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Fantasy Football Week 7 Start 'Em or Sit 'Em Breakdown
Fantasy football advice, Week 7: Who to start/sit for Saints vs. Lions
The New Orleans Saints have been one of the league's disappointments so far, starting 1-3 before a Week 5 win. The Detroit Lions,
meanwhile, have been impressive, sitting at 4-2 with the fewest points
allowed in the league. The teams play each other Sunday in a game that
could cement early impressions or overturn them.
There are some huge names on the injury report for Sunday's game. The Saints should get running back Mark Ingram back on the field after missing three games with a hand injury, and tight end Jimmy Graham,
who was first assumed out for a few weeks with a shoulder injury, now
looks like he might be at least partially active. The Lions, meanwhile,
will have running back Reggie Bush back on the field as he recovers from an ankle injury, but will be without tight end Joseph Fauria, and there's a good chance running back Theo Riddick (hamstring) and tight end Eric Ebron (hamstring) join him. And of course there's wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who appears very unlikely to play with an ankle injury.
The Lions will host Sunday's
game at 1 p.m. ET, and even with all the injuries, there's still plenty
of fantasy intrigue to go around:
SAINTS
Start 'em: Six weeks into the season, and we're still waiting for that first huge game from Drew Brees. I still think he slots in as a back-end starting quarterback, but he's right on the edge.
Start 'em?: Even with Ingram's return, Khiry Robinson makes sense as a flex play. Low-end, but there's still potential. ... After a great debut game, receiver Brandin Cooks has tailed off a fair amount. He's a flex play. ... The Jimmy Graham situation is very confusing. If he does
play, it'll be as a red-zone target, and that is one heck of a red-zone
target; even hampered, he might be worthwhile. And if Graham doesn't play, Josh Hill could be the beneficiary, and might be a nice replacement. ... Shayne Graham
has two reasonably big kicking games, sandwiched around three
underwhelming ones. Against a strong defense, this might go to the bad
side.
Sit 'em: Robinson is the only New Orleans running back you want right now. Pierre Thomas hasn't been getting enough consistent touches to be strong against a good Detroit defense, and Mark Ingram is likely to be phased back into the offenses lowly. ... Still no double-digit fantasy days for Marques Colston yet. Until he shows he can put up big games, he's off the starting radar. ... The Saints' defense has been truly awful so far, with a net of zero fantasy points.
LIONS
Start 'em: The most trustworthy offensive option in Detroit is easily Joique Bell right now, and he's a low-end RB2 as a result. ... With Johnson doubtful, Golden Tate
has another week as Detroit's top receiving option, and while that
didn't work out really well in Week 6, he's still a fine WR2. ... The Lions' defense has been the league's best unit this season.
Start 'em?: Two really good games, four disappointing ones. That's Matthew Stafford's resume so far, and with so many weapons either out or hindered, it's hard to put too much faith in him. ... Reggie Bush seems geared up to face his former team, and he appears healthy as well. He's a strong flex play this week.
Sit 'em: With Fauria out and Ebron doubtful, the primary tight-end role in Detroit goes back to Brandon Pettigrew, and I think we've all been burned by that particular setup a few times. ... Not even Matt Prater
has been able to solve the Lions' kicking woes, going 1-for-3 in his
first game. I think he'll be fine as he gets back to speed, but for now
he's not helpful.
SUMMARY
Start in every league: Drew Brees, Joique Bell, Golden Tate, Detroit defense
Start if you're desperate: Khiry Robinson, Brandin Cooks, Jimmy Graham, Josh Hill, Shayne Graham, Matthew Stafford, Reggie Bush
Bench: Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram, Marques Colston, New Orleans defense, Brandon Pettigrew, Matt Prater
Start if you're desperate: Khiry Robinson, Brandin Cooks, Jimmy Graham, Josh Hill, Shayne Graham, Matthew Stafford, Reggie Bush
Bench: Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram, Marques Colston, New Orleans defense, Brandon Pettigrew, Matt Prater
More from SBNation.com
- Start/Sit advice for Week 7
- Week 7 QB rankings
- Week 7 RB rankings
- Week 7 WR rankings
- Week 7 TE rankings
- Week 7 D/ST rankings
- Waiver QBs to target in Week 7
- Waiver RBs to target in Week 7
- Waiver WRs to target in Week 7
- Waiver TEs to target in Week 7
Editor's note: FanDuel.com is hosting a one-week $500,000
Fantasy Football contest for Week 7. It's only $10 to join and
first prize is $40,000. Starts Sunday, October 19th at 1 p.m. ET. Enter and play with Dave.
Everyone's sick and tired of the number of penalties being called this season, but when it negatively impacts your Fantasy team it really, really stings.
Last week I got in contention for some cash in FanDuel's Sunday NFL Kickoff tournament, thanks in large part to a pair of early touchdowns for Torrey Smith. My tight end last week was Rob Gronkowski, who caught seven passes for 94 yards but had an 18-yard touchdown called back on a holding penalty by his offensive line. Had the play stood he would have finished with 102 yards and a touchdown -- 19.7 Fantasy points on FanDuel. That 6.8 swing would have put me at 133.58 points, good enough for a finish inside the top 4,500 and a cash prize of $25. Instead I finished at 7,438th out of 45,977 entries, a Top 16 percent finish, paying belly button lint.
For a refresher of my full lineup, here's a link to last week's squad and how I built it. I plan on using the same strategy I went with last week -- after all, it almost (should have!) worked. But it's clear to me now more than ever that those low-price "cheapo" picks must have a shot at being very, very productive in order to have a chance at winning a prize. Like Fantasy in general, it's all about calculated risks.
The tournament: FanDuel is pumping their Sunday NFL Kickoff tournament to a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool with first place paying off $40,000 and the top 10,102 entries winning some dollars (if only they paid the top 10,000-plus last week!). The cost is $10.
The strategy: I will start by cherry-picking my quarterback regardless of value with the intention of pairing him with at least one of his receivers. Then I'll do the same with my defense before going through the best values among the remaining players. And as always I'll pay mind to not pick players that everyone will go for with an eye toward bargains.
Quarterback
I'm tempted to take Aaron Rodgers, even at the $9,700 price tag, because he should find ways to score against a bad Panthers pass defense. But here's where the bargain shopper in me kicks in -- Philip Rivers has just as good of a matchup and is $400 cheaper, and Russell Wilson is available for what should be a bounce-back game at $800 less than Rivers! Romo checks in $500 less than Wilson and will play at home against a division rival he's scored two-plus touchdowns against in each of his last five! Then I get even greedier and see Carson Palmer playing against a beleaguered Raiders defense and he's $700 less than Romo and $2,400 less than Rodgers. I like all of these players to potentially score three touchdowns with nice yardage, so I might as well go with the cheapest of the group to give me more flexibility with the rest of my roster.
I almost went with: Tony Romo ($8,000)
Other quarterbacks worth considering: Rodgers ($9,700), Rivers ($9,300), Joe Flacco ($7,700), Kirk Cousins ($7,200), Derek Carr ($6,800).
Defense
Please, please, please don't overlook the defense or pick the cheapest option so you can stretch your budget elsewhere. I think it's crucial to play the matchups here. To that end, there are two I really like. The Bills are at home against a Vikings offense posting 17.3 points per game. The Seahawks play at division rival St. Louis, who has averaged 20.2 points per game on the season but has scored 12.5 points per game over its last four with the Super Bowl champs. The difference between the Seahawks and the Bills is just $300, so I don't mind paying a little extra for the Seahawks, who should have a big chip on their shoulder following a loss. I worry about their cornerbacks opposite Richard Sherman but at the very least they should contain St. Louis.
I almost went with: Buffalo ($5,000)
Other defenses worth considering: Cleveland ($5,200), Green Bay ($4,900), Dallas ($4,600)
Kicker
If there's a position to skimp on it's kicker, where the difference between the most expensive choice and cheapest choice is typically $1,000. I've settled on Billy Cundiff of the Browns, playing at Jacksonville. I could see the Browns offense sputtering in the red zone a handful of times, giving him some field goal opportunities.
Tight end
Big-ticket tight ends I like ($7,000 and up): Julius Thomas, Greg Olsen
Mid-price tight ends I like ($5,500 to $6,900): Jordan Cameron, Martellus Bennett, Delanie Walker, Travis Kelce, Dwayne Allen, Larry Donnell
Cheapos I'd settle for ($5,400 and less): Jordan Reed, Mychal Rivera
When I saw Reed at $5,400 I mentally checked out on the rest of the tight ends. A matchup against a Titans pass defense that can't slow down tight ends and a bargain? It's too good to be true. But I realize that pretty much everyone will put Reed in their lineups because he's cheap and has a good matchup, so I spent a lot of time thinking of an alternative. While Cameron, Bennett, Walker and Allen could all figure to be contributors, the sneakiest play of all is Larry Donnell ($5,500). Victor Cruz and his targets will go somewhere else and the Giants won't need Donnell to block on every play (he's not a great blocker as it is). The Cowboys are abysmal against tight ends and Donnell is an easy fix to help the passing game rebound after getting shut out last week. It's a last-minute move, but Donnell will be one of my big risks this week.
sea bass simple recipe
Week 7 Rankings | Top 150 Flex Rankings | Week 7 Projections
Everyone's sick and tired of the number of penalties being called this season, but when it negatively impacts your Fantasy team it really, really stings.
Last week I got in contention for some cash in FanDuel's Sunday NFL Kickoff tournament, thanks in large part to a pair of early touchdowns for Torrey Smith. My tight end last week was Rob Gronkowski, who caught seven passes for 94 yards but had an 18-yard touchdown called back on a holding penalty by his offensive line. Had the play stood he would have finished with 102 yards and a touchdown -- 19.7 Fantasy points on FanDuel. That 6.8 swing would have put me at 133.58 points, good enough for a finish inside the top 4,500 and a cash prize of $25. Instead I finished at 7,438th out of 45,977 entries, a Top 16 percent finish, paying belly button lint.
For a refresher of my full lineup, here's a link to last week's squad and how I built it. I plan on using the same strategy I went with last week -- after all, it almost (should have!) worked. But it's clear to me now more than ever that those low-price "cheapo" picks must have a shot at being very, very productive in order to have a chance at winning a prize. Like Fantasy in general, it's all about calculated risks.
The tournament: FanDuel is pumping their Sunday NFL Kickoff tournament to a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool with first place paying off $40,000 and the top 10,102 entries winning some dollars (if only they paid the top 10,000-plus last week!). The cost is $10.
The strategy: I will start by cherry-picking my quarterback regardless of value with the intention of pairing him with at least one of his receivers. Then I'll do the same with my defense before going through the best values among the remaining players. And as always I'll pay mind to not pick players that everyone will go for with an eye toward bargains.
Quarterback
I'm tempted to take Aaron Rodgers, even at the $9,700 price tag, because he should find ways to score against a bad Panthers pass defense. But here's where the bargain shopper in me kicks in -- Philip Rivers has just as good of a matchup and is $400 cheaper, and Russell Wilson is available for what should be a bounce-back game at $800 less than Rivers! Romo checks in $500 less than Wilson and will play at home against a division rival he's scored two-plus touchdowns against in each of his last five! Then I get even greedier and see Carson Palmer playing against a beleaguered Raiders defense and he's $700 less than Romo and $2,400 less than Rodgers. I like all of these players to potentially score three touchdowns with nice yardage, so I might as well go with the cheapest of the group to give me more flexibility with the rest of my roster.
I almost went with: Tony Romo ($8,000)
Other quarterbacks worth considering: Rodgers ($9,700), Rivers ($9,300), Joe Flacco ($7,700), Kirk Cousins ($7,200), Derek Carr ($6,800).
Defense
Please, please, please don't overlook the defense or pick the cheapest option so you can stretch your budget elsewhere. I think it's crucial to play the matchups here. To that end, there are two I really like. The Bills are at home against a Vikings offense posting 17.3 points per game. The Seahawks play at division rival St. Louis, who has averaged 20.2 points per game on the season but has scored 12.5 points per game over its last four with the Super Bowl champs. The difference between the Seahawks and the Bills is just $300, so I don't mind paying a little extra for the Seahawks, who should have a big chip on their shoulder following a loss. I worry about their cornerbacks opposite Richard Sherman but at the very least they should contain St. Louis.
I almost went with: Buffalo ($5,000)
Other defenses worth considering: Cleveland ($5,200), Green Bay ($4,900), Dallas ($4,600)
Kicker
If there's a position to skimp on it's kicker, where the difference between the most expensive choice and cheapest choice is typically $1,000. I've settled on Billy Cundiff of the Browns, playing at Jacksonville. I could see the Browns offense sputtering in the red zone a handful of times, giving him some field goal opportunities.
Tight end
Big-ticket tight ends I like ($7,000 and up): Julius Thomas, Greg Olsen
Mid-price tight ends I like ($5,500 to $6,900): Jordan Cameron, Martellus Bennett, Delanie Walker, Travis Kelce, Dwayne Allen, Larry Donnell
Cheapos I'd settle for ($5,400 and less): Jordan Reed, Mychal Rivera
When I saw Reed at $5,400 I mentally checked out on the rest of the tight ends. A matchup against a Titans pass defense that can't slow down tight ends and a bargain? It's too good to be true. But I realize that pretty much everyone will put Reed in their lineups because he's cheap and has a good matchup, so I spent a lot of time thinking of an alternative. While Cameron, Bennett, Walker and Allen could all figure to be contributors, the sneakiest play of all is Larry Donnell ($5,500). Victor Cruz and his targets will go somewhere else and the Giants won't need Donnell to block on every play (he's not a great blocker as it is). The Cowboys are abysmal against tight ends and Donnell is an easy fix to help the passing game rebound after getting shut out last week. It's a last-minute move, but Donnell will be one of my big risks this week.
sea bass simple recipe
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