Did you survive the first of two brutal weeks of byes? Here’s
hoping that you had guys like Ryan
Tannehill, Jeremy
Hill, and Mike
Evans filling in the blanks for you. Six teams off means each
game is more important from a fantasy-relevant standpoint, so
let’s get right to this week’s action as it unfolded…
New Orleans @ Carolina
This is not the same Mark
Ingram that played for the Saints the past few seasons. After
30 carries for 100 yards and two more TDs, it’s safe to say that
Ingram is a borderline RB1 moving forward even when Khiry
Robinson and Pierre
Thomas get back on the field. The Saints have started winning
again and it’s no coincidence as to why. The painful watch of
the week goes out to Kelvin
Benjamin owners who saw double-digit targets for their guy,
but only 2 catches, 18 yards, and a couple of dropped TDs. Benjamin
appears to have the talent necessary for stardom in the NFL and
in fantasy realms, but Cam
Newton has clearly regressed this season and he and Benjamin
weren’t on the same page Thursday night.
San Diego @ Miami
What is there to say after a beat-down like this one? The Dolphins
dominated this game from start to finish and turned guys who started
Philip
Rivers into likely losers on Sunday. Rivers’ totals (138 yards
passing, 3 INTs) were shocking and one can only deduce that A)
the Chargers are losing steam, and B) the Dolphins’ defense is
really good. Their offense wasn’t too bad either as Ryan
Tannehill put up 30 points in most scoring formats and threw
touchdowns to three different receivers (Charles
Clay, Jarvis Landry, & Rishard
Matthews). That meant a quiet day for Mike Wallace, but Tannehill’s
progression is still good for Wallace owners in the long run.
The Branden
Oliver bandwagon is falling apart meanwhile; Ryan
Mathews looks set to regain his starting role in Week 11.
Dynamite sub: Jeremy Hill led all fantasy
running backs in Week 9 with 154 yards and two touchdowns.
Jacksonville @ Cincinnati
Imagine the Sunday afternoon for the guy who faced Jeremy
Hill in their opposing fantasy lineup. Hill injures his knee
early in the game. This is usually the kiss of death for one’s
fantasy prospects. So, you run an errand…maybe get a quick bite
to eat…and you return to find that not only did Hill make his
way back onto the field…he actually ran for 154 yards and 2 TDs.
If you’re a Hill owner, the story is reversed of course. Either
way, Hill was one of the stars of the day and should continue
to be as long as Giovani
Bernard is sidelined. Nice to see A.J.
Green back in this game and nice to see that Green’s presence
seems to have little bearing on Mohamed Sanu’s production (95
yards receiving, 1 TD). For Jacksonville, Week 1 Allen
Hurns showed up again while Denard
Robinson continues to be the real deal at running back (104
total yards, 1 TD).
Tampa Bay @ Cleveland
Exhibit A that we at the Buzz get it wrong sometimes and things
in the NFL turn on a dime: It was said here several weeks ago
that the Browns could run on anybody. Tampa Bay isn’t just anybody.
They’re a bad version of anybody. It should have been a great
matchup for Ben
Tate and Terrance
West…but it wasn’t. In fact, the Browns gained 50 yards rushing
on 28 carries. It’s a good thing Brian
Hoyer threw for 300 yards and a couple of TDs. The fantasy
star of this game, though, was on the other side of the ball as
rookie Mike
Evans staked his claim amongst the rookie WR standouts for
2014 with 7 catches, 124 yards receiving, and 2 TDs. This has
quietly been one of the best rookie wide receiver classes in some
time with Evans joining Watkins, Benjamin, Cooks, and the previously
mentioned Hurns in that discussion.
NY Jets @ Kansas City
Not sure anyone on Sunday was more disappointed than Chris
Ivory owners who saw their guy get fewer carries than Chris
Johnson (11-8) and barely more carries than Bilal
Powell. The Jets’ backfield now seems like a situation to
avoid for fantasy purposes for the foreseeable future. In Kansas
City, Jamaal
Charles and Travis
Kelce (67 yards receiving, 1 TD) continue to be consistent
with respect to production while you could do worse than Alex
Smith as a fill-in next week for a Luck, Brady, or Rivers. The
one positive for the Jets came in garbage time as Percy
Harvin piled up 129 yards receiving on 11 catches. Maybe the
Jets are going to help him find his happy place after all.
Arizona @ Dallas
Exhibit B that we at the Buzz get it wrong sometimes and things
in the NFL turn on a dime: It was said last week that Dallas’s
offense appeared to function just as well with Brandon
Weeden at quarterback as it did with Tony
Romo. Umm…no. The value of the Cowboys’ skill position players
cratered in this one, and before you give Arizona credit for that,
consider that the Arizona pass defense ranked No. 31 in the league
in terms of yardage allowed coming into this game. Arizona, meanwhile,
continues to win by stopping the run, running the ball well (Andre
Ellington is quietly having a terrific season), and converting
on third downs. While Michael
Floyd and Larry
Fitzgerald owners continue to be disappointed more weeks than
not, Ellington has now totaled nearly 900 yards from scrimmage
through eight games and has been targeted 47 times in the passing
game, catching 32. He’s a PPR star.
Washington @ Minnesota
The return of Robert
Griffin III meant improved numbers for Alfred Morris (109
total yards, 2 TDs) as some predicted and continued bad numbers
for Pierre
Garcon (3 catches, 15 yards). Garcon just doesn’t have a role
in this new Redskins offense, while DeSean
Jackson is excelling (120 yards, 1 TD) in it. Perhaps the
most frustrating scenario of the week came from this game as Jerick
McKinnon owners pulled out their hair watching Matt
Asiata steal not one, not two, but THREE rushing touchdowns
from the supposed “lead runner” on this team. I guess it’s McKinnon’s
job between the 20s and Asiata’s job in the red zone. Both teams
now exit stage left on a bye week. Aside from Morris and Jackson,
few players on these teams will be missed next week.
Philadelphia @ Houston
A lot to digest from this game - a LOT. First, Jeremy
Maclin’s year continues to be astounding on many levels. Maclin
topped 150 yards receiving for the third time this season and
now has 8 TDs through 8 games. There’s a good chance you’ve won
the past two weeks if he had Maclin in your starting lineup. Second,
Arian
Foster had another very good game, but got injured in the
third quarter and never returned. That could be potentially huge
news as if you have Foster, you’re probably right in the thick
of the playoff chase in your league. Third, Nick
Foles went down with a broken collarbone and could be out
4-6 weeks…or longer. Whether that’s good or bad for Maclin remains
to be seen. We here at the Buzz think it’s actually good for LeSean
McCoy owners as he’ll be leaned on heavily with Foles out.
Finally, the changing of the guard continued at wide receiver
for the Texans as DeAndre
Hopkins did 17x better than Andre
Johnson in terms of non-PPR fantasy points scored.
St. Louis @ San Francisco
Not much offense in this game aside from a solid effort by Anquan
Boldin (6 rec, 93 yards, 1 TD). There are a lot of mouths to feed
in San Francisco and at the moment, Boldin is getting the most
food, but there’s no guarantee that will continue. Vernon Davis
continues to be a non-factor for fantasy purposes and Michael
Crabtree isn’t much better. St. Louis, meanwhile, isn’t a place
you want to turn for help for your team down the stretch. Injuries
have hurt this offense tremendously and if you thought Jared
Cook might be a sneaky fill-in start for your “regular” guy
yesterday, you guessed wrong (2 catches, 12 yards). Neither of
these team did much yesterday to inspire productive confidence
moving forward.
Denver @ New England
When I first heard about all the snow and high winds early Sunday
afternoon, I thought the forecast of a shoot-out was going to
be off. Then, they cleared the field and usual characters showed
up with Tom
Brady’s star shining brightest. 300-plus yard days with multiple
TDs is becoming the norm for Brady who does not resemble in any
way the guy from September. Rob
Gronkowski (9 rec, 105 yards receiving, 1 TD) is resembling
the Gronkowski that dominated the fantasy football landscape just
a couple of years ago, and Julian
Edelman (2 TDs) showed he’s not ready to bow out of rotation
at wide receiver as well. In short, the game was an offensive
clinic for a team that’s come full circle. Denver had its share
of scorers, too (Manning, Hillman, Sanders, D. Thomas), but in
the end, this was more about the continued renaissance in New
England than anything else.
Oakland @ Seattle
Seattle got back to what it does best yesterday…that is, give
Marshawn
Lynch a boat-load of touches and ride him to victory. Lynch
touched the ball 26 times and gained 143 yards to go with 2 TDs
to register his best game since September. Unfortunately for Russell
Wilson owners, Lynch’s success and Wilson’s success, fantasy-wise,
appear mutually exclusive. If Seattle is going to ride Lynch like
they did on Sunday in the weeks to come, Russell Wilson is only
a borderline fantasy starter at best. Aside from Lynch, there
weren’t many notable performances in this game. Seattle has no
other players worth starting consideration in fantasy football
right now and Oakland’s only bright spot was a 2-TD game from
Mychal
Rivera. I guess if you’re desperate for a tight end down the
stretch, Rivera might be worth a flier…
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh
How do you explain what Ben
Roethlisberger has done the past two weeks? Sports radio shows
spent most of Monday trying to do just that. It appears to defy
logic, but in truth, Big Ben has one of the top 2-3 wide receivers
in all of football (Antonio
Brown) and has two other emerging targets (Martavis
Bryant & Markus Wheaton) forcing defenses to play deep. Add
in one of the best receiving running backs in the game in Le’Veon
Bell and you’ve got a perfect storm of production and efficiency.
Roethlisberger should be starting in lineups for the remainder
of the year as his 12 TDs in the past two games demonstrates what
he’s capable of with a full arsenal of weapons around him. For
Baltimore, the slow fade that is Steve
Smith (Senior?) continued with only 36 yards receiving. He
won you some games early in the year. He won’t be winning you
any more.
Indianapolis @ NY Giants
It was a tale of two games in the Meadowlands last night. The
opening act lasted three quarters and consisted of Andrew
Luck carving up the Giants to the tune of 354 yards passing
and 4 TDs, all of which went to a different receiver. The second
or closing act consisted of lots and lots of fourth quarter “garbage”
points for Giants players with Eli
Manning (359 yards passing, 2 TDs) and Odell Beckham, Jr.
(8 rec., 156 yards) being the primary beneficiaries. The two quarterbacks
in the game combined for 98 passing attempts, underscoring what
a different league the NFL is now as compared to even ten years
ago. One thing that is for certain: There will be a lot of Colts
players missed next week. Luck is getting a whole host of skill
position players involved in his brilliance and the result has
been fantasy nirvana.
That’s the Buzz for Week Nine. Thanks for all the feedback
I’ve been getting on the article from week-to-week. It’s
nice to know that many find it informative, helpful, and/or just
fun. We aim to please. Until next week…
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