Looking for a Fight: UFC 154 Part II

There's been an air of happiness and calmness to GSP leading up to Saturday night. (Getty)

If you missed it, Part I of this two part Looking for a Fight looked at the return of GSP. Part II will look ahead to the action Saturday night.

During the open workouts to the media Georges St-Pierre sat in the ring, legs crossed, and a smile on his face.

During the press conference, in a stylish suit, GSP fielded answers wearing that same smile and even when continually deflecting questions about the seemingly set in stone super-fight against Anderson Silva should GSP win, he smoothly side steps the question like a slow overhand right.

This is what you'd expect out of 6-time defending welterweight champion. Maybe not what you'd expect out of a 6-time defending welterweight champion coming off of major knee surgery and not competing inside the Octagon for 19 months.

But as surprising as it was finding out GSP had "lost the fire" that drove him to be champion, the picture become clear that something has changed in the champ while he was rehabbing.

Looking to test out the rewards of his rehab on Saturday night is interim champion Carlos Condit. For a guy with a belt around his waist and a 14-1 record over the same time GSP was carving out his 170 lb legacy, you'd think he'd be able to nab some headlines himself, but Condit won't go out of his way to be a part of a tale he can frankly, only ruin.

When Condit's not fighting, this is basically what is going on in his head. (facebook.com)

A win for Condit Saturday night would destroy Silva v. GSP, would crush the Canadian audience in attendance at Bell Centre as well as the larger GSP fan base watching live on PPV, and depending on how he won could cast a significant doubt in GSP as to whether he may even want to continue fighting.

The last potential outcome of a Condit win may be a little far fetched, but it's unfair to cast all these negative aspersions on the interim champ for a couple of reasons. First, Condit is a great fighters and person. To say there's hardly been any trash talk leading up to this fight is an overstatement. There's been none I've heard except each fighter say they expect to win and expect to finish the fight and make it exciting. That's headlining a fight talk 101. There's no doubt Condit would be a great ambassador for the UFC as champion. He might lack some of the marketing flair GSP has, but the guy works hard, comes from a great family, and puts on exciting fights. The more fans get to see Condit as an individual fighter and not the guy trying to beat GSP, the more they'll come around.

Second, losing to Condit wouldn't be all that surprising even if GSP was healthy. If you look at GSP's last several fights, there hasn't been a fighter with championship pedigree that is excellent in every facet of mixed martial arts. Sure there's BJ Penn, but 170 lb BJ is different from 155 BJ. I'd say the last true test he had with a fighter as all-around dangerous as Condit was Matt Hughes in 2007. Sure each fighter brought a different challenge that posed a threat to GSP, but Condit is able to bring a lot of different things to the table making it more difficult for GSP to adjust and attack a weakness. Of course on top of that, he's also dealing with his knee and ring rust and those pesky butterflies. I'm not buying GSP as a 3-to-1 favorite like Vegas does just because that line undermines the level of fighter Condit is.

Condit has been in championship fights before and hasn't fizzled in them. There seems very little that can shake either of these guys, less it's each others fists or shin bones.

Which brings us back to the ebullient GSP. He's just been walking around with a vibe about him that makes you feel like he hasn't left, and that there's nothing wrong or different at all. From my memories of GSP pre-Jake Shields/Josh Koscheck/Dan Hardy there was a focus that bordered on nervousness to put on a big show and finish the fight. Continue that downward spiral he says he was on of just beating an opponent and moving on to the next one. This time, removed of those pressures as people are more focused on his knee and more importantly, happy having him back and fighting; GSP doesn't need to overthink things and feel burdened with anything other than the fight. I think that's something he hasn't felt in a while and it shows.

BREAKDOWN

Speaking of butterflies, I haven't had any for a UFC main event in quite some time. I like both fighters a whole lot, and it's hard not to let my superior fandom of GSP and my curiosity in seeing if Silva v. GSP would actually happen cloud my judgment for thinking about Saturday night.

In a UFC fight, things can go either way in the blink of an eye, but when I try to be objective, I see more paths to victory for GSP than Condit.

While both fighters come out and execute a game plan as well as any fighter in the UFC stable, I've seen GSP do it time and time again. His physical tools along with an almost systematic breaking down of his opponents has been successful time and time again to the point where GSP has had his way with many opponents.

Condit executed a great game plan against Nick Diaz that was smart and safe, but it's when he is a more aggressive fighter that he is at his best. Condit has a strategy, but his ability to throw a diverse striking set against his opponents is what can give him an advantage against GSP, who will most likely be starting slowly - as he usually does and to get comfortable back in the Octagon.

So if Condit goes aggressive, which most people say he will, how does he attack his opponents? He will throw kicks and combos to close space and get in striking distance. The problem with that against GSP is due to GSP's karate background he is much more comfortable further away from his opponents (a la Lyoto Machida) than a fighter with either a more traditional Muay thai or boxing striking background. This means Condit will most likely have to find a way in other than kicks because at that distance GSP can easily see them coming and take Condit to the mat.

If Condit comes in with punches, then GSP can keep him at bay with his jab and movement. The observation at that point is how will GSP counter strike Condit to enforce his game plan? No one could possibly know what that plan is other than it won't be a kick boxing match. He judo toss Condit until he taps or throw up spinning pile drivers like it's Streets of Fury or something. I'm a believer that this fire GSP has found will equate to a more dangerous fighter.

I'm not overly concerned about subs by either fighter. Both have adequate BJJ skills, but more importantly their ability to avoid submissions is world class. When GSP takes Condit down, Condit is dangerous off his back, but GSP is too good to be caught in something; less he gasses late in the fight.

I expect both fighters to come out, not slow, but with a strategy they look to implement. Condit will have a more aggressive strategy, but I expect GSP to be ready and ride that through the first round; settling down both fighters for round 2.

This will be my favorite for fight of the night as I expect a see saw affair in the toughest fight for either opponent. If the fight ends early it'll be a Condit win as I'm not sure GSP can finish Condit. So with that said, I'm saying split decision victory for GSP. Welcome back.

Looking for a Fight: UFC 154 Part I

It's no coincidence that GSP's return is also the return of the big main event. (ufc.com)

It's been 19 months since Georges St-Pierre stepped into the Octagon. A small span of time in the grand scheme of the UFC, but leading up to UFC 154 Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, it's a wonder that the UFC survived without him.

As per usual, the UFC landscape has changed over the past year and a half, but it's clear that the impact of it's biggest star (sorry, Jon Jones, fans hate you a bit too much to wrestle that title from GSP) and biggest draw can still sculpt valleys and mountains like a great glacier, cutting to the heart of what makes the UFC so great and what fans pine for during every pay per view. The best of the best putting on a show. Fighters that masterfully blend all aspects of martial arts into a dominant and awe inspiring performance.

In what has been mostly an injury riddled and disappointing year for the UFC, GSP is shining a very bright light as 2012 comes to a close. So far he's been able to provide an intriguing comeback story (complete with "I've go my fire back" quotes!), set up a great fight between himself and interim champion Carlos Condit that can and is single-handily carrying a pay per view that will easily surpass 600K buys, starred in one of the most entertaining UFC Primetimes in a long time, led to rumors of an Anderson Silva v. GSP mega-fight at Cowboys Stadium and everything that goes along with that (mainly will Anderson enter the ring should GSP win on Saturday to what beach will Anderson be sipping mai thais on during his "vacation"...even though we all know his posturing is just free publicity for his movie with Steven Seagal).

So for Part I of this two part Looking for a Fight, let's focus on GSP, because basically there isn't a person in the fight world right now that can't do anything but that. Sorry, Carlos, I'll get to you soon.

The surprising story line that emerged from GSP's rehab process isn't that his rehab was tough, that he faced some self-doubt; as these are all things that I'm sure most top level athletes will go through, but rather that GSP frankly has stated that in his last couple of title defenses he was a much more dour GSP. He became engulfed by the business side of fighting, viewing each match-up as a chore rather than a chance to compete. This makes everything about being a fighter more arduous. Training, strict dieting, sparring, the aches, the pains, and knowing that every morning you wake up, you'll be going to sleep maybe a little better but a lot more frustrated.

I found an interesting take on this part of the process (training and the day to day grind as opposed to the actual fight itself) in Grantland's piece yesterday about Rembert Browne's trip to NFL HQ to visit the set of NFL Red Zone. The always seeming caffeinated host of Red Zone Scott Hanson (he doesn't drink coffee!) mentioned this:

Deion and Sapp and all those guys will tell you, when they played, you didn't need to pay them for Sunday. You pay them to come to practice every day and do film work and all that other stuff that was kind of drudgery. Game day they would do for free. This is the fun stuff.

That's it right there.

When athletes or a person with a seemingly glamorous position say they'd do this for free, they probably would. The this being playing on Sunday, acting in a movie, or whatever. The payment part comes from the droll of training and mentally preparing and sitting in a trailer memorizing lines. That mundane stuff is where payment is owed. Getting to go out there and perform your craft, to put it on display, that's the payoff for all that work.

GSP had lost even that. There was no payoff for him. It was just knock one down and move onto the next one. And knowing what we know about GSP, it wouldn't be a big leap to suggest that being one of the top pound for pound fighters on the planet, being the undisputed welterweight champ, to take on each day with those kinds of expectations and pressures, sure that along with the business side of things could squelch any man's flame.

The knee injury is what freed GSP of these burdens. It broke him from his routine of train, press conference, fight, win, train, press conference, fight, win - and gave him that always powerful "perspective on things."

Due to that injury, he had to deal with the possibility that he'd never be the same guy again. That he'd lose even a portion of that athleticism that made him such an elite fighter against all types of opponents. His agility and explosiveness allowed him to implement his game plan with expert precision in order to become a truly dominant mixed martial artist.

Also, as he witnessed from afar, the UFC trucks along. An interim title was set up between Condit and Nick Diaz. Coincidentally, it was Diaz who essentially took the title shot back from Condit after Diaz trash talked his way to GSP and certainly made Georges show some fire.

Training for that fight is when he tore his ACL, and sent him down a different path with new challenges.

For the first time since he entered the Octagon in 2002, there was no clear path for him. He was either focused on winning fights, getting to the title and defending the title. Now, he was in some kind of champion limbo. Not quite fighting for the championship, but not quite fighting to win it back. He had to prove to himself that he wanted to get back in the cage. He had to prove to himself that he still has the drive and fire to be not one of the greats, but the greatest fighter at 170.

When GSP comes out of the tunnel with his customary karate gi on Saturday night, he would have proven to himself he found those things in his year and a half journey back to the UFC. Internally he knows. That fire is burning bright and his butterflies are flying in formation. Now, he'll be out to prove to everyone else that the best GSP possible is back, and he'll do it in one of the toughest fights of his career.

Tomorrow in Part II, the fight breakdown...

FAABulous: Fantasy Football Pick-ups Week 11

Week 10 led to a lot of QB injuries and poor performances that probably didn't sink your fantasy team. (Getty)

FAABulous will recap the week of football activity and point fantasy owners where to spend their hard earned (not really) FAAB or waiver priority. Players will be owned in at most 50% of Yahoo! FFL. This is the one time where mo' money probably wouldn't mean mo' problems.

We all know what football is in 2012-2013. There's an increased concern for player safety and specifically concussions. Rules have been put into place, tests have to be administered, and the public consciousness is growing week by week.

The NFL will take credit for this, throwing around how much money they are spending on concussion research, that awareness is high, hell, even in Madden if a player is injured with a concussion he is automatically out for the rest of the game.

While these are all factors in how we are watching this violent sport, and while player safety is the dark cloud on the horizon of the sport of football, the reason all of these procedures are put into place is that while football is the most popular sport in the United States, that also makes it the most lucrative.

There have been plenty of great pieces about how NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has preached player safety out of one side of his mouth, all the while looking to extend the season and schedule, make Thursday through Monday football a reality and keep the NFL money train rolling. Among all of the articles you can find written by a Jason Whitlock or Bill Simmons, the quintessential moment of this money vs. football mess is the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal. In this one story, you get everything from the true violence in football, to the overblown reaction of the NFL, to skirting the facts and Goodell relying on his title as commissioner to serve as a power play to push his agenda.

Well, there's no one that will agree paying players to injure another player is acceptable, there are real questions of what does it really matter, or if the NFL can just fine and suspend players without adequate evidence. The question of does it matter will probably always be up for debate, but the legal system has found that no, you can't just suspend players and serve personal vendettas because you feel like it. There has to be proof. As a result of the fallout of Goodell's hasty actions, his reputation has taken a hit, and his respectability among the players he lords over is at an all-time low. It's something that needs to be addressed moving forward if Goodell is to remain commissioner and a lesson to be learned that the public as well as football players themselves are no dummies. There's unlimited resources available to learn, read up, and formulate an opinion. People won't just fall blindly in line with the NFL because they love the sport or they hear the NFL is funding a lot of brain damage research. Time to focus on improving the reputation of the game, not just making more money from it.

For all the rules and protection the NFL gives its players, especially quarterbacks, that didn't save a lot of them in Week 10. Four starters went down, three to concussions. In order of fantasy relevance, they would be Ben Roethlisberger, Michael Vick, Jay Cutler, and Alex Smith.

The good news, fantasy wise, is that all of the quarterbacks listed are nowhere near elite fantasy players. Roethlisberger is the 13th ranked QB and Vick is 15th. Roethlisberger has been solid, but he's always been a million times more important as a real player than fantasy. As for Vick, well, we know his tale. He hasn't been an explosive fantasy player in 2 years now. His injuries are always a concern, and outside of that 2010 season, he's always been a below average fantasy player minus his rushing numbers, which have been non-existent for those same 2 years. Cutler and Smith are back-up level at best, so odds are your team isn't hurting too badly.

There are some potential fliers to take for each of these players. While Roethlisberger's injury seems to be the most serious, Byron Leftwich carries no fantasy value. But let's take a look at some two back-ups that could bring us some value through the remainder of the season.

Nick Foles has a legitimate shot at the starting job in Philadelphia. (usatoday.com)

Nick Foles, QB - PHI ( 5% owned) @WAS

What makes Foles the top QB to add this week is simple. Above all other back-ups, he has the best chance to keep the job. Michael Vick is out with what coach Andy Reid declared a severe concussion. Vick is already ruled out for Sunday's match-up in Washington, and more likely than not, will not play Monday night the following week versus Carolina. Those are two pretty nice match-ups for the 6'6 6'4 Arizona grad. He's got some offensive weapons around him, but it'll be tough for Foles to avoid getting cracked after every snap as the Eagles have been operating with only one original starting lineman from Week 1. On top of that two of the absolute worst tackles to ever put on an NFL jersey in Demetress Bell and King Dunlap will be blocking for him.

Foles did well in the preseason and despite lacking arm strength has shown an ability to make quick decisions. For his limited time playing on Sunday, he also showed an Eli Manning like propensity to throw into coverage to draw penalties. Not good for fantasy points, but might help him move the ball with more efficiency than Vick was.

Colin Kaepernick, QB - SF (1%) CHI

If I was picking up a QB for one start and one start only, I might side with Kaepernick. Even though he's facing the Bears, Kaepernick has shown a competency playing quarterback, but his most valuable asset is his speed. The Niners have used him in limited packages to showcase his stuff, and while he is passing at a 61.3% completion percentage, he's already run for 3 TDs averaging 7.6 YPC. This won't be a high scoring game with Kaeprenick against the Bears D and Jason Campbell against the Niners D, but there are points to be had.

Jaquizz Rodgers, RB - ATL (37%) ARI

Are the Falcons a fraud of a team? We've seen it with them before. Great regular season team that when the playoffs start and defense and the run game take center stage, the Falcons fade away. Regardless of what success they have in the upcoming playoffs, they are going. It's clear Michael Turner is not viewed as a contributor on offense, and while T.J. Duckett isn't walking through that door, the Falcons need to establish some kind of run game. Rodgers hasn't been carrying the load, but he has been the Falcons most productive RB out of the backfield both rushing and receiving. Unless the Falcons want to repeat errors of postseasons past, they'll need to see what Rodgers can give them. He's an add an hold for the rest of the season.

Ben Tate, RB - HOU (39%) JAX

Houston is in nowhere near the trouble Atlanta is regarding their run game. Houston does look like they'll run away with their division, and that means resting guys like Arian Foster during those final couple of weeks of the season. And if you're Houston and you have Ben Tate, why wouldn't you? Tate has been nursing a hamstring injury the last couple of weeks, but should be back soon. I'd look for his run load to increase in the interim, with the potential to be the top back on the depth chart come Week 16 as Foster rests.

PENNY SAVED IS A PENNY EARNED

Danario Alexander, WR - SD (5%) @DEN

He had a big game for San Diego and at 6'5 fits the bill for tall Philip Rivers targets, but a lot of Alexander's stats came on an 80 yard TD catch, and he was taking time from the injured Robert Meachem. With Meachem expected back, marginal production can be expected from Alexander moving forward.

THE 1%

Riley Cooper, WR - PHI (0%) @WAS

One of the injuries not covered earlier on was that to Jason Avant, the Eagles sure handed slot receiver. Due to the depth among the Eagles WR core has left Cooper primarily as a special teams ace and 4th WR. Cooper hauled in his 1st TD pass of the season on a rare fade route thrown to him by Vick. If Avant is out, Cooper is a guy Foles has had a lot of reps with and their 2nd string chemistry could pay WR3 dividends.

Looking for a Fight: UFC on Fuel 6

Will you be asleep while people are being put to sleep? (espn.com)

Sleeping in on a Saturday morning has become a bit overrated. Although it's never been a big deal for me. When I was young enough to enjoy television, I'd wake up at 6am, hop out of bed and go watch TV for most of my Saturday morning. I would want to watch this kids game show based around video games. The only thing I can remember about it, is the final "challenge" was running through a fake video game store, grabbing any game you could and velcro-ing it to your body (each kid had a velcro vest they would wear), and in the end I think there was a slide involved. Completely lame, but as a 6 year-old, all I wanted was to be on that show.

By the time I grew into my teenage years, I was never a pro at sleeping in, but at least made an effort to try. I knew that the earlier I woke up, the earlier my dad would send me out to do yard work. So if I was up and moving at 9am; I'd be working alone until like 11am when my brothers would finally get out of bed.

College, of course, was my sleeping in prime on Saturdays. My college was D-III, and all football games started at 11am. I never made it to one. There wasn't much motivation to go in the first place, but then tack on being out til the early morning, probably hung over, and hungry for some diner food, any effort to wake up early and not sleep in would have been a waste of time.

Now, as I age, I'm back to the Saturday mornings where I don't necessarily sleep in, but I'm also compelled to wake up early. This started when I would watch soccer. Fox Soccer Channel, ESPN, and next season NBC Sports Network air live British Premier League matches starting early in the morning - like 7am since it's live from England. So when my team, Arsenal, would be programmed to play, I'd be up early and even set an alarm (! on a Saturday morning) to catch the action.

It is worth noting that due to my work schedule, I was pretty much automatically waking up by 6:30am anyway. And also, the way Arsenal's season is going, my early Saturday mornings might soon be a thing of the past.

So I'd wake up, turn on the game, french press some freshly ground coffee beans and make an omelette and relax. I continue to enjoy this process immensely. When it comes to this Saturday mornings UFC card live from Macao, China there is no question as to if I will be up for the 9am ET live event, as I probably would have been finishing up a pot of coffee and finished updating my fantasy football line-ups by then.

The question remains for those not so morning motivated to interrupt their sleep. In today's day and age, there's DVR and TIVO to make your decision simple. But beyond that, this fight card isn't one to excite nor one that will make it hard to sleep the night before.

In their inaugural trip to China, the UFC hasn't exactly put a lot of fighters with big names potential title contenders on this card. While it's par for the course to trot out countrymen on foreign located cards, so China isn't exactly booming in the realm of actual combat sports.

They've been notably better in the fictional realm of combat sports.

The card not only has no potential #1 contender fights, there isn't a fighter on the entire card that will probably ever be a #1 contender, with the possible exception being Dong Hyun Kim. But again, that'd be a stretch considering how packed 170 has become.

While there are notable fights with fighters looking to call it a career or reestablish themselves as a regular UFC fighter, there aren't even match-ups that in it of themselves seem to portend to an exciting fight.

This aspect is the one I find the most puzzling. To put together an entire card, where obviously you're not going to get a big main event, but to fill it with fighters that don't jump off the page as an exciting fight is something I hardly remember the UFC ever doing. Granted with the end of the year upon us, many of those highlight reel guys already booked in a crazy busy finish to 2012 that might have tied Joe Silva's hands a bit.

Sure Rich Franklin always shows up for a fight, and Cung Le might have some flashy kicks up his iron fists, but it would be shocking if Franklin busted out the Rich Franklin dazed face against Le. In MMA, Franklin's diverse skill set is more than enough to neutralize the smaller Le. Also, a fight like Mac Danzig v Takanori Gomi, I mean, I feel like we've been here a hundred times before with both of these guys.

For my fight pick, I'm opting for the unknown in Thiago Silva v Stanislav Nedkov. Silva was once quite feared in the light heavyweight division before injuries, losses, and submitting something other than human urine for his mandated post fight piss test (which he served a 1-year suspension for) after beating Brandon Vera. Now that Silva is sufficiently humiliated and presumably healthy it'll be interesting to see if he can still rattle some noggins with his punching power.

One guy that certainly can do that is Nedkov. He KO'd Luiz Cane in the first round of his UFC debut, and by all accounts is not a guy to mess around with. The 30 year old is similar to Silva in that they don't bring much grappling to the cage. This is a stand 'em and bang 'em affair, and the best shot we've got for a really exciting fight.

BREAKDOWN

At this point, Silva is hardly the guy anyone remembers as a Top 10 fighter at 205. Winning only 1 of his last 4 fights, along with the suspension doesn't put him in the UFC's favor either. He's going to have to come out swinging to put on a good show and to protect himself from gassing, as he tends to do.

I wish I knew more about Nedkov, but information on him is limited, not only in the UFC, but in Wikipedia. A 7-0 record in Bulgaria doesn't mean much, but it's something; and his impressive win of Cane was a good welcoming card, but there's a lot to get to know about Nedkov. That's why I'll be watching to see what he's got going for him.

Just because I am so down on Silva, I'm going to choose Nedkov 3rd round TKO. Again, I know nothing about his strategy or cardio, but I'd imagine he'll try to resist Silva's opening overture and try to drag him deep into the fight. Unless of course Silva gets careless and clocked.

And if that's not enough to get you to tune in, there will be Chinese ring girls!

FAABulous: Fantasy Football Pick-ups Week 10

Doug Martin earned his Ray Rice comparison on Sunday. (deadspin.com)

It's been quite a year for fantasy rookies. Robert Griffin III started the party off right with his highlight reel plays. For the first half of the season his Cam Newton 2.0 impression netted him the top slot in the fantasy rankings and leaving owners with the issue of trying to trade the QB they thought would be leading their fantasy team to glory.

RGIII has started to level out a bit, but he's still as exciting a players as there is to watch. The Redskins aren't nearly as good as they've played, and that's thanks to RGIII.

There are 6 rookies (RGIII, Doug Martin, Trent Richardson, Andrew Luck, Alfred Morris, and Stevan Ridley) in the top 25 fantasy player ranks going into week 10. Let's look at a couple of guys that made their mark on Sunday.

Andrew Luck had been more of a leader of men than a fantasy focal point. His surprising 5-3 Colts are 2nd in the AFC South and with a quick turnaround Thursday night against the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars could be in a prime position to make the playoffs. Well, Luck made his fantasy presence known this past Sunday, throwing for an NFL Rookie Record 433 passing yards in a win over the Miami Dolphins.

The guy is doing all you can ask for on the field. He's making his teammates better and under tough circumstances with first year head coach Chuck Pagano undergoing successful treatments for leukemia being out for most of the season; Luck has taken a young mix of players and made them a formidable team. All you would hear about Luck pre-draft was that he was "pro ready." That's a nice term and all, but seeing him in action you really begin to know what that means. His poise and maturity running an NFL offense is shocking. He's able to recognize blitzes and pass coverage to exploit a team's weakness. There are some QB's that have been in the league a decade that can't do that. Along with his smarts, the physical skills are obviously there. He is extremely accurate, daring, and blends pocket presence with mobility on the level of a Ben Roethlisberger or Luck's most frequent comparison, John Elway. For all the praise that is, frankly, overdue for what Luck has done, his time in the Week 9 spotlight lasted about 40 minutes. Why?

J'adore Doug Martin. 

Because in Oakland, California, Doug Martin was slashing and gashing the Oakland Raiders. The Stockton native and Boise State alum dropped 251 rushing yards and 4 TDs causing his owners to swoon like Peppy Le Pew in one of the greatest fantasy weeks ever. After a less than productive couple of weeks, Martin now has this performance coming off his 214 total yard 2 TD performance two weeks ago in Minnesota.

Martin, at this point, is shaping up to be one of the top fantasy players this season. While I wouldn't rule against selling high on him, if you can get some great pieces in return, outside of him hitting the rookie wall I think Martin will be able to continue his duel threat destruction for the rest of the year. The injury to Carl Nicks didn't show itself against the weak Oakland run defense, but it will at some point. However, out of Martin's remaining games the only tough ones appear to be at Denver Week 13 and at Atlanta the last week of the season. But it's time to play my favorite game of looking ahead to the playoff weeks, and he'll be facing New Orleans and St. Louis. Yummy, yum.

Like Pepe, we're not all successful in love, or fantasy rookies. Let's see some potential plays this week.

T.Y. Hilton has been on the tip of my tongue for weeks. Now it's time to click the + button. (Getty)

T.Y. Hilton, WR - IND (8% owned) @JAX

Makes sense to focus on another rookie or two. So what if they're not in the Top 25 or even 50. Ranks ain't nothing but a number.

Hilton has been a guy that's been mentioned a lot without producing significant fantasy output. Two things have changed recently that have made him much more interesting now than say 3 weeks ago. First is that he's been under the tutelage of Reggie Wayne which is clearly beginning to pay dividend. Hilton has topped 5 receptions for two straight weeks and is becoming an increasingly favorite target of Luck. Second, the player I thought would be Luck's security blanket Colby Fleener has been injured opening up targets for Hilton. I'm not sure how much it would cost to land this Hilton, but it's probably cheaper than a stay at the Paris Hilton.

Joique Bell, RB - DET (19%) @MIN

Another victim of the Doug Martin Fantasy Domination was Mikel Leshoure. He had 3 TD scampers in the red zone and made himself a strong case to be the Lions top back. With Javid Best injured as per usual, undrafted rookie Bell has become a solid weapon out of the backfield for his running and pass catching. Leshoure doesn't have the cleanest health record, and Bell is still getting TDs as a secondary back making him worth a flex play.

Chris Ivory, RB - NO (4%) ATL

Opportunity seems to be the issue for Ivory, as it is most running backs in the Big Easy. With Darren Sproles going down for 4-6 weeks with a broken hand, there was a mad dash for Pierre Thomas, but while Thomas is helpful, he doesn't do what Sproles does. In fact, none of the NOLA back do except for Travaris Cadet, but it appears Cadet's Sproles impersonation isn't going to net him any fantasy love. Ivory is a big, tough runner that can provide a good change of pace for the speedy Saints offense. Thomas is more of a pass catching threat, but Ivory has the ability to outplay Mark Ingram as the grind it out back.

Mike Goodson, RB - OAK (11%) @BAL

We all knew this was coming. The Darren McFadden injury has occurred. And it's a fantasy football doozy. The high ankle sprain is tough to gauge when everything will be fully healed and a player will be ready to go. With McFadden's injury history, I'd say his chances of being productive again this year are minimal. He was barely productive when he was playing averaging barely over 3 yards per carry. Overall, McFadden's performance is good for 29 out of 30 ranked backs via Football Outsider's DVOA ranks.

With that being said, Run DMC's back-up is also out with a high ankle sprain, but this appears to be much less severe than McFadden's. Goodson would be a speculative add in that a.) McFadden is out for a while b.) Goodson is healthy c.) Oakland's run game has been horrible as is and d.) the Raiders don't just pack up their lockers and forfeit the rest of the season. At this point of the year though, if you can add a running back that will get a bulk of the carries for a team, it's worth it.


PENNY SAVED IS A PENNY EARNED

Golden Tate, WR - SEA (12%) NYJ

Tate hauled in 2 TD passes on Sunday for a less than eye catching 28 yards receiving. He's become a bit of an end zone threat with 5 TDs, but I guess after that miracle Monday Night Fake Refs call against the Packers, he's got some magic on his side. Like most Seattle players not named Marshawn Lynch, home is where the performance is. Tate isn't a play maker, but rather a guy you need to catch TDs to be any kind of factor on fantasy game day.

THE 1%

Rod Streater, WR - OAK (0%) @BAL

As highlighted in the Goodson write up, the Oakland run game has been poor. I don't necessarily envision Goodson or any other back on their roster to change that, so combine that with constantly being behind in games means that Oakland will be throwing a lot. They really already have been throwing the ball judiciously this year. Denarius Moore and Brandon Myers have benefited, but Streater might be looking to make his mark with Darius Heyward-Bey not looking quite right since his concussion earlier this season. Streater needs to become more consistent and establish his role as a possession receiver to become a key part of the Raiders pass game.