Inside The Matchups: NFL Plays for Week 8
What’s up everybody, hope everyone had a great week 7. I finally feel like I’m starting to hit my stride with fantasy football and even though it took me a few weeks, I’m hoping that I can keep up my hot streak. My team last week was my best team so far this year although I did make one big mistake of switching out DeMarco Murray for Montario Hardesty at the last minute. It only took one carry for Murray for me to realize that I messed up on that one. But hopefully you read my value picks blog last week and were smarter than I was and actually played Murray.
This week I thought that I would dive into matchups a bit more. Fantasy football is all about the matchups so I have set up a league that has very similar scoring to Draftstreet and have gone through and found the five worst defenses facing each position. For instance, as you will see below, using my scoring system that is very close to Draftstreet, the Bills have given up the most points to opposing RB’s. So here are the top 5 worst defenses for each position along with the player they will be facing this week:
QUARTERBACKS
1.Denver Broncos – The Broncos have allowed more points to opposing QB’s than any other team. That is good news for Matthew Stafford this week who has been struggling over the past two games. Stafford does have an injured ankle, but his salary has dropped over $2,000 this week and is a great option at $15,623 if he’s healthy.
2.Miami Dolphins – The Dolphins face Eli Manning this week who is $15,215. This is a great matchup for Eli, but that is a lot to pay for him. Although with a pass defense this bad, you might want to consider him.
3. New England Patriots – The Patriots have been bad on defense all season and this game against the Steelers will most likely be a high scoring game. Great matchup for Ben Roethlisberger at $15,289.
4.Indianapolis Colts – If anyone watched the first quarter of their game last week then you know their pass defense is bad. Real bad. Matt Hasselbeck gets them at home this week and has good value at $12,308.
5.Arizona Cardinals – I don’t love Joe Flacco this week after that bad performance in Jacksonville but you can’t argue that he doesn’t have a good matchup. He is $12,548.
RUNNING BACKS
1.Carolina Panthers – After Adrian Peterson tore up the Packers, he gets to face a Panthers defense that gives up more points to RB’s than any other team. He’s expensive but could be worth it at $17,373. Keep an eye on his status this week though, and if he does sit out for some reason, Toby Gerhart could be an excellent value play.
2.Philadelphia Eagles – Remember how the Eagles were supposed to be great at stopping the run? That sure seems like ages ago. If Demarco Murray can run half as well as he did last week then the Eagles are in for a long day. Murray could have good value for $11,000.
3.Indianapolis Colts – The Colts face Chris Johnson this week and there is no way of knowing what’s going to happen. I keep waiting for him to have a big game, but maybe he just doesn’t have it anymore. But at $11,222 it’s going to be hard not to like him this week.
4. St. Louis Rams – The Rams play the Saints this week which is good news for all Saints offensive players. Especially for the RB’s if Ingram doesn’t play. Darren Sproles $12,455 and Pierre Thomas $6,995 are worth keeping an eye on.
5.Tennessee Titans – They face the Colts who haven’t had a good rushing attack all year. I will side on the defensive side this team and tell you to stay away from all Colts RB’s.
WIDE RECEIVERS
1. New England Patriots – No surprise here that the Pats give up more points to WR’s than any other team. Sunday is a great play for all 3 Steeler WR’s: Mike Wallace $15,024, Antonio Brown $6,701, and Hines Ward $4,468.
2.Arizona Cardinals – Only WR option to like on the Ravens is Anquan Boldin. He does have good value since his salary is only $9,751 but I’m not huge on him this week. Ray Rice could see a lot of catches though.
3.Indianapolis Colts – Again, they face the Titans this week whose passing attack has struggled ever since Kenny Britt went down. But that could change this week against the Colts. Keep your eye on Nate Washington $8,894 and sleeper Damian Williams $3,207.
4. New York Giants – This one surprised me because I didn’t think the Giants were bad at all against the pass. However, I’m guessing they won’t be there for long because they face Matt Moore and the Dolphins this week. Maybe think about Brandon Marshall $10,176, but there are probably better options.
5.Denver Broncos – The Broncos secondary could be in big trouble this week, but we will at least see a great matchup with Calvin Johnson squaring off against Champ Bailey. Calvin is expensive $17,707 but could still be worth it. Keep your eye on Nate Burleson as a sleeper this week $5,056. But if you take either of these two, make sure Stafford is playing.
This should give you some good insight on the matchups this week. Hopefully it can help.
Good Luck in Week 8!
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About the Writer: Derek ‘Notorious’ Farnsworth has been playing fantasy sports ever since he could walk. He loves sports so much he swears his first words were “Michael Jordan.” He recently graduated with a Master’s degree from the University of Utah and is excited for their entrance into the PAC-12. He was introduced to daily fantasy sports last year by clicking on one of Draftstreet’s famous referee ads, and quickly climbed the RotoGrinders Rankings into the Top 25. He also loves betting on sports and the occasional craps table.