Boston Sports Extra

Here are the fantasy football players that I love and hate for this week. Reminder, these are not start/sit recommendations, but rather players I feel will exceed, or fall short of, expectations in week 8.

PLAYERS I LOVE IN WEEK 8

KIRK COUSINS, WASHINGTON REDSKINS QB

Kirk Cousins is a top 3 QB this week, he has been on fire as of late. Over his last four games, he has thrown 10 TD passes. He has thrown for over 300 yards in three of those four contests. I fully expect him to continue this trend against Dallas. The Cowboys enter this contest ranked 25th in opponent passer rating. This game is bound to be a shootout with both Dallas and Washington having high-powered offenses. The Cowboys and Redskins rank 7th and 11th respectively in points per game this year. Expect a lot of scoring, and a lot of big plays this week from both teams. Washington is a team that does not run the ball effectively, so they will be relying on Kirk to get the job done through the air against the struggling Dallas secondary.

KEENAN ALLEN, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS WR

Juicy match up here for the Chargers top wide out. He is coming off of a tough week where he was held to just 41 yards and three catches against Denver’s stingy defense. Despite last week’s blemish, Allen has been mostly consistent this year, notching at least five catches in five of his first six games this year. His numbers are not that great thus far which is mostly due to his lack of touchdowns (1). Allen is by far Phillip Rivers favorite weapon, he has targeted him 68 times this year, which ranks third in the NFL. This game should be a high scoring affair, and the Chargers will likely be throwing a lot trying to keep up with The Patriots offense. Although they have shown improvement recently, New England’s defense has allowed 323.1 receiving yards per game against opposing wide outs this year, which ranks last in the NFL.

LEGARRETTE BLOUNT, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES RB

I love this match up for Blount. First of all, San Francisco is an awful team. Their defense is ranked 30th in the league in opponent rushing yards per game. They surrendered 147 yards to Ezekiel Elliott last week. This game will likely be a blowout; the Eagles will be running the ball often to drain the clock. While the Eagles backfield remains crowded, Blount is still a fine fantasy option. He has at least 12 carries in every game he has played this season, including 14 carries in each of the past three games. Blount is the clear cut goal-line back for this team, and I expect they will be in that area multiple times in this contest. Assuming the Eagles blow this game open early, Blount will see a massive workload, and potentially receive his largest volume of work this season.

PLAYERS I HATE IN WEEK 8

FRANK GORE, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS RB

It appears the Colts may be dividing up touches between Gore, and rookie Marlon Mack, evenly. Mack has looked solid all year in his limited role, but finally received equal work with Gore in week 7. Gore saw 11 fewer snaps than the rookie in week 7, and they both had nine touches. Mack also seemed to be favored in the passing game with 4 catches for 40 yards, while Gore had 0. If this trend continues, Frank Gore will lose some serious fantasy value. It is hard to imagine that Gore has a good game this week considering his dwindling role in the offense. It is a not a favorable match up as they go up against Cincinnati’s defense, which is allowing the 7th fewest point per game.

BEN ROETHLISBERGER, PITTSBURGH STEELERS QB

Big Ben would be a shaky start this week. He is on the road against Detroit, who has had two weeks to prepare for this game, and are they are coming off their bye. Everyone knows Big Ben seems to struggle on the road. This year he has just 5 pass TD and 4 turnovers in his 4 road games. After a solid showing last week at home vs the Bengals, some may think he is out of his 2017 slump, but I am not yet convinced. The offense, as of late, clearly belongs to super star running back Le’Veon Bell. Until Ben proves he can play better, I think the Steelers will continue to hand off the ball to Bell 30+ times a game.

JOE MIXON, CINCINNATI BENGALS RB

Potential breakout performance this week for the rookie running back. Mixon has lead the Bengals in carries in every game since week 2. He had three straight games of at least 15 carries, until earning just 7 last week. Despite only 7 carries last week, he still had as many as Bernard and Hill combined. He is the clear cut lead running back for Cincinnati. He has an enticing match up in week 8 against the atrocious Colts defense. Indi’s defense ranks 26th in the league in opponent rushing yards. I expect the Bengals to blowout Indi, and spend most of the second half draining the clock with run plays. Start Joe Mixon this week.

*Follow me on Twitter @MLBfromNH (Kevin Civiello)*

Well, here it is, my first fantasy football post. In this segment I would like to provide some of my insight for week 7 of fantasy football. You are probably thinking, “Who is this guy, and why should I listen to him?” You are probably right. I am certainly no psychic, and I do not have a crystal football, but I may know a thing or two about fantasy football. Fantasy football is the primary reason why all my friends hate me. In the five years our fantasy football league has existed, I have won the championship four times. The one time I did not win the championship, I was the runner-up.

Before you accuse me of bragging, I ask you to understand that I am no hot-shot for my fantasy football talent. It’s not my coolest attribute, I don’t glue my eyes to my iPhone screen for hours every week trying to figure out which kicker to start. Maybe it would be cool if my talent was on the field rather than behind the computer screen at the click of a mouse, but sadly it does not.

*Note: The following players are not my top options or start/sit recommendations, but rather the players whom I feel could exceed or fall short of their expectations. I want to avoid the obvious ones. For example, if Le’Veon Bell had a mouth watering match up with the lousy Browns, he would not make the “Love” section due to the transparency of the match up.*

Players I Love in Week 7

Melvin Gordon, Los Angeles Chargers RB:

I expect Melvin Gordon to have a big week. He is coming off a great performance against the Raiders in Oakland. Prior to last game, Gordon asked for more touches and he certainly got what he wanted. Gordon racked up 25 carries and 9 receptions, for a total of 150 yards in the Chargers 17-16 win. The third year back accounted for both Chargers touchdowns, earning one through the air and one on the ground. He also was targeted a career high 12 times in the passing game. Despite the tough match-up vs the Broncos elite defense, he could be due for another big game. Denver showed that their defense is vulnerable, as they surrendered 117 rushing yards to Orleans Darkwa last week. Who? Exactly. It helps Gordon that the Chargers have been playing well, while the Broncos looked really shaky last week against a win-less Giants team. I think the Chargers will use their momentum, and home-field advantage, to get the win over their division rival, and Gordon will be at the center of it all.

Jordan Howard, Chicago Bears RB:

Jordan Howard is coming off a monster week in which he logged 36 carries. THIRTY-SIX. He took those 36 carries for 167 yards, which is over 4.6 yards per carry. The Bears are not showing much faith in their young QB, Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky only threw the ball 16 times in the entire game against Baltimore. I do not expect them to throw much against Carolina’s 7th ranked pass defense either. This assures that the volume of work will be there once again this week for Jordan Howard.

Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams WR:

Robert Woods is beginning to settle in with his new team. He is quickly becoming one of Jared Goff’s favorite targets, as he leads the team with 37 targets. Woods has had at least 5 catches in three of the last four games, and has earned 261 receiving yards during that stretch. He has a juicy match up this week against the Cardinals defense that ranks 25th against the pass. With Sammy Watkins likely drawing all the attention from star corner back Patrick Peterson, Woods should be able to go to work against the less talented members of the Arizona secondary.

Other Honorable Mentions:

Dion Lewis, Jamison Crowder, Derrick Henry, Leonard Fournette

Players I Hate in Week 7

Demarco Murray, Tennessee Titans RB:

Prior to last weeks game, the Titans announced that they plan to get Derrick Henry more involved. I am not saying either guy is the better option at this point, but Henry certainly seems to be gaining ground on Demarco. Henry had 19 carries for 131 yards last week, while Murray only had 12 for 40 yards. Murray certainly is not someone who should be sat in any sized-league, in any format, but he does seem to be losing his RB1 status. I see Murray as a more of a RB2 now. I do not expect Murray to get 15-20 carries this week.

Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks WR:

Doug Baldwin is having a down year thus far. This may be a result of the entire Seahawks offense struggling as they rank 16th in the NFL in points per game. 16th is the middle of the pack, but when you have faced SF, IND and TEN, more production is expected. Seattle is going to New York to face the Giants. The Giants own a record of just 1-5, but have had a very tough schedule, and have lost a lot of close games. They are coming off a win against a good Broncos team in Denver without their top three wide receivers (Odell Beckham Jr, Brandon Marshall and Sterling shepard). The Giants will have a lot of confidence coming into the game, and Baldwin will be matched up with Janoris Jenkins. Baldwin has only found the end zone one time this year. Doug has had one productive game this year in which he had 10 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. Aside from this performance, he is averaging about 4 receptions per game for about 45 yards. Baldwin is a low-end WR2 this week.

T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts WR:

Hilton is a tremendously talented wide receiver. However, he has been too inconsistent this year, partially due to playing with backup QB’s Jacoby Brissett and Scott Tolzien. Hilton has had two monster games this year in which he logged 7 catches for over 150 yards, those two performances came against both the 0-6 teams (Niners and Browns). In games against teams with a win, he has just 11 catches for 155 yards in 4 games, not very good. The Colts are hosting Jacksonville this week. Hilton is coming off a one-catch for 19 yards performance, and is about to face a secondary that ranks third in the NFL in pass defense–allowing just 166 passing yards per game. I see the Jags corners’ Jalen Ramsey and AJ Bouye containing Hilton and frustrating the Colts offense.