So it would seem that I am good for one really bad mistake a week, which all things considered isn’t too awful considering the mercurial nature of the position. It will never be as consistently predictable as running backs or quarterbacks but it is still always fun to speculate. My Week 10 blunder was a massive one where I seemed to mix up my starters and bench players. None of my starts (Joel Dreessen, Visanthe Shinacoe, or Marcedes Lewis) caught a touchdown or for more than 53 yards. Epic fail. While all of my “Sit” picks for the week went off. Kellen Winslow, Jermaine Gresham and Todd Heap all caught touchdowns and all had 57 or more receiving yards. This is the first time something like this has happened to me all season. I am in awe of my ineptness. I blame Vegas.
This week I am on the redemption trail yet again, and so are my picks this week. All of my Starters have been struggling as of late but as we come down to the final weeks before the playoff push all it will take is one game to get them back on track. Week 10 will be that week for them; while my “sit” guys will see their hot streaks come to an end. It’s science. What goes up must inevitably come crashing down to the turf.
Here are my TE Start / Sit Picks for Week 11…
| START ‘EM | |
| Dustin Keller vs. HOU | I’m not overly shocked at how dormant Dustin Keller has become over the past few weeks because the Jets have been forced to come from behind, stretch the defense, and had Santonio Holmes return from suspension dropping Keller a spot down on Mark Sanchez’s list of weapons. It’s not like he hasn’t been completely non-existent, but he hasn’t had a great performance since September when he was tearing teams apart. As of now he hasn’t scored since week 4 and has been limited to 4 catches or less in every game since week 3. These sorts of stats do not exactly breed the type of confidence you want in your starting tight end, but there is some good news on the horizon… they get to play Houston! The Texans continue to struggle against the pass where they rank 32nd overall, and even better for Keller fantasy owners is that the Texans have been atrocious against opposing tight ends where they have given up a league worst 63 catches. There is a good chance that the Dustin Keller of the early 2010 season could come back to say hello to the Houston defense and put up some big numbers.
In Keller’s only appearance against the Texans in Week 1 of the 2009 season, he had 4 catches for 94 yards. Let’s hope history can repeat itself in 2010. |
| Chris Cooley @ TEN
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The worst possible scenario for Chris Cooley fantasy owners went down on Monday Night Football. The Skins went down big early, were forced to throw long to try and get back into the game, and Cooley was generally overlooked as a downfield receiver. Cooley hasn’t exactly been an offensive juggernaut this year but he has been a solid option. He has caught for 50+ yards in 6 out of 9 games thus far and has had 5+ grabs in 5 of 9. With the Redskins struggling and Donovan McNabb in hot water it may be time to go back to the well and play underneath power football, which will allow for Cooley to thrive, but will that happen? I have no idea. All I know is that Cooley and the Redskins face a relative must win situation in Tennessee this weekend and they will need to put points on the board. The Titans’ pass defense is ranked 20th in the league so you know they will have their chances downfield, especially since they most recently gave up 107 yards and a touchdown to Anthony Fasano who had third string QB Tyler Thigpen throwing him the ball by the end of the game. If that is any sign for things to come on Sunday it could be a good day for Chris Cooley and co. |
| Zach Miller @ PIT | This is my risky pick of the week. Miller has been great all season, and has been one of the most consistent point scorers at the tight end position, but he is still nursing a hurt foot, which could cause some problems. The good news is that he has practiced the last few days and looks like he will be ready to go come Sunday. I feel as though he will be used in a somewhat limited role, a la Antonio Gates a few weeks ago, where he will be in the lineup in short yardage and Red Zone packages. What this means is that he will be a constant threat to score and will make a fair amount of catches underneath to boost your PPR. I just feel like he will get his opportunities especially against a porous Steelers pass defense that has been suspect against tight ends in the Red Zone. Just look at what Rob Gronkowski was able to do on Monday Night with his 3 touchdown performance. Plus, Jason Campbell is going to need an outlet if the Raiders are unable to establish a consistent running game with Darren McFadden and Michael Bush. |
And here is who to sit in Week 11:
| SIT ‘EM | |
| Visanthe Shiancoe vs. GB
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A starter last week becomes a bench player this week. It is the fickle nature of the fantasy football world that brings us to this. All of the talk this week has been about Brett Favre’s shoulder, ankle, “last” game against his former team, and a little remaining murmur about his unmentionables, but what does it all mean? Well, when your quarterback isn’t 100% and you’re facing a divisional foe it tends to lead to a lot of mistakes, much like last week. Shiancoe was a target last week but his production has yet to increase to the pre-Randy Moss days and I doubt it ever will. This does not mean that he is not an integral part of the offense but it is hard to rely on a guy who hasn’t caught more than 4 balls since Week 2 and only has one 40+ yd game during that time. Now this week he faces a Green Bay defense that will be out to take over the division and has only allowed 7 points over the past two games combined. They will abuse Favre and will be unrelenting against the pass where they rank 11th in the league. |
| Tony Gonzalez @ STL | Another risky pick for me, but the Rams have seriously looked legit at times this season and what better team to prove it against than the Falcons who seem to be the class of the NFC. The Rams have struggled against the pass at times, but what they haven’t done a lot of, at least lately, is get abused by opposing tight ends. Last week they did give up 79 yards to Vernon Davis, but they were able to keep him out of the end zone. Same goes for Kellen Winslow and Antonio Gates in the last few games. The Rams know that if they are going to have a shot in this game they need to close down the Falcons’ big play guys down the field. If they are able to do that, which I think they will get one of the two (they have no chance of stopping Roddy White) and will continue their streak of keeping TEs out of the end zone. Also one has to keep in mind that the Rams have allowed 18 or fewer points in every game this season except for the Lions debacle of Week 5. |
| Kevin Boss @ PHI | Ok so this dude burned me a week ago, but I’m determined to not let this guy get the best of me, so he makes my “sit” list again. Yes, with Steve Smith sitting on the sidelines, Kevin boss has stepped up a notch in Eli Manning’s passing attack, but how long will that last against the Eagles? Boss has been up and down all season and has caught a touchdown in 2 straight games but I just cannot see that happening this week. He is bound to have a down game sooner or later and the Eagles D has been more apt to giving up the big play than the dink and dump passes over the middle. With Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham’s speed on the outside the ball is going to go over the top from Manning, and not over the middle to Boss. |
