Five hundred and nine.
That would be the number of touchdowns Peyton Manning threw to set the all-time NFL career record. It’s really quite amazing. He would go on to throw another one Sunday night – for good measure.
I can honestly say I was amongst the doubters when he left Indianapolis for Denver. How would he recover? Would his arm ever be the same? He’s too old, right? Well, he made a lot of us look foolish for doubting him. Taking his team to the Super Bowl last year and on track to do it again, Peyton looks as good as ever.
We might also mention how great he is as far as fantasy football. According to RotoWorld.com, Manning finished among the top 10 quarterbacks every year of his career, aside from one year he missed due to a neck injury. His average draft position was outside of the first round. But you can’t deny how many fantasy championships this guy has won.
All these facts make one thing clear – Peyton embodies the one thing I say every week. Start your studs who put up consistent numbers, not the boom-or-bust guy who might go off or might put up zero points. It’s a proven way to win championships.
But when you don’t have enough studs to fill your lineup? You come here. Let’s get to it:
Who would have thought Dallas would be the top team in the league right now? I’d say the fans can thank Tony Romo for this feat. His elusiveness in the pocket is unmatched and he gets to go up against a bad Washington secondary. As long as the Redskins can put up a few points, Romo will have a huge game.
Arizona’s Carson Palmer is back in the swing of things and the Philadelphia Eagles are coming to town. That should mean points, points and more points. In a shootout game, Palmer could put up some big numbers.
I’m going to say that the Lions’ Joique Bell is a start this week, even if Reggie Bush ends up playing. Bell is the workhorse back and will get goal-line carries. Atlanta’s front four simply cannot stop anybody.
I’m going to put two young running backs together here and say Minnesota’s Jerick McKinnon and the Jaguars’ Denard Robinson are start-worthy this week. They both are the starters for their respective teams and both have good matchups. Two birds with one stone.
Another two-for-one: Green Bay’s Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. You’re probably starting both of them, but I just wanted to mention that they could finish one and two out of all WRs this week. Something to think about.
In a year where Larry Fitzgerald has not been dependable, I think he’s worthy of a spot in your lineup this week.
I already explained why I think Palmer could go off and Fitzgerald should be a benefactor.
Jordan Reed of the Redskins is an athletic freak at tight end who should be fully healthy for a big game against Dallas, which has given up the second most points to TEs. Whether it’s Kirk Cousins or Colt McCoy throwing the ball, the quarterback will be looking for Reed.
It pains me to say this, but I would completely understand benching Matt Ryan this week.
His O-line is a mess and he takes on the swarming Detroit defense. I bet he’ll be on his back a lot. You don’t get fantasy points for that.
Another veteran in the sit column is Jay Cutler, who had a terrible game last week at home.
Even worse, his go-to guy, Brandon Marshall, went ballistic in the locker room afterwards. Marshall reportedly targeted Cutler in his tirade – not good, especially when you have to travel to New England for your next game.
LeSean McCoy has been up and down all year. I expect a down this week. Arizona’s run-defense is second in the league, not to mention this game has all the makings of an aerial shootout.
Not only is Rams running back Zac Stacy a “sit” this week, he’s also forced me to create a new section: the “drop-him-instantly-and-don’t-ever-look-back” section.
I can’t imagine Brandon Marshall having a good game this week. The Patriots are second against WRs as far as fantasy points allowed. Adding that to Marshall’s little temper tantrum from last week, and it doesn’t add up.
You’ll start to see a trend form when I put Atlanta’s Julio Jones here. When a quarterback is expected to have a bad game, a lot of the same can be expected from the receivers.
Makes sense. Well, Ryan will not have time to throw and Julio won’t have time to run deep routes.
Fortunately, you have time to set them on the bench this week.
ANTHONY WATSON
