UK American Sports Fantasy: Football Start or Sit Week 8 (Sunday)

Good News: The rest of week 8 is here!

Bad News: Lots of people got injured last week and there are 6 teams on bye!

Good News: Our clocks go back this week but America’s do not so you can enjoy NFL from 5pm Sunday!

The players missing on bye this week have on their own destroyed the depth at positions such as QB and RB but then add in injuries to the likes of Bradford and Martin and those positions are really short this week. This week in fantasy football may be about consolidation and try to sneak out a win where you can by either going for the high risk high reward players or trying to be a safe as possible in the hope that the other team falls flat on their face. If for example you have a lot of players who play in the 8pm kick offs or Sunday and Monday night football then the high risk high reward strategy may be the way to go if your opponent gets off to a flyer.

Bye Week Teams: Indianapolis, Houston, Tennessee, Chicago, San Diego, Baltimore

EARLY KICK OFFS THIS WEEK: As stated above the games kick off this week an hour early so that 5PM not 6 for the early kick offs and 8 not 9 for the late kick offs!

As with last week all the Thursday night players have been removed to avoid confusion!

QBs

Studs: Peyton, Brees, Rodgers

There’s not much to say here, they are the best three QBs in the league currently and all have really nice match ups.

Safe: RG3, Romo, Stafford, Kaepernick, Wilson, Brady, Ryan, Vick

RG3 is going to have to throw a ton against Denver as will Stafford against Dallas, Romo may not have Murray to lean on so will need to carry the offence through the air, CK is playing the Jags so the biggest worry is they get up big early and just hand the ball off, Wilson has a semi tough match up but he could be getting Harvin back this week! Brady may have a healthy Amendola to go with Gronk so expect lots of targets to them two for a lot of yards, Ryan has a tougher match up against Arizona but even without White again this week should still be good, Vick has a fairly easy match up this week but he may be limited on the running side of the game so that will hurt his value

Deep: Tannehill, Eli, Dalton, Palmer, Big Ben, Smith, Pryor, Lewis

Tannehill’s match up gets a lot tougher if Talib plays especially if his O-line cannot protect him, Eli has an easy match up but even that is not enough to make him a safe start, Dalton has looked better lately but the Jets D is no roll over, Palmer has a real nice match up and the guy from this tier I reckon could be as good as the safe starts, Big Ben has a decent match up but he hasn’t shown any real consistency this year, Tough match up for Alex Smith against Cleveland but he won’t be expected to do anything too dangerous, Pryor has a tough match up but his legs should help him but up decent points, Lewis is going to have to throw I ton to stay in a game with the Saints.

2 QB only: Henne, Campbell, Clemons, Ponder, Geno

Not much to say here but eugh. Geno is on an even week and therefore a probably bad week, Campbell is my pick of the bunch for the long term but he has the fearsome KC defence this week.

RBs

Stud: Charles, Lynch, McCoy, Gore

Tough match up for Charles but he epitomises the word stud, Great match up for Gore against Jacksonville, McCoy and Lynch have semi decent match ups so should be there normal stud self

Safe: Peterson, Bush, Lacy, Moreno, Ridley, Sproles, Bernard, Rodgers, Morris, L.Bell, McFadden, F.Jackson, D.Murray (Randle)

AD drops for perhaps the first time this season even though it’s not a really tough matchup he is hurt by the awful QBs, Bush missed practice but if good to go should have a good day, Lacy is now a central part of the Green Bay offence and should see 25+ touches, Moreno has a great match up against the ‘skins, Ridley has decent match up and the Patriots need the help of the run game, Sproles is PPR stud but in normal league he will still be good, Bernard is still only seeing around 50% of the time but he is making good on those chances, Rodgers may be the only show in town this week but even with Jackson back Rodgers will still be the main man this week (potential sell high), Morris will need to be effective in keeping Denver off the field this week, Bell has a decent match up and should score, McFadden is always decent when he can stay healthy, Jackson is the number one this week with Spiller banged up so bad and he gets the goal line carries, Murray will see plenty of touches this week and if he’s out the same goes for Randle.

Flex: P.Thomas, MJD, Stacy, Ellington, Helu, Ivory, BJGE, S.Jackson

Thomas has been a strong runner this season and should get plenty of carries this week, MJD has a really tough match up but Johnson scored a long receiving TD against SF last week, Stacy is another guy with a tough match up but should be good through volume alone, Ellington would actually be a safe play if Mendenhall was out with his match up, I called Helu a 20+ league only start this week and boy was I mistaken, if Morris cannot keep Denver off the field then Washington will be in catch up/hurry up mode and that’s Helu territory it seems, Ivory is the hot hand but beware the injury, BJGE should see the grinding carries and any goal line touches, If Jacksons back I expect him to get the short yardage carries for sure.

Deep: J.Bell, Bolden, Miller, D.Thomas, Spiller (Choice), Hunter, Powell, Mendenhall, Hillis, Hillman, Ogbonnaya, P.Tanner

Bell is a decent play in deep leagues even with Bush healthy but if Bush is injured he becomes a safe play in all leagues, Bolden is the #2 option in NE and the passing down guy, the Miller and Thomas situation is a headache for fantasy owners and if I can I’m staying away from them both, Spiller is banged up and won’t see many carries but if hes out then Choice becomes a decent deep league sleeper, Hunter should see a decent amount of work in a cupcake matchup, Powell lost carries to Ivory last week but its so easy to see Ivory going down after a few plays, Mendenhall is just looking like a slow plodder right now but if he gets the majority of carries that a good commodity to have in deeper leagues, Hillis is the #1 for the G-men if Jacobs is out so is a borderline flex play, Hillman should see a bit of work in what could be a barn burner of a game, Ogbonnaya is the main receiving back in Cleveland but this is a tough match up, Tanner saw some goal line work last week.

20+ Leagues only: McGahee, Cox, Turbin, D.Richardson, R.Jennings, B.Brown, Whittaker, Ball

I haven’t named everyone here just some guys I think could be relevant in shallower leagues, Brown, Turbin and Jennings will prosper with injuries to McCoy, Lynch and McFadden respectively. D-Rich may see a lot of carries to help out Stacy this week and Whittaker may slowly take over McGahee’s job.

WRs

Studs: Calvin, Bryant, Thomas, Green, Nelson

Calvin showed last week why we shouldn’t doubt him, Bryant is likely to be involved in a shootout, Peyton gives everyone a fair share of targets but Thomas has the best potential to use those targets, Green has a toughish matchup but should still be targeted a ton, Nelson is the #1 in Green Bay and he is a really good receiver.

Safe: Jackson, Decker, Brown, Welker, Blackmon, Cruz, Colston, Boldin, Boykin, Williams, Douglas, Fitzgerald, Garcon, Amendola, Harvin

Jackson gets a potentially immobile Vick back which may be a blessing or a curse, Decker and Welker see plenty of targets to make them virtual studs, Brown is a Big Ben go to guy, Blackmon has a tough matchup but Henne will go there regularly, Cruz is the number one in the G-men offence, Colston should have a get well game this week coming off the bye, Boldin has a nice match up but if they get up early SF could go run heavy, Boykin is the #2 and will see plenty of targets, Williams has stepped into the space left by Austin and may even be better, Douglas showed he doesn’t need White and Jones last week and has a good matchup this week, Fitz has a really nice matchup so I like him for a really good game, Garcon will be needed if Washington are to stand a chance, Amendola and Harvin if healthy should see a lot of targets when on the field.

Flex: Shorts, Floyd, Nicks, Wallace, Gordon, Moore, Hartline, Johnson, M.Jones

Shorts should see plenty of targets and he will receive #2 coverage, Floyd has a really nice matchup, Nicks is the #2 in New York and has been talked about in trades, Wallace may be covered by Talib but if not he could have a big week, Gordon will be covered by Flowers and has a new QB which isn’t promising, Moore has a toughish matchup but he is Pryors go to guy, Hartline should be able to put up decent numbers, Johnson will see a lot of the ball of Buffalo need to keep up with the Saints, Jones is splitting time with Sanu but he is doing well with that time.

Deep: Tate, Randle, Edelman, Durham, Kerley, Jennings, Cooper, Stills, Gibson, Sanders, Woods, Rice

Tate has been seeing more targets lately but the return of Harvin may take some of those away, Randle is seeing more targets and may soon become the #2 over Nicks, Edelman is a better play if Amendola is out, Durham is the clear #2 in Detroit, Kerley saw plenty of targets last week but Geno is on the down week of his pattern, Jennings may actually see a value drop with the return of Ponder, Cooper saw more targets with Foles than Vick but hopefully he’s impressed enough for those targets to stay, Stills will see some deep targets with Buffalo’s patchy secondary, Gibson ran riot last week but I’m not relying on that again, Sanders is the #3 option in Pitts offence but still sees plenty of targets, Woods will like Johnson be needed if Buffalo stand a chance, Rice is a guy to pick up if you own Harvin and play if Harvin is inactive

20+: Thompkins, Dobson, Bowe, Hankerson, Roberts, Moss, Davis, Baldwin

Thompkins and Dobson are so inconsistent especially with Gronks return, Bowe struggles normally but he may be facing Haden as well this week, Hankerson is a potential sleeper as Washington should end up throwing a lot, Moss will be used to move the chains by RG3, Roberts has a great option but is the #3 WR and the #4 option, Davis (ATL) has a good match up and is likely to be the #2 receiver, Baldwin is another pick up to plug in if Harvin is out. Obviously there are a lot more guys you could have but this article would be a lot longer if I listed and mentioned them all.

TEs

Studs: Gronkowski, Davis, Thomas, Graham

If Gronk and Brady look more in sync this week the whole NFL may shudder and the prospect of facing them, CK is looking for Davis all the time so he should have big days, Thomas is seeing a lot of targets and generally doing good with them, if healthy Graham will be used a ton but he could be inactive or only at 50%.

Safe: Gonzalez, Witten, Reed, Cameron, Miller, Rudolph, Housler

Gonzalez has a good matchup, Romo has gone away from Witten a bit but should get back to him this week, Reed was the most targeted player for Washington last week and should be a huge part of it again this week, Campbell will need some easy throws against the tough KC defence and Cameron should be able to provide that, Miller is one of Big Bens go to guys, Rudolph should prosper from the replacement of the blinkered Freeman with Ponder, Housler has a decent match up this week and should become more fantasy relevant.

Deep: Clay, Pettigrew, Fauria, Eifert, Cumberland, Quarless, Chandler, Watson

Clay is very touchdown dependent and Tannehill doesn’t throw many away from home, Pettigrew is a conundrum currently but he does see a few targets, Fauria and Eifert saw more targets last week and that’s a good sign they are becoming a bigger part of the offence, Cumberland saw lots of deep passes last week and may see them again this week, Quarless is now the #1 TE in Green Bay so hopefully he can make something of that, Chandler may need to be used a lot this week to hang with the Saints, if Grahams out Watson becomes a safe play this week.

20+: Gresham, Ertz, Z.Miller, Celek, Cook, Kendricks

Again not everyone here just a few interesting guys, Ertz and Celek tend to pilfer from each other from one week to next, Miller is so up and down its hard to count on him, Clemons is going to need a tight end but its hard to tell if he will look for Cook or Kendricks.

Defence

Good Streaming Options: Saints and Patriots

Bad Streaming Options: Redskins and Vikings

As always thanks for reading this week’s article and good luck with your matchups. If you have any questions feel free to contact me in the usual ways.