Fantasy Football Week 10: Start'em / Sit'em

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Last week: 20-8-2, Season: 141-92-9 (61%)

Week 9 Recap: Despite having my best week in awhile (71%), I did have a couple big misses again. This week it was sitting Matt Asiata (+20) and Julian Edelman (+15) and starting Brandon Oliver (-12). I had a few other minor misses like starting Kelvin Benjamin (-7), Russell Wilson (-6), Jordan Reed (-5) and Brandin Cooks (-5 again)

For the most part my week 9 picks were solid. My two most unpopular calls were benching Cam Newton (-7) and Ben Tate (-9), but Cam sucked and Tate was so bad that he may have lost his job starting permanently. Benching Pierre Garcon (-7), Jared Cook (-7), and Michael Floyd (-7) also worked out pretty well.

I feel pretty good about my Ryan Tannehill (+18) recommendation last week and also hit big on Mark Ingram (+12), Ronnie Hillman (+12), Odell Beckham (+11), Mohmamed Sanu (+11), and Travis Kelce (+9). I hope it restored some faith in my picks after two mediocre weeks.

A few other fantasy notes from week 9 before I get to my start’em / sit’em picks:

– Holy sh!t, QB Ben Roethlisberger did it again. 6 TDs in consecutive weeks? All bets are off with Ben right now. He played terrible in week 5 & 6 against against the Jags & Browns, then was unstoppable vs better defenses like the Colts and Ravens. Who knows whats next, but I will be starting him against a bad Jets secondary this week.

– Saints RB Mark Ingram had 25+ touches for the 2nd week in a row and had over 100 total yards again. Ingram also has 3 TDs in the last two weeks and if the Saints keep giving him that many carries, Ingram could be a top 10 RB the rest of the way. The Saints are notorious for spreading carries around among their stable of backs, but Ingram has shown that he is the most talented of the group so hopefully the Saints will make him the lead back in the 2nd half.

– Congrats to those of you who held on to RB Jeremy Hill. I was high on Hill coming out of the draft and with Gio Bernard banged up, he’s going to be a big part of the offense in the 2nd half. Hill was a beast last week with 154 rushing yards and 2 TDs. He has RB2 potential the rest of the season and will be in most of my starting lineups the next few weeks.

– Rookie WR Mike Evans had a big game last week (7-124-2) and Bucs coaches are hinting that the game is slowing down the big rookie. Some people are turned off by the QB change from Mike Glennon to Josh McCown, but Evans has a similar profile to Alshon Jeffery and the McCown / Jeffery combo was lethal last season. I’m targeting Evans in multiple leagues.

– I’v been driving the WR Odell Beckham hype train in this column the last few weeks and he had his 2nd consecutive 20+ fantasy game this week (8-154). This may sound like a broken record to those of you who read this every week, but Beckham is a perfect fit for the Giants quick strike offense. He’s lighting quick off the line of scrimmage and has had no trouble getting open against good pass defenses in Indy and Dallas the last two weeks.

– Don’t let RB Matt Asiata’s 3-TD, 28 fantasy point game last week get your attention. He still sucks. Asiata is strictly the Vikings short yardage back, so his opportunities are going to be limited and with the possibility of Adrian Peterson coming back Asiata could be completely irrelevant by week 11.

Start’em

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Ben Roethlisberger, @NYJ (64%, 19) – How can you not start him after 12 TDs the last two weeks? The Steelers offense is rolling right now and on paper this is an easy match-up for Roethlisberger.

Matt Stafford, MIA (56%, 15) – He’s struggled a bit the last few weeks, but Calvin Johnson is back this week and Golden Tate has established himself as a legit weapon over the last three weeks. When was the last time Stafford had two reliable WRs to throw to? The Dolphins defense has been awesome lately, but the Lions are at home, coming off a bye, and have Reggie Bush back as well.

Jay Cutler, @GB (49%, 16) – He’s historically terrible against GB, but has had two weeks to prepare and the Bears season is on the line in this Sunday night match-up. I’m not saying the Bears will win, but I think Cutler will keep them close and put up a respectable fantasy line in the process.

Mark Sanchez, CAR (26%, 16) – Sanchez looked good running this offense in the preseason and last week when he took over for Foles. He gets a pretty cushy match-up at home against a bad Panthers secondary and I think he will put up a 20+ fantasy line.

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Denard Robinson, DAL (70%, 10) – Has been a revelation for the Jags at RB and they haven’t even used him as a receiver out of the backfield yet. The Cowboys lost one of their best run stoppers in Justin Durant and I think Shoelace is going to end up with around 100 total yards again.

Bobby Rainey, ATL (42%, 12) – He’s proven over and over again that he’s the Bucs best RB and he gets an easy match-up with the Falcons this week. The Bucs should be looking for revenge from the whipping the Falcons gave them earlier in the season and I think Rainey has another big day.

Darren Sproles, CAR (41%, 7) – Finally healthy and should get quite a few dump off passes from new QB Mark Sanchez as he looks to play it relatively safe.

Terrance West, @CIN (32%, 9) – Talk from Browns camp the last two weeks is that West is pushing hard for Ben Tate’s starting job. West out-carried Tate 15-10 last week and looked like the more explosive and powerful RB to me.

Tre Mason, @AZ (23%, 8) – The Cards have a fierce run defense and this may look like a risky play, but the Rams have won 2 of their last 3 games (SEA, SF) and in both games Mason led the team in carries by a wide margin. I’m guessing even Jeff Fisher can see a pattern there and give Mason the ball 15+ times.

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Fantasy Football Week 10: Start’em / Sit’em

By Mike Flannery | Nov 7, 2014

Start’em