NFL: Alex Ferguson gives his Fantasy Football picks for Week 12

Alex Ferguson provides his Fantasy Football tips for another hard-hitting week of NFL match-ups.

It’s Week 12 in the NFL, and there are some tasty match-ups to get excited about.

Sky Sports.com blogger Alex Ferguson – slightly reeling from telling everyone why NOT to draft Aaron Rodgers last week – has his fantasy picks for this week, which might include a bloke with the initials “A.R.”…

So…..about this Aaron Rodgers guy……

Right, we were wrong about Aaron Rodgers. We said that he would be silenced by Philadelphia’s defence, but instead he put up monstrous numbers, throwing for 341 yards and three TDs. We’re going with him against Minnesota, despite the fact that the Vikings only give up 225 yards per game. Why? Because, to coin a poker player’s term, he’s got the hot hand.

If you want something a little riskier, why not go with Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton? He might not be brilliant but he’s going against one of the country’s worst passing defences in Houston this week.

Oh, and about that Peyton Manning guy? He had a nightmare against St. Louis, and he’s against one the league’s stingiest passing Ds in Miami. It could be quite the battle.

Murray's back... and a lighter shade of Gray?

DeMarco Murray is back for Dallas Cowboys, which means fantasy owners will be immediately inserting him as running back. Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell – who ran for 200 yards in the win against Tennessee – is putting his feet up this week, so giving up one on-fire back and putting in someone fresher isn’t bad, is it?

If you’re in the league that uses dual running backs, (like the NFLUK league this writer plays in), then New England’s Jonas Gray is intriguing. We’ll be honest – we didn’t know who in the heck he was when he started for the Patriots. He left Notre Dame in 2011 after an unspectacular career and his NFL starts before Indianapolis were nothing to write home about. But after this performance, he could be quite the pick-up for $1m. The Pats are at home to a Detroit side who have been miserly against the rush this year (68.8 yards/game), so you could see the Pats revert to the Brady spectacular to pull off the (expected) victory.

Sorry about the prediction of Marshawn Lynch, by the way. He still managed 124 yards, but no TDs.

Mike The Tiger

We told everyone at the start of the season about a fantastic rookie in Tampa Bay out of Texas A&M called Mike Evans, and we’d like to take a bow… we were right. Evans went off for 209 yards and two TDs last week, and he’s had five TDs in the last three weeks. Evans was Johnny Manziel’s big-time wide receiver for two years and he was great. Anyway, Evans is playing a below-average passing defence in Chicago this week, so he’s a great bet for another great week.

OK, now for a bit of humility. We were pretty excited about Philadelphia’s Jeremy Maclin against Green Bay’s D, but he had a largely uneventful day compared to Evans. He’s going against a pretty good Tennessee pass defence this week. So that’s why we’re taking Evans and dropping Maclin.

Jordy Nelson, Aaron Rodgers’ big-time receiver is a lot of fun to watch at the moment, and had a pretty good day (100+ yards, one TD) against Philly. We’re going with Nelson too on this burning-bright Green Bay offense.

Tight ends-wise, Peyton Manning’s got to have a better day than he did last week, doesn’t he? If you’ve got the budget, go and get Julius Thomas. He’s recently been declared fit after a sprained ankle, and should be good to go. If you fancy something else, how about Antonio Gates, who’s facing a St. Louis team which recently suffocated Denver but might be believing a little of its own press?

A case for the defence

After telling the world and his wife to take Miami’s defence against Buffalo, we suddenly got a little confident in the Eagles and how they would suffocate Aaron Rodgers – which absolutely killed us (note to self: take own advice). This week, Miami are playing Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, and despite their terrible showing against St. Louis, we expect the ‘Fins to have a tougher time this time… especially because they are playing in mile high conditions.

That’s why we’re going with Philly again this week.

Firstly: it really can’t be as bad as it was last week, especially against a pretty squalid Tennessee offense which features an inconsistent rookie QB in Zach Mettenberger. Secondly: The Eagles are at home. Thirdly: Fear. If the Eagles play as badly as they did against Green Bay, then God help them facing the locals, who aren’t afraid rain down their opinion, in the form of four-letter words, beer, and (sometimes) snowballs.

Kickers! Where are the Kickers?

If you’ve got the money, Stephen Gostkowski in New England should get the chance to chance to kick some field goals if Detroit manages to stop The Tom Brady Show. But for less money, how about Miami kicker Caleb Sturgis – particularly in a stadium that’s well-known for its long field goals?