FANTASY FURNACE

We finished week #11 going a cool 5-0 thus making our season record a very respectable 37-18. Looking to continue the streak, here are our Five Best Bets Picks for this week. Good luck to all the fantasy owners out there and enjoy the games and the holiday weekend…

All of us here at Fantasy Furnace want to wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the games this holiday weekend… 

BENGALS over the Raiders- This will prove to be a ‘homecoming’ of sorts for Ex-Bengals quarterback Carson “The Quitter” Palmer and he will go out of his way to show up his old team even though he was the one to give up on them. On the other hand, you would think that the Bengals would go out of their way to contain Palmer as much as they could. The Raiders have lost their last three games, giving up 135 points in the process. Their 3-7 record looks even worse when you consider that 2 of their 3 wins were against the Jaguars and the Chiefs. Andy Dalton and A.J. Green and a pretty good defense will be too much for Palmer and the sliver & black.

Colts over the Bills- The Colts, winners of four of their last five, have had three ‘clunkers’ this season where they just forgot how to play defense. They lost by 20 to the Bears, 26 to the Jets, and 35 to the Patriots last week. They’re 6-4 and still very much alive in the wild card race and can ill-afford to lose to the lowly Bills. Buffalo has given up 35 or more points in 6 of their 10 games this year and will be served a large plate of Andrew Luck this Thanksgiving weekend. Pass the Tums…

#12 Rookie Colts QB Andrew Luck & company will be just enough to for the ‘W’ over the Bills. Photo: vegassharps.com

Seahawks over the DOLPHINS- This pick won’t sit well with my dear friend and huge Dolphin fan Cayman, but honestly we just haven’t had much luck when we DO pick the Fish. Case in point was 2 weeks ago when they were going up vs the Titans. They lost by 34!!! Miami is now riding a 3-game losing streak and going up against the team with the longest trip in the NFL, will not help them. The Seahawks defense has been stellar and ranks in the top five in the league. QB Russell Wilson has one of the best featured backs in the NFL at his disposal in Marshawn Lynch and together with their ‘D’ they should get their 7th win on Sunday.

JAGUARS over the Titans- With Blaine Gabbert sitting this one out, his replacement, veteran Chad Henne, who tore it up last week with 354 passing yards and 4 touchdowns gets the starting nod. WR Justin Blackmon had a breakout game vs the Houston Texans collecting 236 receiving yards and a touchdown. Maurice Jones-Drew will be returning-but not until week #13. Keep an eye on this week’s starter Jalen Parmele who coach Mike Mularkey said will take Rahad Jennings place as Jones-Drew’s backup this week. He ran for 80 yards vs the Texans last week and should have an easier time against the Titans who give up the most fantasy points to RB’s in the league.

#34 Jalen Parmele rushes for a touchdown in an earlier game vs the Atlanta Falcons. He could have a breakout game this weekend vs the Titans. Photo: Will Dickey/The Times-Union

BUCCANEERS over the Falcons- Tough game to call. We’re giving the edge to the Bucs because of two reasons: First they have scored 27 or more points in their last six in a row and have won their last four so they’re surging at the right time. They lost by just a TD to the Super Bowl Champion Giants and the high powered New Orleans Saints so they can keep up with the best of them. Second, the Falcons exposed themselves last week by just eking out a win over the Cardinals. Against lower to mid tiered teams they have not played like a 9-1 team. Examples; they won by 2 over the Panthers, by 3 over the Raiders, 6 over the Cowboys and 4 over the Cards. If it’s close in this contest, the Falcons have the offense (Martin, Jackson, Freeman, etc..) to secure a home field win over on of the league’s more elite teams.