Fine or Pine, Week 15

By Adam Filadelfo (@FNTSYArchitect)

With the fantasy championship nearly upon most fantasy leagues, now is the time to make the most of each lineup. There is no margin for error and every single move could be the difference between playing next week or watching your friends (or foes) compete for the title. With that said, I present to you the week 15 edition of Fine or Pine.



Quarterback

Fine- Ben Roethlisberger- Pittsburgh Steelers- With a matchup against one of the worst fantasy defenses in 2014, the Steelers signal caller has one of the best match ups for a quarterback this week. Big Ben is already averaging almost 25 fantasy points per game this season and faces an Atlanta defense allowing 18 fantasy points per week to opposing quarterbacks. With both defenses not at the top of their games, fantasy owners should expect plenty of points in this game.

Pine- Colin Kaepernick- San Francisco 49ers- Fantasy owners should have been done with Kaepernick quite some time ago. He hasn't scored more than 20 fantasy points in a game since week six and the Seahawks defense is allowing the least amount of fantasy points to the quarterback. The Seahawks secondary is Krytptonite to the 49ers signal caller as Kaepernick has not scored more than 15.9 fantasy points in a game against the Seahawks since becoming the San Francisco starter back in 2012. It's fantasy playoff time and  Kaepernick  cannot and should not be trusted whatsoever.

Wide Receiver

Fine- Odell Beckham Jr- New York Giants- At this point, fantasy owners lucky enough to have drafted or picked up ODB off of waivers  absolutely has to start him each and every week. He has shown to be match up proof up until this point and has scored double digit fantasy points in all but three games this season. He has also posted double  digit fantasy points in three of his last five games. In the nine total games he's played this season, he has 82 targets and has become the go to receiver for Eli Manning. Facing a Washington defense that's allowing over 37 fantasy points per week to the wide out position should only make the rookie receiver even more appealing in week 15.

Pine- Anquan Boldin- San Francisco 49ers-This is more of an indictment on his quarterback and not the player himself. Kapernick has been a fantasy quarterback barely startable in some leagues and Boldin may be the one who suffers from it. The match up is not in the wideout's favor as Seattle is allowing the least amount of fantasy points per game to wide receivers and Boldin as already been held to single digit fantasy points the last two weeks.

Running Back

Fine- Matt Forte- Chicago Bears- Of course every Matt Forte owner will start him this week and every week but besides Forte averaging over 16 fantasy points per game, the Bears week 15 opponent, the Saints are allowing the fourth most fantasy points to running backs this season. Add to that, Forte has double digit fantasy points in three of his last four contests and has seen no less than six targets in any game all season long. This game should be another contest where plenty of points will be scored seeing how both defense will probably end up staying home and not showing up.

Pine- Frank Gore- San Francisco 49ers- I know it seems like I'm picking on the 49ers here but this is the fantasy playoffs and tough decisions need to be made. The 49ers offense as a whole has been completely erratic to say the least and Frank Gore hasn't done much to help his cause. Gore has not posted a double digit fantasy points game since back in week 11 and the Seattle run defense is allowing 20.6 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs and is starting to come on strong as of late. Gore has become more of a desperation start than a must start.

Tight End

Fine- Delanie Walker- Tennessee Titans- With 22 targets over his last three games and facing a Jets defense allowing the seventh most fantasy points to opposing tight ends, Delanie Walker is a must start at a position that hasn't been that reliable this season outside of Rob Gronkowski. The Titans have injuries at pretty much all the starting receivers positions so Jake Locker will have to rely on his tight end in this game.

Pine- Jason Witten- Dallas Cowboys- As efficient as the Cowboys offense has been for most of the season, the offense runs through DeMarco Murray and Dez Bryant. Witten is averaging 5.7 fantasy points per game this season and has not posted a double digit fantasy points game since week eight which happened to be his one and only. To make matters worse, the opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, are a tough team when it comes to opposing tight ends allowing the second least amount of fantasy points to the position. If points are to be scored in this game, it will more than likely come from the Dallas wideouts and DeMarco Murray.

D/ST

Fine- New England Patriots- The Miami offense has sputtered as of late and the Patriots defense (especially their secondary) has been a dominant force most of the season and is only getting better as the season goes along. Revis and company are allowing just over 17 fantasy points per week to opposing quarterbacks and Tannehill hasn't been the fantasy stud he was earlier in the season.

Pine- Philadelphia Eagles- This game figures to decide the NFC East and plenty of points look to be scored in this game. That makes the Eagles defense, a team allowing the second most fantasy points to quarterbacks a unit better suited to sitting than starting. The Eagles defense is a defense predicated on turnovers and with Romo averaging over 20 fantasy points per game and having thrown eight interceptions (the second least of his career), the Eagles defense isn't looking like a defense ready to help fantasy owners advance to the championship next week.