Potential Busts for Week 7: Ranking the Top 10 for Fantasy Football

I ran it by my editors upstairs, but they shot down the idea of changing this to a “Nine Potential Busts and One Who Will Inevitably Get 200 Yards” list, and probably rightfully so.

I think we will need at least two more weeks of yardage outbursts before we can officially claim correlation between my Internet trash talk and players being motivated to put up huge fantasy numbers.

So without further ado, here are the ten players that I am predicting will be overwhelmed in their Week 7 matchups, and will end up causing anguish for disgruntled fantasy owners everywhere. Hopefully my analysis can help you make your lineup decisions, and bring home that victory. Good luck in Week 7 RotoBallers!

 

Top 10 Potential Busts & Disappointments for Week 7

1. Derek Carr - QB, Oakland Raiders

The younger Carr brother has been quite the topic in fantasy circles since Sunday, as many are pondering whether or not the next great quarterback is blooming before our eyes in Oakland. I guess throwing four touchdowns against a top-tier team will do that for a budding quarterback.  Unfortunately, I fully expect Carr to come back down to Earth as the Raiders host the Cardinals this weekend. His quarterback rating last week was 30 points higher than what he had done the previous three weeks, and nothing suggests that there is an offense in Oakland capable of sustaining those numbers.Additionally, Arizona boasts a defense that really makes opponents earn their points. Other than Denver in Week 4, no team has scored more than three touchdowns against Patrick Peterson and Co. Those of you desperate for a quarterback and intrigued by Carr's performance against the Chargers last week should hang tight, because this game has the look of something ugly for the Black and Silver.

 

2. Jace Amaro - TE, New York Jets

Amaro gets thrown into this column because I needed someone to grab from the shellacking that the Patriots are going to uncork onto the Jets, but also because Amaro seems like a great target for TE-desperate owners who were overly impressed with the rookie’s PPR gem (10/68) last week and aren’t accustomed to seeing how much rookies unravel when facing New England for the first time. You can bet that Amaro is going to see defensive schemes that he isn't used to seeing, and considering that Rex Ryan has a constantly shortening leash, I don’t imagine that he'll try to force Amaro to work if it doesn’t come naturally. You'll have to find your bye-week replacement for Zach Ertz somewhere else.

 

3. Drew Brees - QB, New Orleans Saints

Here’s something that Brees’s fantasy owners don't want to hear: the nightmare will continue this weekend. Detroit boasts the league's top defense, though they've earned that ranking against some of the league's weaker teams. That changes this weekend when the Saints attempt to expose the Lions D as a pretender and instead have their own offense exposed itself. The Lions had eight sacks last week, and Brees has had an annoying habit of throwing the ball while falling to the ground so far this season. And there will be no 6'8'' basketball player of a tight end (Jimmy Graham) going up and keeping those passes out of the wrong hands. Something tells me that we’re going to be forced to watch some ugly Brees picks yet again this weekend.

 

4. Eli Manning - QB, New York Giants

I have no clue what to make of the Giants this year. When I want to give up on them, they force me to believe. When I want to believe, they give me every reason to give up. So in a classic, only-Eli-could-pull-it-off-with-such-a-degree-of-romanticism performance, I am predicting the field general of the Big Blue to throw not one, but TWO interceptions that will be returned for touchdowns, as the Other Manning compiles a sexy statline of 150 yards passing and five interceptions. This matchup features a team coming off one of the most memorable wins (over the reigning Super Bowl Champion, mind you) in recent team history, and another team who has shown only blips of life since their own last Super Bowl win. Take a wild guess at which team Eli suits up for.

 

5. Jerick McKinnon - RB, Minnesota Vikings

As if the running back situation in Minnesota couldn’t get any stranger than it already has, a completely healthy and productive Matt Asiata was shown the bench this weekend, out-touched 17-3 by the rookie from Georgia Southern. But that was against the Lions, who I’m sure would have pleasantly welcomed a game plan centered around gunning Asiata into the middle of the stonewall that is Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley. Now, they head to Buffalo to play a Bills team with a sneaky-good defense and an entire city behind them as everyone collectively exhales knowing their precious team isn’t being shipped across the border. Additionally, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer has already said that they plan to get a better balance of carries between the Peterson Replacements. Considering Asiata is the clear short-yardage/goal-line option, you’re just not going to end up getting the numbers you’ll need to win with McKinnon. (Or he’ll break for two back-to-back 103-yard runs for touchdowns. How is that even possible? I don’t know, but that’s 32 points right there. Prettttty helpful, huh?)

 

6. Arian Foster - RB, Houston Texans

Okay, in my honest opinion this man has the best chance of breaking the double hundo, which in a strange way, makes me believe he has an even better chance of laying the goose egg. We spent all offseason talking about how Arian Foster was at the point of breakdown for running backs, and then he gives us solid performances in four of five games and we’re all fine with him again? I don’t like it-- it’s just not adding up properly.  Foster comes back to Earth on Monday night following a very weird layoff (eleven days between two official games), facing a Steelers team that is already fighting for its life. The Pittsburgh faithful will be rocking and the fragile Texans will be cracking. Maybe they'll have to throw a lot because they’re down. Maybe the offensive line will give Foster nothing. Maybe the weird amount of time between games actually does get to him. It could be anything. But it will get to him. Which in turn will get to you, Mr./Ms. Fantasy Football Enthusiast.

 

7. Alshon Jeffery - WR, Chicago Bears

Another big name I’m going to call out. Another candidate for hundo-hundo. I just think that the dude from South Carolina has been seeing far too much of the ball. Brandon Marshall is bound to have a big game sooner or later, assuming he actually is 100%, and opponents can run on the Dolphins, so I expect a Matt Forte field day this Sunday. Jeffery will see a lot of Cortland Finnegan, who should slow him down a tad. It just seems like it isn’t going to be Alshon’s day.

 

8. Rueben Randle and 9. Odell Beckham Jr. - WR, New York Giants

I know that it probably is a little cheating to take three players from the same team in a bust column, but this particular incident is unique considering the gaping hole that Victor Cruz has presented the Giants. Anyone who doesn’t consider taking a stab with either one of these two receivers going forward is doing this whole fantasy thing wrong. But please return to the Eli commentary above if you want to know why this game isn't going to go well for Beckham or Randle. We’ll wait for you.

 

10. Branden Oliver - RB, San Diego Chargers

This man has undoubtedly made some weekends for fantasy owners in 2014. When a popular waiver wire pickup does anything productive, you're usually happy. When he explodes for over 20 points, you do back flips. Is this production sustainable? Maybe. There is nothing that screams "red flag" when considering Oliver as the Sprolesian disciple going forward, but there is definitely some red flag waving when you consider his matchup against the Chiefs this weekend. The Chiefs defense, though banged-up, is still very good. Expect a good, hard-fought game that ends up becoming a shining moment for Philip Rivers as he slings the Chargers to a win in the second half. Oliver, unfortunately, will not earn many riches from this slinging and will end up disappointing the fake managers that he doesn’t really care about at all (yeah, us).

 

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