Insert Rocky music here. Eye of the Tiger, Hearts on Fire, etc; they all need to be at the forefront of you playlist right now! It title time gang! We have had nail biting wins, heart breaking losses, dominating blow outs, and games where our fellas just didn’t bring their A game, but now is the time. Recite your favorite pregame speech, get the blood boiling, forget about your friendly alliances for the week because its war time.
Ok, I had to get that out of the way. Back to the matter at hand and the most important line up decisions of the season. We will all have moments in our lives in which we make big decisions. Which college to go to or not go to, getting married, buying a house, Pepsi or Coke, and who to start in a championship game all have results that can alter the course of our everyday being. We never want to make a wrong decision when this type of magnitude is attached which makes setting our line ups all the more important this week. This week is about more than a win. It’s about the pride, about the glory, it’s about the ultimate power you gain over your friends for an entire offseason because you were better than them.
This is the stuff of legends. As the great Ric Flair once said, “Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.”
START
QB
Tony Romo vs NO: Now admittedly, New Orleans is not the automatic start that they were a few weeks ago. They have played much better lately but I’m still buying Romo in this one. Playing at home against a team that will score, Romo will need to score to keep the Cowboys playoff hopes alive. Romo has topped 300 yards in 6 of his last 8 games, with double digit touchdowns in 3 of his last 4. The Saints don’t seem like the kind of team that would be an outlier to those trends, especially at home where Romo has topped 300 yards in every game since week 3 against Tampa Bay.
Russell Wilson vs SF: Yeah, this one is a little outside the box but my eyes are telling me something lately. This kid is special. If his name was Andrew Luck or RG3 we would have no hesitation, and lately Wilson has been playing better than both. Since Wilson last played at San Fran in week 7, he has accounted for multiple touchdowns in every game but one. He has averaged 40 yards rushing per game over that span. The 49ers are typically hard to run on, despite Seattle usually having more success than most in this regard, and the ball will be put in Wilson’s hands in this NFC West clash.
Other QBs worthy of a start: Matt Ryan at DET, Sam Bradford at TB, Chad Henne vs NE
RB
CJ Spiller at MIA: You guys know my rule by now. Just reiterating.
Vick Ballard at KC: Kansas City is done. Their coach is a goner, their GB, and they just got blanked by the hapless Raiders. Ballard has amassed 199 rushing over the past two weeks and with Brown out for the year will be the man again this week. The Colts should have a quick lead in this game and will be able to run the ball a lot. Ballard should push for 20+ carries and should score this week as well.