Fantasy Lineup Picks - Week 8

Hey Kids – time for another round of the weekly fantasy roundup. As always, this is the place where I offer my weekly picks of who to get in your lineup, who to sit, and what defenses are scary good or possibly ripe for the picking. Follow this advice closely and you’ll spend hours on end bragging about your imaginary sports triumphs.

I'll start with the studs of the week...

Use em':
1. Brett Favre: Halfway through his 32nd season and 8 games from his next big retirement crisis, La Frenchman has been a solid fantasy option this year. He has had two ugly games, but those starts were against the Iggles and Da’ Bears. I’m confident that Brett will have his giddy/childish game face on this weekend and the Cards D will fold accordingly.

2. Tatum Bell: I had him up here last week and he came through with a good game. Is Tatum perhaps reaching weekly starter status? Is it time for me to move on and assume that you’ve all figured that out? I guess we’ll find out next week – for this week he gets a questionable Indy run D in a game where Coach Mad Mike will certainly want to grind the clock by running the rock.

3. Rex Grossman: His last start was the stuff of legend. I touched on it last week but it’s really worth revisiting. If you saw the Cards/Bears game you know that Rex orchestrated the perfect storm of terrible quarterbacking. Good barstool question: if you had to start one quarterback from a particular time would it be T-Rex in the Cards game, Kordell Stewart right before he was yanked for Tommy Maddox, or Koy Detmer…circa…well…ever? Don’t hurt yourself with that one. These musings aside, I’m willing to give Rex a mulligan for the Cards game. Truth be told, even before the Cards game Rex had only thrown for 2 touchdowns on the road all season vs. 8 at home. He certainly can’t go any lower, so don’t be surprised if Rex bounces back in a big way against the Niners.

4. Chad Johnson: Profound insight on my part right? Who’s next on the list? Larry Johnson? Unfortunately, anyone who has had Chad Johnson this season knows where I’m coming from. He hasn’t been as good as advertised…frequently…by himself…by the NFL-N…and by ESPN. Watching Chad play second fiddle to a man with 18 syllables in his name has been as painful as watching Bill Parcells coach a game in a tube top. Love him or hate him, we want to see the “ocho cinco” score and we want to see him dance. He’ll get that chance this week against a Falcons D that has recently converted to a “two hand touch” defensive scheme.

5. Wali Lundy: Smallish UVA running back who might not be big enough to make it in the NFL and certainly won’t be a star? Solid pass catcher out of the backfield who has great vision? Does he have a twin brother? Is he going to retire after his rookie season? It’s probably too early to anoint Wali the next Tiki Torch, but it’s impossible to deny his potential. While the Texans aren’t quite there yet, you get the feeling that Kubiak and Carr can take them places and you have to love the potential of a Lundy, Carr and Johnson combination. Fresh off a big game against the Jags, Wali draws a weak Titans D this week. Expect a solid game and at least one score.

6. Laurence Maroney: Might as well make a run on the rookie backs. Maroney had a big kickoff return last week that probably didn’t help most of you who were starting him as a rb (hopefully you scoped my column and knew to keep him on the bench). This week is a different story as Sir Laurence heads home to Minnesota to run on the Metrodome turf where he was an absolute monster in college. You think Corey Dillon’s old bones are excited about hitting that fake grass/concrete? Maroney should get substantial playing time and he’ll be sure to take advantage of it, even against a tough Vikings D.

7. Travis Henry: Travis is one of those players who suffers from what I like to call the “hot ex-girlfriend effect.” Perhaps your buddy has this hot ex-girlfriend, we’ll call her Phyllis. Phyllis is smoking hot, but your buddy had only been dating her for 3 months when he found her clubbing baby seals while growing horns out of her head – total witch. Buddy sees Phyllis in the bar a year or two later – “hey, she sure looks good!” Before you can stop him, buddy is out the door with Phyllis and you’re left to finish your beer by yourself. Players like Travis Henry, Kevin Jones, Jamal Lewis, and apparently Daunte Culpepper suffer from the hot ex-girlfriend effect. They’ve burned you in the past but once they show some potential you’re all over them again (despite that sick feeling in your stomach that none of it will end very well). Fortunately, you can ignore your gut for the one night stand this week as T. Henry gets the Texans at home. He’ll be good for another solid game but I wouldn’t make any wedding plans.

8. Donald Driver: See discussion of his qb above. Donald Duck is in for a potential shootout in cheeseland and he won’t have Greg Jennings (didn’t he used to be a news anchor?) lining up opposite him to steal any balls. Look for about 7 catches and maybe 100 yards to go with a Lambeau Leap inducing score.

9. Chiefs D/Seahawks D: That’s right, a double dipper! It’s looking like Dandy Damon might not make the start for K.C. which can only bode well for the Seahawks. Pretty boy Brodie Croyle had 2 interceptions in his only meaningful NFL action of the season in Week 6 – imagine if he had attempted more than 7 passes! The only thing to like in this game is the under as the Seahawks will be free to stack the line for Larry Johnson and the Chefs D will be treated to an afternoon buffet of Seneca Wallace.

10. Adam Vinatieri: Perhaps the only injured kicker worth stashing on your roster, Vinatieri appears to be rounding back to form. This week takes him to the not so friendly confines of Invesco Stadium Field…at…Mile High…Place…uh…he’s playing in Denver. If there’s one thing Vinatieri seems to love it’s kicking in clutch situations and adverse weather conditions. He’ll get both this week so don’t be surprised if he comes through with some big kicks.

While the above 10 will have you bragging about your fantasy victories here are 10 that I wouldn’t be getting too cocky about starting...

Lose em' (at least for this week)

1. Joseph Addai: While he appears to be making a move toward the Colts starting job, this is not the week Addai should be starting in your lineup. The Browncos D Line has been nothing short of a wall this year, allowing only two touchdowns the entire season. If the Colts are going to win this game it will be on the arm of Peyton Manning and he won’t be using it to handoff to Addai.

2. Cadillac Williams: While he has experienced a bit of a renaissance the last few weeks, the Cadillac isn’t going to enjoy his drive through North Jersey. The Giants are truly starting to click and it’s going to take a big effort from the Bucs just to make this game competitive. While the G-men have some injuries on the D-Line they have more than enough depth to overcome. If you have a better option at rb, use him.

3. Chester Taylor: Oh, Uncle Chester. I had you down here last week and you decided to burn me with a career effort. I watch Sportscenter though Uncle Chester - don’t think the fact that nearly 100 of your 160 rushing yards came on one carry will escape me. I can generate some impressive numbers too, and those numbers tell me that you only ran for an average of 2.9 yards on your other 25 carries. Couple that with only 2 tds on an astounding 137 carries this season and I’ll take my chances with someone who isn’t playing the tough Pats run defense.

4. Fred Taylor: In an amazing feat of endurance, everyone’s favorite piñata has somehow endured to the 8th game of the season. As a reward, Fred gets a trip to Philly to face an angry Iggles team. If I had to pick a Jags runner to start from this game it would be backup Maurice Jones-Drew because he’s a dependable receiver out of the backfield who is able to create plays in space. The Jags had trouble with the Texans so they could be in for a world of hurt in Philly - save the piñata for a different party.

5. Deion Branch: If someone becomes a fixture on the “Lose Em” list should I eventually retire their name and assume you know not to play them? I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but for now we have Mr. Branch as our second repeat offender of the week. The deck is stacked grossly against Deion this week as he is playing in a hostile environment with no running game and a terribly inexperienced (and possibly untalented qb). He might climb off the “Lose Em” list when the Hass returns but for now leave Branch on the bench.

6. Alex Smith (QB): This doesn’t mean you should consider starting Alex Smith (TE), but I only deal with one A. Smith at a time. This Smith has been surprisingly dependable this year, with only one truly terrible start in Week 4 against the Chiefs. Interestingly, this is only the third Niners road game of the year and Alex has historically suffered in foreign confines. Chicago is not the place to reverse that trend.

7. Chargers D: While the Chargers D has been “strong” this year you got the feeling that they were beginning to “deflate” last week. It was almost as though they had lost their “juice” – like they were no longer “pumped up” for the game. Ok…enough of that. This defense seems to be dropping players left and right and this week they face a Rams offense that has been extremely hot of late. Even though they’ve been solid at home it wouldn’t be a bad idea to seek out an alternative D this week.

8. De'Shaun Foster: I took the risk of recommending him as a starter last week - that backfired excellently. You won’t see the same mistake again this week. Despite a great performance by the Tiki Torch on Monday night, the Cowboys have a very solid run defense. Add to that the fact that DeAngelo Williams could potentially be making a return to the lineup and our buddy De’Shaun is in a bad spot.

9. Maurice Morris: May I present to you Exhibit A in my ongoing demonstration of why “handcuffing” is a stupid way to build your fantasy football team. Everyone knows that running back depth is essential in fantasy football. Take yourself back to draft day…you take Shaun Alexander with a top 3 pick and you’re set (or so you thought). As you continue to build your team you have a choice to make – handcuff Alexander later or go after another good starter at rb and potentially sacrifice a Terry Glenn type at wr. The choice is simple, take the 3rd rb – always. Did anybody breathe a sigh of relief when Shaun Alexander went down this season because they had Maurice Morris and Terry Glenn? Wouldn’t you rather have a Frank Gore or a Julius Jones to plug into your lineup? Me too. Morris has been downright awful as a “handcuff” with only 158 yards in three starts. This week he lines up behind Seneca Wallace AND loses his starting right tackle. Remember this situation when you draft next year.

10. Brad Johnson: Perhaps the most dependable quarterback in fantasy football, Brad Johnson is at home this week against…wait a minute…are any of you actually starting Brad Johnson? Though he seems to have been playing forever, Johnson has never really been a stud fantasy option. He’s not getting any younger and his receiving corps isn’t getting any healthier. If you don’t have a better option, claim one – you’ll thank me Tuesday morning.

The BIG Fives

Finally we have The BIG Fives - these are the top five and bottom five rushing and passing defenses among active teams this week. If all else fails, look to these lists before reaching in your pocket for a coin to flip. The teams I've denoted with an asterisk (*) are those whose statistical ranking might be higher or lower than the actual quality of their defense. In other words - don't be too afraid of the Raiders pass defense.

Rushing Defense

1. Vikings
2. Ravens
3. Bears
4. Cowboys
5. Chargers

28. Browns
29. Bucs
30. Colts
31. Titans
32. Jets

Passing Defense

1. Raiders*
2. Chargers
3. Colts
4. Bears
5. Chiefs*

28. Falcons
29. Lions
30. Niners
31. Texans
32. Packers

That's about it for this week folks. Choose wisely and if all else fails blame it on the pine tar.