Between the Hashes- Week 15 Edition
It’s time for Week 15 in the NFL starting tonight with the Jacksonville Jaguars having yet another nationally-televised home game as they host the Atlanta Falcons. I’m sure I’ll be able to hear Baltimore Ravens fans screaming at their TV’s all across the area, “Why no love for us!?!”.
When we last spoke, my team, the Sam Adams Assault was teetering on the brink of elimination. Have no fear, the Assault made the playoffs though ,going from a #4 seed all the way to #2 by putting up 148 points last week. I can’t remember the last time one of my fantasy teams have scored that many points. I stuck with Shonn Greene again and rode the Michael Bush train one more time all the way to victory. Of course, having Drew Brees and the Green Bay Packers defense helps out big time too.
Looking back at the players I talked about in last week’s blog, none of the QB’s I picked did anything, with Carson Palmer the worst, throwing 4 INT’s against the Packers D. What I did hit on was the RB play, Roy Helu rushed for 126 yards against the New England Patriots, his third straight game rushing for over 100 yards. As I mentioned earlier, Shonn Greene was in my lineup and hopefully yours too. Greene rushed for 129 yards and a TD in the win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Jordy Nelson scored again. And the sun rose in the morning. Just another ordinary game for the Packers WR who caught three passes for 81 yards. He’ll be called on to shoulder the load while fellow WR Greg Jennings is out with a sprained left knee.
Here comes some players I’m liking for Week 15 in the NFL.
Quarterbacks
Eli Manning- Giants: Eli has been on a complete tear as of late, throwing for 400 yards last week, bringing the Giants back from the dead last and beating the Dallas Cowboys in a crucial NFC East match-up. The Giants face the Washington Redskins this week, and while Eli’s history against the Skins isn’t that great, he’s putting the “Eli” in Elite. You see what I did there? Smooth.
Prediction: 285 yards/3 TD/INT
Joe Flacco- Ravens: The Ravens head west to the warm weather to face the San Diego Chargers on Sunday night. Joe had a terrific match-up last week at home against the Indianapolis Colts, but didn’t have to throw much because of RB Ray Rice. This week he faces a below-average Chargers defense that doesn’t have a great pass rush. I think the Ravens will want to run Ray Rice a ton in order to get the victory, but if you need Joe-Manchu, give him a start.
Prediction: 215 yards/2 TD/INT
Andy Dalton- Bengals: Dalton’s game has somewhat cooled off the last few weeks, but its always nice to play a team where you can pad your stats, and that will help during fantasy playoff time. The Bengals face the atrocious St. Louis Rams defense who allowed Seattle Seahawks QB Tarvaris Jackson to throw for 224 yards and a TD in last Monday night’s win. I expect Dalton to come out firing and he could have a big day as the Bengals look to get back in the AFC Wild Card hunt.
Prediction: 255 yards/2 TD
Running Backs
Michael Turner- Falcons: Turner could be the player that pushes your fantasy team onto the next round, as I think this is a fantastic match-up for both he and the Falcons. The Falcons should be able to control the Jags with good throwing from Falcons QB Matt Ryan, so volume-wise, Turner will get the rock. Look for a solid game from him.
Prediction: 90 yards/TD
Michael Bush- Raiders: I’m calling on Bush one more time to come through for me and I think he will this week at home against the Detroit Lions. RB Darren McFadden is still out with what the Raiders are calling a “mid-foot sprain” but they may as well just shut Run DMC down for the rest of the season. Bush is playing solid ball right now and can definitely be counted on as a lead back in the NFL. Lions have some injury issues on the D side as well. Bush should at least be your flex play this week. He is for me.
Prediction: 82 yards rushing/55 receiving/TD
Felix Jones- Cowboys: If you were able to pick-up Felix or had him stashed on your bench all along, its coming in handy now. Jones is back in the starting roll for the ‘Boys for the injured DeMarco Murray who was put on IR with a fractured right ankle. He’s looking at an excellent match-up against what is right now the worst run D in the NFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Prediction: 80 yards/TD
Wide Receivers
Percy Harvin- Vikings: Percy is playing really well despite the misfortunes of the Minnesota Vikings. He caught 10 passes for 69 yards on a team high 15 targets and a score last week and has scored in four straight games. The Vikings face the New Orleans Saints who are giving up a lot to WR’s, the 3rd most production given up in the last five weeks. Start him.
Prediction: 88 yards/TD
Antonio Brown- Steelers: Brown is the other home-run hitter for the Steelers, and he could certainly do that this week against the San Francisco 49ers. Even if QB Ben Roethlisberger does not play, I think Brown will get involved in this game, even if backup QB Charlie Batch is the starter. He would be a #2 WR this week.
Prediction: 75 yards/TD
Jabar Gaffney- Redskins: Gaffney scored against the Giants way back in Week 1 and he’s looking like an interesting play in Week 15. Giants are giving up the 2nd-most points to WR’s over the last five weeks. So if you need him because another starter might have a tougher match-up, you could give him a shot.
Prediction: 70 yards/TD
Tight Ends
Brent Celek- Eagles: QB Michael Vick is back for the Eagles now and they face a Jets D who doesn’t do well against TE’s, so look for Celek to get some balls thrown his way. Jets give up the 8th-most FPG to TE’s the last five weeks.
Prediction: 55 yards
Dustin Keller- Jets: On the other sideline will be Jets TE Dustin Keller. He’ll face an Eagles D who has a hard time stopping what TE’s do. If the Jets balance their offense, Keller could be active. But he might also drop a dud. Let’s hope its not the latter.
Prediction: 45 yards
Owen Daniels- Texans: Texans QB T.J. Yates looked to Daniels often last week, as he caught seven passes for 100 yards on 10 targets. Look for more of that this week against the Carolina Panthers.
Prediction: 67 yards/TD
That’s it for Week 15, good luck everyone!
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