The Browns' offense is officially on fire, so what better of a time to start playing some of their players at a critical juncture in the fantasy season? This week, they tackle the Cincinnati Bengals, having already faced them way back in Week 1. How the possibility of Peyton Hillis returning impact the team's fantasy situation?
- QB Colt McCoy - With all of the bye weeks out of the way, again, I really don't see how you could be competing in your fantasy league with McCoy as your regular quarterback. The Bengals' secondary is more vulnerable without Leon Hall back there though, and Joe Flacco did have a pretty good game against them last week (270 yards, 2 touchdowns). The Bengals are still good at defending the run, but with how in sync McCoy has looked the past two weeks, he could continue to build on that and benefit from the return of Hillis. He's an "average" starting option this week, good for maybe 15-18 fantasy points.
- RB Peyton Hillis, RB Montario Hardesty, RB Chris Ogbonnaya - This is a tough situation. Fantasy teams are in dire need of running backs right now, and a guy like Ogbonnaya probably really helped people last week. He will probably have the least value this week, because he's guaranteed to play second-fiddle at the very most. If Hillis is out, Hardesty probably has some mediocre fantasy value as the starter. If Hillis plays, we have no idea how much he'll play and how it'll affect the carry-distribution, or even if he'd be effective. If you have a good enough starting back on your roster already, I wouldn't risk starting Hillis over him until we see how things go this week.
- WR Greg Little - Little came oh-so-close to getting a touchdown last week, but for now, he's just a guy who stacks up a decent amount of yardage here and there. I don't know how much you can really count on that for fantasy production each week though, so sit him.
- WR Joshua Cribbs - There's a reason he leads the team with four touchdown receptions -- the coaches trust him to be an integral part of the gameplan and they really seem to believe in his abilities as a receiver. How many times have you seen Cribbs drop a pass or not look like a good receiver this year? With his return threat always as an added bonus, along with potential rushing yards, he's still not a bad third wide receiver option.
- TE Benjamin Watson - He was targeted in the end zone last week, but the tight ends have had much less of an impact in the passing game this season than I originally projected. There should be better options out there than Watson.
- TE Evan Moore - He caught a touchdown against the Bengals in Week 1, and was also targeted on another end zone throw that fell incomplete. His usage has significantly declined though, and it's hard to imagine the Browns pulling out the same exact play they have already used with him.
- K Phil Dawson - After several weeks of long distance kicks, Dawson had one successful kick taken off the board last week and one that seemed good but was deemed "no good." If Dawson's your kicker, he's your kicker; I don't think you're going to change him at this point in the season.
- DEF Cleveland - I thought Dalton was a joke in Week 1, but he did fine in the first half before giving way to Bruce Gradkowski (I almost forgot about that). He's been doing well all season, but he has tossed five interceptions in his past two games, being without start receiver A.J. Green most of that span. He gets Green back this week, and even if the Bengals fall behind in games, they find ways to put points on the board and rally. On the road, the Browns' defense probably isn't a good start this week.