Welcome to Week 16 of The Docket. Since it’s championship week, lets leave all policy and rule issues for the off-season. Instead let’s focus on winning this week. It’s all about picking up the right players from the waiver wire and making the correct sit/start decisions.
The best advice anyone can offer you is to go with what has been working, don’t chase last week’s points and also don’t ignore matchups. Here are some players that are buzzing and some players with issues that may have you head spinning:
QB Decisions – Don’t get cute. Last week I got a few questions with people wanting to bench Drew Brees in favor of players such as Russell Wilson. Unless you are totally stacked and need to insure just a few points out of the QB position, you have to go for it. Drew Brees has the ability to throw for 350 yards and three touchdowns this week, Russell Wilson does not. Yes, Brees has put up some major duds, and Wilson is always good for 50 yards on the ground and a TD, but it’s about stepping on your opponent’s throat and winning. So start your stud QBs and don’t second-guess Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, Drew Brees and Andrew Luck. I would also throw Tony Romo and perhaps Matt Ryan in there too.
Bills Defense –The Bills have the best fantasy defense over the past five weeks and are a top 5 defense no matter your scoring system on the season. If for some reason they were dropped last week because they were playing the Packers, I would make them your number one waiver wire pickup this week. In the real world, defenses win championships, and that is no different this week in fantasy. What defense you start could very well be the difference maker, and the Bills are a team you want out there on Sunday playing against the Raiders. This is important ... the Bills kept Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson in check last week and now they get the Raiders. The Raiders! If you have a better defense (maybe Seattle, Detroit, Baltimore or New England) at the very least, don’t let your opponent grab them. Blocking your opponent from picking up a player this week is just as important as picking a player to use yourself. That applies for other players below that may be on waivers. Take no prisoners.
Joseph Randle (RB, Dal) – If he is out there on waivers, he is a must add. Randle is actually averaging more yards per carry than DeMarco Murray, which really is a testament to the Dallas offensive line. Both RBs barley get touched at the line and have had massive holes to run through all season. Keep that in mind for next year; a good offensive line makes all the difference. But back to Randle … if Murray sits, he is a must start and is a plug and play RB1. If Murray is active, you have to start Murray, but I think Randle could still be worthy of a flex play.
Harry Douglas (WR, Atl) – Douglas went off last week in Julio Jones’ absence, catching 10 of his 14 targets for 131 yards. If Jones is out again, Douglas is a must start as a legit WR2 with WR1 upside in PPR leagues against a weak New Orleans defense. And here is a bold call for those of you Douglas owners out there … Even if Jones plays, I still think Douglas is a good option this week and will probably do better than Jones. Now, if you have Jones, I won’t tell you to bench him, but the ballsy move is to go with Douglas, Jones was not close to playing last week and he may be more of a decoy this week than a full go. That said, this should be a shoot out and Douglas is a good bet to catch a good number of passes regardless.
Jeremy Maclin (WR, Phil) – Mark Sanchez has seemingly favored Jordan Matthews since he took over QB duties, although Eagles Head Coach, Chip Kelly, stated that it was more due to defenses taking away the deep ball, forcing Sanchez to throw underneath. We’re not sure that is totally accurate, but the fact remains, the Redskins secondary is horrible. Start Maclin for what could be a big week.
Jarvis Landry (WR, Mia) – Landry has been another rookie phenom this year. Against the Patriots top rated pass defense, Landry caught 8 passes for 99 yards, although some of that came during garbage time at the end of the game. Regardless, Landry is getting it done every week, especially in PPR. Landry is a solid WR3 this week with upside.
Andre Williams (RB, NYG) – Williams was once again the next man up when Rashad Jennings re-injured himself last week. Williams had 18 carries for 44 yards against the Redskins and may be the man again if Jennings can’t go. The big problem with Williams is that he really has not played well, offers very little in the pass game and the Rams defense has been very stout of late. If you can, look elsewhere this week.
Isaiah Crowell, Terrance West and Josh Gordon – The Browns are a mess right now, so if you can, look elsewhere this week. That said, if Crowell sits, I would consider using West as a RB2 or flex play against a weak Carolina defense. With Jonny Manziel under center you would have to assume that the Brown’s lean on the run a bit more. As for Gordon, he will undoubtedly be back to his WR1 ways next season, but he is too hard to trust beyond a WR3 for championship week.
Tre Mason (RB, StL) – He burned people bad last week, but the Cardinal’s are very tough to run on and Mason was put in check. I know he’s hard to trust again, but he has a great matchup this week against the Giant’s in what should be a close game. If you need him, he can produce solid RB2 numbers this week.
Lamar Miller (RB, Mia) – Miller has been severely underutilized this season and some of the coaching staff may be fired as a result. That said, Miller is averaging 4.7 yards per carry and has scored 7 tds. He’s also handling a great majority of the Dolphin’s carries and is capable of putting up RB1 stats any given week if given the chance. While the Viking’s don’t have a dominant run defense, they surprisingly are ranked 6th against the run by PFF. Miller will be a safe bet to get you some points this week, so he will never kill you, but keep your expectations in check. He’s best used as a flex.
Kendall Wright (WR, Tenn), Nate Washington (WR, Tenn) & Delanie Walker (TE, Tenn) – If you need some help at WR and TE this week, these three offer some sneaky upside depending on who plays. In Wright goes, he could be a good PPR play and easily catch 5 or 6 balls against a Jaguars defense that has been playing well against the run but getting torched in the air. If he sits, expect Washington to again get a ton of targets, as he went 6/102 on 10 targets, including a whopping 6 deep balls last week. If Wright plays, Walker will take a bit of a hit as they both work underneath, but if Wright sits, Walker should be good for another 4 or 5 catches and some red zone looks.
Greg Olsen (TE, Car) – Derek Anderson loves him some tight end. Olson had 13 targets last week for 10 cacthes and 110 yards, including 4 red zone looks. If you got him, keep starting him.
Julius Thomas (TE, Den) – Thomas was on a touchdown tear earlier this year, but since the Broncos made the shift to a more balanced, run heavy offense, Thomas has been coming up small. This past week he had only 2 targets with 1 catch for 30 yards. And unfortuantley, it doesn't really have much to do with his injury. Virgil Green is a great run blocker, and since Manning's arm looks like jello and is a bit banged up, with the move to the run, Green has been playing much more than Thomas, lining up on 75% of the snaps last week. Thomas is a tough call this week ... but unless you have another great option, you are just going to have to start your stud and pray he comes through for you.
Latavius Murray (RB, Oak) – I love his potential and talent, but the Bills are too tough to run on right now.
Andre Johnson (WR, Hou) – He is set to return this week, but I worry about the Texans QB situation with Case Keenum getting the start against a tough Baltimore pass rush.
Cardinals – I wouldn’t start a single offensive player on the Cardinals who are onto their third QB and playing against Seattle.
And here are some PPF stats to keep in mind
PFF Best Run Defenses
- Jets
- Lions
- Broncos
- Bills
- Ravens
- 49ers
- Patriots
- Vikings
- Eagles
- Rams
- Seahawks
PFF Worst Run Defenses
- Titans
- Buccaneers
- Packers
- Chiefs
- Redskins
- Saints
- Cowboys
- Texans
- Jaguars
- Raiders
PFF Best Pass Defenses
- Browns
- Patriots
- Chiefs
- Broncos
- Seahawks
- Colts
- 49ers
- Lions
- Bills
- Bengals
PFF Worst Pass Defenses
- Redskins
- Falcons
- Bears
- Saints
- Jaguars
- Raiders
- Buccaneers
- Steelers
- Titans
- Ravens
Song of the Week
This week I present, Devan DuBois, an amazing indie act who splits time between Los Angeles and Nashville. You are going to start hearing a lot more about him soon. You can check out his song ‘Long Live’ below:
I invite you to follow me on Twitter @FFesq
