**OFFICIAL** 2018 Fantasy Foootball Thread

ringfinger · Retired Number Joined: 08 Oct 2013 Posts: 29418

Who would have thought Nick Mullens would have a game like that. Wow. I mean, sure, it's the Raiders, but damn.

vanexelent · Retired Number Joined: 17 May 2005 Posts: 30081

ChickenStu · Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2018 1:41 pm Post subject:

I just picked up Valdes-Scantling in two of my three leagues. Allison is doubtful for Sunday, and if MVS is an every-snap player, he's in a beautiful spot on Sunday night against the Patriots, especially with Gilmore shadowing Adams. Adams can still get his, but MVS should produce if he's out on the field for nearly every play in what should be a shootout.

In the same yahoo league, I now have all of Courtland Sutton, DJ Moore, and MVS, in addition to my usual starters Mike Evans and Emmanuel Sanders. I also have Doug Baldwin (a guy I've benched for now) and Danny Amendola as PPR insurance. I'm going to have to bench one of Sutton/Moore/MVS this week and I'm not sure which one to bench! I think I have to play MVS so it'll probably come down to Sutton or Moore for me.

In another league, I have Adams, Golladay, John Brown, D-Jax, and MVS (with Hilton on the bye). Of those first 5 options, I need to play 4. As this is the league where I have Fitzpatrick, I'm going to also play D-Jax. So it basically comes down to Golladay/Brown/MVS for 2 spots. Some don't like starting 2 WR's on the same team, but I don't care about that. I think Golladay is going to get a target spike and he's due for a good game. Brown has started to be a little boom-or-bust and the Steelers have stiffened up defensively lately, though Brown did go for over 110 yards and a TD the last time they played.

vanexelent · Retired Number Joined: 17 May 2005 Posts: 30081

ChickenStu · Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2018 10:24 pm Post subject:

Huskers · Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2018 11:33 am Post subject:

General question, how active are your leagues in terms of trades? The leagues I'm in, trades are almost non-existent. I've got some top tier talent that I can't use, and no one will even engage in trade discussions for them. Any way to emphasis or encourage trades in a league in those that are active with them?

ChickenStu · Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2018 1:46 pm Post subject:

Lonzo'sBalls · Starting Rotation Joined: 07 Sep 2017 Posts: 423

Ya I've been in leagues like that, don't think it'll work for you huskers.

What my buddy does is just sends everyone in the league like 50 trade proposals lol.

HOF Rookie · Star Player Joined: 09 Jun 2015 Posts: 1717

ChickenStu · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 4:28 am Post subject:

Fantasy-relevant observations after Week 9...

--Teams are just relentlessly attacking Marcus Peters with their best outside WR. With Seattle coming to LA for Week 10 and since Seattle is likely to have to throw a bit more than they would like to (kind of like last week), this could mean good things for Tyler Lockett. I might have to play him in DFS, and coming off a slow game, I think he could be low-owned.

--I know it's a division game, but the Raiders look so putrid that there's a very real chance that the Chargers blow them out in Week 10. If so, I'm guessing the Chargers take the opportunity to get Austin Ekeler even more work than normal, given that Melvin Gordon had a recent hamstring injury. Just something to keep in mind when considering lineup decisions. The Chargers are 10-point favorites in Oakland.

--Sticking with the Chargers, I'll just throw out Mike Badgley's name if you're streaming kickers and looking for great matchups. The kid was 10-for-10 on his kicks earlier in the season and is worth a shot unless you have one of the top kickers.

--Dion Lewis has clearly asserted himself as the feature back for the Titans, and is now well ahead of Derrick Henry (a major miss of mine during draft season). He should be highly-motivated to face the Patriots in Week 10.

--I talked him up recently and I'll do it again: Marquez Valdes-Scantling keeps making plays, and with Geronimo Allison on the shelf now, he needs to be in lineups going forward.

--The Lions offense looked awful in its first week without Golden Tate. It was like Stafford had no idea what to do, and Minnesota hasn't exactly looked like a fearsome defense this season. At least, not until Sunday. It's a major worry for their rest-of-season outlook if you own guys like Stafford, Golladay, and Marvin Jones, and Detroit's schedule is not kind for the rest of the season. It's less of a concern for Kerryon Johnson, but it's still not ideal to own running backs in poor offenses.

--Dalvin Cook showed his speed on a long run on Sunday and looked healthy, and could be a major difference-maker down the stretch for the Vikes. With Minnesota on bye in Week 10, this could be a last chance to swing a trade for him, and for those teams that look playoff-bound, it doesn't hurt to try to swing a deal. Perhaps if you're overloaded at WR and could use a RB with upside, and if the Cook owner needs a win and is hurting at WR, you could pull something off.

--A word of advice for Kareem Hunt and Todd Gurley owners: now is the time to handcuff. So Hunt owners, you need to add Spencer Ware, who would have a nearly every-down role on a video game offense if something happened to Hunt. The same goes true for Todd Gurley owners, with Malcolm Brown. Seriously, you will be kicking yourselves if you don't do this and if there is an injury. Ware and Brown might not be superstar RB1's but they will still be clear RB1's. This is the time of year where handcuffing needs to happen, and it doesn't really apply to any other RB1's this year, because guys like Mark Ingram and Austin Ekeler are already on virtually every roster, as is Le'Veon Bell.

--Speaking of Le'Veon, I'm sorry, but I just don't see how the Steelers turn away from James Conner. Not only has he outplayed Le'Veon, but how would it look in the locker room if they just re-installed Bell as the guy? I simply don't think they will do that.

--I actually think it's going to hurt Tyler Boyd that A.J. Green is going to miss a couple of games, at the very least. It's not like Boyd was struggling for target volume anyway, and now he's going to have the opposing team's #1 CB chasing him for however long Green is out. We kind of saw something similar happen with Adam Thielen on Sunday, as Diggs' injury opened the door for Darius Slay to travel to Thielen far more often, and he finally had a dud of a game (though he still managed a TD). I think it goes without saying that Andy Dalton takes a hit here, too. Even in a great matchup against the Saints this week, I'm hedging my Dalton bets.

--Well, I'll say this for interim Browns OC Freddie Kitchens: he understood that Duke Johnson is really good at catching passes and doing something with them. He could still be available in many leagues, and especially in PPR leagues, he needs to be owned everywhere. Particularly since in Week 10, the Browns host the Falcons, and no team gives up more catches and receiving yards to running backs than the Falcons do. Sometimes there can be 1-game mirages in the NFL, but this is something that should've been happening all year, as Johnson is great with the ball in space, and it's a cheap way to get Baker Mayfield going. I think we'll see more of this going forward, and it's also worth noting that Nick Chubb is still going to see about 20 carries a game and is a very worthy RB2.

LakersChamps04 · Star Player Joined: 06 Oct 2003 Posts: 3737

Lonzo'sBalls · Starting Rotation Joined: 07 Sep 2017 Posts: 423

Man Stu your point about Peters is so right. Teams are just going at him, and why not? He was absolutely cooked Sunday with no regard for human life by Michael Thomas.

Agreed on the Bell front, he might as well just sit out.

ChickenStu · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 2:54 pm Post subject:

LakersChamps04, if you can find a way to add Ware (do you have Hunt?) while keeping Ekeler, I'd advise that you do it. I don't know how shallow your league is or who you have on your bench, though. In general, though, Ekeler needs to be owned everywhere. In the game Gordon missed, Ekeler received 17 touches. He didn't have a great game, but Tennessee limits RB output. (Zeke struggled as a rusher against them last night, for example.)

Lonzo'sBalls, I think Bell is going to report now because he wants that accrued year towards free agency, plus, as I said, I think the team is going to stick with Conner and I think he knows that. So why not come back now, make a few million instead of losing your entire salary, and hardly play, if at all?

Lonzo'sBalls · Starting Rotation Joined: 07 Sep 2017 Posts: 423

Really good point Stu, I didn't factor in the contact status aspect of it. Oh and I picked up Badgley on the sly Sunday morning thanks for the reinforcement

ChickenStu · Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2018 8:41 am Post subject:

Dez Bryant just signed with the Saints, and no, you should not pick him up except in the deepest of leagues!

vanexelent · Retired Number Joined: 17 May 2005 Posts: 30081

ChickenStu · Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2018 11:22 pm Post subject:

If you happen to have an open roster spot, and if you have been streaming QB's (either in a typical 1-QB league or for a 2-QB league where perhaps your 2nd starting QB has been a guy like Case Keenum or even Joe Flacco), it might be worth adding Lamar Jackson. The Ravens are on bye this week and a report came out that Flacco is dealing with a hip injury and that he could miss time. Who knows if this is just a convenient excuse to start Jackson or if it's a legit injury, and maybe Flacco does play through it. But if Jackson gets the nod next week against the Bengals, he will warrant immediate low-end QB1 consideration because his rush floor will be so high. And the Ravens' schedule for the rest of the season couldn't be much better, in terms of facing bad defenses. Starting next week, they play Cincy (29th in PPG to fantasy QB's), Oakland (23rd), at Atlanta (30th), at KC (26th), Tampa Bay (32nd), and at the Chargers (21st).

If you have the space, I'd pick him up. He's a potential lottery ticket that has a real chance to start next week.

AY2043 · Franchise Player Joined: 26 Feb 2012 Posts: 10621

ChickenStu · Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2018 3:33 am Post subject:

BadGuy · Star Player Joined: 13 May 2008 Posts: 3629

Would it be wrong to bench my starters against future opponents to eliminate another team from playoff contention (obviously, I'll check to make sure this won't backfire, but I have a big points/record lead currently). The reason I am considering this is because that team colluded with the 1-8 last place team (both in my division) to get Kareem Hunt for Duke Johnson before the trade deadline. What do you guys think? This is an amateur work league that I will be quitting at the end of the year (my first in this league) because of the previous collusion.

HOF Rookie · Star Player Joined: 09 Jun 2015 Posts: 1717

AY2043 · Franchise Player Joined: 26 Feb 2012 Posts: 10621

Looks like James Conner's going to play after his concussion last week, but I picked up his backup Jaylen Samuels in a couple leagues just in case. He has TE eligibility in Yahoo and CBS.

Might be worth an add if you have the roster spot available. Could be a week winner if Conner sits and you get starting RB level production from your TE spot.