It's been a while. I've missed you. Have you missed me? Well we find ourselves here in the eighth week of the NFL season. It's moving so fast. So many of our preseason guesses have moved into the right or wrong category. We are turning the corner toward the playoffs. Hopefully you are still worried about making them and bringing home the ship.
Well I am here to help. Bringing back the start and sit article from the dead for Halloween. Giving you some insight on what I think are some good match ups for some of your players this week. Let's dive in.
Start
Ladarius Green, TE, San Diego Chargers
Green has once again found himself with a tremendous opportunity. The start of the season presented one as well with the suspension to Antonio Gates. And now Gates is likely to miss his second game in a row. Last week Green made the best of his opportunity scoring on one of his five catches for
45 yards. The Chargers have had a big aerial attack this season, and that is just how you beat the Ravens. Green is a must start this week.
Jonathan Stewart, RB, Carolina Panthers
Stewart has a fantastic schedule ahead of him, and this week starts off the rest of the year with a top tier game. Facing the Colts on Monday night, Stewart squares off against the 7th worst defense in fantasy points allowed to running backs. Indy is allowing an average of over 100 yards and more than a touchdown per week. Coming off of a big game where he ran for 125 yards last week against the Eagles, make sure you play Stewart this week.
Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota Vikings
Diggs has become a rookie sensation. After missing the first three games of the season, Diggs has made his presence known in the last three Vikings games. Averaging over 100 yards and 6.3 catches per game, Diggs is a great play for a PPR or Standard league. The Vikings face off against the Bears this week, and their 10th worst rank in Fantasy points allowed to wide receivers. Expect there to be a lot of opportunity for Diggs this week.
Michael Floyd, WR, Arizona Cardinals
Floyd and the Cardinals face off against the Cleveland Browns and their lackluster passing defense. The Browns don't allow a huge amount of yards per game, 242, but they do allow a lot of touchdowns. So far on the season the Browns have allowed 11 touchdowns through the air. This sets up the passing game of the Cards well. Another possible benefit for Floyd is the status of John Brown. Brown is questionable this week, and it has been rumored that the team will rest him this week to get him healthy. If Brown is out, Floyd is a Halloween weekend monster.
Willie Snead, WR, New Orleans Saints
Snead had a good start to his season, and then cooled a bit in the last game. This week Snead and the Saints will face the beat up New York Giants defense and their 30th ranked pass defense. The Giants are allowing 288 yards per game and 10 scores on the season. Snead should find a nice match up awaiting him this week.
Sit
Isaiah Crowell, RB, Cleveland Browns
Crowell has been extremely inconsistent so far this season. The worst bit of news for him is that there are now three mouths to feed again in Cleveland. Crowell has not been making the most of his touches in recent weeks either. In his defense there have been some difficult match ups, but Crowell has lost a lot of his share of touches to both Robert Turbin and Duke Johnson. This week the Browns face off against the Arizona Cardinals and their eighth ranked run defense. The Cards only allow 97 yards per game, and only three touchdowns on the ground through seven games this year. I can't play Crowell on any of my teams this week.
Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Dez has been out since the first game of the season with a broken bone in his foot. This week he participated in practice in a limited fashion. The Cowboys have been snake bitten so far this year, losing not only Bryant, but then Tony Romo the next week. The quarterback situation has been a mess, and now here comes Seattle. It is likely that Richard Sherman would roll with Dez on Sunday if he plays, and I won't want any part of that match up playing for me. I have put my money where my mouth is on this one too. I traded for Dez in a few leagues after he got hurt, and I am not even considering playing him this week. I want to see how he looks, and see him playing against a different defesne.
Latavius Murray, RB, Oakland Raiders
Murray has the misfortune of facing the top ranked run defense of the New York Jets this week. The Jets have allowed 71 yards per game, and only two scores on the season. So far this year Murray has only had one monster game. There is not a lot of positive feeling about this game for me about the ability of Oakland to run. I have Murray on the bench in leagues where I can afford to bench him.
Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders
Cooper is the other side of the terrible match up the Raiders have this week. Cooper will draw the coverage of Darrelle Revis, who is a top shut down corner. Cooper has been able to take advantage of his good match ups this season, and has not done much in the harder ones. In week five Cooper faced Denver and their tough secondary, and had four catches for 45 yards. Week four saw Cooper face the oddly shut down in yards and allow touchdowns pass defense of the Chicago Bears. Cooper followed the trend, with only 49 yards, but a score. So while he may one day be an all time great, and is quite polished as a rookie, Cooper will likely be shut down this week, and you should shut him down too.
All the 49ers
There is not a player on the 49ers I am excited about playing this week. Facing the Rams in St. Louis is a daunting task. Now add to that the fact that Carlos Hyde will not be playing. Colin Kaepernick has been mostly terrible this year. Anquan Boldin hurt his hamstring in practice on Thursday and might not play. The offense will rely on Reggie Bush, who can't stay healthy, and Torrey Smith. I don't want anything to do with any player from the 49ers this week.
So there you have it. Welcome back to the FTW blog, and thanks for your time. I hope in the next few weeks to continue to provide you some strategy and advice artilces. Feel free to find me on twitter, or email me any questions you have. Make sure to check out my injury article on socalledfantasyexperts.com. Thanks for reading.
