Raiders vs Cardinals fantasy start, sit, sleepers

For the most part, my starters did great last week including Philip Rivers, Malcom Floyd, Antonio Gates and Nick Novak. Where I really screwed up was sitting the entire Raiders roster. But who the heck could have predicted what happened last Sunday? Anyways, I challenged them and they answered the call so I am no longer sitting the entire roster. In fact, some are even under starters this week.

Start

Derek Carr

His four touchdown performance last week was the best offensive rookie display of the season period. He tore up one of the best secondaries and defenses in the NFL. On paper, the Cardinals have big names like Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu. But in terms of fantasy, they have given up the fifth most points to quarterbacks. That should bode well for Carr.

James Jones

The former Green Bay Packer has been the Raiders most valuable free agent signing. He continues to be Derek Carr's number one receiver and leads the team in receptions and receiving yards. While he will likely be matched against Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Peterson, the Cardinals have given up the second most points to wide receivers.

Larry Fitzgerald

I am going to go out on a limb and say that T.J. Carrie is the Raiders best cornerback right now with Carlos Rogers right behind. But the team has Tarell Brown slated at number one despite his struggles. That leaves Brown matched up against Fitzgerald who had 16 points last week. Michael Floyd would be up here too, but he will be covered by Carrie who shut down Keenan Allen last week.

Andre Ellington

The Raiders cannot stop the run and have given up the fourth most points to opposing runningbacks. Nick Roach is out for the season on IR and that hurts the Raiders run defense tremendously as Miles Burris has struggled. While the Raiders defensive line had a better pass rush last week, they are still struggling to contain runningbacks. Ellington is a safe bet to hit ten points.

Sit

Carson Palmer

Yes, Palmer scored 17 points last week. But he is still rusty as he missed a month due to injury. Bottom line is there are better options out there. And with the Raiders finally playing T.J. Carrie, their secondary just got a lot better.

Michael Floyd

If T.J. Carrie can shut down Keenan Allen with Philip Rivers at quarterback, he should be able to shut down Floyd. Especially with an injured Carson Palmer throwing the ball and making the decisions. Floyd has played extremely inconsistent, and I wouldn't trust him against T.J. Carrie.

Oakland Raiders defense

They give up points in bunches, do not create turnovers, and don't get nearly enough sacks. They are one of the worst fantasy defenses in the NFL right now. Nick Roach out for the season definitely does not help their cause.

Sleepers

Arizona Cardinals defense

While they have talent (especially in the secondary), they have played extremely inconsistent this season. One week, they score two points and the next week they score 17. With Carr and the Raiders lighting up the Chargers defense last week, this is a toss-up. They could have a terrible week, but this defense could just as easily shut out the Raiders.

Darren McFadden

It is safe to say that McFadden is seeing the majority of the Raiders touches. Last game against the Chargers was the hardest I have seen him run in years. He has put up 7.2 and 8.6 points the past two weeks, but Tony Sparano is also running the ball more often than the Raiders did under Dennis Allen. That being said, Arizona has given up the fourth fewest points to runningbacks this season.

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