Another week means another opportunity to sit in judgment of Jeff Mans!  I have poured over Jeff’s rankings and opinions and, well, let us see how he did.  Oh, and as usual, I will pepper this piece with a few of my own masterpieces and pieces of [use a word for dung] from the past week.

Here is the 2015 Week 14 edition of Right, Wrong or Indifferent:

RIGHT

Russell Wilson:  Maestro Mans was dead on when he penned:  “Cam Newton has been the hottest player in the NFL the last few weeks but he is closely followed by Russell Wilson who is averaging 31.6 FanDuel points the past three weeks. He's the 8th highest priced QB on DK this week which is insanity. His floor is super high due to his rushing ability. Wilson has rushed less than six times just once in the last seven weeks. He's averaging 5.6 yards per carry in that span as well which gives him a minimum of 3.5 points rushing before he ever throws the football.”  No Marshawn Lynch, no big deal.  No Jimmy Graham, no big deal.  No Thomas Rawls, no big deal.  Russell will just carry the load!  You cannot argue with his production.  Even though he did not use his legs as much this week, no one who followed Jeff’s advice is complaining as Wilson threw for 292 yards and five TD without a pick.  Sweet!  Lock and Load!

Todd Gurley:  Mr. Mans was spot on regarding the resurgence of Todd Gurley.  Jeff wrote: “I absolutely love Gurley in GPP's this week. Everybody seems to have given up on him due to his recent struggles and that will create a very low ownership for him this week. The Rams are getting healthy on their offensive line and should be able to clear the path for Gurley even against a solid opponent in the Lions.”  What did Gurley do?  He posted 140 yards rushing, hit paydirt twice and added a catch for seven yards as gravy.  Gurley’s performance just proves the old adage for those in season long fantasy leagues – own a stud, play the stud.  Yes, there are the rare exceptions but they are few and far between.  Once again, lock and load!    

Doug Baldwin:  Jeff is looking good here as he wrote about Doug Baldwin: “Baldwin has been the hottest WR in fantasy football over the past four weeks. Baldwin has amassed 31 targets, 24 receptions, 433 yards and six TDs during that span. That averages out to 8-6-108-1.5 per week or roughly 22.82 FanDuel points. Do I expect the same type of output? No. But against the depleted Ravens secondary it is possible. No matter what, though, Baldwin can return us at least 2.5x return on his salary which is all we need to win.”  If you followed Jeff’s advice you did quite well here as Baldwin reeled in six catches, registered 82 yards and added not one, not two but three TD!  The correction is coming as teams will eventually wake up and realize they cannot let Baldwin run free all over the field and assume that the Seahawks will run.  However, until that time, roll with the white hot wideout.

Tyler Lockett:  Ok, one for me.  I pushed all who would listen to roster Tyler Lockett.  Yeah me!  He did not put up Baldwin numbers, but pretty darn close, hauling in six passes for 104 yards and two TD.  Lockett has been on the rise ever since a clunker five weeks ago against Arizona.  As noted above, Baldwin will start drawing double coverage and the opponent’s top corner.  That means more opportunity for the speed playmaker Lockett.  He, too, is quickly becoming plug and play!

WRONG

Ben Roethlisberger:   Well, now for the other side of the coin.  This Mans prediction hardly came to pass: “Roethlisberger has thrown up 22-plus fantasy points in each of the last four games. The game script here calls for a back and forth contest that gets close to the 50 total point mark. The Bengals could be without their top two CBs this week as well with Adam Jones and Leon Hall.  This is where fantasy and reality diverge.  In real football, Ben guided his team to a strong offensive output and a big divisional win.  However, in fantasy, 282 yards, no TD and a pick is not getting it done.  This was an outlier.  You own Ben Roethlisberger, you play Ben.  In cash games DFS, Ben is still in the very small class of safe, reliable producers.

Shaun Draughn:  I think Jeff got twisted around a bit when he wrote: “As the week has gone on I have developed more and more admiration for Draughn. He's the backbone of the 49ers offense and has racked up a 42 percent utilization rate over the past four weeks. I expect another 15-plus touches out of him this week against a terrible Browns defense. The Browns surrender the second most rushing yards per game, the fifth most yards per rush attempt, rank dead last in ProFootballFocus run defense, third worst in DVOA and have given up the sixth most fantasy points to RBs.”  51 total yards with no TD earns an “ugh.”   I do not love this week’s matchup against Cincy but Shane will continue to get a lot of touches so he remains a viable season-long RB2/flex play.  In daily, I would surely look elsewhere.  

Austin Seferian-Jenkins:  Jeff booted this grounder when he said:  “I am not nearly as high on ASJ as many other DFS people this week. In fact, in my model he doesn't grade out in the top eight at the position. Furthermore, in 14 percent of my simulations (1,086 of them) ASJ failed to even record a catch. He only rung up over 10 fantasy points in 39 percent of those simulations as well. So, why is he in the Playbook this week? Because if he plays a healthy amount of snaps, he could make some big plays against the Saints defense who has given up the most fantasy points to TE's this season”  I know Jeff said he was not high on ASJ but he did play enough to do far better than three catches for 31 yards against the Saints.  Even with Vincent Jackson hurting again, you should be looking elsewhere for TE help.  ASJ has been reduced to keeper league fodder at this point.

Dez Bryant:  In all fairness, I have to look in the mirror and scold myself at least once.  I really thought Dez would show up to play in his return to the spot where he was robbed in January.  Three drops and one catch add up to a whole lotta nothing.  Of course, my team with Dez lost in both fantasy and reality this weekend.  Next week, Revis Island.  Oh joy.  In season-long, you own Dez, you play Dez but in daily, no thank you.

INDIFFERENT

Antonio Brown:  Jeff noted: “Brown is back to being the safest cash game WR in DFS. He's averaged 15 targets, 10 receptions, 148 yards and one TD over his last four games. The Bengals secondary is banged and they could be without their two top CBs this week in Adam Jones and Leon Hall. The weather appears clear in Cincy and that means we are a full go with the back and forth that we all want to see from these offenses.”  Seven catches for 87 yards is nothing to sneeze at.  However, given the price (in daily or the first rounder it cost in season long), this is a wash at best.  

Ronnie Hillman:  Jeff was pretty high on Ronnie Hillman but he did have some reservations: “C.J. Anderson is likely out for this week and Hillman is also listed as questionable with a foot injury. Hillman returned to practice, though, on Friday and was named the starter by head coach Gary Kubiak during Friday's news conference. If Hillman was somehow out on Sunday, I would have Juwan Thompson even higher on this list than I have Hillman. The Raiders have given up the ninth most rushing yards per attempt this season and the Broncos have averaged 36 rushing attempts per game without Peyton Manning and that plan will not change this week at home against the Raiders. “   61 total yards and seven catches adds up to 13.1 in PPR – not good, not bad.  Indifferent.  Every week the Denver RB situation will be one solely for those with strong stomachs.  I plan to avoid and suggest you do the same.  

Delanie Walker:  About Walker, Jeff penned as follows:  “Walker is by far Marcus Mariota's favorite target this season. With the growth Mariota has shown this season it’s hard to envision any sort of letdown for Mariota.”  Well, Walker was OK with seven catches for 71 yards (decent TE production) but Mariota did suffer the “hard to envision let down”.  Right on Walker, wrong on Mariota equals Indifferent.  That said, I roll with Walker as a TE1 for the rest of the year because he truly is their best offensive weapon.

Ok, let’s use what we learned and win in Week 15.  Good luck!