My Week 9 DFS recap article is
late this week because I was unable to type Julio Jones’
name for the past two days without going into a fit of rage. With
48 hours to decompress and multiple bouts of needing to say the
mantra “serenity now, serenity now,” I am finally
able to write my recap on what could have been my best week of
DFS to date.
For those unaware of what transpired on a fourth and seven from
the Panther 39-yard line on Sunday, Julio Jones ran an excellent
route that left him wide open in the end zone with no defender
in sight. Matt Ryan lobbed the pass in the air, giving Jones plenty
of time to move under the ball and make what should have been
an easy touchdown.
Instead of securing the easy touchdown, Jones tripped over his
own feet and bobbled the ball like my six-year-old learning to
catch. The gaffe cost the Falcons seven points and a chance of
beating the Panthers in a crucial NFC South matchup. But more
importantly (at least in my world), the drop cost me 10.9 fantasy
points and the chance of making $150 more from my winning ticket
in the Millionaire contest on DraftKings.
With 182.48 points I finished 1436th out of 500k entries, for
a nice little payday of $100. If Jones had made that catch (assuming
a small percentage of other owners above me owned Jones), I would
have moved into the top 250 and would have walked away with $300.
In hindsight, at least that drop did not remove the chance of
me finishing with a serious payday, as missing out on a million
dollar payday would be crushing.
Quarterback: Russell
Wilson vs. Washington Fantasy Points: 25.58
Grade: B
I cursed Wilson’s name for the first three-quarters of this game,
with the Redskins limiting the Seahawks to three-missed Blair
Walsh field goals. But like he often does, Wilson finished strong
using both his arm and his legs for 25.58 fantasy points on 297
passing yards and two touchdowns, while adding 77 yards on the
ground.
In hindsight, I should have started Jared Goff as a part of a
Rams stack that I mentioned in my preview piece, especially with
the Giants decimated on defense by injuries and suspensions. I
just had a tough time rationalizing starting Goff, Gurley, Watkins,
and Everett on the same ticket.
I originally had Fournette and Gurley as my top running back
plays in a week where I didn’t feel like there were high
priced wide receivers worthy of a top dollar salary. The last-minute
move by the Jags to make Fournette inactive forced me to move
in Kamara into the lineup, which proved to be a fortuitous change.
I love Kamara and Mark Ingram, but it continues to defy logic
for two running backs on the same team to be top 12 fantasy assets.
Eventually one of them will take a back seat fantasy-wise, but
until then, I plan on featuring both of them in my lineups.
Todd Gurley was my top play of the week based on the logic that
the Rams were going to run away with an easy win over the hapless
Giants, opening the door for Gurley to get some close out points.
Recent struggles by Hilton and Watkins left both players with
very attractive low salaries relative to their skill level, giving
DFS owners like myself excellent options at WR to pair with expensive
running back plays.
With Hilton, I bought into the narrative that his recent complaints
about volume and subsequent comments by his head coach about getting
Hilton involved would lead to a big game against the Texans. The
squeaky wheel narrative doesn’t always pay off, but it did
this week for the 33% of owners who played Hilton.
I liked Watkins a lot based on the fact that Janoris Jenkins
was inactive for violating team rules, plus the likelihood of
a positive game script that would allow Goff to target Watkins
deep seemed to be high.
The selection of Funchess made sense based on the fact that he
has earned nearly eight targets in his last four games and the
shocking trade of Kelvin Benjamin to the Bills would give Funchess
even more volume. The volume and catches were there, but the production
was somewhat disappointing at five catches for 86 yards and no
touchdowns.
The Giants entered Week 9 allowing a touchdown to an opposing
tight end in every single game this year, ranking New York first
in points allowed at 14 points per game. By comparison, the Giants
have allowed more tight end receiving touchdowns than the Packers,
Chargers, Falcons, 49ers, Steelers, and Bears combined.
So it goes without saying that $2,600 Gerald Everett looked poised
to have a big game on Sunday at Met Life Stadium. Everette did
have an excellent long reception and added a 13-yard run, but
fellow tight end Tyler Higbee vultured a seven-yard receiving
touchdown.
I will save you from reading an exhausting diatribe about my
frustrations regarding Julio Jones and focus on why I thought
he was worth the $7,800 price tag against a tough Carolina Defense.
With Jones only receiving six targets in a Week 8 loss to the
Jets, I assumed that the Atlanta coaching staff would see the
errors in their scheme and pepper Jones with passes Week 9. That
proved to be the case, and Jones was one drop away from a 30-point
fantasy day.
DST: Philadelphia vs. Denver Fantasy Points: 8.0
Grade: C
With the Eagles flying high off of a 20-point DST performance
at home against the 49ers, I assumed that they would find success
once again this week against Brock Osweiler and the anemic Denver
offense.
The Eagles gave me a solid eight points off of three sacks and
two interceptions, but the lack of a defensive touchdown made
this somewhat of a bust.
