For most owners, this is simply a thought experiment. It’s possible you have more than one of these TEs, but it’s more likely you have no choice but to start the only one you own. If anything, you’re just happy some of these mid-tier tight ends have better outlooks this week. If you have Ertz (vs. Bears) or Andrews (vs. Patriots), it’s unlikely you’re going to sit them despite their poor showings in recent weeks....
But first, A-Rod and GM Brian Cashman have a few things to discuss. Talks this week set the stage for what the Yankees see as the final step in bringing Rodriguez back into the family. Ponder for a second: Rodriguez will be paid $1 million for every home run he hits, if David Cone’s projection is correct. And it seems likely A-Rod will be doing it as a designated hitter....
After Ridley missed practice earlier this week, the common thought was that it was more Patriots injury shenanagans. However, Ridley did not practice Thursday or Friday either and now the team has said he will not play in Cincinnati. Ridley owners had a difficult call whether or not to start him in a timeshare against a strong front seven anyway. Provided they have another viable running back, this news may be more of a relief than a burden....
Arsenal face freefall without Champions League Sanchez equalised after Craig Dawson’s 12th-minute opener but substitute Hal Robson-Kanu made an instant impact 10 minutes after half-time and Dawson headed a second to ramp up further pressure on the beleaguered Wenger. Fan protests, both with banners in the away end at The Hawthorns and on the back of a light aircraft circling the ground - a rival plane had a message of support for Wenger - were again a feature as the 67-year-old lost his top scorer during Arsenal’s fourth defeat in five Premier League games....
Wenger has regularly been criticized for his tendency to rely on promising youngsters rather than seasoned stars, but he has now acknowledged a young team is unlikely to win any major trophies. READ MORE: Sheringham issues Mourinho warning “To be a real football player, you need to be 23 years old because before you have learned your job, you can have a great game and after, sometimes an average game,” Wenger told the club’s official website....
The Gunners’ north London rivals are using England’s national stadium as their home venue while the construction of the new White Hart Lane continues. Spurs played their European home games at Wembley last season but it did not prove to be a happy hunting ground, with Mauricio Pochettino’s side losing to Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League before suffering a Europa League exit after a 2-2 draw with Gent....
In a week in which Alexis Sanchez swapped London for Manchester and Henrikh Mkhitaryan arrived as the Chilean’s replacement, a rejuvenated Gunners side pushed their luck but managed to see out the game against a plucky Chelsea side to win 2-1 on the night, and on aggregate. Wenger joked with journalists in his pre-match press conference for the match at Emirates Stadium by saying the press “celebrate some teams who have not been in a final for 25 years”, referencing Arsenal’s three FA Cup triumphs in the last four seasons....
It’s the Jimmy Garoppolo Effect again, and it’s a shame because when the schedule was made last spring, this looked like an attractive, meaningful game with serious playoff implications and a long-awaited revival of a briefly intense rivalry. Yes, this still means a lot for the Seahawks’ wild-card hopes, but Chargers-Steelers could decide who gets a bye in the AFC playoffs and where a potential postseason rematch will be played....
It feels weird, but the Bears’ offense is a prime target this week. Mitchell Trubisky and Allen Robinson are the key stack in our GPP picks thanks to a super-friendly matchup with the Jaguars and the fact that they’ve simply played well of late. Between them and at least one Chiefs player, that’s a good place to start. FanDuel Picks Week 16: NFL DFS lineup for Tournaments QB Mitchell Trubisky, Bears @ Jaguars ($7,200)...
As always, any of our selections could bust this week, but so could bona fide studs. We’re taking some chances here, as we don’t want to say anyone too obvious. A list of easy choices wouldn’t do anyone any good. You aren’t going to start the guys below over consistent, proven producers, but you’re probably not searching for fantasy sleepers if your lineup is set. We know a small percentage of fantasy owners are actually still alive and going for a ring here, but our list can also help you find sleepers for DFS tournaments who should have low price tags....
A lot of top quarterbacks are on teams with slight playoff seeding movements as their biggest motivations (and the Chiefs can’t move at all). That leads us to selecting mostly players on teams who we know need to win to make the postseason. That assures heavy usage for the best players on those rosters and hopefully good fantasy points coming out of it. Be sure to follow our Twitter account @SN_Fantasy to see all of our DFS content heading into kickoff every week....
As New Orleans demonstrated last week, the “safest” NFL survivor pick isn’t always the best option. To maximize your edge in survivor pools, you need to consider two other critical strategy factors: Pick popularity and future value. For a quick primer on a winning survivor pool strategy, see our Week 1 survivor picks article or read our post on how to win more NFL survivor pools. The following analysis is brought to you by TeamRankings....
Meanwhile, fantasy owners could get another much-anticipated debut in that same game if Rams rookie Todd Gurley (knee) is active against the Steelers. While we’re not expecting Gurley to get a Bell-like workload right out of the gates, it may not be long. There are also several injury concerns (Eddie Lacy, Carlos Hyde, Lamar Miller) and breakout sleepers (Matt Jones, Giovani Bernard, Dion Lewis) changing the RB landscape, so let’s break down the running back fantasy rankings for Week 3 to identify some sleepers and busts....
We’re sticking with the Bears in the top spot against Case Keenum and the Redskins. Washington has disappointed owners of the Eagles and Cowboys in the first two owners, as its been surprisingly efficient, but we expect a bounce-back from the Bears. New England has a legit claim to the top spot against Trevor Siemian and the Jets and will likely be highly owned in DFS contests. (Update: With Luke Falk likely to start for the Jets this week, we’ve moved the Pats up to No....
Notice our choice of the word “tedious.” We didn’t say “difficult” because after a week where mostly oddball TEs scored, there wasn’t much reason to drastically move around players in our rankings. For PPR purposes, someone like Jimmy Graham creates a headache. He caught two TDs in Week 3, which isn’t that big of a deal moving forward, but his 10 targets might suggest a bigger workload with Nick Foles at QB....
MORE WEEK 6 RANKINGS: RB | WR | TE | DEF | K FIVE STAR 1. Peyton Manning, Broncos @ Jets. The sky is the limit for Manning this week against the hapless Jets.2. Aaron Rodgers, Packers @ Dolphins3. Philip Rivers, Chargers @ Raiders4. Matt Ryan, Falcons vs. Bears5. Andrew Luck, Colts @ Texans FOUR STAR 6. Jay Cutler, Bears @ Falcons. Cutler will throw some to the other team, but even in the dome, he should still end up with a nice day against the Falcons....
Among the not-so-obvious backs who could jump into fantasy football owners' lineups this week in the right situation is preseason sleeper (and current bust) Lamar Miller. It's not even about his favorable matchup against the Bills, who rank 28th against the run; it's more about the Dolphins finally realizing that Miller, who's averaging just 10 carries a game, needs more work coming out of the bye. This could be the game he finally breaks out....
