Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
Hey everyone, this week I am going to do things a little different and spotlight a few players I think have better match ups, talk about a couple sleepers, and then also some folks with bad match ups instead of going game by game and talking endlessly about a player that 95% of most owners are going to play regardless.
Tim Hightower: I love the match up against St Louis and you should know that THT traditionally is lights out inside the domes. He excels on a fast track and I expect him to do very well this week. In years past he has posted 22/109/TD @St.L, 14/110@St.L, 13/50/TD, 4/40rec @St.L, 11/115/TD@Atl...so mainly he has whipped up on the Rams but this is why he is so high on so many cheat sheets out there. And if you want a good sleeper pick this week I would imagine Roy Helu will also do well when he is on the field. You have got to find room for Hightower in your line up this week.
Daniel Thomas-OUT: Was going to be in my top10 this week, scratch that now
Frank Gore: Philly is ripe for an explosion from Gore. He hasn't looked good but early indications are that he will be ready to roll on Sunday. Sleeper pick here would be Kendall Hunter but Gore would have to be inactive before I would even think about Hunter. Gore has a terrific track record and has started slow but that's why he is a surprise play for some this week. If you have Rice and DMC in front of him by all means bench the guy otherwise I would want him in my starting line up this week.
These next RBs would be in my 11-20 range.
Joseph Addai: I like this match up and he is supposed to be fine for the MNF game against the Bucs who have a hit and miss defense although they did look strong at times against Atlanta. Indy cannot throw and Addai had a very workmanlike performance against Pittsburgh last week. The sleeper play is obviously Delone Carter but I think Addai has a good hold right now on the starting position. Especially with an inexperienced QB back there, they can't afford missed blocking assignments.
Cedric Benson: I believe Buffalo will come out flat because of the win over New England last week, similar to what we saw the Ravens pull in week @Tennessee. They won't have the Orchard Park Zanies to feed off of so I expect them to not look like what we have seen to this point. I have been a big Buffalo supporter, enjoy the weekly game threads but this week I like Cedric Benson who is fighting Goodell as well and pushing his suspension back weeks. I see benson hovering in the top15 this week. The Bills are not a real good run stopping team either.
Danny Woodhead: He's been quiet for much of the season. I believe New England understands there are times in the game they need to run the ball. BJGE is their goal line guy and Woodhead is more between the 20s but I expect him to have a decent week this week. I see Ridley coming along but New England is almost in a must win in the division they are in with the jets and Bills both coming on strong, look for Woodhead action to slow down the Oakland defense.
Some guys I am not expecting as much out of
Fred Jackson: Again I don't anticipate the Bills looking like they have the past few weeks. I'm not encouraging you to bench him but I would not expect top10 numbers from him this week. I have him on the lower end of the top25.
James Starks: Grant is OUT most likely and Starks showed last week that he is no sure thing like some owners want to believe. Denver is not terrible against the run and last week they shut down Chris Johnson rather easily and also Ringer was even worse out there. Green bay wins the game easily but they will do it with the arm of Aaron Rodgers, not a methodical run game led by Starks. I have him also on the back side of the top25, maybe top30.
Michael Turner: Atlanta has to travel far and Turner outside of a couple runs has not looked good and even those he was being brought down from behind. Seattle has a terrific 3.1 ypc on rush defense and they didn't even let Mendy run on them when they were shut out in Pittsburgh 24-0. I'm afraid the Turner train continues to move slow this week.
Dexter McCluster: The Vikings are not bad against the run and McCluster is about all they got outside of Bowe so defenses are pretty aware of him. I see him top15 on a lot of sites, no way I see him doing that, especially non PPR leagues.
Shonn Greene: Enough has been said about him but I don't expect him to look great with Nick Mangold still likely a scratch at Center this week. The Ravens are the most complete team IMO in the NFL, the Jets will grow tired of trying to run the ball and take to the air with Sanchez. That's really their only chance to win the game IMO. Ravens have got their rush defense down to 3.5 ypc, and that's just solid.
You can ask anything you want about some of the players I might have skipped. You don't need to ask about ADP, RIce, DMC, those types are just too valuable to consider benching so I certainly wouldn't waste a lot of time thinking about it. I realize this is a far cry form the usual write up but I have a lot of things right now chewing up my time and I felt these were the key guys this week to focus on. Again if you have specifics fire away.
Good luck this weekend everyone.
Tim Hightower: I love the match up against St Louis and you should know that THT traditionally is lights out inside the domes. He excels on a fast track and I expect him to do very well this week. In years past he has posted 22/109/TD @St.L, 14/110@St.L, 13/50/TD, 4/40rec @St.L, 11/115/TD@Atl...so mainly he has whipped up on the Rams but this is why he is so high on so many cheat sheets out there. And if you want a good sleeper pick this week I would imagine Roy Helu will also do well when he is on the field. You have got to find room for Hightower in your line up this week.
Daniel Thomas-OUT: Was going to be in my top10 this week, scratch that now
Frank Gore: Philly is ripe for an explosion from Gore. He hasn't looked good but early indications are that he will be ready to roll on Sunday. Sleeper pick here would be Kendall Hunter but Gore would have to be inactive before I would even think about Hunter. Gore has a terrific track record and has started slow but that's why he is a surprise play for some this week. If you have Rice and DMC in front of him by all means bench the guy otherwise I would want him in my starting line up this week.
These next RBs would be in my 11-20 range.
Joseph Addai: I like this match up and he is supposed to be fine for the MNF game against the Bucs who have a hit and miss defense although they did look strong at times against Atlanta. Indy cannot throw and Addai had a very workmanlike performance against Pittsburgh last week. The sleeper play is obviously Delone Carter but I think Addai has a good hold right now on the starting position. Especially with an inexperienced QB back there, they can't afford missed blocking assignments.
Cedric Benson: I believe Buffalo will come out flat because of the win over New England last week, similar to what we saw the Ravens pull in week @Tennessee. They won't have the Orchard Park Zanies to feed off of so I expect them to not look like what we have seen to this point. I have been a big Buffalo supporter, enjoy the weekly game threads but this week I like Cedric Benson who is fighting Goodell as well and pushing his suspension back weeks. I see benson hovering in the top15 this week. The Bills are not a real good run stopping team either.
Danny Woodhead: He's been quiet for much of the season. I believe New England understands there are times in the game they need to run the ball. BJGE is their goal line guy and Woodhead is more between the 20s but I expect him to have a decent week this week. I see Ridley coming along but New England is almost in a must win in the division they are in with the jets and Bills both coming on strong, look for Woodhead action to slow down the Oakland defense.
Some guys I am not expecting as much out of
Fred Jackson: Again I don't anticipate the Bills looking like they have the past few weeks. I'm not encouraging you to bench him but I would not expect top10 numbers from him this week. I have him on the lower end of the top25.
James Starks: Grant is OUT most likely and Starks showed last week that he is no sure thing like some owners want to believe. Denver is not terrible against the run and last week they shut down Chris Johnson rather easily and also Ringer was even worse out there. Green bay wins the game easily but they will do it with the arm of Aaron Rodgers, not a methodical run game led by Starks. I have him also on the back side of the top25, maybe top30.
Michael Turner: Atlanta has to travel far and Turner outside of a couple runs has not looked good and even those he was being brought down from behind. Seattle has a terrific 3.1 ypc on rush defense and they didn't even let Mendy run on them when they were shut out in Pittsburgh 24-0. I'm afraid the Turner train continues to move slow this week.
Dexter McCluster: The Vikings are not bad against the run and McCluster is about all they got outside of Bowe so defenses are pretty aware of him. I see him top15 on a lot of sites, no way I see him doing that, especially non PPR leagues.
Shonn Greene: Enough has been said about him but I don't expect him to look great with Nick Mangold still likely a scratch at Center this week. The Ravens are the most complete team IMO in the NFL, the Jets will grow tired of trying to run the ball and take to the air with Sanchez. That's really their only chance to win the game IMO. Ravens have got their rush defense down to 3.5 ypc, and that's just solid.
You can ask anything you want about some of the players I might have skipped. You don't need to ask about ADP, RIce, DMC, those types are just too valuable to consider benching so I certainly wouldn't waste a lot of time thinking about it. I realize this is a far cry form the usual write up but I have a lot of things right now chewing up my time and I felt these were the key guys this week to focus on. Again if you have specifics fire away.
Good luck this weekend everyone.
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. I probably go Starks, but it's tough to sit Gore if he plays...
