Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Week 14 Fantasy Football Position Rankings

Ah, my favorite time of week. Time to get started on the position rankings. Hope everyone made it into their playoffs and are not going at it for the chance to be the champion.
My strategy in the playoffs doesn’t change much from the regular season. But for those of you who have spent the last few weeks making big gambles to get off the bubble and into the playoffs, now is the time too cool down a bit and focus on consistency.
A home run here and there is a good thing. But I’d rather start a guy who is guaranteed to get me 8 points a week than go for the guy that could end up with either 15 or zero.
Matt Forte, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson are the biggest names out. But we are likely to see the return of Jeremy Maclin and Miles Austin. Keep an eye out, because there are a lot of questionable and probables out there.
Any questions for GHL... you know what to do.

Week 14 Fantasy Quarterback Rankings
1.       Aaron Rodgers
2.       Drew Brees
3.       Matthew Stafford
4.       Tom Brady
5.       Cam Newton
6.       Eli Manning
7.       Tony Romo
8.       Michael Vick
9.       Tim Tebow
10.   Philip Rivers
11.   Rex Grossman
12.   Matt Ryan
13.   Ben Roethlisberger
14.   Carson Palmer
15.   Mark Sanchez
16.   Joe Flacco
17.   Matt Moore
18.   Alex Smith
19.   Ryan Fitzpatrick
20.   Kevin Kolb
21.   Matt Hasselbeck
22.   Josh Freeman
23.   T.J. Yates
24.   Andy Dalton
25.   Christian Ponder
Week 14 Fantasy Running Back Rankings
1.       Ray Rice
2.       Maurice Jones-Drew
3.       Arian Foster
4.       Michael Turner
5.       Marshawn Lynch
6.       Rashard Mendenhall
7.       Chris Johnson
8.       LeSean McCoy
9.       Ryan Matthews
10.   Frank Gore
11.   DeMarco Murray
12.   Reggie Bush
13.   Roy Helu
14.   Michael Bush
15.   Stephen Jackson
16.   Shonn Greene
17.   Willis McGahee
18.   Ahmad Bradshaw
19.   LeGarrette Blount
20.   BenJarvus Green-Ellis
21.   C.J. Spiller
22.   Marion Barber
23.   Darren Sproles
24.   Toby Gerhart
25.   Cedric Benson
26.   Beanie Wells
27.   Mark Ingram
28.   Peyton Hillis
29.   Maurice Morris
30.   DeAngelo Williams
31.   Mike Tolbert
32.   Donald Brown
33.   Jonathan Stewart
34.   Dexter McCluster
35.   Ben Tate
36.   Ryan Grant
37.   Brandon Jacobs
38.   Isaac Redman
39.   Ricky Williams
40.   Daniel Thomas
41.   Pierre Thomas
42.   Joseph Addai
43.   Brandon Saine
44.   Felix Jones
45.   Kahlil Ball
46.   Jackie Battle
47.   Montario Hardesty
48.   Thomas Jones
49.   Kendall Hunter
50.   Joe McKnight
Week 14 Fantasy Wide Receiver Rankings
1.       Greg Jennings
2.       Wes Welker
3.       Calvin Johnson
4.       Steve Smith
5.       Larry Fitzgerald
6.       Hakeem Nicks
7.       Roddy White
8.       Brandon Marshall
9.       Dez Bryant
10.   Jordy Nelson
11.   Mike Wallace
12.   Victor Cruz
13.   Vincent Jackson
14.   Jeremy Maclin
15.   Marques Colston
16.   Percy Harvin
17.   A.J. Green
18.   Miles Austin
19.   Santana Moss
20.   DeSean Jackson
21.   Brandon Lloyd
22.   Anquan Boldin
23.   Steve Johnson
24.   Antonio Brown
25.   Santonio Holmes
26.   Julio Jones
27.   Mike Williams
28.   Dwayne Bowe
29.   Laurent Robinson
30.   Nate Washington
31.   Pierre Garcon
32.   Michael Crabtree
33.   Eric Decker
34.   Malcom Floyd
35.   Plaxico Burress
36.   Denarius Moore
37.   Lance Moore
38.   Devin Aromashodu
39.   Deion Branch
40.   Golden Tate
41.   Jabar Gaffney
42.   Johnny Knox
43.   Nate Burleson
44.   Torrey Smith
45.   Reggie Wayne
46.   Kevin Walter
47.   Damian Williams
48.   Doug Baldwin
49.   Greg Little
50.   Darrius Heyward-Bey
Week 14 Fantasy Tight End Rankings
1.       Jimmy Graham
2.       Rob Gronkowski
3.       Jason Witten
4.       Antonio Gates
5.       Jermichael Finley
6.       Tony Gonzalez
7.       Brent Celek
8.       Aaron Hernandez
9.       Vernon Davis
10.   Kellen Winslow
11.   Jermaine Gresham
12.   Owen Daniels
13.   Anthony Fasano
14.   Jake Ballard
15.   Dustin Keller
16.   Brandon Pettigrew
17.   Jacob Tamme
18.   Greg Olsen
19.   Scott Chandler
20.   Marcedes Lewis
Week 14 Fantasy Kicker Rankings
1.       David Akers
2.       John Kasay
3.       Sebastian Janikowski
4.       Stephen Gostkowski
5.       Dan Bailey
6.       Billy Cundiff
7.       Mason Crosby
8.       Matt Prater
9.       Robbie Gould
10.   Nick Novak
11.   Connor Barth
12.   Neil Rackers
13.   Jason Hanson
14.   Nick Folk
15.   Mike Nugent
16.   Alex Henery
17.   Matt Bryant
18.   Shaun Suisham
19.   Rob Bironas
20.   Lawrence Tynes
Week 14 Fantasy Defense Rankings
1.       Baltimore Ravens
2.       Pittsburgh Steelers
3.       San Francisco 49ers
4.       Seattle Seahawks
5.       New York Jets
6.       Green Bay Packers
7.       Houston Texans
8.       Denver Broncos
9.       Cincinnati Bengals
10.   Atlanta Falcons
11.   Miami Dolphins
12.   Kansas City Chiefs
13.   St. Louis Rams
14.   Detroit Lions
15.   Dallas Cowboys
16.   New England Patriots
17.   San Diego Chargers
18.   New Orleans Saints
19.   Arizona Cardinals
20.   Tampa Bay Buccaneers

26 comments:

  1. 10-Team Standard
    If I win this week then I'm in the playoffs at 4th place. Playing the highest scoring team this week. My gut says to stick with Brown at WR, but am tempted with Moss/Burleson. Seems like when I play the matchups I end up getting burned. Sat Mendy last week for a BJGE matchup with IND...I still won but still.

    You have Moss higher than Brown, so what say you?

    QB - Romo
    WR - VJax
    WR - Nicks
    WR - A. Brown
    RB - McCoy
    RB - Mendy
    TE - Hernandez
    K - Baily
    DE - NYJ

    Bench
    QB - Vick
    WR - S.Moss
    WR - Burleson
    WR - Knox
    RB - BJGE
    DE - CIN

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  2. So you really feel that good about Stafford huh? I had to decide between him and Vick, and I was leaning toward Stafford anyway, but I'm also second guessing myself a lot since this is last week before the playoffs. Another concern is starting Jordy Nelson or Miles Ausitn. I feel pretty good about Nelson, but I wanted to see what you were thinking too.

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  3. 12 team league and I am feeling pretty good. I got a first round bye in the playoffs so games don't matter for me until week 16. We start 2WR 2RB and 1Flex. I got Fitzgerald and Nicks as my starting WR and Rice and Foster as my starting RB. My bench is WR Colston and Denarius Moore, RB Bradshaw, Blount and Kevin Smith. Should I make any moves to improve my depth considering Moore, Smith and Bradhaw's injury issues? Suggestions?

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  4. I can start Tebow, Big Ben or Ryan Fitz at QB this week - who do you give the nod to?

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  5. A little bit torn as I've made a few decisions that cost me the game or made me tie (twice) by 5 or less points. I'm thinking about playing c.j. spiller over antonio brown. Which would make my line up look like this:

    QB: Ben
    RB: Ray Rice
    RB:Darren Sproles
    RB/WR: Shonn Greene
    WR:Victor Cruz
    WR: C.J. Spiller
    TE: Aaron Hernandez
    D/ST:Steelers
    Kicker:Neil Rackers

    BE: Fitz
    BE: Reggie Wayne
    BE: Vernon Davis
    BE:Antonio Brown
    BE:Santana Moss
    BE:Malcom Floyd
    BE:Matt Moore

    Think this might be a good decision? I really don't want to get burned again.

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  6. Sorry to hear about your injuries players going into the playoffs. Hopefully your still able to salvage some wins with your remaining players. I have a flex question for you. 12 team standard league and first round of playoffs.

    Choices: Beanie Wells or M. Williams (TB)

    Wells has done very well in the last two weeks but going up against the 49ers is scary since he put up 33 yards and a fumble the first time. Williams has been consistent the last 3 weeks but Jac does has a decent secondary. What are your thoughts?

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  7. After seeing what Dan Orlovsky was able to do against the NE defense with Garcon, I'm definitely high on what Grossman can do to them with Moss.

    Moss is in his third week back and has the best matchup you can hope for. This week will be his return to glory. Especially since Grossman lost his favorite target, Fred Davis, for the year.

    Brown is facing the toughest pass defense. There is a good chance that he will be the most productive receiver for the Steelers tonight… but I still like the enormous upside of Moss better.

    I wouldn’t make any other changes.

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  8. He has been very sloppy in the past few weeks. Which concerns me. But they need to make a playoff push. I think that he can do it. I wish the RB situation would stabilize, that would help him a lot. But he is going to have to push it, and I think he’ll succeed. And I doubt Calvin Johnson will be as heavily covered this week. Vick back from injury is another red flag.

    I’d go Nelson over Austin. He has been solid all year. Definitely a surprise this season. Austin should play most of the game, and Dallas has been hurting to get him back, but the injury concerns me. We all saw what happened to Andre Johnson last week coming back from a hamstring injury.

    I’d go Nelson. Take this week to see how Austin holds up.

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  9. Youve got Colston and Blount, so really Moore and Smith are your backup backups. So you can really do with them whatever you want. You will need to have the extremely bad luck of losing two guys in order to start either of them.

    If there are better options on the waiver wire, then go ahead and make the move. Perhaps you can invest in handcuffs to your starters if they are available.

    Personally, I'd probably stay put right were you are. If it ain't broke, dont fix it.

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  10. There are few things on this earth I hate more than suggesting that you start Tebow. But you should this week.

    Ben has a bad matchup. I expect them to run the ball a ton against one of the worst run defenses I've ever seen.

    Fitz has been hot and cold. He seems to be warming up, but I like Tebow's situation better.

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  11. Two ties. Damn impressive.

    Here's my thing... I like Santana Moss this week more than Spiller or Brown.

    Looking at matchups, Brown has the worst. Wallace will take most of the heat, so it is likely that Brown will lead his team in receiving, but still, dont like the matchup.

    Spiller (I didn't know that he was still considered a WR in some leagues, shows what I know), anyways, he is a decent play. MoJo tore up SD on Monday, and Spiller is just as good a receiving back is Maurice is, so there is a chance he can go off. He has a nice game last week, so I can see you making the case for him.

    But Moss is up against NE. Which, for me at least, makes him a must-start. Fred Davis is out for the rest of the season. Meaning that Moss should have an incredible game. Just look what third-stringer Orlovsky and Garcon were able to do to them last week.

    If you are loving Spiller, then I would consider showing Sproles the bench, as he is the least consistent of your starting RBs.

    This would leave your roster as Rice, Greene, Spiller, Cruz, Moss.

    That is how I would do it. Tough showing Brown and Sproles the bench, but youre going to have to sit a couple good guys this week. Which is a good problem to have. Any way you slice it, this should be a pretty nice looking week for you.

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  12. Thanks. I am definitely playing some sleepers this week. Not very comfortable with it, but I still stand a chance. I was the one seed, so I'm up against number 4, who I've beaten twice this year. Hopefully the streak can continue.

    Wells against 49ers was awful last time, and I really dont see it improving. His hot streak should be coming to an end in Week 14 with this matchup.

    Williams has surprised in the past few weeks. I'm still not insanely confident about starting him, but Freeman should be back, and they have gotten into a similar rhythm that they had last year. I'd go for it with him.

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  13. Was not able to check this site in time for kickoff, so I stuck with Brown. 21 pts from him saved my night with Mendy not able to punch it in from the 1. Four attempts at the goaline? C'mon man!

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  14. Thanks! With an injured AP on my team who would start in the flex position. ... Cedric Bensen or Nate Washington?

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  15. I am in a 2-round winner's bracket as a #2 seed playing my buddy who got in as a 3* seed (league manager with a big week 12 ASTERISK) but i digress... ill post my lineup for your review then his... I feel both our projections are a little inflated (his very much so at 124-992 in his favor. I went againts my gut and SAT Antonio Brown who went off for 21 FP on my bench)

    My lineup/bench tell me what you think:

    QB- M. Vick (Screw you V. Young (who i dropped for Alex Smith down the stretch)
    RB- MJD
    RB- Ryan Mathews
    FLEX- M. Bush (dam*nyou McFadden!)
    WR- M. Wallace (7)
    WR- S. Moss (love this New England matchup expect them to throw alot and 40 plus yard on Revis island impressed me enough to bench Brown which i'll never do again)
    TE- A. Gates
    D/ST- Broncos (Tebow train baby, it ges both ways)
    K- S. Gostkowski

    BENCH:
    RB-LaGarette Blount
    RB- Marion Barber
    RB- D. McFadden
    WR- Laurent Robinson
    WR- A. Brown (NEWMAN!!!)
    TE- V. Davis
    QB- Alex Smith

    What are my chaces in the first week of our 2 round playoff with him playing:

    QB- M. Stafford (he acquired in trade with me for MJD and D. Thomas)
    RB- L. McCoy
    RB- R. Helu
    FLEX- CJ Spiller
    WR-Steve Smith (car)
    WR- V-JAX
    TE- J. Finley
    D/ST- Patriots
    K- N. Novack

    His Bench:

    WR-M. Manningham
    WR- Julio Jones
    WR- N. Washington
    WR- M. Floyd
    RB- T. Gerhart
    RB- M. Tolbert
    QB- Carson Palmer

    I feel that he is weak at RB & very strong at WR. we sort of are mirror opposites of one another... what are my chances after benching Brown which I know 1 play and I wouldn't have all these regrets but do you like an injured/questionable L-Rob over a rusty Moss recently reinjected into a cruddy lineup???

    Thanks FOOTBALL GODS yall have gotten me far, let's keep it going.

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  16. Mendy destroyed me.

    Glad you missed my Brown comment. That officially pushed it over the ledge that he is my favorite Steeler WR.

    Glad you got off to a pretty good start. Good luck.

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  17. Dont love Benson's matchup. Washington has proven a bit risky this year, but teams recently have been able to put up some good WR points against NO.

    If you are PPR, I think it's a no brainer to roll with Washington.

    I tend to always favor starting a WR at flex anyways, so he'd be my pick. Benson vs. HOU doesnt seem great to me.

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  18. I had Wallace higher than Brown. Even though it was heavily debated by readers. And in my comments to them I mentioned that I did like Brown and Wallace likely had Haden on him. I started Wallace anyways. Sorry about the luck. Plenty of others in that boat with you. Including myself.

    Anyways.. here we go.

    Your team. I dont disagree with you anywhere. Hard to put a prediction on Vick, but with his comeback I do have him pretty high. I love MJD and Moss this week. I've been advertising Moss so damn heavy on this site that if he doesnt have a good game, there will be a mutiny. Also love the Broncos defense this week. Good matchup, and outside of that awful showing last week, theyve been hot recently.

    Against his team... its going to be damn close.
    He seems to have a lot of hit or miss guys. Spiller, Steve Smith, VJax, J Finley... they have all had good weeks, and they have all scored less than three. McCoy and Helu scare me. McCoy will have Vick back, which is a very pleasant combo. Helu could be a big part of the passing game against the Pats. They are decent vs the run though.

    Wish you the best of luck.

    We've got a hell of a long way before the BCS Championship game.. but I have to say the Tigers. Have to! Even if this game ends 6-9, Tigers take it home.
    As for your Saints... dont tell Packer fans... but I have openly said to many friends and coworkers that they are my pick for the strongest team in the NFL. If they faced GB today, Saints would win.

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  19. Hey man,
    If I win this week I get a first round bye, thus, I have to win! Thanks for the advice so far, as I have benefited greatly from your analysis. Here is my situation:

    WR: Colston, M Williams (TB), D Williams (TENN), L. Robinson, Plax, Nate Washington
    I need 3- so far I penciled in Colston and Mike Williams. Plax has burned me all year, Washington is the second option in his offense at best, and Robinson is hurt with Austin in the line-up. Thus, have D Williams as a sleeper going in. Thoughts?

    RB: Ray Rice, Beanie Wells, Jonathan Stewart, Maurice Morris, Kevin Smith.
    I need 2: Rice is obvious, but who else? I planned on the Detroit running back that starts because it is a PPR league and they are doing quite well. Beanie is playing the Niners and laid a goose egg against them last time, and Stewart is playing a good defense. Thoughts?

    FLEX: any of the above not taken

    Thanks!

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  20. Congrats man! And I'm happy to help.

    I agree that Colston and M Williams are the most consistent and need to start. Nate Washington is banged up, and (I believe) listed as questionable still. So I would make D Williams my third guy here. Sleeper potential in this one.

    RB, I give to Rice and... either Morris or Smith. I'd probably go with Morris based on Smith's injury. But if Smith does play, it will hurt Morris a bit.

    I'd avoid all of your other RBs for the flex spot. Leaving Robinson, Plax and Washington.

    As you said about Robinson, Miles Austin should be back, and Robinson is dealing with an injury of his own. I don't want to completely count him out, because he has been such a threat in the past 5-7 weeks, but you have to think that he'll struggle this week.
    Plax burned you in the past, but the matchup isn't that bad, and he does have potential to find the endzone a lot. I'd like more consistency and passes his way to make him safer, but he has the big play potential and NYJ should make their late-season come-on very soon.
    Washington is injured, and you'd already have D Williams in the lineup. Too iffy for me.
    Meaning that I would go with Plax at Flex.

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  21. So I am the other half of this equation. Would you change anything from my lineup? As you said, I have a lot of risky players to choose from. Would you plug gerhart in there instead of someone else? VJax kills me but I still am not sure I can bench him with the matchup this week. Also, what defense should I get? The waiver wire is a little slim with good defenses this week. I've got a few other options....
    Rams vs. Seahawks
    Bucs vs. Jags
    Eagles vs Dolphins
    Jags vs. Buccs
    And what do you think about the Packers with their high turn over rate, came the raiders get it going like they have to to keep up? I have my doubts.
    Thanks for all the help this season. I have somehow scrapped together a playoff berth. The two of us work together so whoever wins this playoff 2 week stretch will have major bragging rights....

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  22. I think you need to keep the lineup as is. There are bench players that I like, but I couldnt justify taking any of your starters out.

    I'm not loving any of the defenses you've listed here.

    The Rams are the highest on my list... but SEA has been pretty good lately, which might not bode well for them. Of the four there, I do like the Rams the most. Score might get high, but they do create turnovers.

    I like the Packers defense today. OAK can put up points, but they have so many injuries that its hard to trust them. And when a team is forced to pass the ball as much as oakland will be, there are going to be INTs and sack fumbles. As far as OAK defense, youd be out of your mind to start any defense playing vs the packers.

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  23. Yeah, I'm leaning towards taking a chance with the Packers D. Definitely had no intention of touching the Oakland D. As was said, the defenses all are crap.

    GEAUX SAINTS!!!

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  24. I'd definitely take the packers over any of the others you listed. Palmer is a turnover machine. GB DEF always has a chance to score.

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  25. Thanks, 5 different positions I used your rankings. If you would have been correct on any of them, I would have won this week.

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  26. Thats just how it works sometimes.

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