UK American Sports Fantasy: Football Start or Sit Week 7 (Sunday)
Week 7 sees both the Saints and the Raiders on bye this week with the Saints affecting more players in shallower leagues and the Raiders loss being more heavily felt in the deeper leagues. However, even with the loss of those teams players Week 7 still appears to have some strong fantasy options at the top end of each of position but those position very quickly get messy and hard to predict and that is where I hope these tiers will be able to help you!
This is essentially the second part of my article as I previewed the Thursday night game in a previous article so therefore Seahawk and Cardinal players will be removed from the tiers to avoid confusion.
QBs
Studs: Peyton, Romo
Peyton is a no brainer with the undoubted best receiving group in the league and a decent match up. Romo has a great match up and has been strong for fantasy owners barring last week.
Safe: Ryan, Stafford, Cutler, RG3, Newton, Rivers, Foles, Rodgers, Luck, Brady
Ryan worries me a little without Jones and a hobbled White but that team has depth and he is a cool calm customer, Tough match up for Stafford but he has some great options, Great match up for a red hot Cutler coming off a long week, Chicago has a hobbled pass rush and that can only help RG3, Newton had a great week last week and St. Louis defence was made to look great last week when it is not, Jacksonville are fast becoming the team every wants their players to play and this week its Rivers chance to shine, Foles grabbed the starting job by the horns last week and in this offence there are plenty of points to be had, Rodgers slides a tier without Jones and Cobb but Nelson and Boykin are more than adequate, Denver Indy is primed to be a shootout and Luck will have to throw to stay in this, Tough match up for Brady but he tends to blow the Jets out once a year and he didn’t do it in week 2.
Deep: Kaepernick, Dalton, Bradford, Tannehill, Flacco, Roethlisberger, A.Smith, Eli
CK is struggling a bit lately but if he keeps linking up with Davis that can only be a good thing, Dalton showed us last week what he is capable of but he needs more consistency, Bradford’s match up with Carolina is tough but against their offence he will need to be more involved than last week, coming off the bye week and getting what appears to be a leaky Bill’s secondary means Tannehill should have a good week, Flacco needs to be more consistent in finding Smith if he wants to put up starter relevant numbers, the Ravens defence has been good except for week 1 and that’s a bad sign for Big Ben, Houston have a tough defence put and a poor offence and that’s a bad combination for fantasy QBs but Smith will be relevant, Eli is looking awful but the Minnesota D was ravaged last week. He is fast becoming my last resort.
2 QB only: Glennon, Henne, Lewis, Geno, Weeden, Texan’s QB, Fitzpatrick, Freeman
Glennon has a legitimate chance to move up next week if he can put up numbers against a better defence than Philly’s, Henne has lost one of his two targets and that hurts him, Lewis is a bit nicked up, Geno is an enigma but the Pats defence is banged up this week, Weeden worries me but if he can find Gordon and Jordan regularly there is hope for him yet, whoever starts for Houston I want nothing to do with them right now, Fitzpatrick has been good for fantasy owners in that he has thrown the ball to Johnson but otherwise he’s fairly useless as a QB option, Freeman has had a chance to ease into the offence and cannot be worse than the Ponder/Cassel debacle.
RBs
Stud: McCoy, Forte, Morris, Peterson, Charles
Not a great match up for McCoy but he will get a ton of touches both rushing and catching, Washington’s defence has been awful against the run and Forte is the man to exploit that, Chicago’s D-line is severely weakened and if Jacobs can put up big yards against them then Morris certainly can, Peterson has the ability to tear any defence apart and the Giant’s haven’t been great so far, Houston’s run D is good but Charles will see plenty of touches in the passing game and therefore should still put up huge numbers.
Safe: Gore, Martin, Bernard, R.Bush, Foster, D.Williams, Mathews, Moreno, Rice, Lacy, Miller, Rodgers, T.Richardson, Powell
Decent matchup for Gore who has shown he is still one of the dominant backs in the game, Martin has struggled this year but he still has the potential to be a great back every week, Great match up for Bernard even if BJGE is still getting a split of the touches it’s all Bernard in the pass game, Bush has a tougher match up but he is a fantastic player when healthy, tough match up for Foster but he is looking back to his old sefl and getting the majority of the carries, Williams could be a borderline stud this week if he got more goal line carries, a great match up for Mathews especially if SD get up big early, Moreno is the Bronco’s undoubted #1with a decent match up, Rice has a really tough match up but I fancy him to bounce back against his rivals, Lacy looks a real hammer of a running back and in the GB offence that is a big player for fantasy, Good match up for Miller coming off a bye week, Rodgers may be the main man in Atl this week with Jackson out and Snelling hobbled a little however, it is a tough match up, Richardson has a good match up and should hopefully get a TD as well, Powell has a great match up against a batter NE defence
Flex: BJGE, Spiller, F.Jackson, Randle, Stacy, MJD, C.Johnson
BJGE had a good week last week and he has a decent match up this week, Spiller looked hobbled last week but it is so hard to bench a player of his quality, Jackson is getting the Buffalo goal line carries, Randle is the main man in replacing Murray, Stacy looks like the main man in St. Louis and that’s always valuable, MJD is not quite a safe bet for me but he is close because the defences now have more to worry about than just him, Tough match up for Johnson but he has a nice run after his bye.
Deep: L.Bell, Hunter, J.Bell (Leshoure), Ogbonnaya, Jacobs, Tate, Tolbert, Woodhead, Pierce, Ivory, Bolden
Bell has a really tough match up, Hunter is the back up to Gore but still sees some redzone opportunities, If Bell is healthy he has the chance to get a few carries and some catches but if he isn’t then Leshoure has a similar opportunity, Ogbonnaya is the pass catching back in Cleveland so should be able to put up at least 50 total yards, Jacobs is the number #1 back in New York but he is a bit sluggish and the Viking’s are a better run D than Chicago, Tate’s carries have been restricted the last couple of weeks until the game is either lost or won, Tolbert is getting the goal line rush’s in Carolina and that is valuable but not consistent, Woodhead should see plenty of targets in this match up but not enough to be shallow league relevant, Pierce will only really be a better option if Rice is injured, Ivory has become the #2 back with the loss of Goodson, Bolden has lost out to Ridley and Blount when it comes to rushing but he is the passing down back.
20+ Leagues only: Helu, B.Brown, Choice, McGahee, M.Bush, D.Richardson, Gerhart, D.Brown, R.Brown, Hillman, Ball, Blount, F.Jones, Dwyer
Everyone in this tier is at least a #2 option in their offence and not a great option at that.
WRs
Studs: Green, Marshall, Bryant, DJackson, D.Thomas
Great match ups for AJ, Marshall, Dez and Thomas. D.Jackson has a tougher match up but as we saw last week Foles will target him whatever.
Safe: C.Johnson, V.Jackson, Jeffery, Garcon, S.Smith, Blackmon, A.Brown, K.Allen, Gordon, Nelson, Decker, Welker, Cruz, A.Johnson, Wayne, Nicks, Hilton, Hartline, Douglas
If Calvin can shows he is healthy he will be a stud next time, Jackson and Glennon seem to have developed a nice connection and they have a good match up this week, Jeffery has a great match up and Cutler is looking for him regularly, Garcon has a tougher match up but RG3 looks for him a lot, Smith is Newton’s favourite target especially in a good match up like this, Blackmon will see plenty of targets with Shorts out and has a decent match up, Brown is Big Bens favourite target and they find a way to get him involved, Allen has developed into Rivers favourite target and they have a really good matchup this week, Weeden has to look for Gordon if they want any chance to hang with Green Bay, Nelson is now the main man in Green Bay but he may end up on Haden Island, Decker and Welker both see targets in this offence but Welker is the better option of the two, Cruz sees the majority of the targets but if the Giants are going to break their duck they need to get Nicks involved more, Johnson is going to see a volume of targets but not many will be redzone looks (the QB situation does worry me), Wayne is Lucks #1 guy and unlike Hilton is not TD dependent. Indy will need both of them this week, Hartline is benefitting from defences giving Wallace the attention and that continues against a dodgy Buffalo secondary, Douglas is now the #1 in Atlanta and that has value but exactly how much we will see on Sunday,
Flex: Durham, Wallace, T.Smith, Boldin, T.Williams, S.Johnson, Boykin, Jennings
If Calvin is still struggling then Stafford will need to get Durham involved plenty, Wallace may be more of a decoy but they like his speed on screens, Flacco is going to try and force the ball to Smith plenty in this rivalry game, CK needs to get Boldin involved more if SF are to keep winning, Williams is the #2 in the Dallas offence which is a good place to be, Stevie is back this week and whoever the QB is they will need to target him, Boykin will see plenty of targets but he will only be successful if he shakes those hands of stone, with Freeman under centre Jennings takes a huge jump.
Deep: Wright, E.Sanders, Cooper, M.Williams, LaFell, M.Jones, Woods, Randle, Simpson, Thompkins, Hill, V.Brown, M.Brown, Bowe, Hopkins, Pettis, D.Avery, M.Austin, Gibson, Dobson, Sanu
Wright has a tough match up but both the Titans QB look for him regularly, Sanders will see plenty of targets as the Steelers will need to throw in this match up, Cooper saw plenty of targets from Foles and I expect that to continue, Williams was out last week but I expect him to bounce back a bit, LaFell has grown into the offence the last couple of weeks and I expect that to continue, Jones and Sanu are the #2 and 3 options but Jones is a better option IMO as he sees the occasional rush, Woods had a quiet week last week but he saw plenty of targets, Randle is a bit of a mystery as some weeks he can be great and others he can disappear, Simpson sees plenty of targets in the Vikings offence, Thompkins gets more redzone targets but Dobson tends to see more targets but both are hit and miss for NE, Hill is Smiths top target but that doesn’t mean regular success, Bowe could be a monster if KC ever throw the ball deep but in the meantime he has the same fantasy value as Avery, V.Brown has a good match up but his targets are inconsistent, M.Brown will need to be involved in Smith is heavily covered this week, Hopkins suffers more than Johnon from the downgrade in QB, Pettis is the Rams #1 option but that doesn’t exactly mean value, M.Austin is struggling with injury, Gibson should see some targets especially if Wallace is covered heavily.
20+: Patterson, R.White, DHB, Ginn, G.Little
I’ve only done a selection here who I feel could be sleepers or who you may be shocked to see in this tier. Patterson could benefit from big arm Freeman, DHB will need to be used for Indy to stay in the game if a shootout starts, Ginn is a potential home run hitter every play he’s on the field, Little showed he can actually catch the ball last week and may see more targets with Gordon getting all the attention. As for White he is still hobbled but I think he plays. I would love to see him get back to being himself again but for now he is a decoy for the Falcons.
TEs
Studs: Gonzalez, Davis, Gronk
Ryan desperately needs Gonzalez to be big and so will target him plenty, CK seems to have remembered that the key to success is get the ball to Davis, Gronk is back! Brady will target him without other good options
Safe: Bennett, Gates, Cameron, Witten, Rudolph, J.Thomas, Miller, Clark, Finley
Bennett is seeing a lot of looks for Chicago, Gates has become Rivers go to guy, Cameron can flourish with Weeden but I hate how dependent he is on such a hit and miss QB, Witten seems to be a bit forgotten but Romo loves him and will get back to him, the Vikings are making a real effort to get Rudolph back involved, Thomas is catching the ball from Manning but he has a lot of competition in that offence, Miller is another safety blanket for Big Ben, Clark needs to be involved for Baltimore, Finley is now the 2nd best receiving option in the GB offence.
Deep: Olsen, Wright, Fleener, Clay, Myers, Fauria, Reed, Graham
Olsen has suffered this year but he is still a deep option for me currently, Wright has seen a lot more targets with Glennon but the return of M.Williams may hurt his value, Fleener has struggled so far but this is the week his team really need all hands on deck, Clay and Fauria are really TD dependent, Myers is another person I feel Giants need to get involved to break their duck, Reed has grown into this offence more and more and has a decent match up, Graham should benefit from the loss of Daniels and the back up QB’s needing a safety blanket.
20+: Pettigrew, Kendricks, Cook, McDonald, Ertz, Celek, Eifert, Gresham, Chandler, Carlson, Green, Harbor, McGrath, Walker, Cumberland
From this group Ertz has the best chance to be a safe option in the Eagles’ offence, Kendricks is another TD dependent guy, Eifert and Gresham cancel each other out, Harbor is a good TE and in Jacksonville he has a chance to be relevant, Cook has slipped into fantasy oblivion after a great start to the year
Defence
Good Streaming Options: San Diego and Minnesota
Bad Streaming Options: Indianapolis and Dallas