So last week’s edition of the #DFStudent got a lot of attention as I laid out some of the things that I have learned over the last few months regarding the NFL DFS game. If you missed it, you can click here to find it. If you’re new to DFS, it just might be worth a read. Sure, the football regular season is coming to a close, but we still have four weeks of regular season games and you know there will be a ton of games throughout the NFL playoffs.

In the meantime, let’s talk about what happened this week. Remember when I shared another of my granddaddy’s famous expressions, “Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered?” Well, this week I threw caution to the wind and decided to play more games this week than I have in any given week this season. I built two lineups – one cash and one tournament – and entered my cash lineup into six different games (all of the $5 and $10 variety) and then entered my tournament lineup into four different single-entry tourneys as well as four cash games as well.

I’ve said before that I’ll enter a cash lineup into a tournament, but I usually don’t use my tournament lineups for cash games. But this week I had a good feeling about my tournament lineup and felt that it would work well in cash games as well. Lucky for me, it worked out very well as I cashed in all of my 50/50’s and double-ups with each lineup. Tournament-wise though, things didn’t turn out so well.

So with good news and bad news, let’s start with the good news. Here’s what my cash game lineup looked like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cam Newton, QB CAR – Stunned to see his ownership percentage in the low 30’s of all my cash games. Stunned. I mean…Cam Newton against the Saints? The Saints? Coming into the game, their defense ranked dead last in the NFL and they allowed an average of 38.5 points per game over their last four. This is the definition of no-brainer.

DeAngelo Williams, RB PIT – The Colts were a slightly below-average run defense heading into the game and had given up a fair number of yards over their first 11 games. But even worse was their pass defense, so I banked on the game flow here and figured Williams would be leaned on heavily in the second half.

Javorius Allen, RB BAL – With Matt Schaub under center and most of the receiving corps injured, you had to know that we would get a heavy dose of Allen this week. The Dolphins give up the third-most rushing yards in the league and were mediocre against running back pass plays. This kid is explosive when he’s got the ball and has the potential to be a star in the NFL.

Brandon Marshall, WR NYJ – He is the most consistent wide receiver in the game right now. He had 100-plus receiving yards in two of his previous three games heading into the game and had touchdowns in six straight. The Giants pass defense is, in a word, awful.

Alshon Jeffery, WR CHI – Either I underestimated how bad the 49ers secondary was or I overestimated the Bears passing attack. I had much higher hopes for the way this game was going to go for Jeffery and based on the ownership percentages, I wasn’t alone.

Kendall Wright, WR TEN – OK, so I didn’t have a whole lot of money left  and as you’ll see from my tournament lineup, I felt that Marcus Mariota was going to go off. Now sure, Delanie Walker gloms the majority of targets, but everything that happened right for Dorial Green-Beckham, I thought was going to happen with Wright. So close, yet so far away.

Greg Olsen, TE CAR – You couldn’t get any chalkier than Olsen against the Saints, could you? He racked up plenty of catches and 129 yards, but Newton threw TD passes to everyone but him. Still a nice point total.

Sebastian Janikowski, K OAK – No, I did not learn my lesson from Week 1. I used Seabass again and he sucked. I am lobbying that we all just eliminate kickers from fantasy. Gonzo.

New England Patriots, DEF – Did anyone….anyone…see this game coming? No. They did not. I don’t even think Eagles fans saw it coming. Stunned that I saw just four points from the Pats. They deserved to lose the game.

So there you go, 144.44 points. Good enough to cash in all the games I played. Again, not big bucks, but a win is a win is a win. Cha-ching!

And now for that tournament lineup…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marcus Mariota, QB TEN – Coming into this game, the Jaguars had the 30th-ranked pass defense and Mariota has had some explosive performances. For a tournament play, why not? If he has another big game, he’s giving me a huge edge, especially with those low ownership percentages.

Javorius Allen, RB BAL – Need I repeat myself? I think not.

C.J. Anderson, RB DEN – Now here’s the perfect example of a dart. No matter how bad the Chargers run defense is, you can’t use him in cash games. But as a low-cost option in a tournament, why not see if Anderson can keep the momentum rolling for a second week in a row? He didn’t really look great to start and then he got hurt. Sigh.

Brandon Marshall, WR NYJ – Again, a total no-brainer.

Amari Cooper, WR OAK – The Chiefs secondary can be hit or miss at times and they’ve been vulnerable to the big play. They also ranked 30th in the league against No. 1 wide receivers and were allowing 105 yards per game to them. Not this time they weren’t.

Alshon Jeffery, WR CHI – Yeah, I did it here too. Whoops.

Greg Olsen, TE CAR – Chalky-chalk

Ryan Succop, K TEN – Happy to make that anti-kicker argument again, if you like.

Arizona Cardinals, DEF – Paid up for the defense and just didn’t get the turnovers I was hoping for. They limited the Rams to just three points, but I really needed the defensive touchdown here.

So 146.02 was good enough to win the cash games I entered, but I fell way short in the tournaments I entered. It was a week of big scoring and I just didn’t hit with enough of my guys. Perhaps Allen Robinson over Alshon Jeffery and David Johnson over C.J. Anderson would have done more for me, but the important thing for me was that I won the cash games I entered and covered my entrance fees for the tournaments. Another week in the black baby!