Today’s fantasy football daily fix delivers news and notes about Peyton Manning and Case Keenum, as well as DraftKings Week 11 daily fantasy football D/ST recommendations for the Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

News & Notes

Gary Kubiak Indecisive on QB Situation

Kubiak told the media that Case Keenum will have to “continue to play well to stay in there” and mentioned the hard work that former starter Matt Schaub is putting in during practice. Neither Keenum, nor Schaub is an option in most fantasy leagues, but I’d wager Andre Johnson’s owners would have a pretty strong preference for leaving the hometown kid in there. I don’t really buy the idea that Johnson and Keenum have a special chemistry, Keenum just understands where his bread is buttered. If there isn’t another wide open option available, the best thing he can do is to give his best receiver a chance to make a play on the ball; Matthew Stafford would be proud.

Vernon Davis Cleared to Practice

This is great news for Davis’ owners, but probably even better news for owners of Colin Kaepernick. With Davis hopefully returning soon and Michael Crabtree working his way into the lineup, Kaep is positioned to round into form right around the start of the fantasy playoffs.

Peyton Manning Fantasy Owners Exhale

Jack Del Rio confirmed that Manning will play against the Chiefs on Sunday. Even against one of the league’s best defenses, Peyton and all of his receivers belong in your starting lineups.

DraftKings Defense/Special Teams Recommendations

If you’ve never played DraftKings before, it’s time to start. You’re reading this column, so I know you like fantasy football, and new depositors get a free ticket into a Millionaire Grand Final qualifier, a contest that as me so excited, I wrote a whole damn article about it!

I think you’ve got some signing up to do.

Once you’re registered, check out the multitude of options DraftKings has to offer; the Double Up and Triple Up contests are my personal favorites. The 17 points that the $1,700 Jags defense gave me last week paved the way to one of my most profitable DraftKings weekends of the season.

CADILLAC

Once again, it’s just not a good week for expensive defenses. Usually, I can at least throw whoever’s playing the Jaguars in this space, but $5,800 for the Arizona Cardinals is an outrageous price. Sure, they’ll probably have a great game, but given the variability of the things (mostly turnovers and touchdowns) that lead to defensive fantasy points, a great game on the field doesn’t necessarily guarantee a huge output in terms of fantasy points. There’s better than average potential for greatness here, but at this level of investment, the disastrous downside cannot be overlooked.

BUICK

Terrelle Pryor is banged up, the rest of the Raiders skill players are average, at best, and the Oakland offensive line is absolutely horrible in pass protection. It ranks dead last in the league in adjusted sack rate; the gap between the 32nd-ranked Raiders and 31st-ranked Seahawks is bigger than the gap between Seattle and the 15th-ranked Lions. Yeah, I think J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans ($3,800) will give them some trouble.

The Green Bay Packers ($3,500) aren’t a dominant defense, but they’re getting healthy and facing a juicy matchup on the road against the Giants. Eli Manning and company have won a few games in a row, but they’ve feasted on lesser defenses. The G-Men remain among the most turnover-prone teams in football.

CHEVROLET

Even more than halfway into the season, matching up against a rookie quarterback is still a great reason to pick a fantasy defense. I’m looking at you, Buffalo Bills ($3,000).

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($2,500) have talent on defense, and the Falcons are an absolute mess on offense. Matt Ryan has struggled mightily without a healthy Julio Jones or Roddy White, and now Tony Gonzalez is missing practice. Darrelle Revis should have no trouble stifling White, and the Bucs are already a pretty good defense against the run.