Our make-believe football methadone supply is running dangerously thin these days, with only eight teams left in the NFL postseason, on the cusp of dwindling to a Final Four I can actually watch.
FanDuel lineups are requiring less and less creativity in these waning days of pigskin season, leaving us with fewer bargains as we look for ways to waste money because we think we know something about which players will do what to whom.
I’ve created two optimal FanDuel lineups, one for the more expert $55,000 salary cap crowd, and one for the $60,000 crowd. Both crowds are equal parts degenerate, in case you were wondering.
$55,000 lineup
QB – Peyton Manning ($8,900)
RB – Stevan Ridley ($6,900)
RB – Knowshon Moreno ($6,600)
WR – Randall Cobb ($6,300)
WR – Randy Moss ($4,900)
WR – Harry Douglas ($5,500)
TE – Owen Daniels ($5,600)
K – Stephen Gostkowski ($5,100)
D – New England Patriots ($5,600)
- I’m rolling with Manning despite his uninspiring Week 15 line against this same Ravens’ defense. He only threw the ball 28 times as Denver took a decidedly run heavy approach, with offensive linemen creating massive gaps for Knowshon Moreno to plow through.
- You can read here about why Harry Douglas is a nice play in an otherwise hideous matchup for the Falcons’ aerial attack.
- Randy Moss is playing starters’ snaps in a huge game against a secondary that can – and has – been had. With the focus shifting to the white-hot Michael Crabtree, I like Moss’s chance to score against Green Bay.
-  There’s not a better defensive play this week than New England. At home against an ultra conservative Houston offense that looked atrocious at times against the Bengals? Yes, please.
$60,000 lineup
QB – Peyton Manning
RB – Frank Gore ($7,300)
RB – Marshawn Lynch ($8,400)
WR – Randall Cobb ($6,300)
WR – Harry Douglas ($5,000)
WR – Demaryius Thomas ($7,800)
TE – Dennis Pitta ($5,400)
K – Stephen Gostkowski ($5,100)
D – New England Patriots ($5,600)
- Frank Gore, coming off a week of rest, is facing a Packers’ front seven that has given up almost 15 fantasy points per game to running backs in the past five games in which they haven’t faced Purple Jesus, who totaled 411 yards in two games against Green Bay. He’s a volume runner who is almost assured of goal line love. I like him a lot this weekend.
- Randall Cobb showed his Percy Harvin chops in Week 1 against the 49ers, catching a variety of screen passes, even coming out of the backfield for a few of his nine receptions for 77 yards that day. The Packers didn’t need Cobb against the Vikings last Saturday. They will in San Francisco.
- Demaryius Thomas missed two long scores against Baltimore in Week 15 by a combined cat’s whisker — Manning overthrew him on one deep shot and Ravens’ cornerback Cary Williams made a spectacular play to defend the other. Denver turned to their run heavy approach shortly after that second deep ball.
- Dennis Pitta went nuclear against the Broncos in their Week 15 game, snatching seven balls for 125 yards and two scores. Don’t bank on anything close to that in the Divisional Round, but rest assured that Pitta is taking on the second worst team against fantasy tight ends in 2012.
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