Luckily for all of us, there are no teams on byes this week, so for the first time since Week 5, you don’t have to worry about which of your players are going to be sitting out (that is unless they’re injured). Not having players on byes makes picking sleepers a little more difficult because you don’t have to replace any of your usual starters. However, if your normal starters are going up against one of the league’s top defenses, or you just have one of those feelings, you may want to scour the waiver wire to try to find a replacement.
Fantasy Football Week 10: Sleepers Include Mark Sanchez, Marion Barber
Here’s a list of some sleepers that could help your fantasy football team in Week 10 of the 2011 NFL season.
Here are some sleepers who could help you win your Week 10 matchup.
Quarterbacks:
Mark Sanchez isn't a solid starting quarterback when it comes to fantasy football, mainly because the Jets don't throw the ball that much. However, this week he's going up against the worst secondary in the NFL when the Jets play the Patriots in New York on Sunday night. Sanchez has a lot of talent around him at the receiver positions and there will likely be a few more passing plays called than usual to try to take advantage of the Patriots terrible passing defense.
If your quarterback is going up against a top-ranked pass defense or if his main receivers are banged up, feel free to start Sanchez in Week 10.
| Christain Ponder QB Minnesota Vikings |
This is a very deep sleeper, but you can't ignore the fact that the Packers have the second worst pass defense in the NFL. Ponder is very green and he probably isn't the best option here but the Vikings will likely be playing from behind throughout the entire game. If Green Bay jumps out to an early lead, you'll likely see more and more passes from Ponder and less and less runs from Adrian Peterson.
Like I said, this is a very deep sleeper but there are quarterbacks out there that have much worse matchups than Ponder does.
Running Backs:
| Chris Ogbonnaya RB Cleveland Browns |
I wouldn't really recommend starting any Cleveland Browns players on your team at all because they've just been bad all around. However, Ogbonnaya has a chance to net you a decent amount of points this week. Both starting running backs, Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty, are out in Week 10 which means that Ogbonnaya will get all the carries and he'll be carrying the ball against the St. Louis Rams, who have the league's worst run defense, at home.
If your starting running back is facing one of the better run defenses in the league or if he’s splitting carries with another back, Ogbonnaya might be a better choice for you.
Matt Forte may get all the carries from his own goal line to the red zone but when the Bears are close to scoring the ball gets turned over to Marion Barber. He has scored three touchdowns in the last three games. The Bears are facing the Lions, who have the league's fourth worst run defense, at home on Sunday afternoon and there's a decent chance that they'll run the ball even more than usual just to keep it out of the hands of Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson.
Barber is kind of a risky play because you never really know if he’ll even get a chance to score but after three weeks in a row with a touchdown, the chances of him extending that streak to four weeks are pretty good.
Wide Receivers:
The Bengals are playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers at home on Sunday which means that the Steelers secondary will be charged with slowing down A.J. Green. That job will likely go to Ike Taylor with some help from safety Troy Polamalu. That means that William Gay will likely be left with the job of stopping Jerome Simpson.
Simpson may not be as good as Green but he’s got big-play potential and he’s scored a touchdown in two straight games. If the Steelers defense keeps too close an eye on Green, Simpson could have a big day.
Laurent Robinson will step up into a starting role to take Miles Austin's place as he warms the bench with a hamstring injury. Robinson has done a pretty nice job over the last two weeks, scoring a touchdown in each of the last two games. He'll get a lot more looks as the team's No. 2 receiver in Week 10.
The Cowboys are facing the Bills, who have the No. 23 ranked pass defense in the league, on Sunday and if the Bills secondary puts too much effort into stopping Dez Bryant, Robinson could find himself in a position to catch a lot of passes. If you have Austin on your team, pick up Robinson.
Tight Ends:
| Brent Celek TE Philadelphia Eagles |
Celek started off the season poorly but in the last few weeks, he and Michael Vick seem to have gotten on the same page. Vick is looking Celek's way more and more and with threats like DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, it's easy to forget to watch the tight end.
The Eagles are facing the Cardinals, who have the fourth worst pass defense in the NFL, this weekend and Celek may find himself with quite a few balls thrown his way, especially if the Cardinals put a lot of emphasis on guarding the wide receivers.
| Dustin Keller TE New York Jets |
Keller is an extremely talented tight end who is only owned in about 60 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues. The problem with starting Keller all the time is that the Jets run more often than they thrown and Mark Sanchez is inconsistant at getting his receivers the ball. However, this week the Jets play the Patriots, who have the worst passing defense in the league.
Like with Celek, the Patriots may put a ton of effort into stopping Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress and if that's the case, Sanchez may send a lot of passes Keller's way.
Defenses:
| Cleveland Browns |
Like I said earlier, I'd rather not advise you to start any Browns players, even their defense, any week but this week they're playing the Rams. Even though Steven Jackson has been a beast lately, Sam Bradford has not. The Rams offense only managed to score three field goals in their game against the Cardinals last week and the Cardinals have one of the worst defenses in the league. The Browns are playing at home and they have one of the higher-ranked defenses.
This may be the one week I suggest playing them over your usual defense, especially if your usual defense is playing against a high-powered offense.
Congratulations to Matt Moore and the Miami Dolphins. They got their win and now things can go back to normal. The Redskins are looking to get back into the race for the NFC East starting this weekend and the only thing standing in their way is a one-win Dolphins team.
Don't expect Moore to shred up two defenses in a row and don't expect Reggie Bush to be able to run wild on the Redskins. Washington will take care of business in Miami and if your defense is going up against the likes of the Patriots, the Packers or the Saints, give Washington a try on Sunday.
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