Week 7 will starve fantasy owners from porous pass defenses. Detroit, Tennessee, Jacksonville will not be giving up yards to fantasy QBs this week. However fantasy’s best passers should carry plenty of fantasy teams to victory with several juicy match ups to exploit. Read MoreCedric Benson should be running with some extra motivation facing the Bears this week making him a nice option at RB. The Dolphins will be out to control the clock against the high-octane Saints offense. Can New Orleans contain the Wildcat? Meanwhile, Oakland tries to put together a winning streak against another east coast team traveling west. We’ll be half way through the fantasy regular season after this week so lineup choices are critical!
Start Sit or Squat and Pray!
QB
Start: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons – His stat line Sunday night wasn’t very impressive and he is playing a team coming off a bye week. However, Dallas should struggle with Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez in this game and I’m banking on a nice outing from the BC alum.
Sit: Chad Henne, Miami Dolphins – I’d love to insert Mr. Favre in this spot but I’m not going there again. I’m expecting Miami to focus on the run in this game, limited Henne’s chances for fantasy success.
S and P: Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers – I have been slow to accept the Steelers’ passing game, but Big Ben has strung together some nice games. He’ll have his hands full this week against the Vikings, but you can’t sit him when he is playing this well.
RB
Start: Tashard Choice, Dallas Cowboys – His production on the field seems to have cemented an increased role in the offense. If the team is prepared to give him more carries, fantasy owners should begin to put him in their lineups-specially in PPR formats.
Sit: Jamal Lewis, Cleveland Browns – Forget Lewis as a flex week play in week 7. The team has not had a normal week of preparation due to a flu outbreak and the Packers have held their past two opponents to 78 and 82 yards rushing.
S and P: Thomas Jones, New York Jets – The Jets should give the running game more carries as they try to take the pressure off their rookie quarterback. Jones tends to play better with more touches and fantasy owners will have to roll the dice on him against the Raiders this week.
WR
Start: Donald Driver and Greg Jennings, Green Bay Packers – Rodgers should record his third straight 300-yard passing day against the Browns this weekend. Consequently, I’m optimist fantasy owners will see production out of both starting wideouts this week.
Sit: Michael Crabtree, San Francisco 49ers – A great talent, fantasy owners should take a “wait and see” approach to Crabtree. The 49ers will want to run the ball with Gore back in the mix and we don’t know how effective he will be in this offense with limited preparation.
S and P: Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers – Many of his owners will want to bench their high draft pick-deservedly so-but I think you need to give him one more week before writing him off.
TE, DEF, K
Start: Matt Stover, Indianapolis Colts – He’s back and he’s a great play this week playing indoors with a high-scoring offense.
Sit: Zach Miller, Oakland Raiders – If Oakland doesn’t use him to block Miller will still have to rely on Russell getting him the ball quickly. I wouldn’t count on Russell showing poise under pressure and making quick reads.
S and P: Cincinnati Defense – Chicago has shown it can move the ball, but it has also shown it can turn the ball over. If you don’t have a clear-cut choice, roll with the Bengals at home and hope the Bears’ turnovers continue.
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Week 6 Recap:
QB
Start: Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks – 112 pass yds, 0 TD, 1 Int
Sit: Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings – 278 pass yds, 3 TD, 0 Int
S and P: Eli Manning, New York Giants – 178 pass yds, 1 TD, 1 Int
Hasselbeck burned me. What else is there to say except the team is very inconsistent. I guess I am too damn biased and wishing Favre would stop being so useful. He is proving to be one of fantasy’s better bargains at the QB position. The Saints had the Giants playing from behind early and gave Manning very little room to mount a comeback.
RB
Start: LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles – 13 rush yds, 0 TD
Sit: Ladanian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers – 70 rush yds, 0 TD, 3 rec, 30 rec yds, 0 TD
S and P: Leon Washington, New York Jets – 99 rush yds, 0 TD, 3 rec, 46 rec yds, 0 TD
In an enigma of a game, McCoy and the rest of the offense struggled to move the ball. Tomlinson never really got it going and was not given a third try from inside the five after failing on the two previous carries. Overtime almost provided Washington with his first 100-yard rushing game in a very long time. Still, he racked up nice yardage totals.
WR
Start: Bryant Johnson, Detroit Lions – 2 rec, 27 rec yds, 0 TD
Sit: Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs – 6 rec, 109 rec yds, 0 TD
S and P: Santana Moss, Washington Redskins – 1rec, 42 rec yds, 0 TD
The Lions didn’t much of anything last week so nobody capitalized in Calvin Johnson’s absence I have never doubted the talent from Bowe, but maybe Haley’s motivational tactics are working. All I know is that if he keeps getting 14 targets a game he will have more games like this one. The Redskins are a mess and the team made a quarterback change in route to Moss’ poor outing.
TE, DEF, K
Start: Robbie Gould, Chicago Bears – 0 FGM, 2 XP
Sit: Seattle Defense – 27 Points Allowed, 2 Sacks, 1 Int, 1 FumRec
S and P: Todd Heap, Baltimore Ravens – 3 rec, 51 rec yds, 0 TD
Not a horrible outing from the Seahawks, but certainly nothing special. Heap prayers when unanswered as he failed to score. Turnovers inside the red zone cost the Bears a victory and a solid outing for Gould’s fantasy owners.
NFL GAMES WEEK 7 (All times EST)
Bye: Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans, Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens
Chicago Bears at Cincinnati Bengals - 1 p.m.
Green Bay Packers at Cleveland Browns - 1 p.m.
San Francisco 49ers at Houston Texans - 1 p.m.
San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs - 1 p.m.
Indianapolis Colts at St. Louis Rams - 1 p.m.
New England Patriots at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 1 p.m.
Minnesota Vikings at Pittsburgh Steelers - 1 p.m.
Buffalo Bills at Carolina Panthers - 4:05 p.m.
New York Jets at Oakland Raiders - 4:05 p.m.
Atlanta Falcons at Dallas Cowboys - 4:15 p.m.
New Orleans Saints at Miami Dolphins - 4:15 p.m.
Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants - 8:20 p.m.
Monday: Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins - 8:30 p.m
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