Seth Vigdor
We’re almost half way through the NFL season. It’s been exciting so far and I think it’s only going to get more entertaining down the stretch. So let’s take a look at what we’re in store for in Week 7 of this glorious NFL season.
Let’s take a look at my five biggest Fantasy Football storylines heading into Week 7:
1. AFC East Showdown
As former WWE announcer, Jim Ross would say, “this is gonna be a slobberknocker.” It’s no secret that the New York Jets and New England Patriots don’t like each other. I know Rex Ryan is up in Buffalo now, but when these two teams get together, tempers seem to flare. This week, it’ll be the undefeated Patriots against the 4-1 Jets in a big time AFC East showdown. The Jets offense is clicking with Chris Ivory, Brandon Marshall and Ryan Fitzpatrick leading the way. Their defense has been straight up nasty at times this year. On the other hand, it’s well documented how dominant the Patriots have looked this whole year. Something has to give, so you won’t want to miss this this battle.
2. London Bummer
In the latest installment of “Another Sucky NFL Game in London,” the Buffalo Bills will play the Jacksonville Jaguars. While I can appreciate waking up at 9:30am and turning the television on to find the NFL on my screen, these London games are typically worse than a Thursday Night Football game. Considering the fact that these “unlucky” teams have to travel so far by plane, it’s not a shock to find out that their bodies might be a bit off for these games. But, at the end of the day, this is Roger Goodell’s world and we’re just living in it. So, if the King can lace his grossly overpaid pockets further, the players and fans will just have to live with it. Cheers to another bloody NFL game in London.
3. Jolt of Lightning
Philip Rivers is off to a fantastic year. He’s 177/253 for 2116 YDS and has thrown 12 touchdowns. He’s coming off of a game against the Packers, where he threw for 503 yards. The man is on fiyah!!! The Chargers host the Raiders this week, so there’s no reason to think that Rivers can’t pick up where he left off. Rivers is showing the league that he was worth the money that the Chargers spent on him in the offseason. With one of his favorite targets, Antonio Gates back in the fold, look for more big time numbers from him in the coming weeks.
4. He’s no Gurley Man
So far, so good. Todd Gurley has lived up to the hype in his first couple of games of his pro career. Gurley is averaging 5.7 yards per carry on the year. This week he’s going up against a Cleveland Browns team that has allowed 149.8 rushing yards per game in 2015. Gurley looks very comfortable running behind the Rams solid offensive line. He’ll remain a workhorse back, but the Rams need to exercise caution by not running him too hard. The last thing that they need is for him to go down with another injury, as it could have long term consequences for the franchise. Prepare to be dazzled again this weekend by Gurley, as he is the real deal.
5. Backs Against the Wall
The Seattle Seahawks have been to back to back Super Bowls and they were within 1 yard of winning two titles in a row. However, if they don’t get their act together fast, they may miss out on making the playoffs altogether this year. They’ve choked two weeks in a row in the fourth quarter and they can’t afford to lose this week. They play division rival San Francisco on Thursday Night Football. It’s certainly a winnable game for them, but they’re going to need to bring their A game from now until the end of the season. They have 4 losses now and if they start the season 2-5, they’re going to need to go on a major run just to make the playoffs. The lights are getting dim in their house, so let’s see how they respond with their backs against the wall.
Week 7 Byes: Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver and Green Bay
Each week I will present what I think are the juiciest fantasy matchups at each position. I don’t want to keep you guys waiting, so let’s take a look at the juiciest matchups for Week 7:
Quarterbacks
Carson Palmer (ARI vs. BAL) – The Cardinals are playing great football and Palmer is a big reason for it. On the year he’s 125/193 for 1737 yards and 14 touchdowns. I expect Palmer to throw for 2-3 touchdowns this week against the Ravens.
Philip Rivers (SD vs. OAK) – I spoke about Rivers above and I just love what this guy is doing this year. Oakland presents another juicy matchup for him this week and I fully expect Rivers to take full advantage of it.
Eli Manning (NYG vs. DAL) – With the exception of the first drive last week, the Eagles did a great job of stopping Eli and the Giants. On the year Eli is 155/235 for 1606 yards and 11 touchdowns. Look for him to bounce back this week against the Cowboys.
Wide Receivers
Martavis Bryant (PIT vs. KC) – Bryant made his highly anticipated 2015 debut last week and had 6 receptions for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had most of it come on a monster play. I think that it was just the start of something special. Bryant will keep it going this week and will get another touchdown against the Chiefs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uRIN7pFmjU
Rishard Matthews (MIA vs. HOU) – Matthews is quietly having a nice season with the Phins, as he has 23 receptions for 363 yards and 3 touchdowns. Houston’s defense is struggling this year and I expect another big game from Matthews in this one.
Julian Edelman (NE vs. NYJ) –Edelman is an explosive receiver that plays with tons of passion. He has 40 receptions for 449 yards and 4 touchdowns this year and though the Patriots play a tough Jets defense this week, I expect Edelman to step up like he always does in big games. He’ll find the end zone again this week.
Running Backs
Lamar Miller (MIA vs. HOU) – Ugh! I hate that I’m doing this, but perhaps all Lamar Miller needed was a new head coach to kick him in the rear. He only has 56 carries for 244 yards and 1 touchdown this year, but I like his matchup this week against Houston.
Chris Johnson (ARI vs. BAL) – Chris Johnson’s career has been revived in Arizona this year. He has 93 carries for 445 yards and 2 touchdowns on the season. I think Johnson gets a touchdown this week on Monday Night against the Ravens.
Todd Gurley (STL vs. CLE) – Gurley has 55 carries for 314 yards in only two games this season. Look for the Rams to keep feeding him all year as long.
Tight Ends
Charles Clay (BUF vs. JAX) – Charles Clay is looking good so far in Buffalo. On the year he has 31 receptions for 324 yards and 2 touchdowns. I don’t expect a well played game here by the teams involved, so I think that some of the least sexy Fantasy players will get some love here. Look for Clay to find the end zone once against the Jags.
Antonio Gates (SD vs. OAK) – Gates is doing his thing since returning to the lineup. He has 18 receptions for 187 yards and 2 touchdowns. He’s one of his QB’s most reliable weapons and I expect for Philip Rivers to keep targeting him against Oakland.
**Injury Update as of 10/25/2015**
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Chargers TE Antonio Gates has a low-grade MCL sprain that, if he cannot play today, he would be expected to play next week, per source.
Kickers
Graham Gano (CAR vs. PHI) – The Eagles D is playing a bit better as of late. I look for this game to be a defensive minded game and I think Graham Gano will benefit the most from it. Look for many field goals in this one, especially for Gano.
Chandler Catanzaro (ARI vs. BAL) – Arizona should be cooking up some major points against the Ravens this week and I expect at least 13 Fantasy points from Catanzaro here.
Defense
St. Louis Rams (vs. CLE) – The Rams host the Browns this week. They have one of the better defenses in the league and I expect them to suffocate the Browns. The Browns offense hasn’t been playing terrible, but the Rams are very tough at home.
Arizona Cardinals (vs. BAL) – Much like the Cardinals offense, their defense has been playing great football this year. They lost last week to the Steelers, so I fully expect a bounce back game against the Ravens on Monday Night Football.
Bust of the Week
Brandon Marshall (NYJ vs. NE) – If you’ve read my articles this season, you know I love Brandon Marshall. He’s had a great year, but I expect him to be shadowed by the Patriots defense this week. If the Jets beat the Pats, it won’t be because of Marshall. The Patriots are no fools. They do their homework and they’ve no doubt been watching what Marshall has been doing to other teams.
Here’s a sample of what he does:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ncch6RqCWUU&feature=player_embedded
Sick, right? It won’t happen this week. The Patriots will lock him down.
…
Daily Fantasy Sports
Each week I will give you my value picks for both FanDuel and DraftKings. Please remember that the salaries are a bit different at each site, so you may not see the same guys on each list because of that. Also, at the end of the day, the final decisions are yours to make, but I’m here to guide you through some value picks. Without further hesitation, let’s get into my DFS value picks for Week 7:
Derek Carr (OAK – QB – $6,700) vs. SD – Though I expect the Chargers to win, that doesn’t mean that Carr and the Raiders won’t put up some points against them. I love Carr for $6,700 here.
Lamar Miller (MIA – RB – $6,700) vs. HOU – Lord forgive me if Miller has a dud here. I think that the new coach will be a blessing for Miller and for $6,700 it’s worth the gamble.
John Brown (ARI – WR – $6,700) vs. BAL – Brown has been ballin’ the last two weeks. Look for Palmer to keep giving the young fella plenty of opportunities to succeed.
Charles Clay (BUF – TE – $5,500) vs. JAX – I love Clay here for the $5,500 price tag. He was targeted 13 times against the Bengals last week and the Bills would be wise to keep throwing his way.
St. Louis Rams (DEF – $4,500) vs. CLE – I mentioned it earlier that I love the Rams D this week against the Browns and for $4,500 it only makes me love them more.
Matthew Stafford (DET- QB – $5,700) vs. MIN – I don’t expect a repeat performance of last week from Stafford this week, but there’s no reason to think that he can’t throw 3 touchdowns against the Vikings. That $5,700 price makes this pick even juicier.
Chris Johnson (ARI – RB – $4,300) vs. BAL – Johnson has been running hard and this matchup against the Ravens is a good one for him. Chris Johnson come on down! You’re the next contestant on the price is right.
Martavis Bryant (PIT – WR – $4,700) vs. KC – Antonio Brown will get all the attention, but Martavis Bryant will be the one that does the damage this week. Bryant won’t be priced at $4,700 too much longer, so take full advantage of it now.
Antonio Gates (SD – TE – $5,000) vs. OAK – Philip Rivers loves Antonio Gates. As long as Gates is out there, he’s going to get love from Rivers and that love generally comes in the red zone.
Miami Dolphins (DEF – $2,700) vs. HOU – Is the mighty Dolphin defense back? Maybe. But, for $2,700 I’ll gladly take a shot on them this week against Houston.
Good luck this week!
You can stay up to date with everything Fantasy Football related by following me on Twitter (@ViggieSmalls765) and Instagram. I’ll be available on Twitter for upcoming Twitter Chats and to give out advice to help guide you through your fantasy season.