Below is our Week 11 Start & Bench Advice for the 2012 fantasy football season.
This week, we have JRMRRT cranking out the Weekly Projections, I (Smitty) have your usual “buy-low” players heading into the week, “_X_” has you covered with some awesome Week 11 topics and player evaluations, and of course, we have Mile_High_Man’s usual Weekly Line-Up Rankings, which are linked at the bottom, but usually not fully updated until Wednesday (so check back on his rankings!).
Let’s get to it!
Week 11 Fantasy Football Weekly Projections
By JRMRRT
* Based on a standard PPR scoring format
Quarterbacks
1. Aaron Rodgers (@ Lions): 390/4 4/20/0 rush
2. Drew Brees (@ Raiders): 380/4
3. Tom Brady (vs. Colts): 365/3
4. Peyton Manning (vs. Chargers): 350/3 1 INT
5. Matt Ryan (vs. Cardinals): 345/3 1 INT
6. Robert Griffin III (vs. Eagles): 220/2 1 INT 7/40/1 rush
7. Matt Stafford (vs. Packers): 335/3 2 INTs
8. Andy Dalton (@ Chiefs): 290/3 1 INT
9. Tony Romo (vs. Browns): 300/3 2 INTs
10. Andrew Luck (@ Patriots): 270/2 1 INT 3/45/0 rush
11. Matt Schaub (vs. Jaguars): 300/2 1 INT
12. Josh Freeman (@ Panthers): 280/2
13. Carson Palmer (vs. Saints): 280/2 1 INT
14. Cam Newton (vs. Bucs): 240/2 2 INTs 5/60/0 rush
15. Phillip Rivers (@ Broncos): 265/2 2 INTs
Running Backs
1. Arian Foster (vs. Jaguars): 130/1 5/45/0
2. CJ Spiller (vs. Dolphins): 110/1 5/60/0
3. Doug Martin (@ Panthers): 100/1 4/35/0
4. Lesean McCoy (@ Redskins): 80/1 6/45/0
5. Jamaal Charles (vs. Bengals): 80/0 5/45/1
6. Stevan Ridley (vs. Colts): 110/1
7. Demarco Murray (vs. Browns): 90/1 1/10/0 *
8. Matt Forte (@ 49ers): 75/1 4/35/0
9. Alfred Morris (vs. Eagles): 100/1
10. Issac Redman (vs. Ravens): 100/1
11. Reggie Bush (@ Bills): 35/0 4/35/1
12. Ray Rice (@ Steelers): 90/0 4/40/0
13. Ryan Mathews (@ Broncos): 70/0 3/30/0
14. Frank Gore (vs. Bears): 65/0 4/40/0
15. Willis McGahee (vs. Chargers): 80/0 2/25/0
Receivers/Tight Ends
1. Calvin Johnson (vs. Packers): 10/120/1
2. AJ Green (@ Chiefs): 8/110/1
3. Rob Gronkowski (vs. Colts): 7/110/1
4. Vincent Jackson (@ Panthers): 6/110/1
5. Wes Welker (vs. Colts) 9/90/1
6. Andre Johnson (vs. Jaguars): 7/100/1
7. Julio Jones (vs. Cardinals): 7/100/1
8. Reggie Wayne (@ Patriots): 6/100/1
9. Jimmy Graham (@ Raiders): 6/100/1
10. Marques Colston (@ Raiders): 5/100/1
11. Demaryius Thomas (vs. Chargers): 4/110/1
12. Brandon Marshall (@ 49ers): 5/100/1
13. Dez Bryant (vs. Browns): 5/95/1
14. Roddy White (vs. Cardinals): 8/75/1
15. Jordy Nelson (@ Lions): 4/100/1
16. Mike Wallace (vs. Ravens): 3/90/1
17. Jeremy Maclin (@ Redskins): 4/80/1
18. Randal Cobb (@ Lions): 5/60/1 1/10/0 rush
19. Eric Decker (vs. Chargers): 5/65/1
20. Larry Fitzgerald (@ Falcons): 5/65/1
21. Miles Austin (vs. Browns): 5/65/1
22. Torrey Smith (vs. Bucs): 4/70/1
23. Danny Amendola (vs. Jets): 7/100/0
24. Mike Williams (@ Panthers): 4/50/1
25. Denarious Moore (vs. Saints): 4/50/1
26. Dwayne Bowe (vs. Bengals): 7/80/0
27. Steve Johnson (vs. Dolphins): 5/45/1
28. Anquon Boldin (@ Steelers): 5/65/0
29. Steve Smith (vs. Bucs): 5/60/0
30. Andre Roberts (@ Falcons): 4/60/0
31. Tony Gonzalez (vs. Cardinals): 4/60/0
X’s Week 11 Start/Bench Thoughts
Quarterback
The Saints and Raiders will meet in Oakland this week, and if you have the chance to play either Drew Brees or Carson Palmer, you’ll be rewarded with big time stats. Neither team can stop anyone right now and neither has the ability to truly run the ball… both those add up to a couple of 300-yard passers who’ll likely throw for 3 scores apiece. Honestly, Brees could go over 400 in this one. The Eagles’ Nick Foles is the hot commodity out on the wire right now – not only does Michael Vick have a pretty serious concussion, but it appears as if the Eagles are prepared to bench him the rest of the way. As for Foles, he won’t be consistent by any stretch, but he does draw a pretty favorable schedule and could end up a pretty good play in any given week.
Running Back
Arian Foster’s best game of the year was his 152 rushing yards against the NY Jets in week 5 – he also had an additional 16 receiving yards and a score in that game. This week Foster draws the Jacksonville Jaguars, who rank just as bad against the run, giving up 137 yards per game and 14 scores – only the Bills are worse in those two categories. Look for Foster to have his best game of the season and score a pair of touchdowns at home against the Jags. If you are in the hunt for a waiver play at RB, Marcel Reece is someone to consider with both Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson out for Oakland. Reece is a great receiver as well, so he has even more upside in PPR.
Wide Receiver
Jeremy Maclin caught a season high 8 passes last week against the Cowboys and finished with 93 yards and a score. Nick Foles is now the starter in Philly, and he gets a good matchup against the 30th ranked Redskins pass defense, and that makes Maclin a nice play this week. I figure another 8 grabs for over 100 yards and a score. Teammate DeSean Jackson is a good play too, he’s just a bit harder to figure with his up and down performances week to week. A nice sleeper to keep an eye on is Danario Alexander of the Chargers who looks to have supplanted Robert Meachum in the starting lineup. He caught 5 passes for 134 yards and a score last week in his first start of the season. The Chargers are facing a make or break game against the Broncos this week and I liking Alexander’s chances to have another big game.
Tight End
Jimmy Graham is one of the hottest tight ends in the league right now, compiling 15/218/3 in his last two games. There will be no slowdown in his production this week against Oakland, expect monster numbers from Graham again… the guy is impossible to cover. My hunch of the week may surprise a few people, but I’m looking for Jermichael Finley to have a nice week against the Lions. He’s pretty much disappeared from this offense all year, but coming off a bye I believe they may have worked on getting him involved again. Prediction? 6-60 and a score.
Week 11 Byes
Byes: Vikings, Giants, Seahawks, Titans
Buy-low Round Table; Oh, and it’s Spiller time!
Last week I said to go get C.J. Spiller; hopefully you did, or at least tried. Freddy Jackson surprisingly got a ton more carries in Week 11 than anyone expected, robbing Spiller of two scores, but still, even on limited carries, Spiller totaled 131 yards and averaged 7.8 yards-per-carry. Honestly, it’s head-scratching how Buffalo uses this elite talent, as he kicked off the first two weeks of this season as arguably the best fantasy rusher in football. Well, FJax has been ruled out of Week 11 with a concussion, so it’s Spiller time once again! If you traded for him last week, buckle-up! If you didn’t, you could always attempt to grab him now, but his owner is not likely to give him up heading into this Thursday night battle against the Dolphins.
Nothing changes with my two weekly recommended buy-low players, Cam Newton and Julio Jones. Yes, I know, Newt continues to struggle, but in a struggling effort last week, he posted 2TDs and 241 yards… While others continue to doubt him, I just keep taking stabs at acquiring him on the cheap. Doubting him is understandable, really it is, but I refuse, and in one league where I shockingly have a top 1-3 fantasy QB, yet I’m almost out of the playoff hunt, I pulled off a last-second deal heading into Week 10, a trade where I shipped off Drew Brees for Cam Newton and C.J. Spiller… the trade went pending into kickoff, on the dreaded 3-day voting system, but I have my boy Spiller this week! Yes, it was a gamble, since the deal was pulled off prior to Sunday’s game, where FJax got banged up, but that’s the kind of move you need to make in leagues where you need a spark and have a big-time bargaining chip.
Jamaal Charles had a strong, yet somewhat overlooked, Week 10 outing against the Steelers. He had 100 rushing yards and a score, so in a sense, you can’t really call that a quiet outing; however, heading into the week, I can’t tell you how many people I talked to that actually benched Charles. Yes, his match-up was tough this week against the Steelers, but honestly, I wouldn’t ever consider benching Charles, he is far too dynamic, and he can take it house on any carry. Yes, he had 39 rushing yards the week prior, and in the two games before that he had just 4 rushing yards and then 40 rushing yards, but this is the same guy that had 233 rushing yards and a score in Week 3, 88 rushing yards and a score in Week 4, and 140 rushing yards in Week 5. This 100-yard/TD outing against the Steelers will surely restore some confidence with those Charles owners in your league, but take one last stab at acquiring him via trade, as many fantasy owners may be tired of his inconsistency. Should you be worried about his inconsistency? Well, I say he’s worth the risk, especially if your team needs a spark heading into your trade deadline.
Looking For Week 11-Only Rankings?
By Mile_High_Man
View these Weekly Line-Up Rankings here (week 11 only, and we have both PPR and Non-PPR).
Note: These rankings could be updated as early as Tuesday afternoons, but could be ready as late as Wednesday evenings at 6pm EST. These Weekly Rankings are maintained by Mile_High_Man.
Wr sit/start i need to start 3 of the 4. Wallace , Dez, D Moore, and Titus Young. I think I sit Wallace cause BigBen is hurt and after watching the game today. The backup qb cant complete a pass thoughts. .5 ppr
I go Wallace, Dez, and Moore, but I’d love to see all kinds of takes on this, because Young deserves a long look here..
Looks like you have Trent out of the top 15. It’s fine, I will still use him considering I ended up starting Taiwan Jones last week.
Trent is right around that 10-13 range for me this week, coming off the bye and resting up… but that’s what’s great about forcing someone to rank just 15 backs, it really forces you to make bold calls, and make painful cutoffs… That’s why we do just 15, even though it upsets those that don’t see their player listed (not suggesting that you are that person in this case, just speaking in general). I can understand anyone having Richardson in the top 5-10, or the 16-18 range, honestly, he is just that kind of player right now. Tons of upside mixed with the occasional mediocre game.
I understand your reasoning, but I think most people play in 10-12 teams and use 2 RBs, so I would mind seeing the top 20 and get most of the starters. After all, you go to 15 QBs.
Looking at expanding RBs to 20.
Need some help here. Got Harvin on bye, Marshall at WR1 and Spiller/McCoy at RB.
Pick two ( 1 wr2, 1 flex):
Lance Moore, Torrey Smith, Murray
I’m not so sure you will have a choice here, as Murray is iffy to play at best. If he was a go, and assured starter touches (which I don’t think will be the case his first game back), I’d consider him, but I think Smith and Moore play by default here. Other thoughts, fellas?
Is it crazy to trade RG3 for Newton anticipating a rookie dropoff?
Crazy? No, but I wouldn’t. I love both, but RG3 is arguably the No. 2 future passer in fantasy. I keep him. Plus, he is the hot hand… even if both play top 5-like next year and beyond, why trade the hot hand, the guy that could get you more trade wise if you ever needed to toss his name out to build-out different positions?
Non-ppr standard scoring….my RBs are Foster, Rice and Spiller. I’ve never really considered sitting Foster or Rice but according to some rankings this week, would you recommend starting Spiller over Rice this week? Foster is a given. Thanks!
That’s a tough call, because Spiller could outplay him. Those are JRMRRT’s rankings up above, but I agree Spiller could be elite this week and moving forward. Then again, this is Buffalo we’re talking about… Spiller could have 150 and 2 this week, then share carries again once Freddy is back. I hope that is not the case, and you have to think if Spiller has a 100 and 1 game at least, BUF will start using him, but who knows? For this week, it’s crazy to sit Rice, but given the match-up for Rice and how well Spiller could do this week, it might be even crazier to sit Spiller. Looks like you gotta be some sort of crazy this week.
If forced to pick, I go Foster and Spiller. Foster is a must-go, like X states above (could be his biggest week of the season).
I like that you have Demarco listed on here. Perhaps he will man-up and start playing.
I like seeing him listed as well, but I’m kinda thinking he may be iffy even if he goes? Who knows… honestly? No one. Sometimes guys give it a go coming off time off and they get more touches than you ever imagined and you kick yourself for benching them in expectation that they would play very little upon return. Then, other times you start a guy coming off a lengthy absence and he burns you and plays a handful of snaps, or rotates drives. It’s not easy to predict such moves with such players. Nice player to bring up, and I hope JRMRRT is right, I would love to see Murray bounce back quick! A good buy low in dynasty, FYI, just pay low, as you can…
Hey guys, I decided to put a trade question here, I don’t think it’s important enough to put in the forums. My leagues trade deadline is Friday.
This is a 12 team, non-ppr, redraft league where ALL TD’s are 6pts. We start 1 QB, 2 RB’s, 3 WR’s, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 Def/ST
MY Team:
QB: Brady, Freeman
WR: AJ Green, Calvin Johnson, Mike Wallace, Amendola
RB: Doug Martin, CJ Spiller, L. Blount, Benson, ‘Quizz, Dwyer
TE: Witten
K: Hanson
Def: N.E.
Here are 3 deals that I could potentially land. I was curious which were the best to pursue, or if I should just keep what I got.
1. GET Gronk — Give Witten, Wallace, ‘Quizz
2 GET Victor Cruz — Give Wallace, Amendola, Dwyer
3. GET Dez Bryant & Demarco — Give Wallace, Amendola, Dwyer
Thank You!!!
I like #1 and #3. I’d put all trade advise questions on the forum though TamMan. I like to have as many opinions as possible when making big moves.
Need one from each group, please…
Palmer vs NO
Freeman @Car
Newton vs TB
Griffin vs Phil
Stafford vs GB
Thanks!
Freeman….RGIII
Need to pick 3 RBs from the following for wk11. This is a non-PPR and redraft league.
Ridley @ IND
Forte @SF
Gore @ CHI
Leshoure @GB
Turner @ ARI
Thanks.
Ridley, Forte and Gore…tough choices though because of match-ups…GL.
Smitty, I am 9-1 , trade deadline is Friday and figured since I have Peyton Manning I don’t need Andrew Luck. I understand that if Manning was to sit or get hurt than I need him but took a shot . Traded Luck for Cobb to upgrade my wr core. My team in .5 ppr league 12 team league 2rb , 2wr, te, flex def, k
QB P Manning
RB McCoy, Forte, Spiller, D Murray, Mendenhall
WR Dez, Decker, Cobb, James Jones
TE Gonzalez
Should be a no brainer but I got 4 flex options in a 12 team standard and need to decide on one… Shonne Greene , Daniel Thomas , Andre Roberts or Brandon Lloyd?
Find it hard to believe you have Redmen who will be splitting carries at best in the top 10 and no TRich
Trent Richardson was a mistake. I would project 100/1 and 4/35/0 rec from him. When I did these projections there was no news of Mendenhall playing this week. Very sorry for leaving T Rich off the projections though.
Jason Witten or Jermichal Finley this week?
Any thoughts??
Jason Witten.
does giving us the top 15 backs really help anyone? that info only seems like it would help someone if they were in a 6 person league. I think we all know we should start Arian Foster this week. #useless
The projections are more for which player you should start when choosing between viable options IMO duck. Do we really need to list that Lamar Miller will have 3 carries for 11 yards? I would say that projections like that are even less helpful. To project 30-40 RBs, 32 QBs and 90 WRs would not only require a ton of time that you don’t really have once all the information required to make projections are released, but is also completely redundant. Most start bench questions are owners wanting to know which stud to start…Not which dud. Thanks for your opinion though and GL.
If you ever do require more in depth start/bench advise though feel free to log into the start/bench forum we have and post any question. Everyone including myself will be happy to help.
Well, if you can’t use such projections, there is quite a bit more in this article, not to mention if you scroll down to the end of the content above, MHM has his full week 11 rankings (it’s not projections, but covers the same basic idea, who is better straight down the line!), so not sure how it is that we’re not covering most everything you’d need. We don’t do projections for a lot of the Peyton Hillis types, etc, as it’s more guess work than anything and it’s my thinking that we focus our attention on some of the other content you now see intermixed within the Start Bench Article. I can understand the desire for what you’re asking, though, I can, but I’d venture to say “useless” is not something many would agree with you on. I think we do a good job getting a bit of everything mixed into the content you see above, deep weekly rankings with MHM’s rankings (that ultimately accomplish what you’re looking for, which are “deep” calls on a weekly basis), and we provide the detailed projections with JRMRRT’s projections for the big to medium size players… and we include a whole bunch of other Week 11 related content between X and myself. Not to mention the question and answer environment you are speaking to us through right now, where these guys work hard answering all kinds of questions. We try pretty hard to hit every angle we can.
JRMRRT is right, not every feature is going to help you at ever angle of this thing. There are tons of scenarios where you have to decide on your RB2 and have an Ridley vs a Marshawn Lynch (let’s say when he is facing a top-notch defense). Or Alfred Morris vs a Kenny Britt at your flex. JRMRRT is also right that the Start Bench Forum is the place to be for some other questions not covered in the content above.
Mike Wallace or Miles Austin?