The Fantasy Football Sherpa

Denver at Oakland (Thursday early) – Sherpa says:  Denver 31, Oakland 20.

• Denver
  • Start: QB Peyton Manning, RB Knowshon Moreno, WRs Demaryius Thomas & Eric Decker, TE Jacob Tamme, K Matt Prater, DEF
  • Neutral: WR Matthew Willis (Probable-knee), TE Joel Dreessen
  • Sit: RBs Ronnie Hillman & Lance Ball, WR Brandon Stokley (Questionable-hip)
• Oakland
  • Start: QB Carson Palmer (Probable-thumb), WRs Darrius Heyward-Bey & Denarius Moore, TE Brandon Myers (Probable-shoulder)
  • Neutral: RB Marcel Reece (Probable-hamstring), WRs Rod Streater & Juron Criner (Probable-shoulder)
  • Sit: RBs Jeremy Stewart, Darren McFadden (Probable-ankle), Mike Goodson (Probable-ankle), & Taiwan Jones (Probable-ankle), K Sebastian Janikowski, DEF

St. Louis at Buffalo (in Toronto) (Sunday early) – Sherpa says:  Buffalo 28, St. Louis 27.

• St. Louis
  • Start: RB Steven Jackson (Probable-foot), WR Chris Givens
  • Neutral: QB Sam Bradford, RB Darry Richardson, WR Brandon Gibson, TE Lance Kendricks, K Greg Zuerlein, DEF
  • Sit: WR Danny Amendola (Questionable-foot)
• Buffalo
  • Start: RBs Fred Jackson & C.J. Spiller (Probable-shoulder), WR Steve Johnson (Probable-hamstring), TE Scott Chandler (Probable-groin)
  • Neutral: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, WR Donald Jones (Probable-calf), K Rian Lindell, DEF
  • Sit: WR T.J. Graham (Questionable-ankle)

Baltimore at Washington – Sherpa says:  Washington 35, Baltimore 24.

• Baltimore
  • Start: QB Joe Flacco, RB Ray Rice, WRs Torrey Smith & Anquan Boldin, TE Dennis Pitta
  • Neutral: WR Jacoby Jones (Questionable-ankle), K Justin Tucker
  • Sit: RB Bernard Pierce, TE Ed Dickson (Questionable-knee), DEF
• Washington
  • Start: QB Robert Griffin III,  RB Alfred Morris, WR Pierre Garcon (Probable-foot), K Kai Forbath
  • Neutral: WRs Joshua Morgan, Leonard Hankerson, & Aldrick Robinson, TE Logan Paulsen, DEF
  • Sit: RBs Evan Royster & Darrel Young

Philadelphia at Tampa Bay – Sherpa says:  Tampa Bay 31, Philadelphia 30.

• Philadelphia
  • Start: QB Nick Foles, WRs Jeremy Maclin & Jason Avant, TE Brent Celek, K Alex Henery
  • Neutral: WR Riley Cooper
  • Sit: QB Michael Vick (Doubtful-concussion), RBs LeSean McCoy (Doubtful-concussion) & Bryce Brown
• Tampa Bay
  • Start: QB Josh Freeman, RB Doug Martin, WRs Vincent Jackson (Probable-calf) & Mike Williams, TE Dallas Clark, K Conor Barth
  • Neutral: WR Tiquan Underwood
  • Sit: RB LeGarrette Blount, DEF

San Diego at Pittsburgh – Sherpa says:  Pittsburgh 21, San Diego 13.

• San Diego
  • Start: TE Antonio Gates, DEF
  • Neutral: RB Ryan Mathews, WRs Danario Alexander & Malcom Floyd
  • Sit: QB Philip Rivers, RB Ronnie Brown, WRs Robert Meachem & Eddie Royal (Questionable-hamstring), K Nick Novak
• Pittsburgh
  • Start: WR Mike Wallace (Probable-knee), TE Heath Miller, DEF
  • Neutral: QB Ben Roethlisberger or QB Charlie Batch (whoever starts), RB Jonathan Dwyer, WRs Antonio Brown (Probable-ankle) & Emmanuel Sanders (Probable-shoulder)
  • Sit: RBs Rashard Mendenhall, Isaac Redman, & Chris Rainey, K Shaun Suisham

Chicago at Minnesota – Sherpa says:  Chicago 21, Minnesota 20.

• Chicago
  • Start: RB Matt Forte, WR Brandon Marshall, DEF
  • Neutral: QB Jay Cutler
  • Sit: RB Michael Bush (Probable-ribs), WRs Early Bennett (Out-concussion), Devin Hester (Questionable-concussion) & Alshon Jeffery (Questionable-knee), TE Kellen Davis, K Robbie Gould
• Minnesota
  • Start: RB Adrian Peterson, TE Kyle Rudolph (Probable-shoulder), DEF
  • Neutral: WR Jarrius Wright
  • Sit: QB Christian Ponder, RB Toby Gerhart, WRs Percy Harvin (IR-ankle), Jerome Simpson, Michael Jenkins, & Devin Aromashodu; TE John Carlson, K Blair Walsh

Atlanta at Carolina – Sherpa says:  Carolina 28, Atlanta 24.

• Atlanta
  • Start: QB Matt Ryan, WRs Julio Jones & Roddy White, TE Tony Gonzalez
  • Neutral: RBs Michael Turner (Probable-elbow) & Jacquizz Rodgers, K Matt Bryant, DEF
  • Sit: RB Jason Snelling, WR Harry Douglas
• Carolina
  • Start: QB Cam Newton, WR Steve Smith
  • Neutral: RB DeAngelo Williams, TE Greg Olsen (Questionable-back), K Graham Gano, DEF
  • Sit: RBs Jonathan Stewart (Questionable-ankle) & Mike Tolbert, WRs Brandon LaFell (Questionable-toe) & Louis Murphy

Dallas at Cincinnati – Sherpa says:  Dallas 28, Cincinnati 27.

• Dallas
  • Start: QB Tony Romo, RB DeMarco Murray (Probable-foot), WRs Dez Bryant & Miles Austin (Probable-hip), TE Jason Witten
  • Neutral: K Dan Bailey, DEF
  • Sit: RB Felix Jones (Probable-knee), WR Kevin Ogletree
• Cincinnati
  • Start: QB Andy Dalton, RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, WR A.J. Green
  • Neutral: WR Andrew Hawkins, TE Jermaine Gresham (Questionable-hamstring), K Josh Brown (if he plays), DEF
  • Sit: RB Cedric Peerman (Questionable-ankle), WRs Armon Binns & Marvin Jones, K Mike Nugent (Questionable-calf)

Kansas City at Cleveland – Sherpa says:  Kansas City 24, Cleveland 20.

• Kansas City
  • Start: RB Jamaal Charles, WR Dwayne Bowe, TE Tony Moeaki, DEF
  • Neutral: QB Brady Quinn, WR Dexter McCluster, K Ryan Succop
  • Sit: RBs Peyton Hillis & Shaun Draughn, WR Steve Breaston
• Cleveland
  • Start: QB Brandon Weeden, RB Trent Richardson (Probable-ribs), WR Josh Gordon
  • Neutral: WR Mohamed Massaquoi, TE Ben Watson, DEF
  • Sit: RB Montario Hardesty, WRs Greg Little, Josh Cooper, Joshua Cribbs (Questionable-shoulder), & Travis Benjamin, TE Jordan Cameron (Probable-groin), K Phil Dawson

Tennessee at Indianapolis – Sherpa says:  Indianapolis 35, Tennessee 28.

• Tennessee
  • Start: QB Jake Locker (Probable-shoulder), RB Chris Johnson, WR Kenny Britt (Probable-knee) & Nate Washington, TE Jared Cook (Probable-neck)
  • Neutral: WR Kendall Wright, K Rob Bironas
  • Sit: WR Damian Williams (Questionable-hamstring), DEF
• Indianapolis
  • Start: QB Andrew Luck (Probable-knee), RB Vick Ballard, WRs Reggie Wayne, T.Y. Hilton, & Donnie Avery; K Adam Vinatieri
  • Neutral: TE Dwayne Allen, DEF
  • Sit: RB Donald Brown (Questionable-ankle), TE Coby Fleener

New York Jets at Jacksonville – Sherpa says:  New York 24, Jacksonville 14.

• New York
  • Start: RB Shonn Greene, WR Jermey Kerley (Probable-hamstring), DEF
  • Neutral: QB Mark Sanchez (Probable-back), RB Bilal Powell (Probable-shoulder), WR Stephen Hill (Questionable-knee), TE Jeff Cumberland (Probable-wrist), K Nick Folk
  • Sit: QBs Greg McElroy & Tim Tebow (Questionable-ribs), WRs Chaz Schilens (Probable-knee) & Clyde Gates (Questionable-concussion), TE Dustin Keller (Questionable-ankle)
• Jacksonville
  • Start: TE Marcedes Lewis
  • Neutral: RB Montell Owens, WRs Cecil Shorts (Questionable-concussion) & Justin Blackmon, DEF
  • Sit: QB Chad Henne, RB Rashad Jennings (Questionable-concussion) & Maurice Jones-Drew (Questionable-foot), K Josh Scobee

Miami at San Francisco (Sunday late) – Sherpa says:  San Francisco 27, Miami 17.

• Miami
  • Start: RB Reggie Bush, WR Brian Hartline
  • Neutral: QB Ryan Tannehill, WR Davone Bess, DEF
  • Sit: RBs Daniel Thomas & Lance Miller, TE Anthony Fasano (Probable-hip), K Dan Carpenter

• San Francisco
  • Start: RB Frank Gore (Probable-wrist), WR Michael Crabtree, TE Vernon Davis, DEF
  • Neutral: QB Colin Kaepernick, WRs Mario Manningham (Questionable-shoulder) & Randy Moss, K David Akers (Probable-pelvis)
  • Sit: RBs LeMichael James & Brandon Jacobs, TE Delanie Walker

New Orleans at New York Giants - Sherpa says: New York 37, New Orleans 28.

• New Orleans
  • Start: QB Drew Brees, WRs Marques Colston & Lance Moore, TE Jimmy Graham
  • Neutral: RBs Pierre Thomas & Darren Sproles, WR Devery Henderson, K Garrett Hartley
  • Sit: RBs Mark Ingram & Chris Ivory, TE Dave Thomas (Probable-knee), DEF
• New York
  • Start: QB Eli Manning, RB Ahmad Bradshaw (Probable-foot), WR Victor Cruz, TE Martellus Bennett, K Lawrence Tynes
  • Neutral:  WRs Hakeem Nicks (Questionable-knee) & Rueben Randle, DEF
  • Sit: RBs David Wilson & Kregg Lumpkin, WRs Ramses Barden & Domenik Hixon

Arizona at Seattle – Sherpa says:  Seattle 23, Arizona 6.

• Arizona
  • Start: N/A
  • Neutral: WR Larry Fitzgerald, TE Rob Housler, DEF
  • Sit: QBs Ryan Lindley & John Skelton, RB LaRod Stephens-Howling & William Powell, WRs Andre Roberts (Questionable-ankle), Early Doucet (Probable-ribs), & Michael Floyd; TEs Jeff King & Todd Heap, K Jay Feely
• Seattle
  • Start: RB Marshawn Lynch (Probable-back), DEF
  • Neutral: QB Russell Wilson, WRs Sidney Rice (Probable-concussion), Golden Tate, & Doug Baldwin; TE Zach Miller, K Steven Hauschka
  • Sit: RBs Leon Washington & Robert Turbin, WRs Ben Obomanu & Braylon Edwards (cut), TE Evan Moore

Detroit at Green Bay (Sunday night) – Sherpa says:  Green Bay 30, Detroit 28.

• Detroit
  • Start: QB Matthew Stafford, WR Calvin Johnson, TEs Brandon Pettigrew & Tony Scheffler
  • Neutral: RBs Mikel Leshoure & Joique Bell, WR Mike Thomas, K Jason Hanson
  • Sit: WRs Ryan Broyles (IR-knee) & Titus Young (IR-knee), Brian Robiskie, & Lance Long; DEF
• Green Bay
  • Start: QB Aaron Rodgers, WR James Jones, TE Jermichael Finley, K Mason Crosby
  • Neutral: RB Alex White, WRs Greg Jennings & Randall Cobb, DEF
  • Sit: RBs James Starks (Out-knee), John Kuhn, & Ryan Grant; WRs Jordy Nelson (Doubtful-hamstring) & Donald Driver (Questionable-thumb)

Houston at New England (Monday night) – Sherpa says:  New England 37, Houston 34.

• Houston
  • Start: QB Matt Schaub, RB Arian Foster, WR Andre Johnson, TE Owen Daniels (Probable-back), K Shayne Graham
  • Neutral: WR Kevin Walter
  • Sit: RBs Justin Forsett & Ben Tate (Probable-hamstring), WRs Lestar Jean (Probable-knee), DeVier Posey (Probable-knee), & Keshawn Martin; TE Garrett Graham (Questionable-concussion), DEF
• New England
  • Start: QB Tom Brady, RB Stevan Ridley, WR Wes Welker (Probable-ankle), TE Aaron Hernandez (Probable-ankle), K Stephen Gostkowski
  • Neutral: RB Shane Vereen, WR Brandon Lloyd (Probable-knee)
  • Sit: RBs Danny Woodhead & Brandon Bolden, WRs Julian Edelman (IR-foot) & Donte’ Stallworth, TE Rob Gronkowski (Doubtful-arm), DEF

Good luck this weekend!
The Sherpa

Houston at Detroit (Thursday early) – Sherpa says:  Houston 31, Detroit 28.

• Houston
  • Start: QB Matt Schaub, RB Arian Foster, WR Andre Johnson, TE Owen Daniels (Probable-back), K Shayne Graham
  • Neutral: WR Kevin Walter, TE Garrett Graham, DEF
  • Sit: RBs Ben Tate (Questionable-hamstring) & Justin Forsett, WRs Lestar Jean (Probable-knee), DeVier Posey (Doubtful-hamstring), & Keshawn Martin
• Detroit
  • Start: QB Matthew Stafford, WR Calvin Johnson (Probable-knee), TE Brandon Pettigrew
  • Neutral: RB Mikel Leshoure, WRs Ryan Broyles & Mike Thomas, K Jason Hanson (Probable-foot)
  • Sit: RB Joique Bell, WR Titus Young (Out-bad behavior), DEF

Washington at Dallas (Thursday late) – Sherpa says:  Washington 31, Dallas 24.

• Washington
  • Start: QB Robert Griffin III, RB Alfred Morris, WR Santana Moss, K Kai Forbath
  • Neutral: WR Pierre Garcon (Questionable-foot), TE Logan Paulsen (Probable-hip), DEF
  • Sit: RB Evan Royster, WRs Aldrick Robinson & Josh Morgan, TE Chris Cooley
• Dallas
  • Start: QB Tony Romo, WRs Dez Bryant & Miles Austsin, TE Jason Witten
  • Neutral: K Dan Bailey
  • Sit: RBs DeMarco Murray (Doubtful-foot) & Felix Jones (Questionable-knee), WR Kevin Ogletree (Out-concussion), DEF

New England at New York Jets (Thursday night) – Sherpa says:  New England 37, New York 17.

• New England
  • Start: QB Tom Brady, RB Stevan Ridley, WR Julian Edelman (Probable-hand), K Stephen Gostkowski, DEF
  • Neutral: RBs Danny Woodhead & Shane Vereen, WRs Brandon Lloyd (Questionable-knee) & Wes Welker (Questionable-ankle), TE Aaron Hernandez (Questionable-ankle)
  • Sit: TE Rob Gronkowski (Out-arm)
• New York
  • Start: WR Chaz Schilens, TE Dustin Keller
  • Neutral: QB Mark Sanchez (Probable-back), RB Shonn Greene, WRs Jeremy Kerley (Questionable-hamstring) & Clyde Gates (Probable-shoulder)
  • Sit: QB Tim Tebow (Questionable-ribs), WR Bilal Powell (Probable-shoulder), K Nick Folk, DEF

Buffalo at Indianapolis (Sunday early) – Sherpa says:  Indianapolis 34, Buffalo 33.

• Buffalo
  • Start: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, RB C.J. Spiller (Probable-shoulder), WRs Steve Johnson & Donald Jones, TE Scott Chandler, K Rian Lindell
  • Neutral: RB Fred Jackson (Probable-concussion)
  • Sit: DEF
• Indianapolis
  • Start: QB Andrew Luck (Probable-knee), RB Vick Ballard, WRs Reggie Wayne & T.Y. Hilton, TE Dwayne Allen, K Adam Vinatieri
  • Neutral: WR Donald AVery (Probable-concussion)
  • Sit: RBs Donald Brown (Probable-knee) & Delone Carter, TE Coby Fleener (Questionable-shoulder), DEF

Pittsburgh at Cleveland – Sherpa says:  Pittsburgh 24, Cleveland 13.

• Pittsburgh
  • Start: TE Heath Miller, DEF
  • Neutral: RBs Rashard Mendenhall & Jonathan Dwyer, WRs Mike Wallace & Emmanuel Sanders
  • Sit: QBs Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwich (Out-ribs), & Ben Roethlisberger (Doubtful-shoulder); RB Isaac Redman (Probable-concussion), WRs Antonio Brown (Questionable-ankle), Jerricho Cotchery (Out-ribs), & Plaxico Burress; K Shaun Suisham
• Cleveland
  • Start: TE Ben Watson
  • Neutral: QB Brandon Weeden, RB Trent Richardson (Probable-ribs), WRs Josh Gordon & Greg Little, DEF
  • Sit: WRs Josh Cooper (Questionable-knee), Mohamed Massaquoi, & Josh Cribbs (Probable-back), K Phil Dawson

Oakland at Cincinnati – Sherpa says:  Cincinnati 30, Oakland 24.

• Oakland
  • Start: QB Carson Palmer, RB Marcel Reece (Probable-hamstring)
  • Neutral: WRs Darrius Heyward-Bey (Questionable-hamstring), Denarius Moore (Questionable-hamstring), Rod Streater, & Juron Crner, TE Brandon Myers (Questionable-shoulder), K Sebastian Janikowski
  • Sit: RBs Darren McFadden (Questionable-ankle), Mike Goodson (Questionable-ankle), & Taiwan Jones; DEF
• Cincinnati
  • Start: QB Andy Dalton, WR A.J. Green, TE Jermaine Gresham, K Mike Nugent
  • Neutral: RBs BenJarvus Green-Ellis & Cedric Peerman, WRs Andrew Hawkins (Questionable-knee) & Mohamed Sanu, DEF
  • Sit: WR Armon Binns

Minnesota at Chicago – Sherpa says:  Chicago 24, Minnesota 20.

• Minnesota
  • Start: RB Adrian Peterson (Probable-ankle), WR Jarrius Wright, TE Kyle Rudolph
  • Neutral: QB Christian Ponder, WR Percy Harvin (Questionable-ankle), Jerome Simpson, & Michael Jenkins (Questionable-foot), DEF
  • Sit: RB Toby Gerhart, WR Devon Aromashodu, TE John Carlson, K Blair Walsh
• Chicago
  • Start: QB Jay Cutler (Questionable-concussion) or QB Jason Campbell (Questionable-ribs) (whoever starts), RB Matt Forte, DEF
  • Neutral: WRs Brandon Marshall (Questionable-shoulder), Earl Bennett, & Devin Hester, TE Kellen Davis (Questionable-ankle), K Robbie Gould
  • Sit: RB Michael Bush, WR Alsho Jeffery (Out-knee)

Tennessee at Jacksonville – Sherpa says:  Tennessee 28, Jacksonville 17.

• Tennessee
  • Start: QB Jake Locker (Probable-shoulder), RB Chris Johnson, WR Kenny Britt (Probable-knee), TE Jared Cook, DEF
  • Neutral: WRs Kendall WRight & Nate Washington, K Rob Bironas
  • Sit: TE Craig Stevens (Questionable-hamstring)
• Jacksonville
  • Start: QB Chad Henne, WRs Justin Blackmon & Cecil Shorts, TE Marcedes Lewis
  • Neutral: RB Jalen Parmele, WR Michael Spurlock, DEF
  • Sit: RBs Maurice Jones-Drew (Doubtful-foot) & Rashad Jennings, K Josh Scobee

Atlanta at Tampa Bay – Sherpa says:  Tampa Bay 30, Atlanta 24.

• Atlanta
  • Start: QB Matt Ryan (Probable-finger), WR Roddy White, TE Tony Gonzalez
  • Neutral: RB Jacquizz Rodgers, WRs Julio Jones (Questionable-ankle) & Harry Douglas, K Matt Bryant (Probable-back)
  • Sit: RB Michael Turner (Probable-groin), DEF
• Tampa Bay
  • Start: RB Doug Martin, WRs Vincent Jackson & Mike Williams, TE Dallas Clark, K Connor Barth
  • Neutral: QB Josh Freeman, WR Tiquan Underwood (Probable-concussion), DEF
  • Sit: RB LeGarrette Blunt, WR Arrelious Benn (IR-shoulder)

Seattle at Miami – Sherpa says:  Seattle 21, Miami 17.

• Seattle
  • Start: RB Marshawn Lynch (Probable-back), WRs Sidney Rice & Golden Tate, DEF
  • Neutral: QB Russell Wilson, TE Zach Miller
  • Sit: RB Robert Turbin, WRs Doug Baldwin, Braylon Edwards, & Ben Obomanu; K Steve Hauschka
• Miami
  • Start: RB Reggie Bush, WR Davone Bess, DEF
  • Neutral: QB Ryan Tannehill, RB Daniel Thomas, WR Brian Hartline, TE Anthony Fasano
  • Sit: RB Lamar Miller, K Dan Carpenter

Denver at Kansas City – Sherpa says:  Denver 31, Kansas City 20.

• Denver
  • Start: QB Peyton Manning, WRs Daniel Thomas (Probable-knee) & Eric Decker, K Matt Prater, DEF
  • Neutral: RB Ronnie Hillman (Probable-hamstring), WR Brandon Stokley, TEs Jacob Tamme & Joel Dreessen
  • Sit: RBs Willis McGahee (IR-knee) & Lance Ball
• Kansas City
  • Start: RB Jamaal Charles
  • Neutral: WRs Dwayne Bowe (Questionable-neck) & Dexter McCluster, TE Tony Moeaki (Questionable-shoulder)
  • Sit: QBs Brady Quinn & Matt Cassel, RBs Shaun Draughn & Peyton Hillis, WRs Jonathan Baldwin (Questionable-neck) & Steve Breaston, K Ryan Succop, DEF

Baltimore at San Diego (Sunday late) – Sherpa says:  San Diego 24, Baltimore 21.

• Baltimore
  • Start: QB Joe Flacco, RB Ray Rice, WRs Torrey Smith & Anquan Boldin
  • Neutral: WR Jacoby Jones (Questionable-ankle), TEs Dennis Pitta (Questionable-concussion) & Ed Dickson (Questionable-neck), DEF
  • Sit: RB Bernard Pierce, K Justin Turner

• San Diego
  • Start: QB Philip Rivers, RB Ryan Mathews, WR Danario Alexander, TE Antonio Gates, DEF
  • Neutral: RB Ronnie Brown, WRs Robert Meachem & Michael Floyd, K Nick Novak
  • Sit: WR Eddie Royal (Questionable-hamstring)

San Francisco at New Orleans

• San Francisco
  • Start: QB Colin Kaepernick, RB Frank Gore (Probable-ribs), WR Michael Crabtree, TE Vernon Davis, K David Akers
  • Neutral: RB Kendall Hunter, WR Mario Manningham
  • Sit: QB Alex Smith (Questionable-concussion), RB Brandon Jacobs, WRs Randy Moss (Probable-finger) & Kyle Williams, DEF
• New Orleans
  • Start: QB Drew Brees, WRs Marques Colston & Lance Moore, TE Jimmy Graham
  • Neutral: RBs Mark Ingram & Chris Ivory, K Garrett Hartley
  • Sit: RBs Pierre Thomas & Darren Sproles (Probable-hand), DEF

St. Louis at Arizona – Sherpa says:  St. Louis 24, Arizona 13.

• St. Louis
  • Start: RB Steven Jackson (Probable-foot), DEF
  • Neutral: QB Sam Bradford, RB Darryl Richardson, WRs Danny Amendola (Questionable-foot), Chris Givens, & Brandon Gibson; K Greg Zuerlein
  • Sit: TE Lance Kendricks (Questionable-knee)
• Arizona
  • Start: WR Larry Fitzgerald
  • Neutral: RB LaRod Stephens-Howling, WR Andre Roberts & Early Doucet (Questionable-ribs), TE Rob Housler, DEF
  • Sit: QBs Ryan Lindley, John Skelton, & Kevin Kolb (Questionable-ribs), RB Chris Wells, WR Michael Floyd, TEs Jeff King (Probable-knee) & Todd Heap (Questionable-knee), K Jay Feely

Green Bay at New York Giants (Sunday night) – Sherpa says:  New York 31, Green Bay 27.

• Green Bay
  • Start: QB Aaron Rodgers, WR James Jones & Jordy Nelson (Probable-hamstring), TE Jermichael Finley
  • Neutral: RBs Aalex Green (Probable-knee) & James Starks, WR Randall Cobb, K Mason Crosby, DEF
  • Sit: WRs Greg Jennings (Out-groin) & Donald Driver (Probable-thumb), RB John Kuhn (Probable-hamstring)
• New York
  • Start: QB Eli Manning, RB Ahmad Bradshaw (Probable-foot), WRs Victor Cruz & Hakeem Nicks, TE Martellus BEnnett, K Lawrence Tynes
  • Neutral: RB Andre Brown, DEF
  • Sit: RB David Wilson, WRs Domenick Hixon (Questionable-ankle) & Ramses Barden

Carolina at Philadelphia (Monday night) – Sherpa says:  Carolina 28, Philadelphia 27.

• Carolina
  • Start: QB Cam Newton, TE Greg Olsen
  • Neutral: RB Jonathan Stewart, WRs Steve Smith (Questionable-finger) & Brandon LaFell, K Graham Gano, DEF
  • Sit: RB DeAngelo Williams & Mike Tolbert, WR Louis Murphy
• Philadelphia
  • Start: QB Nick Foles, WRs DeSean Jackson & Riley Cooper, TE Brent Celek (Probable-concussion)
  • Neutral: RB Bryce Brown, WR Jason Avant (Questionable-hamstring), K Alex Henery, DEF
  • Sit: QB Michael Vick (Questionable-concussion), RB LeSean McCoy (Questionable-concussion), WR Jeremy Maclin

Good luck this weekend!
The Sherpa

4 teams with Week 5 byes:  Dallas, Detroit, Oakland and Tampa Bay.

Arizona at St. Louis (Thursday night) – Sherpa Says:  St. Louis 21, Arizona 20.

• Arizona
  • Start: WR Larry Fitzgerald, DEF
  • Neutral: RB Ryan Williams, WR Andre Roberts
  • Sit: QBs Kevin Kolb & John Skelton (Probable-ankle), WRs Early Doucet & Michael Floyd, TEs Jeff King, Rob Housler, & Todd Heap (Questionable-knee), K Jay Feely
• St. Louis
  • Start: WR Danny Amendola (Probable-ankle), TE Lance Kendricks, DEF
  • Neutral: QB Sam Bradford, RB Steven Jackson (Questionable-groin), WR Brandon Gibson (Probable-knee)
  • Sit: RBs Daryl Richardson & Isaiah Pead, K Greg Zuerlein

Green Bay at Indianapolis (Sunday early) – Sherpa says:  Green Bay 28, Indianapolis 20.

• Green Bay
  • Start: QB Aaron Rodgers, WR Jordy Nelson, TE Jermichael Finley, DEF
  • Neutral: RB Cedric Benson, WRs Randall Cobb & James Jones, K Mason Crosby
  • Sit: RB James Starks, WRs Donald Driver & Greg Jennings (Out-groin)
• Indianapolis
  • Start: RB Donald Brown, WR Reggie Wayne
  • Neutral: QB Andrew Luck, WRs TY Hilton & Donnie Avery, TEs Coby Fleener (Questionable-concussion) & Dwayne Allen, DEF
  • Sit: RB Vick Ballard, K Adam Vinatieri

Baltimore at Kansas City – Sherpa says:  Baltimore 31, Kansas City 28.

• Baltimore
  • Start: QB Joe Flacco, RB Ray Rice, WRs Torrey Smith (Probable-ankle) & Anquan Boldin, K Justin Tucker
  • Neutral: WR Jacoby Jones, TE Dennis Pitta, DEF
  • Sit: RB Bernard Pierce, TE Ed Dickson
• Kansas City
  • Start: QB Matt Cassel, RB Jamaal Charles, WR Dwayne Bowe
  • Neutral: WRs Jon Baldwin (Probable-hamstring) & Steve Breaston, TE Tony Moeaki, K Ryan Succop
  • Sit: RBs Peyton Hillis (Out-ankle), Shaun Droughn, & Cyrus Gray; WR Dexter McCluster, TE Kevin Boss (IR-concussion), DEF

Miami at Cincinnati – Sherpa says  Cincinnati 35, Miami 31.

• Miami
  • Start: RB Reggie Bush (Probable-hip), WR Brian Hartline, K Dan Carpenter
  • Neutral: QB Ryan Tannehill (Probable-thumb), WR Davone Bess, TE Anthony Fasano
  • Sit: RBs Lamar Miller, Daniel Thomas, & Javorski Lane; DEF
• Cincinnati
  • Start: QB Andy Dalton, WRs A.J. Green & Andrew Hawkins; TE Jermain Gresham, K Mike Nugent
  • Neutral: WR Armon Binns
  • Sit: RBs BenJarvus Green-Ellis & Bernard Scott (Probable-ankle), WRs Brandon Tate & Mohamed Sanu, TE Orson Charles, DEF

Philadelphia at Pittsburgh - Sherpa says:  Philadelphia 27, Pittsburgh 17.

• Philadelphia
  • Start: RB LeSean McCoy, WR DeSean Jackson, TE Brent Celek, DEF
  • Neutral: QB Michael Vick, WRs Jeremy Maclin & Jason Avant (Probable-wrist); K Alex Henery
  • Sit: RBs Dion Lewis & Bryce Brown, WR Damaris Johnson (Probable-foot) & Riley Cooper (Probable-collarbone)
• Pittsburgh
  • Start: QB Ben Roethlisberger, WRs Mike Wallace & Antonio Brown, TE Heath Miller
  • Neutral: WR Emmanuel Sanders, DEF
  • Sit: RBs Rashard Mendenhall (Probable-knee), Isaac Redman, & Jonathan Dwyer; K Shaun Suisham

Atlanta at Washington – Sherpa says Washington 34, Atlanta 31.

• Atlanta
  • Start: QB Matt Ryan, WRs Roddy White & Julio Jones (Probable-hand), TE Tony Gonzalez, K Matt Bryant
  • Neutral: RB Michael Turner, WR Harry Douglas
  • Sit: RBs Jacquizz Rodgers & Jason Snelling, DEF
• Washington
  • Start: QB Robert Griffin III, RB Alfred Morris, WRs Leonard Hankerson & Pierre Garcon (Probable-foot), TE Fred Davis, K Billy Cundiff
  • Neutral: WRs Santana Moss & Joshua Morgan
  • Sit:  RBs Evan Royster (Questionable-knee) & Ryan Grant, WR Aldrick Robinson (Probable-concussion), DEF

Cleveland at New York Giants – Sherpa says:  New York 31, Cleveland 17.

• Cleveland
  • Start: RB Trent Richardson, WR Greg Little
  • Neutral: QB Brandon Weeden, WR Jordan Norwood, TE Ben Watson
  • Sit: RB Chris Ogbanaya, WRs Josh Cribbs (Probable-concussion), Josh Gordon, Mohamed Massaquoi (Doubtful-hamstring) & Travis Benjamin (Doubtful-hamstring), TE Jordan Cameron, K Phil Dawson
• New York
  • Start: QB Eli Manning, RB Ahmad Bradshaw, WR Victor Cruz, TE Martellus Bennett, K Lawrence Tynes, DEF
  • Neutral: RB Andre Brown, WRs Domenick Hixon & Rueben Randle
  • Sit: WRs Hakeem Nicks (Out-foot) & Ramses Barden (Out-concussion)

Seattle at Carolina (Sunday late) – Sherpa says:  Carolina 27, Seattle 24.

• Seattle
  • Start: RB Marshawn Lynch, WR Sidney Rice
  • Neutral: QB Russell Wilson, RB Robert Turbin, WR Doug Baldwin, TE Zach Miller, K Steven Hauschka, DEF
  • Sit: WRs Golden Tate & Ben Obomanu
• Carolina
  • Start: QB Cam Newton, WR Steve Smith, TE Greg Olsen
  • Neutral: RBs DeAngelo Williams & Jonathan Stewart, WR Brandon LaFell, K Justin Medlock, DEF
  • Sit: RB Mike Tolbert

Chicago at Jacksonville – Sherpa says:  Chicago 27, Jacksonville 17.

• Chicago
  • Start: RB Matt Forte (Probable-ankle), WR Brandon Marshall, DEF
  • Neutral: QB Jay Cutler, RB Michael Bush, WR Alshon Jeffery, TE Kellen Davis, K Robbie Gould
  • Sit: WRs Earl Bennett (Questionable-hand) & Devin Hester
• Jacksonville
  • Start: RB Maurice Jones-Drew, WR Justin Blackmon, TE Marcedes Lewis
  • Neutral: WR Cecil Shorts, DEF
  • Sit: QB Blaine Gabbert, RB Rashad Jennings, WR Laurent Robinson (Out-concussion), K Josh Scobee

Denver at New England – Sherpa says:  New England 28, Denver 27.

• Denver
  • Start: QB Peyton Manning, WRs Demaryius Thomas & Eric Decker, TE Jacob Tamme
  • Neutral:  RBs Willis McGahee & Ronnie Hillman, WR Brandon Stokley, TE Joel Dreessen, K Matt Prater, DEF
  • Sit: RBs Lance Ball & Knowshon Moreno
• New England
  • Start: QB Tom Brady, RB Stevan Ridley, WRs Wes Welker & Brandon Lloyd
  • Neutral: TE Rob Gronkowski (Questionable-hip), K Stephen Gostkowski, DEF
  • Sit: RBs Brandon Bowen (Questionable-knee), Shane Vereen (Questionable-foot), & Danny Woodhead, WR Julian Edelman (Out-hand), TE Aaron Hernandez (Questionable-ankle)

Buffalo at San Francisco – Sherpa says:  San Francisco 28, Buffalo 21.

• Buffalo
  • Start: RB Fred Jackson, WR Steve Johnson, TE Scott Chandler (Probable-concussion)
  • Neutral: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, RB C.J. Spiller, WR Donald Jones (Probable-concussion) & T.J. Graham, DEF
  • Sit: RB Tashard Choice, K Rian Lindell
• San Francisco
  • Start: RB Frank Gore, WR Michael Crabtree, TE Vernon Davis, DEF
  • Neutral: WR Mario Manningham, K David Akers
  • Sit: QB Alex Smith, RBs Kendall Hunter, Brandon Jacobs (Questionable-knee) & LeMichael James; WR Randy Moss

Tennessee at Minnesota – Sherpa says:  Minnesota 27, Tennessee 13.

• Tennessee
  • Start: WR Nate Washington
  • Neutral: QB Matt Hasselbeck, RB Chris Johnson, WR Kendall Wright, TEs Craig Stevens & Jared Cook (Probable-shoulder), DEF
  • Sit: QB Jake Locker (Out-shoulder), RB Javon Ringer, WRs Kenny Britt (Questionable-ankle) & Damian Williams, K Rob Bironas
• Minnesota
  • Start: QB Christain Ponder (Probable-knee), RB Adrian Peterson, WRs Percy Harvin & Jerome Simpson, TE Kyle Rudolph, DEF
  • Neutral: K Blair Walsh
  • Sit: RB Toby Gerhart, WRs Michael Jenkins (Questionable-ribs) & Devin Aromashodu, TE John Carlson

San Diego at New Orleans (Sunday night) – Sherpa says: New Orleans 30, San Diego 28.

• San Diego
  • Start: QB Philip Rivers, WRs Malcom Floyd, TE Antonio Gates
  • Neutral: RBs Ryan Mathews & Jackie Battle, WRs Robert Meachem & Eddie Royal, K Nick Novak
  • Sit: RBs Curtis Brinkley & Ronnie Brown, K Nate Kaeding (Out-groin), DEF
• New Orleans
  • Start: QB Drew Brees, RB Darren Sproles, WR Marques Colston, TE Jimmy Graham, K Garrett Hartley
  • Neutral: RBs Mark Ingram & Pierre Thomas, WR Devery Henderson, DEF
  • Sit: RB Chris Ivory, WR Lance Moore (Out-hamstring)

Houston at New York Jets (Monday night) – Sherpa says:  Houston 27, New York Jets 10.

• Houston
  • Start: RB Arian Foster (Probable-hamstring), DEF
  • Neutral: QB Matt Schaub, WRs Andre Johnson (Questionable-groin) & Kevin Walter, TE Owen Daniels, K Shayne Graham
  • Sit: RB Ben Tate (Questionable-toe), WRs Keshawn Martin, DeVier Posey, & Lestar Jean (Out-knee)
• New York Jets
  • Start: N/A
  • Neutral: TE Jeff Cumberland (Probable-ribs), DEF
  • Sit: QBs Mark Sanchez (Probable-back) & Tim Tebow, RBs Shonn Greene, Bilal Powell, & Joe McKnight; WRs Jeremy Kerley (Probable-finger), Stephen Hill (Questionable-hamstring), & Chaz Schilens, TE Dustin Keller (Questionable-hamstring), K Nick Folk

Good luck this weekend!

The Sherpa

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“4th & Inches with Jana and The Sherpa“, Wed. nights 9:30-10:30pm Eastern on Blog Talk Radio

New York Giants at Carolina (Thursday night) – Sherpa Says:  Carolina 31, New York 27.

• New York
  • Start:  QB Eli Manning, RB Andre Brown, WR Victor Cruz, TE Martellus Bennett
  • Neutral:  RB David Wilson, WRs Hakeem Nicks (Questionable-foot) & Rueben Randle, K Lawrence Tynes
  • Sit:  RB Ahmad Bradshaw (Questionable-neck), WRs Domenick Hixon (Questionable-concussion) & Ramses Barden, DEF
• Carolina
  • Start:  QB Cam Newton, RB DeAngelo Williams, WR Brandon LaFell, TE Greg Olsen, K Justin Medlock
  • Neutral:  RB Jonathan Stewart (Questionable-ankle) & Mike Tolbert, WRs Steve Smith (Questionable-knee) & Louis Murphy, DEF
  • Sit:  N/A

St. Louis at Chicago (Sunday early) – Sherpa says:  Chicago 24, St. Louis 21.

• St. Louis
  • Start:  QB Sam Bradford, WR Danny Amendola
  • Neutral:  RBs Steven Jackson (Questionable-groin) & Darryl Richardson, WR Brandon Gibson, TE Lance Kendricks, DEF
  • Sit: RB Isaiah Pead, K Greg Zuerlein
•  Chicago
  • Start:  QB Jay Cutler, RB Michael Bush, WR Brandon Marshall, DEF
  • Neutral:  WR Alshon Jeffrey, K Robbie Gould
  • Sit:  RB Matt Forte (Out-ankle), WR Earl Bennett, TE Kellen Davis

Cincinnati at Washington – Sherpa says:  Cincinnati 34, Washington 28.

• Cincinnati
  • Start:  QB Andy Dalton, WR A.J. Green, TE Jermaine Gresham, K Mike Nugent
  • Neutral:  RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, WR Armon Binns & Andrew Hawkins
  • Sit:  RB Bernard Scott (Probable-hand), WR Mohamed Sanu & Brandon Tate
• Washington
  • Start:  QB Robert Griffin III, RB Alfred Morris, TE Fred Davis
  • Neutral:  WRs Santana Moss, Leonard Hankerson, & Aldrick Robinson; K Billy Cundiff
  • Sit:  RBs Roy Helu & Evan Royster, WR Pierre Garcon (Doubtful-foot), DEF

Detroit at Tennessee – Sherpa says:  Detroit 31, Tennessee 14.

• Detroit
  • Start:  QB Matthew Stafford, RB Mikel LeShoure, WR Calvin Johnson (Probable-ankle), TE Brandon Pettigrew
  • Neutral:  WRs Nate Burleson & Titus Young
  • Sit:  RBs Kevin Smith, Joique Bell,  & Keiland Williams; TE Tony Scheffler (Doubtful-calf)
• Tennessee
  • Start:  TE Jared Cook
  • Neutral:  RB Chris Johnson, WRs Kenny Britt, Nate Washington, & Kendall Wright
  • Sit:  QB Jake Locker, RB Javon Ringer (Questionable-elbow), TE Craig Stevens, K Rob Bironas, DEF

Kansas City at New Orleans – Sherpa says  New Orleans 27, Kansas City 24.

• Kansas City
  • Start:  QB Matt Cassel, WR Dwayne Bowe, TE Tony Moeaki
  • Neutral:  RBs Jamaal Charles (Probable-knee) & Peyton Hillis, WRs Steve Breaston (Probable-wrist), Dexter McCluster (Questionable-shoulder), & Jonathan Baldwin; K Ryan Succop, DEF
  • Sit:  TE Kevin Boss (Out-concussion)
• New Orleans
  • Start:  QB Drew Brees (Probable-ankle), RB Darren Sproles, WR Lance Moore, TE Jimmy Graham
  • Neutral:  RB Mark Ingram, WRs Marques Colston (Questionable-foot) & Devery Henderson (Probable-concussion), K Garrett Hartley, DEF
  • Sit:  RBs Pierre Thomas & Chris Ivory

San Francisco at Minnesota - Sherpa says:  San Francisco 24, Minnesota 21.

• San Francisco
  • Start:  RB Frank Gore, WR Michael Crabtree, TE Vernon Davis, DEF
  • Neutral:  QB Alex Smith, RB Kendall Hunter, WR Mario Manningham, K David Akers
  • Sit:  RBs Brandon Jacobs (Questionable-knee) & LaMichael James, WRs Randy Moss, Kevin Williams, & Ted Ginn (Questionable-ankle)
• Minnesota
  • Start:  QB Christian Ponder, WR Percy Harvin, TE Kyle Rudolph
  • Neutral:  RB Adrian Peterson, DEF
  • Sit:  RB Toby Gerhart, WRs Jarius Wright (Probable-ankle), Devon Aromashodu, & Michael Jenkins; TE John Carlson, K Blair Walsh

New York Jets at Miami – Sherpa says Miami 31, NY Jets 21.

• New York
  • Start:  WR Santonio Holmes
  • Neutral:  QB Mark Sanchez (Probable-back), WR Stephen Hill, TE Dustin Keller (Questionable-hamstring)
  • Sit:  RBs Shonn Greene, Bilal Powell, & Joe McKnight; WR Jeremy Kerley, K Nick Folk, DEF
• Miami
  • Start:  RB Reggie Bush, WR Brian Hartline, TE Anthony Fasano, K Dan Carpenter, DEF
  • Neutral:  QB Ryan Tannehill, WR Davone Bess
  • Sit:  RBs Daniel Thomas (Probable-concussion) & Lamar Miller (Probable-ankle), WRs Legedu Naanee & Anthony Armstrong (Probable-ankle)

Buffalo at Cleveland – Sherpa says:  Buffalo 34, Cleveland 27.

• Buffalo
  • Start:  QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, RB C.J. Spiller, WRs Steve Johnson & Donald Jones, K Rian Lindell
  • Neutral:  TE Scott Chandler, DEF
  • Sit:  RB Fred Jackson (Out-Knee)
• Cleveland
  • Start:  QB BrandonWeeden, RB Trent Richardson (Probable-knee), WR Greg Little (Probable-back), TE Ben Watson
  • Neutral:  WR Mohamed Massaquoi, TE Jordan Cameron, K Phil Dawson
  • Sit:  RBs Montario Hardesty, Brandon Jackson, & Chris Ogbonnaya, WRs Josh Cribbs (Questionable-knee) & Josh Gordon, DEF

Tampa Bay at Dallas – Sherpa says:  Dallas 28, Tampa Bay 20.

• Tampa Bay
  • Start:  RB Doug Martin, WR Vincent Jackson
  • Neutral:  WR Mike Williams, TE Dallas Clark, DEF
  • Sit:  QB Josh Freeman, RB LeGarrette Blount, WRs Preston Parker & Jordan Shipley, K Connor Barth
• Dallas
  • Start:  QB Tony Romo, RB DeMarco Murray, WRs Miles Austin (Probable-hamstring) & Dez Bryant, TE Jason Witten (Probable-abdomen), DEF
  • Neutral:  WR Kevin Ogletree, K Dan Bailey
  • Sit:  RB Felix Jones

Jacksonville at Indianapolis – Sherpa says:  Indianapolis 21, Jacksonville 20.

• Jacksonville
  • Start:  RB Maurice Jones-Drew, TE Marcedes Lewis, DEF
  • Neutral:  WRs Justin Blackmon & Laurent Robinson
  • Sit:  QB Blaine Gabbert (Probable-glute), Rashad Jennings (Doubtful-knee), K Josh Scobee
• Indianapolis
  • Start:  QB Andrew Luck, RB Donald Brown, WRs Reggie Wayne & Donnie Avery, TE Coby Fleener, DEF
  • Neutral:  WR Austin Collie (Probable-Concussion)
  • Sit:  RBs Vick Ballard & Delone Carter, TE Dwayne Clark, K Adam Vinatieri

Atlanta at San Diego (Sunday late) – Sherpa says:  San Diego 24, Atlanta 21.

• Atlanta
  • Start:  QB Matt Ryan, WRs Julio Jones (Probable-thigh) & Roddy White (Probable-knee), TE Tony Gonzalez
  • Neutral:  DEF
    
  • Sit:  RBs Michael Turner, Jacquizz Rodgers, & Jason Snelling; WR Harry Douglas, K Matt Bryant
• San Diego
  • Start:  QB Philip Rivers, WR Michael Floyd, TE Antonio Gates (Probable-ribs), DEF
  • Neutral:  RB Ryan Mathews (Questionable-shoulder), WR Robert Meachem, TE Dante Rosario (Probable-calf), K Nate Kaeding
  • Sit:  RBs Curtis Brinkley (Probable-knee) & Ronnie Brown, WR Eddie Royal (Probable-shoulder)

Philadelphia at Arizona – Sherpa says:  Philadelphia 27, Arizona 14.

• Philadelphia
  • Start:  QB Michael Vick, RB LeSean McCoy, WR DeSean Jackson (Probable-hamstring), TE Brent Celek, DEF
  • Neutral:  WRs Jason Avant (Probable-wrist) & Damarius Johnson, K Alex Henery
  • Sit:  RB Bryce Brown & Dion Lewis, WR Jeremy Maclin (Out-hip)
• Arizona
  • Start:  WR Larry Fitzgerald, TE Rob Housler
  • Neutral:  RB Beanie Wells (Probable-knee), WR Andre Roberts, DEF
  • Sit:  QBs Kevin Kolb & John Skelton (Questionable-ankle), RB Ryan Williams (Probable-knee), WRs Michael Floyd & Early Doucet, TEs Todd Heap (Questionable-knee) & Jeff King (Probable-knee), K Jay Feely

Pittsburgh at Oakland – Sherpa says:  Pittsburgh 24, Oakland 20.

• Pittsburgh
  • Start:  QB Ben Roethlisberger, WRs Antonio Brown & Mike Wallace (Probable-groin), TE Heath Miller (Probable-abdomen)
  • Neutral:  RBs Isaac Redman & Jonathan Dwyer (Probable-toe), WR Emmanuel Sanders (Probable-knee), K Shaun Suisham
  • Sit:  RB Rashard Mendenhall (Out-knee)
• Oakland
  • Start:  QB Carson Palmer, WRs Darrius Heyward-Bey, TE Brandon Myers
  • Neutral:  RB Darren McFadden, WR Denarius Moore, DEF
  • Sit:  RBs Mike Goodson (Questionable-hamstring), Taiwan Jones (Questionable-ribs), & Marcel Reece

Houston at Denver – Sherpa says:  Houston 27, Denver 24.

• Houston
  • Start:  RB Arian Foster, WR Andre Johnson, TE Owen Daniels
  • Neutral:  QB Matt Schaub, RB Ben Tate, K Shayne Graham, DEF
  • Sit:  WRs Kevin Walter, Devier Posey, Keshawn Martin, & Lestar Jean
• Denver
  • Start:  WR Demaryius Thomas
  • Neutral:  QB Peyton Manning, RB Willis McGahee, WRs Eric Decker & Brandon Stokley (Probable-shoulder), TE Jacob Tamme, K Matt Prater, DEF
  • Sit:  RBs Knowshon Moreno & Ronnie Hillman, TE Joel Dreessen (Probable-ribs)

New England at Baltimore (Sunday night) – Sherpa says: New England 34, Baltimore 24.

• New England
  • Start:  QB Tom Brady, RB Stevan Ridley, WR Wes Welker, TE Rob Gronkowski, K Stephen Gostkowski
  • Neutral:  WRs Brandon Lloyd (Questionable-thigh) & Julian Edelman, TE Kellen Winslow, DEF
  • Sit:  RBs Shane Vereen & Danny Woodhead, TE Aaron Hernandez (Out-ankle)
• Baltimore
  • Start:  QB Joe Flacco, RB Ray Rice, WRs Anquan Boldin & Torrey Smith, TE Dennis Pitta
  • Neutral:  WR Jacoby Jones, TE Ed Dickson, K Justin Tucker
  • Sit:  RB Bernard Pierce, DEF

Green Bay at Seattle (Monday night) – Sherpa says:  Green Bay 24, Seattle 21.

• Green Bay
  • Start:  QB Aaron Rodgers, WR Jordy Nelson, TE Jermichael Finley, DEF
  • Neutral:  WRs Greg Jennings (Questionable-groin), James Jones, & Donald Driver; K Mason Crosby
  • Sit:  RBs Cedric Benson & James Starks (Questionable-toe), WR Randall Cobb (Probable-hamstring)
• Seattle
  • Start:  RB Marshawn Lynch (Probable-back), WR Sidney Rice
  • Neutral:  TE Zach Miller (Probable-foot), DEF
  • Sit:  QB Russell Wilson, RB Robert Turbin, WRs Doug Baldwin (Questionable-shoulder), Golden Tate, & Ben Obomanu; TE Anthony McCoy, K Steven Hauschka

Good luck this weekend!

The Sherpa

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“4th & Inches with Jana and The Sherpa“, Wed. nights 9:30-10:30pm Eastern on Blog Talk Radio

Check out The Sherpa’s latest fantasy football strategy entry on The Huffington Post!  I also include lists of 3 players you’ll wish you hadn’t started and 3 players you’ll wish you had started for the upcoming week’s games.

Enjoy!

The Sherpa

The Sherpa

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@fantasy_sherpa on Twitter

Fantasy Football Sherpa’s fan page on Facebook

“4th & Inches with Jana and The Sherpa“, Wed. nights 9:30-10:30pm Eastern on Blog Talk Radio

Fantasy football drafts are challenging under the best of circumstances, but this year with a new CBA and the ensuing free agent frenzy imminent, things will be even crazier than usual.  Here is a partial list of players who stand a good chance of changing teams when the game of musical chairs begins:

Quarterbacks

1. Carson Palmer
2. Donovan McNabb
3. Kevin Kolb
4. Alex Smith
5. Vince Young
6. Matt Hasselbeck
7. Matt Leinart
8. Tarvaris Jackson

Running Backs

1. Ahmad Bradshaw
2. DeAngelo Williams
3. Ronnie Brown
4. Cedric Benson
5. Darren Sproles
6. Ricky Williams
7. Joseph Addai
8. Marion Barber
9. Jerome Harrison
10. LeRon McClain
11. Cadillac Williams
12. Earnest Graham
13. Clinton Portis
14. Laurence Maroney

Wide Receivers

1. Vincent Jackson
2. Santonio Holmes
3. Steve Smith (NYG)
4. Sidney Rice
5. Steve Smith (Car)
6. Malcolm Floyd
7. Mike Sims-Walker
8. Santana Moss
9. Lance Moore
10. Braylon Edwards
11. James Jones
12. Chad Ochocinco
13. Plaxico Burress
14. Randy Moss
15. Michael Jenkins
16. Devin Aromashodu

Tight Ends

1. Zach Miller
2. Kevin Boss
3. Dante Rosario

Kickers

1. David Akers
2. Matt Bryant
3. Ryan Longwell
4. Adam Vinatieri
5. Olindo Mare
6. John Carney

If you insist on drafting before the feeding frenzy commences, my suggestion would be to avoid as many of these players as possible; alternatively, if you just have to have some of them, make sure you draft them at least one round later than you would if you already knew which team they were playing for this season.

You stand forewarned.

The Sherpa

The fantasy value of team defenses is only slightly more predictable than that of Kickers.  That’s why it generally makes no sense to draft a defense until the final rounds or spend more than a dollar or two for one if you’re participating in an auction.

Still, given that most leagues require you have a defense in your starting lineup, what’s the best way to go about picking one?  The defensive events that produce the most fantasy points (i.e. - defensive and special teams touchdowns) are virtually impossible to predict.  Events such as sacks, fumble recoveries, and interceptions are nearly as difficult to project.  Thus, I find the most useful way to rank team defenses (with or without special teams included) is on the basis of total yards allowed (i.e. - rushing + passing), which is somewhat less random than total points allowed.  Again, this is at best a reasonable proxy - you’ll almost certainly change defenses at least once during the course of a season due to a bye week, and perhaps more often based on your defense’s matchup for a given week.

With all that said here is my ranking of team defenses (with or without special teams) heading into the 2010 season:

1. New York Jets
2. Baltimore
3. Green Bay
4. Pittsburgh
5. Minnesota
6. Dallas
7. Denver
8. Cincinnati
9. New England
10. Carolina
11. Washington
12. New York Giants
13. Houston
14. Philadelphia
15. San Diego
16. San Francisco
17. Chicago
18. Indianapolis
19. Arizona
20. Miami
21. Buffalo
22. Atlanta
23. Jacksonville
24. Seattle
25. Oakland
26. New Orleans
27. Tennessee
28. Tampa Bay
29. St. Louis
30. Cleveland
31. Kansas City
32. Detroit

One final point about defenses - many fantasy football owners like to draft a backup defense so that they’ll be covered during their primary defense’s bye week and/or have the option of playing matchups each week.  I strongly disagree with this strategy, primarily because of the random nature of a defense’s fantasy value.  It’s very difficult to predict this fantasy value over the course of a season and even more difficult to predict a defense’s fantasy value from week to week.  My recommendation - pick one you’re comfortable with in your draft our auction, ride with it until the team’s bye week, then replace it via free agency.  You may fret that you’re putting the second coming of the Bears’ 1986 defense on waivers, but that’s almost certainly not the case.  The spot you’ll save by not carrying a second defense can be put to much better use by stashing another running back or wide receiver with high upside.

Until next time, 

The Sherpa

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For many of the people who started playing fantasy football more than a couple of years ago the mantra “always handcuff your star running back” is a sacred drafting strategy.  Handcuffing (i.e. - drafting your star running back’s backup), the theory goes, guarantees that you’ll lock in the production from a given NFL team’s running game, even if your star running back is injured for a significant number of games or lost for the season. 

This line of thinking is somewhat like the act of buying a put option on a stock you own in order to recoup most of the value of your investment in case the stock’s price does a nosedive.  I say “somewhat” because unlike a put option, there’s no guarantee you’ll recoup any of the value of your fantasy football investment through the use of handcuffs.  This could happen for one of several reasons: (1) the star running back’s backup at the time of your draft may suffer a significant injury prior to the star running back’s being injured, (2) the star running back’s backup at the time of your draft may lose his spot on the depth chart due to worse-than-expected performance on his part, better-than-expected performance by another running back, or a coach’s inexplicable decision (think Mike Shanahan’s Reign of Terror in Denver), etc, or (3) an injured star running back’s team may change its offensive philosophy after his loss (i.e. - passing more, running less).

Besides the uncertainties associated with the handcuffing strategy, it’s also a bad idea for two other reasons.   The first is the associated opportunity cost (i.e.- the value that’s lost by foregoing other possibilities) that comes with passing on the chance to draft an additional backup at other positions, namely quarterback, wide receiver, and tight end.  Quick - what do Chad Henne, Alex Smith, Josh Freeman, Vince Young, Sidney Rice, Mohammed Massaquoi, Louis Murphy, Mike Sims-Walker, Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie, Mike Wallace, Malcom Floyd, Brett Celek, and Vernon Davis all have in common?  That’s right - in 2009 they all went undrafted in the vast majority of fantasy leagues, and even in the minority of leagues in which they were drafted, they delivered significantly more fantasy value than you would expect from players taken in the late rounds of a draft. 

Quick - how many “star running backs” (I’ll define that term to mean running backs who were expected to gain more than 2/3 of their team’s rushing yards) missed “significant” time in 2009 (which I’ll define to mean more than 3 games) due to an injury (which does not include foreseeable ineffectiveness and/or ill-advised Tweeting) and were replaced by the expected handcuff?  That’s right - just two:  Jerome Harrison, who replaced Jamal Lewis in Cleveland, and Ricky Williams, who replaced Ronnie Brown in Miami.  By my count there were 22 “star running backs” available to be drafted in 2009, so that’s less than a 10% chance that your handcuff investment paid off last year (warning:  as they say in the investment biz, past performance is no guarantee of future returns).  Meanwhile, you gave up the potential fantasy production you would have received if you’d gotten lucky and speculated on one of the undrafted players listed above.

“Okay,” you say, “but there’s no guarantee that even an extremely knowledgable football fan like me would have had the foresight to pick one of the 14 players you listed above - tear down your straw man!”  Fair enough, which brings me to my final reason for opposing the handcuffing strategy: the trend among NFL teams towards the dreaded Running Back By Committee (RBBC).  Of course, many fantasy football team owners have come to dread the RBBC approach because the NFL teams that use this strategy shrink the supply of “star running backs”.  While that’s certainly the case, the positive side to RBBCs is that they increase the number of available running backs who are better alternatives than the handcuffs to star running backs. 

Case in point - in 2009 by my count 10 of the 32 teams headed into the season with what I would describe as an RBBC approach.  In 2010 that number is up to 13.  Yes, that’s three fewer star running backs available to be drafted, but that’s also three more running backs whose expected payoff is better than that of a handcuff.  Drafting someone who’s currently not the lead back in an RBBC situation still offers significant upside (the secondary back could move ahead of the lead back if the lead back is injured or the secondary back outperforms the lead back), while offering a higher expected return than a clear second-stringer who would be drafted as a handcuff.  The greater the number of fantasy teams or required starting running backs in your league, the more sense it makes to take secondary backs in an RBBC rather than a handcuff.

So put away those handcuffs today, and improve your chances of drafting a winning team in 2010! 

Until next time, 

The Sherpa

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People generally have one of two mindsets when it comes to drafting Kickers for their fantasy football team: (1) take one of the “top Kickers” several rounds before the end of the draft, or (2) wait until the last round or two of your draft to take a Kicker and take “the best Kicker available” (or “any Kicker who’s available and still has a pulse”).  Count me in the second group.  Kickers undoubtedly differ in their innate skill levels, but the number of opportunities a Kicker’s team presents him with far outweighs the importance of the Kicker’s accuracy on 50+ yard field goals in determining his fantasy value.  And predicting the number of opportunities a Kicker’s team is likely to give him is, to put it kindly, nearly impossible.  The opportunity cost of taking a Kicker before the last round far outweighs the potential benefit (at least in this Sherpa’s mind).

So, if predicting Kickers’ fantasy values is a futile exercise, but you still need to pick one (or even two) for your team, what’s the best way to go about it?  I suggest that you rank Kickers in the same order that you should rank teams’ offenses, by total yards (rushing + passing).  There’s certainly a less-than-perfect correlation between the number of yards a team’s offense gains and the number of points it scores, and there’s also a less-than-perfect correlation between the number of points a team scores and the number of points its Kicker scores, but I firmly believe that trying to come up with a better system for ranking Kickers is a huge waste of time.

That said, here’s my ranking of Kickers for the upcoming season (which foreshadows my ranking of team offenses for the upcoming season):

1. Garrett Hartley (NO)
2. Mason Crosby (GB)
3. David Buehler (Dal)
4. Stephen Gostkowski (NE)
5. Kris Brown Neil Rackers (Hou)
6. Ryan Longwell (Min)
7. Adam Vinatieri (Ind)
8. Shayne Graham Billy Cundiff (Bal)
9. Nate Kaeding (SD)
10. David Akers (Phi)
11. Matt Bryant (Atl)
12. Lawrence Tynes (NYG)
13. John Kasay (Car)
14. Mike Nugent (Cin)
15. Nick Folk (NYJ)
16. Josh Scobee (Jac)
17. Jay Feely (Ari)
18. Jeff Reed (Pit)
19. Dan Carpenter (Mia)
20. Rob Bironas (Ten)
21. Robbie Gould (Chi)
22. Graham Gano (Was)
23. Jason Hanson (Det)
24. Ryan Succop (KC)
25. Joe Nedney (SF)
26. Matt Prater (Den)
27. Olindo Mare (Sea)
28. Sebastian Janikowski (Oak)
29. Rian Lindell (Buf)
30. Connor Barth (TB)
31. Phil Dawson (Cle)
32. Josh Brown (StL)

Agree or disagree?  Hit me with your best shot - fire away.

The Sherpa

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Hi everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that my “sleeper pick” for fantasy football Week 12 has been included in Zack O’Malley Greenburg’s entry in the SportsMoney blog on Forbes.com.  This entry is a regular feature on Thursdays throughout the football season!

Have a great weekend!

The Sherpa

Fantasy Football Sherpa

The Fantasy Football Sherpa’s Blog

@fantasy_sherpa on Twitter

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