24 Hours 'Til Sunday — Andy Richardson
Posted Oct. 29 at 10:29 PM
For me the best part about Halloween in the NFL is all the fans in costumes, and the worst part is the kids interrupting the late game. The second worst part is my peripheral vision of the TV being impaired by my huge Brett Favre mask. Six teams on byes this week, so don't start those guys.
Buffalo at Kansas City: It feels too easy to say Buffalo will have success with the pass and Kansas City will run wild in this game, but that's what I'm going with anyway. Starting Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones, would start Ryan Fitzpatrick, Lee Evans and Steve Johnson. Have to start C.J. Spiller in a small-roster PPR league, where I'm hanging onto Reggie Bush and have Ray Rice on a bye. Maybe they'll give him more than 6-7 offensive touches this week! No Dexter McCluster.
Jacksonville at Dallas: Replacing their safety tandem on the eve of the season hasn't worked as well for Jacksonville as their original switch from Byron Leftwich to David Garrard did. So I'm starting Jon Kitna, in the league where I lost Tony Romo, and hoping for the best. Good matchup. Hard to know what to make of Dallas' defense, which somehow plays well at times but still gives up a lot of touchdowns. Suicide pool pick here, which seems oddly appropriate given that I'm banking on a 1-5 team and Jon Kitna.
Carolina at St. Louis: No DeAngelo Williams, so a good week to use Jonathan Stewart. No Danario Alexander, knee. We warned you. Steven Jackson is questionable but says he'll play.
Miami at Cincinnati: Two mediocre teams in a league full of them. Dolphins win on the road and lose at home, so I'll go with that. Brandon Marshall, Davone Bess, Chad Henne, those guys should be fine. I want no part of that Miami running back tandem. No injuries of note for the Bengals; Carson Palmer will play and it appears I'll be starting him since my Palmer-Greg Jennings for Peyton-Thomas Jones trade hasn't been accepted.
Washington at Detroit: As we noted in the Weekly, Santana Moss has a nice history in this series, so I'm starting him. Ryan Torain should also be good. I don't think Washington's defense is quite as bad as the numbers suggest, so I'm not as gung ho on Detroit's offense as some seem to be. Start Calvin, obviously, and I'm using Best, but that's about it.
Denver versus San Francisco across the pond: 49ers will run. Run, 49ers, run. Broncos will pass. Pass, Broncos, pass. Frank Gore, Kyle Orton, Jabar Gaffney, Brandon Lloyd, they all look pretty good to me. Troy Smith starts for San Francisco, but not, obviously, for many fantasy owners. Knowshon Moreno should get a sizable workload. Gotta start Vernon Davis these days.
Green Bay at N.Y. Jets: I'd use Aaron Rodgers and Greg Jennings, and consider James Jones with Jennings likely to draw Revis and Donald Driver hurting. Jets should run. A lot. And I like Dustin Keller, as always.
Tennessee at San Diego: This takes me back to a Week 16 Super Bowl last year when Philip Rivers didn't get me enough points to win. I'm not buying the Chargers' favorably-ranked defense. Chris Johnson should be fine. Chargers will probably start Vince Young and may hold out Justin Gage. I'd go with Kenny Britt, who's got the hot hand. For the Charger, no Malcom Floyd, probably no Legedu Naanee, maybe no Buster Davis? Antonio Gates with a bum wheel? Those injuries make their 2-5 start that could easily be 5-2 even more daunting. I'd use Philip Rivers and Gates and Patrick Crayton. No thanks, Chargers running game.
Tampa Bay at Arizona: I like both running games: Beanie Wells and probably LeGarrette Blount. There's risk, but I'd go with the rook anyway. If I had to invest in either passing game, I guess I'd use Larry Fitzgerald and Mike Williams. Steve Breaston is questionable; avoid.
Seattle at Oakland: Marshawn Lynch and Darren McFadden, yay. Good options. Passing games, there's Zach Miller. Mike Williams is OK, but the Raiders are pretty good against the pass.
Minnesota at New England: Apparently Brett Favre is a "gametime decision." OK. He wants to play, and I can't believe that even Brad Childress is that eager to commit career suicide and lose the veterans on his team by benching him. My worry (and why I'm not starting Favre) is that he'll start but not finish. No Fred Taylor, shocker. Deion Branch is questionable, I assume he'll play but you never know. Not a strong enough option to simply start. I'm still not over that Visanthe Shiancoe TD reversal last week. Halfwits.
Pittsburgh at New Orleans: If NBC doesn't give us a lot of crowd shots and maybe some (edited) footage of people in costume in the French Quarter, I'm gonna be ticked. Injury wise, it's the Chris Ivory and Ladell Betts show against the league's best run defense. No thanks. I'd use both passing games, however.
Houston at Indianapolis: Apparently the Texans defense had a meeting to discuss they way they've been getting lit up lately. I'm not sure a road game against Peyton Manning is the spot for them to expect such a meeting to pay dividends. I like both passing games. Colts will apparently have Anthony Gonzalez as their No. 3 wideout. I want to see him get through a game healthy before using him. No Addai, but probably Donald Brown will start and get most of the work.
As always, I'll check back in and offer up lineup answers if you've got questions. Happy Halloween, slap the awesome Poltergeist on the DVD player tonight, and enjoy the games.
- Comments [17]
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Posted by ZACH LEAVITT | Oct. 29 at 11:29 PM
Ppr league- Crayton or Lee Evans? On defense (no special teams included), Washington or NE?
Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Oct. 29 at 11:49 PM
Not to be overconfident, but I hope they're all this clear-cut in my mind. Crayton and the Washington D, no question.
Posted by Sean Chi | Oct. 30 at 12:16 AM
Drop Moeki and start Tame? I like the Buffalo matchup but the upside on Tame is too tempting. I don't want to be the person kicking myself next week for playing it safe.
Posted by PETER DEBIASE | Oct. 30 at 12:18 AM
Andy: It's looking like a week where due to byes and injuries, I take an 0-2 but I have a couple of questions. Schaub or Stafford @QB (standard scoring)? I don't think Indy will allow Foster 230 yds & 3 td's again so I'm figuring that HOU will have to throw more than the first game to stay in this one, but I also expect Stafford to put up good #s vs. WAS. Also, I'm starting Blount and Torain @RB (Caddy on bench), Calvin and Gaffney @WR (weather not looking good across the pond) and Crayton @FLEX. Best available FA's IMO are Hart and Sproles @RB and A. Gonzalez, James Jones and Meachem @WR. Are any of them worth a pickup to start over any RB's or WR's currently in my lineup? Thanks much.
Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Oct. 30 at 12:40 AM
Def. Schaub. I'd stick with who you've got elsewhere. Would only use hart if brown is out, which would be too late for you anyhow. Like gaffney and crayton more than other options.
Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Oct. 30 at 01:14 AM
Sean...I. say it is worth the risk.
Posted by David Kennedy | Oct. 30 at 02:14 AM
James jones or Gonzalez. need to start 4 out of Randy, Fitz, Britt, Wallace, and Gaffney. Normally no brainers here but I dont consider Moss and Fitz must starts anymore. leaning toward benching gaffney. have turner on bye and bush hurt. need to start Hart or Ivory. Brutal!! last one at TE pettigrew or winslow
Posted by Adam Bjork | Oct. 30 at 02:29 AM
Andy, TD plus yardage league. Who do you start Mike Williams or Davone Bess? Haven't had a chance to see Williams play but he's been consistent. Have had a chance to see Miami a couple times and think Bess is a machine. What do the match ups tell you?
Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Oct. 30 at 02:39 AM
Pettigrew, ivory (not over many, but over Hart), gonzalez. If it were me i'd actually bench fitz, but he is close with gaffney in terms of being 4th. Btw Sean, I meant worth the risk to drop moeaki and hope Tamme pans out.
Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Oct. 30 at 02:41 AM
I like williams and bess, but williams' consistency is based on scoring...if he doesn't, bess is better. Id use bess prob.
Posted by Duane Stay | Oct. 30 at 05:37 AM
Andy, Your no injuries of note for Cincy..... I hear their D backs are all beat up.
Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Oct. 30 at 06:04 AM
You're right of course... I guess I meant new ones. Those guys were hurt last week. But yes, that is part of why I like marshall and bess.
Posted by PETER DEBIASE | Oct. 30 at 10:57 PM
Andy: I'm currently starting Torain and Lynch @RB, Calvin and Fitz @WR and Crayton @FLEX in one league (standard scoring). Is Ronnie Brown worth a start this week over any of them IYO? I could move the RB's/WR's around to accomodate him. I'm thinking that this may be the week that MIA finally gets its running game going. Thanks much.
Posted by Paul Owers | Oct. 30 at 11:11 PM
Hey Andy: Would you start Roy Williams or Mike Williams? You pointed out above that Mike is facing a good Raiders pass D, but he is his team's top WR target, while Roy is only No. 2 and working with a backup QB, though he and Kitna did play together in Detroit. It worries me that Roy didn't catch a pass last week.
Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Oct. 31 at 12:58 AM
Peter - I don't like miami's running game. Seems so arbitrary. They could go for 150 and a TD, but brown could be at 70 yards. Fitz is the only guy i'd consider benching for brown. ]aul, i'd actually use Roy...that's how bad the Jags secondary is.
Posted by Roy Sherman | Oct. 31 at 02:06 AM
Andy: Which D/ST do you see as the better option this week: OAK or SEA? Friday's updated Weekly has both of them in the top 5, with SEA being ranked #1, but there were some injuries in Seattle's secondary that were reported yesterday that may change where they would be ranked now. Thanks.
Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Oct. 31 at 02:13 AM
Still like Seattle better. Jason Campbell can't play.