Bye Weeks: Raiders, Dolphins
Quarterback
Mike Glennon, Buccaneers at Saints
Glennon led the Buccaneers to a franchise first victory in Pittsburgh last Sunday. What’s even more impressive is that in 3 previous meetings with the Steelers in Pittsburgh dating back to 1976, the Buccaneers had not even scored a touchdown. That ended on Sunday, but Glennon would be a good start even without that win. He has thrown for multiple touchdown passes in 4 of his last 6 away games, including games in Seattle and last year against the Saints. The Saints are ranked near the bottom of the league against the pass, having allowed 7 scoring throws with no interceptions. Even without injured wide receiver Mike Evans playing this week, Glennon should have plenty of open receivers to throw to and should record another multiple touchdown pass game.
Running Back
Rashad Jennings, Giants vs Falcons
The Giants limited Jennings’ carries last Thursday because he tallied 34 vs, Houston 4 days before that. He should see a 20-25 carry workload Sunday facing the beat up 29th ranked rushing defense of the Falcons. They are allowing 153.5 yards a game on the ground, and have given up a league high 9 rushing touchdowns. Jennings will easily attain his 2nd 100 yard rushing game of 2014 this week.
Bishop Sankey Titans vs Browns
Sankey is the only Titan performing well offensively, outside of Delanie Walker. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt will give the rookie his first career start Sunday. While the Browns seem to be an improved a football team, they are not playing the run well. They are ranked 30th, allowing 153.7 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry. Last week against the Colts, the Titans were only able to call 16 run plays. Conversely, in their only win this year, they ran the ball 38 times. They know they have to run to win, and match up far better against the Browns than they did against the Colts. This should translate into 25-35 run plays, meaning Sankey should have a solid fantasy day.
Wide Receiver
Jordan Matthews Eagles vs Rams
Matthews has earned the trust of quarterback Nick Foles. While he is behind Jeremy Maclin as Fole’s favorite wide receiver option, he has surpassed Riley Cooper and will continue to get passes thrown his way. The Rams statistically play the pass well, ranking 1st and allowing just 187 yards per game. That is deceiving, considering 2 of 3 quarterbacks they have faced are Matt Cassel and Josh McCown. This is a more than favorable match up for the Eagle passing game. Foles has passed for 647 yards with 5 TD passes in his two home games this season. Matthews has snared two of those. Start Matthews, there will be enough completions to go around for all of the top Eagle receivers Sunday.
Donte Moncrief, Colts vs Ravens
This pick is way “Under The Radar.” Andrew Luck is spreading the ball around better than any quarterback in football, getting tight ends and running backs involved in the passing game. He has not had to throw deep this year. The weakness of the Ravens is covering outside receivers. The Ravens match up well against TE’s Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener, and Ahmad Bradshaw, but Luck should have little problem finding his outside and slot receivers. The Colts will not be able to run, so expect Luck to attempt forty passes Sunday. While Reggie Wayne and TY Hilton will be the focus of the Raven pass defense, the rookie Moncrief will see plenty of snaps as they will try and spread the Raven defense. Expect to see him get the ball on an end around to keep the Ravens honest. If you need a flex play this week, Moncrief could surprise with 55-70 total yards and has a good shot at finding the goal line from the slot.
Tight End
Jermaine Gresham, Bengals at Patriots
Bengal offensive coordinator Hue Jackson has never made his TEs the focus of a game plan. With AJ Green at wide receiver, he will always try and get him the ball more than any receiver he has on the field. While the Patriots are not playing as well as they have in years past, they do for the most part take away their opponent’s top offensive player. Their defensive game plan will be simple Sunday night: make someone besides AJ Green beat them. Because of this, and the fact that the Patriots have allowed 40% of passes competed against them in 2014 to go to TEs and RBs, Gresham is a viable fantasy starter this week.
