Empty the Bench

Plugging in your studs at RB, QB, and WR is easy. Filling in the extremities of your roster every week is not. We agonize over these decisions until 5 minutes before kickoff, then kick ourselves about the guys we started 10 minutes after kickoff. We’re talking about the WR/TE Flex and WR/RB Flex plays, and they’re a bitch.

Our Position Rankings now include more running backs and wide receivers, so you can now refer to those ranks for your WR3 and RB2 options. From here on out, ETB’s Cheat Sheet only focuses on those crucial flex-spot ranks.

It’s time to get wild and ka-ra-zee with ETB’s Week 13 Fantasy Cheat Sheet.

Week 13 Cheat Sheet Rankings

Week 13 WR/TE Flex Plays

1. Calvin ‘Megatron’ Johnson, Detroit @ MIN
2. Greg Olsen, Chicago vs. NYG
3. Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City vs. SD
4. Bernard Berrian, Chicago vs. NYG
5. Tony Scheffler, Denver @ OAK
6. Chris Henry, Cincinnati @ PIT
7. Shaun McDonald, Detroit @ MIN
8. Reggie Brown, Philadelphia vs. SEA
9. LJ Smith, Philadelphia vs. SEA
10. Isaac Bruce, St. Louis @ ATL

Fortune Cookies: As you’ll see in this week’s Crystal Ball, at least one of us feels that Megatron Johnson is in for a big game against a Viqueens secondary giving up more passing yardage/per (283) than anyone in the NFL… A few dropped passes didn’t help his cause in the battle for snaps with incumbent starter Desmond Clark, but his 1 catch for 10 yards effort will prove to be a blip on rookie TE Greg Olsen’s radar. Expect a fine bounceback game, something like 5 catches for 55 yards and a possible score… With a few strong games, the third rookie in our Cheat Sheet, WR Dwayne Bowe, has a very good chance to top 1,000 yards receiving in his first professional season. He exploded against the ‘Bolts back in Week 4 for 8 catches, 164 yards, and 1 TD… Rex Grossman’s favorite downfield target, Bernard Berrian, has scored in two of the past three games. Coming off a disappointing effort, yardage-wise, last week against Denver (3 catches, 24 yards, 1 TD), Berrian is thrilled not to see Champ Bailey lining up across from him… Real nice game last week for Tony Scheffler against the Bears: 5 catches, 82 yards, 1 TD. The Raiders are giving up mad points at the moment, and we see another short touchdown catch this week for the big TE… You never know when Chris Henry will have one of those multi-score games. Will it happen this week? Probably not considering the opponent, but here’s what he did in two games against the Steelers last season: 9 receptions, 193 yards, 3 TDs… With 53 catches for 650 yards and 4 TDs, Shaun McDonald has developed into one of the league’s better slot receivers. He caught 7 passes for 71 yards in Week 2 against the Vikings… We won’t lie–we’re very disappointed in Reggie Brown. He’s getting redzone looks, though, and his only two TDs on the season have come in the past three weeks… Another member of the Iggles in the midst of an underwhelming campaign, L.J. Smith, has hovered right around 4 catches and 50 yards/per for the past three weeks… Old man Isaac Bruce isn’t on the Rams’ injury report this week for the first time since the turn of the century, and draws a pretty awful Falcons’ pass defense a week after recording 6 catches for 63 yards and a score. It’s probably Gus Frerotte behind center, though.

Week 13 WR/RB Flex Plays

1. Fred Taylor, Jacksonville @ IND
2. ‘Rowdy’ Roddy White, Atlanta @ STL
3. Kolby Smith, Kansas City vs. SD
4. Calvin ‘Megatron’ Johnson, Detroit @ MIN
5. Maurice Morris, Seattle @ PHI
6. Derrick Ward, New York Giants @ CHI
7. Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City vs. SD
8. Bernard Berrian, Chicago vs. NYG
9. Julius Jones, Dallas vs. GB
10. Kenny Watson, Cincinnati @ PIT

Fortune Cookies: Over the last three weeks Fred Taylor has looked like the clear starter in Jacksonville. He has 50 rushing attempts for 234 yards (4.7 YPC) and 2 TDs over that span. Expect it to continue and for the Jags to try to keep it on the ground against a solid Indianapolis secondary… ‘Rowdy’ Roddy’s breakout season continued last week with 6 receptions for 104 yards and 1 TD against another solid pass defense. White draws the lowly Rams secondary this week and should be good for another 6 receptions, 80 yards and will probably score… Yes, Kolby Smith exploded for a huge game last weekend. But it was against the NFL’s worst rush defense, and he’ll have a lot more trouble finding room against the San Diego defensive front this week. He’s still usable though. I’m expecting 80-90 total yards but not holding my breath for a TD… Like we mentioned above, Megatron should have a fine game against the suspect corners and aging safeties in Minnesota… Keep an eye on Shaun Alexander’s status, and if Maurice Morris gets the start he’s a fantastic Flex option in Philly this weekend. The Eagles’ rush defense can be tough, but I think Seattle should be in line for several goal-line attempts… It appears that with Brandon Jacobs out Derrick Ward will receive a bulk of the carries in Chicago on Sunday. The Bears rush defense has been very beatable this season and has already given up 11 rushing TDs. Still, this is a murky injury situation on several fronts, and you never know who will get the call on the stripe for the Giants… San Diego’s pass defense has been extremely average this season, giving up 226.7 yards a game and 16 TD receptions. Bowe has regained his early-season form of late, catching 20 balls for 232 yards and a score over the last three weeks. Look for 5-7 receptions, 50-90 yards and 50/50 odds on a TD catch… Rex Grossman under center increases Berrian’s chances of making a big catch, so he’s worth a gamble as an above-average Flex option. He has two TDs in the last three games and had 9 receptions for 102 yards in the other contest, so he’s flashing some consistency as well… The Green Bay rush defense gives up around 100 yards a game on the ground, but they have only allowed 4 rushing scores all season. We think this will be a high-scoring game between the top two teams in the NFC and Julius Jones could rack up some yards, but he’s not likely to find the endzone… The Pittsburgh defense is perhaps the best unit in the NFL and that field is going to be soggy on Sunday with a 60% chance of percipitation. Still, Kenny Watson has managed to stay involved and contribute strong fantasy lines no matter what the situation is. Expect him to be active in the passing game, and we think he has a better chance of scoring than the plodding Rudi Johnson…

More Week 13 Fantasy Goodness:

ETB’s Week 13 Stock Report

ETB’s Week 13 Matchups

ETB’s Week 13 Position Ranks

(Calvin Johnson: AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
(Fred Taylor: AP Photo/Phil Coale)