Welcome to our final three-week stretch of the Buzz that covers
all things related to fantasy playoffs. A few leagues view Week
14 as the final week of the regular season, but Week 14 was a critical
week in keeping championship hopes alive. Who rose to the occasion?
Whose futility sunk your season for good? Hopefully, you had more
of the former than the latter. Let’s examine it all…
Odell Beckham Jr. delivered on MNF with
the best fantasy performance by a wide receiver in Week 14.
First Round Fantasy Playoff Heroes
Monsters of the Monday
First things first. Maybe you came into Monday night needing a
big game from Eli Manning or Odell Beckham Jr. to overcome a lofty
deficit. Or perhaps it was Lamar Miller you were counting on.
Lastly, those of you in PPR leagues might have been looking to
Jarvis Landry for salvation. So, who came through? How about all
of the above in a game in which offenses ruled and defenses drooled.
Eli threw four touchdowns including a pair to Beckham, but all
of Monday night's stars came to play. If there ever was a Monday
night to spur on comebacks across the fantasy football universe,
this was the one. Congrats to all who benefited!
Seattle’s Tremendous Trio
Sometimes, the way a player is performing at the conclusion of
the fantasy regular season means little heading into the intensive
“second season” if you will. However, in the case
of Russell Wilson, Doug Baldwin, and Tyler Lockett, it was more
of the same in Week 14 and if you had any of the three (or better
yet, more than one), you probably advanced to the next round.
The loss of Thomas Rawls in the first quarter changed the complexion
of this game from a fantasy standpoint as Seattle clearly viewed
the pass as their best means of moving the ball. Wilson’s
5 TD passes gives him 16 over the last four games. Of those 16,
eight have gone to Baldwin and four have ended up in the hands
of Lockett. With Rawls now out for the season and Marshawn Lynch
not set to return any time soon, this is now the new normal in
Seattle. Don’t question it. Just keep starting all three
guys with confidence.
For the eighth time this season, Brandon Marshall went over 100
yards receiving in a game. He has also now scored at least one
touchdown in ten games. Ten. There hasn’t been a more consistent
player at any position than Marshall and as I mentioned last week,
he’s taking Ryan Fitzpatrick along for the ride. Oh, and
how about an honorable mention for his sidekick, Eric Decker,
who has now scored a touchdown in nine games this season. Marshall
and Decker have shattered the theory that acquiring a WR corps
via free agency can’t work. Fourteen games and 20 touchdowns
later, they’re re-writing the way we look at that dynamic.
The Great Gurley
Many a fantasy owner had resigned themselves to the fact that
Todd Gurley had run out of gas working with an inept offensive
unit. He may have gotten you to the fantasy playoffs, but he wasn’t
taking you much further, at least so you thought. Hopefully, your
faith in Gurley extended into this past weekend because for those
who chose to start him, it was a return to mid-season glory for
the rookie RB from Georgia. 147 yards and a pair of TDs was all
that any Gurley owner could have hoped for. Now comes the prospect
of whether or not he can turn around on a short week (STL plays
Thursday) and do it again. The Rams got a glimpse Sunday how they
can still win a few more games. It begins and ends with a heavy
dose of Gurley if he’s up to the task.
Pack Backs
Were you trying to decide this past Sunday whether to start Eddie
Lacy or James Starks? No worries. You made the right choice…because
both guys performed at a level that made them valuable assets
to any fantasy lineup. Starks is developing a habit of taking
a screen pass and turning it into something big (3 receiving TDs
this season), while Lacy looked every bit like the Eddie Lacy
most were expecting from day one. If you had Lacy on your team
and missed the playoffs, you will always remember him as a bust
in 2015. But, if you are somehow still alive in the chase for
a title, you may remember the Lacy of 2015 very differently when
all is said and done. The Packers are a better team when they
feature the run. Look for both backs to be in the mix for “hero”
status next week as well.
Bortles, Barnidge, and a Guy Named
Reed
Three of the biggest surprises of the 2015 season have been Blake
Bortles at QB and a couple of tight ends, Gary Barnidge and Jordan
Reed. Reed had shown flashes of talent in past years when he could
stay healthy, but Barnidge has truly come out of nowhere to be
the best fantasy option at the position outside of Gronk. On Sunday,
Bortles threw for three more TDs and even ran for one, while Barnidge
and Reed combined for 204 receiving yards and a pair of TDs in
their respective games. Despite all three having surprise seasons,
all three should have been in your lineup on Sunday and hopefully,
they were a big part, thus, of your success. So, have these three
been three of the biggest surprises of the 2015 season? Yes. Were
their “heroic” efforts in Week 14 a shock? No. Chances
are pretty good that many a fantasy team still alive in Week 15
has one of these three on the roster.
First Round Fantasy Playoff Head-Scratchers
This category is reserved for guys that would have been “heroes”
in Week 14…but very few if anyone probably had them in a
starting lineup…meaning their great performances didn’t
make much of an impact. They are as follows:
Where exactly did that showing come from? Crowell, who has been
a forgotten man in the realm of fantasy football since September,
churned out 154 yards on Sunday and scored two touchdowns in leading
the Browns to a victory over the 49ers. It was the first time
all year that Crowell had received over 15 carries (20) or gained
over 100 yards rushing (145). Maybe you made a Crowell a desperation
start because of injuries incurred at the position coming into
last weekend. If so, congrats because you got the all-time playoff
gift. Don’t expect it to be a repeat gift, either.
In a PPR league, Ginn’s day was very good, but not great
given that he only caught two passes. But, talk about making the
most out of a pair of receptions. It was the second week in a
row that Ginn caught multiple TDs, so maybe a few had him in lineups,
particularly in leagues that start 3 WRs or more. In non-PPR leagues,
only Doug Baldwin scored more fantasy points than Ginn on Sunday.
Did anyone…and I mean anyone have Marques Colston in their
lineup on Sunday? Anyone?...don’t be shy. Didn’t think
so.
First Round Fantasy Playoff Goats
MegaFlop
Prior to the Lions last possession of the game, Calvin Johnson
didn’t catch a single pass. Then, he finally caught one…for
16 yards. Was he playing hurt or as a decoy as we’ve seen
in the past? Could be. It doesn’t matter to owners who were
counting on a big performance and got absolutely burned in return.
A matchup with New Orleans looms on the horizon, so if you have
Johnson and are somehow still in the hunt, start him in Week 15
with confidence. Chances are good however, that this performance
represented his last of the fantasy season for many disenchanted
Mega-believers.
E-Clipsed. Emmanuel and Evans Strike
Out
Two other wide receivers who had dream matchups in Week 14 and
fell apart statistically were Mike Evans and Emmanuel Sanders.
Sanders had been slumping coming into his matchup with Oakland,
but it was still seen as a golden opportunity. Even more so, Evans
vs. New Orleans appeared to be an ideal opportunity for fantasy
gold and when Vincent Jackson had to leave the game early due
to injury… it ramped up expectations even more. Sadly, neither
Evans or Sanders got off the ground. On the bright side, each
did gain at least ten yards. That’s more than can be said
for Dez Bryant or Amari Cooper who were targeted 14 times combined
and registered one catch.
Cincinnati Slingers
Most anticipated a shoot-out in Cincinnati that would propel both
Ben Roethlisberger and Andy Dalton to hero status for Week 14.
Instead, Dalton got hurt early (QBs injured early is the worst
possible thing that could ever happen to a fantasy playoff participant)
and Big Ben failed to throw a touchdown in the win for Pittsburgh.
You can’t fault Dalton for what happened, but the injury
turned this game into something it would not likely have otherwise
been. The Steelers turned to the ground game and Dalton turned
to the medical staff. It was a Sunday to forget in terms of the
fantasy impact coming out of Cincinnati. Dalton’s lack of
numbers helped to overshadow the collapse of Jeremy Hill. It’s
funny - there were 53 points scored in this game, but unless you
had DeAngelo Williams or A.J. Green, you were likely disappointed
with how it turned out.
Honorable Mention: The Firm of Murray
& Murray
Latavius can blame the matchup. DeMarco can blame himself for
signing with Philadelphia. Either way, I really hope you weren't
burned too badly by the insertion of one of the Murrays in your
lineup this past week.
That's a wrap on the Buzz. We'll review the middle playoff week
next Tuesday as we head closer to the finish line of the 2015
season. It's a wild, wild ride...
