Strikes & Gutters: Week 8 Fantasy Football Advice

Go big or go home is not a mantra that I typically follow. I did, however try to go out on a limb and pick all sleepers for my strikes last week with varying levels of success. After confessing my fantasy man crush on Fred Jackson, it was inevitable that he would go down with an injury. Sorry, Bills fans. Just kidding, I'm not sorry! I, like the rest of America, don't care about Bills fans.

Jackson was on his way to another double digit fantasy day in PPR leagues, before going down in the first half. He still managed to get me 5 points in less than a half, so for that I am giving myself half a point. Justin Forsett and Davante Adams both were productive, and Kap had decent fantasy numbers despite the blow out. Charles Clay finally showed up this season, much to my delight in Chicago last Sunday. Not my worst performance, I'll take a 4 out of 5 with half points on Kap and Jackson. Gutters were a little worse, Dwayne Bowe had a decent game as Brandon Flowers exited with a concussion. Cordarrelle Patterson continued to suck, but managed to find the end zone. Brian Quick did nothing, C.J. Spiller pulled a C.J. Spiller and got injured right when he had a chance to assert himself as a #1 RB and the Dolphins Defense was awesome on Sunday. 2.5 out of 5 with Patterson being the .5 point. 6.5 out of 10 for the week. 65%, right in my wheelhouse.

ON TO THE STRIKES!

STRIKES:

Joique Bell: Somewhat of an anomaly this season, but like I said last week, any RB going against the Falcons defense is a friend of this column.

Jerick McKinnon: Kind of the same logic here; clear lead back going against a comically bad defense. I wish I could take back that statement I made in week one about the Bucs Defense being legit. I mean the Vikings are terrible, make no mistake about it. But the Bucs are terribler. I bet its a decent game though. It could resemble a college game. Not Alabama versus Auburn or anything. Maybe, Clemson versus Georgia Tech. Is it just me or are there way more awful teams this season?

Ben Tate: The Raiders can't tackle anything. I'm sensing a theme growing here. It's mediocre Running Backs going against awful defenses.

Carson Palmer: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on.. shame on... How's it go George?

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Courtesy Dolphin Start of the Week, Jarvis Landry: He may be my new favorite Dolphin. I think there will be many more quick slants and intermediate routes run against Jacksonville on Sunday off play action. He's proven to be valuable in PPR leagues and shows a great rapport with Tannehill already. BONUS: I am deep at WR, and starting Larry Fitzgerald, Vincent Jackson, Marques Colston and Doug Baldwin over Landry this week. This means he is sure to explode.

Gutters:

DeSean Jackson: They will be losing, but I don't see their offense being on the field much. Also, Colt McCoy. How bad is Josh Freeman that the Redksins were like, "Nah bro, we're good. We have Colt McCoy." *Side note* SEE I WAS RIGHT ABOUT KIRK (Kurt) COUSINS!

Roddy White: The Detroit Defense is very tough. They shut down the Packers. I think they will be in Matt Ryan's face all day. I don't see a very nice trip to London for the Falcons on Sunday. Or Spain, I guess according to their media guide. Maybe the game won't be played.

Maps are hard. Is there anything the Falcons don't suck at?

Giovanni Bernard: The Ravens defense has been pretty tough of late. The Bengals Offense has looked very bad without A.J. Green. I think its going to be another long day for the Bengals.

Nick Foles: You most likely aren't going to bench the Napolean Dynamite Doppleganger. BUT, I absolutely hate this matchup. The Cardinals are a good team. I think they shut down the Eagles on Sunday, much like the 49ers did.

Courtesy Dolphin Sit of the week, Brian Hartline: I'm hoping my recent string of being wrong on Dolphin Sits of the Week continues. Hartline seems like a forgotten man in the offense. The ball is being spread around, which is great to see and it appears like many of his targets have disappeared as a result. He's a good soldier and will continue to do what's asked of him, I just don't see how you could roll with him in any format right now.

There we go, fantasy advice that continues to show up. Much like Brian Hartline, we don't put up huge numbers but we are here week in and week out. I have crawled out of last place in my main fantasy league for the time being, and really need to get on a winning streak if my season is to be at all salvageable. Most of my focus has shifted to ACTUAL Football, which is a nice change of pace given how the Dolphins have played for the past ten to fifteen years. This is the best Dolphins team I have seen since the Marino Days. I truly believe that. Aside from the 2002 squad (Ricky's first season) I have never felt like this team could legitimately play with anyone in the league. I hope we don't take the Jags too lightly, like we did with the Bucs last year. But this season just feels different. Go PHINS!

Well, dude, sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you...