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Week 7 was gross. Not skater-term gross, but gross in the way that makes you question why you spent upwards of seven hours making a smelly indent in the couch, being anything but productive.
Bad football, low fantasy production and a worse Monday night game may have forced you to watch the World Series — but all is well in Fantasyland, and I’ll tell you a few ways that you, or at least your fantasy team, can be productive this Sunday.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, winning a fantasy football league is contingent on playing the correct lineup when taking in consideration bye weeks, injuries and who is playing well. By Week 8, all three are huge factors.
For the quarterback position, look for the Rams’ Sam Bradford as a fill-in. Bradford missed last week with a high ankle sprain and was seen walking in a boot on Monday. Despite that, Bradford almost played last week and is most likely to get the start against the Saints, who have given up the fifth-most fantasy points to QB’s this year.
Bradford had receivers that couldn’t catch water if they fell out of a boat before the arrival of wideout Brandon Lloyd. Bradford has had a bad season thus far, it’s easy to make big plays with wide receiver Denario Alexander. The Rams will air it out, having nothing to lose at 0-6, and Bradford must be excited to use his weapon of the future in Lloyd.
Redskins quarterback John Beck played like a stud against the poorly defending Panthers, going off for 279 yards and a touchdown in the air, as well as a touchdown on the ground. Don’t expect Beck to continue to flirt with 20 points — I mean, he couldn’t beat out Rex Grossman in the preseason — but he has another favorable matchup against the Bills, who have given up the seventh-most points to QB’s.
Cowboys running back Demarco Murray reassured us that the Rams are a pretty bad football team. The rookie set a team rushing record last week, frying up a 30-burger for fantasy owners and going off for 253 yards and a score. Murray won’t reach those numbers this week, but his performance has clearly earned him some carries for at least a few weeks moving forward. The Cowboys have an NFC East showdown against the Eagles, who have forfeited the second-most fantasy points to running backs. Murray is set up to have another big day.
Saints running back Pierre Thomas enjoyed his best day of the season last week when the Saints exploded for 61 points against the helpless Colts. Quick side note: I don’t miss seeing Peyton Manning’s giraffe-esque neck in every other commercial on Sundays.
Back to the point: Pierre didn’t touch pay dirt but finished with 57 yards rushing and 68 yards receiving. The best news for Thomas owners is that fellow running back Mark Ingram suffered a minor heel injury at the end of the game and will most likely miss this weekend’s game. The Saints are playing the Rams on Sunday, and with the promising fantasy matchups and quarterback Drew Brees playing at a historic pace, expect Thomas to have another great day and find the endzone. Endzone or not, the Saints will be moving the ball at will and Thomas figures to be a large part of the game plan.
I want to send so many angry letters to ’Skins head coach Mike Shanahan. I hate to endorse Redskins running backs after how frustrating they have been to fantasy owners, but Ryan Torain has got to be the man now in Washington. Tim Hightower’s season ended due to a torn ACL and you would think Torain would get the bulk of the carries. He has a great chance to prove his worth this weekend facing the Bills who have given up the eighth-most fantasy points to backs.
My last note this week: Do not bench Titans running back Chris Johnson. Don’t even think about it, because the week you do, he will go off. There is no way the running back who has had the best three seasons to start his career in the history of the NFL is all of a sudden going to be completely ineffective. I would be surprised if he doesn’t get it going against the Colts this weekend, as I can’t bring myself to say that this is a lost season for Johnson.
