Fantasy Doctor: Priming for playoffs

New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola breaks free from Baltimore Ravens strong safety James Ihedigbo following a reception during the first half of their game in Baltimore on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013. (Doug Kapustin/MCT)

By Joey Figueroa

Tweet: The Fantasy Doctor @joeyfigueroa3 is back with his week 11 picks, and to get your team ready for the playoffs.It was quite the bittersweet Week 10 for your beloved Fantasy Doctor.

I’m back to my winning ways with a 3-0 week across three leagues, but once again, a huge injury has hampered my spirits. Julian Edelman, who was my top receiver in two leagues, broke his foot against the Giants on Sunday and will likely be out for the remainder of the season. I blame Eli Manning.

I’ve been well-conditioned to deal with these types of Earth-shattering misfortunes, though, and there remains a decent handful of players to pick up for Week 11. To make room for such players, other players need to be dropped. There are some guys who I’m sure plenty of owners want to hang onto in hopes of living up to their reputations, but its time to cut ties.

Every sport has those tough cuts to make when polishing playoff rosters, and its no different in the fantasy world.

Without further adieu, here’s who to add and who to drop for Week 11.

Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!

  • Catch the latest on University of Illinois news, sports, and more. Delivered every weekday.
  • Stay up to date on all things Illini sports. Delivered every Monday.
Thank you for subscribing!

Pick ‘em up

Danny Amendola: With Edelman out of the picture, the next speedy, little slot receiver on the docket is Danny Amendola. He’s quietly been solid this season — he has 40 catches for 403 yards — and should see his targets increase in a role that he was expected to own when he initially signed with the Patriots.

Ironically, injuries have always held Amendola back. This time he’ll be the one filling in for a hurt teammate this time and should be owned in all leagues.

Johnny Manziel: It’s money time in Cleveland, ladies and gentlemen. Money Manziel finally made it rain with a 33-for-45, 372-yard showing against Pittsburgh on Sunday. It was easily his best game as a pro, and he looked excitingly elusive in the pocket.

Sadly, the performance comes right before the Browns’ Week 11 bye, but it looks like Manziel will finally be given the keys to the Browns’ PT Cruiser of an offense. Grab Tony Romo this week for immediate returns, but look for some more fun from Manziel next week.

Zach Miller, Crockett Gilmore: Zach Miller of the Bears has scored three touchdowns over his last two games, and while I’d usually chalk that up to randomness, the dude has some moves. He saw five targets Sunday and is worth a try if you’re TE-desperate. Crockett Gilmore has the best name in the league and has also randomly scored TDs in consecutive weeks, so hey, go for it.

Drop ‘em off

Peyton Manning: I’ve mentioned the older Manning brother’s recent drop-off in production, but geez, I didn’t expect him to turn into a grandparent in pads. In what must have been a pretty awkward decision, Peyton was benched on the same day he broke the all-time NFL passing yards record and has already been ruled out for the Broncos next game. He threw four interceptions on Sunday and just can’t get much behind his throws anymore. Hopefully some rest can prime him for the real playoffs, but he can easily be dropped for fantasy purposes.

Jeremy Hill: I dropped Hill a few weeks back, and his play since then has only confirmed the move. Cincinnati’s supposed early-down back as been held under seven fantasy points in six of his nine contests and has yet to accumulate over 100 yards in a single game. He’s not worth waiting around for anymore.

Eddie Lacy: This may seem like a stretch, but there’s something strange going on with Lacy and the Packers as of late. Lacy’s been banged up and horribly out of shape, and it seems as if James Starks will be the feature back for the sputtering Green Bay offense. You may want to wait and see if he can get healthy, but Lacy is a candidate to be dropped in order to make room for someone with a bit more upside.

Defense of the week: Kansas City has been very, very good of late and will visit an underwhelming San Diego offense on Sunday.

[email protected]

?@joeyfigueroa3