QBs
1.Andrew Luck
2.Aaron Rodgers
3.Peyton Manning
4.Drew Brees
5.Tom Brady
6.Tony Romo
7.Jay Cutler
8.Russell Wilson
9.Colin Kaepernick
10.Matt Ryan
11.Mark Sanchez
12.Josh McCown
13.Ryan Tannehill
|
14.Matthew Stafford
15.Kyle Orton
16.Philip Rivers
17.Joe Flacco
|
18.Andy Dalton
19.Eli Manning
20.Brian Hoyer
Cam Newton (ESPN #15, ME #12) didn't get the rushing TD I predicted last week, so he only had 2 TDs instead of the 3 I thought he'd have. But he did finish as a top-10 QB, albeit in the loss. A guy who did have 3 TDs was Jay Cutler (ESPN #12, ME #16) who finished as the #2 fantasy QB just behind Aaron Rodgers. Cutler gets a nice bump back into the top-10 this week as he gets another home game against a weak Tampa Bay defense.
 |
| Reunited, and it'll feel so good for McCown owners. |
I'm high on: Josh McCown (ESPN #15, ME #12) Speaking of Tampa Bay, I kind of like their QB this week. Oh look! Their QB is Josh McCown again. How about that? And he's returning to Chicago, where he killed it last year while Cutler moped on the sideline. Since getting the starting gig back from Mike Glennon a couple of weeks ago, McCown has had a pair of TDs in each of his starts. Granted, those starts were against weak pass defenses (Atlanta and Washington), but Chicago isn't any better. They've been giving up the 2nd most fantasy points to opposing QBs, so why shouldn't Josh keep it going in Week 12?
|
|
I'm down on: Matthew Stafford (ESPN #9, ME #14)
Stafford has barely been a top-20 fantasy QB this season, and he hasn't thrown for more than 2 TDs in a game all year! Will that suddenly change in Foxboro against a red-hot Patriots team? I wouldn't count on it. Stafford is coming off one of his worst starts ever, and I think he'll struggle in New England.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
RBs |
1.DeMarco Murray
|
2.Jamaal Charles
3.Matt Forte
4.Eddie Lacy
|
5.Arian Foster
6.Marshawn Lynch
7.C.J. Anderson
8.LeSean McCoy
9.Mark Ingram
10.Justin Forsett
11.Denard Robinson
12.Rashad Jennings
13.Trent Richardson
|
14.Andre Ellington
15.Isaiah Crowell
16.Frank Gore
17.Jeremy Hill
18.Joique Bell
|
19.Alfred Morris
20.Tre Mason
21.Lamar Miller
22.Shane Vereen
23.Steven Jackson
|
24.Ryan Mathews
|
25.Jerrick McKinnon
|
26.Bishop Sankey
27.Fred Jackson
|
28.Charles Sims
|
29.Chris Ivory
|
30.Giovani Bernard
31.Jonas Gray
32.Terrance West
|
|
33.Darren Sproles
34.Reggie Bush
|
35.Darren McFadden
|
36.Branden Oliver
|
37.Bryce Brown
38.Alfred Blue
39.Latavius Murray
|
40.Dan Herron
Was it Sankey's coming out party on Monday Night Football (ESPN #28, ME #19)? Well, sort of. It was a little frustrating that Wisenhunt went away from him after his strong start, but he looked pretty good when given the chance and he finished as the 14th-best RB in Week 11. I actually made a last-minute trade for him in my money league, and I'm hoping he'll get some more playing time down the stretch and hopefully be a good keeper for 2015. I was down on Montee Ball (ESPN #26, ME #37), and he re-injured his groin on his first play from scrimmage against the Rams. He's now out and could be done for the year, which leads nicely into the guy I like this week.
I'm high on: C.J. Anderson (ESPN #13, ME #7)
|
|
|
With Ball and Hillman both out last week, Anderson was the only Denver running back to get any carries and he was also heavily involved in the passing game. Miami has a tough defense, but I don't see how you rank this guy as anything other than a RB1 when he's likely to pile up a ton of yards and probably will find the endzone as well.
 |
| I wouldn't expect much of this again this week. |
I'm down on: Jonas Gray (ESPN #24, ME #31)
This guy would have really helped a lot of fantasy teams last week with his 4 TD performance, but he was likely not in many starting lineups. If you claimed him off your waiver wire this week and are excited to get him into your lineup, you might want to settle down just a bit. This has nothing to do with the Pats signing LeGarrette Blount and everything to do with Detroit's top run defense. I think Belichick is likely to change up the game plan and go more with Vereen, and I think Gray finishes well outside of the top-25 this week.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WRs
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1.Demaryius Thomas
2.Jordy Nelson
3.A.J. Green
4.Calvin Johnson
|
5.Randall Cobb
6.Dez Bryant
|
7.Brandon Marshall
|
8.TY Hilton
9.Mike Evans
|
10.Jeremy Maclin
|
11.Emmanuel Sanders
12.Alshon Jeffery
13.Julio Jones
14.Josh Gordon
|
15.Odell Beckham, Jr.
16.Sammy Watkins
17.Roddy White
18.DeSean Jackson
19.Jordan Matthews
20.Mike Wallace
21.Reggie Wayne
|
22.DeAndre Hopkins
23.Golden Tate
24.Torrey Smith
25.Keenan Allen
26.Percy Harvin
|
27.Anquan Boldin
|
|
28.Brandon LaFell
29.Michael Crabtree
31.Kenny Stills
34.Cecil Shorts III
|
36.Eric Decker
37.Marques Colston
|
38.Michael Floyd
39.Rueben Randle
|
40.Doug Baldwin
|
|
Last week I was high on Keenan Allen (ESPN #28, ME #23), thinking he would finally break out with all of the looks he's been getting. Well, he continued to get the targets (13...third highest number of all WRs in Week 11), but he only managed 8 catches for 63 yards and was held out of the endzone yet again. He barely finished in the top-40. As for Vincent Jackson (ESPN #22, ME #31), he finished well outside of the top-40 as he only had 3 catches for 43 yards against the Redskins. Mike Evans was the top WR in Week 11, and he continues to be the most productive wideout for Tampa Bay. I'm down on VJax again this week, but I'll give you someone else I don't care for.
 I'm high on: Kenny Stills (ESPN #43, ME #31)
I probably could have expanded my top-40 to a top-50 at this point in the season, but I'm going to keep it tight. So you won't see fringe guys like Terrance Williams or Kenny Britt. Those two may be viable FLEX options for you this week, but I actually like Kenny Stills better than both of them. While Marques Colston might be the biggest beneficiary based on catches with the Cooks injury, I'm not 100% sold on that for fantasy value. The Ravens have been giving up a ton of fantasy points through the air since Jimmy Smith's season-ending injury, and I don't think Stills will have a problem getting behind the secondary for a big play on Monday Night Football. Maybe it's a risky call, but I think he's in line for 50+ yards and a TD.
I'm down on: Mohamed Sanu (ESPN #31, ME not ranked)
Last week I recommended Sanu over Andrew Hawkins to a friend, and I felt pretty bad about that pick after seeing the results. Of course this is mostly a guessing game, but I'm now realizing that Sanu is no longer a focus of this offense (at least that's what I think as of this moment...right now). Remember when Sanu was the #1 WR for a while for the Bengals? Well, Green is back and Sanu looks like he's not going to get many looks as the #2 WR. The Bengals are grinding it out with Jeremy Hill, and when Dalton wants to air it out, it's now AJ Green once again. I'm sure the game plan could change from week to week, but I'd have a hard time trusting Sanu with likely only a couple of targets.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TEs
|
|
1.Rob Gronkowski
|
2.Jimmy Graham
3.Julius Thomas
4.Coby Fleener
5.Antonio Gates
|
6.Martellus Bennett
7.Larry Donnell
8.Travis Kelce
9.Jason Witten
|
10.Mychal Rivera
11.Delanie Walker
12.Charles Clay
13.Austin Sefarian-Jenkins
14.Owen Daniels
15.Niles Paul
Week 11 was a rough one for tight ends. I was high on Mychael Rivera (ESPN #13, ME #8), who was nearly a top-10 fantasy tight end with only 4 points! He did get 5 targets, which was the 7th most among tight ends. He just wasn't able to do a lot with them against the Chargers. I didn't rank Jared Cook last week (the ESPN experts had him 11th), and he finished with 3 catches for 19 yards. He's definitely not a startable fantasy TE, even in a terrible week for the position. It seems that Gronk is the only reliable tight end to put up decent numbers as of late.
 |
| Damn. I wish I had picked Fleener up off the wire this week! |
I'm high on: Coby Fleener (ESPN #9, ME #4)
I should have used my waiver priority on Fleener, but I didn't. Now my opponent has him this week while Greg Olsen has his bye, and it's killing me that I didn't snatch him up myself. This is assuming Dwayne Allen is out (which is what most of the ESPN experts also assumed), but I don't get why none of them ranked Fleener higher than 7th! He's been a top-5 TE in his last 5 games, and he's been a top-12 TE all season even with Allen in there as well. He should get 10 targets or more against the Jags, and I think he'll rack up 75 yards and a TD in a blowout win. Of course, since I'm playing against him this week, I sure hope I'm wrong...
I'm down on: Kyle Rudolph (ESPN #14, ME not ranked)
I'm not ranking Rudolph again until I see something out of him because I'm not sure the guy is 100% healthy. It's that simple. He only played on 14 snaps last week, and I'm sure he'll still be getting eased into things against the Packers this week. I'd much rather take a healthy guy like ASJ, who I might be starting myself if Delanie Walker can't go for a second week in a row.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DEF
1.Bills
|
2.49ers
3.Chiefs
4.Colts
5.Eagles
6.Packers
7.Broncos
8.Seahawks
9.Chargers
10.Cardinals
11.Patriots
|
12.Texans
13.Cowboys
14.Bears
15.Ravens
Not only did the Browns let their fans down last week at home against Ryan Mallett and the Texans, but they let me down too (ESPN #15, ME #4). They had a poor showing and were a terrible streaming option in Week 11. As for the Patriots (ESPN #13, ME not ranked), they weren't much better even though they did keep Andrew Luck mostly in check on their way to a victory in Indy. Still, the ESPN experts need to check themselves before they rank fantasy Ds in their top-15 who are facing QBs like Peyton, Rodgers, Luck, and Brady. Brees doesn't quite fit into that category this season, so I've ranked the Ravens this week. I don't feel great about it, and it's a risky play in the Superdome after the Saints just lost to the Bengals there, but Baltimore did squeeze into my top-15.
 |
| Rule #1: Play your fantasy D against the Jags. |
I'm high on: Colts (ESPN #8, ME #4)
Hey what happened to streaming the defense who is facing the Jags? Come on, ESPN! Well, I'd highly recommend the Colts, even(/especially) after that blowout home loss against the Patriots. I think they'll bounce back in a big way, and that includes their defense. They're easily a top-5 play this week against an offense that is giving up the MOST fantasy points to defenses this season.
I'm down on: Dolphins (ESPN #13, ME not ranked)
I feel like every week I'm writing about some defense that ESPN is ranking against Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers. What gives? I realize Miami has been a solid defensive play this year, but don't risk it at Mile High. Personally, I'd avoid them at all costs.
|
|
That's it for Week 12. Good luck everyone (except you, David).
Cheers,
Bart
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
My day started around 7:00am with a phone call from my brother. It was time. He and his wife were heading to the hospital to have baby #2. Later that morning I went over to his house to let his dogs outside and then went to the hospital to pick up my nephew (who was probably getting pretty bored by that time). I got back home right around kickoff of the 1:00 games, and I watched a little RedZone in between playing soccer and one version or another of Connect4 (one was basically Lucas just bowling with the chips, and I didn't really participate in that version to be perfectly honest). 
My day started around 7:00am with a phone call from my brother. It was time. He and his wife were heading to the hospital to have baby #2. Later that morning I went over to his house to let his dogs outside and then went to the hospital to pick up my nephew (who was probably getting pretty bored by that time). I got back home right around kickoff of the 1:00 games, and I watched a little RedZone in between playing soccer and one version or another of Connect4 (one was basically Lucas just bowling with the chips, and I didn't really participate in that version to be perfectly honest). 
