This pretty much summed up my feelings on Tuesday afternoon as I put in my waiver claims. This isn't the situation I wanted to be in, but these are the fantasy times we live in, friends.
So there you have it.
The big question now, if you have Darren McFadden, do you have the fortitude to actually play him? I mean, he's going up against the Seahawks. So there is that. My advice would be to avoid him where you can. But I'd actually start him over Jeremy Hill (though it's close), Carlos Hyde, Ronnie Hillman and Alfred Blue.
Funny story about, Blue. I had Arian Foster in a handful of leagues. So I went to go find Blue in my Paul's Boutique league. So I looked on the wire, and he wasn't there. So I went and searched his name; turns out he was on my roster the whole time. Yeah, me!
As I pen this right now, Blue isn't a terrible option. It's easy to look at the Texans' situation and think to yourself, "I'm never going to touch that team when you consider how lousy they looked last week." But they will never look that bad again. In fact, they will put in an inspired effort this week and will probably win that game against Tennessee.
So maybe we take Blue out of this conversation and put him into the mix as an RB2 or flex guy. He's not going to tear the roof off the building, but I do believe Blue can be pretty good going forward. I have to believe his mindset will be different once he has the full-time starters gig.
It's similar to when I slang drinks at the Irvine Improv back in the day. You gave an honest effort as an on-call bartender. Or even when you were called in because Greg or Terry were out sick. You tried your best. But when you got your own shift, and became the man, your mindset definitely changes. Not that you were terrible before, but it's just different. That's just human nature.
So Blue could see himself as the man right now and easily take advantage of this situation. It should also help Brian Hoyer as well. He knows he's not going to get pulled for Ryan Mallet, so he's got that going for him. And really, how embarrassing must it have been on Wednesday when Mallet showed up for work and was informed he had been cut the day before. That's the way it went down, right?
So I don't know what I solved here. I would play McFadden or Blue in a pinch.
Let's move on to the rest of Rank's 11.
Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Minnesota Vikings As an unbiased fantasy enthusiast, I would point out that the Bears have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. Bridgewater passed for 316 yards against the Lions last week. So the matchup says to play him. My little girl in her Bears onesie says not to. So if you don't want to get down with Teddy B, you can give a chance to ...
Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears That's right! Cutler is back, baby! Cutler has played well in recent weeks. He's rallied the Bears a couple of times. And if the refs had gotten the Golden Tate call correct, this team could have won. Actually, if John Fox knew something about clock management, the Bears could have rallied for the win against Detroit two weeks ago. But I can understand a lot of you don't like Cutler, so if you need a quarterback, might I suggest ...
Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants Somebody might have grown frustrated with Eli over the past two weeks and moved on. Which means you should swoop in and take a chance. The Saints have allowed the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. A large chuck came in garbage time last week. But points is points (sic).
Charcandrick West, RB, Kansas City Chiefs I was not a believer last week. I'm not even sure I believe in him this week. But the Lions allow 22.03 fantasy points per game to running backs this year. In addition, they allowed five rushing touchdowns in the last three weeks.
Kendall Wright, WR, Tennessee Titans I've tried to make Dorial Green-Beckham happen this season, and it's blown up in my face. Wright is the better option. He's had a receiving touchdown in three career road games against the Texans and smoked this team the last time they played. The Texans don't look interested in playing defense. I'm worried the Texans could rally for one big performance this week. But it probably won't be enough to keep me away from Wright.
Steve Johnson, WR, San Diego Chargers The Ravens are finally at home! It seems like they played every West Coast team on the road. But the Ravens will actually play host to a West Coast team this time. Not that it matters. The Ravens have struggled on D. Philip Rivers is on pace for like 9,304 yards this year (or so it seems that way), so I'm going to sneak in Stevie this week.
Ted Ginn He's kind of a sneaky play this week. The Colts have allowed 26.87 fantasy points to receivers this year. And if you watched the Colts last week, the Saints had three rushing touchdowns and the lone touchdown pass went to a tight end. So those numbers don't reflect how bad the Colts have truly been on D. Ginn has had 37 targets this year, 17 more than any other Panthers WR. He has three touchdown receptions.
Larry Donnell, TE, New York Giants The Saints have allowed the fourth-most points to tight ends this year. In fact, they have allowed 543 receiving yards to tight ends, the most of NFL this year. Plus Eli Manning is among the leaders in throwing to the tight ends, with 60 targets to the position this year (fifth among QBs).
DANGER ZONE
Charles Sims, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Listen, if you play in a PPR league and haven't started Sims yet, I really don't know what I can do for you. But in traditional leagues, he's a great start. The Falcons have allowed the fourth-most points to running backs this year. They've allowed 10 rushing touchdowns this season, highest total in the league. He's also started to run the ball a lot, too. So there's that.
Tavon Austin, WR, St. Louis FC Oh man, I keep waiting for him to break through. It happens this week. The 49ers are awful against the pass. In fact, they have allowed the third-most fantasy points to receivers this year. Trust me, as more and more defensive coordinators focus on Todd Gurley, it's going to open it up for dudes like Austin. And that's the bottom line, because Adam Rank said so.
-- You can hit Rank up for more advice or let him know how lousy his picks are on Twitter @adamrank. Don't be thrown off by his # wars, though.
