Thursday, September 10, 2015

Fantasy Football Starts/Sits (Week 1)

Welcome to TimersSports

Fantasy Football is back and I couldn't be happier! It is that time of the year again! Fantasy drafts are in full swing as the season is basically here as we are just days away from opening night (on Thursday). So today we'll look at what players you should start and sits. I always hate week 1 of the season because there are some many unknowns. We don't have any season data, so we have to go on previous seasons stats which could be risky since teams can improve in the offseason.However we don't have anything else to go on , so it better than nothing, right?

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Let get started!


Starts -

Quarterbacks:

Tony Romo -Tony Romo had a pretty good 2014 season where he finished among the top 13 Quarterbacks for the year. He should continue that success in week 1 against the Giants! Last season New York was terrible against opposing Quarterback and allowed the 4th-most fantasy points per game. They only allowed 25 Touchdowns, but allowed the 12th-most passing yards last season. Romo himself have had a lot of success against this team though. Last season he threw for 554 yards (277/per game) and 7 Touchdowns (3.5/per game). He isn't the first Quarterback you would probably want leading your team, but he should get the job done in week 1!

Matt Ryan - Ryan is a very underrated Quarterback. He isn't Aaron Rodgers or Andrew Luck, but he doesn't need to be. Ryan should have QB1 potential long as Julio Jones stays healthy. In week 1, the Falcons get a very good match-up for their Quarterback.  The Eagles shouldn't be much of a challenge for Matty-ice. Why do you ask? Well for starters, the Eagles allowed the 3rd most fantasy points vs opposing Quarterbacks (23.9 points/per game). It get worse though. They also allowed the most passing yards to Quarterback on the defense side of the ball. They were the only one of two team in the NFL last season to allow over 285 yards per game. The other was the Atlanta Falcons (ironic, right?) Also allowing nearly 2 Touchdown per game didn't help either. Ryan on the other hand finished 7th in fantasy points per game (22.6 points/per game) and finished 5th in passing yards (293.3 yards/per game). I expect a high scoring affair, so you probably should start the Quarterbacks on both teams!

Tom Brady - Let me put it simple: Brady is mad and the Steelers will be his stress reliever! Last season Brady finished 14th among all Quarterbacks (21.9 points/per game). While that won't blow anyone away, I do think Brady will have a better season in 2015. He should start the season off very well on Thursday vs Pittsburgh. The Steelers don't have the defense they use to and it showed last season vs the pass. They allowed the 6th-most fantasy points to Quarterbacks as a unit. I am willing to bet that Brad least rack up 250 yards and 2 Touchdowns vs this defense.


Running backs -


Doug Martin - Yes I know some of you aren't fully with me on Martin as he have probably burned you several times over the past few seasons. However this season will be different, trust me! He looked great in the preseason, he was faster, he was healthy and he looked stronger than previously! Winston will make his NFL debut which could means that Tampa look to ground and pound againist a league-worst run defense from last season. In 2014, the Titans allowed a league-high 2000 yards on the ground! Overall they allowed the 2nd-most fantasy points (23.1 points/per game). The Titans also were 2nd in allowing rushing Touchdowns. Only Atlanta (19) were scored more on the ground than the Titans's 19 scores. If Tampa get a early then you should enjoy a solid day from your running back!

Jonathan Stewart - I have not drafted a Carolina running back, since Jake Delhomme was the starting Quarterback. Yeah I feel pretty old at the moment! I guess I didn't like drafting a running back from this team is because Williams and Stewart went hand and hand. Now that Williams is up in Pittsburgh, I don't have to worry about that. Stewart is the sole back on this team with fantasy value. In week 1, he will have a very good matchup against Jacksonville. While the Jags are showing improvements with offseason additions, they are still ways away from being a competitive football team. Last season Jacksonville allowed the 5th-most fantasy points vs running backs. On average they allowed over 100 yards on ground per game. I wouldn't be shocked if Stewart hit that number, since I would expect Carolina to jump out to comfortable lead early on.


Andre Ellington - I am not sure how Ellington will do this season. On one hand, he have a potential to be a top 15 or top 20 back in fantasy football when he is healthy and given a respectable load. On the flip side, it sound like he will lose carries to Chris Johnson and rookie David Johnson as the season wears on! However he have a very good matchup vs the Saints. He should be able to take advantage of this. Last season, this defense allowed the 4th-most fantasy points to running backs. I like Ellington even more in PPR leagues though. In standard leagues,  he should flirt with 100 yards since I expect Palmer to dump it off to him often on Sunday. When Ellington healthy, I think he is one of the funniest running backs in league to watch!

Wide Receivers -

Davante Adams - Davante Adams was one of my personal favorite sleepers headed into the 2015 preseason, he quickly became a star with the injury to Jordy Nelson. I know a lot of you are concerned with the return of James Jones. However I wouldn't unless Adams underperform and then I could see Jones chopping into his fantasy value. As of week 1, I am 100% sold on this kid. Trust me the Chicago Bears won't be able to stop the this high-power Green Bay offense which means targets for everyone! Last season the Bears weren't very good against the pass, as they allowed the 9th-most fantasy points to Wide Receivers. That shouldn't be as alarming as what Green Bay did to Chicago last season! In 2 games, they outscored them 93-31. I don't think it will be that bad this time, but still look for Aaron Rodgers to lit up this inexperience Chicago defense. Adams should be in for a very solid day, especially if Cobb isn't at 100%.

John Brown - Last season you probably heard a thing or two about John Brown who was a rookie on a very talented Arizona team. This season you will hear a lot about Brown though. Larry Fitzgerald thinks Brown is the next big thing. Larry knows a thing or two about being a great wide receiver, so I am taking his word for it. I think Palmer will look for his young wide out early and often vs the Saints. Last season the Saints struggled vs the pass. They allowed the 7th-most fantasy points against Wide Receivers in 2014, while they tried to improve their secondary I don't it was enough. Also with no Lewis, i think this defense will be exposed big time by this Arizona passing game!

Jordan Matthews - Jordan should take advantage of this matchup vs a questionable Atlanta defense on Monday night. Personally I fully expect Atlanta to field a better defense than most are thinking based off of last season's efforts. However they made a lot of great offseason addition to a lackluster unit. Still probably won't slow down this Eagle high-paced offense though. I think this game will be a good old shootout. Question is who can score more touchdowns? Matthews should be good for least 5-7 catches on somewhere around least 75 yards and maybe a score or two.

Tight Ends -

Larry Donnell - I consider Donnell's Three Touchdown performance last season vs Washington one of my favorite parts about the 2014 season. It was so much fun to watch him destroy opposing fantasy teams. Donnell is a very underrated Tight end as well. He won't beat you by breaking off a big run or nothing, but it about opportunity. Facts are he is the lone tight end with fantasy relevancy in New York. He isn't the go-to-guy either, but he is a mismatch in the red zone. Eli Manning will find ways to get him the ball and that alone gives him enough value for consideration! Least for this week, after this week I rather wait and see with him. As we don't know the pecking order in this offense after Beckham Jr.

Tyler Eifert - I followed Eifert career since he stepped on to the Notre Dame football program and I always been impressive by this kid. If he can stay healthy, then he have the potential to do great things in this Cincy offense. Behind AJ Green and Jeremy Hill, I would think Eifert have most upside in terms of fantasy outlook for the 2015 season. I like Eifert a lot in week 1 vs a improved Oakland defense. However it probably not improved enough to stop Andy Dalton from finding Eifert on Sunday. I wouldn't expect the world from Eifert, but I could see him being a top 10 play vs Oakland or close to it!

Sits -

Quarterbacks -

Jay Cutler - Jay Cutler vs the Green Bay Packers is a terrible mismatch! Jay Cutler have been bad against Green Bay home or away. Quite frankly it doesn't seem to matter. How bad have he been at home? His last Touchdown pass was in 2010. Do I really need to go into detail? I mean that stat alone should probably tell you a lot how Cutler have performed against this defense. Green Bay improved their secondary in the offseason by drafting two guys in the first 3 rounds. That was addition to last year first round selection was also to straighten the secondary. I expect Green Bay to shut down Cutler for the most part, but I guess a few touchodowns wouldn't be too shocking though.

Colin Kaepernick- CK7 was once considered a top Quarterback in the NFL, but that was in 2013. Weird , isn't it? Colin have really fell off over the past year. Then again, the entire 49ers team have fell apart. So I guess it not too surprising. I expect CK7 to be better than he was last season though. In the offseason they added Wide out Torrey Smith and pass-catcher Reggie Bush. Both should benefit him, but I don't they will be game changer for him. Personally I think this team needs get their Tight-end Vernon Davis more in the mix. In week 1, I think Colin will struggle vs a tough Minnesota defense. Last season this united allowed 6th-fewst fantasy points per game to opposing Quarterback. I think this defense will only get better as they enter the 2nd year under Zimmer.


Running Backs -

Alfred Blue - Blue who I think have potential to be a decent running back in the NFL one day will get the start in week 1 in place of injured Arian Foster. Foster still have no timeable return as of this time. I think Blue will probably only be a low-end RB2 or Flex at stage in his career. His matchup against Kansas City isn't one that he will take advantage of though. KC was among the top half of the league at stopping the run. They allowed the 11th-fewest points per game (16.3)  last season. They also allowed 5 touchdowns last season to running backs. That including through the air as well (which Blue doesn't have to worry about). While I think Blue will have his moments this season, I don't think one of them will be in week 1. Keep him on your bench for a rainy day!

Mevlin Gordon - Rarely does rookie running backs hit the ground running. In recent years, we have saw Alfred Morris, Eddie Lacy, Doug Martin,etc come into the NFL swinging with impressive rookie seasons. Gordon was very impressive as a college player, but he struggled in the preseason. He is the preferred starter in San Diego I am sure, but Danny Woodhead will take over the load if Gordon cannot find his footing against the Loins. While I agree the Loins aren't as nearly good as they were last season up front, but I still don't think Gordon will be able to do much. If anything he is probably a flex at best. If he can take command of the starting job, then he probably have RB2 potential as the season goes on!

Wide Receivers -

 Brandon Marshall - You could give me a list of 20 reason why Marshall should be started this week and I wouldn't care. Why? Well for one this is the New York Jets we are talking about. Last season this offense struggled to produce much of anything, even with Decker as the leading man. Marshall is more suited to be the Number 1 option than Marshall. However do you really want to risk putting yourself in a hole this early in the season, if things don't pan out? Sure Marshal could be great, but he also have never played a regular season game with the Jets. How will he click with Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick? What is his ceiling in the Jets offense? I don't know if I can answer those questions without seeing a game first! I would probably use him as a flex though if I really needed to.

Golden Tate - Golden Tate have the potential to be very good in 2015, but i think that may depend on the health of Calvin Johnson. Last season, Johnson wasn't much of a factor considering he spent most of the season hurt! This season he starting the season off healthy and that bad news for Tate owners! Johnson will be the primary target. In case you don't pay enough attention to the Loins, Matthew Stafford love throwing to Johnson! Sure Tate will get his share of the bacon, but I am not sure what to expect from him heading into week 1. Like Marshall I would rather play the wait and see game. If you need to start Tate because you have no real other option, then I am okay with that. Since he probably have the upside to be a WR2 or WR3 guy vs the Saints!

Tight Ends -

Vernon Davis - I always been a big V-Davis fan as I consider him to be one of the best at this position. However CK7 didn't use him last season like he should have. There was a report in the offseason that the 49ers wanted to use him more this season, but I haven't hear anything more about it since. I would jump on Davis if CK7 and him start clicking  vs the Dolphins on Sunday. However there a lot of Ifs and unknowns with Davis. For now he isn't a TE1 in my opinion and probably won't be unitl he is used properly in the 49ers offense. The Dolphins were tough on tight ends last season as well! They allowed the 11th-fewest fantasy points per game last season (6.4) vs Tight ends.

Coby Fleener- Not a good offseason for Fleener! The addition of Andre Johnson will probably means more passes will go the wide receivers. Also the Colts added Dorsett as their first round draft pick back in the spring and host of other weapons still in the Indy offense. He will probably lose production to Johnson this season and might even lose some target to fellow tight end Allen. The fact that Allen a far better block will mean that Fleener will likely come off the field more often. That will hurt in the long run for sure! Aside from that , week 1 is not a good matchup for any tight end on the Colts offense. Last season the Bills allowed the few fantasy points per game (4.2) vs opposing Tight ends. In terms of yards and touchdowns, they allowed 34.6 yards per game and 0.1 touchodowns per game. In basic terms, the Bills were very brutal against this position. Sit Fleener!

**All Scoring is based off of FF Today

**All stats are from FFToday

**Also you check out William's Week 1 Rankings

That's all for this edition of Fantasy Football Starts & Sits! I would have liked to add more starts and sits to this post, but I just don't have the time to do it!

If you have any lineup question, then feel free to send me a tweet on twitter!

 Twitter - @MattAleza

Wednesday, September 09, 2015

Fantasy Nascar Sleepers & Busts (Richmond)

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Sleepers -

Jamie McMurray - I like JMac a lot this week, but he seems to be little off on speed compared to teammate Kyle Larson lately. That may be on purpose since he is pretty much locked into the chase now. Last time he was here, he was very impressive and could have won if the race played out differently. If you want a more detailed look into JMac, then check out Jeff Nathans's Fantasy Preview (Click here). I guess all you need to know is that Jamie have been a consistent driver all season. Hanging around 10th-17th almost every single race. I would expect that to continue on Saturday night. The one stat that sets him apart from other sleepers is that he have finished 4th in 3 of the past 4 races here. That pretty good , isn't it? Roll with the JMac, folks!

Aric Almirola - Aric Almirola won't be the game changer in your fantasy lineup this weekend, but he will give you stability if you need it. Over the past 5 races, he have finished between 11th and 18th. I wouldn't be complaining with that type of consistency. Especially when considering the equipment he is in. I have been impressed with him this season. Because RPM isn't exactly Penske or nothing, but Aric find ways to finish pretty respectable. If you put this guy in a fast car, he will get the results! At Richmond he have done exactly that. Since 2012, he have not finished worse than 20th. Earlier this season he finished 20th and wasn't ever a factor, but before that he had finishes of 10th , 17th, 20th and 8th over his previous four starts. I believe Petty will give Aric the best car available to him and I wouldn't be shocked if he finishes near the top 10!

AJ Dinger -  The Dinger have been little off this season, but that doesn't mean he cannot be a decent fantasy selection this weekend at Richmond (one of his better tracks since joining JTG). Yeah I know I said something similar few weeks ago at Bristol (and he finished 26th), but to be fair he never got his car dialed in until he was several laps down. I am hoping it play out differently this time though. Earlier this season, he finished 13th at Richmond after qualifying 2nd. Most of you are thinking, ''Pure luck'', right? WRONG! Since 2013 (5 races), he have finished 15th or better in 4 of those races. Last summer here he finished 23rd which remains to be his worst finish ever since 2009 at this track. Since 2009, he have raced for JTG, Phoenix Racing , Penske (1 race), and RPM at Richmond for a combine 12 races. In 8 of his past 9 starts, he have finished 16th or better. I would say this is a pretty good track for the Dinger, wouldn't you?







Busts -

Paul Menard - After a strong start to the season, Paul Menard have fell off the ladder and is now becoming a inconsistent unreliable fantasy option. I saw this coming as this usually happen every year, which is why I rode him a lot early in the season. Now he is pretty much a useless driver with little value, due to his inconsistency.  Richmond haven't exactly been a stellar racetrack for Meanrd either though. In 17 career starts, he have only finished inside the top 15 in 5 races. In those 5 races, he have only finished better than 13th once. While I agree there are worse choices than Menard, I don't think he holds enough value to be worth consideration. Especially considering he have finished 24th and 26th in his past two races (Bristol and Darlington).

Denny Hamlin - Yes I am sure you have heard about Denny Hamlin have torn his ACL and no that wasn't why I put him on the bust list. I actually was half way through making my bullet list on points on I wanted to make about Denny when I heard about him tearing his ACL. Richmond is a great racetrack for him and I will be the first one to admit that. However he haven't finished better than 18th over the past 5 races. What makes him even worse is that his past 4 finishes have either been 21st or 22nd. I find it very hard to trust Hamlin, despite how he been running lately. Sure there upside with selecting him to your fantasy team, but I rather wait and see on him. Especially since he just torn his ACL!


Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

Tuesday, September 08, 2015

Fantasy Football Rankings (Week 1)

Welcome to TimersSports

Quarterbacks -

1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Andrew Luck
3. Big Ben
4. Matt Ryan
5. Drew Brees
6. Peyton Manning
7. Tony Romo
8. Tom Brady
9. Sam Bradford
10. Phillip Rivers
11. Eli Manning
12. Matthew Stafford
13. Ryan Tannehill
14. Russell Wilson 
15. Carson Palmer

Running Backs -

1. Jammal Charles
2. Marshawn Lynch
3. Eddie Lacy
4. Adrian Peterson
5. Jeremy Hill 
6. Matt Forte
7. C.J Anderson
8. DeMarco Murray
9. Larmar Miller
10. Justin Forsett
11. LeSean McCoy
12. Frank Gore
13. Alfred Morris
14. Andre Ellington
15. Jonathan Stewart
16. Mark Ingram
17. Chris Ivory
18. Gio Bernard
19. Joique Bell
20. Doug Martin

Wide Receivers - 

1. Antonio Brown
2. Julio Jones
3. Dez Bryant
4. Calvin  Johnson
5. Odell Beckham Jr
6. D-Thomas
7. Randall Cobb
8. AJ Green
9. Alshon Jeffery
10. Mike Evans
11. Jordan Matthews
12. Brandlin Cooks
13. Ty Hilton
14. DeVante Adams
15. Julian Edelman
16. Andre Johnson
17. Vincent Jackson
18. Golden Tate
19. DeAndre Hopkins
20. Emmanuel Sanders

Tight Ends -

1. Rob Gronkowski
2. Greg Olsen
3. Martellius Bennett
4. Jimmy Graham
5. Jordan Cameron
6. Travis Kelce
7. Delanie Walker
8. Zach Ertz
9. Kyle Rudolph
10. Jason Witten

Defense -

1. Buffalo
2. Saint Louis
3. Seattle
4. Houston
5. Miami
6. Arizona
7. New York
8. Denver
9. Carolina
10. Green Bay

***Note - These Rankings may be a bit inflated due to having no season data.

Have a Lineup question? Send me a tweet!

Twitter - @WilliamFrang

Fantasy Nascar Picks (Richmond)

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Richmond is always a tough place to make fantasy picks. Now I don't mean this is a tough race to predict as we are aware that the best teams usually find their way to the front. However if you overthink your lineups, then you are likely in for a long and frustrating night. Does this always hold true? No, but you never know considering this is the final race of the regular season. Do you gamble and hope to hit big? Or do you play it safe and look onto the chase? I think that should depend on your situation in your own personal league. Personally I would try to have a combine of both on my respected fantasy teams. I hate putting all my eggs in one basket!

Yahoo -

A:

Start - Kyle Busch (2)

Bench - Brad Keselowski (7)

Reasons -As much as I would love to go against the majority in the final race of the summer segment, however why try to fix what isn't broken? There nothing broken with Kyle Busch, especially since he starting from 4th.

B:

Start - Carl Edwards (3), Jamie Mac (5)

Bench - Aric Almirola (7), Clint Bowyer (5)

Reasons -I wanted to go with a more start-save approach this week, since I had a great summer segment. However I may have overthought it this week with some last-minute changes. I dug this hole, so I will have to lay in it now. I wanted to save Edwards, but my hand is pretty much forced now. It was between JMac, Almirola and Bowyer. I decided to go with JMac because he have the best track record of the three drivers over the past 4 races at RIR. Almirola may get the call over JMac, since he probably have more to race for and been very consistent since Sonoma!

C:

Start - Justin Allgaier (7)

Bench -  Danica Patrick (3)


Reasons - I wanted to go with Ragan, but doing my C-list math I would be short about 2-3 starts. So I decided to swap Alllgaer in at last minute! I don't regret that decision, as I doubt he will finish where he qualified. I don't think it will be much of a different between Ragan and Allgaier. Patrick is another solid choice too.

Fantasy Live -4,22,18,47 and 23

Sleeper -AJ Dinger

Winner- Kyle Busch

Twitter - @MattAleza

Fantasy Nascar Early Rankings (Richmond)

Welcome to TimersSports


Early Rankings -

1.Kevin Harvick
2. Joey Logano
3. Kyle Busch
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Kurt Busch
6. Brad Keselowski
7. Matt Kenseth
8. Carl Edwards
9. Martin Truex Jr
10. Jimmie Johnson
11. Kyle Larson
12. Dale Jr
13. Jeff Gordon
14. Jamie McMurray
15. Ryan Newman
16. Paul Menard
17. Clint Bowyer
18. Kasey Kahne
19. Austin Dillon
20. Greg Biffle
21. Aric Almirola
22. David Ragan
23. Tony Stewart
24. Justin Allagier
25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
26. Danica Patrick
27. AJ Dinger
28. Casey Mears
29. Trevor Bayne
30. Sam Hornish Jr

Twitter - @CrazyKateNascar

Fantasy Nascar Preview (Richmond)

Welcome to TimersSports

First off I want to say is that Darlington was freaking awesome! I hope Richmond is just as good, especially since there several drivers who haven't clinched their spot in the chase yet. So we will see drivers this week take different approach to their race. Some will gamble and try to take every risk needed to win, while others will play it safe and try to coast to a decent finish! So keep that in mind when selecting your lineups this week.

1-Jamie Mac: JMac started off the season pretty strong, but he have now faded to nothing more than a teen driver on a weekly basis! That is good if you are trying to coast to a league championship or segment win, but problem is most of us are trying to gain points. Which means the upside of JMac isn't that appealing to our primary needs. Richmond is a JMac-type racetrack though. Earlier this season, he had the car to beat on the long run and ran down Kurt Busch. Then passed him! Unfortunately some late cautions came and pretty much ruined his chances. It was obviously he had a top 5 car and probably would have won if the race ended differently. I doubt he will be able to repeat such a performance though. Over the past 5 races at Richmond, JMac have compiled 10.2 average finish, 10.2 average start, 8.6 average running position and 101.6 driver rating. On short flats (Richmond, Phoenix and New Hampshire), JMac have been strong this season. He have put together 10.7 average finish with 2 top 5s and 9.0 average running. New Hampshire was his only bad race of the three. He was running around the top 10 when his engine went soar. He faded in the final 20 laps to outside of the top 25.  The thing I like most about JMac this week? He have finished 4th in 3 of the past 4 races at Richmond! That is not a typo kids. He have a habit running and finishing well on this type racetrack!

2-Brad Keselowski: Keselowski is starting to come alive after a very strong performance at Darlington, but I get the feeling that he isn't quite as good with this package. Nevertheless I would expect him to be a very strong fantasy pick! He dominated this race last year and finished 4th in the spring. Earlier this season, he finished 17th but I believe had was down Cylinder which prevented him from getting up to speed on the restarts. He pitted late and that pretty much was end of his day! If he didn't have that problem, I think he would have finished 3rd behind Busch and Harvick! Over the past 5 races at Richmond, he have compiled 14.4 average finish, 7.2 average start, 5.8 average running position and 115.1 driver rating. His average finish (14.4) isn't impressive, but to be fair he had some bad luck in 3 of those 5 races. As the other stats back up, Keselowski have been a very strong performer at this venue! On shorter flats this season, Keselowski been one of the best in the series. In 3 races, he have put together 8.3 average finish with 4.0 average running position and 120.2 driver rating. Six times this season, Keselowski have finished inside the top 5. 2 of those races was on a short-flat racetrack for those that were wondering.

3-Austin Dillon: I thought Dillon was onto something there for awhile and then he goes out and performs like he did at Darlington. But to be fair that is a tough track any driver to master! Richmond is a better place for him, but I am not really sure what to expect from him. Especially since Slugger wasn't his Crew Chief yet earlier this season when we were at Richmond. In 3 career starts, Dillon have compiled 24.7 average finish , 25.0 average start, 23.3 average running position and 59.2 driver rating. Earlier this season he finished 27th. The common trend at Richmond for Dillon is that he have finished 2 laps down in every start. That's not a good sign for anyone thinking about taking a shot with him!

4-Kevin Harvick: Harvick is probably the most consistent driver in the series and not even that close to be honest. Earlier this season he finished 2nd at Richmond to teammate Kurt Busch! Last season he was very strong in both races. In the spring, he was pretty good and led some laps early in the race. But he never really showed up with a car capable of dominating. He probably would have finished inside the top 5, but I believe his car got damage at some point in the race from hitting the wall or something. However don't quote me on that, as I could be mistaken that for another race. Ultimately he finished 11th when the checkers waved! Over the past 5 races at Richmond, Harvick have compiled 6.0 average finish, 9.6 average start, 6.6 average running position and 110.6 driver rating. Richmond is one of Harvick's best racetrack from a historically standpoint. Over the past 22 races (dating back to 2004), he have finished 12th or better in 20 of 22 races. Last time he finished worse than 12th? 2012 where he finished 19th. The only time he finished outside of the top 12 was in 2008. Harvick is my pick to win on Saturday night, but I say that pretty much every week. Hard not to when he strong week in and week out!

5-Kasey Kahne: Kasey Kahne scored his best finish since Sonoma at Darlington (12th). At this point, Kasey will have to win or he will miss the chase. Personally I think he toasted as far as making the chase, but who knows. Three years ago, Jeff Gordon was put in a similar spot heading into the final race that came down to him or Kyle Busch. Odds were against Gordon, but he somehow overcame two laps down and finished 2nd. Richmond haven't been a great for Kasey, but it haven't terrible though. Earlier this season, Kasey was decent I guess. He finished 6th, but I can tell you he ran in the teens most of the day. Last season he finished 17th and 14th. Over the past 5 races at Richmond, he have compiled 14.4 average finish, 17.4 average finish, 14.6 average running position and 84.8 driver rating. Kahne have been okay this season on the shorter flats. He have put together 9.7 average finish with 2 top 10s and 10.7 average running position. I might take a filer on him, but I wouldn't expect another top 10 finish unless a gamble pay off.

11-Denny Hamlin: Hamlin arguably use to be the best driver here, but he haven't been the same since the 2012 summer race. In that 5 race span, he have compiled an 21.5 average finish. His finish in that span was September 2012 where he finished 18th. Since then he have finished 21st or 22nd in every race. Earlier this season, he started 2nd but quickly faded to mid-pack and pretty much stood there for most of the event! If I remember right that race was scheduled to be a night race, but it was rained out. So it was eventually completed during the day on Sunday.  Did that effect him? Probably. In other words ''bad luck''. He will have to break out of this slump at Richmond sooner or later, right? I think he could do that this weekend, but let see how he practices and qualifies first though.

18-Kyle Busch: Busch have a very strong track record at Richmond. In my personal opinion this is his best racetrack. He used to be pretty much unbeatable here, but like teammate Denny Hamlin he seems to have lost the handle on this track. However that not because of him not being competitive though. He always show up with a car capable of dominating. He missed the first race here, and was in a slump at this time last season. However he finished 3rd last spring after starting in mid-pack-ish! Looking at his track record, he was dominant from 2009 to 2012 where he picked up 4 wins in 7 races held here. Over the last few years, I don't think Busch have gotten worse here. However I will admit that he just had a bad string of races. You should be able to count on Busch to bounce back this week though.

19-Carl Edwards: I knew it wasn't going to be long before Edwards would break back into victory lane with the way he was running there! Soon as his pit crew got him off pit road first, I knew it was pretty much over. He's now entering the final race before the chase and could add more bonus points towards the chase. Earlier this season he struggled at Richmond. I am not sure why but all the JGR cars looked off. Of course they were little off on speed still then. Over the past 5 races at Richmond, Edwards have compiled 11.4 average finish, 19.6 average start, 16.2 average running position and 86.2 driver rating. Those aren't impressive stats, but  they are better than most would think. 3 of those 5 races ended inside the top 10. However his previous two finishes ended in 19th and 22nd. I wouldn't put too much into that though since JGR seems to be firing on all cylinders at the moment.

20-Matt Kenseth: If you are looking for consistent driver at Richmond, then Matt Kenseth is your man! Over the past 6 races at Richmond, he have only finished worse than 7th once and that was a 41st place finish last summer. Sure if you looking for a race winner, then Kenseth probably isn't your ideal fantasy pick. But I do like Kenseth more than picks this weekend. Not because he is a consistent top 10 finisher, but because almost everyone is overlooking him at Richmond. I felt the same way in April when I wrote the preview for the first race. He eventually finished 7th while other notable names finished well behind him! On shorter flats this season, he have put together a 9.7 average finish with 9.0 average running position and 100.9 driver rating. Also worth noting that Kenseth supports a 6.7 average starting position for those that love starting drivers from up front!

22-Joey Logano: Joey Logano is probably been my go-to-guy this season outside of Harvick and personally I might use up all my starts with him in Yahoo before Homestead. Logano been on a mission this season and may just win his 4th race of the season on Saturday night! Since joining Pesnke, he been very stout here. In 3 races, he have compiled 4.0 average finish (series-best), 7.7 average start (4th-best in the series), 5.3 average running position and 115.8 driver rating. Hard to beat those stats!  On shorter flats, he been just impressive! He have put together 5.7 average finish, 1.7(!) average start, 5.7 average running position and 114.0 driver rating. The first thing that stands out is his average starting position of 1.7. Of course that is only a 3-race sample, so cannot put too much stock into that. However he have proven all season long that he is a great qualifier!

24-Jeff Gordon: Gordon been pretty average all season in terms of finishes. He seems to have top 10 cars usually, but rarely does he finish there. For months, we all knew that Gordon's relevancy was rapidly diminishing and at this point what value does he have? Personally I don't think I will ever use Gordon again in Fantasy Nascar with only 11 races left in his career (full-time). He is too inconsistent for my taste. On shorter flats, he have put together 8.7 average finish with 9.0 average running position and 99.8 driver rating. Those are compelling stats, but in most fantasy games he doesn't hold the value to be worth consideration!

27-Paul Menard: I have some bad news for everyone: You missed out on the great Paul Menard fantasy value. If you haven't used Menard at this point, then you can forget about now. After the first 12 to 15 races, he becomes too inconsistent to hold any water. Of course you would know that if you checked out my 2015 Fantasy Nascar Preview on Paul Menard back in January (Click here to view it). Richmond overall been a tough place for Menard, but he have showed something since joining RCR. In the past 5 races, he have finished 4 of those races inside the top 20. Including a career-best 5th place effort in 2013. Overall Menard doesn't excite me as a fantasy pick ,especially since he isn't racing for anything really besides a chase spot that is almost set in stone!

41-Kurt Busch: Busch surprised me with a win last time at Richmond, but guess it should not have been too big of a surprised since he have ran very well there in the past. Over the past 5 races at Richmond, he have compiled 8.4 average finish, 9.8 average start, 7.4 average running position and 112.3 driver rating. Kurt doesn't have a flawless record, but he does know how to get around this place. Earlier this season, he was pretty much untouchable. Which was why I was impressive by anyone who got around him. Only few guys were able to pass him during the race. On shorter flats this season, Kurt have been one of the best in the series! He have compiled 5.3 average finish, 5.7 average start, 5.0 average running position and 123.2 driver rating. I like Kurt a lot this week! Personally I think he will be a top 5 fantasy pick.

42-Kyle Larson: Larson should have finished better than he did at Darlington, but had a terrible restart with 15 to go and finished 10th. On the plus side that gave him some momentum headed into Richmond. Earlier this season, Larson wasn't bad I guess. He finished 12th, but didn't really have a car anything beyond that. He ran around 11th or 12th most of the day. Last season he finished 11th and 16th. There not really a lot to say about Larson since he only have three races under his belt. However I do think he is worth taking a look at though. Considering he have to win in order to make the chase. Chip will probably give Larson the better equipment (than JMac). Least that would be more logical. If you are looking for a top 15 finisher with upside, then you have found your man!

48-Jimmie Johnson: Johnson doesn't look like a championship contending team and quite frankly i am not sure if they are just playing or not. It not uncommon for Chad and Jimmie to play possum, but we thought that last season too. But look what they did in the chase? Absolutely nothing. I guess we will find out at Richmond. This week I am not very high on Jimmie Johnson. Despite 3 career wins at this 0.75 mile racetrack, he have struggled to be a reliable option. Looking at his past 10 starts at Richmond, only 5 times have he managed to finish inside the top 10. Only twice have he finished inside the top 5. Over the past 5 races here, he have compiled 19.0 average finish, 17.0 average start, 16.0 average running position and 86.6 driver rating. It's worth noting that he have finishes of 8th and 3rd over past two races.

88-Dale Jr: Dale Jr should be a decent fantasy pick, but he usually doesn't have enough upside to be worth consider. Over the past 5 races here, he have compiled 11.2 average finish, 19.2 average start, 12.2 average running position and 112.1 driver rating. Dale been pretty consistent over his past 9 races. In that span, he have finished 19th or better in every race! His best performance was probably in 2012 where he finished 2nd. In those 9 races, he have finished inside the top 10 in 3 races. Earlier this season at Richmond, he struggled and finished inside the top 15. However he wasn't anything beyond most of the day. On the shorter flats this season, he have put together 20.7 average finish with 16.3 average running position and 86.2 driver rating.

I hope everyone find this information very useful, but I think the tweet below is the best piece of advice you will need this week:


****All stats are from DriverAverages and FantasyRacingCheat.com

Email - JeffNathan74@yahoo.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans

Sunday, September 06, 2015

Fantasy Nascar RaceDay Thoughts (Darlington)

Welcome to TimersSports

Happy Raceday. Setting your fantasy team can be difficult , especially with everything being factored in. Below our group of experts give their thoughts on today race (Including their final
picks).

Kate Roswell (@CrazyKateNascar):

-I expect the same drivers who ran well at Kentucky will be good tonight at Darlington. However it is not a sure thing though.

-The cream should rise to the top tonight before the checkers waves! So don't be afraid to go for the best drivers available when selecting your lineups tonight.

-Penske may have the cars to beat on Sunday night. Both drivers will start inside the top 5 and both drivers should contend for the win.

- Ricky Stenhouse Jr have some speed this weekend after qualifying very well. He wasn't terrible in practice either!

Garry Briggs (@Garryy12):

-Kevin Harvick. That is all you need to know about tonight race.

-My Sleeper is Jamie McMurray. He looked pretty good in both practices on Friday, but starts mid pack. I think he can finish around 12th tonight.

-Who do I think will disappoint? Tough to say since I cannot read the future. But I will go with Kurt Busch. Only one top 10 finish and only 4 top 15 finishes since 2005. Also he have a habit of fading late in races this season.

-For those that still on the Kasey Kahne bandwagon, I think your bravery will finally payoff! If it doesn't, well you probably deserve what coming to you!

Matt Aleza (@MattAleza):

-JGR will be a heavy factor tonight! However they won't dominate like they have over the past few months.

-How about Ryan Blaney starting inside the top 10? Kid been impressive this season in the 21 car!

-Logano is my pick to win tonight! He been the hottest driver in the series since dominating at Pocono. Since? He have won at The Glenn and Bristol.

-How about some love for Denny Hamlin? Unbelievable record here and starting up front from 6th. A lot to like about him!

Yahoo -

Kate's Lineup - 22,19,1,21

Garry's Lineup - 4,27,42,25

Matt's Lineup - 11,19,78,21

Sleepers -

Kate's Pick - Paul Menard

Garry's Pick - JMac

Matt's Pick - JMac

Winners -

Kate's Pick - Kevin Harvick

Garry's Pick - Kevin Harvick

Matt's Pick - Joey Logano