Hello, how was your weekend? Before you waste your breath, I could actually care less. I was just looking for a way to bitch to you about mine. You see, it turns out that having Jeremy Maclin, Julio Jones, Willis McGahee, and the Ravens D on a majority of my lineups was in fact, not correct. Not correct may be an understatement. When Lance Ball outscores 4/9ths of your lineup you have officially entered the realm of gloriously screwed. No worries though, I stopped at Checksmart this morning and I’m good to go for the weekend (I kid.) Let the degeneracy begin!
Value Town
QB
John Skelton $6200: At least for one more week Skelton will be the starter and that bodes well for the Cardinals passing game. All of the receivers, particularly Larry Fitzgerald play at another level with him behind center. The 49ers secondary has been anything but elite, and they’re currently surrendering the 21st most points to fantasy quarterbacks. Sneaky, sneaky play here.
Carson Palmer $6800: One needs only to look at the Monday night game between the Packers and Vikings to see why this has all the makings of a huge performance for Palmer. Don’t get me wrong, he’s no Aaron Rodgers, but if even if turns out to be half a Rodgers it would be more than enough to give you a handsome return on your investment.
RB
DeMarco Murray $7500: He’ll be priced with the elite backs by season’s end (assuming he doesn’t get injured) and there’s absolutely no reason why he shouldn’t be on the majority of lineups each week. The Redskins are in complete freefall mode and this Sunday offer themselves up as a sacrifice to a suddenly cohesive Cowboys offense.
Lance Ball $5700: Based on sheer workload alone, Ball belongs on your lineup if McGahee can’t go and probably even if he does. The Broncos will be running 50 times a game which is more than enough to earn any RB 10-15 points.
Reggie Bush $6800: This is actually the game I’m looking forward to seeing most. The declining Bills and the surging Dolphins (who are playing very well as of late) will certainly make for interesting television, and as far as I’m concerned, if the Bills can’t walk away with a victory their playoff chances will be completely ruined. The run defense for Buffalo has been laughable and with Daniel Thomas being eased back into the rotation Bush should be able to stay fresh until he breaks off one of his signature outside runs.
Kendall Hunter $5400: Pay very close attention to Frank Gore’s status. The last news out of 49ers country had him announcing his injury was nothing but a bone bruise, and that he will be undergoing an MRI later this week. San Francisco will be very cautious with Gore in wanting to preserve their first real shot at a playoff run in quite some time. Hunter has proven more than capable of breaking explosive plays and handling duties when Gore is down, and Sunday may be his first chance to take on a feature back role. It is a tough matchup against a strong Cardinals front seven, but he’s useful enough as a pass catcher that I expect him to have an impact.
Marshawn Lynch $7200: The Renaissance man himself, Lynch has performed well above expectations over the past month and I see no reason why the Rams would slow him down. Trust the matchup and roll him out there.
WR
Larry Fitzgerald $7800: A little on the pricey side for a value pick, but Fitzgerald will be heavily leaned upon against a San Francisco secondary that has been susceptible to effective passing games all season. He’s my number two ranked wideout this week and significantly less than other elite options.
Laurent Robinson $5800: Miles who? Obviously making the case that Cowboys are a better offensive team with Austin out would be silly, but they certainly aren’t missing a beat. Robinson continues to develop the kind of rapport with Romo that we had hoped would happen with Bryant, and as long as the passes keep coming his way big numbers should follow. Remember, this is a guy that never really got his fair shake as he spent his first four years in the league battling injuries and poor quarterback play. Don’t be afraid to trust him.
Denarius Moore $5400: The prodigal son has returned! After performing a disappearing act on us for a few weeks at the hands of Darius Heyward-Bey, Moore returns and this time it’s as Carson Palmer’s favorite target.  The two have developed an instant connection with one another, and as long as the veteran continues developing the rookie I see big things in store down the stretch run.
Vincent Brown $5100: Earning the trust of Philip Rivers with back to back solid outings is a huge step for Brown in becoming a potential starter in the high powered San Diego offense. With as much as the Bolts like to sling it around, there should be no shortage of opportunities for the young man to perform, and against an average Chicago secondary (Stafford played poorly and made them look good) he could easily out a 4-70-1 line.
TE
Brandon Pettigrew $5400: After the embarrassing loss last weekend there’s no doubt in my mind that the Lions will be out for blood, and against Carolina’s anemic defense that means things could quickly get out of hand. Pettigrew is Stafford’s preferred target after Calvin Johnson and I expect him to be fully utilized as the Detroit rushing game continues to be unimpressive.
K
Nick Novak $5100:Â Novak has been playing at a very high level and the game figures to be a high scoring affair.
D
Jacksonville Jaguars $5100: It should be a knock down drag out between two teams with no real ways to score points. The only difference being that the Jaguars have a defense that can make plays and I see them getting up by ten and forcing Colt McCoy to make some mistakes.
Until next week folks, Seacrest out.
Questions? Comments? Belittling to dish out? Hit me up here.
