Struggling? Betting sites offer owners new hope

Those of you who spent high draft picks on LeSean McCoy, Montee Ball or Jamaal Charles haven't exactly gotten the return on investment you were hoping for.

Now there's news out of Detroit that the Lions will "strongly" consider sitting Calvin Johnson this week as he attempts to recover from a high ankle sprain. Oh, and A.J. Green was carted off the field Wednesday after re-aggravating a toe injury that's nagged him since the opener. He's reportedly out for Sunday.

Then of course, there's those of you who drafted Adrian Peterson.

Six high-profile names - all six likely taken in the first 15 picks of your draft - and they have done (or are about to do) next to nothing.

What's a frustrated fantasy owner to do? We wait all summer for this time of year, then you lose one or two of these guys and you're 1-4 and throwing in the towel.

Here's where I usually say, "Don't give up. Make a trade. Make some shrewd free-agent moves."

Easier said than done sometimes, right?

There is another avenue to keep your interest piqued on a weekly basis that has exploded this season, and it has to do with online websites that offer weekly prizes if you can outwit other foes. Those of you in it purely for the money may want to check them out.

According to a Bloomberg News story, the site FanDuel says it will pay out $400 million this year and could top $1 billion in 2015. Another site - DraftKings - is giving 92,400 participants the chance to win $1 million for just a $27 entry fee. More than 15,000 others will receive money.

So if you're down on your luck in your "normal" league, maybe it's worth a shot to prove you've still got what it takes on a weekly basis where injuries won't affect you in the long term.

I'd love to hear from readers who have tried this avenue and what they think of the experience. Write to me at jdietz@dailyherald.com.

RB help:

With Denver's Montee Ball (groin) out for about a month, his owners would be wise to keep their eye on second-year man C.J. Anderson. The bruiser out of Cal has all of 3 carries on his NFL resume, but if Denver wants to run the ball on the goal line, you've got to figure they're going to give it to the 224-pounder and not the 5-foot-10, 195-pound Ronnie Hillman.

Anderson could be a flex play in bigger leagues, so take a chance if you are desperate.

Getting defensive:

Anybody wondering why it's a gamble to take a defense/special teams in a fantasy draft's middle rounds need look no further than Seattle, which ranks about 29th depending on your league's points system. The Seahawks went at the end of the sixth round in one of my drafts and the Niners (17th in fantasy points) were the next D/ST taken at the end of the eighth round.

Meanwhile, I took a chance on the top-ranked Eagles with my second-to-last pick and plucked the Chargers (a top-10 team and rising) off the free-agent market after Week 2.

Just a friendly reminder for next year that this phase of the game often boils down to nothing more than luck.

Good bets

• Giants QB Eli Manning at Philadelphia. This could be the highest scoring game of the year in the NFL. A 45-42 final wouldn't surprise me.

• Bengals RB Giovani Bernard and WR Mohamed Sanu vs. Carolina. With A.J. Green out, the Bengals will feed the rock to Bernard and get Sanu involved enough that he should flirt with 10-11 points.

• Chargers RB Branden Oliver at Oakland. Where did this guy come from? The undrafted rookie out of Buffalo piled up 182 yards on 23 touches with 2 TDs last week against the Jets. Ryan Mathews remains out and Donald Brown is likely out with a concussion. Oliver is almost a must-start against the league's worth run defense.

• Jets RB Chris Ivory vs. Denver. Risky call here, but New York must run early and often to try and keep the ball out of Peyton Manning's hands. A 60-yard day with a TD seems possible for Ivory.

• Lions WR Golden Tate at Minnesota. Two huge weeks have vaulted Tate into fifth place in receiving yardage in the NFL. With Calvin Johnson hobbled, it's Tate owners piling up the points.

• Patriots WR Julian Edelman at Buffalo. In two games against the Bills last year, Edelman had 16 catches for 144 yards and 2 TDs.

• Skins TE Jordan Reed at Arizona. Slated to return from a hamstring injury, Reed is a near lock for 8-plus points.

Bad bets

• Panthers QB Cam Newton at Cincinnati. The Ravens and Bengals are tied for fewest TD passes allowed at 4.

• Niners QB Colin Kaepernick and WR Michael Crabtree at St. Louis. In four starts against the Rams, Kaepernick (4 TDs, 192 pass yards, 45.5 rush yards per game) has been just awful.

• Patriots RB Stevan Ridley at Buffalo. The second-best rush defense in the league, the Bills have yet to allow a TD on the ground.

• Rams RB Zac Stacy vs. San Francisco. What a bust Stacy's been. He's averaging a mere 13.8 touches a game ... and he gets the Seahawks after this one. Ugh.

• Skins RB Alfred Morris at Arizona. Tough to run on the Cardinals.

• Titans WR Kendall Wright vs. Jacksonville. Some Wright owners will look at his monster fantasy numbers last week and think, "Hey, now he's playing the Jaguars. He's a must start!" True, he scored twice, but he also averaged just 7.8 yards on 6 catches and added 43 yards on 2 rushes. Way too risky a play for me at this point.

• Chargers WR Eddie Royal at Oakland. Teams beat the Raiders on the ground. Philip Rivers is still a QB1, but figuring out how he'll spread around his 250 yards and 1-2 TDs is a tall order.

• Cowboys WR Terrance Williams at Seattle. Williams is a top-10 fantasy WR at this point thanks to his 5 TDs, but expecting more than 5-6 points in this matchup is pure fantasy!

• Eagles TE Zac Ertz vs. N.Y. Giants. Ertz hasn't scored since Week 1 and is averaging just 45.5 yards per game since.

jdietz@dailyherald.com