Fantasy football week 11: Booms & busts

Here are some solid options and surprising busts for this week. If you're looking to stay ahead in your rankings, or trying to get back into your playoff hunt consider these players. As we get into the winter season, remember weather can affect the value of players.

Quarterbacks

Boom: Carson Palmer. The Vikings are giving up 272.8 yards a game against the pass and have allowed 18 passing touchdowns. Look for Palmer to light it up in the dome on his epic comeback tour.

Bust: Josh Freeman. This looks like a great match up on paper against a poor Packers passing defense, but don't get overly excited. The Packers played great football against Minnesota and Charles Woodson looks like he did when he was in his 20's. Green Bay is also at home with temperatures in the low 30's. The Packers D will come to play on Sunday.

Running Backs

Boom: Marshawn Lynch. The Seahawks veteran back should run all over St Louis who has the worst run defense in the NFL. Giving up a whopping 150.6 yards per game, look for Lynch to carry your team this week. Like this:

Bust: Ray Rice. Cincinnati's defense is 2nd against the run allowing only 86.8 yards a game. The Ravens will opt to try to expose the Bengals battered up secondary with Leon Hall on IR.

Wide Receivers

Boom: Denarius Moore. Last week he put up 123 yards on 5 catches and 2 TD's against the Chargers. The Vikings passing defense is the 3rd worst in the league (see above entry for quarterback boom). Carson Palmer seems to have a growing chemistry with Moore. With Jacoby Ford looking doubtful, Moore should see even more targets.

Bust: Steve Smith (Carolina). We're starting to see the rookie mistakes of Cam Newton. Detroit's defense ranks 4th best against the pass allowing only 184.0 yards per game. Detroit is also on the verge of falling into a dangerous place in the wild card chase if they can't win this game at home. Look for the Lions to come out angry in an effort to establish themselves as an elite team in the NFC.

Tight Ends

Boom: Antonio Gates. Chances are if you have him, you've been starting him, but a falling team and sloppy play by Rivers has hurt his value. Chicago will have trouble covering Gates down the field as he's a tough match up against the line backers or safeties. You'll be rewarded this week for grinding it out with Gates this season.

Bust: Brent Celek. Tough match up against the Giants this week. Michael Vick's injury could hurt the passing game. The Giants have only allowed 3 scores by a tight end all year.

Kickers

Boom: Jason Hanson. Back at home in the dome, the calm familiar climate should be a great venue for Hanson to make some kicks.

Bust: Nick Novak. The swirling winds in Chicago this time of the year are always tough for kickers to navigate. Look for a tough game and not as many long FG opportunities for Novak because of the conditions.

Defenses

Boom: Seattle. If you play defenses week to week, pick up Seattle. The Rams score the fewest points in the league so this should be a great match up.

Bust: Tennessee. After a devastating loss and a controversial 4th and inches call, look for the Falcons to rebound with veteran running back Michael Turner and their highly talented receiving core will be hard to cover.

Check back on Friday for my last minute booms!