Week 13: Blount Runs Wild This Week

We’re not going to insult your intelligence by recommending LeGarrette Blount as a start this week. He managed to rush for over 100 yards in each of the last two games, both losses, which is something that wouldn’t have happened back when Earnest Graham was healthy. The 56 receiving yards in Week 12 was also something new for Blount and his owners, nearly matching the 72 yards receiving he had accrued in his first eight games. When you look at that tasty Carolina matchup looming in Week 13, you know what you have to do. Clearly you don’t need anyone to tell you he’s a must start this week. But what do you do about the rest of your team? Let’s look at our rankings this week and find out.

Rank	Quarterbacks	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Aaron Rodgers	GB	at NYG	100
2	Tom Brady	NE	vs. IND	95
3	Cam Newton	CAR	at TB	91
4	Matthew Stafford	DET	at NO	89
5	Drew Brees	NO	vs. DET	86
6	Eli Manning	NYG	vs. GB	85
7	Tony Romo	DAL	at ARI	82
8	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	vs. CIN	73
9	Tim Tebow	DEN	at MIN	71
10	Matt Ryan	ATL	at HOU	70
11	Philip Rivers	SD	at JAC	64
12	Vince Young	PHI	at SEA	57
13	Josh Freeman	TB	vs. CAR	57
14	Matt Hasselbeck	TEN	at BUF	55
15	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	at WAS	54
16	Carson Palmer	OAK	at MIA	54
17	Rex Grossman	WAS	vs. NYJ	48
18	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	vs. TEN	48
19	Tarvaris Jackson	SEA	vs. PHI	48
20	Andy Dalton	CIN	at PIT	46
21	Christian Ponder	MIN	vs. DEN	46
22	Joe Flacco	BAL	at CLE	45
23	Matt Moore	MIA	vs. OAK	44
24	Alex Smith	SF	vs. STL	43
25	Dan Orlovsky	IND	at NE	39
26	Sam Bradford	STL	at SF	35
27	Caleb Hanie	CHI	vs. KC	34
28	Colt McCoy	CLE	vs. BAL	33
29	Tyler Palko	KC	at CHI	32
30	Blaine Gabbert	JAC	vs. SD	31
31	T.J. Yates	HOU	vs. ATL	30
32	Kevin Kolb	ARI	vs. DAL	29

Start: Tim Tebow. The Vikings had a lot of trouble defending Cam Newton a few weeks back, and they’re not likely to be much better against this guy. With the Vikings secondary struggling through multiple key injuries, Tebow’s also likely to throw for at least one TD in this game, putting him in the 20-plus point range in standard leagues.

Sit: Joe Flacco. The Browns don’t give up many points to opposing QBs, a byproduct of never being comfortably ahead in the second half. The Ravens should pound the ball furiously with Ray Rice, leaving Flacco with few pass attempts, which has been the trend in recent weeks. After topping 30 attempts in eight straight games and 45 attempts in three straight games, Flacco has thrown 27 and 23 passes in his last two games, respectively. That’s not going to cut it.

Rank	Running Backs	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Arian Foster	HOU	vs. ATL	100
2	Ray Rice	BAL	at CLE	97
3	Matt Forte	CHI	vs. KC	87
4	Frank Gore	SF	vs. STL	87
5	LeSean McCoy	PHI	at SEA	86
6	DeMarco Murray	DAL	at ARI	80
7	LeGarrette Blount	TB	vs. CAR	80
8	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	vs. PHI	76
9	Reggie Bush	MIA	vs. OAK	76
10	Maurice Jones-Drew	JAC	vs. SD	75
11	Chris Johnson	TEN	at BUF	74
12	Michael Bush	OAK	at MIA	73
13	Ryan Mathews	SD	at JAC	70
14	Steven Jackson	STL	at SF	69
15	Beanie Wells	ARI	vs. DAL	67
16	Brandon Jacobs	NYG	vs. GB	67
17	Michael Turner	ATL	at HOU	66
18	Rashard Mendenhall	PIT	vs. CIN	66
19	Roy Helu	WAS	vs. NYJ	64
20	Shonn Greene	NYJ	at WAS	64
21	Darren Sproles	NO	vs. DET	63
22	James Starks	GB	at NYG	63
23	Willis McGahee	DEN	at MIN	62
24	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	at TB	62
25	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	NE	vs. IND	62
26	Cedric Benson	CIN	at PIT	61
27	DeAngelo Williams	CAR	at TB	58
28	Peyton Hillis	CLE	vs. BAL	56
29	C.J. Spiller	BUF	vs. TEN	53
30	Maurice Morris	DET	at NO	52
31	Mark Ingram	NO	vs. DET	51
32	Marion Barber	CHI	vs. KC	47
33	Ben Tate	HOU	vs. ATL	46
34	Donald Brown	IND	at NE	45
35	Toby Gerhart	MIN	vs. DEN	44
36	Kendall Hunter	SF	vs. STL	43
37	Mike Tolbert	SD	at JAC	42
38	Kevin Smith	DET	at NO	40
39	Danny Woodhead	NE	vs. IND	38
40	Daniel Thomas	MIA	vs. OAK	36
41	Ryan Grant	GB	at NYG	35
42	Lance Ball	DEN	at MIN	34
43	Ronnie Brown	PHI	at SEA	34
44	Joe McKnight	NYJ	at WAS	32
45	Javon Ringer	TEN	at BUF	30
46	Tashard Choice	BUF	vs. TEN	29
47	Felix Jones	DAL	at ARI	28
48	Keiland Williams	DET	at NO	28
49	Pierre Thomas	NO	vs. DET	27
50	D.J. Ware	NYG	vs. GB	27
51	Isaac Redman	PIT	vs. CIN	26
52	Thomas Jones	KC	at CHI	25
53	Dexter McCluster	KC	at CHI	25
54	Jackie Battle	KC	at CHI	25
55	Ricky Williams	BAL	at CLE	25
56	Ryan Torain	WAS	vs. NYJ	24
57	Shane Vereen	NE	vs. IND	22
58	Marcel Reece	OAK	at MIA	21
59	Delone Carter	IND	at NE	21
60	Joseph Addai	IND	at NE	17

Start: Roy Helu. It appears Mike Shenanihan may be out of tricks, having used the whole bag in 2012. He seems resolute to ride Helu, by far the most talented running back in Washington, the rest of the way as the bell-cow back. He shredded a quality Seattle rush defense for 162 yards on 30 touches last week — even the Evil Genius can’t bench him after that performance. The Jets have been softer against opposing RBs than you probably realize, so don’t fret the matchup.

Sit: Kevin Smith. If he misses this week’s game, this sit is obvious, but if he finds himself active, his owners are going to be sorely tempted to pull the trigger. Don’t do it. He’s shown the rare ability to get knocked out of a game on any play, and even when he was en route to a big performance against the Packers on Thanksgiving, his final stat line was a blow to fantasy owners everywhere. Avoid the headache and just say “No.”

Rank	Wide Receivers	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Wes Welker	NE	vs. IND	96
2	Calvin Johnson	DET	at NO	92
3	Victor Cruz	NYG	vs. GB	91
4	Steve Smith	CAR	at TB	89
5	Jordy Nelson	GB	at NYG	84
6	Laurent Robinson	DAL	at ARI	81
7	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	vs. DAL	79
8	Hakeem Nicks	NYG	vs. GB	79
9	Andre Johnson	HOU	vs. ATL	78
10	Roddy White	ATL	at HOU	77
11	Vincent Jackson	SD	at JAC	77
12	Dez Bryant	DAL	at ARI	77
13	Marques Colston	NO	vs. DET	76
14	Greg Jennings	GB	at NYG	76
15	Brandon Marshall	MIA	vs. OAK	76
16	Brandon Lloyd	STL	at SF	75
17	Mike Wallace	PIT	vs. CIN	72
18	Percy Harvin	MIN	vs. DEN	71
19	A.J. Green	CIN	at PIT	65
20	DeSean Jackson	PHI	at SEA	65
21	Michael Crabtree	SF	vs. STL	65
22	Antonio Brown	PIT	vs. CIN	64
23	Doug Baldwin	SEA	vs. PHI	63
24	Nate Washington	TEN	at BUF	63
25	Reggie Wayne	IND	at NE	62
26	Anquan Boldin	BAL	at CLE	61
27	Deion Branch	NE	vs. IND	60
28	Mike Williams	TB	vs. CAR	58
29	Dwayne Bowe	KC	at CHI	57
30	Plaxico Burress	NYJ	at WAS	55
31	Damian Williams	TEN	at BUF	55
32	Eric Decker	DEN	at MIN	55
33	Julio Jones	ATL	at HOU	53
34	Miles Austin	DAL	at ARI	53
35	Nate Burleson	DET	at NO	52
36	Santonio Holmes	NYJ	at WAS	51
37	Santana Moss	WAS	vs. NYJ	51
38	Steve Johnson	BUF	vs. TEN	50
39	Pierre Garcon	IND	at NE	50
40	Torrey Smith	BAL	at CLE	49
41	Johnny Knox	CHI	vs. KC	45
42	Early Doucet	ARI	vs. DAL	43
43	Ben Obomanu	SEA	vs. PHI	43
44	Mario Manningham	NYG	vs. GB	43
45	Darrius Heyward-Bay	OAK	at MIA	42
46	Greg Little	CLE	vs. BAL	41
47	Steve Breaston	KC	at CHI	41
48	Jason Avant	PHI	at SEA	41
49	Legedu Naanee	CAR	at TB	41
50	Lance Moore	NO	vs. DET	40
51	Brian Hartline	MIA	vs. OAK	40
52	Danario Alexander	STL	at SF	39
53	David Nelson	BUF	vs. TEN	38
54	Jacoby Jones	HOU	vs. ATL	38
55	Denarius Moore	OAK	at MIA	38
56	Harry Douglas	ATL	at HOU	37
57	Emmanuel Sanders	PIT	vs. CIN	36
58	Davone Bess	MIA	vs. OAK	36
59	Jabar Gaffney	WAS	vs. NYJ	35
60	Mike Williams	SEA	vs. PHI	35
61	Arrelious Benn	TB	vs. CAR	34
62	Jerome Simpson	CIN	at PIT	33
63	Malcom Floyd	SD	at JAC	33
64	Riley Cooper	PHI	at SEA	33
65	Titus Young	DET	at NO	32
66	James Jones	GB	at NYG	32
67	Austin Pettis	STL	at SF	31
68	Brad Smith	BUF	vs. TEN	30
69	Preston Parker	TB	vs. CAR	30
70	Mike Thomas	JAC	vs. SD	30
71	Kevin Walter	HOU	vs. ATL	30
72	Chaz Schilens	OAK	at MIA	30
73	Josh Cribbs	CLE	vs. BAL	29
74	Vincent Brown	SD	at JAC	29
75	Steve Smith	PHI	at SEA	29
76	Robert Meachem	NO	vs. DET	28
77	Andre Roberts	ARI	vs. DAL	27
78	Devin Aromashodu	MIN	vs. DEN	27
79	Dezmon Briscoe	TB	vs. CAR	26
80	Cecil Shorts	JAC	vs. SD	26
81	Roy Williams	CHI	vs. KC	25
82	Jonathan Baldwin	KC	at CHI	25
83	Randall Cobb	GB	at NYG	24
84	Anthony Armstrong	WAS	vs. NYJ	23
85	Jarett Dillard	JAC	vs. SD	22
86	Andre Caldwell	CIN	at PIT	21
87	Earl Bennett	CHI	vs. KC	21
88	Jordan Norwood	CLE	vs. BAL	17
89	Mohamed Massaquoi	CLE	vs. BAL	16
90	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	at MIN	15

Start: Michael Crabtree. He hasn’t done much to endear himself to fantasy owners this season, scoring just one TD all year while averaging 4.4 catches and just over 50 yards per game. However, he’s progressed as the season has moved along, posting just one dud in his last six games. He’ll get a bad Rams secondary this week, moving him from a borderline play to a solid WR2 or better.

Sit: Johnny Knox. His numbers over the last two weeks have been ridiculous (242 yards and two TDs on seven receptions), but I think the party is over. For one, he’s not going to have a long TD every week like the one he had against the Raiders, and his reception total shows that without that, he’s a threat to turn in a poor fantasy performance. More importantly, the Bears should be able to keep this game in the hands of Matt Forte, limiting the effectiveness of all Bears receivers this week.

Rank	Tight Ends	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Rob Gronkowski	NE	vs. IND	100
2	Antonio Gates	SD	at JAC	93
3	Jimmy Graham	NO	vs. DET	85
4	Jason Witten	DAL	at ARI	78
5	Brent Celek	PHI	at SEA	77
6	Jermichael Finley	GB	at NYG	74
7	Tony Gonzalez	ATL	at HOU	70
8	Fred Davis	WAS	vs. NYJ	69
9	Kellen Winslow	TB	vs. CAR	67
10	Dustin Keller	NYJ	at WAS	63
11	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	at PIT	61
12	Ed Dickson	BAL	at CLE	60
13	Jake Ballard	NYG	vs. GB	59
14	Scott Chandler	BUF	vs. TEN	55
15	Aaron Hernandez	NE	vs. IND	53
16	Heath Miller	PIT	vs. CIN	50
17	Brandon Pettigrew	DET	at NO	50
18	Jared Cook	TEN	at BUF	49
19	Owen Daniels	HOU	vs. ATL	48
20	Greg Olsen	CAR	at TB	48
21	Vernon Davis	SF	vs. STL	45
22	Anthony Fasano	MIA	vs. OAK	45
23	Marcedes Lewis	JAC	vs. SD	42
24	Tony Scheffler	DET	at NO	42
25	Kevin Boss	OAK	at MIA	39
26	Jacob Tamme	IND	at NE	38
27	Todd Heap	ARI	vs. DAL	38
28	Visanthe Shiancoe	MIN	vs. DEN	35
29	Ben Watson	CLE	vs. BAL	34
30	Dennis Pitta	BAL	at CLE	32
31	Kellen Davis	CHI	vs. KC	31
32	Jeremy Shockey	CAR	at TB	28
33	Zach Miller	SEA	vs. PHI	28
34	Delanie Walker	SF	vs. STL	25
35	Lance Kendricks	STL	at SF	24
36	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	vs. DEN	23
37	Daniel Fells	DEN	at MIN	23
38	Leonard Pope	KC	at CHI	22
39	Joel Dreessen	HOU	vs. ATL	20
40	Matt Spaeth	CHI	vs. KC	20

Start: Brent Celek. He’s come on strong after the Eagles Week 7 bye, with 29 receptions and 342 yards in five games. Pre-bye, he managed just 13 receptions and 115 yards in seven games. With Jeremy Maclin out again on Thursday night and DeSean Jackson spiraling downward in terms of effectiveness, the onus is on Celek and the secondary receivers to take the pressure off a gimpy LeSean McCoy.

Bench: Owen Daniels. The Texan TE hasn’t scored a TD since Week 4, while fellow Houston TE Joel Dreessen has four scores over that same time-frame. The Houston passing offense looked lost without Matt Schaub last week, despite facing a Jaguars defense riddled with injuries. Can T.J. Yates turn Daniels back into a solid TE1? It’s possible, but it’s not something I’d bank on with my season on the line.

Rank	Kickers	Team	Opponent	Score
1	John Kasay	NO	vs. DET	75
2	Dan Bailey	DAL	at ARI	73
3	Robbie Gould	CHI	vs. KC	72
4	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	at MIA	69
5	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	vs. IND	69
6	David Akers	SF	vs. STL	67
7	Billy Cundiff	BAL	at CLE	67
8	Mason Crosby	GB	at NYG	66
9	Jason Hanson	DET	at NO	60
10	Neil Rackers	HOU	vs. ATL	60
11	Phil Dawson	CLE	vs. BAL	54
12	Nick Novak	SD	at JAC	53
13	Connor Barth	TB	vs. CAR	52
14	Matt Bryant	ATL	at HOU	51
15	Mike Nugent	CIN	at PIT	50
16	Nick Folk	NYJ	at WAS	50
17	Olindo Mare	CAR	at TB	46
18	Alex Henery	PHI	at SEA	46
19	Rob Bironas	TEN	at BUF	44
20	Matt Prater	DEN	at MIN	44
21	Josh Scobee	JAC	vs. SD	42
22	Dave Rayner	BUF	vs. TEN	41
23	Dan Carpenter	MIA	vs. OAK	41
24	Shaun Suisham	PIT	vs. CIN	40
25	Ryan Succop	KC	at CHI	39
26	Steven Hauschka	SEA	vs. PHI	38
27	Graham Gano	WAS	vs. NYJ	38
28	Ryan Longwell	MIN	vs. DEN	38
29	Jay Feely	ARI	vs. DAL	32
30	Lawrence Tynes	NYG	vs. GB	25
31	Josh Brown	STL	at SF	23
32	Adam Vinatieri	IND	at NE	18

Rank	Team Defense	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Baltimore Ravens	BAL	at CLE	79
2	San Francisco 49ers	SF	vs. STL	79
3	Chicago Bears	CHI	vs. KC	77
4	Dallas Cowboys	DAL	at ARI	71
5	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI	at SEA	69
6	New York Jets	NYJ	at WAS	68
7	Jacksonville Jaguars	JAC	vs. SD	66
8	New England Patriots	NE	vs. IND	66
9	Oakland Raiders	OAK	at MIA	58
10	Miami Dolphins	MIA	vs. OAK	56
11	Washington Redskins	WAS	vs. NYJ	52
12	New Orleans Saints	NO	vs. DET	52
13	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN	at PIT	52
14	Denver Broncos	DEN	at MIN	52
15	Green Bay Packers	GB	at NYG	51
16	Houston Texans	HOU	vs. ATL	48
17	Minnesota Vikings	MIN	vs. DEN	45
18	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB	vs. CAR	45
19	Kansas City Chiefs	KC	at CHI	45
20	St. Louis Rams	STL	at SF	43
21	Tennessee Titans	TEN	at BUF	43
22	Cleveland Browns	CLE	vs. BAL	42
23	San Diego Chargers	SD	at JAC	42
24	Seattle Seahawks	SEA	vs. PHI	42
25	Arizona Cardinals	ARI	vs. DAL	40
26	Detroit Lions	DET	at NO	37
27	New York Giants	NYG	vs. GB	34
28	Atlanta Falcons	ATL	at HOU	33
29	Buffalo Bills	BUF	vs. TEN	33
30	Carolina Panthers	CAR	at TB	30
31	Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT	vs. CIN	29
32	Indianapolis Colts	IND	at NE	11

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.

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Week 13: Blount Runs Wild This Week

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