NFL: Week Seven Fantasy Football Tips
Week seven of the NFL season is upon us and it is time to dish out the fantasy tips for this week’s games. This week’s match ups feature the Vikings traveling to Pittsburgh, Peyton and co. going to St. Louis, the Aaron Rodgers aerial show touching down in Cleveland, and more.
Teams having a bye this week: Denver, Detroit, Tennessee, Seattle, Jacksonville, Baltimore
Start
Anyone involved in the Colts passing attack. Opposing quarterbacks are completing 66.7 percent of their passes against a Rams defense that also ranks 27th in the league in passing yards allowed. Expect big days from Peyton Manning and his receivers.
Tampa has been susceptible to big plays in the passing game this season and Tom Brady and Randy Moss look to be rekindling the flame they had in 2007. Look for another big day from the Brady-Moss connection this weekend in London.
Look for Philip Rivers and his receivers to post big numbers against a bad Kansas City pass defense.
Miami’s secondary has been susceptible to big plays this year. Look for Drew Brees to hit a couple of big pass plays for touchdowns and for Marques Colston and/or Jeremy Shockey to have big games.
Aaron Rodgers is averaging 371 yards and two touchdowns in his last two games while the Browns are 23rd in the league in passing yards allowed per game.
Thomas Jones is coming off a career-best 210 yards and the Raiders are allowing 145.3 yards per game. With rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez struggling as much as he has the last three weeks look for the Jets to run the ball as often as possible this Sunday. Jones has also scored four touchdowns over the last three weeks.
The Bills were gouged for 318 rushing yards by the Jets and Panthers pounded the Bucs for 267 rushing yards of their own last weekend. Expect the Panthers to run the ball as much as humanly possible this week against the Bills. DeAngelo Williams and Johnathan Stewart are both good bets to challenge the 100 yard mark and score a touchdown or two again this week.
The Cowboys secondary has been brutal this season, look for a big game from Atlanta’s Roddy White.
Arizona is allowing 265 yards per game through the air so look for Mario Manningham and/or Hakeem Nicks to turn in a big play or two.
The Bucs are also allowing 171 yards per game on the ground so another big day for Laurence Maroney could be in the cards.
Cleveland just put its best run defender, D’Qwell Jackson, on IR and is giving up 165.3 yards per game on the ground this season making Ryan Grant a good bet to go for another 90 yards this week.
The Rams are also giving up over 130 yards per game on the ground making Joseph Addai and Donald Brown solid plays this week.
Heath Miller has been on a roll lately catching four touchdowns in his last three games and the Vikings have struggled against the better tight ends the league has to offer.
San Francisco running back Frank Gore is expected to play against a Houston defense allowing 125 yards per game on the ground this season.
Bench/Be Wary of
Carolina’s Steve Smith caught just one pass last week, is not happy, and is starting to pop off in the papers about it. Smith also has yet to score a touchdown this season.
Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez has thrown just one touchdown and 8 interceptions in his last three games and has yet to hit the 200 yard mark again since the first week of the season. Bench him until he shows signs of snapping out of his slump.
Buffalo’s Trent Edwards is still questionable for this weekend, but, even before his concussion he was not playing well. He has thrown just one touchdown and five interceptions since week two and has yet to hit the 200 yard mark since then as well.
Willie Parker has officially lost the starting job to Rashard Mendenhall in Pittsburgh so do not expect any more than 8 to 10 touches a game for him from here on out unless Mendenhall gets hurt again.
Cadillac Williams is coming off a 77-yard effort against Carolina this past weekend, but he has yet to put together back-to-back games of 10 or more yards this season.
The Niners are giving up just 88 yards per game on the ground and Houston’s Steve Slaton has run for more than 45 yards just twice this season.
Mohamed Massaquoi is expected to draw Charles Woodson this week meaning he is not likely to catch many balls this weekend.
After catching five balls in week one Tampa’s Michael Clayton has caught just six passes in Tampa’s five games since then.
Michael Crabtree is slated to start against Houston this Sunday but fantasy owners should be wary of playing him until they get a feel for how much he is going to play and how much the Niners are willing to throw his way in the early going. He is a good guy to pick up and squirrel away on your bench for a rainy day though.
With the expectation that Gore will play this weekend it throws Glen Coffee back on the inconsequential heap again.
If you are still playing Derek Anderson at quarterback then you have lost all hope on your season already.
On the Rise/Hot Hands
Houston receiver Andre Johnson is coming off back-to-back 100 yard games.
Aaron Rodgers has completed 74.3% of his passes and thrown for 742 yards and four touchdowns in his last two games.
Giants rookie WR Hakeem Nicks has caught 10 passes for 217 and 3 scores in his three games since returning from a foot injury. He has scored in three straight games for New York.
Indianapolis rookie Austin Collie has caught 14 passes for 162 yards and three scores in the Colts last two games.
As mentioned above Heath Miller is on a roll of late catching 18 passes and scoring 4 touchdowns in the Steelers last three contests.
Oakland TE Zach Miller has caught 10 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown in his last two games.
Houston tight end Owen Daniels has caught 15 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns over the last two weeks.
Although he has caught only 11 passes in the last three weeks Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe is becoming a favorite of Brett Favre’s in the red zone snagging four touchdown passes over that span. He may not be a strong play this week with Troy Polamalu back in the lineup for the Steelers though.
After catching just five passes in his first three games this year Green Bay TE Jermichael Finley has caught 11 passes for 182 yards and a score in the Pack’s last two games.
Ahmad Bradshaw has scored three touchdowns in his last two games for the Giants.
Rams receiver Donnie Avery has scored touchdowns in two straight games.
On the Decline
Bernard Berrian has caught just 6 passes for 57 yards in the Vikings last two games and Sidney Rice appears to supplanted him atop the Vikings depth chart at receiver. He has still managed to score twice in the last three weeks though, and his big play ability make him a threat to score at any time.
After catching 16 balls for 317 yards and a pair of scores in the Chargers first three outings Vincent Jackson has caught just 8 passes for 102 yards and one score in his last two. Going against the Chiefs could be a remedy for his mediocrity the past couple of weeks though.
Jets TE Dustin Keller has caught just two passes for 16 yards in the Jets last two games.
After catching 34 passes for 411 yards and scoring 4 touchdowns over the Giants first four games Steve Smith has caught just 7 passes for 114 and no touchdowns in the two games since then.
