Fantasy Friday: Week 14 Team Scouting Reports From SB Nation

Blogging The Boys with the 411 on the Cowboys.

Tony Romo – He was smoking-hot last week against the Giants and has been putting up good stats for most of the season. With his turnovers down, Romo has been a quality fantasy QB. No reason to bench him on Sunday, the Chargers and Cowboys will likely play a shoot-out.

Marion Barber, Felix Jones – The running game was stifled last week and has been inconsistent. Both backs are capable of putting up numbers and scoring TDs, but the Cowboys are clearly more comfortable going through the air recently. Both backs are risky plays, although one of them will probably end up with a good statistical day, it’s just impossible knowing which one.

Jason Witten – After an under-whelming first-half of the season, the All-Pro is starting to get his groove back. Romo is targeting him more and last week he had a huge day. The only drawback, lack of TDs. Hard to know if that will change, but expect Witten to see plenty of activity on Sunday.

Miles Austin – Austin is a good play for a 2nd WR or a flex play. He’s been fairly consistent in scoring TDs, although his yards per game average can vary. He’s the Cowboys #1 producing WR for this season and should contribute another solid day.

Roy Williams – Williams had a big day last week with 2 TDs, but wasn’t a major part of the offense outside of that. You can’t expect Williams to get 2 TDs a week, but the Cowboys might be working on getting him the ball on a more regular basis in the redzone. A risky play this week, but you could do worse.

Nick Folk – Forget it, the kicker has been wildly inaccurate recently, missing as many FGs as he makes.

Cowboys D – The Cowboys defense limits points and gets sacks, but they don’t produce turnovers. This week, it will be hard to limit the scoring against a strong Chargers offense. Only play them if you have no other options.

Check out the home for Cowboys fans, Blogging The Boys.

What do the numbers say for the 49ers? Niners Nation lets us know.

The 49ers playoff hopes took a big hit last weekend, but they’ve still got plenty to play for this Monday Night. They face a Cardinals pass defense that has struggled a fair amount with a bend but don’t break style, meaning 49ers receivers certainly have some value, as does Alex Smith.

Alex Smith is coming off arguably the best game of his career, as he surpassed 300 yards passing for the first time. Smith has played quite well in the new shotgun offense the 49ers are employing and has seen his sack rate and interception rate both decline in the current offense. Unless you’ve got a Peyton Manning, Drew Brees type of QB, Alex Smith might actually be a great play this week at home in Candlestick Park without much pressure on him.

Vernon Davis remains the top 49ers receiving target, and probably the best tight end in fantasy football right now. While he’s had drop issues, the 49ers continue to target him a high amount of times, so he remains a must start over just about anybody else.

Michael Crabtree plays in his first Monday Night Football game and will be looking to put on a shoe in prime time. He is putting together a very solid rookie season. Although he has plenty of room for growth, he’s becoming a somewhat reliable fantasy performer. For now he’s no more than a #2 receiver, but more likely a flex guy.

Frank Gore has struggled rushing in the new offense, but remains a guy you have to stick with each week. Although his rushing numbers are down, he can always break a big one, and he remains a solid fixture in the passing game.

The 49ers defense has given up some big plays, but remains aggressive and worth starting. They face the always immobile Kurt Warner, and a less than stellar Cardinals offensive line, which could lead to some sacks. The 49ers and Cardinals always play solid games, so don’t expect a Cardinals blow out to kill those points allowed fantasy points.

49ers fans, join up with your countrymen at Niners Nation.

Cincy Jungle tracks down the Bengals prospects for us.

Carson Palmer, Cedric Benson, Chad Ochocinco and the Cincinnati Bengals offense travel to Minnesota to take on the league’s eighth ranked defense. In 16 straight games, Carson Palmer hasn’t thrown for 300 yards, with 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Since throwing five touchdowns against the Bears on October 25, Palmer has three touchdowns, three interceptions and an average of 187.8 yards passing; two of those games were against the Cleveland Browns (ranked 26th when Palmer faced them) and the Detroit Lions (ranked 32nd). And against the league’s worst passing defense, Palmer recorded 220 yards passing and a 65.3 passer rating. If you have a better option, then sit Palmer.

Even though Cedric Benson has recorded four 100-yard rushing games in his past six starts, the Bengals will be playing the league’s third-best rushing defense and Benson hasn’t scored a touchdown since November 8 — missed two games to injury – and his average yards-per-rush hasn’t climbed over 3.5 since October 25. If you’ve started Benson all season, there’s no reason to expect he’ll disappoint. But I don’t expect him to breakout in Minnesota, so don’t bank on him carrying your team this weekend.

During the Bengals 23-13 win over the Detroit Lions last weekend, Chad Ochocinco had one of his best performances of the season, recording nine receptions for 137 yards receiving and a 36-yard touchdown. Most passing defenses tend to double Chad, or at least shadow a safety over top with a linebacker shadowing underneath in zone. Until Carson Palmer and the passing offense starts displaying a sense of consistency and rhythm, don’t expect anything more from Chad than the random explosion of offense.

Find the path to Cincy Jungle.

Baltimore Beatdown on the Ravens and their efforts to make the playoffs.

The Ravens are on the verge of a Wild Card spot and are at home playing the Detroit Lions Sunday. While the Ravens have lost 6 of their last 9 games since starting the season 3-0, the Lions are just what the doctor ordered. Baltimore’s Joe Flacco has played poorly in the big games, throwing critical game changing inte3rceptions in the Red Zone. However, he has enjoyed good success against the weaker teams. At the same time, the weather Sunday in Baltimore is not supposed to be very good, with snow showers in the forecast. Therefore, I would not recommend starting Flacco unless your other QB is either Daunte Culpepper or Kyle Boller!

The Ravens rushing attack is led by Ray Rice, who is among the league leaders in all-purpose yards. Expect a big game from him as the team goes back to its roots, which is running the ball. Willis McGahee figures to get some carries and might be a decent goal line back for you. However, I’d stick w/ Rice as a definite solid play. At wide receiver, look for Derrick Mason to get the looks from Flacco and roll up receptions and yardage when Flacco drops back. While I expect Mason to be one of Flacco’s two main targets other than Rice, the team is probably looking to ram the ball down Detroit’s throats once we get a lead into the second half.

The Ravens team defense is a solid play for obvious reasons and seem to be opportunistic when they enjoy home field advantage. Good luck everyone!

Make your way down to Baltimore Beatdown.

Hogs Haven on the snake-bitten Redskins.

If you have any Redskins on your squad, you’ve probably pulled out all your hair by now. Jason Campbell has quietly been putting up big numbers, and I think he warrants a start this week unless you have one of the top 10 QBs.

Quinton Ganther was named the starting RB and will share duties with Rock Cartwright. The Raiders rank 30th in run defense so Quinton is worth the start if you don’t have many options. Oakland is a hostile environment, so I expect the Redskins to play their usual road game style: a lot of yardage and few touchdowns, so start the Redskins WRs only if you’re thin at that position or you get a lot of points for WR yards.

Check out Hogs Haven for Redskins info.

Cat Scratch Reader discusses the Panthers trip to New England this weekend.

RB DeAngelo Williams – Williams returned to practice and should be a good start this week even against the Patriots #8 defense against RB FFL points. Williams should be rejuvenated from his week off and looking to make an impact. I’m thinking 105 yards and a TD.

RB Jonathan Stewart – Stewart had a good point total as a spot starter last week against the Bucs with 120 yards and a TD. Don’t expect the same this week. The return of Williams and a low scoring affair in Foxboro should keep Stewart on your bench but if you brave it he just might get a TD and around 60 yards.

WR Steve Smith – Smith would appear to be a good play against a Patriots secondary giving up 20.9 FFL per week to WRs. That is until you consider 3rd year QB Matt Moore will start again. Expect the playbook to be limited yet again as the Panthers look to limit his exposure. Still, if I had him I would start him and I’m going to predict an optimistic 90 yards and score.

QB Matt Moore – Unless you’re already out of the playoffs, leave the tea leaves in the bag and Matt Moore on the waiver wire.

Panthers Defense & ST – I actually played the Panthers D myself last week and was rewarded with their best week of the year (19 points). No such luck this week as they face Tom Brady and the Patriots #2 offense. Also, the Panthers return units have been anything but spectacular so there is no boost there. Leave them on the bench as there are better options on the wire. (I picked up the Titans going against the Rams)

K John Kasay – Given the weather report Kasay is not a good play this week. His FG opportunities will be limited and the chance of weather impacting his kicks makes it an easy decision to look elsewhere.

Panthers TEs Jeff King, Dante Rosario and Gary Barnidge – None of these players are consistent enough for a play this week and Moore has yet to build a rapport with any of them. If I had to pick one for a big game against the Patriots it would be Rosario. He is the best at stretching the field and given the Patriots struggles in the secondary just might get several targets in this game, but it’s a long shot. Best case scenario is 60 yards and a score for Rosario.

Claw your way into Cat Scratch Reader.

The Falcons try to salvage their season, The Falcoholic discusses their chances.

Let’s preface this by saying that you really, really don’t want to hitch your wagon to the Falcons’ star this week. Unless you like being dragged into a black hole of ineptitude, that is.

QB Matt Ryan: Unlikely to play as he recovers from the effects of turf toe, no matter what the coaching staff is saying this week, and if he does he’ll be behind a patchwork offensive line and running for his life. Check on him early Sunday afternoon, but don’t play him if you have a better option.

QB Chris Redman: He’s more likely to play, but was horrible against the Eagles last week and doesn’t warrant a fantasy play unless you’re desperate.

RB Jason Snelling: Could have a decent day, but his platoon with speedster Jerious Norwood means you can’t count on him. Good flex play on the chance that he bulls through the Saints’ defensive line, but don’t consider him more than that.

WR Roddy White: No matter who is under center, White’s a popular target and a consistent fantasy performer. With a banged-up Saints secondary, he might have a big week by virtue of being the only open receiver on the field. Start him.

WR Michael Jenkins: Not sure he’ll play to begin with, and he’s really not much of an option at this point. Sit him and ignore him.

TE Tony Gonzalez: He and White are usually good for at least 50 yards and a touchdown, which is better from a tight end than a wide receiver most weeks. He’s guaranteed to receive better than a third of the attention from whoever happens to be throwing the ball on Sunday, so start him with confidence.

Falcons D: Start only if you have a death wish.

Imbibe all Falcons news with The Falcoholic.

Green Bay is fighting for a playoff spot, Acme Packing Company checks in on their star fantasy prospects.

QB Aaron Rodgers. By now he’s probably the No.1 (or close) fantasy player in every league. The cold didn’t bother him much last Monday night, but it did hurt his accuracy on deep passes. The cold and the Bears shouldn’t bother him much either. Start.

RB Ryan Grant. The Bears run defense is a mess, but they could stack the box and make Rodgers beat them through the air. They tried that against the Vikings two weeks ago and Brett Favre had a monster game (but Adrian Peterson did not). I don’t expect them to treat Grant the same as Peterson, but just FYI. Start.

WR Greg Jennings. The prolific TD scorer of 2007-2008 is gone, and has been replaced by a guy who always gets 4 to 6 catches. With the deep ball less of a threat in the cold, the best you can hope for is a big run after a quick slant, and that’s only happened a couple times this season. Sit.

WR Donald Driver. He’s had a TD catch in his last two games, but his best games have come against teams with a bad secondary. However, the Bears have a competent one. He might be good for another short TD like last week against the Ravens, but I’m not expecting a big game. Sit.

Packers D. The Packers have the best D in the NFL. The Bears can’t run the ball, and QB Jay Cutler can’t stop throwing INTs. Start.

Sleeper: TE Jermichael Finley. He had one of his best fantasy games last week with 2 TD receptions, but the problem is that Rodgers is spreading the ball around. 7 Packer receivers have between 2 and 6 TD receptions this season. He might be the man this week, but it’s just as likely to be WR James Jones or TE Spencer Havner catching a TD pass this week. Sit.

Acme Packing Company is the home for Packers fans.

No Brian Westbrook, but plenty of other Eagles options as Bleeding Green Nation reminds us.

DeSean Jackson will be back this weekend and given his performance the last time the Eagles played the Giants and their suspect secondary, I’d say he’s a no-brainer to start as he’ll entirely healthy. In fact, if you want my honest opinion he would have played last week if it weren’t for the NFL trying to save face with concussions.

Donovan McNabb also had a big day the last time these teams played and has generally been on a pretty good run these past few weeks. He’s an obvious start.

I’m not exactly sure what to say about Brent Celek, who has been a solid fantasy option all year. He’s playing with a hand injury, which two weeks caused him to have probably the worst game of his career. Last week, he did pretty much nothing all game but then grabbed a late TD on a pass from Mike Vick… So, I’m sure he’s the best start this week if you’ve got a healthier option but then again he is one of the Eagles biggest red zone weapons and a guy they’ll look to down there.

A sleeper to pick up might be RB Eldra Buckley. In the past two weeks Buckley has been brought in to take goal line carries. He had a TD against the REdskins two weeks ago and could have some opportunities if the Eagles get down to the goal line this weekend. Of course, Michael Vick could also get those goal line carries as well… Overall, I’m not sure if any of the Eagles backs are a great start simply because they do spread the ball around so much. LeSean McCoy is going to get most of the carries, but Leonard Weaver will get his share, Mike Vick will get a few, and the previously mentioned Eldra Buckley could even get some shots. If you start any of them, it should probably be McCoy.

Green blood? You must be part of the Bleeding Green Nation.

Music City Miracles knows where the Titans' live, and that's in Chris Johnson's world.

You are already playing Chris Johnson every week, but he should be in line for a huge week this week facing the Rams defense that ranks 28th in the league against the run. CJ fell off the pace for 2,000 last week against the Colts. Look for him to get back on pace in a big way Sunday.

Vince Young has been slowed this week by a knee injury that is lingering from last Sunday. He could be in line for a good day against St. Louis, but you probably have another good option at QB. If you do, you should sit VY.

The Titans defense is also a strong play against the Rams offense that has thrown 12 interceptions this season. The Titans defensive backs have feasted on weaker passing teams this season and usually end up taking a pick to the house.

Visit Music City Miracles, where VY is resurrected.

Shorter version: play Steven Jackson. Longer version; courtesy of Turf Show Times.

By this point in the season, running back Steven Jackson should be the only player from the St. Louis Rams still on your fantasy roster. Offenses that score an average of around 11 points a game don’t generally have anything to put you in the running for a league championship, but Jackson has been there for you week after week racking up yards and the occasional touchdown. Even as his coaches stubbornly refuse to make any kind of moves or call any kind of plays that might potentially make Jackson that much more effective. And now Jackson has a sore back, probably from the dead weight of 52 other players riding it through 13 weeks of play. Should you start him?

Jackson will play this week, despite reports that he watched practice from the sidelines all week. The man has nothing to gain from practicing with the Rams anymore; he IS their offense. Jackson has scratched out 100+ yard games against much better defenses than the Titans, and he should easily hit that mark again this week. The Rams expect FB Mike Karney to return to action this week. Jackson and his lead blocker have formed a solid connection and getting Karney back in the lineup ups the potential for a breakaway run or two. It’s not impossible that Jackson will even score a touchdown. Start him with confidence.

Avoid any and all St. Louis wide receivers. With Kyle Boller starting under center good things will not happen in the passing game. The dump throws the coaches will ask him to make cannot add up to the fantasy points you need at this point in the season. Things could change if Boller gets hurt – he’s already missing some practice time with a thigh injury – and the Rams turn to Keith Null. If they do go to Null, they’ll almost have to incorporate more 3 and 4 receiver sets for the spread quarterback. Of course, if that happens, they won’t have that kind of game plan in place for another week. If the Rams lose Boller, keep an eye on Donnie Avery or Brandon Gibson, because they could benefit some if Null ends up getting a start next week.

There’s one other member of the Rams worth considering this week, and that’s kicker Josh Brown. Jackson can get the offense into comfortable kicking distance, and as the coaches have grown more and more leery of their offensive skill players not named Steven Jackson, they’re becoming more likely to run on 3rd-and-long to give them a shot at 3 points rather than risk losing yards on a passing play or turning the ball over. Brown has been hitting 50-yarders this season too.

Hey, everybody’s done it before, so I might as well say it: if you need to mess with your playoff seed or waiver wire priority, start the Rams DST. Chris Johnson is a sure bet to put up 200+ yards and you’re virtually guaranteed to get negative points from this unit this week.

Rams fandom on display at Turf Show Times.

The Chargers are hot, ready to strike for their 8th straight win. Bolts From The Blue covers the fantasy angle.

Start

Philip Rivers – All signs point to the matchup against Dallas being a shootout. Rivers has posted QB ratings over 100 for the past four weeks, going over 130 three of those weeks. He’s scorching hot and probably playing the best football of his life. He should put up a lot of points against a shaky Dallas secondary.

Antonio Gates – He’s having the best season of his career and the last two games have arguable been the best two of his career. He’s racking up yards and TDs like no other TE in the league right now. Start him every week, no matter the defense.

Vincent Jackson – He came out of the gates hot and quickly made a name for himself around the NFL. Since then, he’s been double-teamed constantly and has been more of a decoy than anything. While the team is happy to take the points, the decoy needs to put up some stats to remain a decoy. He may not get a bunch of catches or a ton of yards, but Philip will be looking for him when the Chargers get to the red zone.

LaDainian Tomlinson – I know he hasn’t been great, but he has a couple of things going for him this week. One, the passing game is so good that he’ll be going against 6 man fronts a lot. Two, he’s from Texas and would love to play big in front of his hometown fans and family. Three, LT is two TDs away from tying Emmitt Smith for the most TDs in a single decade. The Chargers showed last week, when they left him in the game to pass Jim Brown’s yardage mark in Cleveland, that they have no problem with leaving LT in and giving him lots of red zone touches to help him get to that mark in Dallas.

Sit

Chargers Defense – Like I said, this is probably going to be a shootout. The Chargers are missing Eric Weddle, who was the leader of the secondary, and lots of their star defensive players are playing injured simply because it’s a big game. The Cowboys will be determined to score a ton of points, and the Chargers might be willing to let them to it as long as the Bolts offense is scoring more. Look for them to give up at least 21.

Find out more about the Chargers at Bolts From The Blue.