Week 7 Start/Sit: Beating The Bye Blues, Plus A Little Defense

I spend the majority of my time focused on the offensive side of the ball. This week I want to take a quick moment to acknowledge the defensive side of the ball. If you play in a standard league or an IDP league, it can be every bit as important to keep up to date on who is moving up and down the fantasy food chain.

The Team Defense that fantasy owners want to grab if possible is the New Orleans Saints. They are still over 30% available in most leagues. The Saints are currently the #1 fantasy defense, and they’ve done it without a special teams return TD. They already have 11 interceptions, more than two per game, and 3 defensive touchdowns off turnovers. They have also limited opposing teams to less than 19 points per game. Last season’s number one fantasy defense, the Pittsburgh Steelers are ranked a lowly 20th yet they are still owned in nearly 100% of all leagues. Give N’awlins a chance. They’re for real this season.

For IDP fantasy owners, Week 6 was brutal for injuries. Antwan Odom, D’Qwell Jackson, Omar Gaither, Lafu Tatupa, and Pisa Tinoisamoa were all hurt, and appear to be out for the season. Here are a few names for you that should make suitable replacements for the remainder of the season that are still highly available in most leagues.

Brian Cushing, LB, HOU - Cushing is in his rookie season and was hurt early on, but he is getting healthy, and as we saw last week against Cincinnati, he can be an IDP monster. He has Patrick Willis talent. Grab him before other owners wise up. He’s available in about 70% of Yahoo and ESPN leagues.

David Hawthorne, LB, SEA - With Lofa Tatupa out, most likely for the season, Hawthorne will be his replacement. Last time Hawthorne stepped in for Lofa, he recorded 16 tackles. The kid has monster potential, and he’s available in most leagues because most don’t know who he is and the Seahawks are on a bye this week.

Aaron Curry, LB SEA - Curry is another rookie with Patrick Willis type talent. He’s coming into his own, much like Cushing above. He’s still available in about 85% of fantasy leagues. After this week’s bye he’ll be money from week 8 on.

Andre Carter, DL, WAS - Carter has been a disappointment in previous seasons, but he’s on fire this season, and is ranked in the top 5 at his position for fantasy teams. He’s still available in about 70% of Yahoo and ESPN leagues. He makes a perfect replacement for Antwan Odom, who was right in front of him in fantasy scoring.

Now back to our regularly schedule offensive programming.

The Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans, Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens are all getting their houses decked out for Halloween this week. Your following fantasy studs are on the bench:

QBs - Kyle Orton, Matt Hasselbeck, David Garrard, Joe Flacco, Matthew Stafford and whatever passes for a quarterback in Tennessee.

RBs - Knowshon Moreno, Chris Johnson, Ray Rice, Willis McGahee, Kevin Smith, Maurice Jones-Drew and Julius Jones.

WRs - Calvin Johnson, Derrick Mason, Mike Sims-Walker, Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Nate Burleson and whoever is not getting the ball in Tennessee.

TEs - Bo Scaife, Todd Heap, Marcedes Lewis, Brandon Pettigrew, Tony Scheffler and John Carlson

--Quarterbacks--

My picks last week were a mixed bag. Matt Hasselbeck had a meltdown, and while Cassel led his team to their first victory, it was a win off the foot of their kicker rather than Matt’s arm. Orton and Garrard both made solid bye week fillers. Three of those guys are on bye’s this week.

Josh Johnson, TBB - This week the pickings are slim for filler QBs with six teams on a bye. Johnson and his Bucs look to get lit up by the Patriots, but Johnson has good legs and can give the Patriots defenders fits with his ability to scramble out of the pocket. He already has over 40 yards rushing in each of his three games (141 total).

Shaun Hill, SFO - Hill gets Frank Gore back, and rookie Michael Crabtree will start this week against Houston. I don’t expect much from Crabtree this week, but his presence should open things up for Hill to hit Josh Morgan deep.

Jason Campbell, WAS - I must be sick recommending Campbell right? Well, keep in mind he’s facing an Eagles team that is struggling, and even in a win against lowly Tampa Bay, they still surrendered 22 points. Campbell gets a new play caller in Sherm Lewis. That could make him an interesting fantasy option this week.

--Running Backs--

Last week the guys I mentioned all had decent games, but Thomas Jones and Leon Washington exploded. They have a chance to make it two weeks in a row, so I’m leaving them on the list.

Thomas Jones/Leon Washington, NYJ - These guys face the Raiders this week, and they are 4th worst against the run. Jones is likely already on a team in every league, but Washington could be a very nice plug and play in PPR leagues.

Jonathon Stewart, CAR - DeAngelo Williams and the Panthers should be rushing all day against the league’s worst pass defense, and that usually means decent yardage and a TD for Stewart too.

Tashard Choice, DAL - Whether or not Felix Jones plays this week, Choice has become a secret weapon for Dallas who will struggle to pass the ball against the Falcons this week. Because of his bye week and Jone’s return, a lot of guys who snagged him let him go. He makes a decent bye week option this week.

--Wide Receivers--

Last week was tough for bye week receivers. A lot of tough games, and unusual endings. This week there are a few more nice options for teams hurting at receiver.

Hakeem Nicks, NYG - Why this kid is still so widely available is beyond me. He’s led his team in yardage, and scored a TD in three straight games. Against the Cardinals he has a chance to make it four in a row.

Mohamed Massquoi, CLE - With QB Derek Anderson struggling, Massaquoi has been dropped by the guys that rushed to pick him up a few weeks ago. But Anderson loves to pass, and against the Packers tough rush defense, he’ll need to do a lot of it this week. Massaquoi has been his main target; practically his only target.

Chaz Schilens, OAK - Anyone remember how hot this kid was in the preseason? He was JaMarcus Russell’s favorite target. He returns this week from his preseason injury. The team is coming off a huge win against the Eagles, and have to be feeling good about taking on the Jets at home. Chaz is a nice risk/reward pick.

Josh Morgan, SFO - Everyone gave up on Morgan when the team struggled early, but he scored in week 4 and came a yard shy of scoring in week 5. With Crabtree’s presence on the field, Morgan will get open deep more often. Grab him up before he has a huge game.

--Tight Ends--

I don’t even want to talk about last week on tight ends. Todd Heap faces the league’s worst TE defense and gets nothing, meanwhile Vinsanthe Shiancoe gets four receptions in the same game and scores twice. Tom Brady throws six TDs and not one goes to his redzone tight end, Ben Watson? Surreal.

Sean Ryan, KCC - Ryan has been the Chief’s most reliable receiver and this week he faces a Chargers team that is terrible in defending tight ends, including another TD they surrendered last week to the Bronco’s Tony Scheffler.

Zach Miller, OAK - On paper Miller doesn’t have a favorable match-up, but he’s the Raiders most consistent receiver, and despite not getting his first TD until last week, he has been getting plenty of yards each week.

Ben Watson, NEP - I’m playing the odds here. Brady should have another 3+ touchdown game against the Bucs. He has to find Watson or the planet might crack.

Generally, I always recommend starting your top picks, regardless of match-ups, barring injury, of course. It is obvious that you’ll almost always play guys like Larry Fitzgerald, Adrian Peterson and Drew Brees. I try to save this list for guys who are not always obvious starts.

Note: This week RBs Adrian Peterson and Ronnie Brown have statistically very bad match-ups. The numbers say you should not play them, but their abilities say you must.

Written by Rustyn Rose