Danny Amendola

Tom Brady; Top 5 Fantasy Option?

| Richard Valero

Many in the fantasy industry were willing to write Brady off after a disappointing 2013 campaign. Man crush bias aside, I disagree, even considering that last season was tough to stomach. There were many factors at play a year ago. Brady didn’t have his favorite target, Rob Gronkowski on the field until week 7. Gronk tore his ACL shortly after, ending his season and removing him from New England’s already shaky receiving core. Furthermore, Shane Vereen was in and out of the lineup, Brady had rookie wideouts dropping passes left and right and Danny Amendola had a very hard time staying on the field.

Even with all those issues, Brady still finished as the #13 QB via ESPN’s Player Rater system. As President of the Tom Brady fan club I’m here to tell you how Tom Brady will once again return to the top 5 at his position.

1. Gronk needs to stay on the field:

This is the most important factor. Gronk may be even more important the Patriots than Brady and that’s saying a lot. Brady is a different man when Gronkowski is healthy and on the field. Tom Terrific has 11 300+ yard performances with Gronk in the lineup and only 4 without him. Take a look:

Brady with Gronk (18 games): 5,047 passing yards (296 YPG), 64.2 CMP% and 36 TD
Brady without Gronk (14 games): 3,705 passing yards (264 YPG), 58.8 CMP% and 24 TD

The numbers don’t lie. The 6 foot 6 Gronkowski makes a world of difference, not only catching passes but opening up the perimeter of the field for the other receivers. Gronk had 10 20 yard catches in 2013, most on the team. The catch? He only played 6 games. Of course the biggest question with Gronk is whether or not he’ll be able to maintain health over the course of a full season. He has only played 18 games in two seasons and without him on the field, Brady just isn’t the same. I’m feeling lucky, I think it happens and the tandem will.

But I am in the positive thinking mood and expect us to get at least 16 (if he doesn’t miss week 1) of Gronk and that would further cement my Brady top 5 theory.

2. New England’s wide receivers need to you know, catch the ball

Julian Edelman really stepped up to the plate last season and had a year no one really expected. He caught 105 passes for 1,056 yards and 6 TD, which included 9 games of 7 or more receptions. He was a PPR machine and filled the role of Wes Welker quite well, the same role that Danny Amendola was signed on to do, yet failed to complete.

Speaking of Amendola, we all know he has all the tools to be a solid fit in this offense. He finished 2nd on the team with 54 catches even while he missed 4 games. He looks to be healthy heading into the season, and will be an important part of the offense. I remain optimistic that we see more out of the former Ram in 2014.

The Patriots also employ young pass-catchers Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins, who at various points in the season had a real impact in the offense. All signs point to Dobson being healthy after coming out of a boot and practicing, but it’s something to monitor. If healthy, he could be the deep threat that Brady has lacked over the last several seasons. The growth that both of these receivers show will be interesting to watch. Although Thompkins had his ups last season, he dropped a lot of passes and his role remains in flux given the off-season signing of Brandon Lafell.

Lafell has reportedly picked up the Patriots offense quickly. That is a positive sign, given how the coaching staff in New England handles their players. He may not be a big time fantasy contributor unless there are injuries or performance issues amongst some of the other players, however, he could see his fair share of red zone looks.

3.  The Running Game

LeGarrette Blount made a huge impact on this team in the 2nd half of the season and was vital in helping pick up the passing game. With Blount now smoking blunts in Pittsburgh, the Pats are left with a myriad of questions at running back. Stevan Ridley can’t hold on to the football, Shane Vereen has had trouble staying healthy and James White, albeit with tons of hype attached is a rookie playing in a complex offense.

Let’s start with Ridley, he has all the talent in the world but found himself in the doghouse too often as he just doesn’t know how to hang onto the football. He is a power back and should see a lot of carries this season but any more fumbles and we could see him buried somewhere inside Gillette Stadium.

When healthy, Shane Vereen provides a much needed pass-catching presence out of the backfield for Brady. He finished 3rd in receptions on the team and only played in 8 games last season. Of course like the rest of the questions I pose, if healthy for all 16, he should be a PPR machine and will help supplant Brady once again as an elite fantasy option.

James White seems poised to take some carries away from Ridley this year as he has impressed coaches during training camp and has been seen taking reps with Brady and the 1st team. White can be a 3-down back; he was the focal point in the Wisconsin offense last year coming out of the backfield catching 39 balls for 300 yards and a pair of TD. He also can make an impact with his pass blocking which is key in the Patriot’s offense. Lastly, he had great ball security in college as he fumbled only 2 times in 754 career touches.

Brady is the 10th QB and 73rd player coming off the board (according to Fantasy Pros). If Brady is available to you in the 7th round, scoop him up. There are question marks on this team, but with any luck Brady’s weapons will stay relatively healthy and this team will look like the New England teams of old.

Ricky Valero is a co-owner and fantasy sports writer at The Sports Script. Make sure to follow him on Twitter @rickygangster!

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Trick or Treat: Fantasy Football Edition

| Richard Valero

As we all know that today is Halloween. As a kid, I use to love dressing up and going to get a ton of candy. My personal favorite candies were Crybabies (Sour gum that lost flavor in 5 seconds), Tootsie Rolls (even though my Mom took them all) and I use to love when you hit the Jackpot and got a full-size candy bar. Of course I had one of those Dads like everyone else that would go through my candy and make sure it was “safe” to eat. We all know that was code for taking all the good stuff. Well through my trick-or-treating days, my outfit showed some true range. My costume choices were so diverse that one year, I went as the wrestler Sting. Another year, my mom made me dress up as a Care Bear (I wonder if I had the Care Bear stare down) and then my personal favorite was the Ninja Turtle Costume (as you can see in the picture below).

photo
I mean look at that face, how awesome am I.

Fantasy Football and Halloween can really go hand in hand. When you are trick-or-treating, you open that bag up real wide in hopes of that awesome piece of candy and you get those nasty Mary Jane Peanut butter candies that looked like they have been opened, reopened, and are sticky and get all over your bag. It’s the same when drafting a Fantasy team. You draft say Jamaal Charles (The equivalent of a Big-Size Hershey Bar that some old woman throws in the bag) or when you draft a Chris Johnson (The equivalent to a piece of dubble bubble, so good at 1st but the flavor just runs out too fast). So in honor of this awesome holiday, let’s combine what we all love in Fantasy Football and Halloween as I give you my Tricks and Treats for each position.

QB Trick

Tom Brady –

as a huge Brady fan, this one will hurt more than anyone else on this list. He has just been a down right disappointment for Fantasy Owners this year. Heading into the 2013-14 season, he was ranked as a top 5 QB and was drafted in anywhere from the 2nd to the round. He has scored single-digit Fantasy points in 3 out of his last 4 games and has thrown an INT in each of those games. While the young WRs and not having any of the weapons he had the previous years could be the blame, he just hasn’t looked all that great either. I have been asked by a lot of people whether or not to drop him and quite frankly, it’s hard to make a case against it. You have guys like Thad Lewis, Jason Campbell and Mike Glennon out scoring him every week. If you drafted Mr. Brady really high this year then you have definitely been tricked this season.

QB Treat

Philip Rivers –

This guy went undrafted in so many leagues this year and was expected to be in the bottom half of all Fantasy QBs this season. Well this has been the bounce-back season Rivers has needed. The San Diego QB has always been good but just has had a real struggle over the past few years. Through 7 games this year, he has 15 TDs and 5 INTs. In 2012, he didn’t get to 15 TDs until the 9th game and he had 5 INTs by week 4 last season. He has cooled off a bit over the last few weeks but he ranks 7th among Fantasy QBs this year. He also has a nice slate of games coming up on the schedule in which he should have continued success. If you were one of those guys that drafted Eli Manning or Michael Vick and were able to get your hands on Rivers early on, you can really say it’s been a heck of a treat for you.

RB Trick

CJ Spiller –

Heading into the 2013 Fantasy Football season, there was a lot of questions on whether or not Spiller would be able to stay healthy (most fought there was no injury history) or be able to carry the full workload over the season. Well for those of you that didn’t listen to the questions and drafted him, you have been really frustrated this season. He has reached double-digit Fantasy points just twice; he has seen the workload cut in half because of how good Fred Jackson has been this year. Now he is dealing with a high-ankle sprain that we all know is hard to overcome especially as a running back. The schedule doesn’t get much better for him either. If you can find someone to trade for him, I am all for it but if you are in a dynasty league, I think he is worth keeping ahold of.

RB Treat

Knowshon Moreno –

In training camp, it was even questionable whether this guy was even going to make the team. He is the 2nd ranked RB in Fantasy Football; he leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns and has scored double-digit Fantasy points in each of his last 5 games. He was ranked anywhere from the 100th-140th player on most draft boards, he has been the best draft value of the season.

WR Trick

Danny Amendola –

I like a lot of others rode the Amendola train to start the season. He will finally be healthy for a whole year and he’s going to have a better season than Welker and 100+ catches is a shoe-in. Well we were all tricked for sure or just plain dumb. Mr. Amendola has been dealing with a groin issued that made him miss 3 weeks and a concussion that made him miss another week, all of which are still bothering him. Week 1 he caught 10 balls for 104 yards since then he has 9 catches for 70 yards, yikes. Just a real disappointing season for people who (including me) thought this could be the year for him.

WR Treat

Jordy Nelson

One of the bigger battles this offseason surrounding the WR position was Jordy or Randall and I was all-in on Jordy this year, including owning him in ¾ of all my leagues. A lot of questions surrounded him as well once he had knee surgery a few weeks before the season but that hasn’t stopped him at all this season. He has been great since Cobb has went down with an injury. So great that he’s managed to put up 278 yards and 4 TDs over the last 3 games and will continue to produce with favorable matchups over the next 7 weeks (all 7 rank in the top 15 of points given up to WRs).

Tight End Trick

Jared Cook

I thought all along that Cook wasn’t being used right in Tennessee and that with the right offense, he would be a star. After his performance in week 1, I felt on top of the world. He caught 7 balls for 141 yards and 2 TDs and Cook was alive and cooking (see what I did there). In 7 games since, 22 catches for 234 yards and ZERO TDs. my hopes and dreams smashed really fast. He has looked terrible. on Monday night, you saw him just give up on a route that ended up being intercepted and really costing the Rams good field position. I just don’t see much hope for Cook this year, but the tight end position has been so bad that Cook still ranks 12th amongst Fantasy TEs.

Tight End Treat

Jordan Cameron –

He has been a STUD for a majority of the season. There was a ton of hype surrounding him heading into the season in the Fantasy circles and if you bought into that hype, you have easily gotten a great return from him. He has slowed down a bit now that he is dealing with his 3rd QB of the season but he ranks as the #2 TE in all of Fantasy Football. He has double-digit points in 4 out of 8 games (7 out of 8 in PPR leagues) and has proven that he needs to be talked about among the top TEs in all of football.

TE Treat Part 2

Well I wasn’t going to have 2 treats for any position but with the success of Cameron and the success of my next guy, both guys deserve to be on the list.

Julius Thomas –

Mr. Orange Julius has been one of the biggest surprises of not just the NFL but the Fantasy world as well. He wasn’t really on anyone’s radar before the season started and easily has helped teams to victory across fantasy leagues everywhere. He is tied with Jimmy Graham with 8 TDs this year and has easily become a top target in a much crowed Denver offense. You have to keep an eye out on the injury he suffered but with the bye-week ahead, he should have enough time to heal and continue to impress/help Fantasy owners.

Defense Trick

Pittsburgh Steelers Defense

Even though they haven’t terrible this year, they just aren’t the same Steelers D we are used to seeing. They have only created 5 turnovers this year (they got those in 2 games) and can’t be trusted week to week as a Fantasy D.

Defense Treat

Kansas City Defense –

Okay, I thought the Chiefs with Andy Reid would contend and sneak into the playoffs this year but I sure the heck didn’t see an 8-0 start and having the best Defense in football either. In most formats, they have more than 25 points then the next closest D. They have scored 5 D/ST TDs, giving up a league low 12 PPG and have forced a league high 20 turnovers (10 fumbles and 10 INTS). They are easily the best Fantasy D.

That’s it for now folks; I hope you enjoyed my mixture of Halloween and Fantasy Football piece. If you think I missed anyone or think that someone should’ve been on my Trick-or-Treat list, hit me up on twitter @Rickygangster and I will tweet them out.

Don’t forget to check out our weekly Fantasy Football show on Sunday Mornings at 11 EST, as we cover anything to know about the games heading into that week. You can call in, tweet us questions throughout the week or just listen in weekly here: www.blogtalkradio.com/foryourconsideration

Also you buy from Amazon a lot? Make sure to use our link http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=rickygangster-20 and help the Sports Script movement.

 

2013 Fantasy Football WR Rankings

| Richard Valero

Fantasy Football season is upon us. Which means that millions of people around the world are drafting their teams. So I am here to bring you my latest rankings. Today I am going to give you my WR Rankings.

rankings as of 08/22/2013

Rank WR BYE
1 Calvin Johnson – Det 9
2 Dez Bryant – Dal 11
3 A.J. Green – Cin 12
4 Demaryius Thomas –   Den 9
5 Brandon Marshall –   Chi 8
6 Larry Fitzgerald –   Ari 9
7 Julio Jones – Atl 6
8 Vincent Jackson – TB 5
9 Andre Johnson – Hou 8
10 Roddy White – Atl 6
11 Victor Cruz – NYG 9
12 Marques Colston – NO 7
13 Randall Cobb – GB 4
14 Dwayne Bowe – KC 10
15 Danny Amendola – NE 10
16 Hakeem Nicks – NYG 9
17 Jordy Nelson – GB 4
18 Steve Smith – Car 4
19 Mike Wallace – Mia 6
20 Greg Jennings – Min 5
21 Antonio Brown – Pit 5
22 Wes Welker – Den 9
23 Reggie Wayne – Ind 8
24 Eric Decker – Den 9
25 Pierre Garcon – Was 5
26 Cecil Shorts – Jac 9
27 Torrey Smith – Bal 8
28 James Jones – GB 4
29 T.Y. Hilton – Ind 8
30 DeSean Jackson – Phi 12
31 Steve Johnson – Buf 9
32 Mike Williams – TB 5
33 Miles Austin – Dal 11
34 Kenny Britt – Ten 8
35 Tavon Austin – StL 11
36 Josh Gordon – Cle 10
37 Lance Moore – NO 7
38 Anquan Boldin – SF 9
39 Kenbrell Thompkins – NE 10
40 Emmanuel Sanders –   Pit 5
41 Rueben Randle – NYG 9
42 Michael Floyd – Ari 9
43 Golden Tate – Sea 12
44 Vincent Brown – SD 8
45 Justin Blackmon – Jac 9
46 Kendall Wright – Ten 8
47 Ryan Broyles – Det 9
48 DeAndre Hopkins – Hou 8
49 Alshon Jeffery – Chi 8
50 Darrius Heyward-Bey –   Ind 8

5 Players I am Targeting on Draft Day

| Richard Valero

The NFL season is inching closer and closer, meaning Fantasy Football is gearing up in full swing. Today I go over the 5 players that I am targeting throughout my Drafts.

Marques Colston – Current ADP 49th overall – 18th ranked WR (13th in my rankings)

You have Bowe, Nicks, Amendola and Welker all being drafted ahead of Colston. Heck even Randall Cobb, who we haven’t seen play a full 16 game season yet, is being drafted ahead of him. There are some serious questions surrounding every one of the guys being drafted ahead of him.

What you get with Colston: 4 straight season with 80 receptions and 1000 yards, 100+ targets, 1000+ yards and 7 or more TDs in 6 out of the last 7 seasons.

Colston is consistent and the fact these guys are being drafted ahead of him is ridiculous. With a questionable receiving group and Drew Brees throwing the football, he’ll do great next season. He is currently being drafted in Round 4-5. If you run into a situation where you’re considering taking one of these players, I’d go with Colston.

Chris Johnson – Current ADP 21st overall – 14th ranked RB (15th in my rankings)

His ADP and rankings are just fine with me. The Titans beefed up the O-line this offseason and, with some new coaching regime in town, I think CJ is poised for a breakout. There are talks of getting him more involved in the passing game this year and that could be great for his Fantasy value. He had 29 carries last year of 10 or more yards, which was most in the NFL. I expect him to have a much better season this year than he did last.

Reggie Bush – Current ADP 43rd overall – 21st ranked RB (12th in my rankings)

I favor him more in PPR than I do standard. Bush has the potential to have a Darren Sproles like season in Detroit. I think he will be a 3 down back for this team and that alone makes him an easy RB1 this year. He may not get as many TDs, because I think LeShoure is going to be the goal line back, but I could easily see him catching 50-60 balls this year with 900+ yards on the ground. That alone would make him a top 10 back in PPR league this year and in the top 20 for standard leagues.

Jordy Nelson – Current ADP 44th overall – 15th ranked WR (11th in my rankings)

I am really big on Nelson this season. With Jennings playing for the Vikings now, he has a good shot of stepping up and being the Packers #1 WR. I think he has a better value than people are giving him credit for. I don’t like that Cobb ranks ahead of him at all. I see Nelson with 1200 yards and 10+ TDs for the 2013 season making him a solid WR1 in 2013.

Late Round QBs

I, for one, am not big on drafting QBs. Last year, in one of my bigger leagues (16 team) I played in, I took my QBs (Alex Smith/Russell Wilson) in 2 out of the last 3 rounds. I drafted LeSean McCoy, Jamaal Charles, Julio Jones, Frank Gore and Stevan Ridley in the 1st 5 rounds. I then took a late flier in the draft on CJ Spiller. So I was pretty loaded at RB, as well as looking good at my WR position. Another player who decided to go QB (Brees) in the 1st round was in need of a RB in week 3. I spun Jamaal Charles (after his big 200+ yard game) for Brees. With my depth at RB, I was able to make this trade and not worry about the lack of depth. This move, along with positioning myself well in FA, allowed me to go on and win my 2nd title in 3 years in that league.

So I don’t think you have to snag a QB in order to win a championship. It can help but you miss out on sure-fire RBs and are left to settle with a RB with “potential” upside. This year there is a lot of pairings that I think will work well for you. Any of the following guys are being drafted in the 9th round and beyond.

Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, Jay Cutler, Sam Bradford, Carson Palmer, Matt Schaub, Josh Freeman & Alex Smith.

If you could pair any of these two guys up on your team and start them when a matchup favors them. You could be looking at a solid roster. This would mean you are snagging some of the better guys near the top of the draft instead of worrying about getting one of the top-tier QBs.

So remember come draft day and any of these guys are available at the right moment make sure to snag them.

 

2013 Fantasy Football WR Rankings

| Richard Valero

We have entered Fantasy Football season folks. We are only a few weeks away from our 1st preseason games and I am here to give you my updated Fantasy Football rankings. As the season nears check back daily for up to date rankings and articles helping you with this years Fantasy Football draft.

2013 Fantasy Football WR Rankings

Rank Player Team BYE
1 Calvin Johnson DET 9
2 AJ Green CIN 12
3 Dez Bryant DAL 11
4 Demaryius Thomas DEN 9
5 Brandon Marshall CHI 8
6 Larry Fitzgerald ARI 9
7 Julio Jones ATL 6
8 Vincent Jackson TB 5
9 Andre Johnson HOU 8
10 Victor Cruz NYG 9
11 Jordy Nelson GB 4
12 Roddy White ATL 6
13 Marques Colston NO 7
14 Randall Cobb GB 4
15 Dwayne Bowe KC 10
16 Percy Harvin SEA 12
17 Hakeem Nicks NYG 9
18 Steve Smith CAR 4
19 Mike Wallace MIA 6
20 Danny Amendola NE 10
21 Antonio Brown PIT 5
22 Wes Welker DEN 9
23 Reggie Wayne IND 8
24 Eric Decker DEN 9
25 Pierre Garcon WAS 5
26 T.Y. Hilton IND 8
27 Torrey Smith BAL 8
28 Desean Jackson PHI 12
29 Greg Jennings MIN 5
30 Cecil Shorts JAX 9

2013 Fantasy Football WR Rankings

| Richard Valero

Two weeks ago I unveiled my Top QB’s for the 2013 Fantasy season (2013 Fantasy Football QB Rankings) and last week my top RB’s (2013 Fantasy Football RB Rankings). Today I unleash my Top WR’s for the 2013 Fantasy Football Season.

UPDATED 07/16/2013

2013 Preseason Fantasy Football WR Rankings

Rank Player Team BYE
1 Calvin Johnson DET 9
2 AJ Green CIN 12
3 Dez Bryant DAL 11
4 Demaryius Thomas DEN 9
5 Brandon Marshall CHI 8
6 Larry Fitzgerald ARI 9
7 Julio Jones ATL 6
8 Andre Johnson HOU 8
9 Vincent Jackson TB 5
10 Victor Cruz NYG 9
11 Jordy Nelson GB 4
12 Roddy White ATL 6
13 Marques Colston NO 7
14 Percy Harvin SEA 12
15 Dwayne Bowe KC 10
16 Randall Cobb GB 4
17 Hakeem Nicks NYG 9
18 Steve Smith CAR 4
19 Mike Wallace MIA 6
20 Danny Amendola NE 10
21 Antonio Brown PIT 5
22 Wes Welker DEN 9
23 Reggie Wayne IND 8
24 Eric Decker DEN 9
25 Pierre Garcon WAS 5
26 T.Y. Hilton IND 8
27 Torrey Smith BAL 8
28 Desean Jackson PHI 12
29 Greg Jennings MIN 5
30 James Jones GB 4

Twitter Handle: @RickyGangster

Week 16 Must Start/Must Sit …….

| Richard Valero

Championship Week is upon us all, some of you the title game is next week. But for everyone it’s an important week this week. Good luck to you all.

Must Start

Matthew Stafford v.s ATL – Coming off a rough week against the Cardinals, Stafford faces a semi tough matchup. But the Falcons defense before last week gave up 275+ yards in 3 straight games against QB’s. I think they just made sure to revenge last year’s playoff blowout. So look for the him to have a nice bounce back game this weekend.

Darren McFadden v.s Car – Carolina has been good against the run the last two weeks because they have jumped out to big leads. I don’t think they do the same against the Raiders. McFadden had his 1st 100 yard game since week 8 and should have another this week. I am always cautious about teams traveling across the country to face teams. But start McFadden regardless.

Alfred Morris v.s Phi – Whether Griffin plays or not Morris is a must start. But if RGIII sits again this week, his value peaks high again. He had a season high 27 carries last week and he has 100 yards or a TD in 4 straight games. He faces a Eagles team that has given up 100 yards on the ground in 10 straight games. Love the matchup, easy must start this week.

Steven Jackson v.s TB – Facing one of the tough defenses against the run in Tampa Bay. You would think Jackson might be good on the sidelines this week. Well I think that is wrong, he will have another solid week this week. He has 19+ touches in the last 4 games and has 14 catches out of the backfield in the last 3 games.

Pierre Garcon v.s Phi – Ever since coming of the injury this guy has been money. It doesn’t matter if RGIII or Cousins is at QB, he has 32 targets in the last 3 games. He is producing and should again this week against a weak Eagles secondary.

Danny Amendola v.s TB – Can we just call him Wes Welker 2.0? Could you imagine how many receptions this guy would have if he stayed healthy all season? He is a PPR machine, easy must start whenever he is playing.

Antonio Gates v.s NYJ – Gates found the end zone for the 5th time this year late in the game last week. I look for him have a very nice game against the Bad news Bears the Jets.

Must Sit

Andrew Luck v.s KC – If you have him as an only option this week, than I believe you should start him. But if you can get your hands on another option i.e. Wilson, Freeman or Flacco. I would start them ahead of Luck this week. They are ranked 7th against the pass this year in terms of yardage. The potential for a rough week is possible.

Jonathon Dwyer v.s Cin – Terrible matchup for him this week against a Bengals team that hasn’t given up over 50 yards on the ground in 3 games. Look for other options this week that have a better upside than Dwyer.

Chris Johnson v.s GB – Green Bay hasn’t been the best on stopping the run, but I don’t think this game will be close. I think the Packers will get out in front early taking the run out of this game. So if you have better RB’s on the roster to start, I would put them in the lineup.

Bryce Brown v.s Was – He is basically Fantasy Irrelevant now that McCoy has been named starter of the Eagles. Even with possibly splitting carries he is not worth the start this week.

Josh Gordon v.s Den – The young rookie will get to meet Champ Bailey this week. Bailey is one of the best this game has seen. I believe he will make him a non-factor in this game. Making him bench able this week in all formats.

Falcons D v.s Lions – I don’t trust the Falcons D we saw last week, they will struggle against the Lions. I think the Lions will get a lot of yardage and score over 20 points. Making them a not so hot start for this week.

Those are my week 16 start/sits, any Fantasy Football Questions you can ask on here or on twitter. (@rickygangster) I’ll answer any and all questions you send leading up to game time.

 

Week 16 Fantasy Football Sleepers

| Richard Valero

If you are reading this you are most likely heading to the Fantasy Football Championship. So I wish good luck to you in winning your Fantasy league this weekend.

Josh Freeman v.s STL – Even though the Rams have been decent against Fantasy QB’s over the past few weeks. I really like Freeman to bounce back in a nice way from that awful performance last week. I wouldn’t hesitate starting him this week at all.

Vick Ballard v.s KC – Coming off his 1st career 100 yard rushing game against the Texans. Ballard gets another really good matchup for this week. Facing a team that just came off giving up over 200 yards on the ground to Oakland. On the road against a struggling team, the Colts might try to run a bit more. He should be viewed as a really solid RB2/Flex play this week.

Reggie Bush v.s Buf – I really liked Bush last week against the Jaguars and in return had his 1st 100 yard game since week 2. This week against a Bills team that just gave up 270 yards on the ground. He should be a really nice option this weekend.

Danny Woodhead v.s JAX – Woodhead snuck into the lineup after both Ridley and Vereen fumbled the ball. We all know that Belichick holds grudges against players that fumble. With the Jaguars giving up 150+ yards on the ground. He could be a sneaky Flex play for this weekend.

Cecil Shorts v.s NE – After missing the week 14 matchup due to a concussion. Shorts came back and didn’t miss a beat. 6 catches for 101 yards on 11 targets, obviously Henne’s favorite target. This week comes against a questionable New England Defense. So he should have another good week this week.

T.Y Hilton v.s KC – Hilton has either a TD or 100 yards in 4 out of the last 5 games. He’s targets are there for sure. I think he should be a solid play this week at the WR2/Flex player.

Danny Amendola v.s TB – Amendola plays and he just catches the football. Misses two games due to the foot injury, comes back for 58 yards and a touchdown. This week he gets the Bucs, one of the worst teams against the pass. He should be a must start in PPR options and a strong WR2/Flex in standard leagues.

Jermichael Finley v.s TN – Finley hasn’t been consistent by any means, but he does have 21 targets in the last 4 games. He has a very nice matchup this week against the Titans. Who have a history of being terrible against tight end’s. If you have been filling in for Gronk, he would be a good spot start.

Those are my Week 16 sleepers, I will be posting my start/sits later this week.. Any thoughts or questions feel free to comment below or contact me on Twitter.(@rickygangster)

Week 11 Fantasy Football Sleepers….

| Richard Valero

I know one thing for sure these Thursday games throw me off big time. I am the type of player who likes a couple of my guys going Monday night so I know how many points I need to seal off another victory. The last bye weeks are this week and a bunch of injuries at QB really affect this week’s sleepers.

1. Nick Foles v.s Was – This is easily the sleeper of the week, With the likes of Ben, Cutler, Vick & Eli not going this week. Foles is a must have player for your team if you own one of those guys. He has an easy matchup this week against Washington. They have given up 300+ yards 6 times this year. One thing we know for sure Andy Reid loves to throw the football. Need a QB for the week, Foles is definitely the guy to have.

2. Steve Smith v.s TB – The Bucs have given up over 700+ yards of passing the last two weeks. Smith should have no problem shredding this defense this weekend. I really look for him to have big game. Hopefully getting back on track for the rest of the season.

3. Donnie Avery v.s NE – I think we may see a WR for every team facing the NE defense on this list every week. Avery is averaging 6+ targets every game this year. The Colts throw the football a lot & this week is going to be no different. So whether it’s a shootout or they are trying to comeback. Avery will see his fair share of targets this week.

4. Danny Amendola v.s NYJ – He simply showed why wise Fantasy owners stashed him after being dropped after the injury(including myself). He caught 11 of his 12 targets for 102 yards last week. In PPR leagues this guy is a flat stud, this week against a bad Jets D he should be really good.

5. Donald Jones v.s Mia – Jones is having a very good season this year and is coming on strong as of late. 24 targets in the last 3 games, 2 of which went for touchdowns. This could be a high scoring game for sure. So that will fare well for Jones as well.

Those are my Week 11 sleepers, I will be posting my start/sits on Friday. Any thoughts or questions feel free to comment below or contact me on Twitter.(@rickygangster)