Strange happenings in Week 3 of the fantasy football season to be
sure, but at least the injuries were far less prominent than they
were in Week 2. Running backs and tight ends were resurgent - just
one of the many themes we’ll be touching on this week.
Revenge of the RB: 22 running backs (including
Tevin Coleman) scored double-digit FPts in Week 3.
Revenge of the Running Backs
Somewhat quietly, Week 3 was the best week for running backs in
a long time. A whopping eight running backs scored multiple touchdowns
for the week including Carlos Hyde (vs. Seattle), Jeremy Hill
(vs. DEN another top defense), Todd Gurley, Christine Michael,
LeGarrette Blount, David Johnson, Tevin Coleman, and LeSean McCoy.
For Johnson, Coleman, and Blount, it was just more of the same
as all three were already off to good starts in 2016, but for
Gurley, Hill, and McCoy, it was confirmation that they are still
the backs most thought they would be when they drafted them in
August. As for Hyde and Michael, their performances were the most
encouraging of them all. Hyde proved he can be trusted beyond
Week 1 and Michael is showing no signs of relinquishing the starting
gig in Seattle to a gimpy Thomas Rawls. With Le’Veon Bell
returning next week, and Devonta Freeman and Ezekiel Elliott combining
for nearly 300 yards rushing, look for running backs to continue
the ascension back to fantasy respectability.
Matthew and Marvin Make Magic in
the Motor City
It’s sometimes difficult to tell how good a No.2 WR on a
team is when the No.1 is a legitimate superstar. Such is the case
with Marvin Jones who was second fiddle to A.J. Green in Cincinnati
for four years. Three weeks into this season, Jones is looking
like a superstar himself amassing over 400 yards on 23 yards a
catch and a couple of touchdowns. Both TDs came against Green
Bay on Sunday when Jones embarrassed the secondary on big play
after big play. It was thought that Calvin Johnson’s retirement
would move Matthew Stafford permanently to the role of backup
fantasy QB, but he’s been so much more than that with two
games above 340 yards and 3 TDs. Expectations moving forward should
be tempered as he can’t play against the Green Bay and Indianapolis
defensive back each week. Still, both Jones and Stafford belong
in lineups every week moving forward. The odd man out? That would
be Golden Tate (13-94-0) who has struggled to gain traction in
September.
Three Hours in Philly
How do we begin to talk about what happened in Philadelphia on
Sunday? Carson Wentz is having is off to an incredible start in
terms of real-world QB value, but Sunday, he shifted into fantasy
relevance as well. Wentz looks like a seasoned veteran, throwing
for 301 yards and 2 TDs. Darren Sproles (6 catches, 128 yards,
1 TD) was his favorite target on Sunday, but his emergence has
also increased the value of Jordan Matthews and the tight end
position as well. The other side of the coin was Pittsburgh’s
paltry three points. Antonio Brown was able to get open and catch
his fair share of balls (a dozen to be exact for 140 yards), but
he was kept out of the end zone and could sue for lack of support
from his teammates. Was this performance on Pittsburgh’s
part just an aberration? Can the Philly defense be as good as
it’s been the first three weeks moving forward? Those are
worthy questions that just don’t have answers for…yet.
The Gronk Dilemma
If you’re a Rob
Gronkowski owner, you know exactly where this title is leading.
Last Thursday night, Gronk owners were forced into an uncomfortable
start /sit decision. For those that put their faith in him, the
results were sorely disappointing (no catches, no yards, no nothing).
That can be put in the past, but the dilemma remains for at least
one more week. One would think that the return of Tom
Brady in Week 5 should alleviate any anxiety about starting
Gronkowski, but that anxiety is definitely still lingering into
Week 4. The way several other waiver wire tight ends stepped up
this week (Kyle
Rudolph, Zach
Miller, Jack
Doyle, Cameron
Brate), it’s probably best to sit Gronk this time around. But,
can we really blame you if you choose otherwise?
Tampa Bay: Our Third Fantasy Boomtown
If you’ve been a reader of the Buzz all three weeks this season,
you know that New Orleans and Indianapolis were declared fantasy
“boomtowns” based on the complete lack of defense they exhibit from
week to week. That reality adds up to offenses desperately trying
to keep up with the rabid scoring on the other side of the ball.
Add Tampa Bay to the list. The Buccaneers gave up 37 points on Sunday…to
the Rams. That’s not a misprint. The Bucs are averaging 34 points
allowed through three weeks. So, who benefits from this besides
opponents of Tampa Bay? Namely, Mike
Evans and Jameis
Winston who become this year’s version of Blake
Bortles and Allen
Robinson. And, Charles
Sims took advantage of the phenomenon on Sunday putting up 124
total yards and a TD. Evans is going to finish the season top-five
at his position barring injury and Winston may do the same. Even
TE Cameron
Brate (2 TDs on Sunday) looks like a legitimate fantasy starter.
The bottom line is this: Tampa can’t stop people…and they have the
talent to try to keep up with what their defense allows. As was/is
the case with Saints and Colts, hitch your wagon to this group unless
interceptions are heavily penalized (Winston has already thrown
six).
Swiss Army-Knife: Fantasy Football
Style
For those who have been playing fantasy football for a long time
now, Kordell Stewart was the ultimate multi-position weapon, scoring
fantasy points in multiple ways. In Week 3, someone even more
diverse emerged in the form of Terrelle Pryor. Pryor was forced
into a do-everything role due to injuries at the quarterback and
wide receiver position. What resulted was fascinating to watch
as Pryor caught 8 balls for 144 yards, ran for 21 more yards and
a TD, and completed 3 passes for 35 additional yards. His current
role is born out of sheer necessity, but makes Pryor an intriguing
guy to plug into your lineup moving forward.
Welcome Back, Jimmy Graham!
If you’ve only played fantasy football for a couple of years,
you might think that Rob
Gronkowski has no peers at his position. But, from 2011-2014,
that was not the case as Jimmy
Graham went off for over 4,400 yards and 46 TDs over that
span. Many thought after last season’s devastating season-ending
(and possibly career-ending) injury, Graham would be lucky to
be a quality backup TE from a fantasy standpoint moving forward.
If yesterday is any indication, Graham is not ready to accept
that role anytime soon. Graham’s 6-catch, 100 yard, 1 TD day was
without question his best effort since his days in New Orleans.
He did fumble, but that will be forgiven if he can return to even
75 percent of what he once was. Graham’s effort was a very pleasant
sight to see if you gambled on Graham in the middle rounds of
your redraft league.
Buzzed Befuddlement
Why do so many people love and loathe fantasy football at the
same time? It isn’t an exact science, folks. Sometimes,
it doesn’t resemble science at all. Case in point: The New
York Jets. The lead story for Week 2 here at the Buzz had to do
with how incredible the Jets offense looked the first two weeks
of the season. Eric Decker was a red zone beast. Matt Forte was
running like he was 22 again. Ryan Fitzpatrick was the second
coming of Rich Gannon in Oakland. Yada, yada, yada. How foolish
do we look this week? Fitzpatrick resembled Gannon alright - the
Rich Gannon from the Oakland-Tampa Bay Super Bowl. And Decker?
One catch. I do hope you enjoy our weekly attempt at recap and
reflection, but sometimes one week’s revelation turns into
next week’s chopped liver.
Flipping the Script in Denver
Through two weeks, we had the post-Peyton Broncos all figured
out. They were going to run the ball early and often. C.J. Anderson
was going to be the only fantasy-relevant player on the team except
on the few weeks that Demaryius Thomas beat up a poor secondary.
Trevor Siemian was barely rostered heading into Week 3 except
in leagues that have more than a dozen teams. And now? Considering
the Bengals defense was able to shut down the Steelers passing
game the week prior, their inability to slow down Siemian (312
yards, 4 TDs), Emmanuel Sanders (117 rec. yards, 2 TDs), and Thomas
(100 rec. yards, 1 TD) was startling. So, what is the real face
of the Broncos offense moving forward? I still think it will be
a heavy dose of Anderson more often than not based on game flow,
but it was nice to see that there's more to Denver than ground
and pound. Thomas remains a solid No.2 fantasy WR...Sanders an
excellent No.3.
77 Points, 948 Yards
At least a few things in fantasy football didn't deviate from
the norm. Enter Saints-Falcons last night. The Saints are going
to make everyone look great (except the invisible Julio Jones)
and dome conditions are just that: dome conditions. It's just
a shame that the other Saints-Falcons game this season is in Week
17...a week that nearly all fantasy owners are no longer reaping
the benefits of such juicy matchups. Hope you started Brees, Ingram,
Freeman, and/or Coleman last night. Condolences if you were counting
on Jones or Brandin Cooks (2 fantasy points combined).
That's a wrap for fantasy football in September. What will October
bring? We'll start down that path next week. Until then...
