Would you want to trust your fantasy season to Mark Sanchez?
Actually, I would. Sanchez has played pretty well in recent weeks and he's been a pretty reliable fantasy option. Good for at least 300 yards, even in his off days. Plus he had the added wrinkle of a rushing touchdown against the Cowboys for you geeks who play in leagues where passing touchdowns count for just four points.
The matchup against Seattle isn't favorable this week. I get that. The Seahawks have turned it on recently. But do take into account they have gone against Drew Stanton, Alex Smith, Eli Manning and Colin Kaepernick. Not exactly a who's who of elite fantasy quarterbacks.
Not that Sanchez is an elite quarterback. He's still the victim of ridicule and perceptions of folks who doubt him. Which is fine. But he also has Chip Kelly in his corner. And when you give Kelly a long time to prepare for an opponent, I start to feel a little bit better about it.
This doesn't mean I won't change my mind sixteen times from here until Sunday. But I'm confident with Sanchez right now.
Ryan Tannehill, QB, Miami Dolphins
If I ever advocate a flavor-of-the-week quarterback again, you can kick me in the guts. (I know I've said that before.) I had a really bad feeling about RT once everybody jumped on board last week. So late Wednesday night (I might have had an IPA or two), I put in Sanchez in as my starting quarterback in my League of Record. Not that it would have mattered much to me personally, I know at least one kid who lost because he went with RT.
Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants
I know some of you will want to run out and grab Ryan Fitzpatrick, which is just way too reactionary. Instead of the guy who had the fluke performance (stop, it was), how about you play the quarterback who will face the defense which allowed the fluke (I'm telling you) performance? Right?
Isaiah Crowell, RB, Cleveland Browns
Thankfully we had Crowell on the bench last week. The Bills D is no joke. So this was a tough matchup. It should be decisively easier this week. The Colts are prone to give up a ton of points to opposing running backs so you have to like this play. It's the right time.
Dan Herron, RB, Indianapolis Colts
You can also go with Crowell's counterpart in this game, too. Herron had a tough matchup against Washington and ended up with a double-digit stat line. He's got the Browns this week who are a good matchup for opposing running backs. The thing I really like about Herron is that he's not Trent Richardson. More importantly, he's got Andy Luck as his quarterback which means nobody can stack the box against him. Now if he could just hold on to the rock a bit better.
Marion Grice, RB, Arizona Cardinals
This is merely a speculation play if Andre Ellington isn't able to go. He's third on the depth chart right now (I think), but if you've learned anything this season, its depth charts don't mean (expletive) to the running backs. Tre Mason was once third on the depth chart. Ditto for Justin Forsett and C.J. Anderson. Again, this is only in the case Ellington can't go.
Carlos Hyde, RB, San Francisco 49ers
I have the feeling we are going to look back at this game at some point and say, "this was the time when Los Hyde broke out and became amazing. I know we might chase the fantasy points by going for the team that gave up a huge number to Mason, but I kind of like this risk as a flex guy in some of your deeper leagues.
Stedman Bailey, WR, St. Louis Football Club
I know Mason stole the show against the Raiders. But Bailey played pretty well and he's been pretty good over the past couple of weeks, too. The matchup against Washington is stilted towards the pass. Which means Shaun Hill is going to take his shots against this team. Plus DC will likely want to load up against the run after what Mason did last week.
Marqise Lee, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
It wouldn't be Rank's 11 without a nod to my guys down in Duval County, Florida. Lee led the Jags in receptions and yards while he scored the first touchdown of his NFL career in Week 13. I expect the bromance between him and Blake Bortles to blossom. Plus the three of us shared a stage at Modell's in New York the day before the draft. And I think it's time we get the band back together.
Mychal Rivera, TE, Oakland Raiders
The tight end position is so tough. I figure it's much easier to take a tight end who struggled the week before and then count on them to rebound the following week. Unless it's Zach Ertz. Never again will I trust that guy. But I expect the Raiders to at least score a touchdown this week. So check out Rivera.
Green Bay Packers D/ST
The Packers get busy on teams at Lambeau Field. And then you have a shaky offensive line of the Falcons combined with a dome team traveling outside on Monday night, well, that sounds like the fantasy bargain of the week.
New Orleans Saints D/ST
The Panthers have allowed the most points to fantasy defenses. Or whatever the statistic is. I mean, they allowed the Vikings to be a viable option last week. I don't know what to make of the Saints, though. This seems like a great matchup for them and everything. But still.
St. Louis FC D/ST
All right, maybe if you don't have the stomach to ride the Saints this week (and you missed out on the Packers), maybe you should just hold on to St. Louis this week. The FC has scored double digits in five of the last six weeks, and three consecutive games. So it has that going for it.
For the record, you can submit your fantasy questions to NFL Fantasy Live, Michael Fabiano or me on Twitter. But realize, NFL Fantasy Live has 270K followers, and Fabiano has 165K. Me? Just four. See, the odds are better I will answer your question, so hit me up both via Twitter or via Facebook. And if you follow him on Sundays, he'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.
