Randall Cobb could see some additional
work at running back with Starks and Lacy banged up.
Grab a Helmet
Randall
Cobb v. DAL: Cobb got folded up like a lawn chair Sunday
night (his description) while clinching the Pack’s 23-16 victory
with a late first down, absorbing a vicious and borderline cheap
shot to the back of the head by the Giants’ Landon Collins. It was
his ninth and final grab of the night (good news), and launched
him into triple digits for yardage (better news, especially if your
league awards yardage bonuses), and left him no worse for the wear,
apparently, heading into Week 6 (best news). The same can’t be said
of his Packer teammates, Eddie Lacy and James Starks, who both missed
practice Wednesday. Green Bay only carries one other back on its
active roster, fullback Aaron Ripkowski, so you could see Mr. Cobb
sliding back into his Swiss Army Man role against Dallas on Sunday.
That likely means more touches, so you know what to do.
Sammie
Coates @ MIA: Coates’ gigantic 139-yard, two-TD performance
last weekend against the Jets probably doesn’t require any perspective,
but I’m gonna give it to you anyway: His day could have been much,
much bigger. Playing the Martavis Bryant role in the Steelers’ offense,
the freakishly talented Auburn product commanded a whopping 11 targets,
a career high, and caught 6 of them. Not too shabby for a deep threat
until you consider he flat-out dropped 3 of the other 5 targets,
would have scored on one of them for sure, and could have scored
on at least one more. In other words, he left almost as many points
on the field as he ended up earning. It’s a good thing he’s got
Big Ben as a battery mate because there’s no way on Earth Tom Brady
or Aaron Rodgers would have kept tossing him the pigskin. Expect
more fireworks Sunday.
Jarvis
Landry v. PIT: Heck, there could even be some fireworks
when Miami has the ball. I’m under no illusion, gang: The Dolphins
are absolutely dreadful right now. They can’t stop anybody. They
can’t score. Their quarterback turns it over like it’s his job.
The Steelers are gonna score at will, however, and I’m guessing
that could create a situation where Ryan Tannehill is forced to
throw the football 50-plus times. He can’t throw ALL of them to
the Steelers’ DBs, can he? When he’s not throwing it to the wrong
guys, he’s usually throwing it to this guy. That’s a good thing
in PPR leagues, where the short to mid-range Landry thrives, but
it sure would be nice if he found the end zone more often. Anyone
else smell a garbage time touchdown or two being cooked up by the
Fish? I’d start him or DeVante Parker with confidence.
Grab Some Wood
Travis
Benjamin v. DEN (Thu): I watched the Oakland-San Diego
game as I snoozed away the afternoon last Sunday and what stood
out for me, by far, was Benjamin’s speed. I mean, he just looks
different than the other players out there. Give him the ball
and a sideline to sprint down and…man, you better bring a horse
to catch him. I’ll be doing some asking around with league mates
of mine to see if I can land him for the homestretch. I’m waiting
until after Week 6, however, because the matchup with Denver isn’t
a good one at all. The Broncos have only allowed a single receiver
to post double-digit fantasy points so far (the other Benjamin,
Kelvin) and they just held the game’s most dangerous wideout,
Julio Jones, to two catches and 29 yards, albeit in a losing effort.
Keep Benjamin reserved until you can unleash that speed.
Ted
Ginn Jr. @ NO: Here’s another speed merchant I’d keep
reserved in Week 6, though for entirely different reasons. Ginn
Jr.’s exceptional 2015 campaign (44 receptions, 739 yards, and
10 TD grabs) is starting to look like an extreme outlier compared
to how he’s tracking this year (underwhelming) and how he performed,
essentially, every other year in his decade-long career up to
that point (spotty). In fact, his struggles essentially mirror
those of his team this season. How does a well-coached squad with
so much talent on both sides of the ball drop four of its first
five games just a season after losing only twice in 19 tries?
Losing Cam Newton hasn’t helped and the Panthers may not get him
back this weekend. Keep Ginn Jr. reserved until something changes,
such as the big guy returning and chucking that leather downfield
with confidence and some Big Cam swagger.
Robert
Woods, Marquise
Goodwin v. SF: I’ve already told you I’m pessimistic
about Tyrod Taylor this week, but now that I dive into the stats
a little bit…I’m even more pessimistic. I realize Sammy Watkins
is on the shelf and all, but this is a pretty depressing bunch,
isn’t it? In the Week 2 loss to the Jets, Marquise Goodwin and
Greg Salas (see?) combined for 201 yards receiving and two scores,
almost all of which was accumulated on two long pass plays. Buffalo
receivers have only accounted for 545 yards and four TDs in five
games. So basically, 40% of the receiving yards and half the touchdowns
tallied by the Buffalo wideouts were accumulated on exactly two
plays in a game they didn’t even win. And here I was giving props
to Rex Ryan earlier. Don’t expect miracles or much of anything
at all from this motley crew come Sunday.
