Between the Hashes- Week 13 Edition
Welcome back to another edition of Between the Hashes for Week 13. Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and that you spent time with family.
It’s hard to believe we are in the first week of December already, and for some fantasy owners, this week is do or die in terms of either sliding into the playoffs or sliding out. Then there are the folks who have playoff seeds locked up and just waiting to feast on lesser teams crawling into the playoffs.
No matter what position your team is in, you may have some players who are sitting on your bench that you are trying to decide playing, or players that could move to flex positions or starting spots to give you the edge in your matchup.
Before we do that, let’s first look back at some of the performances of players I noted in Week 12.
QB Matt Ryan- Falcons: Just another ho-hum type of afternoon for Ryan, throwing 3 TD’s and 262 passing yards in the win over Minnesota.
RB LeGarrette Blount- Buccaneers: Blount ran hard, rushing for over 100 yards (103) and also chipping in with 56 yards receiving in the loss to the Titans.
WR Brandon Lloyd- Rams: Lloyd scored his 4th TD for the Rams since being traded to St. Louis at the end of October. He caught five for 74 yards in the loss to the Cardinals.
TE Rob Gronkowski- Patriots: The Gronk had himself a nice game in the win against Philadelphia, hauling in four catches for 59 yards and a TD.
Players I like in Week 13
Quarterbacks
QB Matthew Stafford- Lions: If Stafford is healthy, and he’s getting there, then we could see the Lions and Saints put up a ton of points in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday night. The Saints are giving up 300 YPG to QB’s over their last four games and Giants QB Eli Manning threw for 406 yards against the Saints on Monday night.
Prediction: 305 yards/2 TD
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick- Bills: Fitzpatrick will look to get some of the “magic” back this week against the Titans and build on last week’s nice performance against the New York Jets. Fitzpatrick threw for 264 yards with three TD’s and zero picks. The matchup against the Titans looks pretty good, and he’ll have to throw more with RB Fred Jackson on IR.
Prediction: 225 yards/2 TD/INT
Running Backs
RB DeAngelo Williams- Panthers: DeAngelo had himself a game, albeit against the Indianapolis Colts last week. He only ran for 69 yards but had two rushing TD’s, which put him at the top of my list this week. He faces a Tampa Bay defense that is giving up 32 FPG to RB’s over the last five weeks. RB Jonathan Stewart will get some looks, but give Williams a go, especially if you need him in your flex.
Prediction: 75 yards/TD
RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis- Patriots: Lawfirm scored twice last week against a soft Eagles defense, and he gets even luckier because this week he’ll face the Indianapolis Colts who give up the 4th-most FPG to RB’s the last five weeks. He’s usually not a must-start guy, but this may be the week.
Prediction: 95 yards/2 TD
Wide Receivers
WR Victor Cruz- Giants: For anyone who’s been fortunate enough to pick up Cruz off the waiver wire (this guy) then you’ll know he’s probably helped your team big time the last month or so. Cruz had another huge game last week against the New Orleans Saints, as he caught nine passes for 157 and 2 TD’s.
He has a bit of a hip issue coming out of the Monday night game, but he should be good to go as the Green Bay Packers give up the 7th-most FPG to WR’s over their last five games. Giants could also be without other WR’s Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham, so keep that in mind.
Prediction: 105 yards/TD
WR Roddy White- Falcons: The Falcons have gotten Roddy more involved in the passing game the last few weeks, moving him all over the field. That translated into a 10-catch, 120 yard receiving day against the Vikings. He also caught his 4th TD of the season as well. He should have success against the Houston Texans secondary.
Prediction: 88 yards/TD
Tight Ends
TE Antonio Gates- Chargers: While the Chargers continue to slide, Gates actually looks healthier as the weeks go by. The Jacksonville Jaguars are the next opponent for San Diego, and last season, Gates scored 2 TD’s against this squad. Had 49 yards last week against Denver and has scored in two straight games.
Prediction: 65 yards/TD
TE Jermichael Finley- Packers: The Packers should look at game film from the New Orleans Saints to see how much success Saints TE Jimmy Graham had last Monday night against the Giants. The Giants are brutal against the TE position, giving up the most points to them over the last five weeks and he should be pretty damn active in this one. Then again, all of the Packers offense is active every week.
Prediction: 60 yards/TD
Good luck to all you fantasy owners in Week 13!
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