Every Saturday morning, I'll take a quick look at all the week's games, offering my own take on what I think will happen, as well as touching on significant injury news since our Weekly came out. I'll check in every so often over the course of the day to answer questions, too.
Our official rankings and projections are in Fantasy Index Weekly. That's the content you're paying for. My goal here is to answer questions on players who are close, and on occasion I will have opinions that clash with the rankings -- sometimes I like a player a little more than Ian. Or a little less.
Cardinals at Falcons: Great matchup for Arizona's offense. Too bad I have no faith in Carson Palmer being able to take advantage. That said he has managed some yards and touchdowns this season so he's ranked fairly high. Michael Floyd (hamstring) can't safely be used; didn't practice Thursday or Friday. So maybe you consider John Brown. Tough matchup for Atlanta but I'm pretty much using everyone.
Bengals at Ravens: Low-scoring defensive struggle and I'd prefer to avoid players. But Steve Smith Sr. is playing well and the Bengals run defense hasn't been great, so Terrance West might be OK. At the moment I'm sitting Jeremy Hill for Wendell Smallwood, more on that later.
Jaguars at Bills: Sounds like LeSean McCoy will play, while Mike Gillislee has been ruled out. And T.J. Yeldon shouldn't play, so Chris Ivory should be more of a full-time player. Maybe Sammy Watkins plays some snaps, please don't consider using him anyway. No Julius Thomas, which means he might get you the same points I got when I started Eric Ebron over him on Thursday. No Robert Woods, either.
Titans at Bears: Jordan Howard is the entirety of Bears you should consider in this game, and even he will be hurt by stacked lines against the Matt Barkley-led passing game. For Tennessee, DeMarco Murray should be busy and excellent, and Mariota and Delanie Walker also fine. I think I'm currently starting Tajae Sharpe in a flex spot though wouldn't recommend it.
Giants at Browns: Giants offense looks great, Browns offense looks bad. I think that pretty much covers it. Mild worry that Giants run all day and passing game doesn't do much, but Browns have allowed more touchdown passes than any other team.
Chargers at Texans: Still mystified by the way Houston blew the Oakland game the other night. I have much respect for San Diego's offense but Houston has been good against the pass and should at least limit them. Melvin Gordon looks great anyway. My quarterbacks in a playoff matchup are Aaron Rodgers and Philip Rivers and it's the only time all year they've both had lousy matchups, alas.
49ers at Dolphins: Great matchup for Miami, especially Jay Ajayi. Nice matchup for Carlos Hyde, too. Landry looks OK. San Francisco passing game, no thank you.
Rams at Saints: New Orleans defense has played a little better lately, and the Rams have had 3-4 games where they haven't even scored a touchdown. So I'd use Gurley if I had him anywhere and consider Britt, but I'm not going to be all Start Your Rams or anything. For the Saints, I'm assuming Mark Ingram will be cleared from his concussion, but I don't know for sure -- hasn't happened yet. Saints are home and their offense will probably do fine, I made them my Survivor Pool pick in a week with several viable choices.
Seahawks at Buccaneers: Seattle defense is tough everywhere. I think you use Mike Evans and Cameron Brate (because Seattle has been weaker defending tight ends, and because Evans will see about 15 targets regardless), but that's about it. For Seattle, all the key starters look good.
Patriots at Jets: The Patriots have Rob Gronkowski practicing in a non-contact jersey and media types are tweeting how he has a chance to play. I'm benching him and really think the Patriots already know if he'll be out there or not. And I'm guessing not. The guy has a hole in his lung and the doctors know now if it will be healed tomorrow so he can go out and get blown up by a safety or linebacker. Chris Hogan is less certain, so we'll just have to see. A nice matchup for the passing game and whoever suits up. I'm not worried about Tom Brady or Martellus Bennett.
Panthers at Raiders: Definitely time to give up on Carolina's offense putting up big numbers on anyone. I'll use Greg Olsen and consider Cam Newton and Kelvin Benjamin, but the latter two aren't gotta start types. Oakland's passing game, though, looks fine.
Kansas City at Broncos: Picked up Brandon McManus as a kicker in a league (my previous option was Cairo Santos). Not feeling great about that choice because I'm thinking neither offense will do a lot. Running games look best, so Devontae Booker and Spencer Ware. Denver wideouts and Travis Kelce. Jeremy Maclin out again, benched regardless. Night game, and might be cold in Denver.
Packers at Eagles: Starting Aaron Rodgers, but I've seen the Eagles defense at home and they're pretty tough there. But he's been putting up big numbers and I can't bet against him with the available options. Green Bay unlikely to run the ball. Ryan Mathews has a sprained MCL and they're calling him questionable, but to me the words Mathews and MCL in the same sentence make Wendell Smallwood the likely main running back, and I'm using him in a playoff matchup and hoping for the best. Obviously Green Bay's defense is comically inept these days so Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz also look viable. Should be a late night with some important fantasy matchup hinging on lots of offense.
Enjoy the games.