NFL: Alex Ferguson gives his Fantasy Football picks for Week 11
Brady and Lynch on the roster
Thursday 13 November 2014 16:26, UK
Alex Ferguson gives his Fantasy Football tips for Week 11 in the NFL, which boasts some tasty match-ups across the board…
It promises to be a pretty big weekend in the NFL for fantasy folks – and a huge amount of decisions for everyone out there, not least at quarterback…
Quarterback calls
Peyton Manning was on fire last week, burning the Oakland Raiders for 340 yards and five TDs. He’s playing a St Louis D that’s not been great at interceptions or sacking the quarterback. Or do you go with the likely shoot-out between Tom Brady and Andrew Luck, who are both coming off bye weeks and will be ready for a shoot-out when the New England Patriots visit the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Going for one of those three will make you very happy. And, we’ll be honest, we reckon Aaron Rodgers is going to cool off against Philadelphia. They have one of the best defenses in the league, and an offense who can grind down some time if needed in an effort to take the ball away from Rodgers & Co.
Who replaces Murray?
DeMarco Murray’s been a fantasy staple of yours truly, but he’s off this week after yet another 100-yard performance against the truly awful Jacksonville Jaguars. Anyway, Marshawn Lynch, who was Seattle’s hero against New York Giants, putting up 140 yards and four TDs, rolls into Kansas City this week against one of the noisiest fanbases in the country. The Chiefs haven’t given up a rushing touchdown yet, though.
If you’re getting two running backs, we suggest Lynch as well as Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell, who didn’t exactly perform against the Jets, but should rebound against Tennessee, who can’t stop the run for toffee.
A solid D
Last week we were really successful with the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense, who once again had a brilliant performance last week against Carolina. They aren’t as great away, and certainly won’t be in the cold confines of Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers in the advance of a polar vortex! Anyway, we’re going with the Miami Dolphins, who boast the league’s best-rated defense. They are playing Buffalo’s rather mediocre offense, so we fancy ‘em.
As for the wide receivers?
We’re presuming that you’re going with two wide receiver set. So that’s cool. Jordy Nelson’s a hot hand at the moment, after catching two TDs for 152 yards against the Chicago Bears. What’s interesting about Nelson is that one week he’s averaging over 100 yards (or near), and the other week he’s taken out of a game. If Philadelphia’s ‘D’ give Nelson the opportunities, he’s going to be doing the Lambeau Leap.
On the other side (in the same game), we love Jeremy Maclin, who’s going to continue to profit off Chip Kelly’s offensive juggernaut schemes. For something slightly cheaper, we like Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans. He might have a mouth on him, but he’s got some hands, too, catching three TDs in the last two games. We loved him back in college when he was Johnny Manziel’s wide receiver at Texas A&M, too.
Keeping it tight
If you love your tight ends, then we’re in heaven. Antonio Gates has been great in San Diego, but not as great as Rob Gronkowski has been for New England and Jimmy Graham has been for New Orleans. But then again, both of them haven’t been as great as Julius Thomas, Peyton Manning’s primary TD catcher in Denver.
If you’re going big money, then go get Thomas this week, but if you want a bit cheaper (in the NFL UK league), then Gates is a pretty good idea. He still has the second-highest amount of TDs among tight ends.
