Fantasy Football Dating App, Week 12

Every Sunday morning, fantasy owners face similar choices to the ones "dating" app users do on Saturday night. When faced with lots of options, do you want to swipe left and pass on potential opportunity or do you want to swipe right and open the door for exciting possibilities? Each week, we'll talk about specific players and what you should do with them (particularly when setting your daily fantasy lineups).

Swipe Left

Tom Brady

Betting against Tom Brady in the middle of his historic run is certainly a risk, and it's likely that I end the week with both metaphorical and actual yams on my face. However, he's cooled off a bit of late, averaging less than 20 points over the last 3 weeks. For anyone else, these numbers would still be fine, but when you cost $600 more than any other QB, the bar is a bit higher. With Peyton Manning sidelined, the marquee matchup on Sunday night is Brady versus a Broncos defense that has swallowed QBs (even Aaron Rodgers) whole this year, allowing less than 10 fantasy points per game. Perhaps Touchdown Tom shatters that number, but at his price, it's not worth the gamble. Though if you choose to Costanza me on this one, my feelings won't be hurt.

DeAngelo Williams

With Le'Veon Bell sidelined, the veteran Williams is getting all the carries he can handle in Pittsburgh. Of course, many thought that at his age the number of touches he could handle was zero. But a 170 yard, 2-TD performance against Oakland shut critics up. However, he followed that up with a three yards-per-carry, Trent Richardson-esque stinker against a Cleveland run defense that had been lit up all season long. He did have a bye week to rest, but he'll need a time machine to carve up Seattle, and it's hard to justify paying for him when you could have Doug Martin, Darren McFadden or Chris Ivory instead. You could also go with Jonathan Stewart instead of Williams and feel just like a professional GM!

Mark Ingram

Mark Ingram has been very consistent this year, scoring at least nine fantasy points in every game but one. Of course, there is a time and a place for such predictability, but it's not necessarily near the top of a DFS price list. Once you remove injured guys like Lynch and Forte, Ingram is now the fourth most expensive RB. When you take up that much of the budget, your ceiling needs to be a heck of a lot higher than 20 points. Ingram's style is perfectly suited for a mid-priced RB2, but arguably just like the guy who runs the NFL, he's been promoted one level too high. Since there is no real difference between finishing last and just out of the money, forget the floor and spend the money on someone you are convinced at least has a chance to win you the week.

Swipe Right

Thomas Rawls

The volatility at the top of the RB rankings this year makes DFS more attractive than ever. Only 3 of the top 10 RBs in terms of average draft position currently rank that high at the position (Peterson, Murray, McCoy), so there is basically a 70 percent chance one of your first two picks completely screwed you. Rather than live with that albatross, you get to start fresh every week and pick up guys like Thomas Rawls, who has gone from afterthought to stud seemingly overnight. While the matchup last week against the Niners certainly helped, there is a good chance Rawls isn't just a one-hit wonder. He's broken 100 yards in 3 of the 4 games in which he's received at least 15 touches, and it looks like his number will be called at least that often on Sunday. At only $4,500, his potential bang-for-the-buck makes him a no-brainer this week.

Eric Decker

Like green-bean casserole, Decker may not be the fanciest thing on the table this week, but he gets the job done. He's been nearly as good as teammate Brandon Marshall, equaling him with 7 TDs and averaging a higher yards per catch, with much less fanfare. That lack of attention means he's priced at a cool grand less than Marshall. Both are good plays against a Miami secondary that is really struggling to keep receivers out of the end zone. But for me, you might as well go with Decker and use that extra cash elsewhere.

Matthew Stafford

Like inflatable Snoopys and a relative saying something highly suspect about immigration, Matthew Stafford carving up opponents like turkey has become quite the Thanksgiving tradition. Over the last three Turkey Days, he's averaged 387 yards and more than 2 TDs per game, making the backyard, two-hand touch games played around the country look like low-scoring affairs by comparison. After a rookie torched them for five TDs last week, there is no reason to think the Eagles are going to ruin Stafford's favorite day. Outside of gravy on mashed potatoes, there is no more delicious stack on Thursday than Stafford/Megatron against Philly. Enjoy.