The Fat & Lazy Fantasy Show Podcast is uploaded every Thursday here at mysports790.com. Follow them on twitter @FLFantasyShow or email flfantasyshow@gmail.com
I have a pet peeve. This pet peeve is longstanding, but has been exacerbated by the social media-driven world that we live in, and most notably, play our fantasy football in.
My pet peeve? Don't make a statement just to start an argument.
I have an uncle, a staunch Republican who votes straight ticket regardless of whether the candidate is Ronald Reagan or a turkey sandwich. Without revealing my political leanings or even sparking a political debate...which, oh by the way, I really don't care what you think of such and such Congressman....here's why I don't travel to their house that often for holidays. My uncle will ask a question - sometimes it's not even a real question - that he knows will spark a debate. Which is fine - dinnertime conversation is a good thing, as eating your sweet potatoes in silence rarely provides a positive Thanksgiving memory.
But the point of his question is not necessarily to solicit the opinions of others, but rather a deliberate attempt to evoke his personal agenda on everyone at the table. Usually the conversation will start something like this.
Uncle: "What do you think of the open carry law"?
Me: "I mean, I can see where it stems from but I think it could be a slippery slope"
Uncle: "Well, actually, this is what I think...blah blah blah...you're wrong...blah blah blah...voice of the teacher from Peanuts".
The point is, if you're asking a question of someone, there is a reasonable expectation that you'll have an open mind to their response.
The same is true of fantasy football advice. If you've already got your mind made up, please don't tweet us a question just to argue your point and justify your decision. "Hey, do you think I should start Ronnie Hillman this week"? "No, it doesn't appear he's going to be the guy in Denver"." "Well, that's true but I think he carries the ball 5 times for 100 yards and a Touchdown". Okay, well that's fine, you go ahead and start Ronnie Hillman...but if you had already decided you were going to play him, why did you waste a precious 20 seconds and 140 characters to tweet the question?
Don't ask a question just to start an argument.
Okay, that being said, don't start Ronnie Hillman this week. We were wrong on that call. It doesn't seem that John Fox has a lot of faith in Hillman at all. Now, here's some things we think WILL happen in Week 13. Now, to be fair, our bold predictions have bordered on pathetic most of the season, so take these with a grain of salt...but hey, we don't call em bold predictions for nothin, folks.
Chris Ivory will score double-digit fantasy points. It comes down to two things: I don't think Darren Sproles's hand is fully healthy, and I think Mark Ingram is a terrible runningback. Ivory's looked good in the limited time he's played, and you can run on Atlanta. Easily could see him getting 10 for 50 and a touchdown.
CJ Spiller will score at least 15 Fantasy Points. I know you're saying "wait, that's not that bold". But since Fred Jackson has been back, Spiller has only gone over 15 points once. But the Bills seem committed to giving him the lion's share of the work, and against a Jaguars D that can't stop a pee-wee runningback, Spiller has a good chance of exploding here.
Brandon Marshall will finish the week as a Top 5 wide receiver. His points have come in bunches all year, and with Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner probably out for the Seahawks, it'll be Marshall against a 3rd string cornerback, and in a game where Matt Forte might not play. Juicy.
Aaron Rodgers will throw 3 touchdowns...to 3 different receivers. He's thrown 3 touchdowns just 4 times this year, but a beat up (and not very good) Vikings secondary presents a nice matchup for A-Rog so long as the O-line can keep Jared Allen away from him. With Greg Jennings coming back, it'll give him the opportunity to spread the ball around and hit everyone on the field.
Mario Manningham will score a touchdown this week. This one's more of a gut call. He's been more involved in the offense since Kaepernick has been at QB - he's second in targets in the last 2 weeks behind only Michael Crabtree. Here's a guy that's just a couple years removed from a 900-yard season. He's got talent and big play ability and Kaepernick gives him the chance to use that.
Aaron Hernandez goes for at least 85 yards and a score. He's back, and Rob Gronkowski isn't. We expect this game to be closer than the Jets laugher last week, and Tom Brady will still have to be throwing in the second half.
Shonn Greene is a top 20 back and gets a TD this week. I hate Shonn Greene. But I hate the Cardinals front seven even more. Besides, what else are the Jets gonna do...let Mark Sanchez throw the ball?
Ryan Broyles is the #2 scoring wide receiver in this game. Against the Colts' hapless secondary, you can count on a big day from Calvin Johnson, but Ryan Broyles has firmly cemented himself as the second option for Matthew Stafford, and seems to just find the end zone. Yeah, we're saying he outscores even Reggie Wayne in this one.
Jared Cook is a Top 10 Tight End this week. There's a new offensive coordinator in Tennessee after they fired Chris Palmer, and Cook is a valuable weapon that's never been used in the right way. The Texans allowed 131 yards to Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler last week...there's a good chance Cook finds some open field against them.
Cam Newton goes over 20 fantasy points for just the 6th time this year. Hasn't been a great year for Superman, but you have to like the matchup against the Chiefs, and with Jonathan Stewart banged up, Cam's a good bet to get a goal line carry or two.
Brandon Stokely will be a top 25 wide receiver this week, and Knowshown Moreno will NOT be a Top 20 back. This comes down to two parts: Stokely is becoming more involved in the offense and has 4 catches in each of the last three weeks. And I'm not buying Moreno yet. I don't think he's very good, and it's a terrible matchup against the #1 run D in the league.
Trent Richardson goes over 100 rushing yards. It's only happened 3 times this year, surprisingly enough. The Raiders pose a great opportunity for it to happen a fourth.
Jermaine Gresham will score double-digit fantasy points against San Diego. The Chargers have been pretty good against tight ends as a whole, but teams that COMMIT to throwing to their TEs have been successful (see Denver, Atlanta, Baltimore). Gresham has at least 5 targets in 5 of the last 7, and with Andy Dalton playing better, I think Gresham finds the end zone
Ray Rice leads all the scoring in the Ravens-Steelers game, but scores under 18 points. Steelers can still play D. They also can't play O. This will be a low-scoring affair
Bryce Brown and Dez Bryant will both have repeat big games...they'll each go over 15 fantasy points. The Eagles have quit, and Dez Bryant is on a tear lately. He should be a beast again. Brown won't surprise the Cowboys the way he did Carolina, but the Cowboys have struggled against the run since Sean Lee got hurt, allowing over 100 yards rushing in 4 of the last 5.
Both RG3 and Eli Manning end as top 6 fantasy QBs this week. Obviously, you're starting Griffin, but maybe Manning's on your bench. He shouldn't be this week against the league's worst secondary. This game may be "first one to 50 wins".
