The stars have truly aligned for Carson owners in Week 15. Rashaad
Penny, after coming on the last few weeks is lost for the season
with a torn ACL, and in comes the league’s worst run defense in
the Carolina Panthers. Carolina has given up a mind numbing 24 rushing
touchdowns. That’s 5 more than the next worst team! They’ve been
mauled by the Washington and Atlanta running games the last two
weeks, and have moved into the top spot for fantasy points allowed
to running backs. Look for Carson to have a 20-carry floor in game
the Hawks should be able to control. With a few more looks possibly
coming his way in the passing game there might not be a back I like
more this week than Carson.
Sure the Chiefs defense seems to be hitting their stride late
in the season holding opponents under 20 points in their last three
games, but this is the same unit that surrendered six 100-yard games
to opposing runners, and the 4th most fantasy points on the ground.
Lindsay had his worst game of the season back in Week 7 against
these Chiefs, but with Drew Lock slinging the ball around the field
this is a different Denver offense. Attrition and time of possession
is the formula for beating the Chiefs, so look for 20+ chances for
Lindsay this week. This late in the season I want hungry players
who are on hot teams, and Lindsay qualifies. Fire him up as an upside
RB2
The Giants offense reached a new low with their 30-yard 2nd half
collapse against the Eagles on Monday night. A consensus top-3 pick
in every fantasy draft under the sun, Barkley has been a colossal
bust. Without a touchdown since Week 8, or a 100-yard game since
Week 2, if you are even in the fantasy playoffs as a Barkley owner
you’re insanely lucky. But wait just a second. Barkley looked spry
Monday night even if the numbers don’t bare it out. His power and
quickness looked good, and he’s still a nightmare to tackle in open
space. There wasn’t much of that against the Eagles, but Miami isn’t
nearly a stiff of a test. With Eli Manning making possibly his final
start at home, look for the Giants to make Barkley a big part of
the game plan. I see the makings of a week-winning performance.
Signed off the street in November, Scarbrough has given the Lions
something they've lacked most of the season; some semblance of
a running game. Averaging 18 carries a game since entering the
starting lineup in Week 11, the former 7th rounder from Alabama
has at least been fantasy relevant. If you made it this far leaning
on Scarbrough, good on you! But this is about as far as he’s
going to get you. A near zero in the passing game, the one-dimensional
thumper faces off against the league’s best run defense
in the Bucs. Losing weapons by the second, the toothless Lions
offense is going to find tough sledding this week.
Thrust back onto the lead role with the loss of explosive Derrius
Guice, Peterson gets to play out his career as the RB1 over the
final three games of the season. Though the Eagles are hapless
against the pass, they’ve yielded the 6th fewest fantasy
points to runners this season. A healthy scratch in Week 1 when
these two teams played, Peterson was truly boom or best against
them last season. Despite a two-game scoring streak, starting
Peterson with everything on the line seems to be something I’d
like to avoid.
From Bad to Farce is a great title for the Jets chapter of Bell’s
career. Likely one and done in New York, the scuttlebutt this
week in the Big Apple was about Bell’s bowling trip the
night before a game he was scheduled to miss due to illness. Underutilized
in a bland offense, Bell’s signature running style has been
a predictable flop, as he went from running behind all-pros in
Pittsburg to all-schmoes in New York. The disdain Coach Adam Gase
has for Bell’s presence on the roster in palpable. But he’s
just as likely to crush him into the Baltimore front seven 30
times as he is to give him 10 touches. Either way, Bell’s
complete lack of playmaking ability give him an incredibly low
ceiling, and a (potentially) high volume with nothing to show
for it isn’t what I want from my RB2. If you can run him
as your FLEX go for it, but anything more is fruitless.
