Fantasy Football Start 'Em Sit 'Em Week 15: A Raider Recap

The Raiders put up over 500 yards of offense and 39 points against the Denver Broncos. Not a bad day’s work. They did most of the damage on the ground. More than just having one fantasy standout, they spread it around. Let’s recap the action.

QB Jason Campbell: The Raiders had a couple of plays go down to the one. One of those was a Jason Campbell pass. As a result Campbell ended with only one TD pass and 238 yards. He also was picked twice.

RB Darren McFadden: McFadden again broke the century mark. He was held from having a huge fantasy day though, when the Raiders used Michael Bush on the short yardage goal line runs. McFadden ended the day with 129 yards on 20 carries and 39 yards on 4 catches.

RB Michael Bush: Bush got a decent amount of touches, but did not have many yards to show for it. He did reward any fantasy owners who started him with two touchdowns. He had 24 yards on 12 carries.

TE Zach Miller: Miller is definitely getting over is foot injury. Penalties kept Miller from having a huge fantasy day as he had one touchdown called back, two catches and about 40 yards. He ended the day with 4 catches on 39 yards.

WR Jacoby Ford: Ford was the only receiver worth mentioning and he showed why he is the only Oakland WR worth playing. He gets touches in a variety of ways. He ended the day with 3 catches for 45 yards, but it was his 71-yard touchdown run that rewarded anyone who was gutsy enough to play him.

Oakland Defense: The Oakland defense picked up a safety. They failed to generate any turnovers though. They did manage to sack Tim Tebow twice.

Fantasy Football Start 'Em Sit 'Em Week 15: Oakland Raider Defense vs. Tim Tebow, Knowshon Moreno

The Oakland Raiders defense has a wildly intriguing fantasy (and real) football matchup today with Tim Tebow getting the start over Kyle Orton due to Orton’s various ailments. We already discussed the general Raiders sit em and start ’em options, but I wanted to focus in on the defense briefly given this fairly peculiar matchup, as well as what it means for opponents.

The Oakland defense has generally been solid for fantasy purposes. This week against Tebow they’re expected to stick eight men in the box to stop Knowshon Moreno and basically dare Tim Tebow to take his shots against a lot of one-on-one coverage. This could mean bad things for Moreno if the Raiders are consistently putting out a full force to stop him. He’s been quite solid lately so people probably should go with Moreno anyway. After all, he’s going to get a ton of carries.

I highly doubt anybody in their fantasy playoffs is in need of Tebow, unless maybe you have Matt Cassel potentially sidelined with his appendix issue. However, if you are a heavy underdog in your playoff matchup, Tebow could prove to be a QB with a ton of upside for one week. Since Tebow was not declared the starter until this weekend, the Raiders haven’t exactly had the best chance to prepare for him. I’m not holding my breath for huge Tebow numbers, but he might be worth a role of the dice since he’ll face a lot of one-on-one coverage early in the game.

NFL Fantasy Football, Week 15: Raiders Start 'em or Sit 'em

It is crunch time in fantasy football and you are wondering which Raiders to start and which to sit. Well, look no further. I’ve got the answers for you right here. The good news for any fantasy owners that have Raiders on their roster is that they are going against the Denver Broncos. The Broncos defense is in shambles. They gave up 43 to the Arizona Cardinals last week and 59 to the Raiders in their first match up.

QB Jason Campbell: Out of the 8 TDs the Raiders scored against the Broncos in their first meeting, only two came via the pass. The Raiders are going to want to run it early and often in this one. Denver also has the 8th lowest percentage in the league of TDs that are a result of passes. Still, their figures to be a few TDs here. Chances are, if you are debating putting Campbell in, then you had Aaron Rogers or some other odd QB scenario. He won’t win you your game, but it is a safe play.

Outlook: Start ’em

RB Darren McFadden: Biggest no brainer of the week. If you have McFadden things are working out really well for you. He blew up last week and now he is going against a defense that makes every RB a candidate to start and next week he is playing the Colts run D.

Outlook: Start ’em

RB Michael Bush: The first time these two played this year the Raiders had over 50 carries. Bush had 15 of them for 52 yards and a touchdown. This is not the only time the Raiders have had a 50-plus carry game. They went over 50 two weeks ago against the Chargers. Bush had 23 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown. With heavy rains expected and the Raiders looking to have a big lead, Bush could get plenty of touches. This makes him an intriguing flex start.

Outlook: Start ’em

TE Zach Miller: Last week Miller was starting to look like himself again. He ended the day with 4 catches for 68 yards and he was targeted 5 times. In the Week 7 game against the Broncos he had 3 caches for 65 yards and a touchdown. Most importantly, he was going full speed at practice this week. A healthy Zach Miller is a productive Zach Miller.

Outlook: Start ‘em

Oakland WRs: The Oakland WRs are too big of a risk. If things go according to plan this week, they probably won’t see much action. Louis Murphy had a solid game last week, but opportunities for this crew are sporadic.

Outlook: Sit ‘em

Oakland Defense: It looks like Tim Tebow will be making his first NFL start on Sunday. It is going to be wet, he is going to be facing a team that can rush the QB and his team doesn’t protect the QB. There could be a few turnovers in this one. The Raiders defense has the chance to put up some big numbers.

Outlook: Start ’em

NFL Fantasy Football Week 15: San Francisco 49ers Fantasy Review

Well, a couple bad losses and we're all a bit unsure of what to do if you've got a couple 49ers on your roster. Good thing the recommendations last week only included one start, unfortunately that start didn't fare so well, not in the least. Let's see how things turned out ...

QB Alex Smith

Head Coach Mike Singletary is once again considering a change at the quarterback position, does that give you a clue in regards to how Alex Smith fared against the Chargers on Thursday Night Football? Smith completed 19-of-29 passes for only 165 yards with no touchdowns against one interception. He was sacked six times and couldn't do ... well, really anything rolling out to that right side over and over. He did rush for six yards, so ... bonus points?

Outlook: Sit 'em, Hindsight: Sit 'em

HB Brian Westbrook

Westbrook got less yards off more attempts than rookie Anthony Dixon, but neither of them had a combined yardage total (rushing + receiving) of even fifty. Westbrook did have a touchdown, the only time the 49ers put points on the board, but it was overall a sorry effort from the veteran.

Outlook: Sit 'em, Hindsight: Sit 'em

WR Michael Crabtree/WR Josh Morgan

The gut feeling was that Crabtree would rebound, but it wasn't to be. He had three receptions for 17 yards and was once again eclipsed by Josh Morgan, who did pass the century mark with 106 yards on seven receptions. He did not make it to the end zone though. Mike Singletary moves to 0-8 when a 49ers wide receiver has more than 100 yards receiving.

Outlook: Sit 'em, Hindsight: Sit 'em

TE Vernon Davis

Davis was covered perfectly by the San Diego secondary. The safeties took away the deep routes and the corners forced him to only four yards off of a lone reception, in the third quarter. He didn't even stay in to block all that much, the Chargers just happen to hold the league's best pass defense and it showed on Thursday.

Outlook: Sit 'em, Hindsight: Sit 'em

49ers Defense

This was not one of the smarter picks. On paper, it wasn't a wise choice to begin with but something happened and one way or the other, the advice was to start the 49ers defense. A low scoring affair was a possibility with the stakes at hand, but after one or two successful stops in the first quarter (following the blown touchdown early on to Vincent Jackson), the defense had nothing to offer San Diego for the remainder of the game. It was a systematic beat down in which San Diego scored 34 points. Not a pretty outing.

Outlook: Start 'em, Hindsight: Cut 'em 

NFL Fantasy Football Week 15: San Francisco 49ers Start 'em or Sit 'em

Last week, the fantasy advice hovered around "pretty solid," but there were some incorrect predictions here and there. Against the Chargers though, things are a bit harder to predict. Both teams are inconsistent, but San Diego seems to be more inconsistently inconsistent, it seems. Let's take a look at what we're dealing with, shall we?

QB Alex Smith

Alex is coming off the best statistical game of his career, or something close to it. To expect the same thing just a few days later is a little silly, but to expect the same thing just a few days later against the San Diego Chargers? That's just ludicrous, honestly. Up against the league's best defense overall, and the third best passing defense? It's a no brainer, here.

Sit Alex Smith

RB Brian Westbrook

Things look a little bit better for Westbrook, but not by much. The Chargers have the seventh-ranked rushing defense and he can do some good things, but you can't bank on him to do so. If you have options that are even a little bit better, go with them.

Sit Brian Westbrook

WR Michael Crabtree/WR Josh Morgan

Morgan had himself a big game against the Seahawks, and Crabtree caught one ball. My gut tells me that Crabtree will have a big game for one reason or another, but he's definitely not the smart pick at this point. He's been nonexistent this year and will likely remain as such.

Sit both Michael Crabtree and Josh Morgan

TE Vernon Davis

Davis could be poised for a big game, the 49ers will likely open up the offense and he could be a valuable target. Still, I feel as though Alex will be targeting deep threats and other, lesser-known targets like Ted Ginn Jr. and Delanie Walker. The 49ers offense is swept while you ...

Sit Vernon Davis

49ers Defense

This game will be a low scoring affair. The 49ers need a win to stay in things (technically still in if they lose, but can control their own destiny) and their defense will have to be what holds the fort. San Diego boasts the league's third best in total offense and San Francisco is the 12th best defense altogether. Still, you can look for the 49ers defense to step it up big time on primetime and hold this game down.

Start the 49ers Defense

NFL Fantasy Football Week 15: San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders Player Analysis

Given that the San Francisco 49ers have a short week and will be playing San Diego on Thursday Night Football, it seemed timely to get this stream posted sooner rather than later. Both the 49ers and Oakland Raiders are in the playoff push in their respective divisions, but you're likely in the midst of the actual playoffs in your fantasy football league. Most leagues are likely in semifinals at this point, although some (including a 4-team playoff I did not make in one league) are just kicking off round one of their playoffs. If you had a bye hopefully you aren't forgetting to set your roster for the semifinals.

The 49ers will head down to San Diego for a pivotal battle for playoff contention for both teams. The Chargers are heavy favorites while the 49ers have been wildly inconsistent. Both teams are coming off strong efforts at home last week but both are equally capable of stinkers. The Chargers were swept by the Raiders this season and looked fairly abysmal in those efforts. The 49ers have dominated weak competition but struggled when facing superior competition.

Both teams will have some interesting sit/start options. For both the Raiders and 49ers, one of the tougher choices is the 49ers defense. Last year they were the number one scoring fantasy defense courtesy of an inordinate amount of turnovers. Through the first three quarters of this season, the defense had some ups and downs but its ups rarely seemed to reach last year's highs. This past week against Seattle they finally broke out with a five turnover effort including an interception returned for a touchdown. We'll see if they can build on that effort.

On the other side of the Bay, the Raiders host the Broncos in a must-win for Oakland. One noteworthy consideration is that Darren McFadden is 7 rushing yards away from 1,000 for the season. It will be their first 1,000 rushing season since Justin Fargas went for 1,009 in 2007. If McFadden can stay healthy these final three games, he has a good shot at finishing with the most rushing yards by a Raider since they returned to Oakland in 1995. Napoleon Kaufman holds that honor with 1,294 yards in 1997. McFadden has been a beast for the Raiders this season when healthy and thus a beast in fantasy.