It feels weird making Montell Owens a suggestion. I mean, he’s been the starter for Jacksonville for the last couple of weeks, there are no signs we see Maurice Jones-Drew at any point for the rest of the season and Rashad Jennings has done nothing to prove he deserves more than a bit role when he fully recovers from his concussion. However, facts are facts. Montell is still owned in only 27% of yahoo leagues and only 11% over at ESPN and I’ve never seen a starting RB I didn’t like. Well, there’s Michael Turner but that’s for an entirely different post. What I see is a flex play in a playoff week where anything goes. The studs that got you to week 16 could be sitting in week 17. I remember the one year I played the championship in week 17 because I accidentally didn’t set it correctly for week 16 before the season started. I won because I picked up the 43 yards, 4 receptions and the touchdown Jerheme Urban brought to the table that week. Don’t know who that is? Good, you shouldn’t. Welcome to what David Bowie no doubt was singing about. Week 17 is all about the guys who don’t start typically but are going to get the snaps to prove they should at least make the team’s practice squad the next year. So with that, let’s take a look at just a few more week 17 heroes for 2012 fantasy football…
Harry Douglas – I know, what a sexy call, right? I highly doubt Julio Jones and Roddy White are still around in the second half of this game and the Buccaneers secondary have seen the most fantasy points by opposing wide receivers on the season as of this typing. I don’t care if McCown is back there throwing it, he could look like Peyton Manning by the end of the day with how well they defend the pass which in turn could make Douglas look like Marvin Harrison.
LaMichael James – There’s two scenarios where I think we see multiple carries for James in week 17. The first one is that SF seals up their playoff fate by the end of week 16 and don’t need to run their starters out there. The second one is that the game in week 17 still matters but because it’s against the woeful Cardinals, the game could be out of hand by the second quarter. He has played a little bit over the last two weeks, garnering 17 touches for 76 yards. Now tack on a few more touches to 20 and over 90 yards with a good shot at a touchdown and you have a possibly great flex play.
Michael Preston – Ehhhh, who is this guy? Oh I know, he’s the one who filled in when Kendall Wright went down with a rib injury on Monday Night Football. Now I can’t say for sure Kendall’s out for the year but given that the Titans have nothing to play for, I think Preston gets a chance to improve on his 3 catches for 42 yards from Monday night against a Jaguars defense that only looks good against opposing wide receivers because most games are done by the second half and everyone runs on them. If the 17-14 snooze-fest that was MNF for week 15 shows anything, it’s that the Titans offense isn’t high-octane enough to pull away from anyone. This whole game could be a fantasy paradise and Preston could have a large piece of that.
Tony Moeaki – At this point, I’ve mentioned Tony more often than I ever should so I’ll just say it’s a matchup call. Dennis Pitta proved the Broncos can’t defend the TE. Tony could prove it again. Of course, Quinn has proven he can’t throw it so you’re probably not starting him. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Mark Ingram – Wow, I don’t know what to say here. He’s 29% owned in yahoo leagues and…63% in ESPN leagues? Major schism there. So I guess I’m talking to yahoo owners. Panthers give up the 7th most fantasy points to opposing RBs and Ingram flex-worthy for the last few weeks, especially when the matchup is right. Well, welcome to the right matchup. If he can go for 90 and a touchdown against a tough Buccs frontline, there’s no reason to think he couldn’t have another strong day against Carolina.
