Week 10 Rankings: Friday Update

It was right around this time last year that I was playing my friend Carl in my money league.  I was watching the games at a local watering hole, and I was up pretty big after the 1:00 games.  I think I already had most of my 125 points or so, and I was feeling pretty good.  My friends and I stayed for the second round of games, and I was still very comfortable going into halftime of those  games.  But then something happened...

Doug Martin against the Raiders happened.

In case you don't remember what went down in that game, let me give you a refresher: 250 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Yep.  I was suddenly on the losing end of a high scoring affair.

Fast forward 365 days or so to now, and I'm having some of the same feelings.  First of all, I'm playing Carl again this week.  Both of us have guys with great matchups, and I think it's going to be another 250+ combined fantasy point week for us.  We'll see which way the pendulum swings this year, but I think it'll be another close one.

But the other feeling that I'm having all over again is with my Redskins.  I'm not just talking about last night's game either, which was mind-boggling at how we couldn't score against that defense in the second half.  Did you see Minnesota tackling?  No?  Me neither!  It was an exciting game, but it was so frustrating as a fan.  But I'll get into that in a second.  Once again, after 9 games the Redskins are sitting at 3-6.  Once again, we're going to have to basically win the rest of our games to have a shot at the playoffs.  At least the rest of the NFC East looks pretty horrible, and I'm going to keep hope...at least until next week's game in Philly.  If we lose that one, it's time to start thinking about next year.

We did NOT see this last night against the Vikings...

But at least my fantasy team is doing better this year.  I'm not in "must-win" mode right now, but a win is always nice.  Let's get into last night's game, some injury updates, and then I'll get to the rankings.

QBs: I actually had RGIII ranked lower than I had in quite some time (9th), but he put up top-5 fantasy numbers in last night's loss.  He was coming off back to back single-digit fantasy performances, but that Viking defense was very forgiving.  I'm going to keep that in mind when I'm ranking Russell Wilson next week when they play Minnesota.  Speaking of forgiving defenses, my Redskins weren't much better.  You won't find me discussing either defense below because I didn't rank either of them and neither was worth starting.  I did rank Christian Ponder just inside my top-20 though, and he put up pretty decent numbers.  He would have eclipsed the 20 fantasy point mark too, if it weren't for DeAngelo Hall stopping him at the goal line on this play:



RBs: As usual, I had Adrian Peterson ranked #1, and I had Alfred Morris up at #6.  Both guys put up top-10 numbers last night, and both are going to finish pretty close to where I had them ranked.  I also ranked Roy Helu just inside my top-40, and he got about 3 fantasy points on his 5 touches.  AP and Morris will continue to be every week top-10 plays, but Helu is looking more and more like he's just not going to get enough touches to be fantasy-relevant.

WRs: Carl had Pierre Garcon playing for him last night, and after that first half, I was worried he was going to have something like 30 fantasy points.  He still finished with really good numbers, catching 7 balls on 10 targets for 119 yards and a TD.  With Garcon being in the Thursday night game, you won't find him in my WRs I'm high on this week.  But for the record, I did rank him well ahead of the experts (ESPN #14, ME #6), and he finished with what will easily be top-10 numbers.  I will admit that I also ranked Greg Jennings, although all the way down at #35.  I'm done ranking Minnesota WRs.  I'm done!

TEs: I had Jordan Reed ranked all the way up at #3, and that's probably around where he'll finish this week.  He continued to get plenty of looks from RGIII, and he caught 6 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown.  ESPN had him ranked at #7...just sayin.  What was interesting on the other side of the ball is that John Carlson performed extremely well filling in for Kyle Rudolph.  As long as Ponder is behind center for the Vikings, it looks like he'll continue to check down to his tight end.  With Rudolph potentially sidelined for another 3-4 weeks, I'm sure Carlson will be a top waiver wire add after this weekend.

Speaking of injuries, let's talk about a few guys who may or may not be in my updated rankings below.

1. Arian Foster & Darren McFadden: I mentioned these guys on Wednesday, as they both left their games early in Week 9.  It sounds like Foster's back injury and McFadden's hammy will keep them out at least this week too.

2. Saints: Darren Sproles returned to practice this week, so I guess he's all good from a concussion he sustained against the Jets and I've added him back into my rankings.  As for his teammate Marques Colston, he's still dealing with a knee injury this week and most likely will be a game time decision against the Cowboys (which is the Sunday night game).  Colston hasn't scored double-digit fantasy points since Week 1, so you should be looking for other options anyway (if you haven't already).

At least Richardson has a nice matchup, if healthy. 

3. Giovani Bernard (ribs), Julius Thomas (ankle), and Trent Richardson (ankle): Both Bernard and Thomas are practicing this week, and I'm guessing Richardson is probably just resting.  It seems like all of their injuries are relatively minor, and I expect them all to play on Sunday.  They're all in my rankings at the levels they would normally be (assuming full health).  I think TRich is the only guy you may want to keep an eye on of these three.

4. Guys coming off PUP/IR: Andre Brown should be back into the mix this week against Oakland, and apparently he'll wear a special plate on his twice-broken fibula on Sunday.  He might not be a good start right away, but he should have the opportunity to grab the starting gig from the old guys they signed while he was injured.  Note that David Wilson has officially been placed on season-ending injured reserve.  Other guys who are in similar situations are Michael Crabtree (who has been cleared to practice but has no timetable for return just yet) and Shane Vereen (who has been practicing and should play next week once the Pats are back off their bye week).

Cutler looks thrilled to get back to action.

5. Jay Cutler & EJ Manuel: Head coach Doug Marrone has said that barring a setback, Manuel (who is practicing fully this week) should be a go Sunday against the Steelers.  I don't have him ranked against Pittsburgh's top pass defense, which Tom Brady just happened to make look like Swiss cheese in Week 9.  I don't think EJ Manuel will do that in his first game back from a knee injury.  As for Cutler, he's been cleared to play and is expected to start against Detroit on Sunday.

6. Roddy White: He says he'll be ready to play on Sunday, but he won't get a nice welcome as he has to face guys like Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner.  I'm going to hold off ranking Roddy for another week regardless of whether or not he plays against Seattle.

7. Percy Harvin: Speaking of the Seahawks, from what Pete Carroll is saying in his press conferences, I still think Harvin sits until after Seattle's Week 12 bye.  I don't think he'll play this week, and although I'm sure he'll want to play against his former team in Week 11, I don't think that happens either.

That's it for the injury roundup.  Let's do the rankings!

BYES: Patriots, Chiefs, Jets, Browns

QBs 1.Drew Brees 2.Peyton Manning 3.Philip Rivers 4.Matthew Stafford 5.Tony Romo 6.Russell Wilson 7.Andrew Luck 8.Cam Newton 9.Nick Foles 10.Ben Roethlisberger 11.Jay Cutler 12.Eli Manning 13.Colin Kaepernick 14.Andy Dalton 15.Jake Locker 16.Terrelle Pryor 17.Joe Flacco 18.Case Keenum 19.Seneca Wallace 20.Matt Ryan You ranked me third?  Really?!?  Cool!!!!! I'm high on: Philip Rivers (ESPN #8, ME #3) I'm also pretty high on Eli Manning this week (ESPN #18, ME #12), and it would be fitting that I talk about these guys together, seeing as how they had all of that drama on draft day back in 2004.  Eli is coming off a bye and going up against an Oakland defense that just got torched for 7 TDs by Nick Foles.  But the younger Manning has been struggling this year, so I'd rather talk up the Charger QB.  Philip Rivers came out of the gates this year putting up over 30 fantasy points in his first two games.  He's cooled off a bit since then, but he still put up good numbers on teams like Dallas, Oakland, and my Redskins.  This week he gets Denver, who is giving up on average about 300 yards and 2 TDs per game to opposing quarterbacks.  Meanwhile, they still boast one of the best run defenses in the league.  I look for this game to be somewhat close, but with Denver most likely up for the majority of the game.  I think San Diego will abandon the run like they did against Washington last week, and Rivers will be airing it out all day long.  I like him for easily over 300 yards in this one and maybe even 3 passing TDs, though most likely in a losing effort. I'm down on: Terrelle Pryor (ESPN #13, ME #17) I talk about Matt Ryan here just about every week, as the experts continue to rank him 5-10 spots higher than I do (incorrectly as of late, I might add).  They had him at #16 in Wednesday's rankings, even though he plays arguably the best defense in the league (Seattle).  Yes, the game is in Atlanta, but I don't think that matters much.  I've moved him into the bottom of my rankings in today's update, but I barely like him as a top-20 play.  I have a couple of other guys ranked lower than ESPN does, but let's talk about Terrelle Pryor for a second.  Over the last three weeks or so, Pryor has been hovering near the top-10 rankings for QBs.  But his average fantasy points per game in his last 3 is only about 14!  I realize there's always potential there with him getting out into space and racking up some rushing yards, but the guy just isn't getting it done in the air.  He's not throwing for a ton of yards, and he only has one TD pass in his last three games.  Meanwhile, the Giants defense looked pretty good in Weeks 7 & 8 before their bye week, giving up only 7 points to both the Vikings and Eagles.  I think New York will keep it going at home, and I think Pryor will most likely put up another 10-15 points in a big loss. RBs 1.Eddie Lacy 2.Marshawn Lynch 3.Matt Forte 4.Chris Johnson 5.Reggie Bush 6.LeSean McCoy   7.Knowshon Moreno 8.Zac Stacy  9.Le'Veon Bell 10.CJ Spiller 11.Frank Gore 12.DeMarco Murray  13.Maurice Jones-Drew 14.Danny Woodhead 15.Mike James 16.Giovani Bernard  17.Lamar Miller 18.Fred Jackson 19.Andre Ellington 20.Steven Jackson  21.Pierre Thomas 22.Ray Rice 23.Rashad Jennings 24.Ben Tate  25.Darren Sproles 26.Trent Richardson 27.Ryan Mathews 28.Shonn Greene 29.Donald Brown 30.James Starks 31.Benjarvis Green-Ellis 32.Andre Brown 33.Mike Tolbert 34.Joique Bell 35.Peyton Hillis 36.Rashard Mendenhall 37.Jacquizz Rodgers 38.Montee Ball 39.Daniel Thomas 40.Dennis Johnson Yes, I'm promoting a Jag this week. I'm high on: Maurice Jones-Drew (ESPN #22, ME #15) I'm actually playing against MJD this week in my money league, and I wasn't happy when I saw the matchup he has.  We all know the Jags are terrible, but I actually have a feeling they'll keep it somewhat close against Tennessee this week.  In their last 4 games, the Titans have given up huge fantasy days to Jamaal Charles, Marshawn Lynch, Frank Gore, and most recently...my man Zac Stacy.  Of course, all of those running backs have looked much better than Jones-Drew this season.  I'll give you that.  But Tennessee has given up the 7th most rushing yards this year and is tied for the 4th most rushing touchdowns against them.  Their pass defense is the complete opposite of that, and I think if Jacksonville can avoid getting blown out, MJD could have a pretty good day.  I'm thinking along the lines of 80-90 total yards and a touchdown, which has him in my top-20. I'm down on: Carolina Panther running backs not named Mike Tolbert DeAngelo Williams (ESPN #32, ME not ranked), Jonathan Stewart (ESPN #39, ME not ranked) I know what you're thinking: real original, right?  I've wasted plenty of time talking about Panther running backs since I've started blogging, but the same ones continue to get ranked way higher than I think they should.  Not only is DeAngelo ranked #32, but Jonathan Stewart is ranked #39, and Mike Tolbert #36.  Come on, ESPN!  I already saw where you thought Spiller and Jackson would BOTH be top-15 RBs (which is possible but I don't think is happening), but now you're telling me that all 3 Panther running backs will be in the top-40...against the 49ers?!?  I know San Fran's run defense isn't as good as it's been in year's past, but it's still pretty solid.  And with Stewart back last week, he got 12 touches to DeAngelo's 15...and Tolbert still got 9.  The only Carolina running back I'm counting on for fantasy points is Tolbert, who has 5 TDs in his last 4 games.  Maybe the other two squeak into the top-40 with a handful of yards, but I'd much rather try another guy with higher upside if I'm digging that deep into the rankings. WRs 1.Calvin Johnson 2.Brandon Marshall 3.AJ Green   4.Dez Bryant 5.Keenan Allen 6.Demaryius Thomas  7.TY Hilton 8.Wes Welker  9.DeSean Jackson  10.Antonio Brown 11.Andre Johnson  12.Victor Cruz 13.Eric Decker  14.Vincent Jackson 15.Larry Fitzgerald 16.Torrey Smith  17.Alshon Jeffery 18.Jordy Nelson 19.Denarius Moore 20.Riley Cooper 21.Terrance Williams 22.Kendall Wright 23.Cecil Shorts 24.Golden Tate 25.Emmanuel Sanders 26.Hakeem Nicks  27.Lance Moore 28.Steve Smith 29.Marvin Jones 30.Harry Douglas 31.Anquan Boldin 32.Mike Wallace 33.Steve Johnson 34.Michael Floyd 35.Marlon Brown 36.Reuben Randle  37.James Jones 38.Brian Hartline 39.Kenny Stills 40.DeAndre Hopkins My wide receiver rankings are way  different than ESPN's this week, so I have a lot of guys I could talk about.  I'll try to limit it to a select few that differ the most from the expert rankings though. I wonder if Riley ever watched this show... I'm high on: Riley Cooper (ESPN #34, ME #21) There are several other names I could go with here, including Keenan Allen (ESPN #17, ME #5), who the experts continue to leave well outside of their top-10 WRs.  I don't get it.  What does a guy have to do for you to trust him?  He has over 100 yards and a TD in 3 of his last 4 games!  That's good enough for me.  Another guy I'm ranking highly based on an even smaller sample size is Riley Cooper.  In each of the 3 games this year that Nick Foles has been the starting QB for Philly, Cooper has totaled at least 88 yards receiving.  He's also averaging roughly 5 catches on 6 targets in those games, so he's making the most of the looks he's getting.  I'm not expecting another 3-TD game from him this week, but I think 75 yards and a touchdown isn't out of the question either.  I'm debating him versus Ray Rice at my Flex spot this week... I'm down on: Jordy Nelson (ESPN #11, ME #19) Another guy on my money league team, Jordy was looking like he'd be a top-5 fantasy WR every week down the stretch for me...until Aaron Rodgers went down.  I'll still put him in my lineup this week, but I don't feel great about it.  With Seneca Wallace now throwing to him, Nelson immediately drops out of the WR1 and into the low WR2 range for me.  But not for ESPN.  One guy has Jordy still ranked all the way up at #5!  Seriously?!?  I hope you're right, Tristan Cockcroft (if that is your real name!).  But I don't believe you will be.  This isn't like a reverse jinx or anything going on here.  Like I said, I'm still playing Jordy this week.  I think he'll be fine, but he won't be over 100 yards and a touchdown fine. TEs 1.Jimmy Graham 2.Vernon Davis 3.Antonio Gates 4.Julius Thomas 5.Jason Witten 6.Tony Gonzalez 7.Tim Wright 8.Garrett Graham 9.Martellus Bennett 10.Coby Fleener 11.Greg Olsen 12.Heath Miller I'm not really down on anyone this week as far as tight ends go, but I'm definitely high on Tim Wright (ESPN #13, ME #8).  I hope I'm right on this one too because I'll be starting him on Monday Night Football.  My opponent will be playing Miami's defense, and who knows?...it could come down to that!  Wright has scored 9 or more fantasy points in 3 of his last 4 games, and he's caught touchdowns in each of his last two games.  He's been seeing a lot more targets lately, especially with Mike Williams now out for the year.  I hope he and Glennon keep things rolling because after the Dolphins, he gets Atlanta and Detroit up next (both pretty favorable matchups). DEF 1.Seahawks 2.Titans 3.49ers 4.Colts 5.Cardinals 6.Steelers 7.Dolphins 8.Texans 9.Giants 10.Ravens 11.Panthers  12.Bengals I'm high on: Giants (ESPN #15, ME #9) I hate promoting this defense because I'm sure it could go either way here, but I do like the matchup and the fact that the G-Men are coming off their bye week.  I already mentioned this in discussing Pryor earlier, but the Giants looked pretty good defensively against the Vikings and Eagles in their last two games.  Granted, they looked rough in their 6 games before those, but maybe they've turned a corner.  Maybe not.  But I think it's a decent spot-start against a reeling Oakland team.  I'm down on: Bengals (ESPN #3, ME #12) This is another one I need to be right on, as I'm starting the Titans over Cincy this week.  I know I've talked about this before, but I don't think the Bengals defense is going to be the same without Geno Atkins.  Not to mention, they had already lost Leon Hall and Taylor Mays to injuries.  Rey Maualuga is still out with a knee injury, and he will not play this week against Baltimore.  I think defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer will make the most with what he has, but these are big losses for what was shaping up to be a fairly dominant defense.  This is the first of two games between these division opponents, and the Ravens should be more desperate for the win.  I think this will be a low scoring affair, but I'm not confident in the Bengals as a top defense this week. Losing Geno is huge for Cincinnati. That's it for the Week 10 updates.  Good luck everyone! Cheers, Bart