Well, Megatron is out this week so I'm stuck using 3 other starting WR's (I have AP and Ricky Williams as my backs). Here are my options w/ my current starters first:


Austin Collie at home VS. San Fran (I like this matchup at home w/ Peyton throwing the ball)

Hakeem Nicks @ Philly (Not the greatest matchup, but I think Nicks is the real deal. Plus, Eli likes him)

Johnny Knox at home VS. Cleveland (Great matchup, another good QB throwing to him)

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But here's my bench:

Kenny Britt at home VS. Jacksonville
Reason not to start him: His QB's are awful
Reason to start him: His team is awful and he went for 105 yds. last time these two teams met

Mohammed Massaquoi @ Chicago
Reason not to start him: Better options, bad QB
Reason to start him: Another awful team means they're throwing a lot, and he's the only option on that team

Is he out for sure? I haven't seen a definitive yes on that (and part of me is just being hopeful, since I have him too). Anyway...

Collie for sure. I'd go Britt too, Young is going to look to make an impact, and Jacksonville is worse than awful against the pass. Then I'd say it's a coin toss between Knox and Massaquoi. They throw at Massaquoi a lot, so he's getting the looks and the Bears can be had through the air, but the QB situation is poor at best. Knox has a good matchup and a much better QB, but he's not their #1 target like Massaquoi is. Both defenses are about equally poor against WRs, so I'd say that's a wash. So, you have to decide between a #1 target with a QB who will try to get him the ball but might struggle to or a #3 target with a QB who can get him the ball, but you don't know if he will.

Here's where I rank these...

1. Massaquoi - As long as Anderson is the QB, Massaquoi is his favorite target. He's a tough pick each week because Anderson isn't very accurate. But CHI's secondary is pretty bad right now, so he could have a big day.

2. Knox - Vice versa, CLE's secondary is bad as well. And Knox missed 2 TD grabs last week. Knox is Cutler's guy to go to when he wants a TD, and he's proven that all season long.

3. Nicks - Matchup-wise, this isn't the most recommended start. But Nicks is way to hot right now.

4. Collie - He's just as hot as Nicks and has a better matchup. I rank him lower though because Anthony Gonzalez could be coming back this week. And if he does, that will probably mean less looks for Collie. Keep updated on Gonzalez. If Gonzalez can't go, then I may be inclined to start Collie over Nicks.

5. Britt - Britt is the all or nothing pick. I would only start him if you project your opponent this week scoring more points then you. If that's the case, and you think you need all the points you can muster up, then you may want to consider Britt. He did have a 100-yard day against JAC a few weeks ago. But TEN is a very horrible team right now, but the matchup is intriguing, but Vince Young's getting his first start in more then a year. To many buts for me!

Gonzalez didn't practice yesterday, so even if he does end up playing, he's not going to have much, if any, impact.

ps: Calvin ran some routes and did some drills today, so I wouldn't count him out just yet.

I really wouldn't just flat out say he's not going to have much impact. Gonzalez may get some limited practice in, and if he can go, he'll play. And if Gonzalez plays, he's definitely be a threat to Collie and Garcon.

EDIT:

Collie's value when he's #4 on the depth chart plummets. Because #4 on the Colts means you're the 5th option.

And why do I say #4? Because Gonzalez will most likely be playing in that slot position. That's where he's best at. That's where Collie plays. Garcon is a good outside receiver, and when Gonzalez is back, he'll most likely stay there. Meaning Collie will be #4 on the WR depth chart if/when Gonzalez comes back.

He's played just under 1 quarter of football this season, and didn't do much last year, so I'm not going to be worried about him in his first game back, especially if he's only practiced a couple of days before it. Add in Reggie Wayne having a groin injury (which won't keep him from playing, but he might be less than 100%) and I think Collie is a good play this weekend.

Collie will probably have a good game this week if Gonzalez doesn't play. And sure, even if Gonzalez plays, there is still a chance that Collie could get some looks.

But if Gonzalez plays, I'm giving Massaquoi, Knox, and Nicks the nod over Collie. Not because Collie won't play well, but because there's a chance he won't put up productive numbers. Collie would be a much riskier move. And the reward for the risk looks to be the same if you start Massaquoi, Knox, or Nicks over him.

All this talk will be rendered useless if Gonzalez doesn't play though, because then I would recommend Collie in those top 3.

It's a wait and see game right now.

Heh. I have similar decisions this week. WRs are:

Reggie Wayne (obviously starting him)
Sims-Walker

and 3 of the guys you have:


Knox
Nicks
Massaquoi

Starting Wayne and Sims-Walker (assuming he can keep his pants on after curfew)

agonizing over which one of the other 3 to start. Sort of leaning toward Massaquoi. Or maybe Knox...hell I don't know!

I would lean towards Massaquoi as well. I don't think you can go wrong with either one, but Massaquoi will probably see a ton passes come his way in the CHI game. Massaquoi also gets a ton of deep balls as well and CHI's secondary is just bad.

True, but after watching them against the Packers and seeing Andeson miss him horribly (literally throwing the ball well out of bounds) when he was open. I'd look at Knox as being more of a consistent, you know what to expect play this week and Massaquoi is more boom or bust. Look at your matchup, if you need to scrape every point together you possibly can, go with Massaquoi, if you just need to assure yourself of some points, I'd look Knox. I don't think you can look past the quality of the QB getting the ball to the receiver.

You also got to realize that hardly any of those balls reached Massaquoi because Harris had him shut down the whole game. The erratic throw in the end zone was questionable because there might have been some foul play on Harris' or Massaquoi's part.

When Massaquoi is a WR who's going to be seeing about 10 passing targets each week, if he's playing a bad secondary, I seem him as a good start and not a risky start.

Knox is a possession receiver and is Cutler's favorite red zone target.

I see both receivers having similar days, but I like Massaquoi more because of the ample amount of opportunities he's going to see over Knox which gives him more upside.

Wrong. I'm thinking specifically of a play where they Massaquoi was going down the sideline and had Harris beat by a couple of steps. The play would have been a big gain, but Anderson threw it several feet above his head and way out of bounds.

I'm not denying Anderson's inability to get his receivers the ball. But besides maybe a pass or two towards Massaquoi that was erratic, the majority of those passes went incomplete because of Harris.

Massaquoi is good for 8-10 targets this week against a shaky secondary, of those 5 receivers, this is the best matchup. Anderson isn't a total failure. He can play well, and they should get a ton of chances when they play CHI.

I'm starting Knox, Nicks and Collie as of right now. I just don't trust Derrick Anderson enough to get Massaquoi the points. I'm a firm believer in starting/drafting WR's that have elite QB's throwing to them. I feel much more comfortable with Cutler and the Manning boys than I do with D.A. Same goes with Vince Young and Kenny Britt. Obviously, those guys could have big days, but I like having consistency at those spots, too.

That said, if C.J. plays, I'll probably have him take Nicks' spot simply because of the matchup.

Just read a report on Calvin Johnson...

It said he participated in half of the practice on Thursday. Coaches seemed encouraged. They said, if he practices some on Friday, then the chances are good that he'll play on Sunday.

Johnson took less reps today in practice then yesterday. They're going to make a final decision after pre-game warm ups. Most likely, he won't start.

ESPN is saying Megatron is playing.

I'm hearing the opposite.

http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/11/01/wr-calvin-...tive-for-lions/

Manningham is out. Could open up some opportunities for Nicks.

I don't know what ESPN was thinking, but I've seen other reports too that says he's out.