Fantasy Football Advice

There is no off season here at Razzball (except for that 48 hour bender right after the Super Bowl). We’ve already got ourselves a slow mock draft happening to kick off the beginning of the 2010-2011 season.  Yes, there will be a lot of changes as the so-called off season moves players around and brings in new, younger ones, but doing mocks is a great way to see how others value players and helps solidify where you value players.  Here are my co-conspirator mockaletes.

1. Matt Schauf – RapidDraft.com

2. Melissa Jacobs - TheFootballGirl.com

3. Melissa Greenhawt – GoGameFace.com

4. Chet Gresham – This Guy

5. Jim Day - FFWhiz.com

6. Charlie Tourtillotte — Tourinct

7. Mike Clay – FantasyDC.com

8. Steve Adler - FantasyDaddy.com

9. Paul M. Bourdett – BaseHeads.com

10. Drew Silva – Rotoworld.com

11. Bryan Fontaine – RookieBlitz.com

12. Knox Bardeen – Fanhouse.com

We’re still mocking each other so I’ll keep you updated on our progress.  My picks are in bold.  Here are the first three rounds for your amusement:

Round One

1. Maurice Jones Drew

2. Chris Johnson

3. Adrian Peterson

4. Ray Rice

5. Michael Turner

6. Andre Johnson

7. Frank Gore

8. Steven Jackson

9. Jamaal Charles

10. Matt Forte

11. Aaron Rodgers

12. Ryan Grant

– The first round had most of the usual suspects in it, but MJD at #1 was a little surprising. He’s in my 1st tier and I can see him being a #1 pick, but I’m a little worried about Garrard getting him to the goal line as much as he needs. Matt defends his pick here.

– I felt good about getting Ray Rice 4th.  If I had to choose a draft position it would be one of the top 4 or at the turn at 11/12.  I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the top 4 picks and if you get 4th you don’t have to decide!

– Drew went with Forte at #10 which is within the realm of where his ADP will be, but I will probably pass on him unless it’s a ppr league.  Martz likes to use his running backs in the passing game, a lot.

– Aaron Rodgers will be in the running for the #1 quarterback off the board, but after last year’s ten 4,ooo yard passers, I’ll be waiting on a quarterback.

– Since I’m pro Chris Johnson, getting him at #2 is good value, but no picks really stood out to me as steals.  I have Jamaal Charles ranked higher than he went, but that second tier is pretty fluid with Gore, A.J., SJax and Charles.

Round Two

13. Drew Brees

14. Larry Fitzgerald

15. Peyton Manning

16. Rashard Mendenhall

17. Calvin Johnson

18. Reggie Wayne

19. Pierre Thomas

20. DeAngelo Williams

21. Chris Wells

22. Philip Rivers

23. Tom Brady

24. Miles Austin

– The second round saw a big run on quarterbacks.  Once again I just can’t grab a QB with the first 2 picks.  It’s against my code of fake football ethics.  Running backs or wide receivers for me please.  My options at RB were dwindling fast, but I had a difficult time choosing between Beanie, Moreno and Benson.  But for my money, Beanie has the highest upside of the 3.  Whisenhunt won’t put as much of the game in Leinart’s hands, especially with a back as talented as Wells showing his worth toward the end of last season.

– I am a little worried about DeAngelo Williams after Jon Stewart went crazy after D. Willy went down toward the end of the season.  I could even see Stewart out playing him this year, but any way you look at it he isn’t guaranteed the bulk of the carries.

– The same could be true for Pierre Thomas, but I am a little more concerned about him staying healthy than being the primary back.

– I think one of the best picks of round 2 was by Matt who grabbed Miles Austin with the last pick.  I thought about snagging him, but just liked Wells too much.  Austin could easily be a top 3 wide receiver with a full season as the #1 WR in Dallas. Witten will be his only real rival for looks unless Jones gets an itchy finger and tries for a Boldin/Marshall trade.

Round Three

25. Randy Moss

26. Brandon Marshall

27. Ronnie Brown

28. Vincent Jackson

29. Greg Jennings

30. Roddy White

31. Matt Schaub

32. Tony Romo

33. DeSean Jackson

34. Steve Slaton

35. Knowshon Moreno

36. Marion Barber

– It’s interesting to see how far Randy Moss fell.  Even in a not great season he was a fantasy stud with his ability to get into the endzone, but he is also starting to show his age whileWelker could be gone for a big chunk of time which will get Moss a lot of attention if Edelman doesn’t go nuts.  I like Moss here, but I’m still trying to decide if I like him earlier as well.

– I felt good about Vincent Jackson in the third.  The Chargers will once again have to rely on the passing game and VJax should continue to improve.

– Brandon Marshall’s value is still up in the air since we aren’t sure where he’ll end up, but if he can have a big year with Orton, he has a shot of having a big year anywhere.

– I think both Slaton and Barber went too early as they don’t have the starting job wrapped up for next season.  I won’t own a Texan’s running back this season unless they trade for Purple Jesus or his like.  I also won’t own a Cowboy running back unless Felix Jones really slips.  Jones could get the most touches next season, but his injury history is worrisome.  I’ll pass.

– My favorite pick of round 3 is probably Knowshon Moreno.  The Broncos are a bit of a question mark with Josh McDaniels taking multiple power trips, but Moreno is their back and Buckhalter, though awesome last year, isn’t getting any younger and should continue to pop up on the injury report.  And Moreno will have a full off season and preseason compared to his holdout last year.

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

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

There may be a few of you doing a playoff draft or a salary cap league so I decided to put together a rankings/draft sheet.  It’s a tricky thing, playoff leagues.  You have to account for the chance that the team your player is on could lose quickly, no matter how good you think the team is.  I am ranking them with some thought to who might win, but more toward how I think they’ll play.

Don’t forget to join us in our two playoff leagues: you can join our Sporting News playoff league and/or our playoff challenge at NFL.com.

Here we have QB’s and RB’s.  Look for the WR’s, TE’s, K’s and D’s soon.

Quarterbacks:

There are a ton of good QB’s in the playoffs this year.  I wonder what you need more to be a successful NFL team, a good QB or good RB?  Rhetorical question.  With all the talent here much depends on how many games you will get out of them.  For my money Aaron Rodgers has the best shot of playing the most games, but that is a guess.  If you get him and he loses in the wildcard round you better have a backup! It might be best to wait on a QB since they are so deep and grab a starting RB you think will contribute the longest?

1. Peyton Manning: Whatever the Colts’ “psyche” is, I could care less. Peyton is a machine and he runs a machine and unless the other team disrupts that machine’s mechanics they won’t lose.  Their state of mind when playing won’t change.  Of course you won’t be able to use him in the first round!

2. Philip Rivers: Is Rivers better than Drew Brees? Can’t say for sure, but I like Rivers’ team more and the Saints will have tough competition to get to the championship game.

3. Aaron Rodgers: ARodg ended up the #1 fantasy QB for 2009 and his team has been playing lights out. Rodgers looks like he has at least a slim chance of playing in every playoff game.  If you have faith in the Packers you can’t do much better.

4. Drew Brees: The Saints have lost three in a row and don’t play in the first round.  He has a ton of upside, but if he doesn’t get into the championship game he was a wasted pick.  Like every player you have to do a little Carnac work, if you like the Saints chance of going to Miami.  Grab him.

5. Brett Favre: If the Vikings hadn’t gotten home field I would have him lower, but I think they righted the ship enough and The Favres like the domes.

6. Tony Romo: He has a ton of risk attached to him.  The Cowboys haven’t won a playoff game since 1896.  But they have been looking too good to blindly say they will choke.  Romo would be the steal of the playoffs if he could lead his team to Miami.

7. Donovan McNabb: Not too long ago I had the Eagles going to the bowl, but oh how fickle fate can be according to Beth Orton and any team that doesn’t win the Super Bowl.  They could be sitting at how eating bean dip and Fritos, but they got spanked in Dallas and now have to go back there.  I think they have a good chance to win this game, but not if they play anywhere close to last weekends performance.

8. Tom Brady: He dropped pretty far in my rankings based solely on Wes Welker’s injury.  That could be a bit reactionary of me, but Welker leaves a pretty big hole in the offense.  If Edelman can come up big they could do something, but that is a lot to ask.

9. Kurt Warner: Could be the absolute steal of the playoffs (I know I said that about Romo already, sue me!), but I think his first game is too risky to put all my eggs in Warner’s Power Chair basket.

10. Joe Flacco: Flacco is a great backup choice if you are going with a QB with a first round bye.  He gets a poor Patriots secondary in the wildcard round and you could get lucky and the Ravens could go deep in the playoffs.

11. Mark Sanchez: I think the Jets will beat the Bengals so that is the only reason Sanchez is ahead of Palmer, that, and the Jets pass defense.

12. Carson Palmer: He’s starting.  That’s his biggest upside.

13. Matt Leinart: Warner is old.

14. Kevin Kolb: If you have a big roster he has a lot of upside if McNabb goes down.

15. Billy Volek: Same as above.

Running Backs:

There are very few stud running backs in the playoffs.  Would you rather have Joseph Addai or Ray Rice?  Well, next year’s draft will probably be a different answer than what you’ll get here.  The Ravens could beat the Pats, but it will be tough and then they’d get a very good team on the road.  The playoffs bring out strange game plans and sometimes backup RB’s get stats you wouldn’t expect.  It’s a very good idea to horde as many backup/RBBC type backs as you can.

1. Adrian Peterson: Elite back on a good team.  Bit of a no brainer.  Will they go all the way? I have no idea, but they have a decent chance.

2. Joseph Addai: Donald Brown doesn’t look like he’s going to take too much away from Addai and the guy knows how to get into the endzone. Not a sexy pick, but a reliable, William H. Macy kinda pick.

3. L.T.: Another TD machine on a good to great team. He’ll be rested for his goal line vulturing.

4. Ryan Grant: Again, the Packers are my, cross my fingers and give them a shot team.  I am not good at calling games.  If I was I’d bet on them and be able to keep Sallie Mae from stalking me, bitch, but I’m putting my fantasy bucks on them, with a lot of hedging.

5. Ray Rice: He’s unbelievable and if I thought the Ravens had a shot to go all the way he’d be in the top 2.  Yes, McGahee exploded on the Raiders, but Rice is still the guy in Baltimore.

6. Thomas Jones: His chances of playing more than 2 games are very slim, but I do think he’ll get those 2 games and will get his carries. And now that I don’t overlook him he’ll go for 10 yards and a loss.

7. Marion Barber: This is how shallow the running backs are this year.  I don’t love Marion Barber, well, he does have a nice smile, but the Cowboys have about as good a chance as most of the NFC teams and Barber is the goal line back.

8. Beanie Wells: I wish they didn’t start with the Packers, but like I said, anything can happen. If they move on they know what they need to do and Beanie will be a big part of that.

9. Cedric Benson: I don’t have much faith in the Bengals winning, and the Jets defense has been stout, so he has a shot at a razztastic game and also being done.

10. Pierre Thomas: This is a risky pick with his rib injury, but he will have time to rest it and like I said, there aren’t many starting RB’s worth their salt.  Not that PT is worth his salt, and it’s not like I have any idea what that means, but he’s on a good team and he should be the starter.

11. Brian Westbrook: He’s the starter again.  Not sure if that was the best idea, but it’s what is happening.

12. Felix Jones: He’s a home run kind of back and you have to get fairly lucky to win in playoff leagues.  A couple long runs from him can win a league for you.

13. Tim Hightower: He still sometimes vultures touchdowns from Beanie and even though his touches have gone down he is still getting work.

14. Darren Sproles: L.T. has kept Sproles from getting much work this season, but he is still a threat to go all the way at anytime and if you are in a league like Sporting News where return yardage counts he will give you some automatic points.

15. Sammy Morris: Who is the starter for New England? I’m giving Morris the nod, but my opinion, sadly, is irrelevant.

16. Donald Brown 17. Reggie Bush 18.Willis McGahee 19. Kevin Faulk 20. Shonn Greene 21. Chester Taylor 22. LeSean McCoy 23. Laurence Maroney 24. Mike Bell 25. Brandon Jackson 26. Leonard Weaver 27. Fred Taylor 28. Tashard Choice

So not all of you will be able to see one of the better matchups of the year due to Time-Warner’s idiocy. This is sad, and I will shed a tear for you while tuning into Drew Brees tossing a long touchdown to Robert Meachem in high definition. You can watch some of the game here while other parts of the game are cut away from so you can listen to somebody talk about what you just saw when there is still a freaking game going on! There are also less legal ways of getting the game online, but I have no idea what those might be. Yes, this is my first year of NFL Network and I am hooked, and don’t get me started on the utter awesomeness that is the NFL Redzone.

I will be tweeting during the game, and about every other waking second, so follow along and read my thoughts on Matt Millen’s secret affair with John Madden, well, I guess it’s not so secret anymore. This game has a lot of fantasy players going and I thought I’d dissect it and see if Jerry Jones has a soul or if Drew Brees’ comb forward is regulation.

Quarterbacks

Drew Brees: Except for weeks 3 and 4 where Brees met up with the Jets and Bills tough pass D he has been unstoppable. Including those down games he is averaging almost 26 fantasy points a game. Dallas has given up an average of 19 fantasy points to quarterbacks.  Brees should easily up that average.  Demarcus Ware has yet to practice and if he doesn’t go Brees will have even more time to pick apart Dallas’ middle of the road pass defense.  You will start him because he is good.

Tony Romo: Romo is the butt of many jokes and usually they are well deserved, but as a fantasy quarterback recently, he has been very good. He is the 6th quarterback in total fantasy points and is averaging nearly 21 points a game. In the last 3 games he has thrown 7 touchdowns and averaged 316 yards passing.  And since this is a fantasy analysis we don’t have to mention his record in those games! In the last 8 games the Saints rank 24th in passing yards allowed.  They have been great at picking off opposing quarterbacks, but that will just mean Romo will need to throw more to make up ground. There is no reason to think that just because dreaded “December” is here, it’s time to sit Romo.

Running Backs

Pierre Thomas/Reggie Bush/Mike Bell: This trio of horror has been haunting me all season.  No matter how much I study their game Sean Payton always seems to do something slightly different than I thought he would. In the last 4 weeks Pierre Thomas has had 64 opportunities, Mike Bell 44, Reggie Bush 19.  As a group the Saints running backs lead the league in fantasy points, but that doesn’t help us fake footballers when Pierre Thomas, their #1 RB is the 16th ranked running back in the league.  That is behind Kevin Smith! If you don’t pick the Saints’ back that scores a touchdown you are pretty much out of luck. I am ready to say sit them all, especially with Mike Bell practicing in full and probable to play. The problem is, the Cowboys are ranked near the bottom in defending passes to running backs. They are closer to the top at defending against the run, but the Saints are 4th in running back receptions with 85 on the year. So all that is to say Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush are decent flex plays based on their receiving abilities.  I’d sit Mike Bell which means he’ll have 4 touchdowns.

Marion Barber/Felix Jones/Tashard Choice: Barber continues to get the bulk of the carries, but isn’t doing as much with them as Jones and Choice. Coach Phillips gave a vote of confidence to Barber, for what that’s worth.  The good thing for Barber is that he will continue to get goal line carries and the Saints aren’t that good at stopping the run. They have given up 11 rushing touchdowns in the last 8 games which is second to last in the league.  I see Barber getting into the end zone, but he will give up some yardage to Jones and Choice.

Wide Receivers

Marques Colston/Robert Meachem: Meachem has actually been getting more targets than Colston in the last three games. Meachem has established himself as the #2 receiver, which is a nice place to be when you play for the Saints.  The Cowboys are usually a little easier on #2 receivers so I’m liking Meachem a lot here, but Colston is too good and too much of a red zone target to even consider downgrading him.

Miles Austin/Roy Williams: After all the defensive focus was shifted from Roy Williams to Miles Austin we saw Austin’s numbers take a dip, but he has adjusted his game and has told the rest of the league, they are no daisies, no daisies at all! Roy Williams is starting to settle into his #2 receiver status.  He is a big receiver which is nice to have in the end zone. The Saints are 26th in yards given up to wide receivers so I see both getting their shots in what could be a shootout.

Tight Ends

Jeremy Shockey: Besides looking like a guy who has a tremendous odor, Shockey doesn’t get many looks.  He is an option in the red zone, but he hasn’t scored a TD since week 6 and he’s questionable to even play.  I’d stay far away.

Jason Witten: Witten finally busted out 3 weeks ago, but busted back in last week. I can’t say I am exactly keen on Witten against a Saints team who is ranked 1st in DVOA against tight ends. You can’t sit him in what could be a high scoring game though.

Defenses

Saints: They have been a high scoring defense this year, but I rather play a matchup like the Texans or Cardinals when this game could have a lot of scoring.

Cowboys: You don’t start any defense against the Saints.