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Running Backs

START

Frank Gore-Colts

Over the last couple of weeks, a lot of the news coming out of the Colts backfield, revolved around Ahmad Bradshaw being signed and the impact he would have. I don’t believe he will cut into Gore’s workload, they will be using Bradshaw in the passing game and Gore in the running game.

On the season, Frank gore, has 403 yards and 3 touchdowns. We would like to see some more TDs, but, the yardage is fine, he is doing his job and has averaged 4.5 yards a carry.
This week Gore gets a matchup against the Nee Orleans Saints. The Saints aren’t exactly known for having a dominant defense. This is a good matchup for Gore, as the Saints allow the 6th most fantasy points to running backs on the year.

Antonio Andrews-Titans

This backfield is very much up for grabs so it’s hard to pin point one guy as a start. I think over recent weeks, if you have been watching Titans games, the one thing we learned is Bishop Sankey still isn’t talented enough to control this backfield.

I’m not sure how much of an impact Andrews can make for the Titans, but, I feel better rolling him out than Sankey. At least when we start Andrews, we know we have the best chance for the touchdown, due to his red zone work.

On the season he has just 81 yards and 2 touchdowns, but, that’s off just 28 carries. His YPC isn’t good. Some of the blame for this could fall on the offensive line. They are struggling and it affects the whole offense.
I think we are seeing a shift towards Andrews in this backfield. This week he gets a matchup against the Falcons. The Falcons have allowed the most points to RBs this season.

The chances are, the Titans will end up behind and throwing at some point. I believe the initial game plan will be to keep the Falcons offense off the field. They will attempt to do that with a heavy dose of Andrews.

Rashad Jennings-Giants

He hasn’t been as good as we may have expected he would be. He hasn’t had a game yet that has yielded more than 13 fantasy points and hasn’t gotten over 10 fantasy points in the last 3 weeks.

On the season, he has posted a pedestrian, 243 yards and 1 touchdown, averaging 3.7 yards per carry.

This week he gets a matchup against the 2nd worst defense, when it comes to defending against the RB. He makes a good plug and play option this week. This could be the week Jennings pays you back for drafting him.

SIT

Ameer Abdullah-Lions

The season started off very well for him. People were saying that he was the next superstar at the position. Comparisons to Barry Sanders were made. For the first few weeks there appeared to be substance behind these claims.

However, he has hit a rough patch as of late, he has just 179 yards and a touchdown, adding an additional 13 receptions and a touchdown through the air. The black eye on his stat sheet is, he already fumbled the ball 4 times on the season

The Lions are learning they can’t fully trust him with the ball at this point. They also get Joique Bell back from Injury this week. They may be inclined to give Bell a fair look for the first time this year. Couple that with the Vikings allowing the 7th least points to RBs on the season and it’s better to just wait and see what happens in the backfield.

Charcandrick West-Chiefs

After Jamaal Charles went down for the season, everyone was jumping on the Charcandrick West train. After last week, they are stepping over each other to jump off the train.

Just to be clear, I believe west is still the back to own in this backfield. The Chiefs just have to learn to adjust to life without Jamaal Charles. I do have concerns with them giving Davis a few more looks this week, since West was so ineffective last week, but, I’m not expecting that to amount to anything.

This week he gets a matchup against the Steelers. To the uneducated eye, this probably looks like a good matchup. Don’t be fooled, the Steelers have a top 5 rush defense so far on the year.

LeGarrette Blount-Patriots

On the season, Dion Lewis, looks like the better back to own in this backfield and that won’t change this week. On the season, Blount, has just 2 double-digit fantasy point weeks.
This week they play the Jets, who on paper, have the 2nd best rush defense in the league. They recently got Sheldon Richardson back, which gives the Jets the number 1 rush d in the league and a full complement of SONS.

I’m expecting the pats to rely on their quick hitting passing game, to move the ball on this very aggressive defense. Dion Lewis will be utilized the most in this backfield once again.

Wide Receivers

START

Stefon Diggs–Vikings

We didn’t even know his name once the season kicked off, but, over the past 2 weeks he has made some noise, posting back to back big weeks.

This week he gets a lions defense that has allowed the 8th most fantasy points to WRs on the year. Some may be concerned about the return of Charles Johnson, but, I’m not.

Willie Snead-Saints

He has been one of the better waiver wire pickups on the year. He has quickly inserted himself as the Saints top target in the passing game.

This week he gets a Colts defense which has allowed the 4th most points to WRs this year. He should continue to produce at a high level for you this week.

Martavis Bryant-Steelers

The first good sign that you can start your Pittsburgh WRs, is, that Michael Vick won’t be the starting QB for the Steelers. Vick has looked terrible and has held back every WR on this team.

Now, it goes without saying that Antonio Brown is the guy here and the offense will run through him. With defenses looking to take Brown out of games, they will leave Bryant in single coverage more times than not.

Bryant is one of the best deep threats in the league and whether it be Big Ben, or, Landry Jones, throwing him the ball, either guy will do a better job than Vick. This is also a good matchup, the Chiefs have allowed the most fantasy points to WRs this year, so start him with confidence.

Pierre Garçon-Redskins

This Redskins passing game has certainly been suspect this season. Mostly because, Cousins has been a turnover machine. He has shown an ability to get the ball out into Garçon’s hands, on a fairly regular basis.

This week he will see a good matchup, against a Buccaneers defense that has allowed the 9th most fantasy points to WRs. Lucky Pierre should hit pay dirt this week.

Michael Floyd-Cardinals

I think it’s safe to say John Brown has become an every week start for this team. The new question mark in the WR group is Michael Floyd. He started the season off on the side of a milk carton. Over the past few weeks, his targets have been on the rise and he even scored a touchdown last week.

This week he gets a matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. No team in the NFL has more suspect safeties than the Ravens. They have allowed the 2nd most fantasy points to wide receivers and are possibly the weakest defense in the league against the deep pass. Start your Cardinals. Monitor Brown’s health has he was downgraded to no practice on Friday.

SIT

Golden Tate-Lions

The first half of the season didn’t go as many expected it would for Tate. He has gotten off to a slow start and I’m not so sure that’s going to change this week. On the season he has posted 32/304/1.

The matchup this week is not very good. The Vikings defense may be the most under rated defense in the league, this year. They boast a top 10 pass defense. Consider yourself warned.

Julian Edelman-Patriots

He has been leaned on by the Pats this year and it shows in his stats. On the season he has posted, 40/449/4. This week, I’m getting the feeling the Pats are only going to find success in the passing game, when they go to Gronk, due to the fact that he is uncoverable.

This week the Patriots get a matchup against the Jets, who feature the 6th best pass defense in the league and the number 1 coverage corner in the league. I would expect Edelman will be shadowed by Revis. This could eliminate Edelman from having a decent fantasy game. I would expect that Brady will look at his other options this week when moving the ball through the air.

Jordan Matthews-Eagles

Matchup aside, its hard to like Matthews so far this season. He has been one of the most disappointing high draft picks in fantasy football. He has posted just 36/384/1, we expected him to be scoring many more TDs than he has, so far this season.

This week he gets a Carolina Panthers defense, that has done an excellent job at taking out the opposing team’s number 1 WR. They currently have the 9th best pass defense in football.

Quarterbacks

START

Blake Bortles-Jaguars

Bortles has really been firing up as of late. He has been one of the hottest QBs in fantasy football. On the season, he has posted 1,630 yards, 13 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He almost has a 2 to 1 touchdown interception ratio.

Standing across from him, could quite possibly be, the most over rated defense in football, the Buffalo Bills. They better hope the time difference, from Jacksonville to London, slows him down. Because, the Bills have allowed, the 7th most fantasy points to QBs this year and they won’t be slowing anyone down.

Ryan Tennehill–Dolphins

The Dolphins looked better as a whole, under their new coach last week. However, Tannehill continued to struggle for most of the game, before he came on late, salvaging the day for his owners.

He hasn’t gotten off to a good start this year, but, I feel things are trending upward for this offense. We saw the running game look fairly decent last week, it should continue to improve, taking pressure off Tennehill.

Add the fact that the Texans defense has allowed the 8th most fantasy points to QBs on the year and it is conducive to a good week.

Ryan Fitzpatrick-Jets

If you’re desperate for a play at QB this week, you can do worse than Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Patriots have allowed QBs to pass on them all season long. They have allowed the 9th most fantasy points to QBs this year.

SIT

Matthew Stafford-Lions

The Lions offense looked good last week, but, we know that they received their fair share of breaks from the refs last week, that directly lead to two scores. Prior to last week, Stafford had looked less than stellar and this weeks matchup shouldn’t help him in that department.

The Minnesota Vikings offense, has allowed the 6th least points to QBs on the year. I’m expecting Stafford to be hard pressed to make plays in this one.

Joe Flacco-Ravens

His season didn’t get off to the start his owners were hoping for. On the year, he has 1,605 yards, just 8 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Basically, you could only get away with playing him in the best matchups. He has been stripped of weapons and is hit or miss this year as far as production goes.

The Arizona Cardinals have smashed QBs this year. They have allowed the 5th least fantasy points to the position on the year. Keep Joe Flacco securely on your bench this week.

Tight End

START

Jacob Tamme-Falcons

He disappointed me last week, but, persistence pays off, or at least that’s what they keep telling me. He is part of one of the better offenses in the league, so at least he has that going for him.

This week, he gets a matchup against the Titans. They have allowed the 7th most fantasy points to the position, this year. So if you’re desperate for TE production, plug him in and pray.

Ladarius Green-Chargers

I know everyone loves Antonio Gates this week, but, I’m not here to talk about him. I’m here to talk about the other guy, Ladarius Green. Green is a big athletic TE, who presents a matchup nightmare for defenses.

This week he gets a matchup against the Oakland Raiders. They are the worst defense in the league against TEs. I’m expecting him to break a big play down the seam in this one.

SIT

Gary Barnidge-Browns

He has been on fire as of late and silenced many who said to sit him last week, against the Broncos. Not only was he the first TE to catch a TD pass on the Denver defense, he did it twice for good measure.

This week, I hate his matchup once again, as he faces the Rams. As a defense, the Rams have taken the TE out of just about every game they played this season. They have the 10th best defense against TEs this year.

Jordan Reed-Redskins

Reed says he is going to play this week, but, there are some things at work here that say he isn’t going to be scoring many fantasy points this week. (1) he is just getting back from an injury, so we aren’t sure what kind of usage he will see. 2) this should be a low scoring game.

This week he gets the Tampa Bay Bucceneers defense. On the surface, this matchup looks harmless, but, if we dig deeper, we will learn that they are the 4th ranked defense when it comes to covering the TE.

Thank you for reading my Fantasy Football Week 7 Sit/Start article. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter below and have all our content delivered straight to your inbox. You can find me on Twitter @MBoyne83.

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