November 17, 2017

Cliff Clinton prepares us for Week 11 of the 2017 NFL season with a fantasy football pop quiz to see which RB, WR, and TE to monitor for your lineups.

It's nice to remind myself when I'm wrong (there's a good "haha he's married now" joke in there, but that's low hanging fruit that's even too low for me) especially as I weep over the less-than-smoldering ashes of my fantasy teams. In the pre-season, I went back through years of fantasy scoring, estimating how different positions impacted different championship teams. Especially at quarterback, I recommended taking a sure thing. There were names that had littered the top-5 rankings, year over year. Aaron Rodgers. Tom Brady. Drew Brees. Russell Wilson. Andrew Luck. Ha ha ha. Ha ha. Ha. Ugh.

If you played the shell game correctly, you still ended up with the top scoring QB in fantasy, Mr. Russell "I am succeeding in spite of my line" Wilson. The others rank 24, 6, 11 and tied for 51 with 0 points, respectively. This is where fantasy analysts are tempted to go with one of our two fantasy lines; "I got one of them right" or "It's such a strange year!" Some of those columns read like tombs to teams who invested in them. The waiver wire has never been more important, and some of the best players in standard leagues, like Alvin Kamara, Chris Thompson, and Devin Funchess, had to be aggressively bid for. Hell, Robert Woods became WR1 this week on a team that has Sammy Watkins and aggressively impressive Cooper Kupp.

So if you're still in it, you might as well be writing these columns, or at the very least continuing to give yourself favorable matchups as your league's commissioner (Ignore the guys asking why you keep having to play teams with a bunch of dudes on BYE, they're just jealous of you and your superiority.)

Running Back Questions

______ will either be on my bench or will RUIN my week.

A: Chris Thompson
B: Mark Ingram
C: Duke Johnson Jr.
D: LeSean McCoy

There's an annoying thing you may sometimes see on Twitter, especially if you dole out fantasy advice and pretend that you're an expert (this includes me, as well as a large amount of mostly-dudes who don't actually write anywhere else.) People will tweet at you asking for advice, and then someone else who is not you will answer the question. It happens to me all of once or twice a season, but I have much more talented friends and fellow writers who go through it almost daily, and many of the bigger personalities have to endure it daily. It's a general no-no, just because it's predatory, and it's a rule I try not to violate.... that is, until an actor from one of my favorite long-cancelled shows tweeted at a college friend and significantly more talented analyst asking him; Carlos Hyde or Chris Thompson.

It was the first week I remember being definitively out on Thompson, and his efforts since the BYE haven't been much better. Less passing, less reliance on their run game, more come-from-behind efforts from their offense. Especially with a backfield that is less stable than ever, I'm avoiding Thompson this week at all costs.

Against all odds, should you take a look at ___________ now?

A: Jerick McKinnon
B: Javorius Allen
C: Tevin Coleman
D: Marshawn Lynch

I feel like Derek Carr is getting all the "against the Patriots defense" love, and though I don't know if Marshawn Lynch is the guy in the Oakland backfield right now, but he still saw goal-line work after his suspension. In a final week of byes, you'll take 12-15 touches and the possibility he falls in the end zone (Carr can't throw it in the end zone forever, and Lynch has got to be insistent to run it in against the Patriots. That doesn't just go away.)

Wide Receiver Questions

Am I really going to roll with ____________ this week? (Yes. Yes I Am)

A: Robert Woods
B: Brandin Cooks
C: Golden Tate
D: Alshon Jeffery

Golden Tate is such a strong pick for this week, especially as he continues a solid string of high receptions totals. But I'm still counting on Brandin Cooks in what is going to be a shootout, as he's still enjoying Tom Brady's high passer rating when targeting him, for that big play potential that can really change a week. Count it as an advantage that the Patriots won't have to deal with Raider Nation in Oakland, but a different fan environment in Mexico that may not shake the Pats as much. For the record, I like both Cooks and Tate this week, but for big-play potential I'm rolling with Cooks.

In Week 11, I will FLEX my muscles and put ________ in my lineup

A: Kenny Stills
B: Cooper Kupp
C: Marqise Lee
D: Amari Cooper

Like an excited Trojans fan from days gone by, I am hoping Marqise Lee fights on against a surprisingly tough Cleveland pass defense, but you can't beat the amount of targets for a player that is a flex fill-in. Lee is seeing an average of at least 60 yards of the last four games, with two touchdowns in the last two games. It doesn't blow anyone away, but in a week where you need someone to score, choose Lee.

Bonus Pick: In DFS this week, I like Sterling Shepard at home vs an Andy Reid defense that hasn't been able to stop the pass much. I don't trust the Giants at all here, but there's some garbage time potential with how much Shepard has been targeted.

Tight End Question

In Week 11, I will stop blowing my horn for ASJ and start blowing my horn for _________

A: Jason Witten
B: Jared Cook
C: Cameron Brate
D: Tyler Kroft

Cameron Brate, despite being a top-10 TE in points scored, hasn't made a lot of friends this year when you need a few points to push you over the edge. Yes, still a key contributor in the Tampa Bay offense, but no, not a reliable asset in the past few weeks. I just really don't believe in the Miami defense that much, even with Ryan Fitzpatrick QBing the Bucs.

More Week 11 Lineup Prep