We're On Hiatus!

Hey everyone -

The Other Fantasy Football Guys are taking a break from columns this week. If you need a reason, choose from the following:

1) We're taking finals.
2) We're moving to Pennsylvania.
3) We're fighting shark-men hybrids in the Pacific.
4) We're searching for the real Slim Shady (he didn't stand up).
5) We're trying out to be the QB for the Redskins/Texans/49ers/etc.
6) We're layabouts.

Here's a bit of advice:

1) Start your studs.
2) Don't get cute.

For any fantasy-related questions, we'll be on Twitter all week. Check it out here, and follow us: @TheOtherFFGuys.

Week 14 Recap!

First week of playoffs is away, and what a week it was. A huge number of studs underperformed... and your team probably suffered as a result. In case you missed something, here's the news!

Johnny Named Starter

After Hoyer turned out to be a train wreck, Johnny Manziel has been named the starter in Cleveland. This boosts Josh Gordon, who has looked unimpressive after a good first game back. And in case Johnny didn’t have enough to prove, Marvin Lewis called him a midget.

Peyton Manning Killed Your Playoff

Seriously – they went run heavy and used the Thomas duo as a decoy. Emmanuel Sanders got a few targets but not his usual bit. If you’re in a two-week matchup, there’s still hope. If not? Then you probably didn’t survive it. NOW: Peyton Manning mocking you.

Le’Veon Bell Is AWESOME

He’s beaten his personal best three weeks running now. You love his matchup versus Atlanta next week- Atlanta’s defense is terrible.

Redskins Ineptitude

Rams embarrassed ‘Skins by playing them at football. Redskins should stick to the things they are good at – debate club and dodgeball.

Drew Brees Hates Home

The Saints have been a great team on the road, but not so much at home. Brees couldn’t get anything going… but somehow they’re still in the hunt in this god-awful division. They need to hit the road and win some.

Bad Sanchez is Still Bad

In other news, bad QBs are still bad. Case in point: Mark Sanchez. This offense is set up to create good quarterbacks from bad ones, but Sanchez can’t even figure that out. He either needs to figure out the playbook or take a seat.

Jags Held Star TE without Catch

The Jags held Houston’s star tight end J.J. Watt without a catch. Despite this amazing effort, they still managed to lose by 14.

49ers lose to Oakland

In the upset of the week, the 49ers lost to Oakland. This is especially appalling considering it hurts Oakland’s chances to get the number one overall pick next year… when Harbaugh ends up coaching the Raiders. He should have thought twice about losing to his future team.

TOFFG Playoff Tips

You're in the playoffs (or you're not, and want to read this for fun). Congratulations! Now, here's my tips for winning your league's championship.

Now, take everything I say below in the context of your own team. You got here because you did something right. In the end, it’s your fantasy team. So go do what you’re good at. Good luck.

Grab Your Handcuffs

You’ve been working with a full bench all year, plugging in players for bye-weeks and trucking along based on matchups. By this point, you know who your weekly starters are. There are no more byes – only playoffs. Therefore, the only players on your roster should be 1) Players you will start during the playoffs, and 2) the handcuffs to your studs. Depth is always useful, but you should only keep that extra WR because he’s the best non-starter you have, or because he has a rockin’ matchup in Week 16. This means saying goodbye to players like Trent Richardson and Reuben Randle (if you haven’t already). You will not start them if you want to win. If you have Jamaal Charles, drop Trent and grab Knile Davis. If you have Matt Forte, drop Randle and grab Ka’Deem Carey. Here’s a handy-dandy handcuff list:

Jamaal Charlesà	Knile Davis
Matt Forteà	Ka’Deem Carey
Frank Goreà	Carlos Hyde
Eddie Lacyà	James Starks
Marshawn Lynchà	Robert Turbin
DeMarco Murrayà	Joseph Randle

Start Your Studs

Someone asked me this week – “Should I start Russell Wilson over Andrew Luck?” I gave them a blank stare, and responded “Are you kidding me? Of course not. This is the fantasy playoffs, and you rode Andrew Luck to this point. Don’t get cute.” Sure, Wilson’s matchup against Philly may look nice on paper (calling an upset there, by the way. Philly’s eyes are on the prize) but it’s Andrew Luck.

You start your Le’Veon Bells, Calvin Johnsons, and Jimmy Grahams, no matter the matchup. You may get burned. But at least you won’t look like an idiot for it.

Don't Overreact

If a scrub has a huge day, remember: he’s a scrub. We all ran to waivers to grab Jonas Gray two weeks ago. Guess what? He’s had one single touch since then. ONE. Doug Martin had a good day this past week. News flash: You’re not starting Doug Martin in your fantasy playoffs if you want to win. The takeaway here is that some unknown players will explode during these weeks. That doesn’t mean that they’re legit, nor does it mean they’ll be consistent. You know which players got you here, and there’s a reason you start them.

Side note: Why did so many people rush out and grab Ray Rice? He’s not even signed to a team yet. Assuming he is signed and active this Sunday (LONG SHOT), you’re not starting him in his first game back. And if he does well, you’re not starting him in his second game back (he has to prove he’s consistent). So, the earliest you start him is in Week 16 or 17… and do you want your championship riding on the back of a player who hasn’t played a snap since last year? NO. THE ANSWER IS NO.

Look Ahead

If you have the roster space (and you will – see the first tip) you can look ahead for good defense and kicker matchups. Yes, people normally say “Kickers? Defenses? We don’t draft them till the last rounds! They’re useless!” Tell that to someone who got 20 points from his defense and 15 from his kicker… and beat you because of it. Look ahead, folks.

Week 13 Recap!

Playoff time!

If you made the playoffs, yay for you! If you didn’t make the playoffs… I guess you can try to win your consolation bracket. You’re not a real winner, but I guess you can be a pseudo-winner.

JJ Watt vs the World

Caught another touchdown, and now has 5 total touchdowns on the year (defensively and offensively combined). As comparison, that’s as many as Calvin Johnson, DeSean Jackson, Julio Jones, Le’Veon Bell, Giovani Bernard, T.Y. Hilton, Andre Ellington… and more than LeSean McCoy, Rashad Jennings, Michael Crabtree.

Anniversary of the Butt Fumble

In Thanksgiving 2012, Mark Sanchez (then of the New York Jets) mixed up his plays, and (trying to salvage the snap) ran into Brandon Moore’s butt. Moore’s butt subsequently dislodged the ball from Sanchez’s arms. The fumble was recovered by the Patriots, who ran it into the endzone for the score. This Thanksgiving, Sanchez was thankful that he did not do that again.

Giants wasted 21-0 lead on Jags

The Giants decided that winning is overrated, and so decided to give the Jags defense a facelift. The Jags scored two defensive touchdowns off of Giants’ fumbles, and beat the Giants 25-24.

Le’Veon Bell is awesome

Just… awesome. What a stud. Fire him up every week and watch the world crumble.

Ryan Fitzpatrick Who?

Ryan Fitzpatrick came back with a vengeance. If only he could save the Texan’s awful season… however, he makes DeAndre Hopkins awesome. If you own Hopkins, you’re hoping Fitz stays in the driver’s seat.

Johnny Manziel… Hello.

Looks like they let the Ferrari out of the garage. After doing horribly Hoyer was benched in the 4^th quarter, and Johnny immediately led a touchdown drive that ended up being the only touchdown drive the Browns had the whole game. Hoyer is the only quarterback in recent memory for the Browns to have a winning record… but Manziel may stay the starter.

Jets Stay the Course

This week, the Jets realized they were dangerously close to winning against Miami, and immediately took drastic steps to maintain their status quo. Fortunately, they were able to maintain their place in the Mariota hunt by losing… but they barely pulled out the loss. The Dolphins ended up winning 16-13… but this was a close one.

Beats by Ray, the Saga Continues

Ray Rice can sign with any team in the league now. In fact, he hopes to do so by the end of the week. There’s no fantasy news here. No Bernie-ing anytime soon.

Raiders are #1!

Raiders have done well this season in their hunt to get the #1 overall pick. They took a decisive step in that direction, triumphantly losing to the Rams 52-0. Interim head coach Tony Sparanosaid “I felt like the kids were hopping around pretty good. We were running good, all those things.” Good job, Sparano. Stay the course. You want that #1 spot!