James Morris hails from Rio Rancho, NM and has been playing fantasy sports for well over a decade. Not only does he write the Bengals fantasy section, but he also does the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Diego Chargers fantasy sections, as well as the Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz fantasy basketball sections in the NBA. Last season James finished with an 82 percent accuracy rating for fantasy predictions and will be here to answer any questions you may have about your specific team. Just send him an email and he will reply back the same day with your answer.
Week 11 will be an interesting week for sure as Ronnie Brown is out for the rest of the year, Dwayne Bowe will be out until Week 15, Larry Johnson found a new home in Cincinnati, then Oakland goes and benches JaMarcus Russell permanently in favor of Bruce Gradkowski. Since the fantasy playoffs are at hand, let's take a look at some guys you will want to sell high on before your deadline hits.
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Brett Favre: Minnesota is in command of the NFC North division, so as the season wears down the teams will have less to play for and sit their stars for an NFL playoff run. Favre is in the top 10 for QBs in standard fantasy formats, so he should net you a slumping QB and a solid RB/WR.
Pierre Thomas: I think Thomas is too sporadic to count on anyway, what with Reggie Bush and Mike Bell in the backfield. Too many RBs kill fantasy value and that is just what is happening to Thomas.
Reggie Wayne: The Colts and Peyton Manning are on a roll, and that success trickles down to Wayne. The problem is that Indianapolis is 9-0 right now and the team doesn't want to take a risk in injuring anyone with a Super Bowl well within their grasp. I see Wayne sitting more than he plays right when you need him most.
Miles Austin: Roy E. Williams has complained and complained until the Cowboys had no choice but to make him their No. 1 WR again. Defenses are also treating Austin as a true No. 1 by double-teaming him most of the game, so he is someone I am selling high on.
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Kurt Warner: Going up against his old team (St. Louis) will certainly light a fire in Warner for sure. I'm not a big fan of Steve Breaston or Tim Hightower in fantasy terms, but Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin are top-tier WRs and Chris Wells is going to be pretty good if Arizona ever commits to the run.
Carson Palmer: For those who own someone like Kyle Orton, Matt Ryan or even Joe Flacco, you'll want to give Palmer a definite look. The new-look Bengals travel to Oakland to face the helpless Raiders, so this is as close to a scrimmage as you will get in-season.
Kevin Smith: This is Smith's last chance to prove to me that he deserves a roster spot this season. The Browns and Lions have combined for two wins this season, meaning that as bad as one team is, the other is equally as bad. Smith at least has shown talent in the past and if there were ever a weekend to do it again, it would be Week 11 of the 2009 season.
Ricky Williams: With Ronnie Brown out for the rest of this season, Williams becomes an elite fantasy RB in that Miami offense. Add to that the Carolina Panthers 25th-ranked run defense, and you have a recipe for success.
Steve Smith (CAR): This is one of the only weeks I will put either Smith to start because Miami is 27th against the pass and Smith is coming off a two TD performance in which he only yielded 34 yards. If he can just get some more targets, he could turn in a 100-yard game for the first time since Week 2.
Sidney Rice: Rice has surpassed Bernard Berrian as the go-to guy in Minnesota and Favre knows it. Rice went undrafted in almost every fantasy league this season, but quickly became a household name. I am going to say that Rice finishes this weekend with enough stats to rank him as a low-end WR1.
Vernon Davis: Now, after last week's abysmal performance (3 catches for 16 yards), many people are going to let Davis ride the bench this week. I, personally, will give him another shot against Green Bay because Alex Smith needs to bounce back and Davis is his only real weapon.
Cincinnati Bengals Defense: The Bengals defense is ranked within the top five in most standard formats, and that is a shock to people outside of Cincinnati. This week the Bengals face the Oakland Raiders and their newly anointed starting QB. Just when you think things can't get any worse in Oakland, the Bengals come to town.
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Kyle Orton: Speaking of the devil, Orton has reverted back to his old self as of late. He hasn't throw for more than 229 yards since Week 6 and in that same span he has 4 TDs to 3 INTs. I've never been a fan of Orton and you shouldn't be playing him against the suddenly-hot Chargers defense.
Matt Ryan: I like Ryan as a QB2 this week, but that is about it without Michael Turner in the lineup. No matter how good they look, Jason Snelling and Jerious Norwood will not scare defenses like Turner does and that means Matty-Ice will face more defenders pinning their ears back and coming for his head. If I had a different option, I would consider using him this weekend.
Marion Barber: It came out this week that the Dallas coaching staff wants to "feature" Felix Jones more in the offense, so where does that leave Marion the Barbarian? At best I think he will be a low-end flex play against the Redskins and I won't play him until I know exactly what they were talking about with Jones.
Knowshon Moreno: Moreno hasn't really been the starting fantasy RB that we all wanted in the preseason. He is averaging just 3.9 YPC and has scored just two TDs all season long. This week the Broncos match up with the Chargers and like Orton, I would just say no.
Lee Evans: As the QB carousel goes round-n-round in Buffalo, this week it stopped on Ryan Fitzpatrick's name. And, anyone who knows about Fitzpatrick (Bengals fans and Chad Ochocinco), that is not a good thing for Evans and Terrell Owens. Look elsewhere or expect only WR3 type of numbers.
Chris Chambers: I've had more than just a few emails asking if Chambers is worth starting with Bowe out until Week 15. The answer is maybe in Week 14 against the Bills, but not until then as they face the Steelers, Chargers and Broncos. Kansas City was bad before Bowe was suspended and the Chiefs are even worse after the suspension.
Jason Witten: Witten has to be on the fantasy bust list for this season and I don't think it will get any better this week. Washington has the No. 1 ranked pass defense and Tony Romo only has eyes for Roy Williams these days.
Baltimore Ravens Defense: The Ravens are perpetually at the top of everyone's fantasy defense list. But, this week they face off against Peyton Manning and his offensive circus and I wouldn't play the Ravens for any reason this week. I'd pick up the Titans or 49ers off the waiver wire before I played the Ravens defense this week.
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Q: I listen to ESPN's projections and rely on my own analysis to make my picks and get burned anyway, and I'd be glad to be 80 percent correct right now! Here's my options, who would you play?
Kurt Warner vs. Rams or Matt Hasselbeck vs. Vikings
Brent Celek vs. Chi or Shiancoe vs. Sea
Eagles D/ST vs. Chi or Packers D/ST vs. SF
And I can play (2) RBs and (2) WRs, and (1) RB/WR spot - pick five? LaDanian Tomlinson vs. Den; Sidney Rice vs. Sea; Frank Gore vs. GB; Mike Sims-Walker vs. Buf; Ryan Moats vs. Ten; Anquan Boldin vs. StL; Darren McFadden vs. Cin (lol); Hines Ward vs. KC
James, I've lost my last three matches, but I feel like I have a good team. This week I play against my wife's team - and I gotta beat her! She is a Colts fan, and us Bengals fans have to stick together. Can I get a New Mexican Who-dey!
--Fan Stuck In Indy
A: And that is why you should be listening to me!
My picks would be Warner, Celek, Eagles from list No. 1. From list No. 2 I would have to go with Gore and Tomlinson at RB; Rice and Boldin at WR; Ward at the flex.
Hasselbeck is too up and down; Shiancoe blocks more than he catches and Favre is in love with Rice; Eagles and Packers is actually VERY close. You could flip a coin there and be right either way; Moats and McFadden are in no way worth playing, and borderline not worth owning; Sims-Walker has a tough defensive matchup and the other guys play soft defenses.
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