Exploiting the Matchups: High on Hightower

One of my best friends lives to root for the Chicago Cubs.

As I type these very words Kyle Schwarber is banging a single to open the 10th in Game 7 of the World Series. With little rooting interest of my own, I'm just holding my breath for my friend's team and crossing my fingers he avoids cardiac arrest.

As I watch it all unfold, the excitement of this historic series gives me a great reminder. Fantasy sports should not detract from our enjoyment of a sport or especially our favorite teams. It is meant to be fun and exciting. A game within a game. A reason to watch the teams for which we have no rooting interest in otherwise. Fantasy is there to enhance our experience, not dominate it. And that even goes for casual fans that don't affiliate themselves with any one team, that don't live and die with the successes or failures of one franchise. All fans should be reminded that fantasy is about making a sport more fun. Unfortunately, it's easy to lose sight of that in the midst of seasonal start and sit decisions, pickups and trades.

Watching the Cubs crushing the 10th, I'm thinking two things: 1.) Thank goodness Aaron Rodgers looks like he's recovered his mojo and my Packers can still threaten the NFC. 2.) I love the bet I made five hours ago.

I was going to make this intro about a deep running back watch list to keep an eye on as we rapidly approach the fantasy playoffs (C.J. Spiller just re-joined the offensive coordinator with whom he averaged 6.0 YPC and topped 1,200 rushing in 2012, after all). Instead, I'm compelled to remind owners to soak up each week of the second half of the fantasy football season. The second half is full of many possibilities but it should not be filled with stress. This game is fun. And we should seek out ways to make it more fun every week, and then just hope for the best.

That brings me to the bet.

I'm about to play another of my closest friends in a game I badly need on a week that finds me much less than fortunate with my depth. Byes and injuries are creating a similar issue for him. Scrambling to fill one flex with three uninspiring options, I had one of those light bulb moments. Let's bet on something and leave the winner to decide his opponent's flex from a selected group of three players. Which brings us back to this epic game; if Chicago can get this final out, I get to pick the last skill start I face this weekend in a crucial matchup. I may end up screwing myself, but it will be a hell of a lot more fun watching it all unfold on Sunday. By simply choosing to let fantasy enhance my enjoyment of football, by treating the game as just that and not the life and death with which I watch my Packers, I get to stop feeling like a lightning rod for bad luck. Perhaps, I can even change my luck by betting on fun, on taking some chances.

So that's the one tip for the week: win, lose or draw, get back to making the game a game. Go for it on fourth. Take shots down field. Be excited again. Be a fan.

Go Cubs! Congrats, Brandon!! Bring on football!!!

As always, this is not intended as a traditional start/sit piece. Upgrades are guys you wouldn't roll out every week while downgrades are generally lineup mainstays but for whom you may want to consider an alternative for based on elements of their opponent/situation. With that out of the way, let's get to it.

UPGRADE:

Quarterback

Jameis Winston, TB vs. ATL

The Falcons are tied for the most passing scores allowed (19) and have an offense that will force Winston to the air all night. With Jacquizz Rodgers (foot) out, the Bucs have one of the thinnest backfields in football, so that means Winston is going to get a heck of an arm workout trying to move the ball. While his weapons are not as lush as they were when he tossed four TDs on this same defense in Week 1, he can still have a productive game by volume alone.

Josh McCown, CLE vs. DAL

The Browns will lose this game. Correction: the Browns will lose this game by double figures. Early. Basically by the end of Dallas' second possession. They simply don't have the personnel on defense to slow down such a balanced, methodical Cowboys offense. What does Cleveland have though? They have a veteran gunslinger that has thrown for at least 200 yards and multiple scores in seven of his last nine games dating back to last year. In two appearances this season, McCown has at least 260 yards in each and has thrown two touchdowns apiece to Corey Coleman and Andrew Hawkins. He's yet to connect with the team's best receiving weapons -- Terrelle Pryor, Gary Barnidge and Duke Johnson -- for touchdowns. That will change sooner or later.

Nick Foles, KC vs. JAC

A possible concussion for Alex Smith opened the door for Nick Foles to get a fortuitous start this week. After throwing for a highly efficient 223 yards and two touchdowns on 22 attempts last Sunday, Foles now gets the pleasure of welcoming a Jaguars defense to Arrowhead that just allowed Marcus Mariota to be even more efficient on exactly 22 passes -- 18-of-22 for 270 and two scores. The trio of Jeremy Maclin, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill gives the Chiefs and Foles the ability to exploit matchups and find similar success, with or without Spencer Ware (concussion) and his 18.4 yards per catch out of the backfield.

Colin Kaepernick, SF vs. NO

No, he doesn't have weapons. But then again, New Orleans can't exactly boast about their defense, either. What Kaepernick does have is a set of wheels unmatched by any quarterback in the league. In his two starts, he's topped 60 yards rushing in each and averaged 8.8 yards per carry. The 49ers will be losing in this game, and likely from very early on. That means more dropbacks for Kap. More dropbacks equals more scrambles. More scrambles equals more fantasy goodness. Get where I'm going with this? Sneaky play in two-QB formats.

Running Back

Tim Hightower, NO at SF

The bye week was not enough time for the 49ers to cure what ails the league's worst run defense (by far the worst run defense, that is -- as in 41.3 MORE yards allowed per game than the 31st-ranked Browns). The last four No. 1 tailbacks San Fran has faced each rushed for at least 138 yards and totaled six touchdowns. Mark Ingram fumbled away his chance to add his name to that list. So although Ingram may get a shot to redeem himself in this cake matchup, Hightower is at worst a flex and possibly an RB1 after grinding out a very hard-earned 102 yards versus Seattle.

Devontae Booker, DEN at OAK

The Raiders don't stop the run. Plain and simple. The worst overall backfield performance versus the Raiders came from a Jacksonville team that abandoned the run. And even the Jaguars' 30th-ranked rushing offense managed to rumble for 72 yards on 11 carries between Chris Ivory and T.J. Yeldon, neither of whom has averaged more than 3.5 YPC for the season. So, although Booker struggled some on the ground in his starting debut (2.8 YPC), count on the rookie tailback to look much more spry facing a unit allowing 4.8 YPC to opponents.

Charcandrick West, KC vs. JAC

Spencer Ware is concussed. Jamaal Charles (knee) is on IR. West is the next man up, and as we saw last year when he tallied nearly 850 scrimmage yards and five TDs in 12 games, he can be a more than adequate fill-in when called upon. In fact, before Ware got in the mix last year, West piled up over 100 scrimmage yards and four of those scores in his first three career starts. Now he gets to be featured versus a Jaguars defense that just got blasted on the ground by Tennessee and one which has given up a rushing score in four straight, including two each of the last two weeks.

Darren Sproles, PHI at NYG

In their last four contests, the Giants defense allowed at least 84 scrimmage yards to every top tailback they faced and four total rushing scores in that stretch. For Sproles, who has averaged 6.6 YPC in his last four outings, that equals a safe floor this week. Ryan Mathews may be the goal line back, but he's not been as effective or reliable between the 20s where Sproles figures to do plenty of damage after leading the Eagles with 20 touches in an excellent performance versus Dallas.

Rashad Jennings, NYG vs. PHI

In his last three games, Jennings has been super inefficient with a miserable 67 yards rushing on 35 carries (1.9 YPC). That could and should change, however, facing an Eagles defense that has allowed at least 80 total yards to an opposing No. 1 tailback in four straight contests. With fresh legs coming out of New York's bye week, Jennings could be poised to match or exceed the 75 yards he rumbled for in Week 1.

Wide Receiver

Kenny Stills, MIA vs. NYJ

If you're going to roll the dice on a boom-or-bust, big-play-dependent wide receiver, this is the defense to do it against. The Jets have allowed a reception of more than 40 yards to a wideout in all but one game this year. Mike Wallace and Terrelle Pryor are just the latest to burn them for a long catch and top 100 yards. Stills has at least 75 yards or a touchdown in four of seven games and leads the Dolphins with three receiving scores. In his other three games, however, he's tallied 28 combined yards. Fortunately for anyone feeling frisky, his odds of getting his sub-4.4 speed behind the defense go way up versus Gang Green.

Michael Thomas, NO at SF

Wide receivers to find the end zone versus this disastrous 49ers defense during their six-game losing skid include: Devin Funchess, Terrance Williams, Brice Butler, Justin Hunter and Russell Shepard. The common denominator here is that each of these wideouts is over six feet tall and none of them are their team's No. 1 option. As it turns out, Thomas is 6-foot-3 and Brandin Cooks is 5-foot-10. That's all very coincidental, but at least it got you feeling good about Thomas. Bottom line is New Orleans' rookie has a touchdown or at least 56 yards in every game this year, and this matchup could give him his best day yet.

Tyrell Williams, SD vs. TEN

In case the 1-4-0 statline Williams just laid in a stinker versus Denver has you worried, this is a reminder not to be deceived. Williams promptly followed up his last dud against the Broncos top corners with a 140-yard effort the following week. He is Philip Rivers' most talented receiver and it will show facing a Titans secondary that has allowed an opposing wideout to tally at least 15 fantasy points (standard scoring) in three straight.

Tyreek Hill, KC vs. JAC

Jalen Ramsey has proven to be worth the fifth-overall draft pick the Jaguars spent on him. He's largely been excellent versus opposing No. 1 wide receivers (he limited Amari Cooper to just 29 yards in the midst of a four-game stretch that saw him rack up 440 yards in the other three). Ramsey will almost certainly be shadowing Jeremy Maclin the whole game, giving the dynamic Hill -- who has found the end zone in three of four outings -- the chance to keep making plays against a secondary that's allowed a No. 2 receiver to either top 100 yards or score in four straight.

Tight End

Kyle Rudolph, MIN vs. DET

Offensive line issues have effected everyone for Minnesota and have definitely contributed to Rudolph's recent slump. He's followed up a three-game scoring streak with three games that totaled a 12-101-0 statline. So the timing really couldn't be better for the Lions to roll into town. Six different tight ends have found paydirt versus a defense that has allowed a league-worst 113.7 passer rating to opposing QBs. That gives Sam Bradford's favorite red-zone target a beautiful chance to start streaking again.

Austin Hooper, ATL at TB

This rookie is a standout athlete. He clocked a 4.68 in the 40 at his pro day, or to put it another way, the same time Rob Gronkowski ran at his pro day. And Hooper's numbers to this point reflect that -- 17.7 yards per catch on 11 grabs with three topping 20 yards. Now he gets to be the featured tight end in an offense missing Jacob Tamme and Tevin Coleman in the underneath passing game, and has the added benefit of drawing a defense that's allowed an average of 92.0 yards per game to tight ends over their last three contests.

DOWNGRADE:

Quarterback

Derek Carr, OAK vs. DEN

It's awfully hard to sit Carr after he's coming off a red-hot 500-yard, four-touchdown day. But consider this: prior to exploding for the performance of a lifetime, Carr had exceeded 250 yards just once in his last five games and tossed only one score in three of those. His weapons beyond Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree -- both outside receivers -- are quite thin. As it turns out, stud corners Aqib Talib and Chris Harris are the best in the business at shutting down X and Z wideouts that line up predominantly outside the numbers.

Matthew Stafford, DET vs. MIN

The Vikings defense looked awfully human on Halloween, but the fact remains that they've yet to allow a 300-yard passer and limited Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton and Eli Manning to a combined one passing touchdown and five interceptions. Moreover, Stafford has failed to top 270 yards since Week 3 and has four games with one or zero touchdowns. Pair inconsistency with a stingy defense and you get what? A spot on the bench, if you're smart.

Eli Manning, NYG vs. PHI

Dak Prescott, playing all year in a beautifully clean pocket, had completed a scintillating 73 percent of his throws in the five weeks prior to facing a stampede of a Philadelphia pass rush. Despite his good line and the return of Dez Bryant, the poised rookie completed just 48.7 percent of his throws against the Eagles. By comparison, Manning has the Island of Misfit Toys for an offensive line, and he doesn't exactly have the quick feet and nifty mobility of Prescott. For someone who has thrown only eight touchdowns in seven games, this might not be pretty.

Running Back

Todd Gurley, LA vs. CAR

The powerful Panthers front seven played angry, nasty, out-to-prove something football coming out of their bye week. The result was a 10-carry, 24-yard day on the ground for David Johnson. Yes, David Johnson. As in the best running back in the league. Gurley is certainly no slouch individually, but as we've seen all year, he's been unable to produce versus teams that constantly dare the Rams to throw. The lack of surrounding talent has been a major factor in Gurley failing to top 85 yards on the ground in a single game while averaging a lowly 3.0 YPC. So, Gurley's guys versus Luke Kuechly's guys spells major problems for this Ram.

Frank Gore, IND at GB

Gore has at least 78 total yards or a touchdown in all eight games. He's as ageless and steady as there is. He's defined "matchup proof" throughout a career that should end in the Hall of Fame, but he'll really put that to the test against a Packers defense giving up the fewest fantasy points per game to opposing tailbacks. Since Indy's generous defense could help Green Bay to an early lead, Gore might become dependent on a touchdown to save his fantasy day versus a team that's given up a league-low two rushing scores.

Isaiah Crowell, CLE vs. DAL

Crowell has scored in consecutive games but he's also averaged a meager 2.6 YPC or fewer in three of the last four, while failing to receive more than 13 carries in any of those contests. He's been an efficient back most of the year, with over 5.0 YPC five times, but he's never needed that efficiency more than this week. By controlling time of possession and scoring 26.9 points per game, the Cowboys have forced teams to stop running the ball. In fact, they've faced a league-low 122 rushes by opposing running backs in seven games (an average of 17.4 per attempt). That means teams are passing more, which would lend itself to more Duke Johnson touches and a down week for Crowell.

Wide Receiver

Amari Cooper & Michael Crabtree, OAK vs. DEN

Both Cooper and Crabtree are having huge years. The latter is on pace for over 90 catches and double-digit scores while the former is targeting his first 1,500-yard season. However, the Broncos elite corners will slow their blistering paces. In two appearances, each versus Denver in 2015, this dynamic duo combined for 120 yards. That's an average of 30 yards per game, per guy. Woof.

Marvin Jones, DET at MIN

Xavier Rhodes has shut down a lot of talented wideouts -- Odell Beckham, Kelvin Benjamin and DeAndre Hopkins, to name a few. Alshon Jeffery just found some success against him, but that was more a product of how much Jay Cutler loves Jeffery than anything Rhodes did poorly. Jones, unfortunately, doesn't have the same going for him as Jeffery. In the last four games Jones has not seen more than seven targets or caught more than four passes, averaging 13.4 yards per catch as compared to the whopping 21.0 he posted through the first four contests. With Golden Tate, Theo Riddick and Eric Ebron also at Matthew Stafford's disposal, Jones doesn't figure to bust out of his slump versus Rhodes.

Demaryius Thomas & Emmanuel Sanders, DEN at OAK

Through the first five games, the Raiders mostly stunk versus the pass. They couldn't cover receivers, tight ends, backs, anybody. Recently, however, they've been highly re-invigorated with standout rookie safety Karl Joseph patrolling the secondary and Khalil Mack wreaking havoc in the backfield. Heck, they just held Mike Evans to 50 yards on his own turf. With the passing attack anything but prolific for Denver of late, both Thomas and Sanders should continue to put up modest totals.

Tight End

Jack Doyle, IND at GB

Andrew Luck loves his tight ends. The position has accounted for 663 yards and six of his 16 touchdowns, with Doyle snagging four of those. The Packers got off to a rough start defending the position, allowing 225 yards and two TD's to tight ends in Weeks 1-3. Since, however, they've given up only 206 yards and no scores in four games. While Doyle has been impressive over the last few weeks with Dwayne Allen (ankle) sidelined, the tough matchup coupled with the possible return of the latter figures to make it a rough weekend for Doyle.