Fantasy Football Week 8: Mailbag Recap and Free Agent Pickups

Week 7 may be over, but fantasy football players know that a week isn't really over until the next one starts. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning are reserved for saying "Man, if I would have played Player X, I would have won!" or "Thank God I played Player Y", or the infamous "Player Z is such a garbage heap, I should trade him for deli meat".

Alright, maybe that last one is just me.

Every week I offer up advice in my (shameless plug spoiler alert), email at [e-mail] and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/koreybeckettBR, I have offered up some fantastic advice and some advice that will make you question my existence.

You can't dwell on the bad or bask in the good. With that said, let's take a look at both since it's early in the week before I get to this week's free agent pickups.

The Good

Start/Sit Players from last week's article: Josh Freeman (Start), Ryan Fitzpatrick (Start), Alfred Morris (Start), Randall Cobb (Start), Vincent Jackson (Start), Joe Flacco (Sit), Stevan Ridley (Sit), Larry Fitzgerald (Sit), Torrey Smith (Sit), Jimmy Graham (Sit)

I made a terrible, terrible mistake on two stud running backs which I will get to later in this article, but I do have to say something about Larry Fitzgerald.

He's had three good games and has been one of the most inconsistent "must-starts" in fantasy football history. I said to bench him last week, he got two points in standard scoring. I took a little bit of flack for saying to bench him, but if you listened to my advice and played someone like Randall Cobb or Vincent Jackson in front of him, congratulations on your win.

I understand that Josh Freeman may have seemed like a pretty easy pick since he was going against an awful Saints defense, but I had a lot of people that were hesitant in starting him. He ended up having the best week for a quarterback in which Robert Griffin III, Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees weren't even on bye weeks.

Speaking of the Buccaneers, Vincent Jackson was the leading receiver in Week 7, I hope you played him. I'll continue to tell you to start each team's quarterback, running back, and leading receiver against the Saints until they prove they can slow anyone down.

Jimmy Graham got zero points this week thanks to his injury (it was announced he wouldn't play after the article was published), so that was probably my best call of the week by default.

How good was Randall Cobb this week? I had some e-mails from people that asked me if they should play him over receivers who have been studs over the last few years, and it certainly paid off. Now let's get to the mailbag.

Joe F wrote, "Who would be better at flex? Leshoure against Chicago or Josh Gordon who is getting the start against the Colts?"

I responded, "I would play Gordon"

Josh Gordon would have had an even bigger game had he not dropped a long touchdown, but still found the end zone again.

Gerald B wrote, "Very simple....eli or rg3 as i have both."

I responded, "I like RG3 in any situation, I think he's the best option in fantasy at QB over anyone."

Advice to everyone: Play. Robert. Griffin.

Mike K wrote, "Larry Fitzgerald, Marques Colston, James Jones, Denarius Moore, Brandon Lloyd Pick 3."

I responded, "Colston, Jones, and Moore."

Nailed it.

The Bad

Start/Sit Players from last week's article: James Jones (Start), Donnie Avery (Start), Scott Chandler (Start), Matt Schaub (Sit), Adrian Peterson (Sit), Chris Johnson (Sit)

I'm not too embarrassed about James Jones since he was hot, or Avery and Chandler because they were sort of risky to begin with. I'm a little embarrassed about Schaub. Very embarrassed about Adrian Peterson, and downright red in the face thanks to this email:

Cody H wrote, "Who should I start at flex? Percy harvin or Chris Johnson???"

I responded, "I still like Harvin, they find ways to use him in all parts of the game"

D'oh.

Purgatory (Neither good or bad advice)

Start/Sit Players from last week's article: Jay Cutler (Start), Matthew Stafford (Sit), Andre Johnson (Sit), Felix Jones (Start)

Lyndell M wrote, "I have marshall vjax and dez starting this week but dez might not play due to injury i have denarius moore on my bench do u think hes a good back up if dez cant go??"

I responded, "I think he will have a big week, and you should play him with confidence if Dez can't go"

Dez Bryant did play, and he wasn't good. I also did say that you could start Moore with confidence, so these are offsetting theories. Repeat Week 7.

Lucas L wrote, "Miles austin, J. Jones, VJax, Dmoore, Start 2...?"

I responded, "I really like James Jones and Vincent Jackson this week."

Vincent Jackson was the best out of the four and James Jones was the worst. Way to cancel out good advice with bad, Korey.

Jay S wrote, "Who should i start today Jonathan Stewart or Jonathan Dwyer? And Who witch 2 WR should i start out of Hakeem Nicks, Larry Fitzgerald, and Mike Williams?"

I responded, "I like Dwyer, Nicks, and Mike Williams."

Dwyer was pretty good, much better than Stewart. Nicks and Mike Williams didn't do much at all, but still did better than Larry Fitzgerald. This could be considered good advice since I did pick the best option in every scenario, but with Nicks and Williams being duds makes this a purgatory e-mail.

Free Agent pickups for Week 8

Rashad Jennings-Jacksonville Jaguars RB (Owned in 13.6% of leagues)

This is the obvious pickup up of the week. Maurice Jones-Drew isn't playing and the Green Bay defense hasn't been special this season. Don't let any experts brag if he has a good week (myself included) since this is a no-brainer.

Vick Ballard-Indianapolis Colts RB (Owned in 45.7% of leagues)

After a tough debut against the Jets, Ballard broke double digits against the Browns and this week suits up against the 29th ranked defense in fantasy against RB's in Tennessee.

For now, he seems like a good plug-in for a bye week or injury, but not as a must-start. He's still trying to find his place in the NFL.

Shane Vereen-New England Patriots RB (Owned in 50.1% of leagues)

Thanks to Stevan Ridley struggling and Brandon Bolden's injury, Vereen should be in line for more carries since that's the way that Bill Belichick likes to run things. He's become the new Mike Shanahan as Shanahan has gone to Alfred Morris on just about every non-RG3 carry this season.

Jonathan Dwyer-Pittsburgh Steelers RB (Owned in 18.5% of leagues)

If Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman can't go again this week, he becomes a top 10-15 running back as they take on the Redskins defense that has famously had it's struggles. Not so much against the run, but still. This defense isn't good. At all.

LaRod Stephens-Howling (Owned in 10.5% of leagues)

If you are low in the waiver wire, make sure you pick this guy up. He is making his way to being the feature back for the rest of the season with Beanie Wells and Ryan Williams out for the season with his competition struggling.

Chris Cooley (Owned in 0.2% of leagues)

I'm not sure who the 0.2% of Cooley owners are, but they are in luck now that he gets back into the Redskins rotation. He may not have an impact right away, but hang on to him in case he gets into a groove.

Josh Gordon-Cleveland Browns WR (Owned in 36.8% of leagues)

He's scored four touchdowns in the last three weeks, it's time to pick him up if he's available in your league.

Well, that's all I have for now. As you all well know, you can get a hold of me at [e-mail] and my official Facebook page here. I offer up advice throughout the entire week and will be back this weekend with your official start/sit advice for Week 8.