Fantasy Football Notes - Week 7
by Paul Eide
Fantasy Football Director
10/24/09

- I think this is a great week to start Ricky Williams versus the Saints as the Dolphins will look to control the clock via the run and keep Drew Brees off the field. Ricky has looked rejuvenated sharing the workload with Ronnie Brown and helping the Dolphins lead the NFL in rushing yards per game. He’s quietly averaging 5.2 ypc and 10+ fantasy points per week with TD’s in two of his last three games. 

- Speaking of #2 RB’s, this should be a good week to start Donald Brown against the Rams. The Colts should get out to a big early lead and gives Brown the potential for a lot of carries in the second half, if not sooner. The Colts want to keep Addai fresh and so far it’s worked. 

- I don’t think the 49ers vs. Texans game turns into a high scoring shootout like some are suggesting. Mike Singletary’s defense got embarrassed at home by the Falcons two weeks ago and he will not let that happen again, especially after a bye week which allowed him twice as much time to prepare for this game.

- Green Bay should have no difficulty destroying the Browns. In addition to not being very good, the Browns had several players sick with the flu this week. Plus the loss of linebacker and possibly best defensive player D’Qwell Jackson makes it even easier for Aaron Rodgers and company. The only question in my mind about this game is how many carries will Ahman Green get? One other one; will he break Jim Taylor’s all time franchising rushing record which he is 46 yards short of?

- With six NFL teams on a bye this week, I really like Jonathan Stewart as a starting option. The Bills are last in the league vs. the run and Stewart is coming off of his best game since last year. The Bills are actually fourth best vs. the pass meaning the Panthers need to establish the run early and take the pressure to perform off of Jake Delhomme’s shoulders, and Steve Smith’s for that matter, and exploit the Bills biggest defensive weakness. Stewart should be the direct recipient with a high number of carries, as should DeAngelo Williams.

- What can we expect out of Brett Favre this week? It could go either way, but I think the Steelers shut him down and force multiple interceptions by trapping him into predictable passing situations. The Steelers are 12^th best vs. the pass but missing Troy Polamalu for most of the season thus far skews those numbers. The Steelers have also given up only one rushing TD all season, so it could be rough sledding for AP.

- Start both Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon as bye week replacements. Prior to last week’s poor performance, Garcon had actually averaged eight points per week (in non PPR leagues) which has to be considered good production out of a one week fill in. Collie has scored three TD in his last two games to go along with 14 catches. The Rams are horrible against the pass ranking 27th. Peyton Manning is playing like the 2004 version of himself.

- The Dallas vs. Atlanta game should be a shootout. This match up features the 26^th and the 21^st ranked passing defenses, with each unit giving up over 240+ passing yards per game. In their last games, Dallas gave up 253 to Matt Cassel while Atlanta gave up an even 300 to Jay Cutler. Look for this to continue for both Tony Romo and Matt Ryan.

- Greg Olsen should do well this week. The Bengals have given up three TD’s to tight ends in the last two weeks. Olsen has had a TD in each of his last three games and is coming off of his most productive game of the season. He has had 11 of his 15 catches this season over that same span and looks to finally be getting a rhythm with Jay Cutler. 

- Speaking of the Bears, the defense should be considered a good start this week against a Bengals offense averaging 19 points per game. I don’t think the revenge factor should be underestimated in terms of facing Cedric Benson. No one in the Bears locker room or front office has ever said anything nice about the guy in public. Benson largely determined the course of that relationship by holding out for the first 36 days of his NFL career which essentially killed his rookie season. The only other notable achievement from that season was a knee injury that shelved him early. The majority of the Bears current players on defense played with Benson, whom he accused of cheapshoting him during practice at one point during his stint with the team. This game will be extremely physical from the onset, something the Bears are better built for than the Bengals. The Bears will turn in their best defensive performance of the season.