Throughout the season, Jake Ciely (*@allinkid*) will give you the expert take on New Orleans Saints players from fantasy perspectives, while letting you know which performers will help you take home a championship. The Saints will look to get back to .500 as they host the New York Giants in Week 8.
The Saints notched a big road win against the tough Indianapolis Colts and now come home for a game against the Giants. While Drew Brees threw for just 255 yards, it was only the second time that he's failed to reach 300 this year. What makes the Saints dangerous is that they are balanced enough that they don't need Brees to pass for huge numbers each week. Nevertheless, Brees did continue his streak of games with at least one touchdown, and you can be sure he'll get back to 300 yards and multiple scores against the weak Giants secondary. The Giants have allowed the second most passing yards and let Matt Cassel throw for 227 yards and a touchdown in his first Cowboys start. Brees is a definite QB1 for Week 8.
Ryan Tannehill (Dolphins) will continue his bounce-back since the bye, as the Dolphins play the Patriots on "Thursday Night Football." The Patriots are weak against the pass, and Tannehill threw three touchdowns in the first quarter last week. Teddy Bridgewater (Vikings) is a sneaky bye week replacement, as the Bears come off their bye to host the Vikings. They've allowed 15 passing touchdowns in just six games. You can never sit Andrew Luck (Colts)… unless you happened to grab an Andy Dalton (Bengals) type off the wire. The Colts head to Carolina on Monday night, and the Panthers are the third most difficult matchup for quarterbacks.
Mark Ingram ran for 143 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries last week, while Khiry Robinson chipped in two touchdowns on goal-line carries. Ingram is one of the best Fantasy running backs this year and is a Top 10 option even against the strong Giants run defense. After all, the Giants were one of the best teams against the run before the Cowboys game, and then Darren McFadden ran for 152 yards and a score on 29 carries. Robinson is worth consideration as a bye week plugger.
The Cardinals backfield can be frustrating with several options, but this week provides value for more than just Chris Johnson. The Browns are the weakest team against the run, allowing 26.03 FPPG to running backs with more than 1,400 total yards given up already. The Chargers are nearly as forgiving with 10 touchdowns allowed in addition to a high yardage total. Justin Forsett (Ravens) is a must-start RB1 in that matchup, and Buck Allen (Ravens) could have deep league/fill-in value. Latavius Murray (Raiders) is a Top 20 running back but could have a slow week against the Jets. If Darren McFadden is getting all of the work, he's still startable in all leagues, but if he's sharing with Joseph Randle, both would be very risky against the Seahawks defense.
When Brees throws for plenty against the Giants, that output will provide Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead with big days. Snead had his quietest game in a while but still had the second most targets for the Saints last week. As for Cooks, he finished with 13 targets, six catches and 81 yards. Against the Giants, both are must-starts in all leagues and are at least WR2s. In fact, you should expect one, if not both, to finish with WR1 numbers against the Giants. Ben Watson turned in another good performance with four catches for 59 yards. You can consider Watson a solid Top 15 tight end worthy of starting in most leagues.
With the Chiefs unable to stop receivers this year, the Lions receivers line up nicely, as Calvin Johnson is a WR1 and Golden Tate is start worthy in nearly all leagues. In deeper formats, you can get value from Lance Moore too. Keenan Allen (Chargers) starts every week in every league, but Stevie Johnson and possibly Malcom Floyd (both of the Chargers) have value given the matchup with the Ravens. Stefon Diggs (Vikings) has been a great pickup for Fantasy teams and will continue to roll against a Bears defense that has already allowed 11 wide receiver scores in six games. The Packers top two receivers never are recommended reserves, but Davante Adams is best left on benches for one more week given the Broncos pass defense. The same goes for Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley (both of the Cowboys) against the Seahawks.
The Seahawks defense is weak in one area – against tight ends. Keep Jason Witten in your lineups. Jeff Cumberland is the next tight end up against the ultra-forgiving Raiders defense. Nevertheless, starting him as more than a Hail Mary is overrating matchups. Gary Barnidge faces his toughest task yet with the Cardinals defense. Barnidge is a clear TE1, and if he puts up TE1 numbers again this week, he'll earn the must-start tag. The same can't be said for Eric Ebron yet, and the Chiefs are actually quite strong versus tight ends. Use Ebron with caution.
As mentioned, there should be plenty of scoring chances for the Saints, making Kai Forbath a nice kicker option. The Ravens give up a lot of points to opposing kickers, putting Josh Lambo (Chargers) in the K1 talk this week. With how strong the Jets defense is, Sebastian Janikowski (Raiders) is a risky kicker for Week 8. The Titans give up a lot of points to opposing defenses, which makes the Texans defense intriguing, but they still carry risk after allowing a ton of points to the Dolphins. The 49ers are turnover prone too, which makes the Rams DST a real nice play for the second week in a row.
The Saints will have another big Fantasy week and opportunity to put a fourth mark in the win column.
For more in-depth Fantasy Football coverage, visit Jake Ciely and the team over at RotoExperts.com. Saints fans get a special discounted rate on the RotoExperts Xclusive Edge premium package by **clicking here* and entering promocode "saints" at checkout. *
*
*
