Pilar's Chargers Fantasy: Drop'em or Pick'em week 17

All you fantasy football champions that won your league last week and are just reading my blog for fun, congratulations on a game well played, my friends! For all you guys visiting my blog to get the latest scoop on any Chargers you have on your bench, it's been a long season. The good news is the Chargers will probably not be resting any of their key starters in preparation for playoffs. In addition, they have a great contest against their hated rivals, The Oakland Raiders. With pride (and possibly jobs) at stake, this could turn out to be a game with BIG fantasy implications. 

Antonio Gates will finally get a solid start em’ from me. Gates has a nice matchup where the Raiders are top 10 in allowing fantasy points to opposing tight ends. Gates has certainly performed better in the last couple games. It's a shame that it only took 14 weeks for him to break out.  Ah, but that's the past. Focusing on the present, Gates has managed to get fantasy owners about 9 points a game. Against the Raiders, it's safe to say that he'll produce for fantasy owners. Gates' estimated  9-10 points is a long way from the 3-4 points that owners were typically getting this season.  I say start Gates in week 17.

Danario Alexander was the player we have all grown to rely on to get us a win. In week 16, Alexander lit up the woeful Jets for 69 yards and a touchdown. Alexander is still Rivers’ most reliable target and should continue to see the same action against the Raiders. There's a reason why Alexander is continuously getting a start em’ in my book. It's because he's the best player on the team.  

Chargers defense has a very favorable match up this week.   I'm not putting them in my top five this week but their match up is favorable enough to get a start.The Raiders are coming off a Carolina loss in week 16 where they were limited to only 6 points.  However, if you want to gamble on getting extra fantasy defense points, see if you can get your hands on the Steeler's Defense. The Steelers are another team with something to prove and beating up on a 3 win, but spunky Cleveland Browns may just be what the doctor ordered for the NFL's top rated defense.  Some may call the Steelers old, but I prefer to call them sleepers. And expect these sleepers to wake up angry after being eliminated from the playoff picture. The blue collar crew will be facing a banged up and perhaps limited Trent Richardson and likely the debut of Browns’ third string quarterback, Thad Lewis. This has tasty match up written all over it, so pull up a chair and dig in. 

Good luck y’all

XO~ Pilar