I am officially done with Thursday Night Football. It is just too frustrating. It’s as if one team has decided it will be permissible to go out on to the field and take a nap, while the opposition has nothing less than a ticking time bomb ready to blow up all over the scoreboard. It’s just too frustrating to try and decipher which players are going to rack up a metric ton of yards and touchdowns while some otherwise fantasy studs count sheep (Vincent Jackson and Pierre Garcon owners, I know you hurt as much as I do)…..
Ok, so maybe I’m not done with Thursday Night Football. Let’s be honest, we all need the Thursday night game to get us through what’s left of the work week. With that being said, I’ve decided to focus on the weekend and Monday night games in this column. Keep in mind, this is not a start em’/sit em’ article. These are simply players I have a good feeling about going into the weekend, as well as players I absolutely despise, and am benching this weekend. Shall we proceed?
Week 5 Likes and Dislikes
Like #1: Zac Stacy – RB
Many are, for some odd reason, claiming Zac Stacy is losing too much work to Benny Cunningham for him to be considered a RB2. I respectfully disagree. Stacy has logged more than double the touches Cunningham has so that is not an issue. This is especially true going into this week against the Philadelphia Eagles. They’ve surrendered the tenth-most fantasy points to running backs this season and Stacy is a hard enough runner to exploit them. Coming off a much needed bye, I expect the Rams to feed Zac Stacy like they did last year in this game, especially inside the 20-yard line.
Like #2: Allen Hurns – WR
After Allen Hurns’ week one explosion, he was surprisingly not heavily sought after. It appears as if the consensus opinion was that it was simply a fluke game, as we’re all used to seeing. Not so fast….. Due to Cecil Shorts III, Marqise Lee and Marcedes Lewis all being nagged by the injury bug, Hurns is suddenly the Jags number one target. While that doesn’t seem like much, we know Jacksonville is going to throw the football a lot. Hurns caught a respectable five passes last week and I expect that to continue against a mediocre Pittsburgh Steelers pass defense. They’ve already surrendered seven touchdowns to opposing wide receivers this season and struggle to prevent deep passes; Allen Hurns’ bread and butter.
Like #3: Russell Wilson – QB
Those who know me personally know that I do not like Russell Wilson as a fantasy quarterback. He’s consistent but he’s incapable of producing those big games we’ve come to expect from the position. This week is a bit different though. He faces a defense that is more than capable of stopping the Seahawks strong run game but is absolutely horrendous against the pass. The Seahawks will be left no choice but to throw the ball downfield. Offensive coordinators say until they’re blue in the face “Take what the defense gives you!!!” And that is exactly what Wilson and company will do in this heavily favorable matchup.
Dislike #1: Montee Ball – RB
There are so many mouths to feed in the Denver Broncos offense and I expect Montee Ball to be the odd man out this Sunday. The Arizona Cardinals have surrendered the least amount of rushing yards in the NFL. It’s as simple as this: Montee Ball is not a good enough running back to beat this tough defense. Put Ball on the bench this week in favor of Andre Ellington or Rashad Jennings. If you’re desperate, bench Ball for Bishop Sankey, who is supposed to be seeing a much increased workload this week against a terrible Cleveland Browns run defense.
Dislike #2: Larry Fitzgerald – WR
My, how the mighty have fallen. Larry Fitzgerald has yet to even sniff 100 yards receiving this season and that is nearly guaranteed to continue against the Broncos. Fitz is struggling to get open and just isn’t getting targets. Michael Floyd however, has broken 100 yards in two of three games this season. Is that a coincidence? No its not. Bench Larry Fitzgerald this week in favor of his teammate Michael Floyd, DeAndre Hopkins, or Percy Harvin.
Dislike #3: Ben Roethlisberger – QB
I understand the matchup is absolutely beautiful; too beautiful if you ask me. The Pittsburgh Steelers have the strongest running game in the NFL and no one is worse at stopping the run than the Jacksonville Jaguars. Big Ben is going to hand off the football nearly 40 times this game between Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount. Ben is not going to play poorly but I don’t expect him to light up the statistics column this week. I’d rather start Jay Cutler, Nick Foles or a suddenly hot Tony Romo this week.
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GLENDALE, AZ – DECEMBER 29: Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald #11 of the Arizona Cardinals is tackled by free safety Eric Reid #35 of the San Francisco 49ers after a reception during the NFL game at the University of Phoenix Stadium on December 29, 2013 in Glendale, Arizona. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 23-20. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
