FANTASY FURNACE

FIVE PICKUPS-WEEK #7

1) JACKIE BATTLE-RB-Chiefs- If you took our advice and ‘stashed’ Battle after reading last week’s ‘pickups’ rant, then you won’t be needing a RB to fill in for those backs on byes this week. He WILL be the workhorse against the Raiders this week. Oakland’s biggest issue is their lack of an effective run-defense. They give up over 5 yards per carry which will benefit Battle, now in his 6th season with the Chiefs. Filling in nicely for Jamaal Charles-out for the year on IR-Battle rushed 19 times for 119 yards plus 2 receptions for 21 more against the Colts back in week 5. He deserves and gets the start over the inept Dexter McCluster and aging Thomas Jones. He’s still available in 60% of Yahoo! leagues.

Explosive K.C. Chief RB Jackie Battle

2) DOUG BALDWIN-WR-Seahawks- Another mention from last week’s pickups, Baldwin’s last two games were WR2 worthy: 13 receptions-220 yards-1 TD. Coming off a bye week, Baldwin & the Seahawks (sounds like a rock group..), travel to Cleveland to face the Browns. Charlie Whitehurst gets the nod again over Tavaris Jackson and will help Baldwin as the two have developed a nice rapport over the past couple of games. Like Battle, he’s available in 65% of Yahhoo! leagues. You could do worse than this WR currently 28th in fantasy points among all WR’s.

Rookie Doug Baldwin had a breakout game vs the N.Y. Giants Photo: locker pulse.com

3) DeMARCO MURRAY-RB-Cowboys- Murray should receive the lion’s share of carries against the generous Ram’s front line this week. Felix Jones, who we touted here before the season began, is out with a high ankle sprain for 2-4 weeks. Choice will get 8-10 carries but Murray, a 3rd round pick of the Cowboys out of Oklahoma, is a must pickup also for his receiving abilities, which are along the lines of Montario Hardesty (Browns) or Michael Bush (Raiders). He should flourish vs the winless Rams.

RB DeMarco Murray to fill in for Felix Jones Photo: topics.lifewhile.com

4) CURTIS PAINTER-QB-Colts- Since taking over the starting role in Indianapolis three weeks ago, Painter has passed for 800 yards and 5 TD’s to go along with just one pick. The Saints, this week’s opponents, are always involved in fair to high scoring games and opposing QB’s have had pretty good success against them; with the exception of Jay Cutler; (no surprise there).. One side note-Painter will be going up against another Purdue alumni-DrewBrees. That won’t get you any fantasy points, but it will make for a more interesting game…

Colt's QB Curtis Painter Photo: Boston Herald.com

5) DALLAS COWBOYS -DEFENSE- If your team is on a bye this week, especially those who have the Giants, Bengals, or 49ers, then the Cowboys could make for an adequate fill in. They will be facing the winless St. Louis Rams who have only managed to score an average of just under 10 points a game. Their usual best offensive threat, (since the Rams are void of any truly meaningful & healthy receivers), is Steven Jackson who only has one rushing touchdown this year. Throw in the fact that Sam Bradford is the most sacked quarterback in the NFL and you have more than enough reasons to add Dallas this week. Go ‘Boys!!

The Cowboy's 'D' should rule this week! Photo: Free-extras.com

*SLEEPER PICK: Ed Dickson-TE-Ravens