Make good use of the fantasy flex

Bringin' flexxy back

By John Gus

In some fantasy football leagues, there is the “Flex” position. For those unfamiliar with the term, it is a position which allows you to play an additional RB or WR. The Flex position can make or break your team some weeks. The natural tendency is to want to play an additional RB. However, like most things in fantasy football, play the match-ups and who’s been hot.

For instance, in one of my league’s this week I am playing WR T.J. Housmanzadeh over AFC leading RB Willis McGahee. Both have tough opponents this week, but I’m going with T.J. because of his propensity for the big play. It is a toss up, so McGahee could score a couple of TDs and I’ll be kicking myself come Sunday afternoon for not starting him, but that’s the risk you take and you never make the shots you don’t take. With that said, Week 7’s top plays are…

QB 1. P. Manning (IND) vs. WAS – Peyton puts up another solid start here. 2. D. McNabb (PHI) vs. TB – Fantasy football’s #1 scorer. 3. E. Manning (NYG) at DAL -- Quietly, he’s been very consistent. 4. M. Hasselbeck (SEA) vs MIN – As long as Alexander is out, Hasslebeck’s production should continue. 5. B. Leftwich (JAC) at HOU – Solid QB vs. league’s worst defense. 6. J. Kitna (DET) at NYJ – Surprise! He’s 3rd in the NFL in passing so far. 7. C. Palmer (CIN) vs. CAR – Palmer hasn’t been great yet, but he’s still putting up decent numbers. 8. T. Brady (NE) at BUF – Brady still getting it done, even without Branch. 9. C. Pennington (NYJ) vs DET – Lions giving up a lot to the pass this year. 10. P. Rivers (SD) at KC – This guy looks like he’s for real now they are finally letting him throw the ball. Honorable Mentions: M. Leinhart (ARI) at OAK, J. Delhomme (CAR) at CIN, B. Favre (GB) at MIA

RB 1. L. Tomlinson (SD) at KC – Start him every week. 2. C. Portis (WAS) at IND – Colts cover 2 defense yields lots of rushing yards. 3. B. Westbrook (PHI) vs. TB – Has knee swelling, but he should be good to go again here. 4. T. Barber (NYG) at DAL – League’s leading rusher still without a TD. 5. K. Jones (DET) at NYJ – He’s great in leagues where you get points for receptions. 6. R. Brown (MIA) vs. GB – Quietly he’s the 7th best RB this year. 7. L. Johnson (KC) vs. SD – Hopefully he doesn’t get shut down again this week. 8. W. Parker (PIT) at ATL – Fast Willie Parker starting to turn it on lately. 9. R. Johnson (CIN) vs. CAR – It would be nice if he scored more, but the Bengals aren’t as high-powered as they were last year. 10. E. James (ARI) at OAK -- James had 36 carries for 55 yards last week, this week the Raiders help him get well. Honorable Mentions: W. McGahee (BUF) vs. NE, D. Foster (CAR) at CIN, C. Taylor (MIN) at SEA, T. Bell (DEN) at CLE

WR 1. S. Smith (CAR) at CIN – He’s running on all cylinders 2. L. Coles (NYJ) vs. DET – Five out of 6 games this year he’s come up big. 3. M. Harrison (IND) vs. WAS – The Colts should have a great game plan for the Skins this week after their bye. 4. T. Owens (DAL) vs. NYG – He only had 5 catches last week, 3 for TDs, I like! 5. R. Williams (DET) at NYJ – He’s having a great first half, let’s hope it continues. 6. A. Boldin (ARI) at OAK – With Fitzgerald out, Leinart threw the ball his way 18 times! 7. R. Williams (JAC) at HOU – The one time dud has been a stud this year. 8. D. Jackson (SEA) vs MIN – Branch is starting to come up on some of his production, but he scored again last week. 9. C. Johnson (CIN) vs. CAR – The attention that he commands is affecting his production. 10. L. Evans (NE) vs. NE – Garbage time production is making him a great fantasy option. Honorable Mention: R. Brown (PHI) at TB, A. Johnson (HOU) vs. JAC, T. Housmanzadeh (CIN) vs. CAR, S. Moss (WAS) at IND

TE 1. A. Gates (SD) at KC 2. J. Witten (DAL) vs. NYG 3. K. Winslow (CLE) vs. DEN 4. L. J. Smith (PHI) at TB 5. R. McMichael (MIA) vs GB 6. D. Clark (IND) vs. WAS 7. C. Cooley (WAS) at IND 8. J. Shockey (NYG) at DAL 9. H. Miller (PIT) at ATL 10. B. Watson (NE) at BUF

K 1. N. Kaeding (SD) 2. A. Vinatieri (IND) 3. S. Graham (CIN) 4. J. Kasay (CAR) 5. N. Rackers (ARI) 6. J. Brown (SEA) 7. R. Longwell (MIN) 8. J. Scobee (JAC) 9. D. Akers (PHI) 10. M. Vanderjagt (DAL)
Defense/Special Teams 1. San Diego 2. Denver 3. Philadelphia 4. Dallas 5. Pittsburgh 6. Atlanta 7. Jacksonville 8. Minnesota 9. Indianapolis 10. Seattle

The fantasy season is at the midpoint, there are usually only 13 weeks in the fantasy regular season as the final weeks are reserved for the playoffs. This is the time to make some moves to put your team in the position to make a run toward the playoffs. That means making trades and using the available player list to play free agents with good match-ups that week. Be resourceful and never forget, YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!

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