If you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime.

We take this adage to heart when it comes to playing NFL DFS. The Fantasy Alarm Playbook isn’t just about handing you a list of players and a lineup to use each week. It is designed to help you learn to be a better DFS player. It’s about teaching you the process used in selecting which players to scout and, eventually, which ones to use.

Therefore, we will begin each week with the Weekly NFL DFS Watch List. We’ll still have our Weekly DFS Rankings, but the Watch List is designed to keep tabs on marquee names, chalk plays and, of course, the weekly bargains who may not see the same coverage and exposure. This piece will be continuously updated based on the most recent news and injuries which means you may see a name or two removed as we get closer to kick-off. You may also see a few late-week additions who pique our interest for some reason too, and by the end of the week, this watch list will eventually become your Playbook. Again, it’s about teaching you the process.

With Week 12 data in the books, it's time to start looking ahead to Week 13 and see who looks good.

THURSDAY NIGHT GAME BREAKDOWN:

Since I did the Game previews this week for Justin Mason, i will simply do a little copy/paste over here:

New Orleans Saints (-7) at Dallas Cowboys, Thursday, 8:20pm ET

Last Meeting (10.04.15): Saints win 26-20 OT

It’s been three years since these two teams have played, so history has no real relevance here. The Saints are drubbing every one of their opponents and they’re doing it both on the ground and through the air. Dallas defense has been playing well, but are they for real or are they overachieving? The Saints defense has been strong both against the run and the pass and Dallas is going to have to step up in a major way to keep pace. The problem for the Cowboys is that the best way to attack the Saints right now is through the air, picking on corners like P.J. Williams and Eli Apple , but do they have the personnel to make enough of an impact?

New Orleans Saints

Drew Brees – He hasn’t been as strong on the road as he has at home, but Brees is still averaging 242 yards per game with a 9:1 TD:INT over five road games this season. The Cowboys defense has played well during their three-game win streak but, overall, they still rank 20th against the pass and have allowed an average of 291.7 passing yards per game over that span.

Alvin Kamara – Surprisingly held out of the end zone last week, Kamara had nine touchdowns over the five games prior and continues to be leaned on heavily in the offensive game plan. He’s only caught two passes over the last two games, but that should change this week as the Cowboys rank 24th against running back pass plays.

Mark Ingram – The Saints would be wise to test the health of defensive tackle Maliek Collins who is still somewhat hampered by a lingering knee issue by rushing Ingram up the middle repeatedly in order to set up the play-action. Without Sean Lee , Dallas run-stopping hasn’t been as strong, though Leighton Vander Esch e has been solid in his starting role. If the Saints pound the rock up the gut early, though, the Cowboys are likely to overcommit and open up holes elsewhere for the Saints.

Michael Thomas – This is going to be a huge test for Byron Jones as Thomas is looking to bounce back from his worst game of the season. The key for him in this game will be the play of the other receivers. If they give the rest of the Cowboys secondary enough trouble, Thomas won’t have to put up with too many double-teams and should find himself in enough one-on-one situations to wreak some havoc.

Tre’Quan Smith – He played the game of his life two weeks ago and was then lost to a foot injury last week. The fact that the Saints removed him from the injury report Wednesday is encouraging and if he can reconnect with Brees and be that reliable third-down, move-the-chains guy again, both he and Thomas should be able to thrive.

Austin Carr – The return of Tre’Quan Smith likely means Carr will share snaps out of the slot with the rest of the team’s fringe wideouts. Working in Carr’s favor are his speed and reliable hands which have made im a solid red zone target. He’s gotten into the end zone in each of the last two games and could be an interesting GPP dart in DFS contests.

Tommylee Lewis – He’s a bit of an unknown for many as he was just recently activated from IR and saw limited action last week. Of course, that limited action proved to be a 28-yard touchdown and he could see his snap count increase should the Saints look to more three and four-receiver sets. With so much still to prove, however, he’s not someone you can trust just yet, but do keep him on the radar moving forward.

Keith Kirkwood – Signed off the practice squad a few weeks ago, he’s been seeing a fair amount of the snaps while the team looks for a strong third and fourth receiving option. Of course, snaps are one thing and targets are another. With just three targets per game over the three games he’s plays, plus the addition of Lewis to the receiving corps, he’s not a reliable fantasy option.

Benjamin Watson – Weeks 7 and 9 were great for Watson, but he’s been ghosted by Brees and the passing game lately, having seen just four targets over the last three games. The Cowboys do rank 20th in coverage against the tight end according to DVOA numbers, so maybe there’s an outside chance he sees a few extra looks this week.

Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott – Over this three-game win streak, Prescott has averaged 255.7 passing yards per game with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Even more important is that he’s rushed for a touchdown in each game as well, making him a stable option in both seasonal and DFS. However, the Saints passing defense has tightened up lately in coverage while also increasing the effectiveness of their pass rush. The results have been solid as they’ve allowed just 217.3 passing yards per game and just 12.7 points per game.

Ezekiel Elliott – This is really where it all hangs in the balance for the Cowboys. The rushing numbers against the Saints are not abundant by any means, but that actually has more to do with the fact that they jump out to such big, quick leads and the opposition feels compelled to abandon the run and play catch-up by throwing heavily. Zeke is the Cowboys offense and they’re going to need to get him going in both the run and passing game. If he has success, this game will be tight. If the Saints game-plan to shut him down, it could be a long night for Dallas.

Amari Cooper – The addition of Cooper has transformed this offense and offers a much more balanced attack. However, he’s going to be shadowed by Marshon Lattimore most of the time and might struggle to gain the separation he needs to be successful. The Cowboys don’t have enough weapons to use him as a decoy so you can expect them to move Cooper around as much as possible to free him up from coverage.

Michael Gallup – Things have been tough for the rookie wideout as he is still dealing with his brother’s suicide which occurred two weeks ago in Atlanta. He’s been targeted 11 times in the last two games but he’s managed just three catches for 29 yards and it’s difficult to imagine that he’s focused on the game. He’ll see a lot of Eli Apple in this match-up and he is not a recommended fantasy option right now.

Cole Beasley – This could be an interesting week for Beasley as Prescott is going to need to lean a little more heavily on someone while Lattimore covers Cooper and the Saints look to shut down Zeke. Working in Beasley’s favor is that he’ll face-off with P.J. Williams , arguably the worst cover guy in the league. A strong game from him could help the Cowboys sustain some drives, slow down the pace and help keep Brees off the field more.

Blake Jarwin – He’ll serve as the Cowboys lead tight end with Geoff Swaim out, but he doesn’t see a lot of targets and he’ll likely be used more to block and help free up Elliott in the ground game.

PLAYERS ADDED -- 11/29 (see below for breakdown)

Stacks

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