Jared Goff: The Saints defense is improved,
but may be missing a key piece in CB Marshon Lattimore.
Grab a Helmet
Jared
Goff vs NO: Lucky for me I get to take over the SCR after
Joseph held down the fort for all these weeks. Even with 12 weeks
of insight, I know I’m bound to mess up a few from here on out,
but at the start of the season I never would have imagined having
Goff in this spot. Coming off a humbling 24-7 loss on the road to
the Vikings, the Rams go “home” to face a white hot Saints team.
Goff has been masterful in running Sean McVay’s offense, and I think
last week is a blip. Up until last week against the Redskins the
Saints defense had been a revelation, but I think they are ripe
here coming off a game they should have lost. The defense lost productive
pass-rusher Alex Okafor for the season with a torn Achilles, and
dynamite rookie corner Marshon Lattimore went down with an ankle
injury. I know Goff will be without his No.1 receiver in Robert
Woods, but I think the McVay system proves to be the catalyst here,
and Sammy Watkins picks up the slack. The Saints defensive resurgence
has been somewhat of a smoke screen, as before facing off against
Kirk Cousins, they faced a murderer's row of Brett Hundley, Mitchell
Trubisky, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Tyrod Taylor. This game has a chance
to be a good old fashioned West Coast shootout, so I’m happy to
start Goff.
Cam
Newton @ NYJ: The title of the Panther’s season so
far could be “Superman Returns”, and while a mediocre DC movie,
the one playing out in Carolina is much better. The former MVP
looks fully back from his offseason shoulder surgery, playing
with the reckless abandon that made him a fantasy darling in 2015.
It seems the Carolina coaches have just resigned themselves to
the fact that in order to get the most out of Newton’s abilities
they have to let him play his game, no matter how much harm it
puts him in. The Jets are a scrappy, overachieving team, but they’ve
been bleeding fantasy points to quarterbacks all year. They’ve
given up 2+ touchdowns to QBs in five of the last six weeks, and
I think Newton adds to that total this weekend in New Jersey.
Alex
Smith vs BUF: Smith’s deficiencies were on full display
in the swirling wind of the Meadowlands last week. Several of
his passed were chewed up and spit out, and he clearly doesn’t
possess the arm talent to overcome elements like that. Luckily
for Smith and the Chiefs, Kansas City heads home this weekend
to take on a Buffalo team sinking faster than a submarine with
screen doors. Their defense has vanished and the offense is in
disarray. Smith’s early season magic has dulled, as KC has
lost 4 of their last 5. I think the Chiefs get back to basics
this week and make a better effort to run the ball. This should
open up the play-action and give KC a chance at some big plays.
The yardage could be limited, but I think Smith finds the endzone
a few times.
Grab a Headset
Tom
Savage @ BAL: Hopefully you aren’t relying on Savage
at this point in the season, but with as many injuries to the
position as there are, deep 14+ team leagues and two-QB leagues,
owners might be considering Savage as a starter. While he showed
improved efficiency last week against Arizona, he hits the road
against a Baltimore defense that has only given up more than 15
fantasy points to quarterbacks twice this year. They’ve squashed
every mediocre quarterback they’ve played this year not name Blake
Bortles (I can’t figure it out either), and they head home after
shutting out the Packers. Savage presents as possibly worst quarterback
matchup of the week.
Matthew
Stafford vs MIN (Thu): Turkey Day brings a nightmare
matchup for Stafford and the Lions. Minnesota is playing some
of the best defense in the league, and Stafford and the passing
game were throttled in their Week 4 contest. Despite a 14-7 win,
the game was Stafford's worst of the season by far, and Minnesota
is a much better team than they were almost two months ago. The
Lions have started off slow the last couple of weeks and I don’t
know how long they can continue to rely on Stafford’s heroics,
especially against aggressive defenses. The Lions can strike quickly,
and have been explosive at home, but I think points will be at
a premium in this one, and Stafford will underperform his scoring
average.
Blaine
Gabbert vs JAX: Arizona is one of a handful of teams
relying on 2nd and 3rd string quarterbacks to lead the offense.
While a slight upgrade on Drew Stanton last week, Gabbert gets
a “revenge” game against the team that made him the
10th overall pick. Usually the player is the one getting the revenge,
but with how poor he played when he was a Jaguar, I think Jacksonville
is the one who gets the payback in this one. There are precious
few quarterbacks I would feel ok about starting against the Jags,
and Gabbert sure as heck ain't one.
