Happy Thursday to you all. Guest writer Jen is back with some thoughts for Week 15 plus the always helpful rankings and start/sit links. Enjoy this Thursday Night Football game and here's to some successful Week 15 prep!
So, if you’re reading this,
chances are you’ve made it to the semifinals, right? I sure hope so, and if you
did, congratulations! I managed to make it to the semis in both my competitive
leagues. Remember last week I told you I was playing my little brother? I beat
him mercilessly. The worst part for him? He lost to one of my sisters in our
family league, so his fantasy seasons ended on one fine Sunday to his 2 big
sisters. He also texted our other, eldest, non-fantasy football playing sister
this right here: “I lost to Lauren and Jen in both fantasy leagues and I have
never felt more emasculated in my entire life.” Poor kid, but I can’t help but
laugh!
As always, football is a brutally
violent sport, therefore some guys were injured:
Jamaal Charles (RB, KC) - Charles is dealing with an ankle
and knee issue, and has yet to practice this week. Either this injury is more
concerning than originally thought or the Chiefs are severely downplaying it.
There is a good chance Charles will play Sunday, but if he doesn’t...hello
there Knile Davis.
Eddie Lacy (RB, GB) - Lacy suffered a hip injury that forced him out of the
game in the 4th quarter of Green Bay’s Falcon stomp. He practiced today, though
he did “little to nothing.” I already picked up James Starks in both my
competitive leagues, have you?
Julio Jones (WR, ATL) - 11 catches for a whopping 259 yards and a score is
enough for anyone to be banged up, but Julio’s hip injury was so bad he
couldn’t get back in the game Sunday. Though Coach Smith said there’s a “good
chance” Julio plays Sunday, he has not registered a practice this week and is
headed for the dreaded “game time decision” tag. Lucky for all you Julio owners
the Falcons play at 1PM Sunday, so there should be some clarity by 12:30 PM.
Andre Johnson (WR, HOU) - Johnson took a really hard hit
to the head last week, and his concussion has kept him watching practice from
the sidelines. He is considered day-to-day, and is another guy I expect to be a
gametime decision, if he isn’t ruled out before then. He will need to pass
concussion protocol in order to practice, something he has not been able to do
yet this week.
And now, your rankings links for
week 15:
ESPN.com's Position Rankings Week 15 -
Complete with ESPN.com’s top 4 experts over all positional ranks and their
average rank.
Blindsidefootball.com's
Week 15 Rankings - Links are by position, which is nice if you need
to filter out those positions you don’t need rankings for.
Rotoworld.com's Week 15 Rankings - Not just
rankings at Rotoworld, you also get analysis on each relevant player.
Some start/sit links to ensure
you change your lineup 15 times before kick off:
Michael Fabiano's Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 15 -
One of my favorites, and he’s a Cowboys fan :)!
Jamey Eisenberg's Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 15 -
Jamey’s start of the week is a guy who recently returned to a place where he found a ton of success.
Jesse Nadelman's Start Sit Week 15 - This is
the 2nd time I’m including Jesse’s column, he is really spot on!
Adam Pfeifer's Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down Week 15
- It’s playoff time...trust him now more than ever, he knows what he is talking
about!
numberFire.com's Start or Sit Week 15 - A site
favorite over here, don’t sell yourself short by not checking out everything
this site has to offer.
Armando Marsal's Week 15 Start Em, Sit Em -
Armando’s got you covered, especially if you’re into DFS.
Last week’s sleepers were just
about as hit or miss as I expected:
Andre Williams (RB, NYG) - Even though Rashad Jennings was
active, if you were bold (or desperate) enough to start Williams then he
rewarded you with 131 yards and a score, putting up 23 points in EPSN PPR
leagues. I of course benched him, but that’s because I don’t listen to myself!
Marion Grice (RB, ARZ) - Did I say Marion Grice? I
totally meant Kerwynn Williams, that was definitely a typo! In my defense, I
don’t think anyone saw this one coming. Coach Arians has named Stepfan Taylor
the “starter” again this week, but I’m sure most of you put in a waiver claim
for Williams, just a week too late.
Teddy Bridgewater (QB, MIN) - So maybe I was a little too bold
in my whole running-it-in-for-a-score-for-the-fans prediction, but he still
went for over 300 yards and 2 scores (1 INT) against the once famous Jets
defense. And just to keep myself honest, I predicted he would have his best
fantasy output of the season, but he felt short and only notched his 3rd best
game. Teddy doesn’t have another soft match up until week 17, when most leagues
are over, which means Teddy time is over.
Carlos Hyde (RB, SF) - 2 carries for 4 yards? Against Oakland? Harbaugh what
the? Frank Gore did nothing with his 12 carries (63 yards), why not give the
rookie who’s shown some flash more touches? Things appear to be imploding in
San Francisco, and I hope your fantasy team didn’t implode under the guise of
Hyde. Hopefully you were too smart to listen to me on this one.
And now, I hesitantly give you my
week 15 sleepers:
Chris Johnson (RB, NYJ) - I’m a sucker for revenge games,
and with the exception of Trent Richardson, most players this season have found
success in theirs. I’m so high on CJ?K this week that I picked him up off
waivers and am playing him over Boom Herron, and am also DFSing him all over the
place (stay away fellow FFLibrarian writers - don’t use him against me in our
little weekly FanDuel contest!). I think Rex Ryan will make a concerted effort
to get CJ a touchdown, who’s been in a nearly 50/50 split with Chris Ivory over
the past few weeks.
Preston Parker (WR, NYG) - Again, it pains me on a personal
level to mention Giants, but Odell Beckham, Jr. is so damn good that the
Redkins’ defense will pay a ton of attention to him. This should leave some
room open for Preston Parker, who I think has a good chance of getting himself
a nice, short touchdown out of the slot. If the Redskins go as far as to double
OBJ, then I really like Parker to catch a few balls.
Eric Ebron (TE, DET) - One of my top 3 favorite dancing machines Joseph
Fauria was sadly sent to IR this week, making way for Ebron to be used as a red
zone threat. The only Lion I see diminishing his value in the red zone this
week is that bowling ball of a beast Joique Bell. Over the past 4 weeks Ebron
has 11 catches for 96 yards. In each week he was just a touchdown away from
double digit fantasy points, which is all you’re really asking for from a tight
end in fantasy.
Jacoby Jones (WR, BAL) - Now, I know this is a very, very
deep sleeper, but I have Jacoby on here for 2 reasons. First, there is a good
chance deep threat receiver Torrey Smith doesn’t play this week, and in the
last 3 games this season that Jones registered a catch, his average yards per
reception are: 30, 17.5, & 18. I understand there are games he isn’t even
targeted, or is only targeted once, but sometimes that’s all it takes. Flacco
loves to throw the bomb, and Jacoby loves to run deep for them. Second reason
I’m high on Jacoby? I’m a sucker for a good endzone dance, and if you don’t
know what I’m talking about here, just check out any one of his classic endzone
dances on YouTube.
Finally, 5 people on twitter that
you should be following:
Joe Reddeman
- He writes for our friends over at numberFire, so that should be reason enough.
Follow his feed for all kinds of fantasy goodness.
Rob
Gomes - Do you play DFS? If so, this guy is a DraftKings
Millionaire! Follow him if you want to try to get rich!
The
Fantasy Mate - Another DFS guru, but he writes all over, and his
feed is also a place to go if you want some relevant fantasy information.
Molly Qerim
- If you don’t know who Molly is, then you don’t have the NFL Network and I’m
sorry for that. She’s not just an expert, she is a competitive fantasy player
as well!
NFL
Betting Odds - For my fellow deJENerates out there. If you like to
put some money on it, check their feed before you do. And remember, odds are
very useful in setting your lineups!
And as always, you can hit
me up anytime!
That’s it for this week. I hope
you’re still alive. I have 2 very big match ups this week. In my “friends”
league, I’m rematching the guy who I knocked out of the semifinals last season,
and his team is STACKED, so I have my work cut out for me. My only hope is that
his Jamaal Charles will have a mediocre day, and that my Smokin’ Jay and Alshon
Jeffery connect for 2 touchdowns. My “family” league is a little more
interesting...the final four is myself, my sister, my cousin’s husband, and his
brother. So of course I face off against the brother, and my sister faces off
against the husband. If all goes well, it will be a sister vs. sister Super
Bowl. It doesn’t get much more fun than that. Good luck to you all, and I hope
to be back next week very upbeat and chipper instead of down and bitter!
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