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I admit it. I can be guilty of enjoying some good schaudenfreude. (Enjoying the failure of someone else.) Last night watching A-Rod whiff on two separate HUGE at-bats in the later innings of the Yankees-Tigers game five, I couldn’t help but think about you and your fantasy league (that’s right.)
Are you that guy? Are you a schauden-freak? Are you the guy that got just a little bit excited when your league’s hottest team lost Kenny Britt for the year? When your opponent in week 2 lost Jamaal Charles were you guilty of a small fist pump? Do you realize that Arian Foster thinks you’re sick?
First of all, don’t be that guy. And secondly, you can’t get anywhere by the failure of others. The success of others can and should be your success as well. However, when it comes to fantasy football, falling asleep at the wheel can lead to the success of others at your own expense. So let’s take a look at some matchups you can take advantage of on Sunday. Hopefully you were able to take advantage of some of the pickups I recommended Tuesday. Now it’s time to take advantage of our superior knowledge and go out there and hang an “L” on that sucker who’s not reading this blog… For the record, I’m not saying to bench anyone in the “Ten Down” column or start anyone in the “Ten Up” column. Use your own best judgment. But these are players who for matchup purposes will play better or worse than their usual expectations…
Ten Up
Darren Sproles– Elite in PPR. He’s the reincarnation of Jamaal Charles. There’s still a few seats left on the hype-wagon.
Larry Fitzgerald– Antoine Winfield being out means a fantasy feast for Fitzy. I love alliteration and hate facing him in my main league this week…
Cam Newton– He’s matchup proof. Accept it. You can throw on the Saints and he’ll be passing from behind all day.
Titans Defense– Against a banged up Pittsburgh offense, the underrated Titans defense will actually be a top 4 defense this week. Great bye week start here.
Vernon Davis– With Aqib Talib draped all over Michael Crabtree, Alex Smith will lean on the shorter passes to his tight end and running backs. Should be a nice PPR day even if he doesn’t find the end zone.
Fred Jackson– Again… he’s elite as long as he’s healthy. He’s a fantasy Ron Popeil. You can set it and forget it. (You’re not here for the comedy, you’re here for the fantasy info…right?)
Kevin Walter/Owen Daniels– Andre Johnson being out will create a ton of new targets to go around in this offense. Jacoby Jones is banged up, and Schaub will be looking for guys he knows he can trust in the passing game. Should be a decent week for Walter and a huge week for Owen Daniels.
Mike Tolbert– Mainly just a hunch here. But while Tolbert is quickly losing fantasy value as Ryan Mathews continues to emerge, Denver’s putrid defense should allow him to score some late points and hopefully give you a passable day. He makes a good bye week start and if he does produce you need to start shopping him around before he really drops off in value.
Sidney Rice– This is a terrible matchup for the Seahawks, flying cross-country for a 1:00pm start against a gritty Giants team. But while the ‘Hawks are gonna get walloped in this one, they’ll also be passing all game, and I see Rice getting a garbage time score that makes you glad you stuck by him while he was hurt.
Denarius Moore– Moore is a great flex play this week as the Raiders will also be throwing from behind and Houston’s secondary is mediocre. Moore is a homerun hitter who will find pay dirt again Sunday. Get him in your lineup!
Ten Down
Legarrette Blount– Blount finally had a dominant performance on Monday night, but against the 49ers he’ll be facing a stiff run defense, and his style of straight ahead, downhill running will be straight into the teeth of this defense and Patrick Willis. If you have better options, sit him down.
Jets Defense– Don’t start any defense against the Pats. Just don’t. Trust me.
Matt Forte– Picture yourself watching the Monday Night game and needing eight points. It’s the 3rd quarter. Detroit has a 14-point lead, the crowd is going bananas, and Jay Cutler just sailed one just out of the cornerback’s reach. Meanwhile Forte is blocking and getting blasted by Suh. You can’t sit him. I get that, but if you’re depending on him you may want to throw a high-risk/high-reward player into the lineup to try and gain an advantage over your opponent. Just don’t put yourself in a position to trust any bears this Monday night.
Mike Wallace– I’m a charter member of a Wallace owner support group. Such a complete receiver, but it’ll all be for nothing if Big Ben gets injured. I’m not benching him either, but I don’t like the looks of this Titan’s game. Could be a defensive battle and Wallace could be forgotten as he has in the second half of the last two games for the Steelers.
Maurice Jones-Drew– Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. I’m a happy Deji Karim owner, let’s put it that way. And the Bengals front seven is one of the more underrated units in sports. These guys aren’t pushovers.
Stevan Ridley– Congratulations on the sexy waiver pickup. Now bench him for a week. The Jets don’t care if he’s sexy. Rex Ryan might if he was a foot, but that’s neither here nor there.
James Starks– I’m of the philosophy that you can’t trust either Starks or his battery mate, Grant. This team doesn’t run, and you’re losing touches to both Rodgers and Kuhn. Then you’ve got a timeshare on top of that. You need to dump Starks/Grant on some owner desperate for a running back. Let them play the guessing game. I also have a feeling Atlanta will be pissed and out for blood in this one. Can they stop the Pack? Hell no. But they can make life difficult in the trenches.
Bernard Scott– This one seems pretty obvious. Benson is still waiting to hear on his suspension and so he’ll play this week, making Scott worthless for now. But I have heard that the ruling will be coming in the next few days. Keep your eyes out for that, and if Scott is somehow unowned in your league, I would absolutely grab him. A starting back during the bye weeks is invaluable.
Chad Ochocinco– Cut. Bait. Now.
Nate Washington– Since Kenny Britt’s injury everyone is going nuts over Washington’s potential. I don’t know what I’m missing, but has Washington ever been good before? Does this look like a pass-first offense to you? Well, it has been, but Washington’s not a burner and as I said earlier, this one will be a grinder. Own Washington, but don’t trust him. He’s a bye-week fill-in at best.
That’s all for this week, Buzzers. Again, send me your questions in the comments here, or on the 1450 the Sports Buzz facebook page to get your question’s directly answered by a self-proclaimed fantasy insider!
Louisville Sports Buzz 