By: Anthony ‘The Pug’ Pugliese
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The final weeks of the fantasy football season are upon us! As we gear up for the final stretch of the fantasy season, let The Pug guide you towards the fantasy football post season. Have specific line up questions? Email me at thepugskennel@gmail.com Lets also not forget….Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Must Play
Demarco Murray – RB Philadelphia Eagles – This Thanksgiving Day match up is a tasty one. The Lions give up more points to opposing running backs then all but seven teams. That makes for a good match up. There are two others reasons that make me feel this is a great match up. One the Eagles have (or at least should have) learned their lesson on what happens when you rely to heavily on Mark Sanchez last week, and will look to the running game against a weak run defense this week. Second Ryan Mathews is still out, which will lead to a larger workload for Murray. Big output for Murray this week, and I could see well over 100 yards for him.
Brian Hoyer – QB Houston Texans – Hoyer took a week off last week due to a concussion. This week he returns to a great situation. The Texans are riding high after three straight victories. The offense seems to be getting going, and now they face the worst defense in the league, the Saints. The Saints are the leagues worst against opposing QB’s as they have given up 7 more touchdown passes then the next team in line. Start Hoyer unless your starter is…well no one. He could easily be the best QB this week.
Travis Benjamin – WR Cleveland Browns – The Cleveland Browns have changed their starting quarterback yet again, although in this case, that’s a good thing. Josh McCown takes the reins again and he earlier in the season developed quite the chemistry with Benjamin. Mix that with the match up against the Ravens who have given up more touchdowns to opposing wide receivers than any other team in the league, and I believe Benjamin is in line for a huge stat line this week.
High Risk, High Reward
Devin Funchess – WR Carolina Panthers – Funchess, along with four other Panthers found the end zone last week. This is another one of my gut feelings that this guy is due for a break out week. Worked pretty well last time when I called Mike Evans break out week. Funchess seems to finally be healthy and is showing everyone just why the Panthers drafted him in 2nd round. They Cowboys rank 10th in the league against the pass so the match up doesn’t seem ideal, but I think he will do just fine.
Matt Forte – RB Chicago Bears – Matt Forte will make his return to the lineup this week and this might be another gut feeling, but I believe he will play to prove he is the number one in Chicago. Forte actually has something to prove for the first time in awhile after rookie Jeremy Langford filled in admirably in Forte’s absence. The match up isn’t too bad either as the Packers rank 23rd against the pass, but they did all but shut down Adrian Peterson….
Kyle Rudolph – TE Minnesota Vikings – Rudolph leads the Vikings with 4 receiving touchdowns. He has had some good games and others, well, not so much. The Falcons after starting 5-0 seem to be heading in the wrong direction, and the Vikings are looking for revenge after a beat down against Green Bay at home. I really felt that it would either be Stefon Diggs or Rudolph that would have a break out game, and I’m going with Rudolph because I think he will get the touchdowns. Just remember he is in this list cause it could be the other guy…..
Players to Avoid
Todd Gurley – RB St. Louis Rams – Gurley has played out well for those who waited on him. He only averaged 2.6 yards a carry against a suspect Ravens defense and has a matchup against a better Bengals defense. With the QB situation in St. Louis being a mess look for the Bengals to stack the box and force Case Keenum to beat them with his arm. Doesn’t appear to look to good for Gurley this week, avoid him if you can.
Seattle Seahawks Defense – Let’s get one thing clear. This isn’t the same legion of boom defense we are used to seeing lately. The Pittsburgh Steelers are getting healthier by the week, and I don’ think that Richard Sherman and company will be able to contain Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant. Look for Pittsburgh to make the Seahawks defense look mediocre at best.
Charles Clay – TE Buffalo Bills – This is match up disaster for the Bills and Charles Clay. Tyrod Taylor seemed hurt towards the end of the game against the Patriots which won’t improve Clay’s chances. Oh yeah, doesn’t help that Chiefs are the best in the league against tight ends allowing less than 300 and only 2 touchdowns all season. Avoid Clay this week.
Waiver Wire Gem of the Week
Spencer Ware- RB Kansas City Chiefs – Ware has been stuck on the bottom of the depth chart for most of the season, and when Charcandrick West hurt his hamstring in the third quarter Ware got his time to shine. He didn’t disappoint rushing 11 times for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns. He would probably be in Thomas Rawls spot if not for two DUI arrest during his stint in Seattle. Look for Kansas City to use the talented runner more often and for him to possibly even enter a time share if not leap frog West as he is the most talented runner.
