We’re…back in the saddle again. We’re back. Good
Tuesday morning to you from the Buzz where we review the events
of the weekend and offer some insight as to what it all means moving
forward. Looking forward to another year of connecting with readers...
Let’s go!
Monday Night Star: Hopefully you didn't
go to bed early because if you did, you missed a show.
Multiple Scores Aplenty for Tight Ends
No less than five tight ends scored two or more touchdowns this
weekend, signaling just how significant that position has become
in both real-world offenses and in fantasy lineups. Rob
Gronkowski predictably led the way with a breakout game last
Thursday night (3 TDs), but Travis
Kelce, Jason
Witten, Tyler
Eifert, and Austin
Seferian-Jenkins each scored twice as well. With slot receivers
now en vogue almost all NFL teams, it is becoming harder and harder
to cover highly skilled tight ends like these five. Moving forward,
look for Kelce and Eifert to have the most value. Witten will likely
be blanketed with Dez
Bryant out for a month.
Rocky Mountain Misconceptions
In the non-fantasy football press, it’s all about Peyton Manning
after Week 1. But, in the world of fantasy, a quarterback’s
struggles cut deeper. Manning’s inability to throw the deep
ball affects Demaryius Thomas. It affects Emmanuel Sanders. And,
it most certainly affects the running game led by C.J. Anderson
and Ronnie Hillman. The Ravens’ defense is good and that has
to be taken into consideration. But, there’s no way around
how disjointed the Broncos offense looked on Sunday. In many redraft
leagues, Thomas and Anderson were first-round picks. After Week
1, I think many might like to have do-overs on both of them, particularly
if their minor injuries from Sunday linger. The Broncos are going
to rely heavily on their defense to win in 2015. The days of having
a dominating offensive attack appear to be over.
As for the Other Manning…
Eli
Manning’s struggles during the preseason spilled over into Sunday
night’s game vs. the Cowboys. He did throw for 18 more yards than
Peyton did (193-175), but he appeared just as out of synch with
receivers as did big brother. It makes us wonder here at the Buzz
whether or not a sophomore slump for Odell
Beckham Jr. is forthcoming. Defenses are going to throw everything
at Beckham and it’s on him to try to adjust. It’s also on Eil to
find ways to get the ball in his hands. Eli will begin to put it
together sooner than later, but until he does, he needs to be on
your bench. There are better offenses to tap into in September than
this one.
A Titan Uprising in the Sunshine State
How many Tampa Bay fans watched that game on Sunday wishing their
team had opted for Marcus
Mariota over Jameis
Winston? Probably more than can be counted. But, for fantasy
purposes, don’t get too caught up in this result. First, we told
you in the preseason how historically bad this Buccaneers defense
had the capability of being. They are bad. So bad that they made
Bishop
Sankey (86 yards, 2 TDs) look like Marshall Faulk and Kendall
Wright (100-plus yards, 1 TD) look like Isaac Bruce. Mariota
is going to produce solid backup quarterback numbers fantasy-wise,
and Kendall Wright is going to be a season-long starter in leagues
that feature 3 WRs. But, Sankey is still just a flex play going
moving forward. As for Winston and Tampa Bay, the fantasy future
will be brighter. Mike
Evans will return and Austin
Seferian-Jenkins looks like a star in the making. Don’t be surprised
if Winston ends up with more fantasy points than Mariota by season’s
end… unless your league penalizes heavily for interceptions.
We Don’t Need No Stinkin’
Marc Trestman
Matt Forte was thought to have played his last big season in 2014
according to many fantasy sources. The theory was that with John
Fox in and Marc Trestman out, Forte would no longer be the central
piece of the offense that he was in recent years with Trestman running
the show. But, the truth is this: Never underestimate what a driven
warrior like Forte will do in the final year of his contract. Forte
wants one more big payday before hanging up the cleats and I think
the Bears will work him hard this season knowing he could move on
in 2016 to another team. What’s left is the notion that Sunday’s
166-yard, 1 TD outburst won’t be Forte’s last of the
season. As for Trestman turning Justin Forsett into Matt Forte this
year, the jury is still out after one bad week, albeit against an
elite Denver defense.
All’s Quiet on the Wideout Front
We began this week’s Buzz by mentioning the breakout performances
at tight end. The flip side of that coin was a fairly quiet day
for a number of big name wide receivers and for wide receivers in
general. It’s a common trend in September as timing between quarterback
and receiver can be slow to develop, even if the two have played
together for years. Among the projected WR1’s, only Antonio
Brown and Julio
Jones met expectations with 130+ yards each and three combined
touchdowns. The previously mentioned Demaryius
Thomas and Odell
Beckham Jr. were joined by Calvin
Johnson, Dez
Bryant,A.J.
Green, Brandin
Cooks, and Alshon
Jeffery in the high expectation, low-impact category. Here’s
the thing. Don’t bench those guys in Week 2 (except Bryant who is
injured). The timing will come as will the fantasy points. Benching
Calvin Johnson for Stevie Johnson simply isn’t warranted…yet.
Rising Jets and Falling Colts
Frank Gore and Andre Johnson owners were excited on Sunday morning,
licking their chops to see that the borderline Hall of Famers could
do in a top-notch offense for the first time. What they got was
a combined 55 yards and no TDs, with both looking every bit their
age and then some. And, to add insult to old age, T.Y. Hilton is
now week-to-week with a knee bruise. I do think the Colts will regroup
and produce good numbers moving forward, but the idea that they
are best offense in a decade now just looks silly. As for the Jets,
we tried to tell you back in August that it would be a mistake to
assume the same vanilla offense from them. Exit Rex Ryan and enter
a healthy energized Chris Ivory to go along with some serious talent
at wide receiver in the form of Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker.
Ivory should be in every starting lineup in America moving forward
and Marshall and Decker both look like solid plays week in and week
out as well. These aren’t your older brother’s Jets.
Better get used to it. By the way, next week's Monday night game:
Colts vs. Jets.
We’re Excited About the Return
Of…
Le’Veon
Bell and C.J.
Spiller. Bell’s replacement, DeAngelo Williams, ran for 127
yards on Thursday night vs. New England. That’s fantastic for Williams
and for smart owners who picked him up for the first two weeks of
the season, but can you imagine what Bell is going to do in that
same system when he comes back? Wow. And, did you notice how many
receiving yards the Saints running backs got on Sunday? The total
was 154. You think Spiller will have a big role in that offense?
You bet he will. Bell is primed to be fantasy’s best running back
beginning Week 3. Spiller is primed to be a rock-solid RB2 in PPR
leagues as soon as he’s cleared to play. If you’re a DeAngelo
Williams or Mark
Ingram owner, better enjoy the production while it lasts.
Doctor Julio and Mister Hyde
The stars of Monday Night Football in Week 1 were clearly Julio
Jones and Carlos
Hyde. No running back had a better week than Hyde (182 total
yards, 2 TDs). No receiver had a better week than Jones (141 yards,
2 TDs). Both look like top-five at their positions moving forward,
particularly if Reggie
Bush's injury ends up being a multi-week event. Many a fantasy
game was likely won last night by having one of these two studs
in your lineup. Anybody have both? Now, that would have been one
special Monday night.
That's a wrap for the Buzz in Week One. I would love to get feedback
from you this week and during the season, so feel free to shoot
me an e-mail. We'll be back next week with more analysis and the
answers to the question: Was Week 1 a sign of things to come...or
was it just one week. Or a little bit of both. Whatever it was,
we'll have it covered all the way from Thursday to Monday- from
Kansas City to Indianapolis. Buzz out.
