78 of you (and me) competed in the second annual FF4W Survivor
Pool. This past weekend, a winner was
crowned: “Spike.” I have no idea who
Spike is. All I know is the image next
to their name on the Yahoo Survivor Pool page reads “Don’t Hassel the Hoff.”
As this year’s victor, Spike gets shout-outs on Facebook and Twitter,
and I’ll also call him next summer for a 30-minute fantasy prep phone
conversation. Last year’s winner, Randy
Scoggins, can attest that, regardless of how boring it is to hear me drone on
and on about this player and that player for a half hour, this is a real prize.
So Spike, whoever you are, identify yourself to claim your award. And a part of me really, really hopes you’re
not the real David Hasselhoff, because I’m not sure my heart could handle it.
Shifting gears, congrats to those who reached the fantasy playoffs, and
good luck to those who have one more week of the regular season to find out where
you stand. I’ll continue to post each
day until a few days after the end of the regular season (around January 4). And whether you’re in the postseason or simply
asking for a friend who is, I’ll keep answering questions these next four
weeks.
A quick, early look at Week 14:
I have Ben Roethlisberger in my first round playoff game, but I don’t
feel great about it. Snow is expected in
Buffalo all weekend, and the Bills are good against the pass. This has the makings of a 220-yard, two-TD,
three-INT performance, which won’t cut it at this stage of the season. So I’ve picked up Ryan Tannehill—the only
half-competent QB remaining on waivers—with the likely intent of starting him (who’s
playing at home, although he has a tough opponent in Arizona). Those with Big Ben might have to make a very
tough decision. Right now I’d advise
benching him if you have a top 16 option elsewhere.
At RB, I packaged Devontae Booker a few weeks ago at peak value for
Amari Cooper, largely because I didn’t like Denver’s fantasy playoff
schedule. This week the Broncos are on
the road against a tough Titans team.
Although Kapri Bibbs is now out of the picture, I view Booker as merely
a high-volume RB3. There are better
options out there in many leagues. It
will also be tough sledding for Thomas Rawls, as Green Bay’s run D should limit
him to about 6-7 points.
At wideout, knock Stefon Diggs down several pegs in a brutal faceoff in
Jacksonville. Some of you remember that
I publicly urged readers to sell high on Diggs after Week 2—that he accounted
for something like 47% of Minnesota’s offense, and that this was entirely
unsustainable. He’ll be a WR3/4 at best
this week. Per above, Antonio Brown (I’m
not joking) will be a liability in standard leagues, pulling in WR2 numbers at
best, and likely only WR3 if the Buffalo weather is horrendous.
The point of all this is that the guys who got us this far aren’t
necessarily the guys to carry us over the finish line. When I’ve won it all, it’s often been with
surprising contributors down the stretch, simply because tough NFL matchups and
other conditions dictated I look elsewhere for more upside. Be bold, be smart, and own it.