Archive | October 2015

Take It To The Bank: NFL Week Eight

By Brett Malamud

Happy Halloween! We’ve taking the Take it to the Bank report this week and giving it a Halloween feel with today’s section: Trick or Treat! Use this section as you look to this week and beyond as you set your fantasy football lineups.

Trick: Charcandrick West

Yes, many people had Jamaal Charles in their running back slot and are looking to West to produce. Yes, West had a big game last week, rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown. Yes, I did say to pick him up (and he should be picked up), but I’m not that big on him. This player is not a RB1, and I’m not sure he’s a reliable RB2 option. You can’t judge a book by its cover, and you can’t judge West by one big game. He’ll probably have a good game this week, but don’t expect huge numbers every week.

Treat: Gurley Owners

Gurley owners that stuck through the thick and thin are now grinning at the results. Gurley has been the league’s most productive player, especially in an offense that has become run-heavy. Continue to enjoy Gurley having big games almost every week.

Trick: The Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys are an interesting story. Yes they took a heartbreaking loss to the Giants last week, letting the Giants return a kickoff for a touchdown just after tying the game. But they also found new life in running back Darren McFadden. With Joseph Randle possibly out for a few games due to violating the NFL’s personal-conduct policy, the Cowboys will look to McFadden, Christine Michael and Rod Smith. Flashback to a week ago when Jason Garrett planned on making Michael the starter. Yeah, so that didn’t happen, and you can look elsewhere for a better running back on your team. McFadden however is a flex play at best this weekend as the Cowboys welcome in the Seattle Seahawks, so don’t be tricked by last week’s big performance.

Treat: The New York Jets

The Jets are another interesting story. The offseason changed everything for them, bringing in cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, along with wide receiver Brandon Marshall and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Many members of the New York media propelled them to Super Bowl contenders. Then the season came, and Geno Smith got punched in the jaw by his now-former teammate I.K. Enemkpali, sending the Jets predictions out the window. There was no way that Ryan Fitzpatrick could pick up the pieces right? Wrong. The Jets headed into New England last week at 4-1. They played till the final whistle and although they sit at 4-2, look at their schedule. Eight out of their remaining 10 games come against teams that are currently at or below .500 and that should be looked at closely. Fitzpatrick should be looked at if he’s still available in your leagues, and Brandon Marshall and Chris Ivory should be starting in your lineup. The defense should be starting most if not all weeks. If you want that sneaky play, look to Eric Decker, as teams are focused on stopping Brandon Marshall.

Brandon Marshall is a player worth looking at trading for this fantasy football season (Via NYDN)

Trick: The New York Giants

While I’d like to stick the entire NFC East in the tricks section, I’m not going to do that because I’m not that mean. But I will stick the Giants in here with the Cowboys because of their fantasy impact. I understand that the team is 4-3, but with a lot of tough teams (looking at you AFC East and Carolina Panthers) coming up on their schedule, it’s not really an ideal situation. I definitely do not trust any of the Giants running backs, and other than Odell Beckham Jr., I don’t trust any of their wide receivers. I’d consider Ruben Randle in deeper leagues, but only if you don’t have other options due to the bye week. Quarterback Eli Manning certainly cannot be trusted in fantasy leagues, compiling just 14 fantasy points in ESPN standard leagues over the last two weeks. I’d look elsewhere for impactful fantasy players.

Treat: San Diego Chargers Tight Ends

So Antonio Gates came into the season off a four game suspension, and immediately made a major impact. Gates had two touchdowns in his first game back, and has had 90+ receiving yards in both games that he has played in. But with a sprained MCL, the Chargers looked to Ladarius Green and he has been contributing all season. Quarterback Philip Rivers loves to throw to his tight ends, and while Gates is taken in most leagues, Green isn’t so pick him up now.

Brett Malamud is an English Rhetoric Major at Binghamton University. He is the co-founder of dabuzzza.com. His favorite athletes are Derek Jeter and Todd Bertuzzi. You can follow him on twitter at @brettnyy

10/25/15

Take It To The Bank: NFL Week Seven

By Brett Malamud

We took a bye week in week six, but we’re back in week 7 with some more bold predictions:

Danny’s Day
San Diego Chargers running back Melvin Gordon will sit out Sunday. With that said, time to put Danny Woodhead back in your lineup. Woodhead will be due for a nice day against the Oakland Raiders.
The Best Running Back in the NFL?
I know, I know. The obsession with St. Louis Rams running back Todd Gurley is real but I’ve been big on him all season. Gurley will be a sure fire big deal for the rest of the season. No doubt. But barring injury, this is the one guy that I’d only give away if big pieces are coming back. I still have Gurley on one of my teams, and plan to keep him. But as my second team was deep at running back, I flipped Gurley to my brother Zachary along with buy low candidate Jimmy Graham to net Frank Gore and the incomparable A.J. Green. Now many will ask both of us why we did the deal and the answer is quite simple. For me, I get one of the top receivers in the NFL who had a week where he scored 34 fantasy points earlier this season, plus a proven running back in Frank Gore who shows no sign of slowing down. For Zachary, he gets Todd Gurley. Yes, Jimmy Graham is great too and will get overlooked because of his low output, but I’m still a believer in him. Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert has me thinking otherwise though and if you have him and Graham, you should look to trade Graham because he does still have a lot of value. We’ll revisit this trade at the end of the season, but for now I’m going to say that it’s a tie.
The Load on Landry
The Pittsburgh Steelers seemed to be in a bad situation when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went down with injury. Michael Vick didn’t prove to be a major factor. Enter Landry Jones. The 26 year old will get his first start this week and will face a Kansas City Chiefs team that has allowed the fourth most fantasy points to quarterbacks. He’s got good value in daily fantasy games and should be counted on until Big Ben gets back.

The injury Bug Hits

Sunday’s inactive list came out and on it is Patriots running back Dion Lewis. LeGarrette Blount is going to get the carries but will face a tough New York Jets run defense. Not sure if you can start Blount regularly though because Brady will be forced to throw. Out west, Chargers tight end Antonio Gates may miss the game and that means Ladarius Green should be in your fantasy lineup. He’s due for a big day

10/11/15

Take It To The Bank: NFL Week Five

By Brett Malamud

It’s another edition of your weekly guide to fantasy football with some intriguing pickups and some must-starts. Here’s week five’s installment of Take It To The Bank:

Jumpin’ for Julio

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones finally came down to earth this week, bringing in just four catches for 38 yards. That was pretty surprising to owners, as the Falcons put up 48 points in a rout of the Houston Texans. Jones practiced on a limited basis this week, complaining of tightness in his hamstring. He is active Sunday and will play the Washington Redskins. Not too many worries here, and you should keep him in your lineup.

Return of the Gurley Birds

Maybe it’s my fascination with St. Louis Rams running back Todd Gurley, but he put on a show last week. Gurley ran for 146 yards in just his second career NFL game. He is who we thought he was, and now he’ll look towards that first big touchdown. While he plays the Green Bay Packers this week, he should still produce numbers. Keep him locked in your lineup and get ready for Gurley to take over.

Todd Gurley is ready to roll now that he’s settled in. (Via SR)

Brees Easy

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees played ok for most of last week’s matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, with the walk off 80-yard touchdown to C.J. Spiller being his big play of the day. This week, Brees heads into Philadelphia to face the Eagles, and I think that it could be another good week for the veteran QB. He’s a must start for me.

Alex the Great

Many are looking into possibly using their bye weeks to pick up a possible replacement for their players sitting out. One of these players to look in to is Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith. Smith is at home Sunday against the Chicago Bears and that is an interesting matchup. Smith has the second most dropbacks in the entire league right now, and with a weak Bears defense, Smith is an intriguing play.

10/04/15

Take It To The Bank- NFL Week Four

By Brett Malamud

The injury bug has taken its hit on fantasy football lineups everywhere. Here’s some guys to replace them, including a guy who you should probably look into trading for (if the person who owns him will even give him up). Here’s week four’s installment of Take it to the Bank:

Can’t Catch Karlos

With LeSean McCoy out, Rex Ryan turned to running back Karlos Williams, who led the Buffalo Bills with 110 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. He’ll be back there again this week at home against the New York Giants and is going to have another big game.

Karlos Williams has done a great job taking over for LeSean McCoy (Via Miami Herald)

Rueben’s Revival

Speaking of the Giants, week three saw the reemergence of wide receiver Ruben Randle. We all knew what he could do at his best, but it took a few weeks for Randle to get back to himself. He finished last week with seven catches, 116 yards and a touchdown. Don’t expect this kind of performance every week, but every now and then, Randle will go off.

Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard

Up to this point, the league’s top wide receiver has been Atlanta Falcons wideout Julio Jones. In three weeks, he’s had 34 catches for 440 yards and four touchdowns. Not bad, huh? This is the guy to break the bank on if you’re looking to make a blockbuster trade in your league. Fantasy owners, keep riding Julio, who has no intentions on having any ordinary appearances.

CJ2K15?

Arizona Cardinals running back Chris Johnson came out and looked like the Chris Johnson of old. Not the guy we saw with the New York Jets. Nope. Johnson looked like he was back on the Tennessee Titans, carrying the ball 22 times for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson also had a 40-yard catch that almost went for a touchdown. While I’d only take Johnson in deeper leagues, Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians has said that Johnson will start this week no matter what the status of Andre Ellington is. It’s a situation worth monitoring over the next few weeks.