Jens DFS Journal 2016 week 5

By Jen Ryan

Words can be interchangeable in all aspects of life, and of course if you are reading this then daily fantasy football is a part of your life. So many words we use in reference to this game over lap. Story lines, lineups, the line, offensive and defensive lines. You get where I am going. There are lines all over the place when it comes to building your line ups and I am going to have some fun this week on a scratch off, I mean huge GPP, and see where along the lines things may fall.

Story Lines

Have you heard enough about Odell Beckham, Jr. this week? I’ve been doing a mini podcast and Sirius protest against anyone who is against Beckham. His story line has completely spiraled out of control, just like they all say he has. It has gotten to the point where he has turned into the wide receiver boogie man and it is laughable. It is laughable that John Mara commented on Beckham’s behavior from the Vatican. It is laughable that former-coach Tom Coughlin has publically offered to help Beckham when he could have just called him. It is laughable that the only NFL player I have read who came to his defense is his division-rival Dez Bryant. It is most laughable that people really think Beckham’s emotions are his problem, not the double teams and over-the-top shadowing. I am following Odell Beckham, Jr.’s story line all the way to my WR1 this week and playing him in nearly every single line up this week. His $8,500 price tag is his lowest cost of 2016 and I’d venture to guess that after this week we will never see Beckham this cheap again.

I cannot mention story lines without mentioning Tom Brady. He is finally back after what I think we can all agree upon may go down as the most asinine suspension in professional football. How do you not play Brady in a GPP this week? I am going for it in at least one.

Lineups

Actual NFL line ups have an impact on our daily fantasy line ups. There is a certain running back from Atlanta who has a good chance of being out of the lineup this week due to the bizarre phenomenon that is altitude and another running back who will be in the lineup who happened to be 2015’s top scoring back in PPR leagues. Devonta Freeman fell into a time share this year and he has a good chance of not having to deal with that this week. There are 16 running backs who would cost me more than Freeman this week. I am throwing this value play with a bell cow opportunity in my line up this week.

The Line

There is just a single game with a 50+ point Vegas line this week. Sin City projects 50.5 points this week with a whopping 84% of the betting public throwing their pennies down on the over. In the name of GPP contrarian play, I am going to roster Amari Cooper at $7,200 this week as a pivot off Michael Crabtree and hope that this is his week for some much needed touchdown regression.

Offensive Lines

The Dallas Cowboys are proud of the offensive line they have built over the past three years and they should be. Paying up for a running back is never easy but I will be paying up for Ezekiel Elliott ($6,800) this week in a difficult matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott will have a big test on his hands, possibly his biggest yet, and could rely heavily on Elliott, especially if the Cowboys want to limit A.J. Green’s opportunities on the other side of the ball. I can even play off of the story line theme a bit here, because of course Adam Jones just could not help himself and had to literally compare Elliott’s running opportunities to that of his daughter’s if she were behind this offensive line. Hello, bulletin board.

Defensive Lines

The New York Giants spent money on their defensive line like there was no tomorrow. Over $200 million, which is just incredible. Over 52 million guaranteed to Olivier Vernon, who has looked great but had just 7.5 sacks last year. I am not of the belief that this defensive line has the ability to put its money where its mouth is, so that means I’ll also be throwing Shreddie Lacy into this tournament. My big spending at this point will force me to use some cheap options and Kendall Wright has never looked better at $3,000. I know, Kendall Wright, but this is a GPP, right?

Considering I have been unable to crack the code of winning the big GPP, and let’s face it most of you haven’t either, I figure I will keep trying these often outrageous strategies until the big prize comes. I have some solid players I am throwing around this week but, as always, I’ll need my darts to be bull’s eyes. Good luck!