As if signing up for the Fantasy Alarm Assistant G.M. wasn’t a good enough decision already, we present to you even more assistance in setting your lineups this week.

Every Saturday throughout the NFL regular season I will be sending you this lineup helper that I like to call: Tough Decisions. In this article I will breakdown players with similar value, ranking and projection heading into this coming week.

Remember that if you haven’t signed up for DraftKings already you are really missing out. DraftKings is one week fantasy football and is paying out over $1 million every week of this football season. To get your FREE entry into a DraftKings Millionaire Maker Tournament just click on the link and sign up for a new account. Please remember us after you have won all that cash…

Let’s take a look at the TOUGH DECISIONS for Week 5:

 

Quarterback

Jay Cutler (Chicago) or Tony Romo (Dallas)

The Case For Cutler: Jay Cutler ranks among the leaders in passing attmepts (4th), passing yards (10th), TDs (3rd), yards per game (11th) and QB rate (12th). With Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery now healthy this Bears offense is ready to get back on track against a struggling Panthers defense.

The Case For Romo: The Cowboys offense is cruising right now. They currently rank fifth in points scored, first in rushing yards, first in offensive line performance and ninth in total offense. Romo has yet to really get Dez Bryant or Jason Witten going though Terrance Williams has become a definite threat in this Cowboys offense.

The Verdict: Give me Jay Cutler this week. The Cowboys are too focused on the run these days and although it helps the offensive numbers as a whole, Romo’s production is down considerably. The Panthers defense has been torched the past two weeks against far inferior offenses than what Chicago will bring to the table this week.

 

 

Running Back

Montee Ball (Denver) or Frank Gore (San Francisco)

The Case For Ball: The Broncos are obviously one of if not the best offenses in the NFL. Coming off of a bye week they are surely prepared for their home game against the Cardinals this week. Ball has been struggling to get going early this season but many lesser RB’s have produced mega fantasy numbers in a Peyton Manning offense. Multiple TD’s are always possible for the Broncos RB in any given matchup.

The Case For Gore: Despite the slow start and an astonishingly low amount of carries, Frank Gore still ranks ninth in rushing in the NFL. The 49ers got back to running the football last week against the Eagles and the offense took flight. When they run the ball, the 49ers are one of the most efficient offenses in the NFL and that all falls on the back of Gore.

The Verdict: Frank Gore. No team runs the ball better than the 49ers and it is apparent that Carlos Hyde isn’t a threat to Gore’s carries at this point in time. I really like the matchup here against the Chiefs more than Monte Ball going against the top run defense in the Arizona Cardinals.

 

Ben Tate (Cleveland) or Fred Jackson (Buffalo)

The Case For Tate: Tate is finally healthy after spraining his knee in week one. Remember that Ben Tate has averaged 4.8 yards per carry over his career in the exact same cut back system that is being run in Cleveland. Browns coaches have said repeatedly that when Tate is healthy he will carry the load for the Browns offense.

The Case For Jackson: Fred Jackson currently ranks as the 14th scoring fantasy RB in PPR and 16th in standard scoring leagues. Although he is splitting carries with C.J. Spiller, Jackson is getting the majority of catches out of the backfield and the goal line carries. Kyle Orton should bring some stability to the Bills passing game and open up some more room for both Spiller and Jackson.

The Verdict: Ben Tate. It seems as though everybody is forgetting that Ben Tate was on his was to a big debut with the Browns in week one before he went down with a knee injury. As solid as Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell have been, Tate is a superior runner in just about every single way. There is no committee in Cleveland as there is in Buffalo.

 

Justin Forsett (Baltimore) or Donald Brown (San Diego)

The Case For Forsett: Justin Forsett is having a big season thus far. Forsett is currently the 10th highest scoring fantasy RB in PPR formats. He ranks 11th in rushing yards, fifth in receptions (for RB’s) and first in yards per attempt. He has played in 56% of the Ravens offensive plays by far the most of any of their RB’s.

The Case For Brown: The Chargers have nobody else to give the ball to other than Brown these days. The Jets defense has been bleeding point this season and the Chargers are a good bet to continue that trend at home this week. Brown has always had a nose for the endzone having scored 19 career TD’s despite never really being a full time RB.

The Verdict: This is a tough call but give me Forsett this week. Brown is likely to get more opportunities than Forsett this week but Forsett will capitalize on his in a much bigger way.

 

Wide Receiver

Andre Johnson (Houston) or Vincent Jackson (Tampa Bay)

The Case For Johnson: It hasn’t been a good season thus far for Andre Johnson yet he still ranks highly in targets (14th), receptions (18th), receiving yards (22nd) and first downs (12th). Furthermore the Cowboys rank 26th in both receptions and yards against this season.

The Case For Jackson: The Buccaneers offense is entirely more dangerous with Mike Glennon than it was with Josh McCown. The Saints defense has given up the third most fantasy points to WR’s so far this year and this week is destined to be a shoot out in New Orleans. Mike Evans is out leaving only Vincent Jackson as the red zone weapon for Glennon and the Bucs.

The Verdict: Vincent Jackson. Touchdowns win fantasy matchups and V-Jax has a much better chance to catch multiple TD’s this week. In a game that promises to be high scoring and without many other option in the Buccaneers passing game, Jackson is a very solid play this week.  

 

Golden Tate (Detroit) or Wes Welker (Denver)

The Case For Tate: Tate has been just promised in coming over to the Lions from Seattle this offseason. He is currently 22nd in targets, 10th in the league in receptions, 10th in yards and 19th in fantasy points scored. Last week with Calvin Johnson banged up he went off for 8-116 against the Jets.

The Case For Welker: When push came to shove in the Broncos week three loss at Seattle, Peyton Manning trusted in Wes Welker to move the Broncos offense.  Now that he is fully healthy he will slide back into his role as Manning’s WR2 in the Broncos offense.

The Verdict: Golden Tate. Tate is the fantasy player that Welker used to be. There are too many chefs in the Broncos passing game kitchen and thus there is just not enough certainty as to fantasy production. With Calvin Johnson still ailing, the Lions will lean more on Tate once again against the Bills.

 

Tight End

Delanie Walker (Tennessee) or Travis Kelce (Kansas City)

The Case For Walker: Walker is having another fine season for the Titans despite lackluster QB play. He ranks third in targets amongst TE’s, fourth in receptions, second in yards, fourth in TD’s and third in fantasy points. Jake Locker returns for the Titans this week against a Browns defense that allows the eighth most fantasy points against TE’s.

The Case For Kelce: Kelce has burst on the scene the past two weeks having racked up 13-129-2 against the Dolphins and the Patriots. This week the Chiefs are going up against the 49ers without the services of their leading WR Donnie Avery. Alex Smith is going to have to get Kelce the ball in this matchup for the Chiefs to keep up. Few TE’s have the multiple TD upside of Travis Kelce this week.

The Verdict: Delanie Walker. Don’t chase the upside when you have certain production in your pocket. Delanie Walker has been one of the top fantasy TE’s for the past two seasons and very rarely has an off day. The 49ers regularly shut down opposing TE’s making this a very tough matchup for the inexperienced Kelce.