Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

With so many options to choose from, sometimes fielding a fantasy lineup can be quite the headache.

Obvious are the starts akin to Antonio Brown, Brandon Marshall, Matthew Stafford, Adrian Peterson and

the games other bigger names. However, it’s the tougher choices – namely the less obvious starts – that

will end up winning your league.

Here are a few names you might want to consider.

Kirk Cousins QB Washington – My guess is Cousins will be Washington’s quarterback for the rest of

the year. Coach Jay Gruden made it clear he prefers Cousins to start over Robert Griffin III because he

is a better fit in his offense and now his wish has come true, albeit by an ankle injury to RGIII that will

have him sidelined at least the next month. Cousins is the pocket passer that Gruden envisions will

move his offense down the field, maximizing his two stud receivers in Pierre Garcon and Desean Jackson

and eventually tightend Jordan Reed. Cousins will go up against a Philadelphia defense that actually

held Indianapolis’ quarterback Andrew Luck in check last week, but this is a divisional rivalry that often

lights the scoreboard up. Should Cousins start the rest of the year, he could end up being a top ten

quarterback. Cousins is a safe start in leagues that start one quarterback but is a great option if you can

use him as your QB2.

Zac Stacy RB St. Louis – Zac Stacy, not Benny Cunningham is the ball carrier in St. Louis – at least for

now. Stacy responded to the runningback controversy that began after Week 1’s subpar performance

with a decent game at Tampa Bay where he ran for 71 yards and added a rushing TD. This week Stacy

goes up against one of the projected worst defenses when St. Louis takes on Dallas at home. Though

Dallas has only given up one rushing TD so far this year, it shouldn’t be much of a concern. Stacy is a

tough runner who should find himself at the goal line via the run more so that the teams’ weak passing

game. St. Louis’ tough defense should keep the Dallas offense in check, keeping a ground game in the

game plan. Look for Stacy to have his best year to date this season and start him as a solid RB2.

Matt Asiata RB Minnesota – Who knows what is in store for Adrian Peterson. That said, while Peterson

finds himself in NFL limbo, Asiata will start in his place in Minnesota’s Week 3 matchup at New Orleans,

a team that struggles mightily against the run. For the time being Asiata should be the man in Minnesota

but look for the team to slowly implement their star-in-waiting runningback, Jerick McKinnon, who

experts believe can overtake the starting role in the next few weeks should Peterson not return. Asiata

should get the bulk of the running load this Sunday and also showed he could be an effective pass

catcher last week, reeling in five balls for 48 yards and a touchdown. While Asiata is still the starter

he can be a worthy start when the matchup is right, and this week the matchup is right. Asiata can be

started as a nice RB2 option this week.

Desean Jackson WR Philadelphia – Revenge games are always nice and you can bet Desean Jackson had

this week’s game against Philadelphia on his calendar for some time. Washington was already working

on improving the deep passing game after Week 1, and you can bet Jackson will be frothing at the bit to

burn the team that kicked him and his bad attitude to the curbside. Jackson makes his living on the long

ball and there is no reason to think a long score or two wouldn’t be in the realm of possibility for him.

Start Jackson as a high end WR2 and you will be glad you did.

Owen Daniels TE Baltimore – Owen Daniels has been cutting into the stats for teammate Dennis Pitta

and really outshined his counterpart last week with 5 catches for 28 yards and two TDs. Though the

receiving yards were not so impressive, he was clearly quarterback Joe Flacco’s favorite new end zone

target. This week should also see a split between Pitta and Daniels but since Flacco loves his tightends,

both can be a decent play. With a very real possibility that Daniels could be targeted in the end zone a

handful of times in Cleveland this week, you may want to think of him as a formidable TE2, especially in

PPR leagues.

This week we were treated to a Thursday night blowout that was especially kind to Julio Jones owners, and as is usual, a fantastic Sunday slate of games. Here's what we learned.

- It's going to be a looong time before we see RGIII again, which isn't a bad thing for the rest of the team. In two games, Kirk Cousins has 677 yards passing with 5 TD's to go against just 1 INT. Washington has put up 41 and 34 points with Cousins at the helm. It's clear that the rest of the fantasy players on that team are now in much better hands.

- Le'Veon Bell looks like he's settled in as one of the best RB's in the league. He's second in the league with 315 yards (behind Demarco Murray, who has 385 yds on an incredible 75 carries). Maybe most interesting is Bell's 81-yard run last night, which was the longest non-touchdown run in about 20 years in the NFL. It's also the longest run the Panthers have ever given up, as well as the longest run for the Steelers in 44 years.

- Three Quaterbacks caught passes yesterday. Russell Wilson caught a 17 yard pass from Jermain Kearse and Johnny Manziel had a long catch and run using some subterfuge which got called back. Most impressive was Andy Dalton's 18 yard TD reception from Mohamed Sanu , who is now 4 for 4 in his career for 166 yards and 2 TD's. Sanu has a perfect QB rating of 158.3 for his career.

- Devin Hester, you really are ridiculous. Hester saved a play by forcing and recovering a fumble from a defensive player who was returning an earlier fumble. He then took and end-around 20 yards for a TD and capped it off with a punt return for a TD, giving him 20 in his career, leaving him alone atop the NFL record books. That's quite a game that should remind Lovie Smith of his days in Chicago.

- Ted Ginn Jr. must love to see his name on the box score. He threw a 10 yard pass, had a 4 yard rush, a 3 yard reception and had 1 punt return for 8 yards. He's not getting much activity in any phase of the game, but he's certainly available for whatever the coaches ask of him.

- Stephen Tulloch has joined the ranks of Bill Grammatica and Kendry Morales by tearing his ACL while celebrating a sack of Aaron Rodgers . Tulloch was placed on IR on Monday and while I suppose as a Bears fan, it's wonderful to see a division rival be the victim of such a ridiculous circumstance. What did we learn here? Clearly nothing, players will always celebrate and get hurt, shit happens.

- Kelvin Benjamin is going to give Sammy Watkins a run for his money when it comes to the best rookie WR. Benjamin caught 11 passes on 11 targets and now has 19 for 253 yds and 2 TD's this season. He's turning into a must start every week, regardless of who is throwing him the ball in Carolina.

- It's good to be a 'kowski'. The only players that scored points in the Patriots - Raiders game had 'kowski' in their name. Sebastian Janikowski and Stephen Gostkowski had three field goals each, and Rob Gronkowski topped it off with a touchdown, with the extra point by Gostkowski of course.

- There's running back controversy in Baltimore, and it doesn't involve Ray Rice. Bernard Pierce is not fully healthy right now, and rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro had a great showing, gaining 91 yards on 18 carries and scoring a touchdown. Taliaferro was praised by his coach after the game and he could easily take over the starting role from Bernard Pierce in the next couple of weeks.

- Defense continues to be the most erratic position, but it's not without its favorites. Preseason favorites like New England, Houston and Cincinnati are all in the top 4 point scorers, but Seattle, the unquestioned #1 drafted D/ST is sitting at 26th right now, only scoring 14 points through three games. Some things never change, like people's ability to be wrong about fantasy football.

“Extra Point” takes a look at the league that the writers of drinkfive.com have upheld since the website’s inception. I will provide you with a situational glimpse into my team each week. You can take a more in-depth look at our league here: http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1/135498/7

Extra Point: Colonel Forbin (1-2)

Chalk one up for the win column! What’s that I smell? I smell home cooking, it’s only the river. Apologizes for my tardiness this week, as I have just gotten back from a beautiful visit to sweet home Chicago. Now that my pizza levels are at maximum I may survive the winter in southwest Florida.

Hopefully Vincent Jackson’s keister was on your bench last week. Don’t let his first touchdown of the season fool you; he was an anemic 2-15-1. He should remain benched until proven otherwise. The injury to Josh McCown may be a blessing in disguise as Mike Glennon will return under center. VJax and Glennon were able to put up borderline WR1 performances on a few given weeks last year, and a much more consistent floor. But if any sort of rhythm develops it will be short lived, because Lovie Smith always goes back to his starters, ALWAYS, even if it means he’s going to lose the Superbowl. (clears throat)

Speaking of quarterback changes, the greatest thing since sliced bread (and the season premiere of South Park) has happened to the Washington Redskins. THE KIRK COUSINS ERA HAS BEGUN. Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson owners rejoice! Captain Kirk is a stud and his incredible accuracy and pocket awareness makes this a playoff contending team. Garcon is going to end up looking like a steal this year with an ADP of #43 and DeSean with an ADP of #54. Both of these guys would have gone an entire round earlier if Cousins were the QB from the start.

Here is the Colonel’s victorious Week 4 lineup:

Drew Brees NO – QB

Julian Edelman NE – WR

DeSean Jackson Was – WR

Michael Crabtree SF – WR

Le'Veon Bell Pit – RB

Matt Forte Chi – RB

Travis Kelce KC – TE

Phil Dawson SF – K

Vincent Jackson TB – WR

Dwayne Bowe KC – WR

Ben Roethlisberger Pit – QB

Terrance West Cle - RB

Mohamed Sanu Cin - WR

Knile Davis KC – RB

Week 10 is in the books and we’re now into the final week of teams being on bye. In Week 11, we won’t have the services of the Steelers, Giants, Saints and Browns. Those guys have played 10 weeks in a row, they deserved this break. It’s certainly a much more convenient break than in week 4.

This week we still like Kirk Cousins, despite his tough matchup vs the Panthers. Now, we’re not crazy, and only advocating him as a QB2. Cousins has a good rhythm with TE Jordan Reed and RB Matt Jones and just got DeSean Jackson back, who should be fully back into the offense this week. As far as QB2’s go, don’t drink the Mark Sanchez kool-aid. Remember, this is Mr. Butt Fumble, so don’t go chasing what you think the Eagles offense is supposed to be and remember that Sanchez is average at best.

Jonathan Stewart may be a smart sit for you this week. The Redskins are in the bottom half of the league giving up points to opposing RB’s, and Stewart hasn’t done much to impress this season, only going over 100 yards once. He’s a heaping pile of “OK”, getting 20+ touches each of the last 5 weeks and never going off with them. His 3.9 yards per attempt tells much of the story, as do his measly 8 receptions. Stewart is simply in Carolina to hold on to the ball and chew the clock. That being said, he’s a borderline RB2/3, so a flex play is still acceptable.

John Brown could be in for a big week if Michael Floyd is out. Brown needs to practice this week, but if he does and Floyd does not, he’s ready to go as a WR2. Carson Palmer throws the ball deep as much or more than any QB in the league, so Brown has a very high ceiling for a low end WR2. On the other hand, you have Davante Adams, who when given 21 targets in a game, still only puts up 7.9 fantasy points. Adams is averaging 10.1 yards per reception, lower than most TE’s and hasn’t scored a touchdown yet. Find someone else to start in place of Adams until he can get going with Rodgers, which seems less and less likely as the season goes on.