I missed last week's post about my Blackout picks; I blame the holiday season. It was unfortunate since I had just posted by best week all season. But it's OK, I'm not eligible for any prizes anyway. What I will do is share my Week 14 picks, which of course will not include anyone from last night's Saints-Falcons game. Unlike some of my playoff lineups, alas.
You can enter under Your Stuff at the top right of the screen. It's similar to our old SuperLeague competition, except you're prevented from using sure-fire, slam-dunk superstars.
Quarterback: Alex Smith's huge day cost me some money last week. Most annoying, I lost by fewer points than he got from his absurd 70-yard run. Thanks, Jets. So this week I'll start him at home against the Raiders. And I'll start Philip Rivers at home against Washington, doubling down on AFC West passers. Relieved I benched Matt Ryan last night in favor of Rivers, unless I turn out to be wrong.
Running back: Gurley and Bell and the guys who already played are blacked out. I'm going a little off the beaten path, I think, with Marshawn Lynch against a bad Kansas City run defense and Rex Burkhead, who's scored eleventy billion touchdowns in last month. Not feeling great about these choices, but the running back position dries up quickly in fantasy leagues.
Wide receiver: Lots of great choices here, so great I'm not even going to use Keenan Allen. I absolutely love Larry Fitzgerald against a lousy Titans pass defense and DeAndre Hopkins against a lousy 49ers pass defense, even though their quarterbacks are Blaine Gabbert and Tom Savage. Ugly, I know. And finally I'm taking Josh Gordon, who has DeShone Kizer as his quarterback, against a crummy Green Bay secondary. If I could start four, I'd find room for Allen.
Tight end: Evan Engram is back in my good graces after last week, I'll use him. And for now I'm putting Delanie Walker in, but there's an injury question. Kyle Rudolph and Stephen Anderson are in the discussion.
Kicker: Harrison Butker is home against the Raiders. Greg Zuerlein is home against the Eagles and on pace to break the kicking points record. They're my kickers this week.
Defense: In one league I have a choice between Jacksonville and Pittsburgh. Here, I can use both of them. The Jaguars against Russell Wilson are not ideal, so maybe I'll switch to the Jets against the Broncos (early in the season you would have thought Broncos against Jets would be the easy choice) or the Colts against the Bills (if it's Nathan Peterman). But for now, Friday afternoon, I'll put in the Jaguars and Steelers.
Good luck to the rest of you.