I hope you enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday and that you started
Kirk Cousins last Thursday. Or maybe you’re the one in a million
fantasy owner who started Matt Barkley (more on him below). Whoever
you started or didn’t start, you’re all welcome here
at the Buzz. Let’s review…
What concussion? Mark Ingram piled up 167
yds against the Rams, averaging 10.4 yards on 14 carries.
The Ups and Downs of Mark Ingram and Brandin Cooks
171 yards and 2 TDs. That was what Mark Ingram put up in Week 9
vs. San Francisco. It spelled a resurgence for the volatile RB who
was benched for fumbling the week before. Then came Weeks 10 &
11: No touchdowns, 69 total yards from scrimmage per game…and
a late game concussion. Time to sit Ingram again, right? If you’re
reading this article this late in the season, you know where I’m
going with this. Ingram bounced back on Sunday with another 160-plus
yards and two more TDs. And, I’m fairly certain he was back
on a lot of benches. Ingram may be the most frustrating player to
own in fantasy football. His end-of-the-year numbers are going to
look good, but it’s been a wild journey getting there.
What’s that you say? There’s a more frustrating player
to own…and he’s on the same team? Enter Brandin Cooks
who makes Ingram look altogether consistent. Cooks disappeared in
Week 12 for a second week in a row, except this was a total disappearance.
As in no catches. Cooks’ overall numbers are rooted in two
huge weeks in which he combined for 329 yards and 3 TDs. Same story
as Ingram. I’m not saying you don’t have weeks that
you’re thankful for Ingram and/or Cooks. I’m just saying
these two are definitely “box of chocolate” kind of
players. As Tom Hanks would say, “You never know what you’re
gonna get”.
Hapless In Seattle
Continuing with the theme of having no idea what to expect, we offer
up the Seattle Seahawks offense. Five points? This after you scored
nearly 30 a game over the course of the previous three weeks. We
told you last week that Thomas Rawls was going to be a difference
maker down the stretch. We mentioned that Doug Baldwin appeared
poised to go on another late season run. Blah, blah, blah. Rawls
and Baldwin combined for 72 yards from scrimmage and no TDs on Sunday.
That’s 3 fantasy points apiece. I don’t know what to
make of it other than here at the Buzz, we feel your pain. It is
said that when you live by the sword, you die by the sword and that
in a nutshell describes depending on a Seahawk (or two) this season.
At least Baldwin has some good matchups ahead (Panthers, Packers
in the next two weeks). Then again, we thought he and Rawls had
a good matchup this past week, too…
Dynamic Duo Deluxe
Here are the numbers: 63%...and 100%. The first percentage is the
combined market share for Le’Veon
Bell or Antonio
Brown. The second number is the percent of Steeler touchdowns
scored by the duo. Bell and Brown produce in ways that few players
from the same team can. The absence of Sammie
Coates from the passing game and Bell’s amazing in-game endurance
makes the dominance of both more likely from week to week. When
you start to examine which players made up the starting lineups
for teams competing for fantasy football titles in December, you’re
going to see Bell and Brown’s names…a lot. When two of the top five
fantasy producers on the planet come from the same NFL team, it’s
something to behold.
Never Bench Your Studs…
It’s just about the oldest adage in fantasy football and it
is something to be followed with only a few exceptions (see below).
This week’s shining example was Mike Evans, who is having
a monster 2016 season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (over 1,000 yards
receiving already, double-digit TDs, on pace for nearly 200 targets).
Evans had already scored 2 TDs before the end of the first quarter
against Seattle in a game in which some of his owners contemplated
sitting him due to the matchup. Some guys just can’t be benched…ever.
Bell and Brown (above) certainly belong in that category, and Evans
is right there, too. If you stuck with Evans (I assume the majority
did), you got what you wanted. Your guy delivered. If you didn’t,
it’s worth going up in the attic and the mind and digging
out what you already knew. Never bench…well, you know.
…That Is Unless They’re
Hurting To Begin With
And, for every adage, there is an equal and opposite re-adage. Just
made that up, but in this case, let us offer up the counter argument.
Rob Gronkowski. A stud certainly by anyone’s definition of
the term as it applies to fantasy football. And yet, if you started
Gronk, you likely had flashbacks to starting him in late September/early
October when your return on investment was a bit, fat goose egg.
Gronkowski was hurting coming in, but actually left the game early
due to a different injury. Now, Gronk owners are wondering: Can
I trust him in my lineup as the playoffs begin? It’s the ultimate
roll of the dice at this point. My gut tells me that Gronk will
still have a positive role to play at some point in the next four
weeks, but like several Patriots, he currently is hampered by multiple
injuries. Owner beware.
The Tragedy and Triumph of Jordan
Reed on Turkey Day
Trying to ride the wave that is fantasy football is a rollercoaster.
Take Sunday for example. Odell Beckham Jr. heads to the locker
room having only caught a couple of passes for 19 yards. Is he
done for the day? Could my team survive? Well, Beckham returned
and scored 2 TDs before all was said and done, no doubt lifting
fantasy teams to bigger and better things. An even bigger example
of this happened on Thursday given what is expected of a TE versus
a WR1. Jordan Reed injured his shoulder in the first half of the
Dallas-Washington game and the injury didn’t look good.
Reed owners just knew it wasn’t their day (he had one fantasy
point at the time). But, Reed would return in the second half
and end up with 90-plus yards receiving and 2 TDs of his own to
boot. What was once a bummer became a celebration of athletic
and fantasy football achievement. Injuries are serious and fantasy
football websites tend to focus on them in extremely self-centered,
self-serving ways. But, on Thursday, thankfully, everybody was
happy. Reed got to return to the game and played great. And, fantasy
owners got rewarded. Here’s hoping Reed’s injury doesn’t
keep him out of future games.
So, Who Is The No.1 WR In Atlanta?
(Semi-Serious Question)
Freak occurrences happen and we try not to glorify them too much
here at the Buzz. But, when a freak occurrence lasts for a month,
it’s no longer anything short of a trend…which it
means it’s time to start discussing Taylor Gabriel, wide
receiver for the Atlanta Falcons. Over Atlanta’s last four
games, Gabriel has outscored Julio Jones in terms of fantasy points,
59-35. Gabriel is not going to be a PPR monster anytime soon as
Jones still has twice the targets of Gabriel, but it’s past
time to admit that he is cutting into Jones’ numbers with
his impressive talent. Jones typically draws the top cornerback,
which frees up other players for opportunities. But, if the other
players are lacking talent, the best strategy would then be to
force feed Jones as often as possible. Kudos, thus, to Matt Ryan
and the Falcons coaching staff for recognizing there is other
talent in at the wide receiver position in Atlanta. Jones is still
a must-start in all formats and will be so through December, but
Gabriel is currently a must-add and should be in starting lineups
in December too, particularly in standard/non-PPR leagues and/or
leagues in which you can start three or more WRs.
Chicago Hope
Not for one minute would any pundit suggest that what we saw out
of the Bears’ offense is going to be repeated any time soon.
The unit is ravaged with injuries, both on the line and at the
skill positions which is what made their effort against the Titans
on Sunday so amazing. Matt Barkley threw for 300-plus yards and
3 TDs. Marquess Wilson (8-125-1) played out of his mind. WR Deonte Thompson and TE Daniel Brown both caught TD passes. Who are these
people? Of all the performances to sift through, Wilson's is probably
the most noteworthy. All in all, Chicago is still a team to avoid
in December, but for one afternoon they appeared relevant.
Hail Tyreek and Welcome Back Sammy
We've mentioned Tyreek Hill already this year at the Buzz, so
let's not repeat ourselves. But, when a player gets a rushing
TD, receiving TD, and return TD in the same game, you can't ignore
that. Until Jeremy Maclin returns, both Hill and TE Travis Kelce
have significant value in an offense in which they are counted
on almost exclusively for big plays. If Maclin is out again in
Week 13 and Hill is on your roster, he should be in your lineup-
no questions asked. Same scenario in Buffalo. Sammy Watkins was
back on field Sunday and turned 3 targets into 3 catches and 80
yards. Expect even better totals in December (weather permitting).
LeSean McCoy's outstanding 2016 season sets the table for Watkins
to draw favorable coverages some of the time. Bell and Brown they're
not, but I doubt you'll find many same team RB-WR duos as formidable
as McCoy and Watkins as we head into crunch time.
Final Thoughts from Monday Night
I haven't done this for a few weeks, so we'll wrap things up with
some brief observations from the Packers-Eagles game. First, Davante Adams (110-plus yards, 2 TDs) is basically a WR1 at this point.
He's making plays that no other skill position player on the Packers
can make. On the other side of the ball, it was nice to see Dorial Green-Beckham get more involved, but he's still too risky to be
called a WR3. Don't totally lose sight of him though in the weeks
to come. At this point, the Eagles are another team to avoid moving
forward with respect to fantasy starters aside from Caleb Sturgis.
This upcoming weekend is the last of the fantasy regular season
for most of us. We'll press rewind on it next Tuesday morning
and begin talking all things playoffs.
