It's Hallamentary! Questions And Answers For Week 16

Posted by Ryan Hallam on 12/20/2012 | 5 Comments

Tags: LeSean McCoy, Maurice Jones-Drew, Robert Griffin III, Jamaal Charles, Eli Manning, Adrian Peterson, Beanie Wells, Eric Decker, Demaryius Thomas

Here it is, the last edition of Hallamentary for this fantasy football season.  We’ve had some fun along the way, and hopefully answered some of your burning questions and helped you make some difficult lineup decisions that now has you playing for the fantasy championship.  Because that’s what we make here at Fantasy Alarm.  We make WINNERS!  As we head into what should be your championship we talk about some injury concerns, some guys going for records, and who you can trust, and who you can’t.  How do you win your fantasy football championship in 2012????  (Say it with me)…….It’s Hallamentary, of course!

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Questions about your team or a waiver move?  Lineup decisions?  You can email me at ryan@fantasyalarm.com for answers to those questions.  You can also hit me up by following me on Twitter @ryanhallamFA or if you just want to read some of my incoherent babbling in 140 characters. 

With LeSean McCoy returning, should you start him?  McCoy has missed the last four games with a concussion, and as the season winds down you have to wonder how hard he will run.  Listen, I said this a few weeks ago about Greg Jennings.  If, when he got hurt you decided to keep him on your roster, that means you hoped he would return.  Now he is returning.  If you aren’t playing him, then why the hell did you keep him for the last month?  McCoy is a gamer, and as much as the Eagles are mailing in the end of the season, he is probably better than your other options.  I say go with him.

On the other hand, what about Maurice Jones-Drew?  For the first time in two months it seems that MJD has a chance to play following his awful foot injury that has cost him two months.  He has begun running again, but is still a long shot to play, and unlike McCoy, I would say that even if he is cleared to play (again, not likely), I couldn’t confidently put him in my lineup.  If your league is one that plays all 17 weeks and you are in the title game next week I would go with him.  Jones-Drew is a very prideful and competitive guy and would give it everything he had, even in the last game of the season, even for a 2-13 team. 

Third injury question, can you go with RG3?  Griffin was a full participant in practice on Wednesday, and it certainly seems like he will be under center for the ‘Skins on Sunday against the Eagles.  I wholeheartedly, absolutely, 100% recommend you starting Griffin if you have him this weekend.  This kid has shown incredible heart, grit, and a fire that not every player has.  Not to mention that the Redskins are one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now.  If he is cleared, and I believe he will be, he is a must start in your fantasy championship. 

As good as Jamaal Charles has been, can you trust him?  The Chiefs are bad.  Really bad.  They should have to surrender the ‘I’ in their name and just be called the Chefs.  They have scored in double digits just once in the last five weeks, and only over 14 points once in the last seven.  So as good as Charles has been, and he’s been good, what should you do when his team barely ever puts points on the board?  You gotta go with this guy.  He has broken 100 yards in four of the last six weeks after having a rough middle of the season, and although he only gained ten yards last week, he is too good to leave on your bench in the championship game, or even in the semis if your league plays 17 weeks.  Think of it this way:  How stupid will you feel if you lose because you got cute and decided to sit Charles and he rushes for 185 yards and a touchdown?  Or how would you feel if you play him and he rushes for 15?  To me, I’d rather lose with my best players letting me down than trying to outsmart the system and making a stupid choice.  Play Charles.   

What do you do with Eli Manning?  After a stretch where he had no touchdowns for three games, Eli has become possibly more frustrating as now he is rotating good weeks and awful ones.  After his three touchdown performance against the Packers, he threw just one, followed by four against the Saints, before the absolute dud last week against Atlanta.  So, what’s a fantasy owner to do?  This is the big one!  The Giants will be playing the Ravens who have been far from the famous Ravens’ defenses from the early 2000s.  They are getting healthier, but I still don’t see their secondary being great.  I think if you’ve been going with Eli all season long, there’s no reason to bench him now.  Give him another start and hope for at least two scoring strikes.  And for my team can we have one to Cruz and one to Bennett?  Thanks. 

Can Adrian Peterson do it?  With two games to go he is 294 rushing yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing mark, so can he do it? After having just one 100 yard rushing game and two touchdowns in the first six weeks, Peterson has been a man possessed for the last eight.  There’s only been one game where he hasn’t scored, and in six of eight of those games he has rushed for over 150 yards. He faces Houston and Green Bay to finish the season, and at this point I don’t see any reason to doubt the guy.  The Vikings are one of the many teams vying for a playoff spot in the NFC so I can’t see them spoonfeeding him if they get way behind, but he has been the most dynamic player in the NFL since Columbus Day, why think he will slow down now?

If you could only start one Denver receiver would it be Eric Decker or Demaryius Thomas?  Decker had been cool for a few games and then has come on hot, while Thomas was hot as hell for a few weeks then disappointed mightily last week.  What is the right answer?  The Browns secondary is pretty stout and Thomas will likely be seeing most of Joe Haden, so it stands that it could be a quiet day for either guy.  But this is Peyton Manning, and this is a chance to put the Broncos in a great position to get a first round bye, so I think there will be a few touchdown passes to go around.  If I had to choose (and why not start both?), and it was PPR, I’m going to go against my man crush and say to start Eric Decker. 

Really Beanie Wells?  Really?  So Chris Wells (I can’t stand to call him by his nickname right now) has five touchdowns this season and I’m guessing that his fantasy owners probably got none of them.  I know I didn’t.  Two came in his first game back off of injured reserve, and the other three game last week following a performance where he had just 18 yards on six carries.  I guess the real question for Chris is…..why do you hate me so much?  I’ve always supported you, I always draft you, even though my friends always laugh at me for it.  So, what’s the forecast this week?  The Bears’ defense is a shell of what it was during the first two thirds of the season, but even though they are giving up yards and scores in bunches, I still don’t see a reason to start Wells as long as John Skelton or Ryan Lindley are behind that God awful offensive line.  If you are going to lose this week, don’t do it trusting Chris Wells. 

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