The little man in Philadelphia's offense
has racked up 28 carries and 16 targets over the last 2 weeks.
Grab a Helmet
Darren
Sproles v. ATL: I’m continually amazed a guy Sproles’
size (5’9”, 190 lbs) can do battle with literal giants every week
and not get killed doing it. Even more amazing? He’s been going
strong for over a decade and has only missed seven games. Seven.
Heck, I’m just shy of 5’11” and weigh about the same (on a good
day) and couldn’t last seven PLAYS taking the beating a typical
NFL running back absorbs. Obviously, Sproles isn’t typical. He
possesses uncommon shiftiness, top-end wheels, and – due to his
smallish stature – a knack for avoiding direct hits. Coach Pederson
has started using more and more of him lately (36 touches the
last two weeks) and that isn’t likely to change when the Birds
challenge the Dirty Birds in what should be a wide-open affair
this Sunday. Get Sproles in your lineups and don’t worry about
Philly’s resident TD-poacher, Ryan Mathews.
Devontae
Booker @ NO: Two weeks ago, the stars seemed to be
aligning for Booker to become an instant fantasy stud in Denver.
He was coming off his best game as a pro (17 carries, 83 yards,
and a score while splitting carries against Houston) and was suddenly,
due to C.J. Anderson’s season-ending knee injury, being thrust
into the role of meal ticket. Well, two weeks as a starter have
come and gone and Booker’s game against the Texans is still his
best professional effort. Time to cut bait and grab Kapri Bibbs,
right? Wrong. Bibbs looks like a good change-of-pace guy, but
he only touched the ball three times against Oakland. Even if
he gets more looks, which Coach Kubes is promising, how much does
he really bite into Booker’s workload? Stick with the former Ute
against a Saints-D giving up the second most points to opposing
RBs.
Tim
Hightower v. DEN: Booker can simply look across the
field this coming Sunday if he needs a reminder of how fast things
can change in this what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league. When
Mark Ingram’s early fumble in Week 8 led directly to a scoop-and-score
for the Seahawks, a fed-up Sean Payton replaced him with Hightower,
who answered the bell by rambling for 102 yards and 26 carries.
Naturally, Ingram owners everywhere panicked. Turns out they needn’t
have worried. All Ingram did to redeem himself in Week 9 against
SF was post the very best game of his 5-plus-year career (171
total yards and two scores). So, all is forgiven, yes? Well, let’s
not forget Hightower did get the start in Santa Clara and wasn’t
too shabby himself (102 total yards and a score). I consider them
both start-worthy against a Denver run defense that isn’t nearly
as good as you think (29th overall).
Grab a Gatorade
Todd
Gurley @ NYJ: What does it say about overall No.1 pick
Jared Goff that the Rams are heading into Week 10 with a 3-6 record,
having scored 20 or more points just two times (read: clearly
struggling on offense), and haven’t even considered giving him
live reps? You can draw your own conclusions, but I drew mine
long before he was selected: He’s just not that good. Gurley actually
IS good, but not good enough, apparently, to overcome Case Keenum
as his QB and precious few teammates who scare opposing defenders.
He’s ranked 40th of 42 qualified running backs in yards-per-carry
and if it weren’t for some added involvement in the LA passing
game, he’d be one of the more disappointing totally healthy top
five picks in recent memory. You’re stuck with him if you’ve held
on this long, but don’t go expecting miracles over halfway through
the campaign.
Jerick
McKinnon @ WAS: Meet No.41 in the yards-per-carry rankings.
McKinnon has carried the ball 72 times since Adrian Peterson succumbed
to injury six games ago, a pretty healthy usage rate for a guy
only sparsely utilized while AD was in the fold. Unfortunately,
he’s made up for the added carries by turning into an extremely
inefficient gainer (just 30.4 total points, or barely more than
Mark Ingram scored last week). How does a guy go from averaging
almost five yards per tote in his first two years to barely three
in his third? A decimated offensive line certainly hasn’t helped
and neither has the ankle injury he suffered against Philly in
Week 7. I like the matchup with a bad Washington run defense,
but it takes a leap of faith to start Vikings these days and McKinnon
isn’t close to the most reliable of an unreliable bunch. He sits.
Christine
Michael @ NE: It sure doesn’t take long to go from
hero to zero in the NFL, does it? Sometimes, as we discussed in
Mark Ingram’s case, you can go right back to being a hero
the next week, but you need the opportunities and I’m not
sure Michael is guaranteed many more, especially after a five-carry,
one-yard dud on Monday night against Buffalo. Thomas Rawls is
due back from injury any day now and will be given every opportunity
to regain the lead role. Even more immediately, Coach Pete Carroll
is promising lots more C.J. Prosise this coming Sunday night in
Foxboro. I talked up Prosise back in August and am not at all
surprised to see him getting plenty of run. He’ll be especially
useful in a game that could have Seattle playing catch-up to Tom
Brady and his explosive Pats. It’s time to sit Michael down.
