Top 10 Week 11 "Studs"

Tony Romo will play on Sunday…good news for the Cowboys.  Ben Rothlisberger apparently received a mental signal that he “gets” and is practicing even with a sprained shoulder…he should be playing as well.  Now word out of Seattle is that Matt Hasselbeck has returned to practice as has Deion Branch.  

For the Seattle Seahawks this is huge news.  The ‘Hawks have struggled with Seneca Wallace at QB…not that they weren’t with Matt, but the return of another viable WR option will help either QB.  The Seahawks have been decimated by injuries this season at the WR position so this return should help open the offense up just a bit.  Just in time for the season to wrap up in 7 weeks so Mike Holmgren can take a year off.

Here are my top 10 fantasy “studs” for this upcoming week 11:

10:  DeAngelo Williams – RB – Carolina.  This week Williams will face a very poor run defense in the Detroit Lions.  Williams will take most of the carries as rookie Jonathan Stewart is coming off a minor injury that will likely allow the coaches to take it easy on him.  Williams has been very good the last few weeks and there is little chance that he will falter this week.  Must start if you have him.

9:  Drew Brees - QB – New Orleans.  If he is on your roster your going to start him anyways, but if you play in a league where you choose different players each week…he is good bet against a weak Kansas City team.  Brees and the rest of the team has struggled of late and KC may be what the doctor ordered to get back on track.

8:  Frank Gore - RB – San Francisco.  Mike Singletary and the rest of the SF coaching staff are still seething over the final 4 seconds of last weeks loss to the Cardinals.  Martz faces his old St. Louis Rams and the ’9ers should be able to run significantly on the poor defensive front.  Gore stands to have a huge game.  However, they are both 2-7 for a reason.

7:  Ronnie Brown – RB – Miami.  The Dolphins are at home this weekend to face the Oakland Raiders.  The Raiders are up and down and on some days they can actually stop a run and then on others they can’t.  If the Dolphins can play like they do against teams with winning records, then Ronnie Brown should post 100 plus yards on the ground and a touchdown or two, and catch another 20 to 30.

6:  Michael Turner - RB – Atlanta.  The Broncos are a horrid team stopping the run and the Atlanta Falcons found a gem when they signed Turner in free agency.  He is quick and big which is a rare NFL combination.  He can also catch and the Falcons are very pleased with the play of rookie Matt Ryan.  Turner is a good bet for over 100 yards and a couple of touches.  If the Falcons can exploit a weak Bronco secondary early, Turner could see even more touches as they try and play a clock management game.

5:  Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, Kurt Warner, and Tim Hightower:  Take a pick.  The Cardinals will face off against the 2-7 Seattle Seahawks and right now, both WR’s are studs in the fantasy world, Warner is a stud QB…AGAIN, and Hightower has all but knocked Edgerrin James off the Cards roster.  Bolding and Fitz stand to have huge games but if neither are available to you, look to Steve Breaston who despite the return of Boldin is still posting very good numbers and legit target for Warner.

4:  Tennessee.  I can’t believe that I would actually put a defense in this list.  Still, it’s hard not to put the Titans up on any list right now and they face the Jacksonville Jaguars who got beat two weeks ago by the Bengals.  No one is running the offense for the Jags right now and the line play is atrocious.  Maurice Jones-Drew is all but invisible.  Tennessee should have a big game with a couple of take-aways and a couple of sacks of Dave Garrard.  They should also hold the Jags offense to under 14 points.

3:  Donovin McNabb – QB – Philly.  The Eagles face the Bengals this week and the Eagles are not the Jaguars.  McNabb loves to throw the ball deep which means that rookie DeSean Jackson could have another very solid performance.  McNabb will try and put this game away early and it’s not out of the question that they team doesn’t post a 40 point performance.

2:  Jay Cutler – QB – Denver.  The Broncos have a one dimensional offensive attack and that is on the shoulder and arm of Jay Cutler.  The Falcons will try and tear up the Denver defense which, well…sucks.  Cutler could find himself playing from behind once again as he did in Cleveland and if that is the case, Cutler will toss the rock 40 times in the game.  

1:  Brian Westbrook – RB – Philadelphia.  Westbrook should explode this weekend against the Bengals.  He can run and he can catch and when you think you have that covered, he will throw it.  There is no reason that BW shouldn’t put up at least 3 touchdowns this weekend and that is why he is my must play fantasy stud of the week.