Daily Fantasy Strategy, Week 15: 5 Wide

Man it would have been very interesting had yesterday’s Chargers-Chiefs game been on the main slate. That’s because Keenan Allen, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce were all fantastic plays (particularly Keenan Allen, who Rudy’s projections had as the #1 WR on the slate by far), and would have all had significant ownership. You’d be looking at many lineups with a bad performance (Kelce and his 9.2) and a complete dud (the zero from Allen as he got hurt). You’d also be looking at a lot of lineups that picked either Jackson or Damien Williams, but not both, and the difference (27.3 for Williams, 16 for Jackson) would likely put the Jackson lineups drawing very thin, and possibly render them drawing dead if they played Allen and Kelce with that money. Alas, the game was on Thursday, so while it made for great TV, and made for an interesting showdown slate, only those who played the full Thursday-Monday slate care about it’s effects on a full slate. If you did play the Thursday-Monday slate, and you played Keenan Allen (and you did not play Jackson or Williams), I’d highly suggest pivoting your lineup to high-upside non-chalk plays to try to make up the lost ground.

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Ambulance Chasers, Week 2: Puny, Puny Muscle Hamster

September 10, 2014 | 2014 Fantasy Football, Injury Report | 14 Comments

by: SethDaSportsMan

Week 1 in the NFL brought us a number of injuries, and it also brought us the (unnecessary) return of some of our favorite Saturday Night Live characters. Reprising their Aaron Rodgers “Discount Double Check” series, State Farm graced us with a couple of new commercials featuring The Richmeister (Rob Schneider repeatedly saying “makin’ copies!”), and of course, Hans and Franz. You remember those two lovable German steroid freaks? All they cared about was getting us puny weaklings in shape… and at any cost.

Tampa Bay RB Doug Martin may need a little pumping up from Hans and Franz, ‘cuz a knee injury could sideline the Muscle Hamster for the Bucs’ matchup with the St. Louis Rams this Sunday. Lovie Smith is downplaying the injury, but the fact that Martin got just nine carries, yet his knee injury was deemed “minor”, is a little bit concerning. There could be other factors at play here (conspiracy theorists unite!). Some NFL pundits have speculated that Martin may have been benched, and as a member of the old regime in Tampa, he doesn’t look to be a favorite of the Bucs’ new coach. Either way, after a dismal and injury-shortened 2013, there is very little wiggle room for the Bucs back. Fantasy owners in standard leagues would be wise to stash Bobby Rainey (4 carries, 12 yards; 2 catches, 8 yards, TD). Mike James is also worth a look in much deeper leagues.

And, now to the rest of the forlorn…

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Waiver Wired, Week One: Carson Palmer and the Preseason Pickups

September 2, 2014 | 2014 Fantasy Football, Waiver Wire | 73 Comments

by: Andrew Nordmeier

As we open the season, all of our NFL teams have the same goal— to play in Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Arizona on February 1. Our fantasy teams have the same goal— to play in our respective league’s Super Bowl whatever week (usually 16) that it falls on. For some of you, getting there will be difficult if not impossible. Others will find the road to be easy, and cruise through the season. For me, I fall in the latter when it comes to getting to the Super Bowl. That’s mainly because I live about 40 minutes north of University of Phoenix Stadium. Getting to the Super Bowl is easy for me, even if traffic sucks.

That’s what I’m here for. To help you navigate the journey from your starting point to your league’s Super Bowl. We’ll help you avoid the roadblocks of poor play, the detours of bye weeks, and the potholes of injuries. That said, let’s turn the key on the season and start giving some recommendations for players who can be picked up now to help you out in the long term.

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2014 Sleeper: Levine Toilolo

July 18, 2014 | 2014 Fantasy Football, 2014 Sleepers | 9 Comments

by: Jay

Kinda looks like when I eat a baked potato. Needs more chives though.

Levine Toilolo, or, as I often call him, Tin Foil Tofu, which sounds half-edible, is a 6’8″, 260-pound tight end. Which makes me think that his thighs are bigger than my head. While normally that would be enough to convince me to keep track of him in fantasy football this year, I feel like there should be other reasons. Not just food and thigh related, ya know? So let’s go over some superfluous reasons of why he is a sleeper for the upcoming 2014 season.

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Weekly Rankings: Ryan Mathews Playing At RB, P-W-N-I-N-G

October 17, 2013 | 2013 Fantasy Football, Weekly Rankings | 301 Comments

by: Sky

We might as well just call all weekly rankings ‘play whoever you own against the Jacksonville Jaguars’. Yes, I’d start Mike Glennon against them at this point. Maybe even Ryan Fitzpatrick. That’s how dirty it is in Jagsville. But the reality is, Ryan Mathews had himself a fine day on MNF, gaining over 100 yards as the Chargers ran the clock down against a surprisingly inept Colts offense. Though he didn’t find the end zone, I can’t see how the Chargers don’t take advantage of both him and Woodhead as they control the game. Sure, it might become a bit of a shootout – I trust the Chargers defense about as much as any hollywood gossip mag at the checkout counter. Tori Spelling’s face is melting off due to too much surgery and thus has moved to Minnesota for the cooler climate? Ok, not likely but if that keeps her out of future movies, I could think of worse things. Eh, where was I? Oh yeah, start all your Chargers and enjoy it while you do it. Actually, there are a lot of great matchups this week for guys that are sometimes fringe starters. Alshon Jeffery looks primed for a good day against that Redskins secondary and while Jordy battle Haden, I think James Jones has himself a mighty fine day as a great secondary option for Rodgers. Josh Freeman is being given one of the worst secondaries and I think he takes full advantage. If Jerome Simpson is still floating around out there, it’d be a good week to pick him up in my book. Important notes to note: if Roddy White is a no go, you’re gonna want your Harry D in the lineup for volume reasons and it makes Toilolo an intriguing add in deep leagues. Outside of that, Jordan Reed is quietly sitting just ahead of Rudolph. I like both having a shot at big weeks if you’re stuck with muck at TE or a Jimmy Graham bye week. And with that, let’s kick the jabba to the curb and see what we got. Here’s our week 7 rankings for the 2013 Fantasy Football season…

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The Human Geno Project

October 8, 2013 | 2013 Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Daily Notes | 284 Comments

by: Sky

As a Jets fan, I can only imagine the magic, turbulent carpet ride it’s been this year. Start the year 1-0 with a nail-biter against the Bucs, then turn around and lose a similarly close game to the Pats. Follow that up with what looked like maybe a statement game against the Bills only to get trounced by the Titans in week 4. Maybe New York is just gonna have to kick back and enjoy this roller coaster ride. Either way, Geno Smith will be the person getting you set up. Are you buckled in? Is the bar secure? Ok, go! Geno finished the night with 199 passing yards for 3 TDs, and a win to go with zero INTs. The interceptions have been the biggest bugaboo so far with Geno as he came into the night with 8 INT but tonight he looked very comfortable in the pocket and was able to make his quick reads and get the ball out fast. He still needs to work on his general pocket awareness but given the Falcons’ general defensive rush problems, he didn’t have to worry about that as much tonight. If we’re talking fantasy relevance with Geno, I think we’re either talking late season or for keeper/dynasty leagues because he’s still not on my pick up radar at this point but in terms of relying on him, he’s slowly gaining my fantasy stream trust. In other 2013 Fantasy Football news…

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