron Rodgers is back, which I am doubting will happen.
- Brian Westbrook @ San Diego – Westbrook looked solid against a dreadful Seattle defense. This week he has to step up to big boy football against the #1 defense in the league in yards allowed (4th versus the run).
- Rashard Mendenhall vs NY Jets – I do not anticipate Pittsburgh having much success running the ball this week, because they don’t have a RB named Peyton Hillis. The Jets D needs to step up big to win this game and it will start upfront. They should handle the Pittsburgh rushing attack and, specifically, Mendenhall.
Honorable Mention Guys To Sneak in Your Lineup
- Jonathan Stewart vs Arizona
- Knowshon Moreno @ Oakland
- Ronnie Brown/Ricky Williams vs Buffalo
- Felix Jones vs Washington
- John Kitna vs Washington
Lastly, I wanted to provide you a fairly comprehensive list of what I call the Unsittables. These are guys that you should not consider sitting for the rest of your playoffs, barring injury of course. So don’t stress over these guys regardless of matchups and focus on the next tier down.
Unsittables
- QBs – Brees, Peyton Manning, Rodgers (if fully cleared to play), Vick, Rivers
- RBs – Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Arian Foster, Michael Turner, Maurice Jones-Drew, Peyton Hillis, Ray Rice, Steven Jackson
- WRs/TEs – Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson, Roddy White, DeSean Jackson, Reggie Wayne, Antonio Gates, Vernon Davis, Jacob Tamme, Hakeem Nicks, Jason Witten
GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!
CAN I GET AN AMEN?!?!?!?!?!?
The DeCon has spoken, so let it be written, so let it be done…
Hit me on the comments, beargoggles.decon@gmail.com or Twitter @ decon76 with any questions you have about your lineups!!!