Seven weeks down in the NFL, 11 more to go.
What has happened thus far?
Week seven could have been labeled “blow out week,” as the league saw at least six lopsided games.
Regardless, week eight still brings us a few interesting matchups that cause us to think about who to keep in our starting line up and who to bench for the time being.
Start/Bench
Jonathan Stewart, RB, Carolina– The lowly Panthers play in Arizona this weekend. Surprisingly, the Cardinal defense allows just over 18 points and the fewest rushing yards per game, at 67.5.
Though DeAngelo Williams, being a first-round pick in most every fantasy draft, is a must-start each week, Stewart’s condition is different. With Williams starting to salvage his season, plan on him to get the ball much more than Stewart, even if the run game is slowed down by the Cards. Bench Stewart.
David Garrard, QB, Jacksonville– Garrard’s season symbolizes that of the Jaguars: inconsistent. However, he had a field day earlier in the year when he faced Tennessee, posting over 300 yards passing and three touchdowns in his best game thus far.
The Titans don’t seem to be getting any better, so start Garrard unless you have a franchise quarterback on your roster. By the way, the Titans are last in the league at stopping the pass.
Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, New York Giants– What happened to this guy? He started to show promise as a potential weekly starter, then dropped off the past two weeks, accumulating only ten total points in ESPN leagues.
In week eight, the Giants go into division rival Philadelphia’s house to face an Eagles’ D which allows just under 100 yards rushing per game.
Though the Giants running backs didn’t get the ground game going at home, both Brandon Jacobs and Bradshaw saw success in Philadelphia last year. Start Bradshaw with caution and hope he bounces back from his poor performance last week.
Ray Rice, RB, Baltimore– The Broncos will be coming to town to face Baltimore in an important AFC match up. Rice has been stellar this year for Baltimore, averaging six yards per carry. However, the Denver D has shown week in and week out that it can carry the undefeated Broncos.
Denver allows under 80 rushing yards a game at a 3.3 yards per carry average. Give Rice a breather for this game– I just don’t see the Broncos slowing down.
Defense of the Week
(Available in an astonishing 90 percent of ESPN) The Arizona Cardinal defense/special teams has been consistent.
They only had one down week against Indianapolis, but besides that performance, have posted a few double digit scoring weeks.
They face Carolina this weekend, who rank 20th in offensive yards per game, 25th in points per game, and are a staggering negative 14 in turnover differential.
Daniel can be reached at dfeingold@ut.edu.