One month later and this football season continues to be consistently inconsistent. Very few things are ever set in stone and we have failed to nail all of the tendencies — and that’s how it should be.
Nobody should knock it out of the park this early in the season, especially with all of this movement going on in terms of injuries to old stars and new stars taking over.
With no openly gay players in the league, we formed a fantasy team from players who have shown their support for LGBT issues in interviews with Outsports and other media.
Last week, in a standard Yahoo league, the team performed well. The team notched 146.66 points, which would have placed them at the top of my 10-team league.
Here are Team Outsports Equality’s Starts and Sits for Week 5:
Quarterback
Start: Aaron Rodgers @ Lions
Rodgers thrives in Detroit. He returns to our starting lineup and you should expect him to put up insane numbers.
Sit: Andrew Luck vs. Patriots (TNF), Cam Newton vs. Giants, Derek Carr @ Chargers, Russell Wilson vs. Rams
Thursday Night players should be avoided unless they are 100 percent playable. Luck sits.
Derek Carr threw a pair of picks on Sunday. Carr sits.
Cam Newton is averaging 215 passing yards per game. Newton sits.
Wilson is facing the Rams’ defensive front seven with his offensive line. Wilson sits
Running back
Start: Frank Gore @ Bengals
Gore found the end zone in garbage time last week and continues to be Old Reliable for a backfield that could use a guy like that.
Start: Giovani Bernard @ Dolphins
Gio Bernard might see his production dip with Joe Mixon coming back, but he has played well in his absence and it might earn him some touches.
Sit: Jordan Howard (BYE), Kyle Juszczyk vs. Cardinals
Juszczyk is maybe a flex option in very deep leagues. I considered picking him up in one of my deeper leagues when an injury popped up in the eleventh hour on Sunday. However, he is only a final resort play.
Wide receiver
Start: DeAndre Hopkins vs. Cowboys (SNF)
Hopkins had a huge game against the Colts last week. Expect him to match the effort this week against a weak Cowboys’ secondary.
Start: Adam Thielen @ Eagles
Adam Thielen has become one of the best receivers in the NFL, and Kirk Cousins becoming his quarterback has only helped him grow. Only Julio Jones has more receiving yards through four games this season.
Sit: Davante Adams @ Lions, Marquise Goodwin vs. Cardinals, T.Y. Hilton @ Patriots (TNF), Kenny Stills @ Bengals, Robert Woods vs. Seahawks
In most circumstances, all of these guys would be starters. However, with two of the top five receivers starting for Team Outsports, all of these guys see the bench this week.
Tight end/Flex
Start: Rob Gronkowski vs. Colts (TNF), Travis Kelce vs. Jaguars
Gronk is questionable against the Colts, but his injury is deemed as not serious. In a very favorable matchup against the Colts, I don’t think he will skip a beat.
Travis Kelce found the end zone on Monday Night Football and has been a huge part of the Kansas City offense. It’s a tough matchup against the Jags, but he is still worth starting.
Defense
Start: Green Bay Packers @ Lions
The Packers blanked the Bills and have another favorable matchup against the Lions, a team that has turned the ball over a lot in the first quarter of the season.
Kicker
Start: Brandon McManus @ Jets
The Broncos tend to settle for field goals almost as often as they score touchdowns. And against a suspect Jets’ defense, the Broncos could score plenty on Sunday.
Sit: Matt Prater vs. Packers
Prater is not a bad play. However, the Packers pitched a shutout last week and the defense is mighty hot.
LGBT Focus
Read more on these players’ LGBT views:
- These eight players would support a gay teammate (from 2018)
- These New England Patriots linemen would support a gay teammate (from 2018)
- 14 NFL Pro Bowlers say they would welcome a gay teammate (from 2017)
- NFL players react to Michael Sam coming out (from 2014)
- 62 active NFL players who have made statements in support of gays (from 2013)
- Carson Palmer, 12 Indianapolis Colts would embrace openly gay teammate (from 2013)
Jeremy Brener is a student at the University of Central Florida who writes for Outsports. He can be reached via email ([email protected]) and followed on Twitter.
