Do you want to be an eagle or are you a turkey this week?
In one of my leagues, my fantasy team is on the bubble. I not only have to win out the next two weeks against the top teams, but I also have to jump six (six!) other teams. Which means, I need as many points as possible to win some tiebreakers and take some chances to beat some teams that are better on paper than I am.
If I lose, I’ll be roasted like a turkey. If I take a leap and soar, I’ll be an eagle. Let’s take a look at the guys who you should be spying to start.
You got to hand it to the Packers. They build up Matt Flynn. Then they let the Seahawks sign him to a huge deal before Russell Wilson shocked the world. So he was traded to the Raiders. Oakland being Oakland had no clue and went with Jamarcus Russell and demoted Flynn to third string (below an undrafted Matt McGloin) despite good performances. After being cut, he is picked back up by the Packers.
That is the long history lesson. Here is the short one: 480 yards, 6 TDs in one game. That New Year’s game two seasons ago set Packers records and got him the Seattle deal. So let’s review – a good quarterback who studied the team’s playbook for multiple seasons with a history of high reward games when he needs to showcase his abilities is available this week when I need him the most and he is going against the Lions’ D.
Welcome to my team, Matt… please make papa proud.
Montee Ball was expected to be a big fantasy stud this year but lost his role to Knowshon Moreno. Moreno is hurt and may not start this week. Even if he does, Ball has the ability to steal TDs in a normal week. Chances are Moreno still starts but I’m betting that the Broncos go easy on short yard (read: goalline) plays.
Arian Foster? Out.
Ben Tate? Broken and maybe out.
I always root for the running backs that are shorter than I am. They may not last long but I don’t need them forever. Dennis Johnson came in last week and averaged 5.7 yards… though let’s admit, it was to the lowly Jaguars. His other substantial game this year provided a 4.5 average yards per carry against the Colts (not much better than the Jags run D).
The Texans have completely fallen apart this year with injuries galore. I’m expecting coach Gary Kubiak to start Johnson, giving some other players a chance to shine to see what works for next year. Johnson will get a ton of looks this week and his reward potential is worth the risk.
A long time ago (first month of season), Bilal Powell was a hot free agent pickup. In weeks 2-4, he averaged 12 points in Yahoo. Then he lost touches to new starter Chris Ivory. This week, Ivory is possibly out this week against the Dolphins. Miami has allowed running backs this year to score double digits most weeks. It is a good storm and worth the risk.
Except for week two’s 16 point performance, Tavon Austin has failed to be the sleeper pick most of his owners on draft day expected. For goodness sakes, he had four (4!!!) goose eggs this year. That has changed in the past two games. He averaged 23 points in Yahoo leagues.
He is only projected to provide 4 points in Yahoo. If you need to take a big risk, take a chance on the Rams continuing to get Austin involved and for him to reward everyone with more spectacular catches.
Brian Reddoch is a CraveOnline reporter and rabid fan of all teams Seattle. You can follow him on Twitter @ReddReddoch or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
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