The Fantasy Football Geek Blog

Don’t even get me started on the Toronto thing. NFL.com’s Nick Bakay sums up the situation pretty succinctly:

If you have any illusions that this counts as a home game, peep the Jets tilt this Thursday on NFL Network, and count the Bills jerseys in the stands. Last year against Miami, it took CBS three quarters to find one, but there were thousands of Dolphins threads.

So just in case your start/sit decision on a Buffalo player hinges on the fact that this is a “home” game – think again.

Anyway, since many folks have to make roster decisions today, let’s do a quick start-or-sit for tonight’s players:

N.Y. Jets

• Mark Sanchez, QB: Must-sit. The Bills absolutely humiliated Sanchez the last time they faced him, and against the porous Bills rush defense, Rex Ryan has every reason to run the ball on practically every play. Speaking of which:
• Thomas Jones, RB: Must-start. While Sanchez was busy making a fool of himself in week 6 against the Bills, Jones was rushing for 210 yards and a score. The Bills haven’t gotten any better against the run since then. Oh, and it’s freaking Canada in December, so it’ll be cold. Do you need any more reasons to start Jones (and stay the hell away from surfer boy Sanchez, who’ll probably throw the ball five times the whole game)?
  • An aside: Nothing against the FF Toolbox guys, but how in the hell do they have Jones as the #18 RB this week? If those rankings are computer-generated, I think the algorithms need some tweaking.
• Shonn Greene, RB: Worth a look. He hasn’t done much lately to justify being given extra work, but there will be plenty of carries to go around in this one. He might hit double-digit touches, so if you need a plug-in this week you could definitely do worse than Greene.
• Jerricho Cotchery, WR: Sit. Hard to expect much from him unless the Jets get behind early and Sanchez is forced to throw. The Bills looked good against Miami but they’re not exactly the kind of explosive offense that builds up big first-half leads, so the prospects of that scenario happening are slim, and even if it did, are you willing to bet that Sanchez would rise to the occasion?
• David Clowney, WR: Sit. Then drop, and never speak of this again. I really just included him here because I like his name. I bet he drives all his friends around in a really tiny car.
• Jets DST: Worth a look. Darrelle Revis shut Owens down the last time they met, and the Bills offense has pretty much only looked good when Owens has gotten going, so it could be a pretty nice days for the Jets D. Working against them in the fantasy department is the likelihood that the Jets will dominate the time-of-possession battle (which the Bills always lose), giving them less time on the field and opportunities to intercept passes, score touchdowns, and do all those things we love to see our fantasy defenses do. They can’t score points when they’re not on the field.

Buffalo Bills

• Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB: Sit. A better start than Sanchez, but I really hope you have better options. T.O.’s going to struggle, and Lee Evans hasn’t looked capable of filling the void (nor has he established any kind of connection with Fitzpatrick as far as I can tell).
• Fred Jackson, RB: Meh. Start, I guess. Look, I’m just not all that optimistic about the Bills offense tonight, but if anyone on the Argonauts Bills is going to have a good game it’ll probably be Jackson, if only because besides Owens he’s the only other weapon that’s been effective all season and Buffalo’s got to give the ball to someone.
• Marshawn Lynch, RB: Sit. He’s officially a backup. Finally.
• Terrell Owens, WR: Sit. Really, don’t bother. I know it’s hard to sit someone with recent numbers like his, but he’s fool’s gold this week against the Jets and Revis.
• All other Bills: Sit. I hate to be the doom-and-gloom Bills fan, but on paper, this one doesn’t look good. I wouldn’t start the kicker, the defense, any of the other receivers (including Evans)… I’m going into tonight’s game fully expecting to see The Thomas Jones Show.

So there you have it. Happy Thursday. This was one depressing post to write, I have to admit.