Fantasy Lames: Lamar Miller not a good option in Week 11

Each week the Noise highlights 10 over-started names whom he believes are destined to implode leave egg on his face. To qualify, each player must be started in at least 50 percent of Yahoo leagues. Speaking as an accountability advocate, I will post results, whether genius or moronic, the following week using the scoring system shown here. If you’re a member of TEAM HUEVOS, reveal your Week 11 Lames in the comments section below.

SEE WEEK 11 FLAMES HERE

Carson Palmer, Ari, QB (56 percent started, $29 in Yahoo DFS)
Matchup: at Min
Palmer, the big loser last week in Arizona’s ongoing team-wide competition, donned a patriotic morph suit during his pregame warmups. Though he finished with respectable totals, his failure to find the end zone multiple times left many investors unsatisfied. This Sunday, he might as well trot out dressed as a smiley clown. Why? By game’s end, every fantasy owner will want to throw a pie in his face. Palmer has mostly underwhelmed this season. Last fall, he ranked top-three in yards per attempt, passer rating and fantasy points per dropback. He was fearless, on point and aggressive. What a difference a year makes. At the current time, Palmer is no where close to the top-20 in several categories. His dramatic decline in efficiency and overall production is the byproduct of aging and inadequate protection. If not for David Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald’s phenomenal execution, he would essentially be the Blake Bortles of the Southwest, a hard-to-employ passer who has his owners full of remorse. Things could get even worse this week. Xavier Rhodes remains in post-concussion protocol. If he’s not cleared in time, fantasy pundits are sure to recommend the QB as a contrarian play. But don’t be fooled. Terrance Newman and Captain Munnerlyn continue to play at a high level and backup Trae Waynes is hardly a rag doll. Combined the trio has allowed a 57.3 passer rating to assignments. Given their rigidness, Minnesota’s top ranking in fantasy points allowed to QBs since Week 4 and Palmer’s struggles on the road (3:5 TD:INT split, 72.0 QB rating, 6.7 ypa), he’s a circus act not worth watching, unless Rhodes, Newman and Munnerlyn – the latter pair didn’t practice Wednesday – are deemed inactive.

Fearless Forecast: 252 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, 2 interceptions, 12.1 fantasy points

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Lamar Miller, Hou, RB (90 percent started, $26 in Yahoo DFS)
Matchup: at Oak (in Mexico)
Top. Five. Yep, that’s what some dunderhead uttered back in August about Miller. *Looks in mirror* … Man, that guy is a complete imbecile. It’s long overdue I face the facts. Though he’s received opportunity share (70.5 percent), the prized offseason acquisition simply hasn’t lived up to his enormous promise. Point fingers at Brock Osweiler all you want, but Miller should shoulder much of the blame. He’s been hampered by various nicks and scrapes, rarely found the end zone and squandered several scoring opportunities. Equally unacceptable, he’s evaded few tackles and generated only marginal yards after contact. His No. 64 standing among RBs in juke rate says it all. Ranked No. 19 in fantasy points per game, he’s basically a slightly more palatable version of Todd Gurley. Gross. To the lazy researcher, Oakland presents an advantageous situation. After all, the Raiders, on the year, have given up the fourth-most fantasy points to rushers. However, much of that damage occurred early in the season. Stiffer since Week 7, Khalil Mack and Friends have allowed a lowly 63.7 rush yards per game and check in at No. 6 in fewest fantasy points surrendered. Miller is bound to register 15-20 touches, but I’m betting on another barren effort. Gamble on homebodies C.J. Prosise (vs. Phi), Rob Kelley (vs. GB) or Theo Riddick (vs. Jac) instead.

Fearless Forecast: 15 carries, 74 rushing yard, 3 receptions, 10 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns, 9.9 fantasy points

Mark Ingram, NO, RB (84 percent started, $19 in Yahoo DFS)
Matchup: at Car
After a two-week hiatus as the lead guy, Ingram appears to be back in the captain’s chair, for the time being. He out-snapped (22-to-14), out-touched (13-to-10) and out-gained Tim Hightower (63-to-55) last Sunday versus Denver. When not secreting butter from his hands, he’s superior to Hightower in almost every category. He’s averaged a robust 4.8 yards per carry, evaded the 14th-most tackles of any running back and posted a laudable 2.7 YAC. Still, Sean Payton appears committed to a two-back rotation, meaning Ingram’s workloads will remain in the 12-15 touch range. Mystifying. With that in mind, he’s someone to avoid in Week 11. Not only do the Saints play on Thursday night, often times a death sentence for fantasy values, they face an ironclad Panthers run defense. Luke Kechly, Shaq Thompson and Kawaan Short rank near the top of their respective positions (LB/DT) in run stops. Collectively, the Panthers have given up an unappealing 3.4 yards per carry to RBs. More damning, Devonta Freeman was the last rusher to cross the chalk against them, way back in Week 4. If you’re clinging to playoff hopes and are an ardent Ingram backer, it’s strongly recommended to seek alternatives. Jeremy Hill (vs. Buf) is one suggested option.

Fearless Forecast: 11 carries, 35 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 14 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns, 6.4 fantasy points

Dez Bryant, Dal, WR (90 percent started, $22 in Yahoo DFS)
Matchup: vs. Bal
Dez is that snickering hunting dog from NES classic “Duck Hunt.” When converting his targets, he racks the points. However, when Dak Prescott locks, loads and fires elsewhere, his fantasy persona pops up, mocks you and deflates your ego. This week, press the “start” button in DFS and the latter scenario is likely to play out. It’s been a rocky year, to say the least, for the multi-time Pro Bowl selection. Injury and Prescott’s refusal to force the ball to his side have made him wildly unpredictable. Against Cleveland, for instance, he hauled in only one pass for 19 yards. Last Sunday, conversely, he tallied the fifth-best line among WRs gabbing six passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. When you sport a 44.4 catch percentage, maddening inconsistency is bound to be the norm. It’s anyone’s best guess which version of Dez shows versus Baltimore, but smart money says an uneventful performance is on the horizon. When Jimmy Smith is on the field, the Ravens typically dig their talons into the competition. On the year, the corner has conceded just 6.7 fantasy points per game and 0.26 fantasy points per route to his assignments. Sure, Baltimore is the 11th-most generous defense when it comes to wide receivers, but scrutinize the game logs and it’s secondary weapons (e.g. Corey Coleman, Michael Crabtree, Eli Rogers and Pierre Garcon) that most often have inflicted damage. He’s still employable in season-long, but Bryant has a much lower ceiling than you might think.

Fearless Forecast: 5 receptions, 64 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns, 8.9 fantasy points

Stefon Diggs, Min, WR (66 percent started, $23 in Yahoo DFS)
Matchup: vs. Ari
Everyone’s favorite fantasy spelunker isn’t worth exploring in Week 11. To be fair, Diggs has been one of the finer contributors for the PPR crowd the past three weeks. Targeted early and often (35.9 percent targets share Weeks 8-10) , he’s plucked an unreal 34 balls for 320 yards and one touchdown. No other wide receiver has caught more passes over that stretch. However, that was achieved against soft secondaries Chicago, Detroit and Washington. Sure to exclusively lock horns with Patrick Peterson this week, Diggs will be humbled. The Arizona corner is one of the few remaining shutdown defenders in the league. Rarely have opponents recorded even modest success against him. On the season, he’s yielded just 6.4 fantasy points per game and a 64.2 passer rating. As a unit, only five wideouts have tallied double-digit fantasy points versus the Cardinals. The intense heat Arizona often brings – it’s tallied the eighth-most sacks in the league – is also a concern. Sam Bradford has absorbed 16 sacks in his past four games. Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur will shift Diggs around to maximize his underneath abilities, but ample yards after the catch seem unlikely. After a scorching stretch, the Viking cools.

Fearless Forecast: 6 receptions, 49 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns, 7.9 fantasy points

BONUS WEEK 11 LAMES

#TEAMHUEVOS Picks of the Week
Each week one fortunate guest prognosticator will have a chance to silence the Noise. Following the rules stated above, participants are asked to submit their “Lames” (1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 1 D/ST) by midnight PT Tuesdays via Twitter @YahooNoise. How large are your stones?

Reader Record: 27-39

Noise Record: 52-47 (Week 10: 7-3; W: Todd Gurley, Ty Montgomery, Gary Barnidge, Philly D/ST, Brandon Marshall, Carlos Hyde, Christine Michael ;L: Ben Roethlisberger, Brandin Cooks, Julian Edelman)

Follow Brad on Twitter (@YahooNoise) and check out his new TV show, ‘The Fantasy Football Hour,’ Wednesdays on Altitude TV (Channel 681 on DirecTV, 412 on DISH).