What we are talking about:
LeSean McCoy
REVENGE GAME!
Duke Johnson
Take a ride into the Danger Zone!
Julio Jones
Start him, despite the bad matchup.
You hear so much about revenge games in the NFL. But this week's might be the biggest. And of course I'm talking about the Kiko Alonso revenge game! He's going to strike his mighty revenge against the Buffalo Bills for turning their back on him!
All right, maybe not.
It's clearly LeSean McCoy and Chip Kelly. And I'm going to be honest; I'm kind of looking forward to this one. There are times when I'm bothered by the chumminess of NFL players. I'm not sure that I want the complete contempt that we hear about from the NFL in the 1960s and 1970s. But I would at least would like the illusion that players care about winning.
That's close, guys. But I'm serious here. NFL fans pay in the hundreds of dollars just to attend the game. And that's before the cost of parking, a tailgate party and ungodly sums of money they have to pay at the concession stands. Of course, none of this is new but I just wanted to point out that folks pay a (expletive) ton of money just to watch a game. And considering all of the advertising in the park, teams should pay us just to be there. Although, that program might exist in St. Louis.
My point is, it kind of sucks to spend unseemly gobs of money to attend the game, only to have the dudes kind of loaf around after the game hugging each other and hamming it up like they just finished their final exams. At least let me pretend that you care enough to be upset by this.
This is why I really enjoy this McCoy and Kelly rivalry. You can really tell McCoy wants to beat Kelly baaaaad. And if McCoy's teammates like him even a little bit, they probably have some extra motivation this week, too. And you know Kelly can't let McCoy beat him this week, either. It's perfect. It's like real angst that likely drew us to sports in the first place.
It's very reminiscent of the Al Davis and Marcus Allen rivalry of the 1990s. Davis had a grudge against Allen (the rumors of which are out of control) and nearly ruined his career. Allen took his talents to the Raiders blood-rival and had some of his best games of his career against his former team. I know it's probably just me romanticizing the past, but it seemed like the Raiders and Chiefs played six times a year back in the mid-1990s, all of those games on Monday Night Football. (Google that, kids. There was a time when Monday Night Football was actually a thing you look forward to. Not the, "Oh crap, I hope I don't lose my fantasy matchup" nightmare it has evolved into now.) I kind of wish this was the game NBC flexed into Sunday night.
All right, let's get to the fantasy. But not before we give some daps to stats maven Careen Falcone who drops a lot of the knowledge you enjoy here today. And The Franchise who does a great job wading through all of this stuff for you to make it somewhat presentable.
And without further ado ...
Cam Newton deserves all of his MVP love. He is the MVP of the league. But nobody has played better than Russell Wilson over the last two weeks. There is nobody I would start over Wilson this week.
Wilson set a Seahawks club record with 11 touchdown passes over his last three games.
The Bengals defense is strong against the run, but you can throw on them. So Ben Roethlisberger is going to be a great start especially with all those weapons clicking.
I'd have Roethlisberger over Andy Dalton in this game, even though Dalton is an excellent start this week, too.
Ryan Fitzpatrick could again be among the top five fantasy quarterbacks this week. The Titans have allowed the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks.
I made a mistake with Tyrod Taylor last week. I will never do that again. Well, I'll probably make mistakes again, but I'd start Taylor against the Eagles this week.
I will roll with Taylor in my daily leagues this week. But I wouldn't fault you if you went with Jameis Winston. The Saints have allowed the most points to QBs this year.
Blake Bortles has a fantastic matchup against the Colts who can't stop anybody. The Jags receivers are like a poor-man's version of the Steelers receiving crops.
The Packers have lost two consecutive home games. They have not dropped three straight at home with Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback.
Alex Smith has attempted 305 consecutive passes without an interception. Fine daily fantasy value and a sleeper if you really need one (you likely don't).
Image The New Day rocks. But Bad Day might be the greatest thing ever. Once again my man Brandon Stroud hit the right note when he said New Day is worth sitting through three hours of garbage for. He's absolutely right. You can read more about RAW right here.
Image I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this, but I'm a huge Sasha Banks fan. It's pretty close between her and Becky Lynch, though I'm going to favor the Irish Lass. Wait, what's that? We have some new information. (Clicks this link). Forget everything that I've said, Sasha Banks is my new favorite.
Thomas Rawls set an NFL record for undrafted rookies by rushing for 712 yards in his first six starts. He's saved my season in my League of Record.
Jonathan Stewart has scored 12 fantasy points in six of his last eight games. The Falcons have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to RBs this season.
T.J. Yeldon has a great matchup against the Colts this week. I'm pretty confident I'm going with a lot of Jags' stacks this week.
Lamar Miller has a wonderful matchup against the Giants this week. I expect the PC Principal to run Miller heavily against the Giants defense (which isn't good).
You know who can't stop the run? The 49ers. I'm riding into the Danger Zone with Duke Johnson Jr. this week. I just have a feeling about him.
Ameer Abdullah also has a nice matchup this week, too. So it would be a spicy pick to go with him. (I'm sure it's obvious I'm choosing between Duke and Ameer.)
Image Oh my God, I'm kind of in the middle of watching "Homeland" again. I'm kind of invested in it, but it feels like I could stop watching it and feel like I wouldn't have missed a thing. They revealed the baddie way too quickly. Season 1 was very predictable, sure. But giving everything away so quickly was kind of a mistake.
Image But "The Flash" has been real strong. I can't believe I'm about to be caught up on "Gotham" and "The Flash". I thought it was going to be hard to go from the gritty "Gotham" to more of a cartoony show. But "The Flash" really does stand out pretty well, even when compared to "Gotham". I got so into "Gotham" I thought I preferred it, but I've changed my tune now that Barry Allen is back in my life.
Allen Robinson is the fifth player since 1960 aged 23-or-younger to have at least 1,000 receiving yards and 11 receiving TDs in the team's first 12 games.
Brandon Marshall has 1,062 receiving yards in his first season with the Jets. He is the first player in NFL history to have 1,000 receiving yards with four teams.
Odell Beckham Jr. has at least 100 receiving yards in five consecutive games, the longest single-season streak in Giants history, and longest active streak in the NFL.
Doug Baldwin is for real, yo. He's the top receiver of the top quarterback this week, so you can play him with confidence.
I'd be OK if I had to go with Anquan Boldin this week. I like both him and Torrey Smith against the Browns and that awful defense.
I said it in my Rank's 11 column earlier this week, but you're crazy if you're going to sit Julio Jones this week. Straight-up nuts.
Image I'm a huge fan of this UNLV prototype helmet. I thought their uniform upgrades were some of the best in college football this year. Incorporating the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign is a nice touch.
Coby Fleener has the best matchup of all tight ends this week. The Jags have allowed close to 20 points to tight ends over the last month.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins is a great waiver-wire option for most of you. But I have a feeling one of your league-mates already read this and picked him up.
Eric Ebron has a great matchup this week, though this feels like the kind of game St. Louis would win, right?
Image I found this gem of a video from the Artic Monkeys. Probably my favorite song from them: "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor." This came out ten years ago. TEN!
I feel like there are going to be a lot of bummed out people who bench Todd Gurley this week. St. Louis' new offensive coordinator Rob Boras said Gurley was too good not to get the ball. He's going to be overcorrected this week. I don't care what the FPA says, I'm going with Gurley in the playoffs. Plus, Detroit is coming off a huge, gut-wrenching loss on Thursday night. (Expletive) it, I'm going with Gurley.
Fun fact about the Cowboys: The team hasn't had a cornerback intercept a pass since Orlando Scandrick did it back in Week 14, 2014.
Not only is Philip Rivers behind a patchwork offensive line, something seems off about him. I'd avoid him at all costs for the coming weeks.
I like Marcus Mariota in daily leagues much more than I would like him in traditional fantasy leagues.
Derek Carr is a star in the making. But I wouldn't play him this week against the Broncos who have allowed the fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks.
I'm in a league where I have Drew Brees. I'm so thankful I have a bye this week. I really don't think I would be able to play him.
Image I'm not sure when Kobe Bryant and the Lakers come to Denver (stop it), but somebody needs to show Peyton Manning some "highlights" of the Mamba. And then you hope he gets the lesson of what he's seeing. Kobe is murdering the Lakers right now. But the only thing he's really hurting is the team's future. Peyton is putting a BroncosSuper Bowl appearance in jeopardy by trying to play again. How selfish.
The Steelers have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to running backs this season. Gio Bernard and Jeremy Hill belong on your bench this week.
Can Eddie Lacy at least have the common decency to let us know if he's going to be out all night partying again? It's only fair.
I'm not sure if you heard the story of McDonald's giving Mike Zimmer 100 cheeseburgers because the restaurant messed up his order. But Lacy demanded a trade to the Vikings.
LeGarrette Blount seems like the odd man out for the Patriots again this week. James White is a much better lineup fit for this matchup.
Buck Allen has a bad matchup. I'm almost tempted to play him because the Seahawks are due for a letdown soon, but that's an extreme position.
Oh man, where have you gone Latavius Murray? The biggest disappointment in fantasy is when a guy scores a touchdown, but has less than 10 overall points.
Image Did anybody notice Kim Kardashian named her newborn Saint? It's interesting because wasn't Kim with Reggie Bush when he won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints? That's big of Kayne West to be down with that. I'm not sure I would be so cool with it. (And yes, if you saw that joke on "The Weekender" congratulations. Well, congratulations to us for getting the joke past the censors. But also to you who saw it. Because the only person I know who watches "The Weekder and reads this is one of our staffers. Hi Dylan!)
Demaryius Thomas has fewer than 80 receiving yards in each of his last five games. His longest streak since Tim Tebow was his quarterback.
That being said, I don't know how you sit DT in traditional leagues. But I wouldn't even give him a glance in daily fantasy leagues with all that value out there.
I don't mean to pile on the Raiders. Oh wait, that's exactly what I want to do. But Amari Cooper has had more than eight points once in his last four.
It's funny how everybody is flipping out about the Panthers and Josh Norman. But the Falcons pass D is legit, too. Though Carolina doesn't have a receiver to be worried about.
The Bears defense has been really good, except for the occasional long bomb in overtime. But that's more on Robbie Gould and not the defense. Bench DeSean Jackson.
I'd have problems with T.Y. Hilton this week. He's not great on the road, and the Jags passing D against receivers are pretty legit.
Randall Cobb has done nothing to show me he's a No. 1 starter who needs to be started. I guess you go with him in traditional, but he's a must-avoid in daily.
Image I was so excited for the Wyatt Family to turn face when they walked in on the League of Nations. The whole crowd went ape (expletive) for it. And then two other teams walked in and pretty much ruined all of the momentum for the moment. And then the Wyatts were the first team eliminated. Even before the nostalgia ECW team was eliminated. I love ECW, but that was ridiculous. I was so ready for a Wyatt face run. So ready.
Are there any tight ends you really can't afford to start right now? I mean, look at some of the curtain-jerkers many of us are forced to play. I mean, Gary Barnidge has battled injuries and has a tough matchup. But can you really sit him? I mean really?
Image I've debated if I should already get my outrage ready for the Heisman Trophy snub of Christian McCaffrey. I know it's hard to overlook a dude who broke the records of Herschel "Freaking" Walker, but McCaffrey is the best college football player this year. You really don't have much of an intellectual argument against him. I know some might point out Stanford's loss to Northwestern. But that was on September 5. The fact he overcame that game makes him even more impressive.
Image This reminds me of when Jake Plummer was snubbed for the Heisman Trophy in 1996. There might not have been a better college football quarterback than Jake Plummer. I'm serious. If you ever get a chance, go back and watch his games. Dude was straight up amazing. And his pro career was much better than people give him credit for.
Image Not a fan of Antonio Brown being fined for his awesome end zone celebrations. Countless replays show he was penalized enough.
Image Why are there so many games jammed into the 10 a.m. slot on Sunday morning out here on the West Coast? Brutal. And how is it possible all of my guys play in the 10 a.m. games, while my opponent has all of his guys going in the 1 p.m. games along with Sunday and Monday night?
For the record, you can submit your fantasy questions to NFL Fantasy Live or me on Twitter. But realize, NFL Fantasy Live has 300K followers. Me? Just 14. See, the odds are better I will answer your question, so hit me up both via Twitter or via Facebook (if you're RG3). And if you follow me on Sundays, I'll quote "The Wolf" from "Pulp Fiction" and then it's game on! Although, it's tough to catch me on Facebook. Twitter is your go-to." Plus seriously people, I'm not taking your tweets after Midnight. I'm into the #HashtagWars via @Midnight. I've started to mute people who ask me questions at that time.
