Last week: 10-7-3 ; Season: 46-32-13
Week 5 recap: A lot of close calls in week 5 with most of my wins & loses within a few points. Except Alshon Jeffrey who crushed his projected points by 23 with 10 catches, 218 yards, and a touchdown. My worst pick was starting Gio Bernard who missed his projected point total by 6. I still finished over .500 for the 4th week in a row, but just barely.
Atlanta and Miami are the only two teams on a bye this week, so most fantasy squads should be playing with close to a full deck. If you do have a tough decision or two to make, I’ll try and predict some players will over or under perform their projected point total.
Note: Only players started in less than 75% of yahoo leagues will be listed in Start’em section. These recommendations are for players you may be on the fence about that I think will over (Start) or under (Sit) perform their projections (Yahoo).
Start’em
QB:
Tony Romo WAS (70%,22): It’s hard to believe Romo is catching flak after his 506 yard, 5 TD performance last week, but his late interception is all anyone seems to be talking about. I prefer to focus on the fact that he put up 46 fantasy points against a decent D. This week Romo is home verse the Redskins, whose D is far from decent. They are allowing the 4th most fantasy points to QBs and I expect a monster game from Romo as he tries to quiet his critics.
Cam Newton @MIN (65%, 18): Despite an ugly week 5 line (0 TDs, 3 INT), I’m confident Cam will bounce back this week against a Vikings D that is giving up the 11th most points to fantasy QBs. I don’t have the stats to back this one up, it’s more of a hunch than anything, I just believe Cam Newton is a better QB then he has shown so far this year.
RB:
Darren Sproles @NE (72%,12): Don’t let last week’s poor game keep you from starting Sproles this week, the Bears focused on stopping the short passing game and had multiple defenders waiting for Sproles every time he caught the ball. He had a big week 5 (114 rec yards, 2 TDs) and I think he’ll be closer to that this week against NE.
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Eddie Lacy @BAL (53%,9): The feature back in the Packers offense is a sweet gig, and it’s clear Lacy has it after getting 23 of the 28 total carries in week 5. There were no goal-line opportunities last week, but there will be soon. I expect Lacy to find the end zone this week and come close to 100 yards.
Le’Veon Bell @NYJ (34%, 11): Bell scored 2 TDs in his first game as a pro and the Steelers literally have no one else decent at RB. The Jets have a stout run D, but Bell will get enough touches to rack up double-digit fantasy points. He was a good receiver out of the backfield in college, so expect to see some catches as well.
WR:
Josh Gordon DET (67%, 12): Brandon Weeden scares me a little, but Gordon put up decent numbers last week with Weeden at the helm, so I am sticking with him until I see a reason not to. He’s got more talent then the rest of the Browns WRs combined and should continue to put up double-digit fantasy games on a weekly basis.
Alshon Jeffery NYG (60%,13): What else does Alshon have to do to get in your lineup? He has 325 yards over the last two games and 2 TDs. Jeffery is becoming option 1B on a team that is throwing the ball almost twice as much as they run. He’s a top 10 WR in my book and should be started over more established names like V-Jax, Larry Fitzgerald, and both Torry/Steve Smith.
Steve Smith @MIN (58%, 11): Just because I like Alshon better, doesn’t mean I am recommending you sit Steve Smith. One, he has a good match-up this week; Two, the man scares me. Smith is off to a slow start this year, but I think both he and Cam bounce back in week 6 with solid games.
TE:
Garrett Graham STL (39%, 9): I have a hunch that Schuab is going to have a good game this week. He could certainly use one after getting harassed at his home by an angry fan. Schaub likes to throw to his TEs and with Owen Daniels out, I think Graham will have a big game.