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Fantasy Sports Fantasy Football

Fantasy Football Week 12 Start or Sit: Brandon LaFell

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Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

The New England Patriots dominated the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday, as Jonas Gray exploded onto the scene running for nearly 200 yards and four touchdowns. Tom Brady was relatively quiet for most of the game, throwing two touchdowns to Tim Wright and Rob Gronkowski in the second half. It was a rare win for New England that was predicated on the run game.

New England just signed LeGarrette Blount which is a telling sign that they are reverting back to the physical, running team they were towards the end of last season. Blount, along with Gray and Shane Vereen, will possibly give New England the deepest backfield in the NFL.

This week, however, the Patriots take on a Detroit Lions team with one of the best run defenses in the NFL. It would be only fitting that a week after pounding the Colts on the ground, New England could actually turn away from the run and win with the pass. Detroit has allowed just 623 yards on the ground which is the second-lowest total in the league.

Detroit’s pass defense is solid as well, allowing just 18 fantasy points per game to opposing receivers and ranking in the top-five in most categories. The Lions, however, have looked vulnerable in the secondary over the last four games. Detroit has allowed a total of 89 fantasy points to opposing wideouts with four scores during these last four games, which should be excellent news for Brandon LaFell.

LaFell has just nine catches over the last two games, but last week he averaged over 20 yards per catch. He has not seen as many targets, mainly because he hasn’t needed to, which could change on Sunday.

Detroit is more than capable of stopping the run and will be up to the challenge of facing bigger backs like Blount and Gray. Last week, Michael Floyd beat Detroit for two long touchdowns in the first half, exposing their average secondary. LaFell has been a deep threat for New England and will have a great chance to be on the receiving end of one or two of Brady’s long passes.

If you own LaFell, he will make a good WR2 option, a very good flex option and a great WR3 option, meaning he should be starting in most, if not all fantasy leagues.

Patrick Puzzo is a Fantasy writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @patrickpuzzo_24, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google

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