With almost a third of the season over we are starting to see which players are fantasy studs and which players we wish we could get a do over on from draft day. (cough cough Chris Johnson). But with all that said hopefully your fantasy teams are piecing together some victories. This week is espicially important for a lot of fantasy owners as we have bye weeks for the Bears, Panthers, Saints, and Jaguars. Some of the seasons top performers are on these teams and hopefully with my advice you can get through this week with a victory.
Put Me in the Game Coach
James Jones – With the absence of Greg Jennings from the line up James Jones has stepped up big catching two touchdowns each of the last two games, much to the demise of Jordy Nelson owners. Jennings is still nursing that groin and as great as the Texans defense is, they showed last week they are vulnerable to through the air. With Benson also out look for the Packers to go back to throwing the ball 40-50 times this week and Jones should be on the receiving end on a few of those.
DeMarco Murray – Something tells me that the Cowboys will come back from this bye week with a different approach. Although all the blame can’t be placed on Romo, it is safe to say they have gotten away from what gave them the victory against the defending superbowl champs. In that game he carried the ball 20 times for 121 yards. if the Cowboys are to be successful against the Ravens the need to feed him the ball early and often.
Ryan Matthews – Never thought I would say this ever. But somehow Matthews has come along and pieced together a good couple of games. Averaging just over 5 yards a carry it seems he finally has the burst that had everyone falling in love with him coming into the league out of Fresno State. They have Denver this week, but with the emergence of Malcolm Floyd on the outside it should help Matthews have a productive game.
Rashard Mendenhall – It seems that Mendenhall has recovered quite well from his knee injury. In a light load last week he carried for 13 times for 68 yards and caught 3 passes for 33 yards and a touchdown. Look for him to have a bigger role this week as the Steelers take on the Titans who are the only team since the 1954 Cardinals to give up 30+ points in each of their first five games.
Have a Seat on the Lonliest Bench
Stevan Ridley- He had a career day last week against the Broncos rushing for 151 yards but don’t expect the same this week as the Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks. This is a tough matchup for him and although I think he will be fine going forward don’t expect a lot from Ridley this week.
Ahmad Bradshaw – Although the 49ers dropped on game it is still hard to argue that they aren’t the best team in football. They made the Bills look like a junior varsity team, and Master Eli will still get his, but you just don’t start running backs against this defense. Bradshaw coming of maybe his best performance as a pro might follow up with his worst.
Torrey Smith – As bad as the Cowboys have been on offense one thing that has been consistent on this team is their pass defense. Outside of Brandon Marshall they have yet to allow a 100 yard receiver this year. Flacco struggled heavily against the Chiefs last week and you can be sure Rob Ryan has that game tape and has devised a game plan to make sure he does the same this week.
Dwayne Bowe – Cassel seems to be headed to more likely miss this weeks game against the Bucs with a concussion he suffered this past week. With that being said, Brady Quinn will get the start and look for the Chiefs to heavily rely on Jamaal Charles to carry the load for them.
Waiver Wire Warriors
Alex Green/James Starks – Cedric Benson has been placed on IR so the backfield is up for the taking in Green Bay. This past week Alex Green got a bulk of the load and averaged almost 6 yards a carry. Starks will have a role eventually as he is slowly coming back from injury. I don’t think either of these guys are a start this week, facing the Texans who have yet to give up a rushing touchdown all year, but they are worth the extra roster spot for upcoming weeks.
Vick Ballard – Donald Brown has been disappointing to say the least, and with him being down 3 weeks with a knee Ballard will get the start. We arent sure how much of a load he will have, but someone has to run the ball in Indy and it looks like for at least three week it will be him.
William Powell/Larod Stephens-Howling – Ryan Williams done for the season, Beanie Wells out for at least 4 more weeks this backfield is up for grabs. Stephens-Howling is nursing a hip flexor but is getting the nod as the starter as long as he keeps doing well in this weeks practices. But if the hip doesn’t hold up the job will belong to William Powell, first year man out of Kansas State.