It's Week 11 RotoBallers, and that means that most of the fantasy football regular season is pretty much behind us. As we race towards the start of the playoffs some of us have kept the pedal to the metal, while others are starting to consider taking shots at new lineups every week on some of our favorite DFS sites like FanDuel and DraftKings.
Ultimately, we can't guarantee anything in life besides imminent death and the NFL's reinstatement of Adrian Peterson, but we surely can do some hardcore matchups analysis about some of the league's biggest name players, and tell you who we think won't perform up to the lofty standards that are expected of them in Week 11 when you may need them most.
Without further ado, please enjoy our top 5 potential fantasy football busts for Week 11. Good luck RotoBallers!
Top 5 Potential Busts & Disappointments for Week 11
1. Matthew Stafford - QB, Detroit Lions
The fluky late inning heroics have certainly made Mathew Stafford look like an ace quarterback, but the truth of the matter is that he falls outside of the top 12 in scoring (#13 right behind Mr. Tannehill) coming into Week 11. He's also only 14th overall in scoring over the past 4 weeks even though he had Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush back in Week 10. To further the case, Stafford is shockingly the 27th ranked quarterback out of everyone who's started a game thus far in 2014 based on Pro Football Focus.
Let's pause and marinate on that for a moment because we just told you that through the first 10 games of NFL action, the likes of Teddy Bridgewater and Josh McCown grade out as better overall NFL signal callers. To make the bust case even better, the former #1 overall pick is facing the tough Arizona Cardinals defense versus fantasy quarterbacks that's only allowing an average of 17.86 fantasy points per contest. The combination of his poor underlying quarterbacking skills, and his home/road splits being out of favor in Arizona this week, render him our number one potential bust and disappointment for Week 11.
2. Ryan Tannehill - QB, Miami Dolphins
It's been a breakout sophomore campaign for the Dolphins signal caller as he comes into Week 11 as a top 12 fantasy scorer at the quarterback position. He is also ranked 8th overall over the past 4 weeks of action. Why do we bring this up you ask? Well because that means that almost anyone playing in a 10 or 12 team league is potentially running out this former college wide receiver as their fantasy ace each and every week.
The problem is that the Miami Dolphins are facing off against the extremely tough Buffalo Bills defense in Week 11 that only allows an average of 15.62 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. That leads us to the notion that he will certainly fall outside of his usual top 8-12 statistical output, so if there are any better options available on the wire like maybe Josh McCown, who faces the Redskins third worst defense versus fantasy quarterbacks, then we highly recommend you make a savvy move. Charles Clay and Mike Wallace owners may want to take heed because this could be a slow week at the office for them as well if Tannehill defecates the bed as predicted.
3. Rashad Jennings - RB, New York Giants
This is the official warning for all of the fantasy owners out there who've been salivating at the chance to slide the injury-prone plodding specialist back into your fantasy lineup for Week 11. Don't do it we say! Now let's get to all of the reasons that are slightly less than obvious to the naked eye.
Besides the fact that he'll be splitting snaps and touches with Andre Williams, the former Jaguars and Raiders great is only rated as the 21st overall half back according to Pro Football Focus. Jennings only averages 79.2 rushing yards per game when completely healthy, on a team that has grown accustomed to throwing the rock, so imagine what he will do splitting time and fresh off an injury that surely has him a bit out of playing shape.
In Week 11 Jennings faces the 49ers very tough defense that's only allowing an average of 14.4 points per game against fantasy running backs. This would be a tough opponent for even the best in the league, so with the hype building for his return, we strongly suggest you keep him sidelined for yet another week and bypass this putrid matchup versus the Niners.
4. St. Louis Rams Running Back By Committee
With the muddled running back situation taking way too much time to analyze and sort out each and every week, we decided to just give you some good old fashioned shoot-from-the-hip fantasy advice about what to do with Tre Mason, Benny Cunningham and Zac Stacy in Week 11.
The Denver Broncos are only allowing an average of 15.56 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs, so even in the best case scenario where there was a clean 60/40 split between Tre Mason and Benny Cunningham's snaps in Week 10, that's still not enough fantasy production to go around against a team that will mostly be chucking the rock from behind anyway. Keep this lackluster running back committee collectively benched because they c0me in as our number 4 potential bust and disappointment for Week 11 and will surely live up to this recommendation.
5. T.Y. Hilton - WR, Indianapolis Colts
Although "Revis Island" isn't quite as hard to get off as Alcatraz these days, T.Y. Hilton is still in for one of the most pestering weeks of his 2014 season as the Colts get ready to host the New England Patriots in Indianapolis. Since our last visit in Week 8, Revis has shot up the cornerback rankings based on Pro Football Focus, and now grades out as the 11th overall defensive back. He's clearly regaining his top form and is one of the reasons the Pats are a road favorite in Week 11.
To make matters worse, the New England Patriots have been a very stingy defensive unit, allowing only 17.53 points per game average versus opposing wide receivers. Even though Vegas has this game's totals projected at a bonkers 58 points, we still think other Colts players such as Ahmad Bradshaw, Reggie Wayne, Dwayne Allen and Hakeem Nicks will do their fair share of the fantasy damage.
Ultimately the "Revis Effect", and the law of averages, tells us that this may be a very disappointing Week 11 for fantasy owners banking on the very reliable and explosive receiver to put up his normal lofty numbers. While he has solidified himself as a must start at this point, we believe he can be downgraded to WR2-WR3 status for Week 11. Use him at your own risk RotoBaller's.