Showing no signs of life the past several weeks on offense, are things bound to change against the St. Louis Rams in terms of playing members of the Browns in your fantasy leagues?
- QB Colt McCoy - Although McCoy should have some more time to throw this week, there aren't any teams on the bye this week. That means there is no reason to consider starting McCoy, since he should not be your regular "starting" quarterback.
- RB Chris Ogbonnaya - I don't have high long-term hopes for Ogbonnaya as a regular contributor, but how can you not take a flier on him this week when he is facing the Rams' 32nd ranked run defense in the NFL? When you consider how bad Cleveland's running game has been, this could very well be a "push," but if you're in need of a guy at a flex position or to fill in for an injured player, this is the week to play Ogbonnaya. All you need to hope is that Thomas Clayton or Joshua Cribbs don't get many carries at tailback.
- WR Joshua Cribbs - He is starting to emerge as the Browns' top receiver, especially since Mohamed Massaquoi is expected to be out again. He isn't a top option, but if you've been constantly scrambling the waiver wire each week to find a good fit at receiver, I like Cribbs. He has caught some touchdowns late in games, seems good for about 50 yards receiving, and always adds the bonus of potentially adding a punt or kick return for a touchdown. If his original statement on having something special in the playbook for him comes true (i.e. the Wildcat), maybe you pick up a few yards that way too. He's a "weak" start if you meet the condition stated earlier.
- K Phil Dawson - Not only is Dawson getting attempts from beyond 50 yards, he is drilling them with ease. With that said, this might not be the week to start Dawson. I don't know how much the weather conditions on Sunday will affect the weather, but high winds could make it tough to kick. Monitor the weather situation prior to the game and make a judgment call based off of that.
- DEF Cleveland - The Browns' defense was pretty good to start the year, but I'd be really worried about playing them this week. The Rams are relying more on Steven Jackson to run the ball, and with T.J. Ward out last week (and this week), things looked very ugly when Usama Young had to man that position instead. I just don't see anything special about the Browns' defense this week, not including the obvious of them facing an offensively-challenged team.