Last week’s performances by Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and LeSean McCoy, probably ushered a lot of owners out of the playoffs if you didn’t get a bye. It just shows that no matter how good you are and how much research you do, anything can happen. To get a fantasy championship, it takes more than skills and awareness. Sometimes you just need a little luck. As I say every week, if you have a lineup question before this week’s games, you can always just tweet me @pacman453323. So let’s get into the Week 15 Starts and Sits.
Starts: (outside of top 10 players of that position):
QBs
Eli Manning – The Washington Redskins have checked out for the year. They were shutout by the St Louis Rams and as of now, we still don’t know who will be lining up under center next week. Their offense is horrible and it’s so bad, it’s hurting the defense because they are always on the field. They can still hold their own against the run, but they can be passed on all day.
Jay Cutler – He maybe one of the most untrusted QBs in the league, but coming off a great “fantasy” day, last Thursday, Jay Cutler, take on a New Orleans team that made Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers look like Steve Young and the old school 49er teams. This is one of those weeks where I recommend starting every player on the Bears offense.
RBs
Chris Ivory – A lot of people will jump on Chris Johnson this week cause of the revenge factor. I get that, but Ivory is still their best runner. Tennessee made Andre Williams look like Terrell Davis last week and Ivory may do the same. Geno Smith is a horrible QB, so I expect the Jets to employ a similar game plan that they did against Miami and just pound the ball all day.
Jonathan Stewart – I’ve said it over and over again. When one of the two main RBs for the Carolina Panthers is out of the lineup, the other one actually plays well. DeAngelo Williams has missed the last two week and during that time Stewart has 32 carries for 240 yards and a TD. Ride Stewart until the Panthers are dumb enough to bring back Williams.
WRs
Sammy Watkins – Last week Watkins finally got back to normal. He hauled in 7 catches for 127 yards against a tough Denver defense. This week he faces a Packers defense that just got torn apart on Monday night by Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. This is the type of matchup that fantasy owners dream of in the playoffs, so take advantage of it.
Reggie Wayne/Donte Moncrief – I don’t think he will start, but if he does, Reggie Wayne is a great start off a Texans defense that has been bad covering WRs for 80% of the year. If Wayne is out, then Donte Moncrief makes for an interesting pickup and play. He has already beating Hakeem Nicks on the depth chart, so with a juicy matchup like this, we may see a big game from him.
TEs
Larry Donnell – It has been a while since I’ve had Donnell on one of these starts and sits articles. He has struggled a lot lately, but I think this maybe a wakeup call for him. This is the ideal matchup for him against a Redskin’s team that not only looks like they have already given up, but a team that didn’t cover TEs well even before they looked this bad.
Sits:
QBs
Colin Kaepernick – To explain this recommendation, I just have to point you to two weeks ago when Kaepernick had 90 yards passing going into the final drive of the game for the 49ers. I know they say to don’t bench the people you’ve trusted, but you probably shouldn’t have trusted Kaepernick this far, so why start now?
Russell Wilson – I always find it hard trusting a good QB with your fantasy life on the line when he doesn’t have too many game-breaking weapons. Wilson has done well in fantasy this year, but I still look at him as a better real QB than fantasy QB. I don’t blame you for going with him, but I just wouldn’t start him if it’s me.
RBs
Rashad Jennings – This week Jennings will get more of a load, but I still expect him to be partially limited. The Giants are out of it and probably would like to see more of Andre Williams anyway. Even though it’s fantasy football, you got to pay attention to the real football common sense when making decisions like this one.
Tre Mason – The Cardinals have one of the best run defenses in the league and they have a big incentive this week. Mason had a bad game last week, as expected, and will try to bounce back, but I don’t see it happening. Next week will be the week to jump back on the Tre train, when he faces a Giants defense that is in the bottom 10 against stopping RBs.
WRs
Josh Gordon – Johnny Manziel gets his 1st career start this year and I think it will affect Gordon more than anyone else. We already know that Gordon hasn’t been running the best of routes, so when you add a rookie QB, especially one that isn’t exactly a conventional drop back passer, the star WR may be experiencing some frustrating moment this week.
Michael Crabtree – I’ve had Crabtree in this spot for two straight weeks, so why would I take him off when he’s going to be facing his old “friend” Richard Sherman and the “Legion of Boom” in Seattle? The 49ers offense is a complete mess as I stated earlier and Crabtree has been horrible for pretty much this entire year.
TEs
Jason Witten – The Cowboys have used Witten as a blocker much more this year. It has turned into a run 1st, Dez Bryant 2nd, and then Witten can split the 3rd targets with Terrence Williams and Cole Beasley. Since Witten is a team player and they are winning, he won’t raise a grip, but if he start losing? Let’s just say winning helps everything play out a little smoother.
Those are your Week 15 Starts and Sits in the NFL. Good luck in the playoffs and enjoy the games.
