Posted by BeastOrBust on Friday, Oct 28 2011  -  about 7 months ago

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Week 8: Thoughts and Preview

Injuries are starting to pile up, and already with a thin RB core this year in the NFL, there are a lot of waiver wire hidden gems to be found like RB's Jackie Battle, Michael Bush, Kregg Lumpkin, and Alfonso Smith who might have to step up to fill their teams #1 RB role. Tim Tebow started his season out with a bang leading a comeback in win, and looking like he will secure his role as the starting QB. His ability to score on the run and through the air makes him a possible QB1/2 further into the season and shows nice Dynasty value as well. QB Christian Ponder almost defeated the world champion Packers in his first career start, and RB DeMarco Murray ran wild for 253 yards. There are a lot more to look at in the matchups for Week 8 and with a big group of starts on their bye week let's see who has a chance to boost their Dynasty value. Bye week teams are Atlanta, Chicago, Green Bay, Jets, Oakland and Tampa Bay.

 

Cam Newton and Steve Smith are an elite 1-2 punch and facing a big play prone Minnesota pass defense they are in for a big game. Jonathan Stewart, who has proven to be the main back ahead of Deangelo, is a RB2 this week even with a tough matchup due to Cam Newton's ability to alter opposing defenses. The Vikings are much better defending the rush than the pass.

 

Rookie Christian Ponder has given the Vikings pass offense some life. This is good for WR Percy Harvin and even Michael Jenkins. The Panthers have a weak pass defense so watch for potential good games from both WR's and Ponder, but mainly AP should assert his dominance this week. In two career games against Carolina AP has compiled over 180 totals yards and 2 TD's.

 

Chris Johnson finally should be able to run wild against the worst run defense in the league in Indy. They give up the most fantasy points to opposing RB's, so cross your fingers for CJ even though he runs behind a awful offensive line. Matt Hasselbeck and WR Nate Washington should be able to find success as well, (see Saints vs Colts Sunday night). TE Jared Cook is turning into a viable TE option and is a nice TE2/bye week guy for this week.

 

It is tough to see anyone on this roster stand out this week besides RB's Delone Carter and Donald Brown. The Titans did give up over 200 total yards to Arian Foster last week. But do not expect these RB's to run wild like that.

 

Brandon Marshall is the only viable option being that QB Matt Moore seems to throw his way every time, but it is hard to trust him being that Marshall leads the league in drop passes.

 

Coming off a bye, the Giants have a nice matchup all around especially for RB Ahmad Bradshaw, Brandon Jacobs should return this week but with limited carries. TE Jake Ballard is becoming a favorite target of Eli. The last two games Ballard has 2 TD's and 153 receiving yards. He is becoming a Top 10 TE quickly and shows nice Dynasty value for the future.

 

Even with a nice win against the Ravens, they are almost last in fantasy points at every offensive position except at RB. So MJD is the only viable option while playing against a mediocre Texans pass and rush defense.

 

Arian Foster is back in BEAST form, and with a Jaguars D that stifles the passing game, it looks good for Foster to run well this week too. Matt Schaub will have to look at TE Owen Daniels because the Jags tend to leave that position open a lot. Andre Johnson is not returning this week.

 

They have not won since week 1 and lost RB Beanie Wells to injury. This hurts but opens the door for RB Alfonso Smith who score last week but, the Ravens have a superior defense so the only Cardinal with any value that is worth playing is of course Larry Fitzgerald.

 

Their offense failed to show up last week, but do not worry, Flacco should get back up to speed against a lowly Arizona pass defense. WR Anquan Boldin is finally connecting with his QB catching two TD's the last two games. He is facing his old team so look for him to have a nice game along with deep threat Torrey Smith, who a few deep balls last week but came up short on all of them. Also look for Ray Rice to get back on track.

 

The schedule gods have blessed the Saints with another great matchup against the Rams, making every Saint a great play. They beat the Colts by 55 last week, and with the Rams looking just as bad it is hard to not see RB Darren Sproles and Pierre THomas, go off along with Brees, Colston and Graham.

 

The Rams did get Brandon Lloyd going in his first game. He was targeted 12 times and caught 6 catches for 74 yards. He is a WR2/3 play given his QB situation right now. A more viable option is RB Steven Jackson who continues to be the mainstay of that offense.

 

Big matchup with the Steelers coming up and fresh off a bye, Tom Brady could see a nice game given all of his weapons around him. Start every Patriots WR and TE, even in this tough matchup. BenJarvus GreenEllis could see success because he ran for 87 yards last year against a much tougher Steelers D, and this year they have taken a step back on opposing rushers. BJGE is an RB2 this week and will fill in nice with all the bye week RB's out this week.

 

Facing the worst defense against the pass, Big Ben has another chance for a big game. So does WR Antonio Brown, who broke over 100 yards last week. He is more of a WR3/FLEX this week. Hines Ward could see a nice game too. Rashard Mendenhall did not take advantage of a nice matchup last week, so it is tough to say what he will do this week against a Patriots Defense giving up no more than 85 rushing yards in a game this season.

 

Megatron has a nice matchup this week, even with QB Matthew Stafford sporting an ankle injury this week. Stafford should play this week, so no need to worry about his status. Denver has been pretty good against the RB's this year, and with Maurice Morris and Keiland Williams splitting carries it is tough to see both these guys more than RB3. The Broncos have yet to allow a rushing TD all season.

 

It was not pretty but Tebow got the job done last week. He faces a tougher matchup this week but his style can alter Detroit's defense anyway. WR Eric Decker might have seen his value drop since Tebow targeted Demaryius Thomas 10 times last week. WR Thomas played in his first game last week and scored a TD. He poses great Dynasty value with his size and upside. He showed flashes of brilliance last year at times but struggled to stay healthy. As of now Thomas is more of a WR3.

 

Now that Tim Hightower is out for the year, RB Ryan Torain and Roy Helu will see a lot more action. So that boosts their value a little but it is not known who will get the majority yet. The Bills defense is not that great so TE Fred Davis, who is a TE1 now, could see success. His new QB John Beck likes to throw his way too and with Santana Moss sidelined, Davis should see even more targets.

 

Fred Jackson has been spot on this whole season and the Redskins are pretty good against the pass, so rely on Jackson to do most of the damage this week. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Stevie Johnson are still nice options but the Skins have only allowed 2 TD's this season to opposing WR's.

 

The Browns can barely score at home against the Seahawks, and the 49ers Defense is much better, so nobody is really a viable option. Peyton Hillis might return but RB Montario Hardesty saw 33 carries for 95 yards last week. He should continue to see regular week even when Hillis comes back.

 

Frank Gore and Vernon Davis are the only solid options this week. Gore has been a BEAST the last few weeks, and Davis has a nice matchup to get going again. The Browns are not good at all at defending the TE. Michael Crabtree is a bye week fill-in, he might be able to catch a few balls and sneak into the endzone.

 

The Benglas have been a nice surprise and they have a nice matchup facing a weak Seattle secondary. Andy Dalton could be a nice sleeper this week. WR A.J. Green of course is a must play and Jerome Simpson, who saw early season success has gotten back in a groove as of his last game. As far as RB's go, do not bother because Seattle has a very good run defense.

 

QB issues and and facing a Bengals D that has allowed the 5th fewest in QB and WR points has no Seahawk looking good for this week. RB Marshawn Lynch is banged up too, so do not rely on him either.

 

The Eagles are back with a win two weeks ago, and now facing the Cowboys who allow the 3rd fewest fantasy points to RB's. LeSean McCoy is a must play anyway since he has been a BEAST all season. The Eagles could catch fire and last game with the Cowboys, WR Desean Jackosn went for 210 yards, so Jackson and Maclin along with Vick could see decent games.

 

DeMarco Murray has another tasty matchup with the Eagles. He could run for a big game this week too. With the Eagles being more strong in the secondary it might be tough for Dez and Miles Austin to get going. No WR has received more than 70 yards against the Eagles this season. TE Jason Witten has scored in the last 3 games between these two teams.

 

In another subpar Monday night football matchup the Chargers go up against the Chiefs. Earlier this season Rivers did not throw a TD vs. the Chiefs but this week he has Gates back so both of them can breakout at any time. RB Ryan Mathews brokeout against the Chiefs earlier this season too and nothing has changed to say Mathews won't do it again.

 

Dwayne Bowe is a must play always, but now with RB Jackie Battle getting the carries he could see a nice game. The Chargers have struggled the last two games against the rush, and the Chiefs are going to have to either throw to Bowe to hand it off to Battle or McCluster to win this game.

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