Coin Toss: Championship week
BY ZACH COSBY
SPORTSNET.CA
I lost my semifinal by one point. Great, now that we've got that out of the way (since nobody really cares or actually wants to hear about it anyway -- if you do I'm saving it for the novel I've been working on) we can all move on to Week 16 -- better known as the Super Bowl for the majority of fantasy owners. Have no fear, I haven't let my heartbreaking loss affect how I've weighed your Week 16 options. As usual, there is plenty of Friday news that will affect those options, starting in Pittsburgh.
Mike Wallace (vs. STL) vs. Your Bench
It's official -- logic has finally won a decision-making battle in Pittsburgh and Charlie Batch will start in place of an injured Ben Roethlisberger. Things may look bleak for Mike Wallace owners, but no worries, I'm here to provide a positive spin.
Batch started Week 4 last year against a soft Tampa Bay defence. The Rams could also be considered soft (among other derogatory terms). While Batch only had 17 attempts in that game, three of them went for touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns went to Wallace. Wallace only had three catches on the day, but proved to fantasy owners why you just can't bench him. That theory applies this week as well. Pittsburgh's top target may not get many chances, but his potential to produce results with those limited opportunities makes him unbenchable (candidate for made-up fantasy word of the year).
Quick aside: Apologies to Antonio Brown owners for not offering the same positive spin. Back-up QBs tend to lean more heavily on the team's No. 1, and unless the Steelers choose to unleash Brown deep on a couple of play action plays (I'm guessing they'll target Wallace in those cases), he has very little chance of being productive. Find another option.
Kahlil Bell (@ GB) vs. The One That Brung Ya
With Marion Barber's calf expected to keep him out Sunday night, the bell will toll for Kahlil -- who will make his second straight start. He put up impressive numbers (100-plus total yards, TD) on 20 touches last week against a tough Seattle defence and the undrafted UCLA product will be leaned on heavily with Josh McCown now at the helm. A back has found the end zone against the Pack each of the past eight weeks, so don't be surprised if Bell gets in there on Christmas night. As a result, he could finish in the top 10 at his position this week.
The backs you shouldn't bench in favour of Bell? Ray Rice, Maurice Jones-Drew, Rashard Mendenhall, LeSean McCoy and Adrian Peterson. The backs you should consider benching in favour of Bell? Marshawn Lynch, Shonn Greene, Michael Bush, Willis McGahee, Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, Roy Helu and C.J. Spiller. The backs you should bench in favour of Bell? Everyone else ... duh. I just don't see Lynch getting in the end zone. I can't figure out how the Jets-Giants game will play out. I don't trust Carson Palmer at Arrowhead. McGahee has a nagging injury. Mathews has Tolbert hanging around. Sproles was invisible last time he faced Atlanta. Helu popped up on the injury report and he plays for Mike Shanahan. And Spiller plays for an inconsistent Buffalo team against a Broncos unit that has defended the run well since their bye week. With all that in mind, aside from the first few names, Bell is the call.
Eli Manning (@ NYJ) vs. The Rest
The last thing a quarterback wants is for his top two receivers to call out the other team's best player. I don't know for sure, but I'll guess that Darrelle Revis thinks he's better than a "decent corner" and he'll be out to prove it on Saturday. Still, not all of Manning's targets will be stuck under Revis' blanket and they should have room to roam against a Jim Leonhard-less Jets secondary. If Michael Vick could recognize coverages, Manning should see them, too. While I've already stated that I can't figure out how this game will play out, Manning should get enough attempts to be a worthwhile fantasy commodity.
On many rankings lists for this week Manning sits in the middle of the pack. The only name from the top 15 I'd confidently start Manning ahead of is Josh Freeman, but you weren't going to trust him anyway. The one guy ranked lower than Manning I would start in his place is Matt Moore. Unless you have Moore, or another top-15 QB, it'd be tough to bench Manning in championship week.
Accountability Section - Week 15
Felix Jones vs. The Monday Night Options - Cosby's call: Jones (flip). Jones (131 total yards) had an opportunity to become fantasy royalty but disappointed by not finding paydirt. Despite the disappointment, Jones had as good a fantasy day in standard leagues as Frank Gore (64 total yards, TD) and was better than Mendenhall (89 total yards).
Ben Roethlisberger vs. A Plug-in - Cosby's call: Plug it in, plug it in (flip). Not to harp on Big Ben (330 yards, 3 INT) but he looked awful Monday night. More than 2500 players finished with a better fantasy rank than Roethlisberger in Week 15.
Doug Baldwin vs. Eric Decker - Cosby's call: Decker (flip). These guys combined for two catches. So, instead of posting their depressing stat lines, and since we're discussing someone named Decker, the editors suggested we provide this early Christmas gift.
Speaking of gifts, here's the final warning to get your last-minute shopping done Friday, because the stores will likely be closed by the time you've finished reading our Saturday blog (12-8, details below) and they'll definitely be closed by the time the Cowboys are through making it interesting against the Eagles.
Still have fantasy questions? Just a rabid NFL fan? Join us for our live blog this Saturday from 12 p.m. ET right through to the end of our 4 p.m. ET feature game(s) on Sportsnet. We'll have sit/start advice, provide up-to-the-minute injury updates and divulge all of the relevant stats. Talk to you soon.
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