Skip to content

NFL: Alex Ferguson makes his Fantasy Football picks for Week 14

Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts throws a pass

Week 13’s NFL fantasy picks were a mixed bag for Alex Ferguson.

He had some good decisions (putting Andrew Luck back in at quarterback for example), and he had some terrible decisions (deciding to take Denver’s CJ Anderson out of the line-up in the last minute).

Anyway, here’s some fantasy thoughts for Week 14. As ever, praise him if they go well, and don’t blame him if they go badly…

ICON ANDREW?

Live NFL

As I may have mentioned, our decision to re-insert Andrew Luck into our fantasy line-up was a good one, as he put up a cricket score (357 yards, 5 TDs) against Washington’s D. Of course, he had to be out-performed by somebody, and that somebody was Houston’s Ryan Fitzpatrick, who threw for 6 TDs and 358 yards.

For Sky Sports’ Wild Card pick, we decided to go with Mr Brady over Mr Rodgers, and it went badly wrong. Brady threw for 245 and 2 TDs, while Rodgers threw for 268 yards and 2 TDs. And ran for 24 more yards than Brady.

This week, Andrew Luck’s going to be our Wild Card pick against Cleveland. The amount that Luck throws, he should start for us in every chance he gets (and this doesn’t normally happen, since I’ve been known to make the odd bad selective decision (thankfully I haven’t garnered the same issues as the ECB have in cricket vis-à-vis openers)).

As the starter, we are pinning our hopes on Aaron Rodgers again, who’s playing an awful Atlanta passing defence that gives up 285 passing yards per game. And although it’s had 14 interceptions, it’s given up 15 TDs. Cleveland, on the other side, gives up 228 per game – and has the country’s INT leader in Tashaun Gipson, but he can’t be everywhere.

More from Nfl 2014 - Week 14

Oh, and if you’re feeling like it, Fitzpatrick is playing at Jacksonville, a defence that’s pretty awful against the pass in terms of yards and doesn’t really intercept you, either (only 5 all season!). We would tell you to ‘go all Johnny Manziel’, but…

LOVE YOU, LE’VEON

Le'Veon Bell Pittsburgh Steelers Kenny Vaccaro New Orleans Saints
Image: Le'Veon Bell: Had 95 yards and a TD against New Orleans

Last week the decision to go with running back LeSean McCoy was a good one – he had a 159 yard, 1 TD game. However, McCoy lost points on a fumble, so he’ll have be careful going up against Seattle’s defence, which only gives up 86.3 yards per game. The decision not to go with Denver’s CJ Anderson at the last minute was a dumb one – he had 168 rushing yards and a receiving TD. Oh dear.

We’re benching McCoy and opting instead for Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell, who had 95 yards and a TD against New Orleans. He faces a Cincinnati rushing defence that’s given up the second-most rushing TDs in the league, so that’s why we’re putting it all out on the table.

We’re also going with Anderson too, because if it goes off, we can always say, ‘I told you so' (or not). However, if you don’t like the thought of Bell, why not go with Dallas’ top RB DeMarco Murray (playing on Thursday night against Chicago), or even St Louis’ Tre Mason, who’s coming off a monster day against Oakland, where he had 117 yards rushing, 47 yards receiving, and 3 total TDs. The former Auburn running back and Heisman candidate could be quite the bargain.

ODELL, ODELL, ODELL

Wide receiver Jordy Nelson Green Bay Packers
Image: Jordy Nelson struggled against New England but should have a better day against Atlanta

After his incredible catch against, we decided that under no circumstances were we going to miss out on Odell Beckham Jr in Week 13. We might as well have. Beckham didn’t give us a circus TD (or any sort of TD) in New York’s shocking loss to Jacksonville.

The big question is: Could David Beckham (or Tom Odell) have done better? We think no! Anyway, our decision to go with ‘Downtown’ Antonio Brown was a better one – although it was thanks to two garbage-time TDs instead of a super all-round performance against the Saints! Our tight end decision of Tennessee’s Delanie Walker garnered us nothing. Ouch.

This week, why not go for Green Bay’s Jordy Nelson against Atlanta? The Falcons defence – as we’ve already mentioned – is poor at best, and therefore Aaron Rodgers’ No 1 receiver should have a better day out than he did against New England, who were pretty dominant against him. And if you don’t fancy Nelson after his quiet weekend, why not go with Calvin Johnson, who had a Megatron-esque 146 yard, 2 TD game and is playing a Tampa Bay D that’s given up 22 TDs to wide receivers?

Brown might be a must bigger risk for fantasy owners than in previous weeks – bearing in mind that the Bengals have got the best pass defence in the league (11 TDs).

Another feasible option could be Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins, who had a 238 yard, 2 TD game last week, and could well go off against Jacksonville’s secondary, which is not a great interception secondary. There’s also Beckham, too.

And as for tight ends, Coby Fleener had a great day for the Colts last week, and the more we see him, the more we like him, particularly with the injury to Denver’s Julius Thomas, which pretty much held him out of last week’s clash. And if you don’t like the idea of Fleener against Cleveland’s D, then how about Chicago’s Martellus Bennett against a more porous Dallas one?

MIAMI, LET’S GO SHUT IT DOWN

Houston Texans defensive end JJ Watt #99 celebrates sacking Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III
Image: JJ Watt and the Houston Texans are up against one of the worst offences in the league in Jacksonville

We’d like you to note that the headline above is a line from the delightful Counting Crows song (yes, they exist!) ‘Miami’. It’s all about 'shutting it down', and with good consideration, we thought they’d choke the hell out of an awful New York Jets offence. And although they just gave up just one TD, they still weren’t great, giving up over 300 yards, and didn’t cause the turnovers we were looking for against the kind of ineptitude they were facing (1).

Kicking-wise, we were once again happy with Eagles kicker Cody Parkey, who had another good day against Dallas.

Before we get into a massive kickers debate, we’re keeping with Parkey. That’s mostly because next week he plays a Seattle team that’s one of the best in giving up points-per-game and total points. At home.

And defensively, there’s some stuff to consider. Our man-crush on JJ Watt is so bad that we’re going with him instead of the Dolphins. That’s mainly because the Texans are playing are playing Jacksonville, which has one of the worst offences in the league.

Around Sky