Fantasy Football Two Minute Drill, Week 13

Fantasy Football stats, news, and opinions heading into NFL Week 13.

Check out my Individual Defensive Player ( DL, LB, DB ) rankings alongside other experts at FantasyPros.com

“Points Allowed” provided by MyFantasyLeague.com

Philadelphia at Seattle

DVR is amazing technology. It allows me to watch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia when the game ends.
Opening offensive play forSeattle: 10 guys on the field, 11th hurries off bench, then illegal shift.
Opening offensive play for Philly: Awful Vince Young pass for an interception, and an equally terrible coach’s challenge from Andy Reid.
Watching Rich Eisen make fun of Stuart Scott’s “walk and talk” is highly entertaining.
It looked like QB Tavaris Jackson’s TD pass to WR Golden Tate would end up in the first row when he released it. That ball took a serious dip.
RB Marshawn Lynch rumbles and spins through tackles, celebrates without antics after touchdowns, and eats Skittles on the bench. He should be captain on every fan-favorite team.
I saw TE Zach Miller on the screen, so I have proof he’s still playing football.
Down 24-7, announcer Mike Mayock says “this is where the Eagles’ season is going to come together or fall apart”. Ummm, the Eagles were 4-7. They fell apart weeks ago.
QB Vince Young could be a fullback when QB Michael Vick returns. He sent DB Earl Thomas backwards on a hard block in the third quarter.
DE Jason Babin should be banned from wearing sleeves. NFL fans want to see his tattoos.
CB Nnamdi Asomugha’s head is still ringing.
I like the lighter shade of green uniforms the Eagles used to wear. They should bring them back permanently.

Carolina at Tampa Bay

Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Buccaneers give up the second most fantasy points to running backs. Last week DeAngelo Williams outscored Jonathan Stewart for just the second time all year. 12-team leagues owners have a difficult decision on whether or not to start Williams. Expect QB Cam Newton to be running wild as well.
TE Greg Olsen, past three games: 10 Receptions, 23 Targets, 92 Receiving Yards, zero TD’s. That’s cold, for him.
Speaking of cold, DE Charles Johnson is like Greenland and DE Greg Hardy is like theArtic Circle.
Panthers’ D’ stinks, so feel free to use QB Josh Freeman – if he plays – to get into the fantasy playoffs. Don’t even think of using him again if you make it.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Panthers give up the most fantasy points to running backs. Stock up LeGarrette Blount.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Panthers give up the sixth fewest fantasy points to wide receivers. Mike Williams, past two games: 13 Receptions, 22 Targets, 167 Receiving Yards, TD’s in both games. Improvement, but he’s got to keep getting touchdowns to be fantasy relevant. He should be benched this week. Arrelious Benn belongs on the waiver wire.
CB Ronde Barber has at least 5 Solos in five of his past six games.

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh

Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Steelers give up the fourth fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. Stock down Andy Dalton.
RB Cedric Benson looked hungry last week. If you make it to the fantasy playoffs, he’s got great match-ups in Wek 15 (STL) and Week 16 (ARI).
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Steelers give up the third fewest fantasy points to wide receivers. Stock down A.J. Green. Bench Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell.
TE Jermaine Gresham lining up wide is huge for his fantasy future.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Steelers give up the second most fantasy points to defensive ends. Good luck figuring out the real defensive line depth chart and rotation.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Bengals give up the fifth fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. Stock down Ben Roethlisberger.
The next time you should bank on RB Rashard Medenhall in 12-team leagues is Week 16 vs the Rams. Otherwise, it’s TD or bust.
Over the past month, Antonio Brown has been the best fantasy receiver on the Steelers.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Bengals give up the fourth fewest fantasy points to linebackers. Lawrence Timmons has back-to-back good games, but it’s asking a lot to produce in this stingy match-up.

Atlanta at Houston

Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Texans give up the third fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. Matt Ryan is the #4 fantasy QB over the past four games, but the Texans’ D’ is impressive.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Texans give up the third fewest fantasy points to running backs. Stock down Michael Turner, who had his second worst game of the season last week.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Texans give up the fifth fewest fantasy points to wide receivers. Rookie Julio Jones has been extremely unreliable. Proceed at your own risk. Don’t bench Roddy White. Definitely bench Harry Douglas.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Texans give up the third fewest fantasy points to tight ends. Stock down Tony Gonzalez.
Rookie QB Taylor Yates replaces the non-storybook-ending Matt Leinart. C’mon, did you really think Leinart could do it?
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Falcons give up the fourth fewest fantasy points to running backs. Stock down Arian Foster and Ben Tate.
One game under WR Andre Johnson’s belt. Now dominate.
DE J.J. Watt and LB Connor Watt have been conducting defensive meetings in the backfield.
Past 8 weeks, Points Allowed: Falcons have moved from 1st to 18th in fantasy points given up to cornerbacks. If you need another reason to sit Johnathan Joseph.

NY Jets at Washington

Thanks to the sinking Bills QB Mark Sanchez is now up 21 total TD’s, which includes a TD in nine of 11 games. Unfortuantly he has 16 turnovers. Normally you take the good with the bad, but his yardage is still mediocre.
If RB LaDainian Tomlinson is on your waiver wire, pick him up for playoff depth. You know he’ll at least get touches.
Season-to-date, Targets: WR Plaxico Burress 74, WR Santonio Holmes 73. That’s way more skewed towards Plax than I predicted at the start of the season.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Redskins give up the fourth most fantasy points to linebackers. David Harris’ stats have improved over the past four games (20 Solos, 5 Assists, 1 Sack, 1 Int, 1 PD). Look for the trend to continue.
The Jets need a playmaking safety in 2012, badly.
QB Sexy Rex Grossman has quietly done well over his past two games. Just don’t say it too loud. You don’t want anyone to know you use him.
Past 7 weeks, Points Allowed: Jets have moved from 6th to 26th in fantasy points given up to running backs. Roy Helu was showing off last week. His getting plenty of touches, but it’s a bad match-up and Shanahan is capable of pulling the plug without notice.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Jets give up the fourth fewest fantasy points to wide receivers. Stock down Santana Moss and Jabar Gaffney.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Jets give up the third most fantasy points to linebackers. Stock up London Fletcher, Perry Riley, Ryan Kerrigan, and Brian Orakpo.
DB LaRon Landry returned from injury for a week, and now he’s banged up again. And when he was active, he didn’t have a dominating game all year. The DB that’s really impressed me is Deangelo Hall.

Indianapolis at New England

Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Patriots give up the second most fantasy points to quarterbacks. From the rumor mill, now that it’s clear the Colts will get the number one draft pick, they can start the better QB option in Dan Orlovsky.
Monitor the running backs opportunities. I feel it’s too soon to go all-in on Donald Brown.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Patriots give up the most fantasy points to wide receivers. We know the Carolina defense can’t tackle, but it’s nice to see a meaningful box score appearance from Reggie Wayne.
Past 3 weeks, Points Allowed: Patriots have moved from 7th to 18th in fantasy points given up to linebackers. Stock down Pat Angerer.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Patriots give up the most fantasy points to safeties. Antoine Bethea is going to be a Top 3 rated DB this weekend.
QB Tom Brady hasn’t had a bad game all year.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Colts give up the third most fantasy points to running backs. Start BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Use Danny Woodhead in 16-team leagues.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Colts give up the third most fantasy points to wide receivers. Welcome back Wes Welker. Also stock up to Deion Branch.
TE Rob Gronkowski is a Top 20 offensive player on the season.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Colts give up the third fewest fantasy points to linebackers. Maybe I should have been panicking about Jerod Mayo a few weeks ago. He’s been brutal.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Colts give up the second fewest fantasy points to safeties. Patrick Chung’s mysterious injury continues to keep him out of action. If he’s active, keep him benched.

Oakland at Miami

QB Carson Palmer’s weekly fantasy points have dropped three consecutive games.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Dolphins give up the sixth fewest fantasy points to running backs. RB Michael Bush is averaging 28 Rushes over his past three games, and is playing great in the process. What happens when Darren McFadden returns?
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Dolphins give up the fifth most fantasy points to linebackers. Start Kamerion Wimbley. Keep Aaron Curry on the waiver wire. The news coming out of CSNBayArea (via RotoWorld) regarding Rolando McClain is scary.
DB Tyvon Branch hasn’t had a bad game all year.
The Dolphins are playing hard, but QB Matt Moore’s stats are inconsistent. He does have a good looking fantasy playoff schedule that will make you think about using him (PHI, BUF, NEP).
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Raiders give up the sixth most fantasy points to running backs. Something is wrong with the space-time continuum. Reggie Bush is now scoring TD’s up the middle.
Ah, that’s the off-field WR Brandon Marshall we’ve been waiting for.
LB Karlos Dansby, past two games: 6 Solos. He deserves more than two lousy games before you panic.

Denver at Minnesota

How many references of the quarterback duel between Floridaboys Tim Tebow vs Christian Ponder will be shoved down your throat during the telecast?
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Vikings give up the most fantasy points to quarterbacks. Doesn’t really matter for Tebow’s arm. It’s his legs that give him value.
Keep starting WR Eric Decker. He has TD’s in four of his last five games.
Do you realize rookie Von Miller is a Top 10 fantasy LB? I knew he was solid, but that’s awesome. Stay informed about his bum thumb.
RB Adrian Peterson has awful timing when it comes to injuries. Remember he was a surprise inactive in Week 15 last year.
Who’s catching passes opposite of WR Percy Harvin? Maybe this could be an opportunity for TE Visanthe Shiancoe.
Chad Greenway is the #3 fantasy LB since Week 5. Not a misprint – NUMBER THREE.
LB E.J. Henderson, past two games: 16 Solos, 5 Assists, 1 Sack. He’s back on the radar.

Tennessee at Buffalo

Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Bills give up the third most fantasy points to quarterbacks. Look for Matt Hasselbeck to get you into the fantasy playoffs.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Bills give up the fifth most fantasy points to running backs. There will be holes for Chris Johnson.
I’d rather play Blackjack in Vegas than guess the right week to start WR Nate Washington. I lose both games, but Blackjack is more fun.
30/70 that LB Barrett Ruud gets his job back from rookie LB Colin McCarthy.
CB Jason McCourty is more known, but DB Jordan Babineaux’s fantasy run is ridiculously good.
How many 12-team league owners started QB Ryan Fitzpatrick last week? Oh, just you two. Nice job.
I wish WR Steve Johnson torching CB Darrelle Revis all day long was the headline. Stupid celebrations.
More everything, RB C.J. Spiller, please.
Now that I’ve accepted starting TE Scott Chandler every week in my 16-team league, it’s actually nice to see some consistency.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Titans give up the fewest fantasy points to linebackers. Stock down Nick Barnett.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Titans give up the fourth fewest fantasy points to safeties. Stock down George Wilson (if he even plays) and Jairus Byrd.

Kansas City at Chicago

Anything is better than QB Tyler Paklo. Expect QB Kyle Orton soon.
In college, my buddy painted with a guy he referred to as Gator. He would demonstrate Gator painting the side of a house with his elbows locked on his hips, imitating his extremely short arms. If you want a visual, see WR Dwayne Bowe.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Bears give up the most fantasy points to tight ends. Leonard Pope looks like a locked-out NBA player trying to get some sort of income by playing football. Keep him benched.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Bears give up the sixth fewest fantasy points to linebackers. Stock down Derrick Johnson. Tambi Hali isn’t that bad an option because you start him for sacks.
Time to be nervous RB Matt Forte owners. He’s averaging 60 Rushing Yards and 79 Yards from Scrimmage over his past three games.
Past 3 weeks, Points Allowed: Chiefs have moved from 15th to 25th in fantasy points given up to wide receivers. Last week Johnny Knox was the top dog, but this match-up and the uncertainty of the QB change have me benching all of them.
DB Major Wright, past four games: 13 Solos, 4 Assists, 3 Int, 5 PD’s, 1 TD. The Bears better keep him in the lineup.

Baltimore at Cleveland

Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Browns give up the second fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. Stock down Joe Flacco. Oh, super decision to transfer from Pitt toDelaware in college. Imagine if he decided to backup Palko.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Browns give up the fewest fantasy points to wide receivers. Stock down Anquan Boldin. Bench Torrey Smith. Ignore Lee Evans.
Did you bail on the TE Ed Dickson bandwagon yet? It’s only been two games since his explosion, so maybe you’re thinking it’s too soon. It’s not.
LB Jameel McClain has played well with LB Ray Lewis out of the lineup. But remember, McClain was doing okay next to him and his value should remain the same once Ray returns.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Browns give up the fifth most fantasy points to safeties. Stock up Bernard Pollard. It’s also a good week to cherry pick with Ed Reed.
CB Lardarius Webb, past four games: 15 Solos, 3 Assists, 0.5 Sack, 2 Int, 6 PD’s, 87 Punt Return Yards. He belongs on a fantasy roster.
QB Colt McCoy hopes management will review his season as a whole instead of his last five games which includes the Ravens and Steelers twice.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Ravens give up the second fewest fantasy points to running backs. Bench Peyton Hillis.
Rookie WR Greg Little, past three games: 16 Receptions, 27 Targets, 200 Receiving Yards, 1 TD.

Dallas at Arizona

QB Tony Romo’s remaining schedule is very favorable (ARI, NYG, TBB, PHI, NYG). Maybe he can finish out the year without one of his classic flopps.
There is no need to get RB Felix Jones on the field.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Cardinals give up the sixth most fantasy points to wide receivers. No Miles Austin means another huge game for Laurent Robinson (who’s now passed Dez Bryant for season-to-date fantasy points).
LB Demarcus Ware is still getting sacks and turnovers, but his tackles numbers have been miserable the past four games.
LB Sean Lee needs two hands to be a strong fantasy factor.
Reminder to QB Kevin Kolb owners and opponents – he was having an unimpressive season before his injury.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Cowboys give up the fifth fewest fantasy points to running backs. I understand benching Beanie Wells, but I wouldn’t do it.
Keep starting LB Paris Lenon until he cools off.
How about rookie LB Sam Acho. He has sacks in four of his past six games, and 23 Solos, 1 FR, 3 FF over that span. That makes him a Top 20 fantasy LB since Week 7.
How freaking hard is it to catch a booming punt with just your fingers? Rookie CB Patrick Peterson reminded us why we’re just ordinary humans and he’s an NFL player. It was the same feeling I got when I thought I could be a professional wrestler until I watched Spike Dudley get thrown through a ladder. Wood tables give; steel doesn’t.

Green Bay at NY Giants

QB Aaron Rodgers’ turn to torch the Giants. The only thing that could slow him down is steady 30 mph winds.
RB James Starks should never be in your “Who Do I Start” question unless your starters stink. And if that’s the case, your season is almost over anyway.
Past 4 weeks, Points Allowed: Giants have moved from 31st to 8th in fantasy points given up to tight ends. TE Jermichael Finley owners needed this match-up (past three games: 6 Receptions, 12 Targets, 135 Receiving Yards, zero TD’s).
Losing LB Desmond Bishop would give every Giant a bump up in value. Check his status Sunday morning.
CB’s Tramon Williams and Charles Woodson are on fire. It helps when opponents are forced to throw.
I’ve got to stop betting on the Giants. I’ve lost with them three consecutive weeks.
A soft zone in last week’s blowout inflated QB Eli Manning stats. Fantasy owners don’t care.
RB Brandon Jacobs’act is so stale.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Packers give up the fifth most fantasy points to wide receivers. Giants’ receivers are all banged up. Find out who’s healthy before you start ‘em.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Packers give up the second fewest fantasy points to linebackers. Michael Boley is the only player worth using, but he’s sill hurting.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Packers give up the third fewest fantasy points to safeties. Even without this match-up, I’ve decided to bench Antrel Rolle. He’s way off his early season pace. Also bench Kenny Phillips.

St. Louis at San Francisco

QB Sam Bradford sucks for fantasy purposes. Maybe he sucks in real life, but I am not qualified to make that assessment.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: 49ers give up the fewest fantasy points to running backs. Stock down Steven Jackson.
WR Brandon Lloyd increases his 2012 price tag every week.
Past 3 weeks, Points Allowed: 49ers have moved from 20th to 11th in fantasy points given up to defensive ends. Stock up Chris Long and James Hall.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: 49ers give up the fifth fewest fantasy points to linebackers. Stock down James Laurinaitis. Although Chris Chamberlain at least four solos in seven consecutive games, you’ve got to bench him.
DB Darian Stewart is dealing with a concussion. Taking him out of your fantasy lineup would be killer, so let’s hope his fine for Sunday.
Past 3 weeks, Points Allowed: Rams have moved from 10th to 23rd in fantasy points given up to quarterbacks. Bench Alex Smith.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Rams give up the fourth most fantasy points to running backs. Stock up Frank Gore.
If you picked up WR Braylon Edwards a few weeks ago, it’s time to send him back to the waiver wire.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Rams give up the fewest fantasy points to tight ends. The Rams have been stingy all year, so don’t expect much from Vernon Davis.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Rams give up the most fantasy points to defensive ends. Justin Smith should have a huge game.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Rams give up the most fantasy points to linebackers.Stock up Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman.
Past 4 weeks, Points Allowed: Rams have moved from 19th to 32nd in fantasy points given up to safeties. Consider benching Dashon Goldson if you have better match-ups elsewhere. Definitly bench Donte Whitner.

Detroit at New Orleans

Past 3 weeks, Points Allowed: Saints have moved from 17th to 8th in fantasy points given up to quarterbacks. Stock up Matthew Stafford.
There’s a reason RB Kevin Smith was out of the league for awhile.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Saints give up the second most fantasy points to wide receivers. Stock up Calvin Johnson. Start Nate Burleson.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Saints give up the seventh fewest fantasy points to linebackers. Stock down Stephen Tulloch. Bench DeAndre Levy and Justin Durant. Moving forward, the primetime game allows us to watch how the Lions shuffle the LB’s.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Saints give up the fourth most fantasy points to safeties. Consider Amari Spievey. Louis Delmas is out with an injury.
I’d rather own QB Drew Brees than 90% of the RB1’s. I won’t make that mistake again.
Two poor games in a row for RB Darren Sproles. Now’s not the time to bail on him.
Past 5 weeks, Points Allowed: Lions have moved from 6th to 27th in fantasy points given up to tight ends. Stock down Jimmy Graham.
LB Jo-Lunn Dunbar reminds me of LB Jamar Chaney – guys who aren’t flasy but who are constantly around the ball. I wonder what happens if LB Jonathan Vilma returns.
Past 5 weeks, Points Allowed: Lions have moved from 16th to 3rd in fantasy points given up to cornerbacks. I checked the recent Play-by-Play logs for the Saints, and no one guy is making tackles on the opponent’s WR1. It’s impossible to target Jabari Greer, Tracy Porter, and Patrick Robinson as the cornerback to trust for your fantasy team.

San Diego at Jacksonville

Dynasty league owners, hope that QB Philip Rivers is playing hurt.
RB Ryan Mathews hasn’t scored since Week 3.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Jaguars give up the second fewest fantasy points to wide receivers. Expect another clunker from Vincent Jackson.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Jaguars give up the second most fantasy points to tight ends. Stock up Antonio Gates.
LB Donald Butler cooling off has allowed DB Eric Weddle to pass him for IDP points onSan Diego.
Past 6 weeks, Points Allowed: Chargers have moved from 25th to 5th in fantasy points given up to quarterbacks. Please don’t start rookie Blaine Gabbert. I know John Elway hates Tebow. Maybe he trades him toFlorida this off-season.
RB Maurice Jones-Drew, past three games: 300 Rushing Yards, 11 Receptions, 121 Receiving Yards, 2 TD’s. That’s his best three game span since 2010.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Chargers give up the second most fantasy points to linebackers. Stock up Paul Posluszny and Daryl Smith.
Season-to-date, Points Allowed: Chargers give up the most fantasy points to cornerbacks. Lots of deep-league folks are running to the waiver wire for Ashton Youboty. But I need more than one monster game in two games played on the season to add him.

Vegas, NFL Spreads Week 13, Season Record 22-22-1

San Francisco (-13) vs St. Louis
Dallas (-4.5) at Arizona

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