Poor week last week. Where I went wrong was assuming the Saints defense was so weak that even Eli Manning would have a great game against it. He did not, I did not, and here we are. I'm just outside the top 50 overall, and have surrendered what was once a strong in-house lead. Bounce-back time.
In this competition, each week's high score (standard scoring) will win a $25 Fantasy Index gift certificate, and the season champ will win an enviable prize package, which may be delivered to your door if you happen to live near me.
How to play: Sign into your Fantasy Index account and click the blue "Your stuff" button in the top right corner. Then look for the link to Fantasy Index Blackout on the right side of the page. Pretty simple.
Here's my Week 5 lineup.
Quarterback: Matthew Stafford and Benjamin Roethlisberger. If Matt's going to be Matthew, Ben can be Benjamin. Lots of good options this week, but I believe both of these guys will come through with big games in high-scoring matchups with more passing than running.
Running back: Sony Michel and Derrick Henry. Going with a couple of off the beaten path picks this week. The Patriots are home, facing the Colts, who may be without impressive rookie linebacker Darius Leonard. Should be a big game for Michel. Henry is in Buffalo, a great spot for the Titans to get their disappointing ground game going. If I get nervous about either pick I can always switch to Kareem Hunt, Mark Ingram or Christian McCaffrey, and maybe I will. But this is what I'm thinking today. (I actually considered another crazy pick, Aaron Jones.)
Wide receiver: Julio Jones, Golden Tate and Antonio Brown. Not blacking out many top wideouts is crazy like a fox. With this group I have to leave out A.J. Green, DeAndre Hopkins and other top players who might easily be better. I'd sort of like to get a Ram in here, but any one of the three could be best against Seattle's suddenly weak secondary. So I'm going Falcons-Steelers and Tate versus the Packers.
Tight end: Zach Ertz and Jordan Reed. You know this position is hurting when Jared Cook looks like a superstar. Anyhoo, I'm taking Ertz verus the Vikings and Reed versus the Saints.
Kicker: Justin Tucker and Wil Lutz. Tucker has been simply amazing. Not a lot of kickers these days were you expect them to trot out and make everything. He's the one. Lutz is home in a likely win against Washington, where maybe the Saints will settle for a field goal or two.
Defense/Special Teams: Tennessee and Baltimore. I ran, not walked, to grab the Titans, facing Josh Allen in Buffalo. And I'm pretty comfortable with Baltimore in Cleveland facing Baker Mayfield, too. I usually prefer home defenses. Yeah, not this week.
Good luck to the rest of you.