Fantasy Fragments: Who to Sit for Week 14

Tebow is coming after you, Gale!!!

Written by: Jon Gale

Six players TO AVOID for Fantasy Football Week 14:

QB:

Tim Tebow, DEN- Much to the dismay of the John’s (Fox and Elway), that Tebow guy keeps winning football games, making the decision to go in another direction for the franchise that much more difficult and unpopular in the eyes of the fans. However, you can’t blame them. Tebow is a glorified wildcat quarterback. His ability to make plays with his feet is phenomenal, so he deserves much credit for that, but let’s admit the fact that his passing game is like playing darts in the dark. He plays the Bears this week, an average pass defense, but a very good run defense. If Tebow is to have much success this week, he’s going to have to be effective in the passing game, and I have a hard time seeing how that will happen. Proj. 8-18, 95 yards, 0 TD, 9 carries, 56 yards, 0 TD.

Eli Manning, NYG- I have been critical of Eli for a long time, and not because he is by far the worst pro quarterback in the family, but because he hasn’t done a good job of protecting the football (155 turnovers in 117 games). However, Eli has done a much better job of maintaining possessions this year, and he deserves kudos for that. Unfortunately, this week he has a tough matchup against a Dallas defense that has forced 25 turnovers in 12 games and has accumulated 35 sacks. I think it would be safe to assume Eli gets careless with the football several times this week as he will be more concerned with running for his life from DeMarcus Ware. Proj. 22-36, 280 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT’s, 1 FUM.

RB:

Beanie Wells, ARZ- Yes, Wells has had an impressive season compiling 916 rushing yards and 9 TD’s to date, but would you believe me if I told you that 366 yards and 4 of those TD’s were gained in 2 games? If you do the math, that means in the other 9 games he played (he missed week 3 due to injury), he averaged 61 rushing yards and half a touchdown per game. Those numbers are less than spectacular and not enough to intimidate the top run defense in the league that has yet to allow a rushing touchdown through 12 games. Wells will have difficulty finding running lanes this week, and would be best suited keeping his fragile frame in tact on the sidelines this week. Proj. 18 carries, 63 yards, 0 TD.

Cedric Benson, CIN- CedBen has improved his YPC this year to an astonishing 3.9… sarcasm… While the Bengals as a team have turned a few heads this year, not much of the turnaround can be attributed to Benson. Although he ranks in the top 11 in carries, he finds himself looking from the outside in at the top 20 scorers at the position. Things don’t seem to be looking up at all this week, either, as he faces a much-improved Texan defense that has been surprisingly effective even without Mario Williams. Benson will continue to lower his average this week against Houston en route to another disappointing day from the Cinci workhorse. Proj. 16 carries, 56 yards, 0 TD.

WR:

Steve Smith, CAR- Is it just me, or has Steve Smith disappeared from fantasy dominance in recent weeks? After posting eye-popping numbers throughout the first half of the season, Smith emerged from Carolina’s bye as one of the top WR’s in the league. Implementing his best April Fool’s joke in November, Smith has posted 3 subpar games and would’ve suffered another if not saved by a score. Failing to record more than 41 yards in three of his last four, Smith has become a questionable play entering Round 1 of the playoffs. Atlanta was able to bottle Smith up in their first meeting, and look for them to do it again as Cam steals all of the thunder for the declawed cats. Proj. 4 receptions, 62 yards, 0 TD.

Laurent Robinson, DAL- Possibly one of the waiver wire heroes of the year, Robinson has been a fantasy phenom in the absence of Miles Austin. Unfortunately, Austin returns this week, sending Robinson back to three receiver sets. To go along with the demotion, Robinson is suffering from a shoulder injury that has prevented him from practicing up to this point. He insists he will be on the field come Sunday, but I suggest refraining from entering him into fantasy lineups this week. Proj. 3 receptions, 48 yards, 0 TD.