Welcome back to another week of fantasy football advice with Nuts and Bolts Sports! We’re closing in on the end of the first half of the season. Players and teams have been largely inconsistent. So, many may not know their fantasy football playoff fates. Yes, that is coming in hot. It’s not too early to think about the fantasy football playoffs. In fact, if you’re just thinking about it now, you’re behind. Today, we’ll continue to review the fantasy football player market. In addition, we’ll start to get an eye on the fantasy football playoffs. Let’s go because we have work to do.
Recap: Week 6
If you recall, the buy from last week was Royce Freeman. Maybe I’m being paranoid. Maybe I’m not. I feel like players and coaches read this. Then, they proceed to try and make me look stupid. In my defense, Vance Joseph is an idiot. Because he is an idiot, he’s running the team and fantasy football owners into the ground. Freeman had nine carries for 22 yards. That was a whopping 2.2 points for Royce. As much as I would love to back this pick, I can’t. Vance Joseph is out to destroy this team. I cannot, in good faith, back this recommendation. Of course, John Elway could grow a pair and fire the man, but I digress.
The sell for last week was LeSean McCoy. To Shady’s credit, he didn’t have a terrible game. Still, he sucks. McCoy’s 12.4 points were his 2nd highest production of the year. To be honest, I really don’t see why we’re discussing this further. Somehow, Shady is owned in 91% of leagues per Yahoo Sports Fantasy. I don’t quite understand it. I’m not going to try to. Let’s keep it moving.
The bench for the week was Dede Westbrook. Given that his team was abysmal, Dede still did okay. Westbrook suffers from a similar issue as Royce Freeman. His problem, though, is the quarterback. Blake Bortles is a con artist. He’s forever getting fantasy football owners to believe he’s worth the play. Then, he crushes their soul. Westbrook goes as Bortles goes. It’s a risky play, but there will be favorable matchups as the season progresses. Take a chance on him for a while.
Buy: Chester Rogers, Wide Receiver, Indianapolis Colts
This is a player that should be easily attainable. In sports, the best ability is availability. In fantasy football, Chester meets this line of thinking on numerous levels. First, per Yahoo Sports Fantasy, Rogers is only owned in 20% of teams. Second, he might literally be the only receiver left in Indy. Really, Luck is running out of people to throw to. Hilton will be questionable again. Ryan Grant is questionable. Basically, the whole team is questionable.
Rogers’ primary competition is Eric Ebron. For me, that’s not much of a concern. Over his last three games, Chester is averaging 16.2 points per game. For a WR2 in fantasy football, those are fantastic numbers. Even when Hilton returns, who knows how healthy he’ll be? Get Rogers while you can. Also, hope he doesn’t fall to the Colts injury bug.
Sell: Eli Manning, Quarterback, New York Giants
I genuinely feel bad for Eli Manning. The failure of the New York Football Giants is not entirely his fault. Fantasy football, however, is not about feeling sorry for others. It’s about winning. The Giants are not about winning. Manning is the quarterback of the Giants. Therefore, logic says Eli is really not about winning at this point. Again, I don’t feel good about it, but the truth hurts.
Usually, I seek to inundate the class with numbers. In this case, numbers don’t do this justice. Go and look at film of Eli Manning under center. It’s just pathetic. Ever see a baby gazelle running from a lion? Like, you know it’s about to be mauled, but you still watch. Yeah, that’s Manning and the Giants offensive line. It’s brutal. Downright savage. It’s why you don’t want Eli on your team. The baby gazelle eventually just gives up. Before Eli gives up, get rid of him.
Bench: Julio Jones, Wide Receiver, Atlanta Falcons
Oh boy. I don’t know where to start with this one. Without question, Jones is one of the best receivers in football. This is not football. This is fantasy football. In fantasy football, Mr. Jones is wildly inconsistent. Let me explain. Julio has games of 28, 26.3, and 24.4 points. Conversely, Julio also has games of 11.4, 14.6, and 11.2 points. Actually, that’s not even the worst of it. You’re going to want to take a seat for this. No, seriously, please sit. Julio Jones does not have a touchdown this season.
Go ahead. Take your time. I know that’s hard to process but it’s true. Julio Jones does not have a single touchdown this season. I wish I were joking but I’m not. It’s incomprehensible. There is no reason why he doesn’t have at least six touchdowns. I just don’t get it. Julio, though, needs to go into timeout until the team can figure it out. Almost eight weeks into the season they haven’t figured out. They may not figure it out. I hope not, but let’s just let him cool off for a while.
As always, I hope that my advice serves you well and don’t forget to follow @NutsAndBoltsSP and @5280Keith for live reactions to the games on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday. See you back next week my young padawans!