*New to our web site this season is James Morris, the owner and CEO of No Limit Fantasy Sports. James will provide you with insights on the coming week's game, advice on who to sit and start, as well as answer your questions via email. *
Chad Ocho Cinco didn't start in Week 14 because Coach Lewis "wanted to play the other guys a little bit." Not a big deal since Ocho Cinco came in the game after two series, but it shows that the team is trying to see what it has in the younger guys and may be moving on from him. Carson Palmer is out again for Week 15, but has been throwing a real football 20-25 yards. He won't play this season, but let's all hope he comes back right in 2009.
OK, no more of the "non-obvious" picks. We are now in the fantasy playoffs and you need to know who to play and who to sit.
| ! MJD finally gets the Jags backfield all to himself, just in time for the fantasy playoffs. (Getty Images) |
Shaun Hill: With Frank Gore possibly not playing this weekend, I put more faith in Hill's ability than I do in DeShaun Foster's ability. I could see you playing Hill over say Matt Ryan or Emily Manning. Ya, that's right, I said Emily. I'm not over that draft-day temper tantrum he threw.
DeAngelo Williams: Denver's running defense is terrible and D-Willy has been reborn. I would feel comfortable giving Williams a top 5 RB ranking this week over guys like Tomlinson and Turner.
Maurice Jones-Drew: Fred Taylor going on the IR made MJD's day. He won't admit it, but this came at the perfect time for fantasy owners who needed a RB for that final push to win the league title. MJD will be a difference-maker this weekend.
Randy Moss: I like Cassel and I like Moss, Randy that is. Santana is killing my team. When anyone plays Oakland, the odds are the playmaker is going to have a big game, and Moss is a playmaker.
Eddie Royal: I like Brandon Marshall, but Royal gets the second-best CB and that will open him up more this weekend I bet. I like Carolina to try and rattle Marshall early on, meaning that Royal should see the endzone before the night is over.
Jason Witten: Stories are swirling about Witten and Romo's man-crush on each other, so you have to play him until the final whistle blows.
Indianapolis Colts Defense: They play the Lions and Dan Orvolvsky. Detroit has nothing outside of Calvin Johnson worth noting, so play whoever they play.
Jason Campbell: This guy has been throwing more INTs than TDs since Week 9 (6 INTs to 3 TDs) and needs to be benched. I wouldn't play him even if my other QB was Seneca Wallace.
Ben Roethlisberger: The Steelers play the Baltimore Ravens stout defense this week. I just play it safe and avoid matchups like these.
Tatum Bell: Many people ran to pick up Bell from the waiver wire, but why? You think the Broncos are going to turn the keys to the offense over to him? I look for Jay Cutler's wing to fall off after these final few weeks due to the amount of passes he throws.
Tim Hightower: I can't stress it enough ... the Cardinals have a one-dimensional offense that a first year Pop-Warner league couch could gameplan. The team is rotating him with J.J. Arrington, which means it doesn't care about the run.
Braylon Edwards: Who is his QB again? That's right, Ken Dorsey.
Laveranues Coles: The last two weeks Favre has thrown no TDs and 2 INTs, so playing Coles is as risky as it comes. I don't trust Favre and thus, I don't trust Coles in the fantasy playoffs.
Owen Daniels: Fantasy TE is about as hard to plan as fantasy kickers. Daniels is solid and will get you enough points on the good days to justify playing him on the bad days. Tennessee is a tough defense to play against, so I am going to sit him here.
Minnesota Vikings Defense: The Cardinals can score points with their passing game, so I won't play the Vikings defense this weekend.
Q: I have told several friends about your column. It has been helpful to me as I check it every week. Thanks! Our league scores for yardage: 10 yds = 1 point, passing is 25 yds = 1 point, Touchdown = 6 points. Here are my options for my lineup: QB: Drew Brees; RB: Thomas Jones; RB: J. Addai (Detroit) or T. Hightower (Minnesota); WR: Anquain Boldin; WR: Lance Moore; WR/RB: Santana Moss (Cincinnati), Steve Breaston (Minnesota), or any unused RB listed above; TE: Visanthe Shiancoe; Kicker: Longwell or Scobee; DEF: Pittsburgh (Baltimore), Tennessee (Houston); D: James Harrison (Baltimore) or DeMeco Ryans (Tennessee). Addai is hurt (and has been a disappointment, but is playing Detroit). Hightower has not been looking good (and is playing Minnesota). Washington has not been utilizing Moss lately (even when they were down against Baltimore, and should have been passing) Breaston might be the best choice, although he can be inconsistent.**
A:** I think your initial thoughts are right. For some reason, Arizona REFUSES to run the ball these days and when they do, they use Hightower with Arrington. I thought we all knew Arrington stinks, but I guess they forgot that too. Breaston might be a better option than Moss because if you look at his stats, Moss has only had three good games this season. Breaston only had three 100+ yard games too, but has three more of 86, 90 and 91. I might switch them out to be honest.
Thanks for checking the article out and telling the friends.
We are now in Week 15 the fantasy playoffs first or second round and some of you are already bounced and on the outside looking in. Some didn't make it all together and still, some are lucky enough to still be in it to win it.
Myself, I am still in it, but with injuries to Frank Gore and Peyton Hillis, plus the Cardinals forgetting that J.J. Arrington has stunk in his three NFL seasons, I might be on the outside looking in soon enough. Tim Hightower went from a viable top 12-15 RB down to an iffy flex option. I mean the one time he topped 20 touches, he also topped 100 yards (22 rushes for 109 yards and a TD in week 9).
Not hard to gameplan someone when all you have to do is drop the defense back five yards off the ball because you KNOW they won't run it. Anyway, let's get to the Thursday night showdown.
Saints: The Saints come into this one with the top-ranked passing offense in the NFL (310 YPG and 26 TDs) while the Bears are ranked 28th against the pass, allowing 234 YPG and 15 TDs. All signs point to the Saints using a pass first, pass second, run third and punt fourth option in this game. The Bears are still the sixth-best rush defense in the league (91 YPG allowed), so I wouldn't expect Pierre Thomas to have another nice game this week. On defense, the Saints are one of the worst, so I wouldn't play them if I was unlucky enough to have them.
Bears: The Saints give up 112 rushing yards per game and Matt Forte is a beast with the ball, so expect plenty of Forte in this one. I'd give Forte a solid top 3-5 billing for fantasy RBs this weekend. The question here will be: when the Saints jump out to a lead with that passing attack, will the Bears stick to the run and not try and let Kyle Orton lose them the game via the air?
Orton is so up and down, that you probably have a safer option at QB. With Devin Hester worthless in the return game this year and only catching 3-5 passes for 60-80 yards, I couldn't see why you would possibly start him this weekend. The best option in the passing game is Greg Olson, and he is a risky TE play with his four catches in the last three weeks.
Recap
N.O.: Drew Brees as a QB1, Marques Colston and Lance Moore as WR2, Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush as an RB2/Flex, Saints Defense as a last resort.
Chi: Forte as an RB1, Olson (if you don't have someone else in the top 10) as a low end TE1, Orton (only if you own Jason Campbell or a Bills QB) as a QB2, Hester as a weak WR3, Bears Defense as a low-end Def1.
If you want to have your question answered for all your friends to see, shoot me an email and I will give you some one-on-one attention.
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