Fantasy Football Advice

Continuing from back in the day when I posted on the first three rounds of our mock draft, I have rounds 4-7 for your enjoyment.  You should also check out some other posts on the draft from my mockonspirators Melissa Jacobs at Football Girl, Bryan Fontaine at Rookie Blitz and Matt Schauf at RapidDraft.

My picks are in bold, because they’re bold.

Round Four

37. Anquan Boldin

38. Joseph Addai

39. Steve Smith (CAR)

40. Marques Colston

41. Wes Welker

42. Cedric Benson

43. Jerome Harrison

44. Shonn Greene

45. Sidney Rice

46. Steve Smith (NYG)

47. Braylon Edwards

48. Brandon Jacobs

– Braylon Edwards is the ultimate risk reward player, heavy on the risk, with a side of risk

– Both Steve Smiths made an appearance in the 4th round.  They are opposites in many ways and have different strengths.  The Mighty Giant is a consistent ppr stud, but won’t get you big yardage and TD games, while Mighty Mouse is the exact opposite; he won’t be consistent, but will have some huge games.

– Joseph Addai pulled off a great year when many thought he was on his way out, but can he do it again?  I’m not going to doubt him completely, but I have to be realistic and believe his numbers won’t be as high as last year with Donald Brown having a season under his belt.

– Shonn Greene and Jerome Harrison both turned it on toward the end of the season and I like both in the fourth round.  They have tremendous upside if they can get the ball.

– I think the steal of the draft has to be Cedric Benson this late.  It’s not a sexy pick, but he will get the bulk of the touches and is one of the few RBs that can make such a bold and outlandish claim.

Round Five

49. Donovan McNabb

50. Vernon Davis

51. Thomas Jones

52. Jay Cutler

53. Dallas Clark

54. Hakeem Nicks

55. Santonio Holmes

56. Jonathan Stewart

57. Antonio Gates

58. Dwayne Bowe

59. Brent Celek

60. Jason Witten

– I don’t really know where Jay Cutler’s ADP will be this season, but with many QB’s gone at this point I felt like I needed to grab a top QB.  When you hear the term “top QB,” Jay Cutler’s name doesn’t pop into your mind, but the guy is going to wing it, fling it, and sting it with Martz at the joystick.

– Thomas Jones went a round after Shonn Greene and I bet we’ll see that happening quite a bit this season.  It would be nice to know exactly how the committee will be split up, but you really have to pick the young guy with upside first.

– Jonathan Stewart went ballistic toward the end of last season and there are even rumors that D Willy could be going elsewhere, but I just don’t see that happening.  The Panthers will need both their running backs to compete, which means they will be splitting up those yummy fantasy points.

– I like Santonio Holmes this late.  I could see him going much earlier in drafts this season cuz he’s just that good.

Round Six

61. Terrell Owens

62. Chad Ochocinco

63. Greg Olsen

64. Donald Driver

65. Pierre Garcon

66. Michael Crabtree

67. Ben Roethlisberger

68. Hines Ward

69. Derrick Mason

70. Mike Sims Walker

71. Darren McFadden

72. Fred Jackson

– Here’s where my old man wide receiver crush comes into play once again.  Mason is steady and unless the Ravens get someone other than Stalloworth, like Boldin, I don’t see his numbers taking a huge hit this year.

– I’m loving fast Freddy Jackson at #72.  He showed that he can hold up for a season while getting the bulk of the carries and also showed that he can have huge games in the process.  We can’t be sure how he will be used, but he will be used.

– Terrell Owens might be worth something on the right team, but I won’t be grabbing him unless he falls further, and if he’s falling off the edge of a cliff I might just let him go.

– Mike Martz’s first born child was stolen by a tight end.

Round Seven

73. Robert Meachem

74. T.J. Houshmandzadeh

75. Tony Gonzalez

76. Ahmad Bradshaw

77. Eli Manning

78. Jermichael Finley

79. Owen Daniels

80. LeSean McCoy

81. Felix Jones

82. Kenny Britt

83. Percy Harvin

84. Jeremy Maclin

–Round seven brought out the upside picks.  Maclin, Harvin, Meachem and Britt are all young receivers with a lot of reasons to think they could break out this season. Britt has the least competition for touches, but also has Vince Young throwing to him.

– I always want at least one decent running back back-up and here I was choosing between Bradshaw and Jones.  I like both and both have injury issues, but also could end up having huge years since both are obviously the most talented backs on their team.   I like Bradshaw just a bit more than Jones.

– T.J. Houshmandzadeh is an interesting pick.  I don’t like him, but we could see that Seahawks offense really open up under Carroll.  I can’t help but worry about Hasselbeck sleeping awkwardly in a team meeting and rupturing his spleen.

– Jermichael Finley is going to go early this season.  I agree that he is worth a high ranking, but he’s still a tight end and tight ends are deep.  That didn’t sound right did it?

Another weekend of playoff games, another blowout fest until the very last game, but even that game wasn’t really in doubt toward the end.  Hopefully next week we’ll get a little more excitement with Favre in the bayou and Manning navigating around Revis Island.  Here are my thoughts and postulations and consternations on the divisional games.  Read at your own risk:

Brett Favre: No matter what you think of him he will always be remembered for his “pants on the ground” locker room celebration, which should automatically disqualify him from Canton.  Favre threw for four TD’s and 234 yards while humiliating the Cowboys and gets to play in another dome on Sunday which he seems to like.

Sidney Rice: He’s just getting stronger in the big games and will continue to be Favre’s favorite receiver.  He tallied 141 yards and 3 touchdowns and is slowly rising on draft boards.  Much of his value is tied to Favre so if you want him on your team next season you’ll have to put up with Favreageddon this offseason.

Tony Romo: The Vikings absolutely demolished the Cowboy’s offensive line and pillaged Tony Romo’s manhood.  For as often as he was running from Flash Dance Headbanded Mullet Man it’s amazing he didn’t throw more than one interception.  There is no reason to think he won’t be a top fantasy QB again next season.

Felix Jones: Watching him run in comparison to Marion Barber was a bit like watching a remake of the Tortoise and the Hare, but in this version the hare’s wife is being held hostage by terrorists and he must beat the tortoise or his wife gets it.  Barber has beaten his body to death with the way he runs and looks like he’s lost a step.  Jones has given us some hope that he can stay healthy while getting 15 carries a game.  I am not going to feel good about taking either, but Jones will get his opportunity next season.

Jason Witten: With no time to pass Tony Romo had to get it off quickly to Witten so his 10 receptions for 98 yards isn’t too surprising. He started off slow this season, but finished strong.  He’s not as athletic and fast as Gates, Davis, Finley, etc, but he’ll continue to be productive in the Cowboy’s dynamic offense.  Thankfully you’ll be able to get him later in the draft next season.

Mark Sanchez: He’s doing his best Trent Dilfer impersonation, but I’m still sticking to my prediction that the passing game will prevail and that Peyton Manning will pick them apart, but as Sanchez develops he’ll have a great running game and defense to compliment his skills.

Shonn Greene: He ran for 128 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries and has seemingly taken over as the lead back and is making a strong case for starting camp as the #1 running back next season. It’s going to be hard not to push Greene on you next season, but there is a good chance Tom Jones will be back and Leon Washington should be ready to go as well.  It will be extremely hard to get Greene in a position of any value.

Philip Rivers: It felt a little like the Bolts took the Jets too lightly.  I could be wrong, but Rivers had only thrown 9 interceptions all year and threw 2 killer INT’s in this all important game.  Nate Kaeding didn’t help the situation, but Rivers just didn’t look sharp or ready for how well the Jets played.

Vincent Jackson: The Jets tried to confuse the Bolts by not shadowing VJax with Revis, and even though VJax finished the game with 111 yards they kept San Diego off balance. He was a great value pick this year, but will probably go higher and be drafted about where he should be next season.

LaDainian Tomlinson: Even though he was a TD machine once again this season he has lost more than a step.  Sproles clearly outplayed him against the Jets.  He will have to take a big pay cut to be the goal line back next year or he’ll be released.

Reggie Bush: In the rushing matchups article I wrote, “Reggie Bush will either have 10 touches and 3 touchdowns or 5 touches and a big fat Kardashian butt zero.” Nice riding of the fence Doc! Yeah, well, that’s what I do.  He ended up being much closer to the first prediction than the second with 2 TDs and around 200 total yards.  Hopefully this will keep people drafting him somewhat early so you can take someone who will get more than 5-10 touches a game and can stay healthy.

Drew Brees: He accumulated 247 yards and 3 touchdowns on his way to yet another great game.  You can’t say enough good things about Brees so I won’t try. He gets the Vikings suspect pass defense next week and his O-line should be more stable than Dallas’.  In the last 8 games the Saints have allowed 1.1 sacks per game which is second in the league.

Marques Colston: He looked like the elite receiver he should have been all year.  He’s just too tall and athletic and as long as he’s getting the opportunities I think he’ll have a good playoff run.

Jeremy Shockey: The grease from his hair was shipped in special from The Jersey Shore, but his doucheness was all his own.  He caught a TD while limping around, which I have to believe was done to bang more drunk chicks.

Kurt Warner: I guess Kurt didn’t pray hard enough or God just loves New Orleans more.  Wait, what was the whole hurricane thing about?  Whatever the reason, the Saints just destroyed the Cardinals.  Warner had to leave the game before halftime after getting blindsided and then he left the game again because his team had also been blindsided.  Will Warner retire? I think it’s probably 50/50 right now, but Cardinal’s fans better hope Leinart isn’t their QB next season.

Larry Fitzgerald: Tony Siragusa made an extremely astute observation when he said the Cardinals need to throw it to Larry Fitzgerald more. After they were getting killed they finally started throwing to him and he ended up with decent stats, but it was way too little too late.  Fitz is still an elite receiver and will go early in drafts, but keep an eye on that QB sitch.

Beanie Wells: He scored a TD, but that was about it. Beanie will be the main back going into next year, at least by a small margin, but he still isn’t trusted to block.  If he can get that squared away and take over on the goal line he could be a top RB next season, but don’t bank on it yet.  Hightower is trusted and that goes a long way.

Peyton Manning: Not since Australopithecus began to walk upright have we seen such evolution in the passing game. Or maybe it’s just that the NFL doesn’t let defenders touch receivers or quarterbacks, but whatever the reason, Peyton Manning can take over a game unlike any player in the NFL  I’m having maybe a bit too much love for Peyton’s skills, but he seems to have taken his game to another level.  The Ravens played extremely well on defense, but Manning took what he was given and didn’t try forcing the ball and it never really looked to be in doubt.  He gets to actually play the Jets this weekend and I bet you can guess who I think will win.

Reggie Wayne: He’s an elite receiver and showed it by catching 8 balls for 63 yards and a touchdown against a tough Ravens defense.  Now, as long as he doesn’t go bustin’ caps in random asses he could someday be the most beloved Indy receiver of all time.

Donald Brown: He split time with Mike Hart while backing up Joseph Addai, but on a couple runs showed some burst and moves that Hart just doesn’t have.  Expectations were fairly high for him this season, but hopefully his poor year will drop him into a manageable draft slot where he could have some value next season.

Joe Flacco: He was completely out played by the Colts, but I still think he has the ability to be a very good QB in this here league.  His injuries, lack of explosive wide receivers, and the emergence of Ray Rice made this season a running game centric one, and if they give him some help at receiver Flacco could easily balance out that offense.

Ray Rice: The Colts contained him, but “containing” him equals 127 total yards. I’ve said it before, but if McGahee is let go, Ray Rice will probably be my #3 overall pick ahead of MJD.  Unlike Matt Forte, Ray Rice can make his own holes and break long runs.  Forte and Slaton have left me a little gun shy of young running backs coming off big years, but Rice will not disappoint.

The majority of the playoff teams got here by throwing the ball, but we see two teams in the divisional round that arrived via the ground.  The Jets and Ravens are living by the old adage that a great defense and a good running game win championships.  This weekend we get to test that theory.  I believe we are in the death throes of that idea and the Chargers and Colts win two tough games.  I love watching a team impose their will on another team.  The Jets and Ravens do that, but the Colts beat the Ravens earlier in the year because even in a tough defensive battle, Peyton Manning could get his team into the endzone while Joe Flacco couldn’t.

I’ve taken the rushing yards given up since week 10 to each defense and found the corresponding ranking and taken that number and put it in between those little curvy lines. Got it?

Saturday 4:30 EST

Arizona (22nd) @ New Orleans (24th)

In the last half of the season the Saints have given up 120 yards and 1 touchdown per game.  Of course the Cardinals are still splitting the running backs up enough to make it tough for them to put up big numbers, but Beanie has been getting the majority of the carries since week 10.  For some reason Tim Hightower continues to get goal line looks, but thankfully not all of them.  Yes, Kurt Warner is a machine, and will probably complete 103.4% of his passes, but the matchup is too good for Whisenhunt not to run and after his defense was torched he’ll probably want to keep them off the field for as long as he’s able.

ARI: Wells +1, Hightower 0

If Arizona hadn’t gotten out to such a big lead we could have seen a lot more of Ryan Grant who was having plenty of success, so a lot of the Saints’ rushing numbers will depend on the score.  The Saint’s aren’t afraid to rush the ball. They are 8th in rushing attempts, 3rd in rushing TD’s, and 8th in total rushing yards.  They won’t just throw to throw.  The fantasy problem is deciphering who will get the ball and where.  Even though Mike Bell has hardly done anything, Sean Payton still uses him as their short yardage back.  As long as Pierre Thomas is healthy enough he will continue to get the most overall work, and Reggie Bush will either have 10 touches an 3 touchdowns or 5 touches and a big fat Kardashian butt zero.

NO: Thomas +1, Bell 0, Bush 0

Saturday 8:15 EST

Baltimore (4th) @ Indianapolis (28th)

Baltimore’s bread and butter is the ground game (see NYJ) and Indianapolis has had some trouble against the rush as of late and I love bread and butter and Rice. I know, it’s boring, but so are running games, boring and filling.  The Colts beat the Ravens last time by keeping them out of the endzone while Billy Cundiff kicked 5 field goals.  Ray Rice totaled 135 yards even with his worst average per carry for the year with 3.5 yards.  His ability to gain yards through the air always makes him dangerous.  Willis McGahee will see work around the endzone, but Rice still gets more work in the redzone and in the last 8 weeks has touched the ball 6 times to McGahee’s 11 inside the 5 yard line. Even if the Colts get up big, Ray Rice will continue to see work.

BAL: Rice +1, McGahee 0

In the last nine games Baltimore’s run defense has given up 2 touchdowns to running backs and that includes rushing and receiving.  Joseph Addai’s forte is scoring touchdowns, unlike Matt Forte’s forte this year.  In the last half of the season the Ravens have been the best fantasy defense against the run.  Addai is good at bucking the trend, but I sure wouldn’t bet on it. Donald Brown just hasn’t looked good since coming back from his injury and the Ravens aren’t the team to help him turn things around.

IND: Addai -1, Brown -2

Sunday 1:00 EST

Dallas (1st) @ Minnesota (3rd)

Marion Barber has a swollen bursa sac.  Which is either a pool toy or a fish organ.  It looks like he’ll be able to go, but even if he were 100% I wouldn’t feel good about his interior style of running against the Williams Wall.  I would feel much more comfortable with the versatility of Felix Jones. Ray Rice and Justin Forsett had good luck catching passes out of the backfield against the Vikings and I think Jones would be the best back to do that for the Boys.  The Vikings have given up the least number of touchdowns to running backs in the league and you can’t expect a huge game from any Cowboy, but Jones is your best bet.  Tashard Choice could get a lot of work if Barber is still hurting, but I wouldn’t count on him.

DAL: Jones +1, Barber -1, Choice -1

Dallas’ rushing defense ranks 4th in the second half of the season, but those numbers are a bit skewed by the great backs Quinton Ganther, concussed Brian Westbrook, Quinton Ganther, Huggy Bear offspring Justin Fargas and Quinton Ganther.  The Cowboys do have a stout run defense, don’t get me wrong, but going against Adrian Peterson is a different animal or Purple Deity.

MIN: Peterson +2, Taylor -1

Sunday 4:40 EST

New York Jets (9th) @ San Diego (8th)

San Diego lost 350 pounds of defensive lineman in the form of Jamal Williams, but somehow have kept their run defense intact.  They were gashed by the amazingly awesome trio of Jamaal Charles, Jerome Harrison, and Chris Johnson, but otherwise they held strong. The Chargers can be run on with a concerted effort and if the Jets do anything at all, it’s run the ball concertedly.  Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene make a great one two punch, but who will be the most productive?  Last week was the first time Greene saw more touches than Jones and much will depend on who is running well.  I believe that will be Greene once again.

NYJ: Greene +1, Jones 0

The Jets rush defense also lost a big chunk of man gut from their middle, 360 pounds of Kris Jenkins, and they have also patched together a decent run defense.  Like the Chargers, the Jets aren’t infallible, just look at the beating Cedric Benson put on them last week.  But the Chargers don’t have a Cedric Benson, they have a scat back and an old goal line back.  The Jets matchup pretty well against the Chargers strength, the passing game, and they should be able to contain their running game.  If I didn’t have faith in Rivers and Gates and Floyd I would be picking the Jets, but I do.  LT can get into the endzone no matter who they are playing and Sproles is a wildcard play with his explosiveness and lack of touches.

SD: Tomlinson 0, Sproles -1

Wildcard weekend was a long boring journey through Snoresville, Blowout Town, and Not This Againburgh, but thankfully our final destination was Awesome Shootout Into Overtime Heights.  The Cardinals and Packers put up a record 96 combined points and helped restore my faith that there could be exciting football.  No, I don’t have to have a lot of scoring to like a game, but some question as to the outcome does help pique my interest!

The Cardinals move on to face the Saints in a game that could break 100! The Jets travel to San Diego to try out Rex Ryan’s “If you say it, it will happen” philosophy.  The Ravens take their running game sans passing game to Indianapolis.  And the Cowboys travel to the recirculated climes of the Metrodome to take on the Favres.

Kurt Warner: He had more touchdown passes than incompletions.  That my friends, is what we like to call in the business, amazing.  He’s getting old, has a crazy Stepford Wife, and may sometimes get a little too high on his Jesus horse, but going 29 for 33, for 379 yards and five touchdowns in the playoffs after taking his team to the Super Bowl the previous year has cemented his ticket to the Hall, but of course now he’ll need a jackhammer to get it out.

Aaron Rodgers: His first playoff game started horribly and ended horribly, but in between he threw for 422 yards, ran for a touchdown, and threw for four more.  He was the best fantasy QB in the league this year and will be leading the charge of yet another great crop of QB’s next year (giving us no reason to draft one in the first round).  That’s two years as a starting QB and twice that he’s been one of the top 2 fantasy QB’s.  Gotta love those rushing TD’s!

Jermichael Finley: The Cardinals had no answer for Finley (what was the question again?) and they allowed him 6 catches for 159 yards.  He finished the season strong and there is no reason to think he can’t be a top 5 TE next season.  Jeremychael can only get better with a great young QB throwing to him.

Steve Breaston: Matt Leinart’s favorite named receiver had a field day with Boldin on the bench.  He only caught one of Warner’s five TD passes, but did accumulate 7 receptions and 125 yards.

Early Doucet: He did his best Anquan Boldin tribute which may allow him to just take over his job completely next year; think Mark Wahlberg in Rock Star.  His 2 touchdowns and 77 yards might be his high for the playoffs if Boldin comes back, but Early will be on some fantasy teams sooner or later.

Larry Fitzgerald: He continues his insane playoff statistical run with 2 touchdowns and 82 yards and a fumble which we don’t have to talk about.  He did pretty blatantly run over Charles Woodson twice before catching both touchdowns, but it ain’t a foul unless you get flagged or kill someone.

Greg Jennings: He finished the season strong, and got on the shootout train in the playoffs for 8 receptions, 130 yards and a touchdown. He ended up as the 20th wide receiver in fantasy and it’s hard not to see him upping his numbers next season, but of course we thought he wouldn’t suck this season.  The Packers still need to improve their pass blocking, but Jennings has skills.

Joe Flacco: The sophomore QB led his team to a decisive 33-14 victory over the Patriots in Foxboro.  Well, when I say led, I may be overstating a bit. Handed off to might be the better wordage.  Flacco finished with 4 completions, 5 if you count his interception, and 34 yards.

Ray Rice: He had a day’s worth of stats after the first play of the game.  Rice is, how do you say in English, superstartastic.  There’s a chance McGahee won’t be back next season and I could easily see him drafted #3 overall with room to spare.  He ended the day with 159 yards and 2 touchdowns and will get plenty of use in Indianapolis next week.

Tom Brady: 3 interceptions, 2 touchdowns and 154 yards on 42 pass attempts is about right for the Pats quarterback who never looked right with Randy Moss taken out the game.  Moss’ knees weren’t 100%, Brady’s ribs were broken, Welker was gone, and a host of excuses that are probably just that, helped in making the Patriots look human-like.  The Patriots aren’t the same team and it’s starting to look like they might not be again.

Julian Edelman: He looked like he was also hurting for a lot of the game, but he also looked like he would amputate pieces of his body just to stay in the game.  The guy was scrappy, but a skilled kind of scrappy, skillpy, scrapilled? He got into the endzone twice and made some good punt returns.  Welker won’t be back at the beginning of the season and Julian will be a factor in fantasy next year.

Mark Sanchez: He had been a liability for much of the season, but miraculously poise-gutted himself into a solid rookie playoff performance going 12 for 15 for 182 yards and a touchdown.  Thankfully, for the Jets, he didn’t have to win the game for them because Carson Palmer and Shonn Greene tag teamed to do that.

Shonn Greene: Speaking of Mr. Greene, his 135 yards and a touchdown was the driving force for the Jets on Saturday and even though I’m sure I’ll have to eat my words like every time I say Tom Jones is done, I think Greene will lead the Jets in rushing attempts next season.

Braylon Edwards: If you are on Twitter it’s always a little amusing to see the Edward’s tweets explode every time he drops a pass, which happens as much as you think.  After dropping a sure touchdown bomb Sanchez smartly stayed away from him for the rest of the game.

Dustin Keller: If you drafted Keller with the hopes that he wouldn’t suck, his huge game against the Bengals didn’t help you in any way possible.  He only had 3 receptions, but went for 99 yards and a touchdown.

Carson Palmer: In his passing matchups article, Mark speculated that Palmer might be hiding an injury.  If he isn’t, then he just plain sucks, but either way, he was not on target against the Jets, completing just 50 percent of his passes for 146 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Cedric Benson: Benson showed on Saturday that his success isn’t just the product of superior offensive line play.  He looked quick and powerful and even though I loathe giving him a good projected draft slot for next season, he may have won me over.

Chad Johnson: He was stranded on Revis Island all day and I still don’t think anybody has gone looking for him.

Tony Romo: He led the Cowboys to a big Wade Phillips Job Saving victory and did it in efficient fashion.  Things are coming up roses for the Cowboys. I wonder how they’ll blow it?

Felix Jones: Marion Barber didn’t “feel right,” which may be code for, “I was outplayed so badly by Felix the Great that I need to come up with an excuse,” but I have been wrong before.  Jones and Choice looked like the duo that needed to be out there anyway.  As long as Jones is healthy he is an elite talent, but the guy is a bit brittle.

Donovan McNabb: He ended up with 230 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the Eagles second humiliating loss in a row to their rival.  Reid says McNabb will be back and I believe he will be.  He will continue to be a good upside fantasy option if he can stay healthy.

Jeremy Maclin: Really the only bright spot for the Eagles, Maclin had 146 yards and a touchdown.  DJax and Maclin should help the Eagles remain contenders next season in Reid’s pass happy, no Super Bowl winning, offense.

Regular season fantasy leagues are over, but there’s a lot of fantasy playoff leagues as well, and if you haven’t joined one yet, be sure to check out our Sporting News playoff league and/or our playoff challenge at NFL.com.

Saturday, 4:30 PM

New York Jets @ Cincinnati

Despite Cincinnati’s stoutness against the run during the regular season I think Thomas Jones is a relatively solid play.  You know he’s good for 80 yards and if there’s any sort of touchdown opportunity for the Jets he’s the man, no doubt. So I’m giving him a little bit of a downgrade for the matchup but he is still the main man.  Shonn Greene continues to see more work and will get enough work to be of some use in a run heavy offense.

Jets: Jones +1, Greene -1

Although the Bengals weren’t really trying to win last week their offensive struggles concern me. Regardless of where he ends up signing in the offseason (I think he’ll stay in Cincy) Benson will almost certainly be overrated for next season. This playoffs might be the beginning of that.  I don’t like the matchup here against the tough Jets defense.

Bengals: Benson -3

Saturday, 8 PM

Philadelphia @ Dallas

Brian Westbrook has had 23 looks to Lesean McCoy’s 10 in the last 2 games.  Add in Leanord Weaver getting a goal line carry here and there and you have a difficult choice.  Westbrook doesn’t look the same, but he is clearly the number one back right now.  I can’t really enthusiastically recommend him and the others aren’t getting enough work.

Eagles: Westbrook -1, McCoy -2, Weaver -3

The Eagles defensive statistics don’t indicate how truly bad they’ve been against the run this season. I should know; I’m an Eagles fan. They are just undersized up front and too bent on playing the pass/running exotic blitzes. In the last 3 weeks Marion Barber has had 58 looks to Felix Jones’ 48.  Jones is healthy for now and is worth using, especially in return yardage leagues like Sporting News.  Barber is still getting most the goal line looks so is the safer choice, but against the Eagles both could get theirs. I am giving both an upgrade for the matchup because like I said the Eagles can’t stop the run.

Cowboys: Barber +2, Jones +2

Sunday, 1 PM

Baltimore @ New England

Ray Rice is too dynamic to keep down, but that’s what Belichick does; he focuses on taking the biggest threat out of the game.  Can he do it on Sunday?  Couldn’t tell you.  The Patriots defense is very middle of the road and their offense could struggle in the absence of Wes Welker. If they don’t get up early, you could see a lot of Rice and McGahee no matter how successful they are.

Ravens: Rice +1, McGahee 0

I wouldn’t be surprised if Bill Belichick found Christian Okoye and put him out there on Sunday. Fred Taylor’s back in the mix now but you can’t play him; I’d be surprised if he gets many touches. Maroney and Taylor both fumbled recently so Sammy Morris could be in line for a good chunk of carries, but nothing is a lock with BB.

Patriots:  Morris 0, Maroney -1, Taylor -2

Sunday, 4 PM

Green Bay @ Arizona

I really like Ryan Grant in this game. The Cardinals started the season tough against the run, but have been poor of late. Grant is the feature back and won’t lose too many touches to Brandon Jackson. It’s a warm weather contest which should bode well for both team’s offenses.

Packers: Grant +4

Tim Hightower’s role in the offense has diminished a lot lately.  The Packers defense is really solid but the Cardinals passing game should force them to play back and open up some holes in the running game for Arizona.  I look for Wells to get a lot of work unless the Packers get out to a quick lead.

Cardinals: Wells +1, Hightower -2