Welcome to Fantasy Sports Counselor. Sit back on our Fantasy Couch while we provide a therapeutic look at fantasy baseball, fantasy football, and general sports thoughts.
This column's intent is to give the readers an idea of few good players in favorable match ups and a few good players in bad match ups. If you have a great player, then it may not advisable to bench him for someone in the Line 'em Up section. If I suggest that you bench one of your studs, you can only do this if you have a good option behind him. If you don't have a good player behind him, don't bench 'em. Remember every league is different and I am advising from a standard league.
Happy Fantasy Championship weekend for most leagues!
Line ‘em Up
QB Aaron RogersGreen Bay. Rogers has been gold all season and is a fantasy must start.This week he has a great match up against the 29th ranked pass defense of the Seahawks.Look for big numbers from Rogers this week.
QB Tom Brady of New England. This is another no brainer.Brady has a great match up against the Jags 27th ranked pass defense.
RB Cedric Benson of Cincinnati. Benson has been a very solid #2 RB this season to the surprise of most fantasy experts.This week he faces a very week KC rush defense (31st against the run).He is a great start this week.
RB Pierre Thomas ofNew Orleans. Everyone thinks of the high flying passing offense of the Saints but the Saints have the 5th ranked rushing offense.Thomas is a good start most weeks but a great start this week against the Bucs 30th ranked rushing defense.
WR Anquan Boldin of Arizona. Boldin has been sporadic all season. He is a good start this week against their old city’s 30th ranked defense for scoring points.Look for the Cardinals to score and score often.
WR Greg Jenningsof Green Bay. As mentioned in the Rogers section, Jennings has a great match up this weekend.He should perform at a top WR 2 at the minimum.
Bench their Butts
QB Donovan McNabb of Philadelphia. McNabb is facing the second ranked pass defense in the Boncos.McNabb will still be better to start than the average fantasy backup but if you have a good option, you might want to bench his butt this weekend.
QB Eli Manning of New York Giants. Eli has been up and down as a fantasy starter all year long.You never know if you will get 5 or 20 points from him.This week he faces the surprisingly good Carolina pass defense.If you have another good option, you might consider starting him.
RB Jamaal Charles of Kansas City. Charles has been a good fantasy player since taking over the starting job in KC.This week he faces a tough 3rd ranked Cincy rush defense.He is not a good start during this fantasy championship weekend.
***RB Ray Rice of Baltimore.Rice is a fantasy must play most weeks.It would be hard to bench him this week with for the Championship game but if you have another good option, you probably want to examine it.Rice is facing the #1 run stopping defense of the Steelers.The Steelers are in must win games and look for the Rush Defense to step up.
WR Sidney Rice of the Minnesota. Rice has become a good fantasy player and one of Favre’s favorites.This week he is going against the 7th ranked pass defense.As crazy as it sounds, I look for Chicago to try to force Peterson to beat them.It is a good possibility that you might have a good replacement on your bench.
WR Steve Smith of the New York Giants. The Giants face the 4th ranked pass defense in the Panthers. I would look for the Giants to focus on the run and not so much with the pass. Smith should have a down game.
Here are the Thursday (Friday this week) edition of Week 16 fantasy injuries and my commentary. I am posting a Friday's edition along with the regular Weekend edition. The Friday Edition will list injuries for the Friday's game only.
Chargers: No significant fantasy injuries.
Titans: WR Nate Washington has an ankle injury and is probable for this Friday's game.He was limited in practice this week. He should play and not be a concern.
This column's intent is to give the readers an idea of few good players in favorable match ups and a few good players in bad match ups. If you have a great player, then it may not advisable to bench him for someone in the Line 'em Up section. If I suggest that you bench one of your studs, you can only do this if you have a good option behind him. If you don't have a good player behind him, don't bench 'em. Remember every league is different and I am advising from a standard league.
Line ‘em Up
QB Donovan McNabb of Philadelphia.McNabb faces the 27th ranked pass defense of the 49ers.Look for a big game out of him.
QB Matt Cassel of Kansas City. Cassel has been terrible as a fantasy QB.This week he has a chance to have a good week against the 25th ranked pass defense of Cleveland. Cassel should look a little bit like he did last year against the Browns.v
RB Jamaal Charles of Kansas City. Charles is the starting back for Chiefs since Johnson left town.He ran for 143 yards last week.He is a good start against the 28th ranked defense of the Browns.
RB Knowshon Moreno ofDenver.Moreno has been great his rookie year.He has a great match up against the 30th ranked rush defense of the Raiders.
WR Anquan Boldin of Arizona. Boldin has been sporadic all season.He is a good start this week against Detroit’s 32nd ranked pass defense.
WR Calvin Johnson of Detroit. Johnson is good start anyway but this week he faces a good match up against Arizona’s 28th ranked pass defense.
Bench their Butts
QB Ben Roethilisberger of Pittsburgh. Big Ben is a good fantasy starter.This week he faces the 3rd ranked pass defense of the Packers.If you have another good option, I would go with the other options.
QB Matt Hasselbeck of Seattle. Hasselbeck is a below average fantasy QB.This week will be rough on him against a surprisingly good pass defense of the Bucs (#7 ranked).
RB Ryan Grant of Green Bay. Grant is a decent fantasy backup or flex player.This week he faces the best rush defense in the league in the Steelers.Leave Grant on the bench this week.
RB LaDainian Tomlinson of San Diego. LT is not the stud he used to be but he is a decent start most weeks.This week, he is facing the 3rd ranked rush defense of the Cincinnati.
WR Randy Moss of the New England. Moss has not been a strong fantasy starter this season.He is facing the 5th ranked pass defense of the Bills.At the beginning of the season, who would have guessed that the advise would be to bench Moss against the Bills?
WR Steve Smith of the New York Giants.The Giants face the 4th ranked pass defense in the Redskins.I would look for the Giants to focus on the run and not so much with the pass.Smith should have a down game.
Here are the Thursday edition of Week 15 fantasy injuries and my commentary. I am posting a Thursday's edition along with the regular Weekend edition. The Thursday Edition will list injuries for the Thursday's games only.
Colts: WR Anthony Gonzalez is doubtful with a knee injury. He did not practice on Tuesday.
WR Pierre Garcon has an ankle injury and probable. He fully practiced on Tuesday.
QB Peyton Manning is probable with an upper leg injury.He fully practiced on Tuesday.
RB Joseph Addai has a knee injury and is questionable.He fully practiced on Tuesday.
RB Donald Brown is out with a chest injury.
K Adam Vinatieri has a knee injury and is out.
Jaguars: RB Maurice Jones-Drew is probable with a knee injury.He fully practiced on Tuesday.
WR Mike Sims-Walker is probable with a calf injury.He missed practice on Tuesday.
This column's intent is to give the readers an idea of few good players in favorable match ups and a few good players in bad match ups. If you have a great player, then it may not advisable to bench him for someone in the Line 'em Up section. If I suggest that you bench one of your studs, you can only do this if you have a good option behind him. If you don't have a good player behind him, don't bench 'em. Remember every league is different and I am advising from a standard league.
Line ‘em Up
QB Kurt Warner of Arizona. Kurt has been a good fantasy starter. This week, he faces the 27th ranked pass defense of the 49ers. I expect a big game from Warner.
QB Alex Smith of San Francisco. Smith has been a decent fantasy player since he took over. This week his is facing the terrible pass defense of the Cardinals.
RB Quinton Ganther of Washington. Ganther has taken over the starting job for Washington. He is a decent start this week against Oakland's 30th ranked rush defense.
RB Thomas Jones ofthe New York Jets. The Jets are the #1 rushing team.This week they go against the 31st ranked rush defense.Look for Jones to have a big game.
WR Robert Meachem of New Orleans. Meachem has been red hot for the Saints. This week he faces the 29th ranked pass defense of the Falcons.
WR Marques Colston of New Orleans.Colston has been up and down all season partially because Brees spreads the ball around. This week, the Saints are playing against the Falcons' 29th ranked pass defense.
Bench their Butts
QB Carson Palmer of Cincinnati. Palmer is facing a very tough pass rush and solid defense of the Vikings this week.
QB Bruce Gradkowski of Oakland. Gradkowski has had a couple of good games since taking over as QB. This week he will face a very tough pass defense (#5) in the Redskins. If you were considering starting him, I would not this week.
RB Cedric Benson of Cincinnati. Benson has been a huge fantasy surprise this season. This week he faces the 2nd ranked rush defense of the Vikings. He is not a strong start this week.
RB Steven Jackson of St. Louis. Jackson has a sore back and has been banged up this season. He is going against the Titans 8th ranked rush defense. Keep Jackson on the bench.
WR Antonio Bryant of the Tampa Bay. Bryant has bounced back to be a good fantasy starter after a poor start. He is going against the Jets' first ranked pass defense. I would put him on the bench this week.
WR Braylon Edwards of the New York Jets.Edwards. Clemens is starting since Sanchez is injured. This is not good news for Edwards. Tampa Bay has a decent pass defense.
As the playoffs are upon us, here are some players that might still be available in your league.These are important in for injury replacements, underachieving players, and keeper leagues.
QB Vince Young-Tenn
Vince is making a bid for come back player of the year.He was completely undrafted in most leagues but over the last few weeks he has been putting up good fantasy numbers.
QB Alex Smith – SF
Since Smith has taken over as the QB, the 49ers have become a pass happy team.He is not the QB you want to lead you into the playoffs but he will due if you have a major need.
RB Chris Brown – Houston
Slaton is out for the season.Brown was already stealing goal line carries.He should be a good RB2 from here out.
RB Justin Forsett- Seattle Forsett is being limited in touches because the lackluster Jones is ahead of him.Forsett is getting some key carries in the red zone.He is not a bad flex player but could be more if Seattle gets their head screwed on properly.
WR Antonio Bryant – TampaBay Bryant was one of the biggest fantasy disappointments of the season.He is now playing much more inspired. Look for Bryant to continue this.I picked up Bryant in two leagues this week.
WR Dwayne Bowe – KC Bowe is a stud that many owners dropped while he was suspended.He is still out another week but will be here for most of the fantasy playoffs.He is a great pick up in a keeper league.
WR Robert Meachem – N.O.
This kid is coming into his own late this season.He had a giant game last weekend.I would not expect that level from him but he could be your WR3 or flex guy with no issue.
TE Jermichael Finley – Green Bay Finley is a big target for Rogers and Rogers has been feeding him the ball.I was amazed that he is still available in many leagues.
TE Marcedes Lewis – Jags Lewis is a level below Finley but does put up decent fantasy numbers.He is a good backup and spot starter.
K Garrett Hartley – NO
Carney is out after missing a ton of field goals and Hartley is in.With the Saints being scoring machines, he is worth starting now.
K Rob Bironas- Tenn Bironas is a fabulous option with the upturn of Titans.He is available in many leagues and is a starter.
Def – Jets I was shocked to find the Jets available in ¾ of my leagues.This team is opportunistic and puts up decent numbers.
Def – Bengals
Many will be saying to themselves- “The Bengals?”Yes they are a good defense and are worth starting every week.
