Happy Week 8 everyone!
As the season is approaching its halfway point, I wanted to pose a question to all of the readers:
Which two teams will meet in Super Bowl 53?
Chime in the comments below!
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, the team had no Gronk as he was ruled out late in the week with an injury. But the team still performed decently, racking up 97.26 points in a standard Yahoo league.
Here are our starts and sits for Week 8:
Quarterback
Start: Andrew Luck @ Raiders
Luck has 15 passing touchdowns in the past four games. He’s electric right now, facing a Raiders defense that is having a difficult time stopping offenses this season.
Sit: Aaron Rodgers @ Rams, Cam Newton vs. Ravens, Derek Carr vs. Colts, Russell Wilson @ Lions
None of these QB’s are bad plays on Sunday. Rodgers has been hit or miss with his banged up receivers. Newton has proven that he can be very good or very not good. And Derek Carr and Russell Wilson can be unpredictable off their bye week.
Running back
Start: Jordan Howard vs. Jets
Howard ended his dry spell last week with a touchdown against the Patriots. However, it has become clear that he is in a committee with teammate Tarik Cohen.
Start: Frank Gore @ Texans (TNF)
Gore has continued to be a nice complementary back this season to Kenyan Drake. Although he should only be used in very deep leagues, he definitely provides a better option than most backup running backs.
Sit: Kyle Juszczyk @ Cardinals
Juszczyk has the potential to score against the Cardinals, but you should not count on it and bench him.
Wide receiver
Start: DeAndre Hopkins vs. Dolphins (TNF)
Hopkins has been the best receiver in the league this season. His ridiculous catch against the Jags overshadowed his touchdown he scored in the third quarter. He now has four touchdowns this season.
Start: Adam Thielen vs. Saints (SNF)
Thielen faces the Saints on Sunday night in prime time, must-see TV. He’s leading the league in receiving yards through seven weeks and could extend his record-breaking track of eight straight games with 100 yards to begin a season.
Sit: Davante Adams @ Rams, Marquise Goodwin @ Cardinals, T.Y. Hilton @ Raiders, Kenny Stills @ Texans (TNF), Robert Woods vs. Packers
Among all of the receivers, Hilton might be the most intriguing of the plays as he is coming off an injury and has one of the hottest QB’s in the league throwing to him in Luck, the player we swapped into our starting lineup this week.
Tight end/flex
Start: Rob Gronkowski @ Bills (MNF), Travis Kelce vs. Broncos
Gronk did not play Sunday against the Bears, so that might be troublesome this week. However, if he plays, he should start against a Bills team that will be embarrassed on Monday Night Football.
Kelce will continue to be a huge fixture in one of the league’s best offenses. He’s already played well against the Broncos once this season, so it should not be a surprise to see him do it again.
Defense
Start: Miami Dolphins @ Texans (TNF)
I struggled picking a defense this week with the Rams drawing a bad matchup against the Packers and the Giants facing the Bears. However, the Texans still have a very weak offense and are one-dimensional with their poor offensive line. Expect Walt Aikens and the defense to get a tremendous chance at sacking Deshaun Watson and running the score up for defense in fantasy.
Kicker
Start: Matt Prater vs. Seahawks
Prater looked spectacular last week, nailing all four of his field goal attempts. This week, he goes back indoors and faces a team that has a knack for surrendering points.
Sit: Brandon McManus @ Chiefs
I do not like this matchup for McManus because the Chiefs have the ability to blow teams out on offense and defense. This does not spell a strong play for McManus because the Broncos could be more inclined on going for it on fourth down and not taking the field goal.
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.
