Thanksgiving Day Fantasy Football Matchup Previews, Mmm Yummy!
As more than one commentator has noticed, the Patriots are employing the same game plan that made them the dominant team for the first part of the 21st century. They are spreading the ball around to a bunch of unsung heroes on offense; have a bend but don't break defense, and the magnificently maned Tom Brady is leading the way.
The Lions continue to display the winning spirit that has left them without a playoff season for over a decade. The Lions best hope; New England fails to survive this classic trap game. They just played an emotional game against the Colts on Sunday night, now they play at Detroit on short rest, followed by a HUGE Monday night showdown with the Jets.
The interesting thing about the Patriots is that they don't have a lot of fantasy stars beyond Tom Brady. BenJarvis Green-Ellis is a useful no. 2 RB, and against the woeful Detroit D he's a low-end #1. All Danny Woodhead does is score on a long draw play ever week, so he is also a useful starter. But, you can't trust the TE's… if you could combine the two into one player, he'd be a monster, but you are rolling the dice any other way. Wes Welker in a PPR, yes, Deion Branch, I guess if you are desperate.
For the Lions, Calvin Johnson is an obvious start as their best player and they'll be behind and need to throw, which also means Shaun Hill is a good start. Finally, the Patriots defense isn't great and teams move the ball on them.
Still, this looks like another boring thanksgiving blowout staring the Detroit Lions disguised as the Washington Generals.
At the beginning of the year, this looked like a potential battle for NFL supremacy.
Now the biggest questions heading into this week are:
Was Jason Garret holding back the creative play calling in an attempt to get Wade Phillips fired? (The answer is no, Wade didn't need any help)
Is Jon Kitna a better fit for this team? (The answer, maybe. This leads to another question, if the Cowboys go on a miracle run and are 7-7 in week 15 and Romo is ready, does he start?)
The amazing thing is how Jon Kitna always seems to perform when given the opportunity. Also, how much does he love Dez Bryant? There hasn't been this much man love since Wes Mantooth rescued Ron Burgundy from the bear pit.
Miles Austin is a beast but Kitna's made him irrelevant in that offense, and we know how good Austin is.
The Cowboys will throw because that is what they are good at and their running game is sickly.
Finally, would someone please explain to me why Tashard Choice doesn't get more runs? Felix Jones is worthless unless he breaks one, Marion Barber is nice at the goal line but aside from that he can't do anything. How about giving the other guy a shot?
The Saints seem to be rounding into form and they are starting to get healthy… let's not forget, these are the defending champs.
Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas might play. The return of Reggie should an especially nice addition for Drew Brees as he really seemed to suffer when Reggie went down. That being said, Chris Ivory filled in nicely, but with those two coming back he'll return to his spot on the bench.
The Saints are stout against the pass, while the Cowboys are mediocre against the run and the pass. This looks like a shootout and the best game of the day. This is a big statement game for the Saints – the Cowboys are talented and playing with nothing to lose on national TV. Normally a championship team like the Saints goes into Dallas and wins this game; but this is a wacky season, so I think the Cowboys pull off the upset and revive the "Cowboys playing the Super Bowl in their own stadium debate."
The Bengals absolutely collapsed last week. They are more disjointed than watching a bunch of drunk guys trying to put away a pop-up tent on the 4th of July. When you meltdown to Steve "Why so serious" Johnson and the Buffalo Bills, you really need to re-evaluate things.
On a side note, the Bills fans had to be torn. On one hand they witnessed an exciting comeback, on the other they fell behind the Panthers in the race for Andrew Luck. That being said, we aren't concerned with win/loss records and the Bengals remain amazingly relevant in fantasy circles.
TO and Carson Palmer are both top ten in their position and Cedric Benson is coming off a very nice game. But, the Jets have a stifling run defense, so Cedric Benson owners shouldn't get too excited, and should look for a substitute.
The Jets haven’t been great against the pass, so Palmer and company could be in for a decent game, especially if they are getting blown out.
The Jets just keep finding ways to win, but in doing so they might be playing with fire. You can't expect Santonio Holmes to score a last second TD every week. All the dramatic connections between Sanchez and Holmes show they are finally comfortable with each other and makes Holmes a clear-cut no. 1 receiver.
The RB position is up in the air with neither Tomlinson or Greene receiving the bulk of the carries. It stands to reason that as the season winds down Greene will receive more carries in an attempt to rest LT. But, Greene has a bit of a fumbling problem and in a close divisional race, I don't think Rex Ryan will want to take any chances.
As mentioned earlier, this is another potential trap game. The Jets are coming off back-to-back last second victories and now are facing a team that looks like it quit. Plus the Patriots are looming…
The Bengals have a lot of proud players, say what you want about Chad Johnson and Terrell Owens, but they give it their all on the field (and on VH1) after last week's embarrassment plus a national TV audience, I sense a bounce back game. Still, I just don't see the Bengals being able to keep up with the Jets at home.
Written by Chris Summers exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com
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Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Football Advice, Fantasy Football, NFL, Chris Summers, Sit Em, Week 12, Thanksgiving Day, New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions
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