Week 5 Bank/Tank

Hallelujah! The bye weeks are among us! Actually, it’s not all giddy for everyone. I mean, some owners are scrambling for a guy to replace all three of their running backs, because they don’t know how to draft. Or someone might be looking for that quarterback who is going to have a great game and is a free agent in their league. I know you are thinking Tavaris Jackson, Andy Dalton, or Matt Cassel; all of which are wrong. But, I wouldn’t want to just give it away so let’s get started.

Quarterbacks

Bank

Cam Newton vs New Orleans – Look, there is almost no way you can sit this guy right now. He is playing out this world, and even more so for a rookie. This guy is going be around for awhile, and whether you like it or not, he is going to be, or at least looks like he is going to be, an elite quarterback. Against a weak New Orleans defense (19^th in the league), I think you can expect a big game for Cam Newton again.

Alex Smith vs Tampa Bay – Yes. The quarterback for the 49ers. The same Alex Smith that I have ranked 32^nd this year in my quarterback rankings. If your quarterback is on bye (Tony Romo, Joe Flacco) and you are scrambling to pick up someone, then this is your guy. Tampa Bay is ranked 21^st in the pass and have allowed seven touchdowns in the first four games this year. That doesn’t mix well with a dose of Alex Smith (I chuckled as I typed this…). Last week Smith had 291 yards and two touchdowns against a “stout” Eagles’ pass defense, so why not against the Bucs? Look out for Alex Smith this week.

Extra: Donovan McNabb vs Arizona

Tank

Ben Roethlisberger vs Tennessee – The foot isn’t a huge concern to me, but the way Ben has been playing is. Roethlisberger. He hasn’t scored over 15 fantasy points this year (against Seattle he scored 15) and the way Tennessee is playing, I wouldn’t want to play my quarterback against him. Tennessee has allowed just four touchdowns (one per game) this year, and Big Ben has only thrown just three touchdowns. On top of all of that, he has a foot injury. Is that enough to convince you to sit Ben Roethlisberger?

Matt Schaub vs Oakland – When Andre Johnson was not in the game last year, Mat Schaub was everything but fantastic. He threw for 755 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception in the three games without Andre Johnson. I’m not saying he is going to completely suck this week, but he isn’t going to be the Matt Schaub you are wanting. Hopefully you have a better option this week.

Running Backs

Bank

Joseph Addai vs Kansas City – Remember those talks of Delone Carter taking over the role in Indianapolis? I think that’s over now.  The last two weeks Addai has been taking the heavy workload for the Colts. Addai has had 28 carries to Delone Carter’s 11, and I’m not just trying to sugar coat this: in three games Addai has 42 carries to Carter’s 22. While Carter still has five carries in the redzone to Addai’s four, all of Addai’s carries in the redzone have come in the last two weeks and in that time frame, Carter has zero. With the matchup, I really love Addai this week.

Cedric Benson @ Jacksonville – Maybe Benson still has one more game left in him before he is suspended by the NFL, but nevertheless, this guy is getting a huge workload. In the last two weeks, Benson is tied for the most rushes in the redzone (9). That is one-fourth of his carries in that time frame. But his performing outside of the redzone too with a 4.5 yards per rush average this season. With Jacksonville dead center (16^th) in rushing defense, I think Benson could have a real nice game. To top it all off, I expect the Bengals to get up early in this game and pound the ball (but don’t count AJ Green out).

Extra: Ahmad Bradshaw vs Seattle, Thomas Jones @ Indianapolis

Tank

Ryan Grant and James Starks @ Atlanta – Neither one of these guys is going to get the main workload, and even if one of them does wind up getting the bulk of the carries, you can’t guess who it is going to be! With a tough matchup at the Georgia Dome (10^th rushing defense),  I ‘m not going to be playing either of these. And it’s not just that; I think this game will be a shootout, and when Aaron Rodgers gets into a shootout, he isn’t going to be handing the ball off.

Michael Turner vs Green Bay – Make it a sweep! I’m sitting them all in Atlanta! There have only been 77 rushes attempted against Green Bay through three weeks, and it clearly isn’t working. They are the number two rush defense in the league and are allowing just 3.7 yards per rush. Like I said, I think this game will be a shootout, I would try to sit Michael Turner this week at all costs.

Extra: Johnathan Stewart vs New Orleans, DeAngelo Williams vs New Orleans

Wide Receivers

Bank

Julio Jones vs Green Bay – The Packers already have a bad pass defense, but they are even worse against “supporting casts”. In week one it was Devery Henderson, then it was Johnathan Stewart, next it was Sanzenbacher, and finally it was Eric Decker. So my point is; can the Packers defend a physical and extremely talented guy like Julio Jones who has had an increasing role in the offense? I doubt it.

Santonio Holmes @ New England – You all know I have an extreme bromance with Santonio, and we also know that Mark Sanchez is no Tom Brady. Every time these two teams play it is a shootout, and the two quarterbacks throw…a lot. The Patriots are dead last in the league in passing defense. They can’t stop anything, not even “The Sanchise” and Santonio Holmes.

Extra: Percy Harvin vs Arizona

Tank

Denarius Moore @ Houston – Look, I’m scared of Johnathan Joseph shutting this guy down, that is why I have Darrius Heyward-Bey against an injured Kareem Jackson ranked higher. Heyward-Bey plays on the right side more often, and Joseph in on the left more often so I think we are going to see Moore go up against Joseph more than we see him against Jackson.

Mario Manningham vs Seattle – I have preached Victor Cruz, and I have preached on and on. From preseason sensation, to that player who was given that opportunity to finally see the playing field. Cruz is extremely talented, and once he was given this chance I knew he would take advantage of it. I know the offensive coordinator said that Manningham still has that spot, but that is just going to give Cruz the room he needs in the slot to run free! I still think Manningham has a ton of talent, I just think that Victor Cruz has more of it.

Tight Ends

Bank

Owen Daniels vs Oakland – With no Andre Johnson, Daniels and his receivers are going to have to step up. With the way Daniels has be playing, and with Schaub not finding Jacoby Jones or Kevin Walter very much this year, Owen Daniels is going to have to step up his game, and his stat line will show it.

Extra: Jared Cook @ Pittsburgh

Tank

Dustin Keller @ New England – He has flopped once again. In his last two games he hasn’t done much for your fantasy team, and even though New England can’t stop the pass, they sure can stop the tight end. In week two they shut down Antonio Gates, and in other weeks tight ends haven’t found many holes in their defense. Sit Keller this week, I’m confident that you can find better options.

Thanks for checking out the week five Bank and Tank. I will be back tomorrow (Saturday) with my game picks along with all of that other good stuff that I do on Saturdays, so be sure to check that out. If you have any fantasy football questions (even a simple,”Who do I start?”) then feel free to check me out on Twitter for shorter questions, or hit me up on the email for longer questions that are quite a big larger than that of a tweet. If you don’t come back tomorrow, make sure to comeback on Sunday morning for all of the latest on who you need to get out of your lineups and who you need to stick in there on the Injury Report page. And one last thing: check out ReclinerQB.com for some great and hysterical writing from Matt Prendergast. Thanks, and I will see you tomorrow.

Week 3 Bank/Tank

 By: Christian Hardy
After all of the number crunching, the matchup hunting, and trend-setting stat finding  in the last few days and you've got an all new Bank/Tank. I realize that last week my tanks were really, well, awful; but on the flipside, my banks were near perfect. But with all of that, it's time to get this show on the road. First up: quarterbacks

Quarterbacks
Bank
Cam Newton vs Jacksonville - While this is obvious for some, others may be questioning him. Can he do it again? I think he can. Just take a look at my rankings. I ranked the rookie at number two only behind NFL leading passer Tom Brady. Not only has he attempted the fourth most passes in the league, but he also has a great matchup. If Cam Newton throws the pigskin 40 times or more this week, he is going to pick this Jaguars defense apart.

Matt Ryan @ Tampa Bay – This one is also a pretty easy one. The Buccaneers pass defense has been torched in the first two weeks against Matthew Stafford and Donavan McNabb. Matthew Stafford completely went off and McNabb threw for over 220 yards in the week after he threw for just 39. With the offense at its peak, Ryan is going to air it out this week, and he is going to air it out often. Make sure this guy is in your lineup if you have him.

Extra: Matt Hasselbeck

Tank
Eli Manning @ Philadelphia – Not only did Manning look god awful on Monday Night Football, but now he is actually playing a respectable pass defense. With the way he has played in these first two days, I would recommend the Giants keep it on the ground against the Eagles. I know he was without his receivers last game, but even with his main guys (most of the first half) he was extremely inaccurate. Don’t play Manning this week, even if both of his parents are there to watch him.

Josh Freeman vs Atlanta – With only two touchdowns (and two interceptions) in the first two games, I am really not feeling Josh Freeman. I was high on him very early in the preseason, but as it went on, his stock continued to fall. Blount was much more involved in the offense last week and it may go up even more this week. If Freeman isn’t hitting his guys in the redzone then he isn’t going to get you the easy fantasy points. Simple as that. Sit Freeman this week.

Running Backs
Bank
BenJarvus Green-Ellis @ Buffalo – We all know the Buffalo run defense is bad. That is a fact. But why is Green-Ellis going to get more carries this week? The Aaron Hernandez injury. With Hernandez gone from that offense I think we are going to see the Patriots pound the ball more, and who does that best? THE Lawfirm. If he can get the carries, he could put on a clinic against the weak Bills rush defense.

Mark Ingram vs Houston – Ingram hasn’t looked great in his first two starts and I acknowledge that. But Ingram is still getting the majority of the Saints’ goal line touches, and it's only a matter of time before he finds the end zone. The Texans haven’t given up a rushing touchdown yet, but they had easy matchups in both weeks one and two (Colts and Dolphins). That’s why, even though many will be reluctant about it, Mark Ingram is a viable flex play this week, and I would put money on him recording a tally in the TD column.

Extra: Darren Sproles, Ben Tate

Tank
Beanie Wells @ Seattle – Yeah, yeah I hear ya. Wells is averaging 5.7 yards per carry blah, blah, blah. Really though, who was he playing? You look at the matchups and you see Carolina and Washington. Both teams aren’t really known as run stoppers. Seattle, his opponent this week and division rival, has allowed 3 TDs which does give Wells a good chance to find the end zone, but I think Kolb is going to exploit their weakness: the passing game. Look for the Cardinals to air it out, not run the ball on Sunday.

DeAngelo Williams vs Jacksonville – This one is pretty easy. DWill has gotten just 17 carries in the last two games combined (only five against Green Bay last week) and he isn’t all that involved in the pass game either. With Newton under center this team is going to throw, throw, and throw some more. Until Deangelo Williams becomes a part of this offense again, he is going to make a real warm spot on the pine.

Extra: Reggie Bush

Wide Receivers
Bank
Dez Bryant vs Washington – Did you see what Miles Austin did to San Francisco’s defense last week as the only WR that Romo could trust? That could be Dez Bryant this week. Granted, he also has Witten who is going to steal a few looks here and there. But Bryant was Romo’s redzone favorite against the Jets in week one and why not again? You have to start Dez this week. I am expecting a huge game.

Eric Decker @ Tennessee- Last week Decker stole the show. Some owners popped him into their line up just minutes before the game and boy did it pay off. With Eddie Royal out for a couple weeks, Decker steps up into an obvious WR2 slot. Even with Lloyd back, who does Tennessee have at corner after Cortland Finnegan that can cover this guy? No one? That’s what I thought. Decker might not duplicate last week, but I think he might come close to it.

Extra: Kevin Ogletree, AJ Green, Brandon LaFell

Tank
Reggie Wayne vs Pittsburgh – Yeah, the Steelers have a good defense. But what is the real reason I hate Wayne this week? Kerry Collins. Collins isn’t going to have time to find Wayne downfield this week (has he ever had that time?). Not only that, but the Steelers have yet to allow a receiver to go over 13 fantasy points this season and that was Anquan Boldin with Joe Flacco under center. This is Kerry Collins, and I don’t want Wayne in my lineup this week. Don;'t let it Wayne on your day.

Dwayne Bowe @ San Diego – I missed (not badly, but I missed) on Dwayne last week. He decided to actually be relevant in week two against the Lions. But this is week three, and the Chiefs' offense is going to be so awful without Jamaal Charles and Tony Moeaki, I’m not sure I would ever start Bowe again. What are his chances of finding the endzone? I’m legitimately sure that Bowe is going to be hunting for the endzone, not finding it. Keep him on your bench against a good pass defense.

Extra: Hakeem Nicks,  Mike Williams (Tampa)

Tight Ends
Bank
Rob Gronkowski @ Buffalo – Another benefit of Aaron Hernandez being out (one of the many things I hate to say: someone’s gain from another’s injury) is Rob Gronkowski. He is going to get targets added to his already huge abundance of them. Tom Brady is loving his TEs, why should that stop this week?

Others: Jermichael Finley

Tank
Dallas Clark vs Pittsburgh – I really wanted to put Antonio Gates in this spot but I’m sure he will rebound in week three. Anyways, on with Dallas Clark. Pittsburgh allowed Ed Dickson to have a worthy performance in week one, but who didn’t that week for Baltimore? It was a disaster for the Steelers. With Collins under the heat of the Steelers blitz and more and more passes going away from Clark, I think you can find a better option this week.

Extra: Brandon Pettigrew

Well, that’s all for me. My next article will be out sometime on Saturday and it will be my game picks including my start/sit. I hope you guys enjoyed this one. If you have any fantasy football questions, I am always on Twitter and I love reader's questions or you can email me and I will get back to you with a quality answer (well, most of the time..). I’ll talk to you on Saturday!

Week Two Tank and Bank

After my rankings come out, I try to find the guys that I think have the best match ups. It’s more of just guys that I think will really help your fantasy team this week. But with that, I’d like to introduce my new start/sit, and what I like to call a little bank and tank. It’s just like start/sit, but instead of giving you two bank and two tank, I will also add in a sleeper for the week. Let’s get to it.

Quarterbacks

Bank

Ryan Fitzpatrick vs Oakland – Last week Fitzpatrick tossed four touchdowns on his way to dominate the Bills. He looked very composed and never turned the ball over. He has a great matchup this week against the Raiders that got tossed around by Kyle Orton last week. Fitzpatrick is a good start if you are scrambling for a QB.

Mark Sanchez vs Jacksonville -  He didn’t have a great week last week against a week Cowboys secondary, but I think he has an even easier matchup this week. Last week Jacksonville let Hasselbeck throw up and down the field and if old Hasselbeck can do it, then so can “Sanchise”. Maybe Mr.”I Love to toy with my hair” can dig out a nice performance, that is if he can take a second from posing for GQ magazine.

Tank

Matt Ryan @ Philadelphia – Last week Matt Ryan couldn’t find the end zone against the Bears – a decent pass defense. If he can’t perform against a little over average pass defense, then he won’t be able to execute against an elite pass defense. 

Kevin Kolb @ Washington – I know this isn’t a great tank, because he is probably on most people’s bench, but I think he is going to have a bad game against Washington.  Washington held Eli Manning to no touchdowns and they played a pretty good game. The ground game was a little different though; the Giants were running on Washington and running fairly well. I think Kolb could really tank this week.

Running Backs

Bank

Cedric Benson @ Denver – Most people are saying that Benson didn’t have a great game before the long touchdown, but with the touches he is getting you have to start him every week. Last week, Denver allowed 150 yards on 22 carries to Darren McFadden. Granted, Benson is by no means at the level of McFadden. But I do think Benson will get about the amount of carries that DMC got last week, and Benson’s offense might be on the goal line more often, and they will give Benson the ball in that situation instead of giving it to Michael Bush.

Fred Jackson vs Oakland – Oakland shut down Moreno last week, but with the way that Fred Jackson ran the rock, I just can’t sit him. He averaged almost six yards a rush last year. I think Oakland’s defense will show its true colors this week. Just because Denver’s offensive line could not block last week doesn’t mean that the Bills offensive line will do as bad. You’re going to bank on Fred Jackson this week, I guarantee it.

Tank

LeGarrette Blount @ Minnesota – Last week Minnesota couldn’t stop the run, and Blount is expected to get more carries. All good things, right? Wrong. The reports of Blount getting more carries are wrong. He is asking for more carries but his coaches have denied his requests and it is likely he will not be in the game on passing downs and on third downs. I think Blount, just like last week, is going to tank.

Ryan Matthews @ New England – When I heard of the Tolbert injury this guy was going to shoot up my rankings, but no we know that Tolbert is back in the groove of things and is expected to play. I really don’t like Matthews and I think he is going to continue to fall in my rankings. He is never going to be in the game in goal line situations and he will never be in on third downs. Tolbert improved his pass catching in the off-season and grabbed the starting job along the way. Matthews is going to continue to tank and Tolbert is your guy.

Wide Receivers

Bank

Steve Johnson vs Oakland – Steve Johnson was targeted six times last week; tied for the the most on the team, and that was against Chiefs CB Brandon Flowers. This week he is matched up against Stanford Routt who didn’t have a terrible game last week, but he was targeted 11 times. Trendy? I think it will be. I see Fitzpatrick throwing to Johnson a lot this week, so watch out.

Santana Moss vs Arizona – Last week Moss was 6 for 76 yards against Aaron Ross. This week, Moss couldn’t have a better matchup than the rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson. Grossman is playing very well, and Peterson was burned over and over against by Newton and Steve Smith last week. Moss is going to bank this week, and if Grossman can continue to play how he is playing, then Moss will continue to bank.

Tank

Dwayne Bowe @ Detroit – The Chiefs offense worried me last week, and that makes me worry even more about Dwayne Bowe. He is so inconsistent, and it’s not helping that his offense can’t move the ball. And it wasn’t like the Chiefs were playing the Ravens or the Steelers, they were playing the Bills. They scored seven points against the Bills defense. Detroit looked good in week one, and I think Bowe is going to dishearten a lot of owners this week.

Jeremy Maclin @ Atlanta – Maclin was targeted a gimpy one catch on three targets, while Avant was targeted seven times for three catches. I know this probably won’t trend but it makes me worry about Maclin. He has his good and bad games, that was obviously a bad one. But this week will be a bad one too. He isn’t playing an awesome pass defense, but it’s not terrible. With Atlanta putting pressure on Vick the entire game I don’t think Maclin is going to get many looks.

Tight Ends

Bank

Jimmy Graham vs Chicago – I know most people are already starting this guy, but the matchup makes me want to start him even more.  He was targeted seven times last week, and Brees threw to him two times in the undersized number of red zone reps that he got. With Colston out I think it is going to only bring more looks to Graham. Not only that, but the Bears allowed aged Tony Gonzalez to get 72 yards, so why can’t Graham do that? He will, and I think he will do even more than that on Sunday.

Tank

Fred Davis vs Arizona – With the return of Cooley I really don’t think Davis will see many looks. I know that the Redskins are talking about two TE sets, but I don’t trust that quite yet. I ‘m not buying the hype on Davis just yet.

Well that is all for me. Thank you for reading and I will be back with my weekly picks Saturday night or Sunday morning. You can always follow me on twitter or email me. I am also open to answering any of your football questions and I love a little discussion.  Hopefully I can help you win your week two match up, on your way to a fantasy championship (you guys are all going to your fantasy championship, right?)