Start 'em, Sit 'em (Week 3)

By Baron Kuhn

I-5 Sports

Every week I'll bring you a quarterback, running back and wide receiver that I think will put up good numbers and help your fantasy team win. I will also give you a quarterback, running back and wide receiver that I think you should stay away from and keep on the bench. As always if you have specific questions send me an email and I'll get back to you asap. Good luck this weekend!

Start ‘em

Joe Flacco – Flacco can’t possibly be any worse than his “performance” last week against the Bengal’s defense. Completing only 17 of 39 passes for 154 yards is not what we have come to expect from Flacco. Add to that 4 interceptions and you have an atrocious day. Flacco is too good of a talent to be performing at this level and will impress this weekend against the Browns. Look for Flacco to rebound this week and put up solid numbers for your team.

Projections: 18 of 29 for 240 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

LeSean McCoy – Jacksonville has been torched on the ground giving up 227 yards and 3 touchdowns on the season. McCoy has been getting the majority of the carries, including the goal line carries and has shown some chemistry with new quarterback Michael Vick. Look for McCoy to put up solid numbers in both the rushing and receiving categories with at least 1 touchdown.

Projections: 85 rush yards with 1 rushing touchdown, 20 receiving yards.

Calvin Johnson – Megatron has not been himself yet this season catching only 8 passes for 95 yards and 1 touchdown through 2 games. Don’t give up on him yet! Minnesota’s defense as a whole is focused on stopping the run and has been vulnerable through the air. Expect the Lions to be down early and be forced to throw for much of the game giving Megatron many opportunities to showcase his athletic abilities.

Projections: 9 catches, 95 yards, 1 touchdown.

Sit ‘em

Eli Manning – If Eli thought the Colts secondary is tough wait till he meets the Tennessee Titans this week.  The Titans defense has yet to allow a 200 yard passer this season, expect this trend to continue. Adding to the Giants problems is that Eli can’t seem to protect the ball, through 2 games this year Eli has 7 turnovers (4 interceptions, 3 fumbles). Expect his woes to continue this week.

Projections: 12 of 20 for 110 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.

Jamaal Charles – So far this year the San Francisco 49ers have been good against the run. Charles does possess break-away speed and an ability to get to the edge but I don’t see him getting enough carries to warrant a start this weekend. With Thomas Jones in the mix Charles has now been pushed to 2nd on the depth chart. Expect for his carries to be around the same and for a sub-par day from last years breakout running back.

Projections: 30 rush yards with 0 touchdowns, 20 receiving yards.

Hakeem Nicks – Cortland Finnegan and Eli Manning…….enough said.

Projections: 2 catches, 24 yards, 0 touchdowns.

Why I will win Round 4 (14 Team League)

By Baron Kuhn

I-5 Sports

Ray Rice RB Baltimore Ravens

When drafting a team, whether it is Fantasy Football or Baseball, the first rule is to understand the specific settings of your league. In such a deep league, like Round 4 (14 teams), it becomes even more important as the level of talent on everyone’s team is a lot lower than in a standard 10 team league. There are two major differences in Round 4 from standard leagues. First, is the addition of 0.5 points per reception which means every time a player on your team catches a pass they receive an extra 0.5 points. This may not seem like much but added up throughout the season makes a huge difference. Next is the addition of 1 point for every 5 completions for Quarterbacks. This increases the value of top tier quarterbacks in pass happy offenses, while diminishing the value of teams who tend to focus on the run. I am lucky to have been in the same league with the same settings for the last 3 years and have learned from my mistakes in past seasons.

     Through the first two weeks of the season my team (Maple Bars) is 2-0 and has scored the most points of any of the 14 teams. Sure I have been lucky, Matt Forte scoring 33.5 pts for me the first week, but I have also had bad luck with my first round pick (2nd overall) Ray Rice, 6 and 13 points respectively. My first goal was to take advantage of the league settings, drafting pass catching running backs and possession receivers. Both Ray Rice and Matt Forte are big in the passing game and can beat you in a lot of different ways which is very important in the NFL today. Whether the Ravens or Bears are winning or losing both running backs are still going to be a big part of each team’s offense. This will allow for Rice and Forte to accumulate fantasy points over the course of the entire game while running backs like Michael Turner (5 catches last season) need their teams to be ahead as they are a non-factor in the passing game.
     In Round 4, just as important as running backs are wide receivers. In a standard league the old draft strategy is to take running backs with your first two picks. With the addition of 0.5 points per reception or ppr as it is called, it becomes very important to take a top tier receiver with one of your first 2 picks. With my 2nd round pick I took Roddy White, a top wide receiver who catches close to 90 balls a season. With 8 receivers taken in the first two rounds I was fortunate to see White fall to me. I was also surprised to see Wes Welker (123 receptions last season) still around in the 4th round and drafted him immediately, not at all worried about his off-season surgery as he had been playing all pre-season. Vincent Jackson is a risk but WHEN he does play this season he will give my team a boost down the stretch.

     With offensive coordinator Mike Martz, Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears offense is much improved already this season.  Martz is known to many as an offensive genius and so far this year he is living up to that title. Cutler, as many other quarterbacks coached by Martz, has seen increases in all of his numbers from a season ago. Completion percentage up 8%, average completion up 4 yards and quarterback rating up nearly 50 points! Although the sample size is small at only 2 games I expect this level of performance to continue and for Cutler to anchor my already strong team.