2014 Fantasy Football Week 11 Rankings

I got back on the winning track in both of my leagues last week, but I struggled with my picks versus the ESPN experts.  Allow me to just get these out of the way right up front rather than below each position ranking.

I'll start with a couple of decent picks...

High on Kyle Orton (ESPN #17, ME #14): He continues to play the role of a serviceable bye week fill-in (although just outside of my top-20 this week).  He's nothing special, but he did finish as a top-12 QB against a tough Chiefs defense.  

Down on Mike Wallace (ESPN #14, ME #20): While he did find the endzone, he also finished outside of the top-20 WRs.  He's becoming more of a WR2 than every-week WR1.

High on Ravens Defense (ESPN #11, ME #2): They held the Titans to just 7 points and finished as a top-5 fantasy defense.  Still surprised the ESPN experts were so low on Baltimore at home in this one. I'll admit when I'm wrong, but I still hate the Eagles...so much. And now for the horrible picks... Down on Mark Sanchez (ESPN #12, ME #17) and Eagles Defense (ESPN #6, ME #12): Wrong and wrong.  I was hating Philly in this one (for the record, I still hate Philly by the way).  But both Sanchez and the D proved me wrong as both were top-5 plays in Week 10. High on Terrance Williams (ESPN #32, ME #25) and Larry Donnell (ESPN #9, ME #5): Williams put up a big goose egg against the Jags in London, and Donnell had a mere 4 catches for 26 yards.

High on Lorenzo Taliaferro (ESPN #31, ME #24) and down on Benny Cunningham (ESPN #35, ME not ranked): I wish I could stop talking about RBs in the 30s when comparing my rankings to ESPN's, but it's the nature of the beast when my top-25 looks virtually the same as theirs.  Last week burned me as Taliaferro lost touches to Bernard Pierce seemingly out of nowhere, and Cunningham was somewhat fantasy-relevant as he at least scored against Arizona.  

Let's see what this week has in store though and get to the rankings!

BYES: Cowboys, Jaguars, Jets, Ravens

QBs 1.Aaron Rodgers   2.Peyton Manning     3.Andrew Luck  4.Tom Brady 5.Drew Brees 6.Philip Rivers 7.Matthew Stafford  8.Ben Roethlisberger 9.RGIII   10.Matt Ryan 11.Mark Sanchez   12.Cam Newton  13.Colin Kaepernick  14.Josh McCown 15.Russell Wilson     16.Jay Cutler 17.Ryan Tannehill  18.Eli Manning  19.Andy Dalton  20.Derek Carr I'm high on: Cam Newton (ESPN #15, ME #12)    Everyone has the Saints penciled in to win the NFC South, but that division is still up for grabs.  This week the Panthers host the Falcons, and the winner will be one step closer to making a run at the division title.  I think it'll be the Panthers who come out victorious, and Cam will then have the Week 12 bye to get a little healthier for the stretch run.  The Falcons are middle of the road when it comes to giving up fantasy points to opposing QBs, but they give up the most to opposing RBs.  I think that means that even a gimpy Cam will get some of his fantasy points with his legs, and one of his 3 TDs on Sunday will be one of the rushing variety. I'm down on: Jay Cutler (ESPN #12, ME #16)  ESPN actually has Cutler tied with Ryan and Sanchez at 12th, so he's somewhere in the 12-14 range.  Either way, I don't like him very much this week as he faces the 5th-stingiest defense against opposing fantasy QBs this year.  Add that to the fact that Cutler has had horrible games in 2 of his last 3, and I just can't trust him in this one.  RBs 1.Matt Forte   2.Arian Foster  3.Marshawn Lynch 4.Le'Veon Bell 5.Jamaal Charles   6.Mark Ingram 7.Eddie Lacy     8.Alfred Morris  9.LeSean McCoy 10.Ahmad Bradshaw 11.Andre Ellington  12.Shane Vereen 13.Frank Gore  14.Jeremy Hill   15.Rashad Jennings 16.Steven Jackson  17.Terrance West   18.Ryan Mathews 19.Bishop Sankey   20.Jerrick McKinnon  21.C.J. Anderson 22.Lamar Miller 23.Joique Bell 24.Fred Jackson  25.Tre Mason 26.Trent Richardson   27.Darren McFadden  28.Jonathan Stewart  29.Ben Tate 30.Branden Oliver 31.Darren Sproles  32.Charles Sims 33.Theo Riddick 34.Jonas Gray    35.Bobby Rainey  36.Andre Williams  37.Montee Ball  38.Bryce Brown  39.Matt Asiata 40.Damien Williams  I'm high on: Bishop Sankey  (ESPN #28, ME #19) Not sure how this exists, but I love it. Remember in Week 5 when Matthew Berry proclaimed it would be Sankey's coming out party?  Well he did...and it wasn't.  But fast forward 6 weeks, and I say that this Monday night game will be his coming out party!  What better way to do it than on a national stage and against a Steelers team that is 22nd in rushing yards per attempt?  With Shonn Greene fumbling on the goal line last week, I think the Titans finally will let Sankey have a chance at being the every-down back.  I like him as an RB2 this week and potentially the rest of the season if given the opportunity. I'm down on: Montee Ball (ESPN #26, ME #37)  Not only is he coming back from a groin injury that sidelined him for 5 weeks, but Montee wasn't exactly tearing it up earlier this season when he was healthy.  The ESPN guys have a lot of faith in a guy who has only hit double digit fantasy points once this season and could find himself in a three-way timeshare on Sunday.  I'd much rather start someone more likely to get the bulk of the carries like Darren McFadden or even Jonathan Stewart...and of course, Bishop Sankey (obviously). WRs 1.Demaryius Thomas 2.Jordy Nelson  3.Calvin Johnson  4.Antonio Brown  5.Randall Cobb   6.Emmanuel Sanders   7.Jeremy Maclin   8.Julio Jones   9.TY Hilton 10.A.J. Green  11.DeSean Jackson 12.Brandon Marshall  13.Kelvin Benjamin   14.Golden Tate  15.Mike Evans 16.Alshon Jeffery        17.Roddy White   18.Odell Beckham, Jr.    19.Mike Wallace  20.Martavis Bryant   21.Sammy Watkins  22.Brandon LaFell  23.Keenan Allen  24.Anquan Boldin  25.Julian Edelman  26.DeAndre Hopkins 27.Brandin Cooks  28.Reggie Wayne 29.Jordan Matthews     30.Andre Johnson  31.Vincent Jackson  32.Pierre Garcon    33.Larry Fitzgerald  34.Mohamed Sanu   35.Dwayne Bowe 36.Michael Crabtree 37.Marques Colston  38.Rueben Randle  39.Cordarrelle Patterson 40.James Jones  I'm high on: Keenan Allen (ESPN #28, ME #23)   This is more of a hunch than anything, but I feel like Rivers is going to start a new season with Allen following their bye week.  The targets have been there, but the production just hasn't been.  I think Keenan will get it going at home against the Raiders. I'm down on: Vincent Jackson (ESPN #22, ME #31)  While I realize the Redskins have a horrible secondary, VJax hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 4.  It's Mike Evans who has been going off for the Bucs (not Jackson), and I think that continues on Sunday in Washington.   TEs 1.Rob Gronkowski 2.Jimmy Graham  3.Julius Thomas     4.Antonio Gates  5.Greg Olsen  6.Dwayne Allen  7.Martellus Bennett 8.Mychal Rivera 9.Travis Kelce  10.Larry Donnell  11.Jordan Reed   12.Charles Clay  13.Coby Fleener  14.Austin Sefarian-Jenkins 15.Kyle Rudolph (if active) or Chase Ford (if Rudolph inactive) I'm high on: Mychael Rivera (ESPN #13, ME #8)   Don't expect to see this again on Sunday. He did nothing against the Chargers in Week 6, but since then he has become a much bigger part of the game plan.  He is averaging 7 catches in his last 3 games, and he had 3 TDs in his last two.  My top-7 TEs are exactly the same as ESPN's, but after that I don't see why you wouldn't give Rivera a shot. I'm down on: Jared Cook (ESPN #11, ME not ranked)  The Broncos give up a lot of fantasy points to this position, but I just can't see trusting Cook at all.  He had one big play that turned into a touchdown last week in Arizona, but in his previous 3 games he had a grand total of 6 catches for 48 yards.  I'd definitely look elsewhere for a TE option this week.  DEF 1.Broncos 2.Lions 3.Dolphins  4.Browns 5.Chargers 6.Cardinals 7.Bills 8.Seahawks   9.49ers 10.Steelers 11.Chiefs  12.Texans  13.Packers 14.Saints 15.Vikings I'm high on: Browns (ESPN #15, ME #4) The last time I was high on the Browns versus the ESPN experts it worked out pretty well.  I'm going back to Cleveland where they'll be facing Ryan Mallett in his first NFL start.  Sure, he's not a rookie.  He sat behind Tom Brady for two years and theoretically was learning from one of the best of all time.  But in reality, we've only seen what he can do in college and in the preseason.  Meanwhile, the Browns are balling out and are at the top of one of the best divisions in all of football...and they're doing it with a solid run game and defense.  They're a top-10 fantasy defense this season, and they've been a top-5 squad in their last 4 games.  They give up the 6th fewest points per game in the NFL, so I think they'll keep the Texans out of the endzone for the most part.  None of the experts are even ranking Mallett in their top-25 this week, so I would imagine they're all expecting as poor of a performance as I am from him.  It's just curious why none of them ranked the Browns D higher than 11th... I'm down on: Patriots (ESPN #13, ME not ranked)   There are a handful of teams I didn't even consider this week based on their horrible matchups: the Rams (who are facing Peyton Manning), Colts (against red-hot Tom Brady and company), Eagles (playing against Rodgers in Lambeau), and the Patriots (who face Andrew Luck coming off a bye).  Most of the ESPN experts had three of those teams well outside of their top-15, but the majority of them ranked New England way too high in my opinion.  Indy is giving up the 5th-fewest fantasy points to opposing defenses, and I don't see that changing against the Pats or anyone else for that matter. That's it for Week 11.  Good luck everyone (except you, Mike). Cheers, Bart

2014 Fantasy Football Week 10 Rankings

I've now had back-to-back losses in my money league, but I'm starting to string together some wins in my fun league.

[very soft, trailing off "yaaaaaaaay"]

This week, the byes are hitting harder than ever.  You just have to keep putting your best lineup out there and hope for the best.  Oh, and make some trades if people in your league are up for that kind of thing.  Many trade deadlines are this week or next, so don't forget about that.

But enough with the small talk.  Let's do the rankings!

BYES: Chargers, Colts, Patriots, Redskins, Texans, Vikings

QBs 1.Aaron Rodgers   2.Peyton Manning 3.Ben Roethlisberger 4.Drew Brees 5.Russell Wilson  6.Carson Palmer 7.Matt Ryan 8.Jay Cutler 9.Cam Newton   10.Matthew Stafford  11.Tony Romo 12.Colin Kaepernick  13.Joe Flacco 14.Kyle Orton 15.Ryan Tannehill  16.Andy Dalton  17.Mark Sanchez 18.Eli Manning  19.Josh McCown 20.Derek Carr Stop.  Mallett Time. Brian Hoyer (ESPN #17, ME not ranked in top-20) was actually a top-15 QB in Week 9, but Ryan Fitzpatrick (ESPN #21, ME #16) cracked the top-10!  So while I was wrong on the Hoyer pick, if you took my advice and played Fitzpatrick with your starter on a bye, you were pretty happy.  I'm still not ranking Hoyer this week, as he plays tonight in Cincy.  Fitzpatrick is on a bye, and apparently he has lost his job to Ryan Mallett while the team has some time off.  Crazy... I'm high on: Kyle Orton (ESPN #17, ME #14)    Kansas City hasn't been too forgiving to opposing QBs this season, but Kyle Orton has been no slouch since taking over for EJ Manuel in Week 5.  I don't expect 4 TD passes like he had against the Jets in Week 8, but I think he'll throw for 250 yards, a couple of touchdowns, and probably a pick.  That should land him close to the top-12 in a week with 6 byes, and I like him as a bye week fill-in. I'm down on: Mark Sanchez (ESPN #12, ME #17)  Excuse me for not getting excited over Mr. Buttfumble, but I just can't.  Matthew Berry actually ranked him 9th this week.  NINTH!  I realize the Panthers are giving up top-10 fantasy numbers to opposing QBs this year, but they've also played some high end QBs in the first half of the season.  I also realize the "Chip Kelly system" argument, but Sanchez is not one of those high end QBs, and I can't believe in him after just the small sample of what we saw in Houston.  Maybe he'll be a fine fill-in this week if you own someone like Luck or Brady, but there are lots of other guys I'd rather start over him this week and probably the rest of the season. Sorry.  I couldn't help myself... RBs 1.Matt Forte 2.DeMarco Murray   3.Marshawn Lynch  4.Ronnie Hillman  5.Jamaal Charles  6.LeSean McCoy 7.Andre Ellington 8.Le'Veon Bell   9.Eddie Lacy   10.Jeremy Hill 11.Mark Ingram 12.Justin Forsett 13.Denard Robinson 14.Lamar Miller 15.Bobby Rainey 16.Joique Bell 17.Chris Ivory  18.Frank Gore  19.Steven Jackson 20.Reggie Bush  21.Terrance West   22.Andre Williams 23.Tre Mason  24.Lorenzo Taliaferro  25.Darren Sproles 26.Boobie Dixon  27.Darren McFadden 28.Ben Tate 29.Charles Sims 30.Bishop Sankey  31.DeAngelo Williams   32.Chris Johnson 33.Jonathan Stewart  34.Knile Davis 35.Bryce Brown  36.James Starks 37.Peyton Hillis  38.Montee Ball 39.Toby Gerhart   40.Cedric Peerman Like my QB picks, I was split with the RBs as well.  Travaris Cadet (ESPN #35, ME #27) didn't do much against the Panthers on Thursday night in a game that saw poor numbers from WRs Colston and Cooks as well.  Cadet finished outside of the top-40 RBs, and Mark Ingram continued to be the man for the Saints.  As for Isaiah Crowell (ESPN #37, ME not ranked), he's clearly been passed by Terrance West on the depth chart.  In fact, West may have even passed over Ben Tate!  I don't know what's happening in the Browns backfield, but I know I wouldn't rank Crowell anytime soon.  He didn't play one snap against Tampa Bay last Sunday, and it's time to stop ranking guys like him and Zac Stacy in the top-40, ESPN! I'm high on: Lorenzo Taliaferro  (ESPN #31, ME #24) Hey.  At least he hasn't been THIS year's Zac Stacy... The ESPN experts have no problem ranking Charles Sims in their top-30 this week, so why not Taliaferro?  At least he has shown what he can do this season, but Sims hasn't played a snap yet!  As for Lorenzo, I think he'll continue to get in the mix and at minimum get ALL of the goal line work.  He should find the end zone this week against a Tennessee run defense that gives up a ton of points.  He might only end up with 25 yards and a TD, but that should be enough to crack the top-25. I'm down on: Benny Cunningham (ESPN #35, ME not ranked)  The Rams are not a great offense, and Cunningham has become just a change of pace back to Tre Mason.  Add that to the fact that he'll be playing in Arizona this week, and I don't want any part of Benny.  The Cardinals are giving up the 2nd-fewest fantasy points to opposing RBs this season, just behind the Ravens.  You might consider starting Mason this week, but not Cunningham. WRs 1.Antonio Brown  2.Jordy Nelson  3.Demaryius Thomas 4.Jeremy Maclin  5.Randall Cobb   6.Calvin Johnson   7.Julio Jones 8.Dez Bryant    9.Emmanuel Sanders  10.Brandon Marshall 11.A.J. Green  12.Kelvin Benjamin  13.Alshon Jeffery  14.Sammy Watkins    15.Roddy White 16.Mohamed Sanu    17.Golden Tate 18.Larry Fitzgerald  19.Martavis Bryant    20.Mike Wallace 21.Steve Smith, Sr. 22.Percy Harvin 23.Odell Beckham, Jr. 24.Vincent Jackson   25.Terrance Williams  26.Mike Evans  27.Torrey Smith 28.Doug Baldwin 29.Eric Decker 30.Rueben Randle   31.Brandin Cooks  32.Michael Floyd  33.Marques Colston  34.Anquan Boldin  35.Andrew Hawkins 36.Michael Crabtree   37.Kendall Wright    38.Allen Robinson 39.Davante Adams  40.Dwayne Bowe In Week 9, Dwayne Bowe (ESPN #44, ME #31) got 10 targets and finished with 6 catches for 55 yards.  He was a top-40 WR but not quite as high as where I had him ranked.  He's hanging on for dear life on my list, and you'll find him right at the bottom.  Meanwhile, Brandon LaFell (ESPN #15, ME #22) actually got 13 targets but only caught 6 of them himself for 53 yards.  The difference between him and Bowe was that LaFell found the endzone.  Still, he finished exactly where I had him ranked at #22.  I guess I'll call that one a win. I might miss Terrance next year when I'm picking keepers. I'm high on: Terrance Williams (ESPN #32, ME #25)   Of course this is assuming Romo plays, but ESPN's ranking also assumed that so all things are equal here.  As of this writing, I have Terrance Williams leaving my fantasy team in a multi-player trade.  So of course I like him this week to have a good day, right?  The thing is, I would have ranked him this highly either way.  If you disregard last week when he had Brandon Weeden throwing to him, the guy is having a great year.  People will argue that he's not getting the targets to rank him this highly, but all the guy does is score touchdowns.  And against the Jags, I don't see why that trend stops.  I'm actually pretty surprised that none of the ESPN guys ranked him higher than 29th! I'm down on: Mike Wallace (ESPN #14, ME #20)  Don't look now, but Mike Wallace only has 5 catches for 109 yards and zero TDs in his last two games combined.  This week the Dolphins travel to Detroit where they'll face one of the best defenses in the league.  In fact, the Lions have given up the fewest receiving touchdowns this year (9).  I think it's very possible Wallace has another game where he only manages 5 or 6 fantasy points. TEs 1.Jimmy Graham 2.Julius Thomas 3.Martellus Bennett 4.Greg Olsen  5.Larry Donnell  6.Travis Kelce  7.Owen Daniels 8.Jason Witten  9.Delanie Walker 10.Heath Miller  11.Zach Ertz  12.Mychal Rivera 13.Charles Clay  14.Vernon Davis 15.Scott Chandler Once again, my tight end rankings are pretty much the same as ESPN's this week.  I do like Larry Donnell more than most (ESPN #9, ME #5), as I'm ranking him the same as Matthew Berry.  The Seahawks have a solid secondary, but they have been giving up a lot of points to the TE position this year.  I like Donnell to have 50 yards and a touchdown this week in Seattle. DEF 1.Cardinals  2.Ravens 3.Broncos 4.Seahawks 5.Cowboys  6.Lions 7.Bills  8.Bengals 9.Dolphins 10.Chiefs 11.Steelers  12.Eagles 13.Saints  14.Packers  15.Panthers Well I was wrong about the Redskins being a top-10 fantasy defense last week in Minnesota.  It was double-frustrating because as a fan, I know they could have won that game if they had continued to play well on the defensive side of the ball.  Now we go into the bye week at 3-6 instead of 4-5, and the season is starting to appear as lost one once again. As for the Eagles (ESPN #5, ME not ranked), they did finish as a top-12 fantasy defense.  However, I'm still not going to be ranking them as a top-10 fantasy defense most weeks...especially now that Foles is out, as I expect Sanchez could often give the opposition good field position.  They're still in my rankings, but I continue to have them much lower than the ESPN experts. Ravens D...Ngata bad play this week.  See what I did there? I'm high on: Ravens (ESPN #11, ME #2) Aside from a rough one last week in Pittsburgh, the Ravens have been a top-10 fantasy defense pretty much every week this year.  Not only is this game in Baltimore where they've been much better than on the road, but it's against a rookie QB in just his second NFL start.  With Tennessee already giving up top-10 fantasy numbers to opposing defenses, dial up the Ravens against Zach Mettenberger and the rest of his crew. I'm down on: Eagles (ESPN #6, ME #12)   Let's go back to the well and keep the Philly hate alive.  I just can't get behind this defense, and as I mentioned, I fully expect Sanchez to give Cam Newton some short fields to work with and put up plenty of points.  Newton also doesn't typically throw a ton of picks, and he can be slippery if the Panthers let him run out of the pocket.  I'm chalking up the early success of Philly's D to all of those defensive touchdowns, and you just can't count on those from week to week. That's it for Week 10.  Good luck everyone (except you, Jimmy). Cheers, Bart