With stacks in cash games usually frowned upon by the DFS writing
industry due to the inherit boom or bust risk that is involved with
playing two or more players on the same team, most people tend to
only use them in GPP contests.
But my contention is that if we as fantasy owners feel that a
quarterback and skill position player on a given team have an
excellent margin of safety and the ability to deliver huge performances,
why would we not want the doubling effect in a cash game where
our goal is to play as many “safe” players and avoid
boom or bust plays?
I put this theory to work this week in a head-to-head matchup
against a seasoned DFS player on DraftKings. My cash stack of
choice this week was Matthew Stafford and Marvin Jones against
a winless Bears team that had previously allowed 24 and 21 points
to Dak Prescott and Brock Osweiler respectively.
Entering the contest Stafford had been solid on the road with
two 30-point performances against the Colts and Packers, while
Jones appeared to be a lock for 20 points after scoring 40 against
Green Bay Week 3.
It seemed like a low risk, high reward play for two players who
were priced below my perceived value of the week. As you can guess,
Stafford was terrible and Jones failed to reach the 20 point plateau
I predicted.
To add insult to injury, my opponent used similar logic as me
and decided to go with a cash stack. But instead of busting with
Stafford and Marvin, he was wise and went with Matt Ryan and Julio
Jones.
Need I say more?
I plan on using my cash stack strategy in a head-to-head matchup
this week, with the hope of avoiding a Stafford-esque free fall.
Stafford’s pitiful performance on Sunday, aided by drops and
mis-run routes by Golden
Tate and Eric
Ebron, was the lowest fantasy total for the former Georgia
Bulldog under offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter.
The offense as a whole was out of whack with silly penalties
and ineffective first down run plays, forcing Stafford to make
poor throws. The Bears played cover-2 most of the game and the
Lions offense did not attack the seams well with Jones and Ebron.
With an ownership percentage just under 30%, Blount was a popular
running back play this week due to his inexpensive $5000 salary
and matchup at home against the Bills.
Entering the contest Blount reached the end zone in all three
of his games this season, including a two-touchdown, 100-yard
game against the Texans Week 3.
Despite all of the positive factors pointing in Blount’s
favor, the bruising back from the University of Oregon was shut
down by Rex Ryan’s defense in arguably the most surprising
game of the week.
On a positive note, my play of Gordon at home against the Saints
more than made up for Blount’s pedestrian eight points.
My goal in cash games is to get a minimum of 15 points from each
of my running backs, with the goal of getting a combined 40 points.
I missed the target goal, but Gordon’s two TD’s and
80 total yards brought me over 30 points for the day.
As the skill position player of the Cash Stack, Jones was negatively
impacted by the poor play of Stafford and the Lions offense. The
injury to running back Dwayne Washington and the subsequent lack
of a running game allowed the Bears to focus on the pass, negating
the effectiveness of Jones and the other wide receivers. Despite
this fact, Jones did give me 12.4 points on five catches for 74
yards.
Fuller was the play of the week for me on this ticket, and someone
who I targeted heavily in both GPP and cash games. A deep threat
with 4.3 speed, Fuller has developed a rapport with Osweiler and
continues to take targets away from DeAndre Hopkins in the passing
game.
His $5,300 salary has steadily increased from his opening rate
of $3,700 Week 1 against Chicago, and will likely approach $6,000
by Week 6. With Xavier Rhodes shadowing Nuk this week in Minnesota,
Fuller is another great option should he be covered by the older
and slower cornerback Terrance Williams.
Knowing full well that Steve
Smith is the No.1 wide receiver and a favorite target for
Joe
Flacco, the home matchup for Wallace against a poor Oakland
secondary was too enticing to pass up.
My hunch was correct, as Wallace received 10 targets in what
turned out to be a fairly high scoring game. The problem is that
he secured only 4 of those targets for 44 yards, and needed a
late two point conversion to top double digits.
Tight End: Zach
Miller
Fantasy Points: 12.1
Grade: B+
It wasn’t a stellar game for Miller, considering the fact
that the Lions have been terrible against opposing tight ends
this year and Bryan Hoyer has been targeting Miller heavily since
taking over the starting job from injured Jay Cutler.
But in a year where tight end play has been unpredictable, receiving
12.1 points from a $2,700 tight end is a nice value in all formats.
Miller now has three touchdowns in his last two games with Hoyer
under center, making him an excellent option week five against
Indy.
Giving myself a C- grade for a guy who scored 12.9 points might
seem harsh. But considering the matchup against the Falcons and
the fact that I thought Cam Newton and the Panthers would target
Benjamin heavily after last week’s zero-catch debacle, three
catches for 39 yards and a score is disappointing considering
his $7,100 price tag.
Mike Evans, Michael Crabtree, and Michael Thomas all posted solid
games against the Falcons this year, and none of them did that
after their head coach went on record stating that their focus
was to get their respective player more targets.
Perhaps this is an excellent learning point in that I shouldn’t
take coach speak into consideration when picking fantasy players.
Defense/Special Teams: Washington
Fantasy Points: 8
C+
A rookie quarterback with a lackluster offensive line playing
on the road against Washington team that is tough at home appeared
to be a nice play this week in a cash game. I anticipated that
the Redskins would force a turnover or two from rookie Cody Kessler,
while holding the Browns to less than 20 points.
In a cash game I wanted a high floor, and Washington did provide
me with their season average of eight points. The floor provided
by them was moot because of the huge games from Ryan and Julio,
but the logic was sound and in a closer H2H matchup I will consider
once against playing a defense that faces off against the Browns.
