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Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been utilizing my space here to discuss matchups. Last week, I included a strength of schedule report for the remaining games, to give an update on which teams have the best and worst schedules to close the season. Two weeks ago, I threw out a list of players who are matchup proof. For a point of reference, I’m including the list below. Aaron Rogers and Jordy Nelson are the only 2 to fall out, with Antonio Brown being added to the WR list. The closest omissions are Matt Stafford and Andre Johnson, who’s exploded with Case Keenum under center.
QB- Manning, Brees
RB- Charles, Peterson, Forte, McCoy, Lynch
WR- C. Johnson, Bryant, Green, Marshall, Thomas, A. Brown TE- Graham, Gronkowski
Every now and then, there will be a backup QB that will come out of nowhere, and provide a much needed boost to fantasy teams in desperate need of some help. In 2004, Billy Volek came out of nowhere to produce a total of 11 TDs, and nearly 1200 yards passing from weeks 13-15 of the fantasy season (only to put up 111 0/2 during week 16). In 2008, it was Tyler Thigpen who provided late-season heroics for fantasy teams lucky enough to grab him on the wire. This year, we’ve already seen the emergence of a few backup QBs that have taken advantage of their opportunity. Nick Foles and Case Keenum are both in the process of establishing themselves as legit future NFL starting QBs. There is a very good chance that by now, both players have been swiped up in your fantasy league. However, if either are still available, whether you're struggling at QB, or just need additional depth, I'd strongly suggest you need grab either one ASAP, with Foles ahead of Keenum.
If you happened to miss out on Foles and Keenum, there is still one QB that’s likely readily available in your fantasy league that I’d recommend you grab for your QB-needy team. Josh McCown may be a 34 year old career backup, but he has shown some arm talent in the past, has an offensive-minded coach that has shown trust in him, and has one of the best collections of weapons in the entire league. McCown has already had success this year when getting the opportunity to play. He’s been more than willing to let loose, and the Bears haven’t really skipped a beat with him in the lineup. Plus, having Marshall, Jeffery, Forte, and Bennett at your disposal doesn’t hurt either. And what makes McCown a perfect candidate to possibly lift your team to fantasy glory is the schedule. The Bears have the 2nd easiest QB schedule the rest of the way.
There’s a chance that Jay Cutler comes back sooner rather than later, but I have my doubts about that. And even if he does, McCown will cost you nothing, as he should be readily available on the waiver wire. As long as he’s in the Bears’ starting lineup, he’s worth starting in yours as well. As crazy as this may sound, I’d strongly consider playing Josh McCown over Andrew Luck, Matt Ryan, Colin Kaepernick, and maybe even Tom Brady the rest of the way. The same can be said for Nick Foles, who has the 3rd easiest remaining schedule, and I can nearly say the same thing about Case Keenum, who has the 5th easiest remaining schedule.
This doesn’t happen every year, but if your team is in dire need at QB, and has been in scramble mode just to survive, there is an answer for you on the waiver wire that could easily be the difference between winning a championship, or missing the playoffs altogether.
Week 11 Lineup Rankings
Code:
Bye Week- Dallas, St. Louis QB 1. Peyton Manning DEN vs. KC 2. Cam Newton CAR vs. NE 3. Drew Brees NO vs. SF 4. Russell Wilson SEA vs. Min 5. Robert Griffin III WAS @ Phi 6. Matthew Stafford DET @ Pit 7. Nick Foles PHI vs. Was 8. Philip Rivers SD @ Mia 9. Josh McCown CHI vs. Bal 10. Ben Roethlisberger PIT vs. Det 11. Case Keenum HOU vs. Oak 12. Tom Brady NE @ Car 13. Andrew Luck IND @ Ten 14. Matt Ryan ATL @ TB 15. Colin Kaepernick SF @ NO 16. Andy Dalton CIN vs. Cle 17. Carson Palmer ARI @ Jac 18. Joe Flacco BAL @ Chi 19. Eli Manning NYG vs. GB 20. Alex Smith KC @ Den 21. Ryan Tannehill MIA vs. SD 22. Geno Smith NYJ @ Buf 23. Mike Glennon TB vs. Atl 24. Chad Henne JAC vs. Ari 25. Ryan Fitzpatrick TEN vs. Ind RB 1. Marshawn Lynch SEA vs. Min 2. Jamaal Charles KC @ Den 3. LeSean McCoy PHI vs. Was 4. Adrian Peterson MIN @ Sea 5. Matt Forte CHI vs. Bal 6. Reggie Bush DET @ Pit 7. Knowshon Moreno DEN vs. KC 8. Ben Tate HOU vs. Oak 9. Frank Gore SF @ NO 10. Le’Veon Bell PIT vs. Det 11. Eddie Lacy GB @ NYG 12. Giovanni Bernard CIN vs. Cle 13. Alfred Morris WAS @ Phi 14. Danny Woodhead SD @ Mia 15. Andre Ellington ARI @ Jac 16. Stevan Ridley NE @ Car 17. Andre Brown NYG vs. GB 18. CJ Spiller BUF vs. NYJ 19. Chris Johnson TEN vs. Ind 20. Ray Rice BAL @ Chi 21. Maurice Jones-Drew JAC vs. Ari 22. Ryan Mathews SD @ Mia 23. Fred Jackson BUF vs. NYJ 24. Pierre Thomas NO vs. SF 25. Darren Sproles NO vs. SF 26. Jacquizz Rodgers ATL @ TB 27. Brian Leonard TB vs. Atl 28. Donald Brown IND @ Ten 29. Rashard Jennings OAK @ Hou 30. Bernard Pierce BAL @ Chi 31. DeAngelo Williams CAR vs. NE 32. Lamar Miller Mia vs. SD 33. Trent Richardson IND @ Ten 34. Chris Ivory NYJ @ Buf 35. BenJarvus Green-Ellis CIN vs. Cle 36. Joique Bell DET @ Pit 37. Chris Ogbannaya CLE @ Cin 38. Steven Jackson ATL @ TB 39. Mike Tolbert CAR vs. NE 40. Montee Ball DEN vs. KC 41. Rashard Mendenhall ARI @ Jac 42. Jonathan Stewart CAR vs. NE 43. Bilal Powell NYJ @ Buf 44. Shonn Greene TEN vs. Ind 45. Bobby Rainey TB vs. Atl 46. Mark Ingram NO vs. SF 47. Dennis Johnson HOU vs. Oak 48. Shane Vereen NE @ Car 49. Bryce Brown PHI vs. Was 50. Roy Helu WAS @ Phi WR 1. Calvin Johnson DET @ Pit 2. Brandon Marshall CHI vs. Bal 3. Demaryius Thomas DEN vs. KC 4. Andre Johnson HOU vs. Oak 5. AJ Green CIN vs. Cle 6. Antonio Brown PIT vs. Det 7. Pierre Garcon WAS @ Phi 8. DeSean Jackson PHI vs. Was 9. TY Hilton IND @ Ten 10. Vincent Jackson TB vs. Atl 11. Eric Decker DEN @ SD 12. Alshon Jeffery CHI vs. Bal 13. Larry Fitzgerald ARI @ Jac 14. Wes Welker DEN vs. KC 15. Victor Cruz NYG vs. GB 16. Keenan Allen SD @ Mia 17. Golden Tate SEA vs. Min 18. Josh Gordon CLE @ Cin 19. Torrey Smith BAL @ Chi 20. Jordy Nelson GB @ NYG 21. Danny Amendola NE @ Car 22. Anquan Boldin SF @ NO 23. Riley Cooper PHI vs. Was 24. Hakeem Nicks NYG vs. GB 25. Steve Smith CAR vs. NE 26. Mike Wallace MIA vs. SD 27. DeAndre Hopkins HOU vs. Oak 28. Kendall Wright TEN vs. Ind 29. Marques Colston NO vs. SF 30. Harry Douglas ATL @ TB 31. James Jones GB @ NYG 32. Cecil Shorts JAC vs. Ari 33. Brian Hartline MIA vs. SD 34. Doug Baldwin SEA vs. Min 35. Jarrett Boykin GB @ NYG 36. Denarius Moore OAK @ Hou 37. Jerricho Cotchery PIT vs. Det 38. Dwayne Bowe KC @ Den 39. Rishard Matthews MIA vs. SD 40. Reuben Randle NYG vs. GB 41. Lance Moore NO vs. SF 42. Nate Washington TEN vs. Ind 43. Roddy White ATL @ TB 44. Marvin Jones CIN vs. Cle 45. Aaron Dobson NE @ Car 46. Emmanuel Sanders PIT vs. Det 47. Ted Ginn Jr CAR vs. NE 48. Andre Roberts ARI @ Jac 49. Brandon LaFell CAR vs. NE 50. Marquise Goodwin BUF vs. NYJ TE 1. Rob Gronkowski NE @ Car 2. Jimmy Graham NO vs. SF 3. Antonio Gates SD vs. Mia 4. Jordan Cameron CLE @ Cin 5. Jordan Reed WAS @ Phi 6. Julius Thomas DEN vs. KC 7. Vernon Davis SF @ NO 8. Greg Olsen CAR vs. NE 9. Martellus Bennett CHI vs. Bal 10. Brandon Pettigrew DET @ Pit 11. Tony Gonzalez ATL @ TB 12. John Carlson MIN @ Sea 13. Coby Fleener IND @ Ten 14. Tyler Eifert CIN vs. Cle 15. Delanie Walker TEN vs. Ind K 1. Steven Hauschka SEA vs. Min 2. Matt Prater DEN vs. KC 3. Alex Henery PHI vs. Was 4. Stephen Gostkowski NE @ Car 5. Robbie Gould CHI vs. Bal 6. Kai Forbath WAS @ Phi 7. Phil Dawson SF @ NO 8. Nick Folk NYJ @ Buf 9. Nick Novak SD @ Mia 10. Mike Nugent CIN vs. Cle 11. Ryan Succop KC @ Den 12. Garrett Hartley NO vs. SF 13. Justin Tucker BAL @ Chi 14. David Akers DET @ Pit 15. Shaun Suisham PIT vs. Det DST 1. Seahawks vs. Min 2. Cardinals vs. Jac 3. Texans vs. Oak 4. Browns @ Cin 5. Broncos vs. KC 6. Bills vs. NYJ 7. Bengals vs. Cle 8. Jets @ Buf 9. Panthers vs. NE 10. Saints vs. SF 11. Chiefs @ Den 12. Giants vs. GB 13. Chargers @ Mia 14. Colts @ Ten 15. Bears vs. Bal *Follow this link for inactive report. Usually updated an hour to an hour and a half prior to kickoff. http://www.nfl.com/inactives
Week 11 Matchup Plays (use rankings above for specific lineup questions
QB- PLAY- Foles, McCown, Keenum; AVOID- Kaepernick, Brady, Luck
RB- PLAY- Tate, Woodhead, Ellington; AVOID- Lacy, Morris, Ridley
WR- PLAY- Tate, Wallace, Wright, Hopkins; AVOID- Nelson, Moore, Shorts, Nicks
TE- PLAY- Pettigrew, Eifert; AVOID- Gonzalez, Fleener
K- PLAY- Dawson; AVOID- Succop
DST- PLAY- Cardinals; AVOID- 49ers
For quick answers to your lineup/trade questions, please hit me up on twitter @FPCommish
Email me- FPCommish@gmail.com
Your week 11 Fantasy Football Thread is now open for business.
