Your Week Eight Guesses
Welcome back to yet another installment of weekly guesses that speculate as to who will have better weeks than expected. This can range from a top-tier player that is going to absolutely tear his opponent apart, or a pedestrian to shitty player who will put up at least a marginal week. This, as always, is completely subjective, arbitrary and probably not worth the time it will take you to glance at it. But our track record is probably as good as anyone’s, so even if you don’t agree with us you have a devil’s advocate. You’re welcome.
1) Clinton Portis
He was questionable heading into last week’s game against Cleveland and still put up 175 yards rushing and a touchdown. This week they play the Lions, and all my questions have been put to rest. Portis very well may set a couple records in this game, including “most carries with a former MVP backing him up” and “Number of opponents helmets knocked off in a single game”.
2) Steve Breaston
Assuming Boldin still doesn’t play (and he really shouldn’t), Breaston has been an absolute stud since his injury, and coming off the bye week we expect that to continue against the Panthers this Sunday. Why he was considered so much closer to Jason Avant than Braylon Edwards coming out of Michigan is beyond us, but the NFL is funny like that sometimes, in that it ignores basic common sense. Keep your eyes peeled for updates on Boldin’s status before you heed this advice and scamper off to throw him in your starting lineup and ignore it until Sunday at 1pm EST. We will not be your scapegoat.
3) Maurice Jones-Drew
Going against Cleveland, Del Rio is going to feel even more compelled to increase Drew’s workload as a result of coming off the bye week, and residual animosity towards Fred Taylor’s DUI. The fact Taylor beat Del Rio in the ping-pong tournament at the retirement home isn’t helping matters either. We’re feeling confident about this one.
4) Donnie Avery
He really began to come on last week against Dallas, and Avery along with the rest of his team is prime to capitalize on that momentum against the Patriots on Sunday. They are on the road, but with a competent coach actually calling plays and an aging receiving core, this rookie just might make a run at Rookie of The Year honors if he keeps this up.
5) Ben Roethlisberger
An odd selection at #5, but the Steelers are weakened at running back against a quality defense, and the Giants front seven is still hampered from lingering off-season injuries. We fully expect Big Ben to tear the marginally improved from last year but still mediocre secondary of the Giants apart. And yes, this hurts to say with a 20-1 future bet on the G-Men, but it seems more likely than not to happen. In short, if you have a choice between Kyle Orton and Roethlisberger, I would go with the latter (Yes, that is actually an option worth considering. And yes, I am going to regret typing that last sentence).
That’s it for the week, enjoy the games.
October 27th, 2008 at 9:56 am
[...] Reggie Bush in the rotation, by the way. Can anyone justify starting him in week nine? In spite of my own advice, I started him over Donnie Avery and it cost me about twenty fantasy points, despite his team [...]
October 28th, 2008 at 10:05 am
[...] yourself a spot here. Given, the Browns defense is noticeably better than last seasons, but when you make me look like an idiot I do not take it lightly. I will impotently put you on this top five and you will never hear about [...]
October 30th, 2008 at 10:53 am
[...] 5%. It really depends on how you measure these things. For instance, I may have been right about Steve Breaston having a big week on Sunday, but I was incorrect about two other people on the same list. However, you certainly do not [...]