Certain situations simply have no possible good outcome. Monday night, for example, I found myself in the perfect fantasy conundrum: nothing that happened could possibly benefit me. I am a Bears fan, but I needed Jeremy Maclin and the Philly Defense to outscore Robbie Gould by 6 points. I am a Bears fan, but in another league I needed 49 points out of Michael Vick, LeSean McCoy, and Desean Jackson.
By the start of the fourth quarter, I was cursing Brian Urlacher as a fantasy owner and loving him with all my passionate platonic love as a Bears fan. I had admitted defeat in both of my relevant leagues and simply sat, fingers crossed, chanting, “If I’m gonna lose the Bears better [expletive deleted] win!”, rocking back and forth, feet intertwined, channeling the inner chakra or... whatever.
I think a study should be done to assess the long-term psychological affects of extended fantasy sports ownership. I would hypothesize the development of multiple personality disorders, including but not limited to bipolar tendencies, neurotic behavior, and the rapid onslaught of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Think I’m adopting an overly extremist or pessimistic attitude? Perhaps. Take a moment to consider the behavior of your most outspoken fellow league mates. Now consider the behavior of your more “normal” league mates. Now admit I’m right and apologize. Seven times. Without stepping on the cracks. I was really happy when I started this paragraph, but now I’m quite morose.
Nonetheless, assuming you’ve retained your sanity this far, or at least have not been institutionalized, put in a straight jacket, or otherwise indisposed you probably wouldn’t mind a heads up in regards to this week’s lineup. But, if you’ll indulge me a tad longer, I’d rather you keep your mental capacities intact and will share a brief anecdote of encouragement: even gurus make mistakes. Look, I’m no genius. I’m not even an “expert.” I’m pretty good at fantasy football, I’m pretty good at interpreting statistics, and my gut calls are usually quite accurate. In fact, my biggest shortcoming is often not sticking to my gut. Case in point: last week I was fiddling with my lineup literally seven minutes before the early games. I own Arian Foster and Ben Tate and my normal number 2 RB, Ahmad Bradshaw, was out. I was going to start both Foster and Tate but had a twinge of “No! I can’t do that!!! Not both!” And with two clicks, Delone Carter was given the start. I lost that game by four points. Four points. If I continue tearing my hair out at this rate I’ll be bald by Christmas.
Alright, knuckleheads. Best of luck. As always you can tweet lineup or trade questions to @petethegreekff.
Week 10 Top 75
1. LeSean McCoy
2. Arian Foster
3. Matt Forte
4. Adrian Peterson
5. Ray Rice
6. Fred Jackson
7. Calvin Johnson
8. Maurice Jones-Drew
9. Steven Jackson
10. Greg Jennings
11. Michael Turner
12. DeMarco Murray
13. Frank Gore
14. Michael Bush
15. Steve Smith
The Big Boys
DeMarco Murray is the answer to the question, “What if Dallas had a legit running back?” This same question could have been asked during any of the Tony Romo/Jason Garrett years. Even when Marion Barber was producing, he still had Felix Jones taking carries and the occasional score. Does Dallas now have a feature back? I think so. And on that offense, that’s something to take note of. Steve Smith makes it into the top-15 for the first time this year. Hey look, he has been productive and consistent. With Darren McFadden out, Bush should have a nice day, and remains involved in the passing game. Should I have Foster over McCoy? Who cares. If you have them both, you’re playing them. Both have excellent matchups. Here's our week 10 RB Rankings.
16. Mike Wallace
17. LeGarette Blount
18. Chris Johnson
19. Willis McGahee
20. Jimmy Graham
21. Rashard Mendenhall
22. Ryan Mathews - Listed as Probable - practiced fully for the second straight day Wednesday
23. Darren Sproles
24. Wes Welker
25. Jason Witten
26. Vincent Jackson
27. Dez Bryant
28. Beanie Wells
29. Shonn Greene
30. Antonio Gates
Trust Issues
Mike Wallace stole a long score from teammate Antonio Brown, but still remains Ben Roethlisberger’s no. 1 wide receiver. He should continue to produce consistently. Has there been a bigger feast-or-famine play than Vincent Jackson this year? After weeks of 3, 1, and 4 fantasy points he busts and and practically wins you your matchup with 32. The Packers game was a shootout, an anomaly. I still think V-Jax is more of what we usually see from him, but nonetheless we have to recognize his week-winning potential. Hey look! Chris Johnson isn’t completely dead. Yet. LeGarrette Blount did not get as much work as was expected. Kregg Lumpkin was involved to an annoying degree. I don’t know what they see in Blount that makes them think he can’t catch a pass. How hard is it? See football. Grab football. Play the guy more, please. Or keep losing. Your call. The Eagles’ defense doesn’t scare me off of Wells at all, though I do think they’re a good team D/ST play. Barring his weeks of injury, McGahee has actually been a very consistent fantasy starter this season. Who would have thought? His matchup against the up and down Chiefs looks more than reasonable, and I think he is a solid RB2 this week, and perhaps moving forward. Here's our week 10 WR Rankings.
31. Jackie Battle
32. Cedric Benson
33. AJ Green
34. Jeremy Maclin
35. Hakeem Nicks
36. Dwayne Bowe
37. Jermichael Finley
38. Larry Fitzgerald
39. Roddy White
40. Marques Colston
41. Steve Johnson
42. Johnathan Stewart
43. Anquan Boldin
44. Julio Jones
45. BenJarvus Green-Ellis
46. Brandon Lloyd
47. Brandon Marshall
48. Mike Tolbert
49. Aaron Hernandez
50. Jordy Nelson
Yes, Really
Time for another segment of, “Things I believe in!” With your host... uhm, me. I believe... that AJ Green is the best rookie WR we’ve seen since Randy Moss. ...that Julio Jones and Brandon Lloyd are top-20 options at WR from here on out. ...in Jackie Battle. ...in Steve Johnson. ...in Yetis. ...that Johnathan Stewart is the running back you want in Carolina, now and in 2012. ...that nothing will ever replace pad thai on my top-75 lunch rankings. ...that Anquan Boldin would excel as an MMA fighter. ...that Aaron Hernandez is still the one you want amongst Patriot tight ends. Here's our week 10 TE Rankings.
51. Antonio Brown
52. Desean Jackson
53. Victor Cruz
54. Reggie Bush
55. Mario Manningham
56. Marshawn Lynch
57. Ben Tate
58. Owen Daniels
59. Santonio Holmes
60. Roy Helu
61. Rob Gronkowski
62. Pierre Thomas
63. Fred Davis
64. Pierre Garcon
65. James Starks
66. Eric Decker
67. Percy Harvin
68. Greg Olsen
69. Michael Jenkins
70. Sidney Rice
71. Chris Ogbannaya
72. Brent Celek
73. Tony Gonzalez
74. Earl Bennet
75. Laurent Robinson
Notable Unranked
I’d like to say “I’m not playing any more Colts this year,” but Pierre Garcon is probably still usable in most formats. The rest are going to have to really show me something before I have them listed here, again. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw? We simply don’t know. If news comes down that Bradshaw is out for certain, then Jacobs probably is a good no. 2 RB/Flex play. If Bradshaw plays, I’d put him in about the same category. I’m also not buying any 49ers, yet, not named Frank Gore. This is a run-first team without fantasy-relevant receivers... and that includes Vernon Davis. For now. It’s been fun knowing you, DeAngelo Williams! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. I know the Bears are bad against the tight end (Celek had a nice game on Monday. I tweeted about regretting not listing him in last week’s top-75 before the game. Yikes.), but I think this is a statement game for Chicago. For flex considerations, I don’t like any Lions not named Calvin Johnson. And if Julius Peppers gets loose and drives Stafford into that not-so-friendly Soldier Field natural turf... look out. Speaking of the Bears, Earl Bennet would be higher, and perhaps should be, especially with Devin Hester out, but consider this ranking the “I don’t trust Mike Martz one iota” rule.
Best of luck in week 10. Tweet questions, comments, dissertations on the meaning of life, rants regarding fast food, or the numbers to your bank account ( my lawyer says I have to say: just kidding on the last one) to: @petethegreekff.
_PDK