The Fantasy Football Geek Blog

Here’s the last batch of Ask the Geeks for week eleven. If you have any last minute questions, feel free to leave them as a comment on one of our posts and hopefully Matt or I (or any of our readers) can get back to you with some advice before game time. Either way, good luck and hopefully everyone can start clinching some playoff spots!

Heath asks…

who should start week 11 at the flex RB/WR position.

1. A. Bradshaw
2. A. Boldin
3. Justin Forsett

Brandon’s take: After seeing what Boldin did last week now that his ankle appears healthy, you have to get him in your line-up against the Rams!

Matt’s take: The Rams’ secondary is a thing of beauty – if your fantasy receiver is matched up against them, that is. Boldin’s a no-brainer start this week.

David asks…

Awesome website btw! Keep up the great work…please help PPR league start max 2 RB’s with 2 WRs or 1 RB with 3 WRs…
My team:

R Williams… missed starting him!
Gore
McCoy
K Smith
Slaton
Snelling
Charles

Welker
Driver
Marshall
Crabtree

Open to your wisdom. Thx again

Brandon’s take: At wide receiver, get Wes Welker and Brandon Marshall in there. For your running backs though, it gets a little tricky. With Brian Westbrook out, I think LeSean McCoy has a lot of potential, so plug him in. For the final spot, I guess I’d go with Frank Gore. Although I don’t love his match-up, he does get the ball a lot and if he can break a few or get a few carries on the goal-line, he should put up some decent numbers.

Matt’s take: I doubt you’ll make the same mistake twice with Ricky.   I’d actually start Driver over Marshall this week due to QB Kyle Orton’s injury issues (looks like he’s going to sit). Chris Simms hasn’t looked good in practice. You hate to sit a guy like Marshall, but Driver’s been a consistent source of fantasy production all season so he’s a much safer start. I’m with Brandon on Gore/McCoy at RB.

Kenny asks…

I need 2 RBs, please!

Kevin Smith, Betts, McCoy, and Snelling.

Y’all and y’all’s new iphone web format are awesome! Thank you in advance!

Brandon’s take: Hey Kenny, go with LeSean McCoy and Jason Snelling. I like Kevin Smith’s match-up a bit more than Snelling’s, but the fact that Maurice Morris is starting to cut into his carries is a bit worrisome. Good luck!

Matt’s take: Glad to hear you like the new mobile layout – thanks for the feedback! I usually like Betts when Portis is out, but the Cowboys are probably going to be a bit much for him to handle – they’ve been rock solid against the run all year. I’m with Brandon on McCoy, but I like Kevin Smith more than Snelling this week – any feature back matched up against the Browns is an automatic start in my book.

ffgeekblogROCKS asks…

Hey, guys! I need some good, wholesome lineup advice! Please help me choose 2RBs and a flex from the following depressing options: Chris Johnson, Bradshaw, Avery, Burleson, Charles, Greene, Moats, Bell, and Scott.

You guys rock!!!

Brandon’s take: Chris Johnson (obviously), then I’d go with Bernard Scott and take a gamble on Nate Burleson. Burleson didn’t have any catches last week, but it seems that Arizona has his number or something. He should rebound this week and hopefully he can find the endzone for you.

Matt’s take: No argument with those picks. I’ll be really interested to see what Scott can do given the nice matchup with Oakland. My only fear with him is that Brian Leonard may vulture his red zone opportunities. I doubt Larry Johnson will get more than five carries – the Bengals don’t need him against an opponent this bad, and if he were to blow up for a huge game, they know the media will take the opportunity to blow it up into a RB controversy because they love that stuff.

Mads asks…

I am in a league with return yardage (1 pt pr, 20 yards) and I have 2 flex spots, with 8 possibilities, all with their own plusses and minusses:

Bernard Scott, Ryan Moats, Steve Slaton, Jerricho Cotchery, Joshua Cribbs, Jamaal Charles, Jacoby Jones and Darren McFadden.

I am leaning towards Bernard Scott (if Benson is out) and Joshua Cribbs.

Brandon’s take: Go with Bernard Scott, as it appears Cedric Benson won’t be playing this weekend. For your second spot, I have to disagree with your selection of Joshua Cribbs. While he is racking up some decent return yardage, he’s still probably only getting your team around 5 points or so on weeks where he doesn’t return a kick for a touchdown. I’d go with Jerricho Cotchery, even with a tough match-up with the Patriots. Last time the two teams played, he caught four passes for 87 yards and this time the New England defense has Braylon Edwards to worry about.

Matt’s take: Cotchery will probably have a decent game, but I’d rather start a supremely motivated Steve Slaton who just regained his starting gig and desperately wants to prove he deserves it.

Anthony asks…

I was wondering who to start for my flex position (RB/WR). I’m starting Ray Rice and Brandon Jacobs as my RB’s and Larry Fitz. as my WR leaving me with another WR spot. Should I start Miles Austin or Steve Smith (NY) and for my flex should I play Jason Snelling, Cadillac, Ryan Moats or one of the left over WR. Thanks in advance!

Brandon’s take: I’d actually go with both of your receivers in those spots. Austin has been slowing down recently, but if he has a few catches, he’ll probably rack up more yards than any of those running backs are going to churn out. Also, Steve Smith is set to have a big game against a mediocre Falcons pass defense and should be rested up after the BYE week.

Matt’s take: Definitely. Austin and Smith are both far better big-game bets than any of your RB options.

TJ asks…

Hey Guys, as always looking forward to your advice for the week:

RBs (need 2, non-PPR): SJax, Wells, Forsett, Betts, Charles. Assuming SJax & Wells this week – good choices?
WRs: Welker, Ochocinco, Austin, Sims-Walker, Smith (NYG). Who are your top 2 for this weeK?
TE: Witten or Shiancoe? (I am pretty close to just dropping Witten altogether… talk me out of it?)

Thanks again!

Brandon’s take: Hey TJ, at running back go with the guys you picked, Steven Jackson and Beanie Wells (who has a great match-up.) At wide receiver, you are loaded, but I’d go with Wes Welker and Steve Smith (although Ochocinco is a close third!) Finally, don’t give up on Jason Witten! Well, at least considering your other option is Visanthe Shiancoe. This week though I’d keep Witten on your bench. Shiancoe has a better match-up than Witten and is always a primary target of Favre’s in the redzone. You always have to cross your fingers that this will be a week that he scores a touchdown though, as his receiving yardage is never worth writing home about! Shiancoe hasn’t gone two games all season without scoring a touchdown and due to his goose egg last week, he’s probably due.

Matt’s take: That’s a hell of a WR corps. Welker’s a great start since Darrelle Revis will be bottling up Randy Moss all day, and the Jets haven’t played him yet this year (he was out with an injury for the week 2 matchup) so they may struggle to keep the ball out of his hands. I really like Miles Austin this week – he’s due for another big game and the matchup is good (Romo owns the Skins). I like your RB picks. Shiancoe over Witten, but don’t drop Witten yet – I’m still convinced that Witten’s lack of fantasy production has more to do with bad playcalling (and bad luck) than anything else. The guy leads his team in catches – how many tight ends can say that?