Maybe being reflective and pensive is just something that naturally comes with the end of the fantasy football season, or just the end of a year in general. But as 2014 approaches its close, I’ve been getting some questions that have transcended the realm of fantasy football advice and are now straight-up teetering into the existential.
The Sack: SB Nation’s fantasy football mailbag answers your Week 14 questions
Got fantasy football questions? Come to SB Nation’s Fantasy War Room or tweet @TheSackSBN for answers. Every Thursday, a few will be pulled and answered here. Today, we talk playoffs, quarterbacks and remind ourselves that even if we didn’t make the playoffs, life goes on.
@thesacksbn how do i feel happy again
— Eli Fitch (@EliFitch) November 26, 2014 @TheSackSBN Why didn't you stop me from drafting Gerhart, Patterson, AP, Stacy, Randle, rest of my team, etc? How could you do this to me
— Bonesaw (@BoomMcSplode) December 3, 2014 Fantasy football can do some crippling things to people, man. This is what happens to people when they do everything right, assess their managerial decisions with the best information possible, and still wind up at 2-11 due to a cruel combination of bad luck and malice from the fantasy gods. Bright eyed and bushy-tailed can quickly become slouching on your couch, unshaven, gazing at your fantasy roster comprising Toby Gerhart and Cordarrelle Patterson while grasping a half-empty fifth of the most depressing booze you could find in your house. Vermouth? It's probably vermouth. Or maybe that Pinnacle/Burnett's high-fructose flavored vodka barf-in-a-bottleTM.
So, friends, I don’t really have answers to why you’re in the position you’re in, only what to do when you’re there. Don’t slouch on your couch, replace that bottle of whatever with some coffee or water, and brothers (and sisters!) let that facial hair flow (OK, maybe not sisters). It’s only gonna get colder before it gets warmer this offseason, and there will unfortunately be more Toby Gerharts in our fantasy football future together. Let’s move on:
@TheSackSBN Rivers or Fitzpatrick? Normally a no brainer but considering last wks performance by Fitzpatrick and Rivers playing NE!
— Chris Hegge (@Heggs55) December 3, 2014 What about last week's performance by Rivers? Putting up 27 fantasy points and a season-high yardage total on the road versus the Ravens is commendable. It's not the six touchdown outburst Ryan Fitzpatrick had, but I'm quicker to trust a top-eight quarterback in terms of average fantasy points than I am a journeyman with an abnormal stat line.
Now, the concern for Rivers starting against the Patriots is a valid one, and it's never misplaced concern when a quarterback faces a secondary with Darrelle Revis in it. The truth though, is even with Revis locking down receivers, the Patriots (15.7) are right at the league average (15.6) in terms of fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks per game. Keep in mind that this set of data includes games started by Derek Carr and Matt Cassel, which they allowed nine fantasy points combined, and if those games are taken out of the equation, the Patriots defense doesn't look like one to avoid all of a sudden. I'm not trying to sell this as a juicy matchup for Rivers, because it isn't, but it is definitely not one that would make me bench him.
As for Fitzpatrick, of course he's going to be worth consideration because of what he just did to the Tennessee Titans and because of his resemblance to my logo. But don't go overboard here. Keep in mind that he was right by Andy Dalton, Josh McCown and Mike Glennon in terms of fantasy points per game before hanging a 40-burger on the Titans last week. Like Good Andy and Bad Andy, there's Good Ryan and Bad Ryan. Don't let the bias from a recent game disallow you for seeing quarterbacks for what they really are.
@TheSackSBN Merry Christmas. Kelvin, Joique, or J. Hill?
— Dan Seed (@dseed5) December 3, 2014 I've got to go with Kelvin Benjamin here. Reggie Bush is practicing in full again, which makes me a little hesitant to trust Joique Bell even with the early-down and goal-line work essentially all his. There's no doubt he has a fine matchup, but a diluted distribution of backfield touches amid a heavy-passing offense makes matters murky.
Jeremy Hill's matchup is middling in its own right, as he faces a Steelers team that has allowed just three rushing touchdowns on the season to teams that aren't the Cleveland Browns. Mark Ingram found some room to run versus them in Week 13, but it's also worth mentioning that the Steelers front seven will get a boost this week with rookie Ryan Shazier set to return to the lineup. That, plus the 50/50 timeshare with Gio Bernard doesn't doom Hill by any stretch of the means, but it's enough to make me flex Benjamin over him since he's facing a Saints defense that has hemorrhaged fantasy points at the hands of opposing receivers.
@TheSackSBN start Colt McCoy or Bridgewater this week?
— Phillip Reynolds (@Mr_Reynolds81) December 3, 2014 After looking over the slate of games for Week 14 I knew I would be getting a lot of quarterback questions. It’s feast-or-famine for a lot of them in terms of matchups this week, and it’s not a good week to be streaming. Of course that would be the case in the thick of the postseason. Of course.
Regarding Colt McCoy or Teddy Bridgewater, a big part of this decision depends on if DeSean Jackson suits up for Washington, and at this point it's no guarantee that he does. If he manages to do so, it's even less of a guarantee that he would be a full-go. Given that McCoy has developed a pretty good rapport with Jackson, losing that home-run threat throws a serious wrench into his upside. That weapon would be needed versus a Rams defense that has been quietly stingy versus opposing quarterbacks all season long, and hasn't allowed multiple passing touchdowns in a game since Week 8.
The Jets, on the other hand, have gone just two games all season where they haven't allowed multiple scores through the air, and they have allowed at least two per every road game so far. They'll be in Minnesota this week and though their matchup isn't daunting, they still may not be equipped well enough on their defense to handle it. That especially remains true with defensive-line stud Muhammed Wilkerson not expected to play on Sunday, giving Bridgewater some more time to find his receivers. As a result, Bridgewater is a sneaky streaming option this week for a Jets team that's shorthanded and on the road during a short week.
Hey guys, thank you for reading this week’s edition of The Sack. If you would like to be in next week’s The Sack, please post your fantasy questions in the comments or tweet me at @TheSackSBN. Be sure to also visit SB Nation’s Fantasy War Room so I can pull questions from there as well.
