Bye-week Buffers - Week 6

The word "buffer" can be used as either a noun or a verb. As a noun it is a cushion, or a shield. As a verb is means to "lessen the effect of." The goal of a Bye-week Buffer is to lessen the effect of you not having one of your star players in your lineup because they are a on a bye. This post will list some players that can give you some cushion while your Studs take the week off. Most of these players will be guys sitting on your bench, but some will be available as Free Agents. Though I will do my best to list a lot of players that could fill in admirably for you, many of these players will be on the benches of other teams in your league. Just keep an eye out for the ones that you own or are available to add.

Teams on a bye this week: Cardinals, Bills, Panthers, Bengals. This a great week for byes as there are no stellar QBs or TEs on byes, plus these teams are either average (really just Arizona) or terrible (the other 3 teams) so there are not too many great guys at WR or RB you should be without, either.

Probable fantasy starters on these teams: Larry Fitzgerald, Beanie Wells, Fred Jackson/C.J. Spiller, DeAngelo Williams, Steve Smith (still injured too,) Chad Ochocinco, Cedric Benson, Terrell Owens

This weeks Buffers:

Michael Bush, RB, Raiders - Darren McFadden will be in a backup role this week as his hammy is not 100%. Look for Bush to put up similar numbers as he did last week: 26 carries, 104 yards and 1 TD.

Mike Wallace, WR, Steelers - The matchup alone is a good one, as the Browns defense is in the bottom half of the league in most defensive categories (including points allowed and yards allowed per game.) But, there is another thing to remember - Ben Reothlisberger is back. Ben loves to throw the deep ball and with Santonio Holmes gone, Wallace is Pittsburgh's deep threat.

Brandon Tate, WR, Patriots - With Randy Moss gone, Tate becomes the only Patriot that can stretch the field. Defenses will key on stopping Wes Welker (now the Pats best WR) leaving Tate with favorable matchups. Plus Kyle Orton passed for 314 yards on the Ravens last week, so there should be plenty of balls going Tate's way.

Mashaun Lynch, RB, Seahawks - He's not going to put up Chris Johnson or Adrian Peterson stats, but the Seahawks will want to get him involved - you need make the new guy feel comfortable/welcomed. With Deion Branch gone back to New England, the Seahawks have Mike Williams and Golden Tate as their best two receivers (really, John Carlson is their best receiver but he's a TE so he doesn't count.) If I'm Pete Carroll I feed the ball to Lynch at least 20-25 times this week.

Mike Tolbert, RB, Chargers - I know that Ryan Mathews is getting healthy again. I know that he has better physical skills than Tolbert. I also know that Tolbert will get all the carries at the goal line, and that they will split carries about 50-50. If you would start Mathews, what's stopping you from plugging in Tolbert?

Felix Jones, RB, Cowboys - This may look like a no-brainer after last week, but he's not even owned in 100% of leagues, and starts in less than 50% (both Yahoo! and ESPN.) We all know he has the big play capability, and Dallas finally remembered that running ball is a part of a good offensive game plan.

Danny Ammendola, WR, Rams - I wrote about Ammendola in my Week 5 Overachievers/Underperformers post, and in case you forgot (or didn't read it) Ammendola was targeted an amazing 19 times last week. Mark Clayton is out for the year, so Ammendola will be seeing plenty of balls. He might be on this list every week going forward.

Santonio Holmes, WR, Jets - He looked pretty good for not being with the team for the first four weeks of the season. Add one more week, plus going against Denver's poor pass defense (Champ Bailey can't cover everybody) I think Holmes has a good game.

Others Buffers: Jabbar Gaffney, WR, Broncos; Kenny Britt, WR, Titans; Louis Murphy, WR, Raiders; BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB, Patriots; Davone Bess, WR, Dolphins (especially in PPR leagues); and Brandon Jackson, RB, Packers.

Lastly, for those with Aaron Rodgers, who likely won't play this week, Shaun Hill is a good fill-in. Also, if you lost Jermichael Finley to injury, Mercedes Lewis, Tony Moeaki, or John Carlson would be good substitutes for the rest of the season.

Check back later this week for Week 6 Studs to Sit, plus my game picks for this week.

Follow me on Twitter @TheJasonStation

Overachievers and Underperformers - Week 5

Week 5 of the NFL season was quite a crazy one. The Colts beat the undefeated Chiefs without Peyton Manning throwing a passing touchdown (and their rushing TD came from third string RB Mike Hart.) The Arizona Cardinals beat the defending Super Bowl Champion Saints without a throwing or passing TD, becoming only the second team ever to score 30 points without a rushing or passing TD (all while starting an undrafted rookie QB.) The Raiders beat the Chargers for the first time in 13 matchups. That was only a sampling of the some of the wackier games from this weekend, but there were some equally perplexing performances in terms of fantasy as well. That leads us to the Overachievers and Underperformers of week 5. These players either had awesome and unexpected days or inexplicably bad days. This is in terms of fantasy of course, so though guys like Drew Brees and Alex Smith played bad enough to hurt their teams' chances of winning, they had pretty decent fantasy days. Also, if you are supposed to play great, just like Chris Johnson's 131 yards rushing plus 2 TDs, you won't make this list either. At the end of this post check out my report card from week 5's Studs to Sit - overall, not too bad.

Overachiever - Hakeem Nicks, WR, Giants: 12 receptions, 130 yards, 2 TDs. This guy has become a must start every week.

Underperformer - Arian Foster, RB, Texans: 11 carries, 25 yards, 0 TDs (2 receptions, 2 yards.) Foster came into Week 5 leading the NFL in rushing. 25 yards? Really? Maybe the Texans aren't who we thought they were. More from them coming up.

Overachiever - Shaun Hill, QB, Lions: 21/32, 227 yards, 3 TDs. No Matthew Stafford, no problem. Hill spread the ball around, finding open receivers all over the place (all 3 TDs went to different receivers.) I can't believe the 49ers let this guy go. Now they're stuck with David Carr if/when they decide to bench Alex Smith.

Underperformer - Matt Schaub, QB, Texans: 16/34, 196 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT. This guy lead the league in passing yards last season. He has Andre Johnson to throw to (I know he's banged up, but he's better at 80% than most guys at 100%.) We thought he had a reliable run game to lean on. If I'd been writing this since the beginning of the season, this wouldn't be Schaub's first time on this list. Until the Texans offense get things figured out, if you have better options with good matchups, you might want to think about benching Schaub.

Overachiever - Danny Ammendola, WR, Rams: 12 receptions, 95 yards. Mark Clayton, the Rams best WR since week 1, is now out for the year. Not only did Ammendola get 12 receptions, but he was targeted 19 times! Ammendola now becomes the Rams wideout you want on your team. This game was a preview of things to come. Did I mention he was targeted 19 times?

Underperformer - Dwayne Bowe, WR, Chiefs: 2 receptions, 33 yards, 0 TDs. The opportunities were there, but Bowe had hands of stone on Sunday. Two crucial drops, one that would have been a TD. If that keeps up, Matt Cassel will look his way less and less.

Overachiever - Brandon Lloyd, WR, Broncos: 5 receptions, 135 yards, 2 TDs. Lloyd was this week's winner of "What Denver wideout will have the big day?" The Broncos receiving corps is so unpredictable with different guys having big games each week. In case you were wondering, against the Ravens the targets were as follows: Llyod - 14, Jabar Gaffeny - 11, Eddie Royal - 5. Going forward I'd roll the dice with Lloyd, but do so at your own peril.

That concludes the good and bad from week 5. Here's how I faired with Studs to Sit:

Overall, I'd grade it a B.

Good Calls - Tony Gonzalez (except Moeaki didn't play any better,) Ryan Mathews (Tolbert had a TD,) Arizona's offense (except Fitzgerald who had 7 catches for 93 yards,) DeSean Jackson, Darren McFadden (DNP,) and Visanthe Shiancoe.

Fair Calls - Javid Best (good call, but I was dead wrong as to why, as the Rams D/ST had about -5 fantasy points,) and Shonn Greene (LDT had twice the carries and 40 more yards, but Greene got the TD.)

Bad Calls - Randy Moss (4 receptions, 81 yards, 1TD) and Marques Colston (who had 7 catches on 12 targets this game; Brees looked his way a lot.)

Terrible Call, but I was still right - Kyle Orton. I was right in that he is a stud. I was wrong to say you should sit him. He is now a must start every week, no matter the matchup. I'd rather have him than Schaub going forward.

Tomorrow afternoon/evening look for my next post: Bye-week Buffers, where I let you know what guys on your bench and waivers can fill in and have good games when your starters have a bye.

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Studs to Sit - Week 5

Rather than having a first post that explains my plans with this blog (why I'm writing it, what qualifies me to write it, etc.) I'm jumping right into the fantasy advice. This first feature is Studs to Sit. It's a pretty simple concept - what guys that usually seem like automatic starts should you sit due to bad match-ups, injuries, or other factors. Now, if you have no better option (due to bye weeks, your bench players are hurt, or you have a really terrible bench because your're in a deep league) my thoughts might not apply. As you will see, I have examples of the caliber of player you could use to replace your Stud. If you do not have someone on that level, you might as well roll the dice with your Stud and hope he performs admirably. Finally, a Stud is defined as someone that has been steadily producing each week (Arian Foster, Adrian Peterson, Roddy White, etc.) or someone that was drafted high for their position (Chris Johnson, Dallas Clark, Larry Fitzgerald, etc.) Now that you know the parameters...

Randy Moss, WR, Vikings - As you have hopefully heard (you probably don't get ESPN if you haven't, or play fantasy football on a chalkboard rather than online) Moss is no longer a Patriot and now is a Viking. Brett Favre has not looked sharp so far this season, with many believing that his lack of a receiving corp with Sidney Rice out is to blame. Regardless of your thoughts on this, Moss is not a good play this week. He may be a great play for the rest of the season, but the fact remains that he will playing in a new offensive system that he doesn't know. Oh yeah, and his Viking debut (re-debut?) is on Revis Island. Until he has more time in the Purple and Gold and he is not playing against Darrelle Revis, sit Moss.

Suitable replacements: Malcom Floyd, Nate Washington, Mark Clayton

Tony Gonzalez, TE, Falcons - Gonzalez is an all-time great. Probably the best tight end to ever play the game (unless you are talking to Shannon Sharpe or Kellen Winslow Sr. who might beg to differ.) Regardless, he has not been very productive this season. The catches have been there the past two weeks, but Gonzalez is the check down option in this offense. Unless you are playing in a PPR league, he is far from a sure start this week and moving forward. With Michael Turner and Jason Snelling in the backfield, and Roddy White able to run the fade, Gonzalez is not a primary option in the red zone anymore which means less touchdowns. Fewer yard plus not likely to catch TDs means he should be on your bench.

Suitable replacements: Mercedes Lewis, Tony Moeaki

Ryan Mathews, RB, Chargers and Shonn Greene, RB Jets - These guys should sit for similar reasons. They have guys they split carries with that are producing better - Mike Tolbert and LaDainian Tomlinson, respectively. Now I am not saying Tolbert and Tomlinson are on the same level (I like Tomlinson much more going forward than Tolbert because the Chargers throw all the time) however, the opportunities won't be there compared what we thought going into the season. Mathews had only nine carries last week; Greene had a bunch (22) but that was in a rout of the Bills, not against the Williams Wall, Jared Allen, and the rest of the Vikings front seven. Plus LT had 19 carries last week, most in the fist half before the game was decided.

Suitable replacements: Marion Barber, Fred Jackson, Michael Bush

Kyle Orton, QB, Broncos - Now if you don't think Orton is a Stud, you would be wrong. Dead wrong. Why? Maybe because he leads in the league in passing yards with 1419, that's why. He's also the QB of a pass first team coached by the guy that was the offensive coordinator for Patriots when they set the single season record for points scored (589 in their undefeated regular season) and made Matt Cassel one rich dude by making him look like Brady Light the following season. This week though, Orton plays the Ravens, who have been great against the pass.

Suitable replacements: David Garrard, Carson Palmer

Javid Best, RB, Lions - Did you know that the Rams are playing good football? They are 2-2, and are playing pretty solid defense. It helps when it sounds like your middle linebacker gives other people diseases when he tackles them (James Laurinaitis.) In most fantasy leagues (standard scoring in both ESPN and Yahoo!) the Rams defense is a top 6 or 7 fantasy defense. This trend will continue against the Lions, meaning at best, Best will have a mediocre day (pun intended.)

Suitable replacements: Ryan Torrain, plus the guys mentioned under Mathews/Greene

The entire Arizona Cardinals - As much as this pains me (I am a huge Cardinals fan) you should not start any Cardinals this week (possibly for many weeks.) Larry Fitzgerald is playing with a rookie QB and has 3 rookie wide outs playing behind him with Steve Breaston and Early Doucet both out with injuries (it looks like neither will play and if they do, they will be limited.) The Cards are playing the Saints, meaning this will be blow out, so starting Beanie Wells or Tim Hightower would be a mistake - they won't get enough carries between the two of them.

Suitable replacements: Anyone on your bench. Seriously. I'd roll the dice with Johnathan Stewart over Wells or Hightower and Santonio Holmes over Fitzgerald.

Other Studs to Sit - Darren McFadden, RB, Raiders (injured hamstring, start Michael Bush); DeSean Jackson, WR, Eagles (Kevin Kolb is king of the check-down); Marques Colston, WR, Saints (hasn't done anything this season, Brees spreads the ball around too much); Visanthe Shiancoe, TE, Vikings (Favre will try to force the ball, unsuccessfully, to Moss, leaving Shiancoe in the dark.)

Disagree? Think I forgot someone? Leave me a comment and we'll discuss.

Follow me on Twitter @TheJasonStation