FSH: WHAT'S THE SKINNY

December 19th, 2010 Sunday

What’s the Fantasy Football Skinny

My Fantasy Notes:

WR MILES AUSTIN LOOKS LIKE A FAVORITE
With the 29th ranked pass defense in town and wide receiver Roy Williams expected to sit today, look for Miles Austin to have a big game today. Austin torched the Redskins back in week one for 146 yards and 10 catches. He’s a strong play in standard and PPR leagues.

RB KNOWSHON MORENO COULD SEE HEAVY LOAD
The Broncos are going to roll out the rookie, quarterback Tim Tebow in week 15 to face the Raiders in the Black Hole. Expect Denver to ease Tebow in and keep things conservative; look for a lot of hand-offs and short screens to running back Knowshon Moreno. The 2nd year back is enjoying a strong second half of the season; he could be in for a big day.

TE JASON WITTEN SHOULD BE PRODUCTIVE
The Cowboys tight end Jason Witten has been a heavily targeted option for quarterback Jon Kitna over the past several weeks. He’ll be a busy target today against the Redskins sub-par secondary and could find the end-zone. He’s a TE1 option today in most formats.

RB STEVEN JACKSON SHOULD BE BUSY
The Rams are playing a very meaningful and important game here in December; not commonplace for the organization since the “Greatest Show on Turf” days. It’s safe to assume they will not try to get to sophisticated today, but rather stick with their bread and butter; Steven Jackson. The Rams’ running back is averaging nearly 25 carries per game in his last three, that sounds about right for today.

WR GREG JENNINGS COULD BE SAFE
Last week with quarterback Aaron Rodgers down, Jennings was still able to remain a busy receiver in the Packers passing attack. Jennings was targeted 8 times and caught four passes for 52 yards. His numbers were down, but he remained involved in the passing game. With Rodgers ruled out, Jennings figures to still see plenty of balls in his direction from back up Matt Flynn. Jennings is likely the only safe play of all the Packers receivers today.

WR STEVIE JOHNSON WILL HAVE PLENTY OF CHANCES
With the prospect of ideal playing conditions today in Miami, expect the Bills to put the ball in the air a little more. With Roscoe Parrish and now Lee Evans on IR, wide receiver Stevie Johnson is elevated to the team’s clear-cut number one and go-to receiver. Although the Dolphins’ defense does a good job against the pass, Johnson should still see plenty of chances today.

WR BRANDON LLYOD COULD BE RISKY
With Kyle Orton sidelined and the rookie Tim Tebow getting the start at quarterback, this is not a good week to ride all your hopes on wide receiver Brandon Lloyd. The Broncos big play receiver will likely be shadowed by the Raiders cover corner Nnamdi Asomugha (if healthy), making him a huge risk play for fantasy owners.

RB ADRIAN PETERSON COULD STRUGGLE
The Vikings will be turning to their rookie quarterback Joe Webb on Monday night against the Bears. This does not come as good news for Adrian Peterson fantasy owners. With a rookie under center, the Bears will more than likely stack the line to shut down the run and force the rook to throw the pill. Peterson has historically ran well against the Bears, but with a rookie quarterback making his first start and a bum knee and ankle; this mix does not spell relief. It could be a long day for “All-Day.”