Saturday, October 22, 2011

Week 7 Advice Time, Injury Updates, and Bye Week Fillers

I will be answering questions up until kickoff on GHL and on Twitter @godhateslosers. If youve got any questions leading up to game time, now is your chance.

Click "read more" for injury updates and some great bye week fillers.



Couple housekeeping issues. For those who have not heard the news yet, this the the injury status of some fantasy starters...

Sam Bradford, out
Jahvid Best, out
Sebastian Jankowski, out
LaGarette Blount, out
Zach Miller, out
Felix Jones, out
Andre Johnson, out
Peyton Hillis, questionable, has not practiced
Joseph Addai, questionable, but practiced fully on Friday

Now onto a few starters and sleepers before the games on Sunday.

Antonio Gates is expected to play, but he is likely going to get far fewer snaps than his normal numbers. I'd wait til right before his game to make any decisions on playing him or not. Likely not.

Filling in for Sam Bradford is A.J. Feely. Not exactly a fantasy football golden boy. Everyone that you had low on the St. Louis Rams against the Cowboys... drop them a few spots lower to make up for a second stringer. I'd wait another week before starting Brandon Lloyd as a Ram.

Maurice Morris should get most of the carries for the Lions when they go against the Falcons on Sunday.  Falcons have given up 90 plus in five games this season to running backs, and if Detroit can get in a lead behind the passing game, Morris could see some fantasy stats this week. I like him.

Earnest Graham has shown that he is not done with the NFL yet. Chicago has been run on this year and I expect Graham to get a lot of chances. He has also been a major factor in the Buccaneers passing game. He has the second highest number of receptions of any Buccaneer.

The Dallas Cowboys backfield is full of question marks. Even with starter Felix Jones in the game, they have not been able to get any sort of run game started. Lots of eyes are on DeMarco Murray, but I would expect him to split carries with veteran Tashard Choice. Neither would be a confident fantasy football starter, but the Rams are 27th in the league against the rush. Last week, after Jones went down, Murray was the one picking up most of the work. With the split though, neither guys is a sure think fantasy starter.

Kansas City has named Jackie Battle as their feature back this week. He will lead the Chiefs in carries. Oakland is giving up about 115 on the ground per game. I have Battle as a top runner this week. After going off against the Colts, this man has a lot to prove for himself and his team. I start him.

And pretty much anyone who has asked a question to me this week knows that I have a bit of a Week 7 fantasy crush on San Diego WR Malcolm Floyd. New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis will be facing off with Vincent Jackson, who could very easily be forgotten in this game, lost on the island. Meaning that, with Gates either out or limited, Floyd is going to have to step up his game and be the favorite target for Philip Rivers. Jets' second CB, Antonio Cromartie has been scored on pretty easily this season, so it is definitely possible for Floyd to go off. If you have him, I'd highly consider throwing him in at WR3 or Flex.


There you have it. Consider this to be this week's Advice Time post. I will be here up until the first kickoff answering any and all questions you throw at me. Hit it.

42 comments:

  1. In a standard league, I need to start 2 RBs, 2 WRs, and 1 RB/WR out of Arian Foster, Demarco Murray, Maurice Morris, Fitzgerald, Mike Williams (TB), Harvin, DHB, and Brandon Lloyd. What do you think? I've penciled in Foster/Murray/Fitzgerald/Williams/Harvin thus far.

    Also, I have Best and Felix, both out (hence why I have Murray and Morris). But is either one worth dropping for Hillis? Thanks!

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  2. FOOTBALL GODS. please help. My lineup:

    QB-Joe Flacco
    RB-Darren Mcfadden
    RB-Ryan Mathew
    FLEX- Maurice Jones-Drew or Earnest Graham?
    WR-Mike Wallace
    WR-Santana Moss
    TE- Visante Shiankoe (sp)
    Dallas kicker
    D/ST- JETS

    BENCH
    Antonio Gates, Vernon Davis (bye), Sidney Rice, LaGarette Blount, Michael Vick(bye)
    New England kicker (bye), Earnest Graham (as of now)

    Do you think MJD's mnf matchup against Ravens is tough enough to sit for Graham who played great for me last week but I don't think he can do it again (my gut tells me this). Also I recently aquired MJD and part of me wants to start him like a kid unwrapping a new toy.

    (Yes i'm aware of the 3 tight ends and 2 kickers on my roster, i'm making moves for michael bush after the buy week, dropping Flacco for young etc. it makes more sence in my head then on paper)

    So what are your thoughts on MJD vs. E. Graham this week?
    I dropped k. Walter (houston) for A. Gates who I want for the playoffs in case Davis dissapoints... any thoughts on this?

    WIN THE PRIZE!...DONATE TO THE GUYS!

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  3. i have mathews at my number 2 rb, should i try and trade him or ride through the rest of the season w/ him?

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  4. love the site.
    greene, d moore, dem. thomas, moreno, or julio jones at flex?
    also tebow or stafford?
    thanks

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  5. tolbert vs jets or lynch vs browns? dont know what to do. 8/
    thx.

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  6. also, i was offered demaryius thomas for harvin..i get harvin. should i do that?

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  7. So Big Ben or Rivers? Rivers has a rough match up, and the opposite for Ben, but we know who is the better QB. Also, I need to pick two between Foster, McFadden, and Ryan Matthews. Foster and McFadden seem to be the obvious choices, but matthews has a great matchup against the jets. Let me know what your thoughts are.

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  8. Earnest graham or Ryan torain for the flex? V jax or Brandon Marshall for a Wr spot?

    Thanks!

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  9. Help!
    I'm 0-6
    I play ppr 12 team espn
    2RB 2WR 1RB/WR flex 1TE
    Here are the choices
    RB
    Forte / Ingram / Maurice Morris
    WR
    Doug Baldwin / Nate Washington / darrius hayward-bey
    TE
    Fred Davis / Antonio gates

    Thanks
    Love your site

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  10. Got to your Hillis question in your other post. Apologize for taking a while. Couldnt get to a computer much yesterday. I would go for Hillis, but get rid of Murray over Morris. Its a risky move. You are really just guessing which backup RB will get the most work and perform the best. My money is on Morris.

    I would make it Foster/Morris/Fitz/Williams/Harvin.

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  11. Someone dropped Gates? That is pretty fortunate. Definitely justifies the three on your roster. I have to imagine that he will be back and ready to go by fantasy playoffs. Word is that he actually might get a few snaps today.

    Ravens are much better against the run than the Bears. By about 50 yards per game. With the lack of a passing game in Jax, I think this would be the week to take MJD out. That being said, with the Jaguars, it would seem that every week is a bad one for MJD, but he seems to pull it out.
    I would probably roll the dice with Graham this week. Has been a bright spot for Tampa all year really. 2nd on the team in receptions, over 100 yards last week against a stronger defense than the Bears. I'd go for it.

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  12. Answered on Injury post.

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  13. Stafford over Tebow. Three passing TD > One rushing TD. 350 passing yards > 175 passing yards and 50 rushing yards.

    Tebow could very well start in a lot of leagues. But if you have a top five quarterback on your team, I wouldn't really consider Tebow unless he looks incredible for a week or two. That said, I think he was a very smart pickup on your part. Keeping him off of other teams. And if he does well, you could maybe trade him for a massive upgrade at another position to a team that is very weak.

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  14. Forgot your other question. Jones likely will not play. Moreno is hardly benchworthy, let alone start-worthy. Greene has been performing better and better, but still not at a level to be confident. I'd like to see Broncos in action before showing Thomas any love. Thomas is a deep threat and Tebow doesnt have the arm for it. D Moore also has question marks with a new quarterback as no one knows who Palmer will get along best with.

    I think that for the first time in my fantasy football advising career I'm going to say this... I would go with Greene. He has a tough matchup. Only 300 yards and 2 scores. But, he is the most consistent bet you have with your guys at this point. Here's hoping he can get most of the carries against LT's former team.

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  15. With the assistance of GHL, I have gone from 7th in my league with a 1-3 record to 4th in my league and 2nd in my division with a 3-3 record. I have made a trade to get Stafford and gave up MJD. I think it was a good trade but I wish I would have waited until after this weeks because of my byes. I am missing Shady now and am a little thin at RB. Here is my lineup as it is. I need some more divine inspiration to choose my flex spot.

    QB- Stafford
    RB- Tolbert
    RB- D. Thomas
    Flex- N. Washington
    WR- Steve Smith
    WR- VJax
    TE- Finley
    Def-Broncos (I'm using your shuffle defense strategy which has been beautiful, I almost got the Cowboys this week...picked up the bengals last week)
    K- Novak

    Bench
    R. Wayne
    T. Hightower
    J. Jones
    J. Battle
    J. Freeman

    bye
    McCoy
    M. Manningham

    I picked up Battle and Washington on the waiver wire and I'm torn by which one to start. I have pretty much given up on Wayne. Hightower feels like a crap shoot. Jones is hurt going up against detroit. I dropped Breaston for Battle and Moreno for Washington.

    I am going up against a 0-6 team and I'm a little nervous this week. Any help would be much appreciated.

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  16. I've got them at 26 and 27.

    At this point Tolbert is really just a touchdown thief. Mathews has come on strong and taken most of the work.

    Lynch has a TD in his last two games, but has only touched the ball 20 times combined in the two. Its hard to tell if he is going to have a 20 carry, 70+ yard game, or an 8 carry, 20 yard game.

    Cleveland has not been an effective run stopping team. They are giving up 130 a game, mostly in garbage time though because they are losing by so much.

    I think Lynch getting over 15 carries is a better gamble than Tolbert getting in the endzone. I'd probably put him in. Go with your guy though on this one. And cross your fingers pretty hard.

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  17. Definitely yes. Some question marks with both. Both have new, inexperienced quarterbacks. But Harvin looked good last week with Ponder throwing to him. And Thomas is a deep threat with Tebow's questionable arm.

    Harvin will get my nod going forward, big time.

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  18. I'd probably take Big Ben on this one. I always have Rivers higher than I should in my rankings. Jets are a tough defense and throwing could be an issue with Jackson on Revis. Might never say that again. Roeth over Rivers. Yuck.

    Cant believe we live in a world where the Jets are a great matchup for running backs. I have McFadden as my number one. And I really can't justify benching Foster. All three are going to have great weeks, really every week from here on out. Go with your gut on this one. Any combo of the two that you pick is going to produce.

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  19. Graham at Flex. Marshall at WR.

    I prefer to avoid the messy WAS backfield at all costs. God only knows who is going to get the carries from week to week. Graham has a good matchup and had a great week last week. Jackson vs Revis could be an issue. I still have him pretty high, but that is only because of what Marshall was able to do with him.

    Marshall is being targeted like crazy, and Dolphins really have nothing to lose. I like him this week against his former team.

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  20. 0-6? Yikes. I'm going to wager that you have had every WR injury imaginable. Because that is a very ugly receiver lineup.

    Move 1 - Trade Antonio Gates. Trade him for a 1-15 receiver. Fred Davis looks to be a good tight end going forward with Cooley out for the year. Hopefully Beck uses him like Grossman did.

    At 0-6 you really need to go undefeated from here out to have shot at the playoffs, so I'm going to justify every single gamble.

    Forte and Morris at WR
    Start all your receivers at WR and flex.
    Davis at TE.

    Make that trade. Start high with it too. Be ballsy.

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  21. Glad to hear we are helping out! Congrats on the big moves. 0-6 is a good team to be matched up against. Especially when you are hit hard with byes.

    1) I replace Tolbert with Battle. Tolbert is strictly a goal line guy again. He could very well score three times, but he could also rush for 12 yards and thats it. Battle has been named the feature back. Matchup is pretty good too, and he has shown that he can break 100.

    WRs look good. Even against Revis, I still have a good feeling about Jackson after seeing Marshall last week. Smith is always a great play. Youre doing the best you can at Flex. If you have a gut feeling about Tolbert and that is why he is in there for you, then you can replace Washington if you want. I dont think I would though.

    Good luck with the Broncos, I don't have them crazy high, but I see where your head is against Miami.

    Good luck this week. Dont get too worried. I like your odds.

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  22. Oh wait. I have the Browns def not the Broncos although they are available.

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  23. Thanks for the advice! I missed out on Hillis, but I was somewhat torn about it. I've heard some talk that Murray will be great and might even nudge out Felix at some point, so I was hesitant to let him go. But I think you said you are a Cowboys fan, so you'd know better than me! On the other hand, I’m a die-hard Lions fan, and am not so sure about Morris either. But I do agree that he is the safer bet for today, given that he won’t be splitting carries as much as Murray will be. As always, thanks for the advice! P.S. I’m very happy you are more optimistic about Harvin right now; I’ve decided to hang on to him and hope that he can find the endzone at some point!

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  24. I accepted the trade. Now should I start harvin or d Thomas at flex?

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  25. He dropped Gates and was lucky enough to get him back....

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  26. Yeah. I like the Browns over the Broncos this week.

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  27. Murray could very well win the starting job over Choice as long as Felix is out. But everything that I have read to this point has shown a split in carries. And the Cowboys have just one rushing touchdown this year.

    If Murray does well, he could see more work. But, as much as I hate it, I'm betting against that. As a Lions fan, I'm sure you know more than me about the status of Best. I would imagine that since it is his second concussion this year, that he will be used less if at all for the rest of the year. I do know that doctors are encouraging him not to play at all.

    All speculation at this point with both players.

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  28. john beck, cutis painter, and deangelo williams
    please pick two for an op spot

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  29. I do like Harvin, but I think you should take a wait and see approach with him this week. He should get more targets and receptions with Ponder, but he has hurt ribs and GB is a tough matchup for any opposing QB.

    Thomas has had another week for his hamstring to heal and he is looking at a favorable matchup. He didnt do much against the Jets, but it is possible that he steps it up more this week and gets his carries back.

    I'd probably go with Thomas on this. PPR might be another story though. Depending on how much faith you have in the Minnesota rookie.

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  30. harvin or greene at flex? thanks

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  31. should i trade tebow and hillis for gore?? i get gore

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  32. Start 3 out of the 4:
    Mike williams
    Heyward bey
    Greg little
    Mike tolbert

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  33. I'd probably go with the two QBs. Generally score more points. Williams not a big fantasy player this year.

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  34. I'd roll the dice on Harvin. He got a lot of looks last week when Ponder came in. Hopefully he's not too hurt. Greene has been a disappointment this week.

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  35. I'd hold out. You can get more I think if Tebow has a great game.

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  36. Ouch. This is tough. Tolbert gets only goal line carries really. Hard to predict if he'll score or not. Williams has been a huge disappointment this year. Bey is risky with a new QB. Little would be a lock for me with this lineup.

    I sat Williams in every league I own him in. Too frustrated. I'd go Heyward-Bey, Little, Tolbert.

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  37. Harvin and Little.

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  38. Thanks...that's who I've got...and I'm putting Morris in instead of Tolbert.

    Thanks for the advice!

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  39. read the article too late. lucky me. ehehheh
    lynch doesnt play, and tolbert made 11pts for me.
    but thx. Ill watch better those two.

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  40. Cant believe I am asking this but, Tebow or Rivers

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  41. Haha. I know. I got you on Twitter already but I wanted to expand on it.

    Rivers has been inconsistent, and is like the 17th ranked QB or something. But he does tend to get stronger the later the year goes on. And Gates, his favorite weapon is healthy. Chiefs are in the middle of the pack when it comes to pass defense, so he has potential. If this game is close, as I imagine it will be, Rivers will be passing quite a bit.

    Tebow was 3 for 5 with 25 yards in the first 50 minutes of the game. This was against Miami, a terrible pass defense. This week he is going up against a better pass rush and better pass defense in Detroit. Unless there is a major shift in playcalling, Tebow will struggle through the air. You do have to factor in his feet, Detroit isnt great against the run at all. So Tebow could approach 60 yards rushing, and could score that way. But he has to get his team down the field first... something I don't think he is capable of doing.

    I would go Rivers still.

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