As we move into the Fantasy playoffs the reality of certain situations has to take hold.
We can no longer continue expecting bad running backs to perform like top 20 options just because of volume and their defense. We can no longer count on offensive players from one the most anemic offensive attacks in the league.
At the same time, we have to quickly react to new information. When players become heavily involved in the offense we have to pick them up quickly. When quarterbacks show the ability to succeed with lesser parts on offense we must exploit that against choice matchups.
It's the playoffs. It's win or go home. You can believe that.
You need to go back to avoiding all 49ers except for Carlos Hyde.
I feel a little bit different about the Colin Kaepernick than a lot of you do I'm sure. I've been streaming Kaepernick for a month. So while this dud was a gut punch, it's not like I hadn't benefitted from starting him lately. For those of you that were late adapters, I'm not sure if I should apologize for the way it went or blame you for mushing a very good thing. Regardless, Week 14 is all that matters now.
If it had just been a bad game against a decent Bears defense in the snow, I wouldn't mind so much. But he threw five (!) passes. He had four (!) passing yards. It was historically bad and his coach benched him for Blaine Gabbert. I don't know how you recover from that. I can't trust Kaepernick or McDonald in the Fantasy playoffs.
Verdict: Believe it. The Jets secondary is a good matchup for a quarterback but this is also one of the most front-running teams and defenses I can remember. When things are going their way they can look pretty good. I'm way too scared of Kaepernick's floor in a game like this to start him with my season on the line. Besides, we don't even know for sure that he's starting.
If you're looking for replacements, well, just about anyone could be considered. Alex Smith has a very nice matchup against the Raiders, Joe Flacco just threw four touchdown passes and will be playing from behind, heck even Andy Dalton might be in play again. Speaking of Dalton ...
Andy Dalton doesn't need A.J. Green to be a must-start option in Week 14.
Dalton threw for 332 yards against a solid Eagles defense on Sunday on the heels of a 283-yard performance against a very good Ravens defense. The week before that, Dalton had a rushing touchdown to salvage his Fantasy performance.
In other words, the Bengals quarterback hasn't been great without Green, and if you started Kaepernick this week, serviceable probably sounds pretty good. The cherry on top of this scenario is that Dalton gets the Cleveland Browns in Week 14, which is the mother of all matchups for opposing quarterbacks. He'll be a must-start option that you can ride to the semis.
Verdict: Don't believe it. This is all assuming Green is out, and if he is, I just can't trust Dalton with my season on the line, even against the Browns. There's very little chance that Dalton sees a high pass volume in a game where the Browns figure to struggle mightily, so you're basically hoping for touchdowns. Dalton scored 17 Fantasy points two weeks ago and he had 18 last week. That's about where I'd place the expectations.
If your league is one where people have hoarded quarterbacks and your choices are between Dalton and Kaepernick, I'd certainly rather start Dalton. But there's a wide chasm from that statement to calling Dalton must-start. If your season on the line I'm hoping you can do better.
Devontae Booker is no more than a desperation start.
What a disappointment this guy has been. In the past six weeks that Booker has been the feature back in Denver, he has at least 18 touches in every game except one, but he's only topped 90 total yards once. Booker's Week 13 was salvaged by a touchdown, but it was by far his worst day as a runner, churning out less than 2 yards per carry. If you have anyone with even an ounce of explosion on your bench they would be better than Booker, who looks like a plodder-extraordinaire.
Verdict: Believe it. Much like Dalton above, I'm not saying you can't start Booker. You may very well be in a position where you have no better choice. But it's time to stop acting like he's a bonafide No. 2 running back. Booker was outperformed by Kapri Bibbs in this game, and if it wasn't for Bibbs' injury we'd probably be talking about a full-fledged committee heading into the Fantasy playoffs.
Ladarius Green is a must-start No. 1 TE.
If Christine Michael can finally make it happen (albeit for a short period) why can't Green? He had his best day as a pro on Sunday and looked like the third best option in this Steelers passing attack. This is nice because Ben Roethlisberger has been looking for a third option behind Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell all season.
The Steelers tight end is only owned in 21 percent of leagues and should be the most added player in Week 14.
Verdict: Believe it. I don't even think it's fair to compare Green and Michael because Green had shown us his talent in short bursts behind Antonio Gates. Now he's clearly the most athletic tight end in Pittsburgh and seems to finally be healthy with a grasp of the playbook. He could absolutely be a league-winner for you down the stretch.
Green's Steelers face the Bills, Bengals and Ravens in the Fantasy playoffs. Only the Ravens should scare you against tight ends and Cincinnati is flat out awful against the position. Green isn't just a must-add, he's pretty close to a must-start until Week 16.
