The New Orleans Hornets have very few things to look forward to this year but the emergence of Al-Farouq Aminu is one of them.
Analysis: Al-Farouq Aminu put up 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals Wednesday night against the Spurs. He did all of this in 37 minutes and since the Hornets don’t have much at small forward you can expect to see a lot of Aminu on the floor this year for the Hornets. The uncertainty of Eric Gordon’s return is also an added plus for Aminu’s fantasy value, he will be one of the primary offensive options for New Orleans.
There are a couple of negatives when projecting Aminu this year. He’s a small forward that will give you next to nothing in the three department and his field goal percentage has been suspect since he entered the league. He will give you some blocks as a small forward which is always a big help and since he’s available in just about every league it is hard to make a case against him. If his minutes remain solid so will his fantasy contributions.
For the second week in a row the San Diego Chargers are the team of choice to stream.
Analysis: Whether you are looking for a defense to stream or need a fill in for the Niners or Jets, the Chargers have a great matchup Thursday against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Kansas City offense ranks 28th in points per game and 32nd in turnover margin. The Chiefs have only scored more than 20 points just twice in seven games this year. In short, the Chiefs are just plain awful on offense.
Meanwhile, the Charger defense has been solid this year. The San Diego D ranks 10th in yards per game, 9th in points per game, 13th in interceptions, 4th in forced fumbles and 6th in fumble recoveries. This is a defense that is still widely available in fantasy leagues while squads like the Cowboys and Bengals still get plenty of love in the fantasy world. The Chargers do need to step it up in the sack/pressure department but they are solid and have only had two bad fantasy games this year which were against the Saints and Falcons.
Titus Young is set to break out as he steps into the number two wide out role in Detroit.
Analysis: Nate Burleson is out for the year with a broken leg and Titus Young is the unquestioned number two in Detroit. With that in mind, Titus Young came to play Sunday. The second year wide out had the first 100 yard game of his career and his second two touchdown game as a pro on Sunday. We all know the Lions love to sling the rock and Titus Young recorded nine receptions on nine targets Sunday. He may only be owned in about half of fantasy leagues but he is a WR3/FLEX option with the potential for more. Young has caught 15 balls for 181 receiving yards over the past two games and in doing so made himself a PPR league stud. Prior to week seven Young had only one game where he caught more than two balls(week three).
With what is out there on the wire you have to like your chances with Titus Young over guys like Cecil Shorts and even Sidney Rice. It’s last call on Titus Young.
Donald Brown was back in action Sunday against the Titans after missing two games with a knee injury.
Analysis: Brown is under the radar at the moment due to his knee surgery and the layoff but he did perform well Sunday. Brown was on the end of 14 carries for 80 rushing yards. He’s averaging 15 carries per game in his five games this year making him one valuable lower tier back. He does not help out much in PPR leagues with only 3 receptions thus far this year.
At this point Donald Brown is available in well over thirty percent of leagues but he will be one of the hottest pick ups going into week nine. He may only have one touchdown this year but his workload has been consistent and his 4.3 yards per carry average is respectable. He is certainly more of a fantasy asset than his backfield mate Vick Ballard.
Going forward Brown will split some carries with Ballard but expect 15-20 carries per game and just hope for the touchdowns to come. If he’s available there is no reason not to pick him up.
Who to start is the one question that plagues many fantasy owners on a weekly basis. Picking the wrong guy can cost you a fantasy victory and potentially, your season. There are various fantasy experts to ask, fantasy rankings to analyze, tools to purchase, and tv shows to watch. So what’s the best way to figure out who to start?
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As you might imagine, I get many emails asking for fantasy advice and it’s impossible for me to respond to everyone. Each time I am asked who to start I tend to give the same response: Do your research.
I am not a huge fan of fantasy experts (eek, that sounds bad). What I meant to say is that fantasy experts can be wrong too. Do not focus on fantasy point predictions each week. After all, who knew A.J. Green would be the leading wide receiver this season with Andy Dalton as a solid fantasy quarterback? Do your research means to read up on as much news as possible about your players and the team. If your go-to starting running back or quarterback is in a slump, then perhaps it’s time to pull the trigger and start your backup. Tough start/sit decisions are what makes fantasy football fun. When Matthew Stafford has a tough match-up, you better have a contingency plan.
There may be those of you who base your start/sit decision on expert rankings, or aggregated rankings, or fantasy tools with start/sit advice. On the surface those may sound pretty appealing. However, does learning that Chris Johnson has an average rank of 5.1 or that Matt Forte has an average rank of 4.6 help you? Do you really want to base your start decision on a fantasy tool instead of your own gut instinct? I think these options are good for first year players, but seasoned veterans should know better.
The best way to decide who to start is to do your research. There is a reason why FantasySP collects and organizes news the way it does. The reason is because that is the key to success. Reading a fantasy update at ESPN.com or CBS is just one summarized opinion. I suggest going a step further. Read up on the news from beat reporters like Susan Slusser, and make sure to read Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback. These articles have nuggets that you just can’t find anywhere else. FantasySP helps get you to where you need to go.
Sometimes, even when you do your research and pick the right guy for all the right reasons the other guy has a great week for all the wrong reasons. You know what I call that? Fantasy football. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
