Week 7 Fantasy Picks

Last week was an odd one for fantasy as many players kept going up and down, with no sign of consistency, thanks NY Giants offense.  The Giants were starting to show promise from an offensive perspective, but they put up a real stinker last week to an okay defense.  That line that showed promise was used and abused this past Sunday night and fantasy owners felt it hard.  Our quarterback picks were the worst of the group as Big Ben, Eli and Matt Ryan all were not worth the start that we suggested and that percentage is unacceptable.  We did fairly well the rest of the way as there were no huge misses besides Andre Williams, who was part of the Giants debacle.  Let us make up for our calls any way we can.

Quarterbacks

Mr. Newton will need to use
those legs that look to be
healthy early and often in
Green Bay.

Cam Newton, Cam showed that his ability to run is back as he was able to amass 100 yards rushing as they don't have any other choice when it comes to the running game.  The once stout Carolina defense has shown they can be penetrated, which is not good news with Rodgers at home as this week's opponent.  Newton will have to do his best to keep up and we could be looking at a 3 touchdown performance.
Tony Romo, the Giants have struggled to stop people from throwing touchdowns and have done a decent job from keeping people from running into the end zone, so look for some goal line looks through the air this week and Romo could notch 3 touchdowns as well, but is a good bet for at least 2.
Carson Palmer, don't expect crazy numbers out of Palmer, but the Raiders allow a lot of passing touchdowns, so Palmer will not disappoint this week and he is a cheap FanDuel fantasy play as well, which is vital as many of the big quarterbacks all have tougher matchups and may not be worth the spend.
Kirk Cousins, Cousins who has not played great football, has still been pretty good fantasy wise, especially if you play in a league that only deducts a point for interception.  The Redskins need a win and have Tennessee coming to town.  Could be a good combination.

Sleepers

Tom Brady, I would have had him as my top quarterback as the Jets stop the run and are terrible against the pass.  The main issue is that the weather will not be working in his favor as there should be consistent rain tonight.  They should be able to move the ball, despite the rivalry, and I expect him to at least have 2 touchdowns as they will not be able to run the ball, especially with Ridley out.
Kyle Orton, I would not expect big numbers, but he could get you a couple of touchdowns with the Vikings coming to town and could be a serviceable #2 in 2 quarterback leagues.
Brian Hoyer, steady he goes, as he doesn't put up huge numbers, but he consistently puts up okay numbers and hasn't thrown out a true stinker as he constantly has double digit points.  Going to Jacksonville could change that and he might hit 20 points for second time this year.

Don't Start

Austin Davis, Seattle is not too happy and after being shredded, expect Mr. Davis to feel the brunt of it.
For the record, I don't love Drew Brees this week, especially without Graham.  It is tough to bench him, but he may not give you numbers you expect out of Brees.  I would also not expect a duplicate performance from Flacco, despite the Falcons playing some poor defense.  They still have good young corners, they just need to find a rush to have quarterbacks get the ball out quicker.


Running Backs

Ben Tate, if you haven't noticed, Tate is playing some good football for fantasy owners the last couple of weeks.  Don't expect anything different going to Jacksonville.
Justin Forsett, on the flip side of Atlanta's decent pass defense is a bad run defense and Baltimore seems to have given Forsett the green light and he has produced especially for PPR owners.
Fred Jackson, with Spiller not looking the part, the ageless wonder Fred Jackson is getting the goal line carries with a conservative offense.  Like him a lot against Minnesota.
Branden Oliver, give this guy the start until he disappoints.  He is getting the majority of the touches and produces when he does.
Lamar Miller, back to being the main back, where hopefully the Fins learn to feed this man as he averages around 5 yards a carry.  He can also catch the ball and going to Chicago, they may need to keep the ball on the ground and out of Cutler's hands.

Sleepers

Chris Ivory, pretty bad weather, the Patriots are missing Mayo and they have not been great against the run in general.  The big issue will be whether the Patriots will allow Geno to pass and focus on stopping the run.  This would definitely be a game plan start, which is tough as we are all on the outside.  May be worth the risk if you are desperate.
Antone Smith, if you have not picked him up and he is available, get on the wire and do it.  This guy keeps producing despite the Falcon's coaching staff being so inept as to see what they have.  He might be worth it this week, especially in PPR leagues.  Not bad if you are desperate.

Don't Start

Steven Jackson, going to Baltimore is not a good luck for a running back to begin with, but when you look old and terrible to boot, really bad look.  I also expect him to lose even more touches to other running backs, that look like they should still be playing in the NFL.
Saints RB, take your pick here.  I wouldn't start any of them going into Detroit.

Wide Receivers

Desean Jackson, keep riding this guy as he keeps producing and this will be the third week in a row that we have picked him.
Brandon Marshall, I know I usually don't put these guys on here, but he has been getting some slack the last few weeks.  Going against Miami, Marshall will be ready and with his best buddy throwing him the ball, expect Cutler to force some extra targets to him.
Brandin Cooks, playing against Detroit without Graham, look for Brees to get rid of the ball quickly.  These quick throws to Cooks will make up for their lack of running game.
Randle/Beckham, going into Dallas after a truly lackluster performance, I expect the Giants to get back to throwing the ball quickly and without Cruz around, these 2 should pick up the slack.

Sleepers

Brandon Lafell, I know it is tough weather, but with teams finally doubling Edelman, Lafell is reaping the benefits and be worth the look tonight, if you are desperate.
Andre Holmes, this is a tough one as he is beginning to look like Carr's favorite guy, but this could lead to Peterson covering him, which is not a good look.  I would possibly take a chance in a PPR league if you are desperate.

Deep Sleep

Preston Parker, this would be a FanDuel receiver that will be very cheap and may produce some points as he will most likely take over for Cruz.  Will have nickel backs covering him most of the night, give him a look.

Tight Ends

Jordan Cameron, get back on the Cameron train as he is healthy and Hoyer's favorite target.

Jace Amaro, fast becoming a favorite target and he is beginning to understand how the NFL works.  Worth a shot if you are desperate.

Week 6 Fantasy Picks

Coming off a decent week, despite missing grossly on Demariyus Thomas as he had a game for the ages, ATP was able to hit more than miss last week.  I would have to admit that Arizona missed a lot more on Thomas than I did, as what were they thinking of covering him with Cromartie, who did about a good a job at covering as he has naming all of his kids (Youtube it).What is the point of having a Patrick Peterson on your team if you are not going to use him, I digress.  By now, you are starting to figure out where you stand in your leagues, unless you are doing a FanDuel type of league, where every week is a new week, and you are either in it or your team is so-so and you need to be on top of your game to eke out a win, that is hopefully where we come in.  Let us move on to our picks and hope we can all get W's.

Quarterbacks

Ben Roethlisberger, coming off an okay week and going to Cleveland should be a good sign for Big Ben owners.  Joe Haden is not having a great year after signing a big contract, which would be the only reason not to like Ben.  He has been playing good this year and I expect him to have a good week this week
Brian Hoyer, on the other side of things, Hoyer playing at home coming off an impressive win, expect more of the same as the Steelers defense has had a hard time stopping anybody.  Hoyer is smart and you could do worse than Hoyer this week.
Phillip Rivers, Rivers is an every week starter until you are told otherwise, especially this week at Oakland.
Jay Cutler, coming off a bad loss where they were up against Carolina, Cutler needs to get back to form against a bad Atlanta defense.  We expect him to.
Matt Ryan, they have offensive line problems, but with Chicago coming to town, that can cure a lot of ills from an offensive standpoint.
Eli Manning, coming off a so-so game, where we liked him a lot, he will need to throw the ball a bit more going into Philly and he should be able to pick and choose from his stable of receivers.

Don't Start

Kyle Orton, I know I had him here last week and he threw for 300, but only 1 touchdown.  He also completed a majority of passes to his running backs, which does not impress me. New England is coming to town and they will not let him throw as he did last week.
Ponder/Bridgewater, Detroit's offense has had issues, but their defense is doing what they can and I don't expect much out of these quarterbacks.

Running Backs

Branden Oliver, as long as Ryan Matthews doesn't walk through the tunnel to take away touches, you should have a pretty good back this week with Oliver as he is going against Oakland and has looked good so far.
Andre Williams, should have the load this week against Philly and he has been going at a good clip, expect 100 yards and a touchdown this week.
Matt Forte, should have a good week against a bad Atlanta defense.
Lamar Miller/Moreno, if Moreno does not play against Green Bay, Miller is a very good play this week.  If Moreno goes, it may be tough to pick either as Moreno might have a small role or a big one, making all of them gambles. 
Joique Bell, as long as he goes, he should have a pretty good week at the Vikings.  There will most likely be no Reggie Bush, which leaves Bell and George Winn. 

Sleeper

Ben Tate is finally getting the
opportunity to impress his
new fan base as well as his
fantasy owners.

Ben Tate, Tate looked good last week and with Pitt coming to town, he will be bringing his A game for the division rival, whose defense has seen much better days. 

Don't Start

Zac Stacy/Benny Cunningham, whoever is going for the Rams, I would stay away from as the 49ers have begun to slow down opposing run games.  Stacy has also been injured, which is another reason to stay away.
Hillman/Thompson/Anderson, this triumvirate of Bronco running backs are what is left after Ball got hurt and they are travelling to play the Jets, who were eviscerated by Branden Oliver last week.  I expect the Jets to get the run defense back to normal and we still don't know what role each back will play.  I would stay away from them, but if I had to pick one to start out of desperation, I am going Hillman as running backs have had some success as receivers against the Jets.
Asiata/Mckinnon, going against Detroit who is coming off a bad loss.  Stay away.
Alfred Morris, the Cardinals are pretty good against the run and Morris needs a hole to produce.

Wide Receivers

Golden Tate, most likely no Calvin Johnson and Tate has made the most of these opportunities so far, keep rolling with him
Mike Wallace, with Green Bay coming to town, the Dolphins will need to throw the ball, which gives Wallace plenty of opportunities to display his skills.
Desean Jackson, if Peterson is good enough to go, we would have to assume that he would cover Garcon as taller corners have a tough time with shifty receivers like Jackson.  Could have another big week due to a ton of targets.
Vincent Jackson, all aboard the Vincent Jackson train as with Mike Evans injured, he will get a lot of looks.
Steve Smith, probably not happy that he was slowed down last week.  Look for him to get back on track.

Sleepers

Mohammed Sanu, no AJ Green this week, you could have a Golden Tate like situation.  Sanu is more of a sleeper since they are playing the Panthers though.
Devante Adams, this is more of a FanDuel pick as he should be pretty cheap and he is becoming a bigger part of the offense every week.

Don't Start

Pierre Garcon, good chance that Peterson will be covering him.  If you have better options, go there.

Monday Pickups

This will be the first time ATP has done a Monday pick up edition, but with the way all of these injuries have been going, it would seem to be in order.  I am going to start with running backs as that seems to be where the injuries hurt the most.

Running Backs

Must Grab

Watch out for Mr. Oliver!

Branden Oliver, San Diego; In case you did not get a chance to watch this little bowling ball, he looked very good dicing up a very good Jet run defense.  He also catches the ball out of the backfield, which helps for PPR leagues.
Andre Williams, NY Giants; Jennings got hurt yesterday and Williams has scored in the last 2 weeks and could become a bellcow type of running back, so pick this guy up yesterday as the Giants are happy to give running backs the ball around the goal line.
Ronnie Hillman, Denver; Montee Ball could be out for a little bit and even if he comes back, I am not sure that he is doing better than Hillman has been.  Hillman is good out of the backfield as well, which is good for PPR leagues.  My main issue will be if he gets goal line carries.


Worth a shot in deep leagues

Antone Smith, Atlanta; this guy is very fast and the Falcons have not been getting a lot of production out of their running backs and Mike Smith came out and said that Antone should become more involved in the offense, which should take away from Jacquizz Rogers and Devonta Freeman.
Benny Cunningham, STL; not that I don't think he can play, it is just up in the air with Stacey's injury, but if you have room on your roster, take a shot.  He has a dreadful schedule coming up as he plays in the NFC West, which is why I don't think you have to grab him.
George Winn, Det; Bush and Bell are both sidelined at the moment and Winn is the only healthy RB on the roster.  I am not sure how long those guys will be out as they could be back this week, so don't drop anybody important to pick him up.

Really Deep

De'Anthony Thomas, KC; this is specifically for PPR leagues as they use these guys as running backs and he scored in his debut and he runs really well.  It will come down to if there are enough balls to go around, but he is much like a Dexter McCuster and Joe McKnight also had a couple of touchdowns one week, but Jamal Charles was hurt at the time.

Wide Receivers

Odell Beckham, NYG; Scored in his debut yesterday and Eli seems to like throwing his way and he was a beast his whole career at LSU, so this guy may be worth a flyer, especially in PPR leagues.
Kenny Britt, he was on our pre-season sleeper list and he finally showed some worth as he scored yesterday.  Britt is a big bodied receiver and may be worth a look.
Davante Adams, GB; he looks to be taking over the under rated third receiver slot in Green Bay and that position has brought out some real gems, most recently Randall Cobb.  This is a home run upside guy as Rodgers seems to have faith in him as well.
Louis Murphy, TB; don't love this guy, but if you are hurting and in a really deep league, Murphy may be worth it while Evans is sidelined.

Tight End

Tim Wright, NE; we wrote about Wright in the pre-season, where we think he will be there to revive the Aaron Hernandez role and last night, he really looked the part and suddenly that Logan Mankins trade is not looking so bad in New England.
Jace Amaro, NYJ; this player is going to be very good, but he needs to find a quarterback that can find him the ball.  Mark my words on Mr. Amaro as he will be a very good player given the chance, but it may be too early at this moment, but keep an eye on him.

Week 5 Fantasy Picks

Well, our picks have been performing fairly decent and last week was no exception, besides the stinkers we put up for our defensive picks as Pittsburgh and Atlanta could not look good 2 weeks in a row on the defensive side of the ball as they may be allergic.  Romo owners had to be happy as he finally came out of his shell and found Terrence Williams early and often to the unhappy Dez Bryant owners, me included, but we were lucky to get a garbage time touchdown out of him at least.  For week 5, most of the NFL will be active and I doubt many people will be upset that they won't see the Raiders and the Dolphins who are on by, except for Lamar Miller owners who were lucky to get a couple of touchdown from him last week.  On to our picks for week 5, which we can hopefully replicate recent results.

Quarterbacks

Cam Newton does not make
my start list often, so maybe
this will bring him and his
owners a little good fortune.

Eli Manning, I posted last week that I liked what I saw out of Eli Manning and that he is most likely beginning to be comfortable with Ben McAdoo's offense.  If he is out there, I would go and pick him up as I don't think that last week was an aberration and especially in that offense with really quick receivers, they are going to get the ball out of his hands and let them do work, which should mean less turnovers as he does not have to hold the ball or stay in the pocket for long.  Atlanta is coming to town, which should be all the better as they are usually awful on the road.
Phillip Rivers, it is pretty funny to see these 2 constantly on here, but as long as they keep getting these matchups and running their offenses smoothly, they will either be on or be considered must starts like the other Manning, Rodgers and Brees.
Cam Newton, this is a guy that I usually don't put on here, because I don't trust him.  This week, the Bears are coming to town and they need Newton who should be getting healthier and I think he will come back with a strong week and should put up a couple of scores.
Joe Flacco, here is another guy that if he is available, you should go and get as he will be a consistent performer.  Going into Indy to face Luck, expect him to throw a good amount, but those corners are no joke and don't expect it to be too easy, but should put up a couple of scores.

Sleepers

Mike Glennon, I like this guy's poise and he has a much better relationship with V-Jax, who should begin to put up big numbers, especially with Mike Evans sidelined.  You could do worse than Glennon in a 2 QB league.
Blake Bortles, much like last week, these 2 guys are who I am sleeping with as Bortles should get better with experience and become more comfortable with these young receivers.

Don't Start

Kirk Cousins, I realize this may be obvious to some, but I would probably be okay going against Seattle, if he did not have so many poor decisions in that second half against the Giants.  I want to wait and see what Cousins can do before I start him again.
Kyle Orton, not that I don't think he can play, but going to Detroit in his first game starting in a while is a tough one.  I would keep an eye on this guy as this receiving corps could be dangerous and if Orton gets it, he could be a key pick up.

Running Backs

Rashad Jennings/Andre Williams, I am much higher on Jennings, but this could become a platoon issue and Williams could provide some upside if your backs are hurt or you drafted terribly.  Atlanta has had a hard time stopping the run as evidenced from last week and this should not be any easier.
Leveon Bell, this guy needs to get back on track and going to Jacksonville should be a good way to get back to his 100 yard game ways.  The main issue with Bell is his lack of touchdowns as Pitt is not a great running team inside the 10, which is why Antonio Brown may be the best fantasy receiver at this point in the season.
Zac Stacey, going to Philly, the Rams will need to keep the ball and the best way to do that is feed Stacey and keep possession.  Look for a lot of touches from Stacey this week.

Don't Start

Bishop Sankey, not that I don't like him as they are starting to get him more involved in the offense, the Browns have a solid run defense and 2 weeks to prepare, so I would hold off for now.
Montee Ball, here is a guy that has underperformed and I expect that to stay the same as Arizona is coming to town and Todd Boles, the Arizona DC, will be ready for this offense coming off a bye.
Spiller/Jackson, going to Detroit and a new quarterback, might be a tough combo for these guys.
Donald Brown, the Jets are coming to town and Brown has not looked great anyway, so sit him unless you are desperate.
Matt Forte, has not done enough outside of last week and Carolina usually does well against the run, in a PPR league, he may have some value.

Wide Receivers

Vincent Jackson, no Mike Evans and Mike Glennon is back in the saddle, look for Jackson to get back to 2013 form, especially against New Orleans.
Ruben Randle/Victor Cruz, these 2 should become PPR monsters as they are moving to a short passing game that will give them both lots of targets and receptions.
Terrence Williams, Houston sports a decent run defense and it would seem that the game plan will be to try and shut down Murray and double Bryant, which should leave Williams with one on one for most of the day and you could have a repeat of last week.
Emmanuel Sanders, should have a good matchup most of the day and will get many of the targets.

Don't Start

Demariyus Thomas, I know this goes against starting your studs, but he has been off this year and I expect Peterson to be covering him.  Look for Peyton to throw to the other guys as that is the smart move.

Tight Ends

Larry Donnell, I liked him a few weeks back, but I would ride this guy until he cools down as Eli seems to really like him around the goal line and it is tough to double cover when they have good receivers on the outside.
Jared Cook, was burnt by this guy last year as I had him as a pre-season sleeper, but maybe he is becoming what I thought he would this season.  Give him a go as they don't have go to receivers and Austin Davis needs to throw to somebody, especially going to Philly.