Week 5: Foster Leads the People - 3 comments

It’s good to have Arian Foster back, isn’t it? Owners with the star back on their benches for the first couple games are getting last year’s top dog back just in time for the start of the bye weeks. Week 5 is a critical week for matchup, as six teams are all taking the week off. Check out our rankings below (props to c0megets0me, phackney and tclagham for their submissions), complete with a few specific recommendations.

Rank	Quarterbacks	Team	Opponent	Avg
1	Aaron Rodgers	GB	at ATL	94.80
2	Drew Brees	NO	at CAR	93.20
3	Tom Brady	NE	vs. NYJ	90.60
4	Matthew Stafford	DET	vs. CHI	90.00
5	Michael Vick	PHI	at BUF	89.20
6	Philip Rivers	SD	at DEN	87.80
7	Cam Newton	CAR	vs. NO	83.60
8	Eli Manning	NYG	vs. SEA	80.60
9	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	vs. PHI	78.40
10	Matt Schaub	HOU	vs. OAK	75.60
11	Matt Ryan	ATL	vs. GB	73.80
12	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	at NE	73.20
13	Josh Freeman	TB	at SF	72.80
14	Matt Hasselbeck	TEN	at PIT	70.60
15	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	vs. TEN	69.20
16	Kevin Kolb	ARI	at MIN	63.40
17	Kyle Orton	DEN	vs. SD	62.80
18	Jason Campbell	OAK	at HOU	61.80
19	Donovan McNabb	MIN	vs. ARI	59.80
20	Jay Cutler	CHI	at DET	59.60
21	Alex Smith	SF	vs. TB	58.60
22	Curtis Painter	IND	vs. KC	56.20
23	Andy Dalton	CIN	at JAC	55.20
24	Matt Cassel	KC	at IND	53.00
25	Tarvaris Jackson	SEA	at NYG	51.00
26	Blaine Gabbert	JAC	vs. CIN	47.40

Start: Cam Newton. OK, this is just getting silly. Newton has the ability to throw for 400 yards in any games (as he did in each of the first two weeks of the season), and now he can plow into the end zone multiple times in a game as the team’s de facto “goal line back?” Please. If you happen to have Newton as well as an elite QB1, it’s time to find a down-on-their-luck team to trade one to, because Newton has to be started every week.

Sit: Ben Roethlisberger. The lack of a quality line is killing Roethlisberger, making me actually glad Max Starks was signed and is likely to immediately start. The Tennessee defense is playing extremely well, and if Starks can’t step in and be a difference-maker immediately, it could be a long day for Big Ben. I’m also not convinced he’ll make it through this one healthy. Better to go with someone else if you have a solid backup.

Rank	Running Backs	Team	Opponent	Avg
1	Arian Foster	HOU	vs. OAK	97.60
2	Darren McFadden	OAK	at HOU	94.20
3	Adrian Peterson	MIN	vs. ARI	92.20
4	LeSean McCoy	PHI	at BUF	91.60
5	Fred Jackson	BUF	vs. PHI	89.00
6	Chris Johnson	TEN	at PIT	88.12
7	Matt Forte	CHI	at DET	83.60
8	Ryan Mathews	SD	at DEN	82.04
9	Maurice Jones-Drew	JAC	vs. CIN	81.68
10	Beanie Wells	ARI	at MIN	77.60
11	Jahvid Best	DET	vs. CHI	76.96
12	Cedric Benson	CIN	at JAC	76.20
13	Michael Turner	ATL	vs. GB	76.00
14	Ahmad Bradshaw	NYG	vs. SEA	75.60
15	Frank Gore	SF	vs. TB	74.40
16	Darren Sproles	NO	at CAR	70.60
17	Joseph Addai	IND	vs. KC	68.56
18	Shonn Greene	NYJ	at NE	68.40
19	LeGarrette Blount	TB	at SF	66.96
20	Willis McGahee	DEN	vs. SD	66.60
21	Isaac Redman	PIT	vs. TEN	65.84
22	James Starks	GB	at ATL	63.80
23	Mark Ingram	NO	at CAR	63.80
24	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	NE	vs. NYJ	63.60
25	Brandon Jacobs	NYG	vs. SEA	63.28
26	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	vs. NO	61.56
27	DeAngelo Williams	CAR	vs. NO	61.00
28	Pierre Thomas	NO	at CAR	60.60
29	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	at NYG	59.76
30	Dexter McCluster	KC	at IND	59.68
31	LaDainian Tomlinson	NYJ	at NE	58.92
32	Michael Bush	OAK	at HOU	56.48
33	Ryan Grant	GB	at ATL	55.08
34	Mike Tolbert	SD	at DEN	54.60
35	Knowshon Moreno	DEN	vs. SD	51.00
36	Thomas Jones	KC	at IND	50.44
37	Stevan Ridley	NE	vs. NYJ	44.20
38	Kendall Hunter	SF	vs. TB	40.40
39	C.J. Spiller	BUF	vs. PHI	35.80
40	Deji Karim	JAC	vs. CIN	31.16
41	Delone Carter	IND	vs. KC	27.32
42	Rashard Mendenhall	PIT	vs. TEN	27.20
43	Jerome Harrison	DET	vs. CHI	18.20
44	Joe McKnight	NYJ	at NE	12.00
45	Jackie Battle	KC	at IND	11.04
46	Chester Taylor	ARI	at MIN	11.00
47	Javon Ringer	TEN	at PIT	10.60
48	Kregg Lumpkin	TB	at SF	10.16
49	Bernard Scott	CIN	at JAC	9.20
50	Ronnie Brown	PHI	at BUF	9.04

Start: Darren Sproles. Reggie who? Sproles has been awesome as the new passing-situation back for the Saints, giving them yet another weapon and making them even harder for a defense to stop. The Panthers are giving up 5.2 yards per carry and over 140 rushing yards per game. Sproles is averaging about 90 yards a game, but that’s trending upwards — he had 131 yards and a TD last week against the Jaguars. Expect another big one here in a high-scoring game.

Sit: Brandon Jacobs. He’s operating at less than full health with an MCL sprain, and Seattle has been excellent in stopping the run. Jacobs is listed as a game-time decision, but there’s speculation he won’t be able to play on Sunday. Avoid the uncertainty by planting him on the bench this week and opting for another, healthier option (Isaac Redman, anyone?).

Rank	Wide Receivers	Team	Opponent	Avg
1	Calvin Johnson	DET	vs. CHI	97.25
2	Hakeem Nicks	NYG	vs. SEA	90.50
3	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	at MIN	88.50
4	Wes Welker	NE	vs. NYJ	86.75
5	Steve Smith	CAR	vs. NO	85.75
6	Mike Wallace	PIT	vs. TEN	85.05
7	Greg Jennings	GB	at ATL	84.75
8	Roddy White	ATL	vs. GB	84.25
9	Steve Johnson	BUF	vs. PHI	79.55
10	Santonio Holmes	NYJ	at NE	78.15
11	DeSean Jackson	PHI	at BUF	77.10
12	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	at BUF	75.80
13	Dwayne Bowe	KC	at IND	74.05
14	Marques Colston	NO	at CAR	72.75
15	Reggie Wayne	IND	vs. KC	72.50
16	Percy Harvin	MIN	vs. ARI	72.20
17	A.J. Green	CIN	at JAC	69.85
18	Brandon Lloyd	DEN	vs. SD	69.25
19	Mike Williams	TB	at SF	68.50
20	Vincent Jackson	SD	at DEN	68.20
21	Mario Manningham	NYG	vs. SEA	66.30
22	Nate Washington	TEN	at PIT	66.25
23	Jordy Nelson	GB	at ATL	66.10
24	Lance Moore	NO	at CAR	62.30
25	Julio Jones	ATL	vs. GB	61.50
26	Sidney Rice	SEA	at NYG	61.33
27	Eric Decker	DEN	vs. SD	60.95
28	Plaxico Burress	NYJ	at NE	60.55
29	Victor Cruz	NYG	vs. SEA	59.95
30	David Nelson	BUF	vs. PHI	58.70
31	Jacoby Jones	HOU	vs. OAK	57.75
32	Nate Burleson	DET	vs. CHI	57.25
33	Pierre Garcon	IND	vs. KC	56.07
34	Robert Meachem	NO	at CAR	55.45
35	Mike Thomas	JAC	vs. CIN	55.40
36	Michael Crabtree	SF	vs. TB	55.20
37	Deion Branch	NE	vs. NYJ	55.15
38	Malcom Floyd	SD	at DEN	53.47
39	Kevin Walter	HOU	vs. OAK	52.47
40	Johnny Knox	CHI	at DET	52.30
41	Early Doucet	ARI	at MIN	49.05
42	Denarius Moore	OAK	at HOU	49.00
43	Devin Hester	CHI	at DET	48.30
44	Jacoby Ford	OAK	at HOU	46.65
45	James Jones	GB	at ATL	46.25
46	Jerome Simpson	CIN	at JAC	45.40
47	Derrick Mason	NYJ	at NE	43.50
48	Michael Jenkins	MIN	vs. ARI	42.15
49	Donald Jones	BUF	vs. PHI	39.25
50	Emmanuel Sanders	PIT	vs. TEN	37.65
51	Devery Henderson	NO	at CAR	35.39
52	Vincent Brown	SD	at DEN	33.45
53	Randall Cobb	GB	at ATL	31.70
54	Mike Williams	SEA	at NYG	31.15
55	Antonio Brown	PIT	vs. TEN	30.75
56	Austin Collie	IND	vs. KC	30.45
57	Andre Caldwell	CIN	at JAC	30.10
58	Ted Ginn Jr.	SF	vs. TB	30.00
59	Andre Roberts	ARI	at MIN	29.25
60	Arrelious Benn	TB	at SF	29.00
61	Brandon LaFell	CAR	vs. NO	28.95
62	Hines Ward	PIT	vs. TEN	28.95
63	Darrius Heyward-Bay	OAK	at HOU	28.75
64	Roy Williams	CHI	at DET	27.30
65	Titus Young	DET	vs. CHI	25.65
66	Bernard Berrian	MIN	vs. ARI	24.85
67	Ben Obomanu	SEA	at NYG	23.50
68	Steve Breaston	KC	at IND	22.00
69	Josh Morgan	SF	vs. TB	21.50
70	Chad Ochocinco	NE	vs. NYJ	20.20
71	Damian Williams	TEN	at PIT	18.90
72	Legedu Naanee	CAR	vs. NO	18.75
73	Preston Parker	TB	at SF	17.50
74	Patrick Crayton	SD	at DEN	17.30
75	Harry Douglas	ATL	vs. GB	16.60

Start: Mario Manningham. Fantasy owners are becoming disenfranchised with Manningham, so much so that I saw him hit the wire in a 12-team league this week. While he was on the bench for a lot of the Giants’ Week 4 game in favor of Victor Cruz, the Giants aren’t giving up on Manningham as a starter. Cruz’s boneheaded non-fumble obviously couldn’t have endeared him to the coaching staff either. Manningham is primed for a monster game here, so buy low and start him if you can.

Sit: Devery Henderson. Marques Colston is back with the team and looks ready to take over a full workload. Throw in the emergence of Jimmy Graham, the unstoppablility of Darren Sproles, the consistency of Lance Moore and the upside of Robert Meachem, and Henderson wouldn’t be a good bet for targets even if he was 100 percent healthy. He’s not. It’s time to start looking for another upside WR; if you find one, feel free to cut Henderson loose.

Rank	Tight Ends	Team	Opponent	Avg
1	Jermichael Finley	GB	at ATL	90.80
2	Rob Gronkowski	NE	vs. NYJ	89.20
3	Jimmy Graham	NO	at CAR	88.60
4	Dustin Keller	NYJ	at NE	83.00
5	Owen Daniels	HOU	vs. OAK	82.60
6	Vernon Davis	SF	vs. TB	81.00
7	Tony Gonzalez	ATL	vs. GB	78.60
8	Brandon Pettigrew	DET	vs. CHI	75.80
9	Dallas Clark	IND	vs. KC	74.00
10	Greg Olsen	CAR	vs. NO	70.40
11	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	at JAC	70.00
12	Scott Chandler	BUF	vs. PHI	68.00
13	Kellen Winslow	TB	at SF	65.40
14	Aaron Hernandez	NE	vs. NYJ	58.33
15	Randy McMichael	SD	at DEN	58.00
16	Jared Cook	TEN	at PIT	56.25
17	Jeff King	ARI	at MIN	54.60
18	Visanthe Shiancoe	MIN	vs. ARI	52.40
19	Daniel Fells	DEN	vs. SD	46.00
20	Jake Ballard	NYG	vs. SEA	42.20
21	Brent Celek	PHI	at BUF	38.20
22	Heath Miller	PIT	vs. TEN	36.20
23	Kevin Boss	OAK	at HOU	35.60
24	Tony Scheffler	DET	vs. CHI	29.20
25	Todd Heap	ARI	at MIN	27.60
26	Leonard Pope	KC	at IND	24.40
27	Marcedes Lewis	JAC	vs. CIN	22.00
28	Zach Miller	SEA	at NYG	22.00
29	Jeremy Shockey	CAR	vs. NO	19.50
30	Matt Spaeth	CHI	at DET	14.20

Start: Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez was a beast in the first two games of the season, catching seven balls and a touchdown in each. He’s practiced all week, which means he’s ready to pick up right where he left off. This matchup begs for the Pats to go nuclear with their tight ends this week, and it wouldn’t shock me to see Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski combined for 15 catches, 200 yards and four TDs. Start ‘em both.

Sit: Zach Miller. You know what? Just cut him. If you’re in a PPR league, Seattle’s Zach Miller is tied with Jacksonville’s Zach Miller in fantasy points. If you play in a standard league, the Seattle Miller is the second best tight end named “Zach Miller” in the league. There’s no reason for it to get better anytime soon, and either Miller is a poor option even with six teams off this week.

Rank	Kickers	Team	Opponent	Avg
1	Jason Hanson	DET	vs. CHI	79.80
2	Neil Rackers	HOU	vs. OAK	77.52
3	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	at HOU	75.64
4	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	vs. NYJ	72.88
5	John Kasay	NO	at CAR	71.92
6	Mason Crosby	GB	at ATL	71.40
7	David Akers	SF	vs. TB	71.36
8	Nick Folk	NYJ	at NE	70.72
9	Alex Henery	PHI	at BUF	70.24
10	Matt Bryant	ATL	vs. GB	68.00
11	Adam Vinatieri	IND	vs. KC	67.40
12	Rob Bironas	TEN	at PIT	66.92
13	Robbie Gould	CHI	at DET	66.76
14	Jay Feely	ARI	at MIN	63.80
15	Rian Lindell	BUF	vs. PHI	63.40
16	Matt Prater	DEN	vs. SD	62.24
17	Mike Nugent	CIN	at JAC	62.20
18	Ryan Longwell	MIN	vs. ARI	61.40
19	Lawrence Tynes	NYG	vs. SEA	60.56
20	Connor Barth	TB	at SF	58.88
21	Nick Novak	SD	at DEN	58.80
22	Shaun Suisham	PIT	vs. TEN	58.04
23	Olindo Mare	CAR	vs. NO	57.96
24	Ryan Succop	KC	at IND	57.88
25	Josh Scobee	JAC	vs. CIN	55.76
26	Steven Hauschka	SEA	at NYG	53.36

Start: Rian Lindell. Philly has played awful defense, and the Bills can almost score at will.

Sit: Any kicker with a bye. Seriously, go check and make sure you’re not playing a bye-week kicker.

Rank	Team Defense	Team	Opponent	Avg
1	New York Giants	NYG	vs. SEA	76.30
2	Detroit Lions	DET	vs. CHI	71.62
3	San Diego Chargers	SD	at DEN	71.50
4	Tennessee Titans	TEN	at PIT	71.48
5	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB	at SF	69.18
6	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN	at JAC	67.04
7	Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT	vs. TEN	66.10
8	Kansas City Chiefs	KC	at IND	62.30
9	Indianapolis Colts	IND	vs. KC	61.48
10	Green Bay Packers	GB	at ATL	61.00
11	Arizona Cardinals	ARI	at MIN	59.42
12	Minnesota Vikings	MIN	vs. ARI	59.40
13	San Francisco 49ers	SF	vs. TB	59.10
14	Houston Texans	HOU	vs. OAK	58.36
15	New Orleans Saints	NO	at CAR	57.90
16	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI	at BUF	57.00
17	Jacksonville Jaguars	JAC	vs. CIN	54.50
18	New York Jets	NYJ	at NE	54.00
19	Seattle Seahawks	SEA	at NYG	48.62
20	New England Patriots	NE	vs. NYJ	47.92
21	Chicago Bears	CHI	at DET	47.40
22	Atlanta Falcons	ATL	vs. GB	45.44
23	Oakland Raiders	OAK	at HOU	43.66
24	Denver Broncos	DEN	vs. SD	43.00
25	Carolina Panthers	CAR	vs. NO	41.38
26	Buffalo Bills	BUF	vs. PHI	39.30

Start: Tennessee Titans. They’ve been playing excellent defensive football this year, which deserves a lot of the credit for their 3-1 record. They’ll get to feast on the repugnant Pittsburgh offensive line this week, which has made Ben Roethlisberger gun shy in recent weeks.

Sit: New York Jets. They’re the second-most owned defense in Yahoo! leagues, but you know it’s foolish to start them against the New England Patriots, right? Park them on the bench for a week and go with someone with a better matchup. If you can’t get Tennessee, consider Kansas City against the mediocre Indianapolis tackles.

R.J. White is the head editor at the Cafe, writes for FanDuel and Razzball and has previously written for FanHouse. Catch up with him in the forums under the name daullaz. Follow him on Twitter; don't follow him in real life.

Want to write for the Cafe? Check out the Cafe's Pencil & Paper section!

3 Responses to “Week 5: Foster Leads the People”

sjkooiii says:

October 7, 2011 at 12:26 pm

Would it be better to start Michael Vick over Matthew Stafford this week? or Steve Johnson over Santonio Holmes?
Reply
tclangham says:

October 7, 2011 at 2:26 pm

@sjkooii you can’t go wrong with either starting Vick or Stafford. Steve Johnson has obviously had the better year so far but he is going to have a lower then normal out put going against Nohmni – Just think of it this way, if you start Vick and Johnson you can watch the Phlly and Buf game.
Reply
jmp14 says:

October 7, 2011 at 8:50 pm

Dustin Keller is too high. The Pats may be soft on D but they can still take away the TE (see “Gates, Antonio”). I’d be wary of Shonn Greene, too. He hasn’t proven anything yet.
Reply