Fantasy Football Week 8: Eliminator Picks to Keep You in the Game

The Carolina Panthers picked up their second win of the season in Week 7, keeping my entry perfect in ESPN's Eliminator Challenge heading into Week 8. The Panthers beat the Washington Redskins 33-20, mainly on the legs of Cam Newton (one rushing TD, one throwing TD) and Olindo Mare (four FGs).

As I said in my Week 7 preview, I thought the game would be a good matchup and a good opportunity to steal a win with Carolina. The Panthers received less action (1 percent) than their opponent. The Redskins were picked on almost twice as many entries. Yikes!

It was not a good week for the herd. The Baltimore Ravens suffered a surprising loss at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night. The Ravens received 22 percent of the picks for Week 7. 

Meanwhile, the Oakland Raiders were shut out; neither Kyle Boller nor Carson Palmer could orchestrate the offense. The loss of Darren McFadden in the first series surely played a part, but the Raiders and Carson Palmer have a lot to work on during their bye week. The Raiders received about 5 percent of selections in Week 7.   

There are less than 13,000 perfect entries left on ESPN's Eliminator with mine, WTF, being one of them.

Here are my picks through Week 7:

Week 1: San Diego Chargers

Week 2: New York Giants

Week 3: Dallas Cowboys

Week 4: Green Bay Packers

Week 5: New Orleans Saints

Week 6: Cincinnati Bengals

Week 7: Carolina Panthers

The Ravens are a hot pick again in Week 8 as they face the Arizona Cardinals. The Ravens are coming off a short week after their Monday night loss to the Jaguars. This time the Ravens are at home and Ray Lewis and the D will be playing angry. Seems pretty safe, but at almost 16 percent of selections this pick isn’t for me.

We all know how I like to avoid those herd picks.

New Orleans is visiting the St. Louis Rams in the team's second consecutive matchup against a winless opponent. Expect a less substantial blowout this week and about three quarters of play from Drew Brees.

Houston will be hosting Jacksonville with the Texans getting about 12 percent of Week 8 selections. The Texans are probably a safe bet, but if it's a grind-it-out-type game like the Jaguars-Ravens contest, we could see another upset here. Maurice Jones-Drew and the Jacksonville defense are certainly capable.  

This week, I considered two matchups: Colts-Titans and Browns-49ers. The better team is at home in each game and the 49ers are coming off a bye week. Still, I’d like to save the 49ers.

The Colts and Titans were both blown out last week. The Saints marched all over the Colts on Sunday night to the tune of a 62-7 score. The Titans were embarrassed by the Texans at home 41-7. Despite these pathetic performances, the Titans are clearly the better team. If Chris Johnson gets anything going on the ground, the Titans should win this game easily.

Since I’m probably not going to like the Titans in many other matchups the rest of the season, it’s a good week to use them.  

Week 8 Selection: Tennessee Titans