Beckham included after wonder catch
Thursday 27 November 2014 12:55, UK
Happy Thanksgiving, America! Alex Ferguson tells you how his picks performed in Week 12, and throws out some advice on who you might want to take in Week 13 of this fascinating NFL season.
Reminder: There are a lot of games on both Thursday and Sunday, folks!! Don’t leave your picking until the last minute!
After a disastrous week where I picked Mr Manning the Sunday before last – when he was awful in the loss to St Louis – No 18 rebounded in style with a 257-yard, four TD performance in what turned into a shoot-out against Miami. I also went with Aaron Rodgers, but the Packers went with the rushing game instead of Rodgers’ arm, so he only had 209 yards and a pair of TDs. Annoying, that.
Well, this week Rodgers is going to be embroiled in a game with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, where I expect the ball to be flying around. I'm going to take Brady and Rodgers (with Brady as the wild-card).
If you don’t fancy a bit of Aaron action, Andrew Luck (fantasy’s No 1 QB with 3,641 yards and 10 TDs) faces a Washington side that’s recently dropped RGIII, and Peyton’s playing at Kansas City, who had Brady for breakfast earlier on in the season.
Or if you fancy something a little more out of left-field, how about Eli Manning and the New York Giants, who travel to Jacksonville. With Odell Beckham pulling off a Cirque Du Soleil on every catch he seems to throw, he could have another 300+ yard game, especially against a team as poor as the Jags.
I felt that a great performance last week would be justice enough for us to start Jonas Gray in New England’s game last week, and he (annoyingly for me) came up with exactly zero points after missing practice the day before, thanks to his inability to turn up to practice early. And with the Pats signing LeGarrette Blount, I'm not that happy to have him back if Bill Belichick bounces him out again. On the other hand our go-to guy, Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray, had his usual 100-yard game but Jason Garrett decided to let Tony Romo throw the ball instead of letting Murray mash it in.
The star of last week was Baltimore’s Justin Forsett, who had 182 yards and 2 TDs. That’s back-to-back 100-yard games for the Baltimore running back. Can he do it again against a Chargers defense that’s pretty stingy? Some commentators have also recommended as a bargain CJ Anderson, the Denver Broncos RB who has had two 90+ yardage games in three outings. It will depend on how the Chiefs manage to stop Peyton Manning, but it would be quite a fun bet.
In terms of the big-money running backs, we’re going with DeMarco Murray, who’s been Mr Consistent for us over the weeks. I just hope Tony Romo decides to hand the ball to him instead of reverting to the ‘Tony Romo is the new Peyton Manning’ phrase that sometimes goes on in his head. Murray’s only had one under-100 yard game all year long, playing a Philly ‘D’ that’s 17th-ranked against the run in 2014. However, those who don’t fancy Murray could always go with Green Bay’s Eddie Lacy, who’s been on fire recently, or LeSean McCoy, who might prosper from Dallas being the 8th-worst team at giving up rushing TDs this year.
Wide receivers are becoming a real kick in the teeth. Mike Evans didn’t have a brilliant day at the office (although he did have the TD), while Jordy Nelson was totally quietened by the Minnesota Vikings. My idea of ‘go with the Aaron show' probably wasn’t the best! And tight ends-wise, I went for Julius Thomas to do damage against Miami, but instead his damaged ankle stopped him playing a down.
All the excitement we have about Giants wideout Odell Beckham, who pulled off an unbelievable catch against Dallas, and the possibilities against a Jacksonville secondary that is pretty poor against the pass are starting throw up question marks because of a reported sore back, but apparently he’s in better shape and should start on Sunday. Adding Beckham to your hymn sheet would be a pretty good idea for this week.
Also, Jordy Nelson’s got to face a New England Patriots’ secondary which was miserly against Detroit’s top receiver Calvin Johnson last week. Can he rebound from a poor Week 12? I just don’t know.
If you’re still unsure, how about switching to the Pittsburgh Steelers and bringing in ‘Downtown’ Antonio Brown who’s rested and playing against the Saints’ struggling secondary? Or simply just keep with Nelson!
Oh, and with tight ends, the Julius Thomas news out of Denver seems more hopeful than actual, but there’s still a plethora of stars. Delanie Walker (Titans), Rob Gronkowski (Patriots) and Antonio Gates (Chargers) all have monster games in them, and will want to serve up a Thanksgiving treat.
My decision to go with Philadelphia’s defence and avoiding Miami’s was a pretty good one in retrospect, after Miami gave up 39 points to Peyton Manning on Sunday. Cody Parkey, who’s kicking for Philadelphia, once again had an excellent day.
There are three great options for the Thanksgiving break: Miami (who play the inept New York Jets), Buffalo (who play turnover-prone Cleveland) or Houston (who play offensively-poor Tennessee) on Sunday. And it’s really tough to pick. Any of three – which are all priced the same on the NFL UK Fantasy site – would be worth your $1m.
As for kickers, I'm sticking with Cody Parkey, who’s also blasting the ball indoors on Thanksgiving Day against the Cowboys, which ought to help.
