It’s not clear at press time whether James Conner will be available
this Sunday, but it is pretty clear the Curtain will be without
the services of JuJu Smith-Schuster, meaning Samuels’ role should
be all but assured. Pittsburgh’s primary backup hasn’t been efficient
as a runner this season (just 2.6 YPC, second worst overall if he
qualified), but does have a 13-reception game to his credit and
is clearly someone who can contribute in multiple ways. Oh, and
if Conner does end up being a Week 12 scratch? Samuels would get
the chance to improve upon that sorry YPC mark against the absolute
worst run defense in the NFL (5 yards/carry and 167/game). I spent
the remainder of my FAAB money on him for a playoff run and will
plug and play without hesitation should Conner indeed sit...maybe
even if he doesn’t.
The guy Conner and Samuels replaced in Pittsburgh may be regretting
his move to the Big Apple, but he’s got 52.5 million reasons
to wear a smile, don that Jets jersey, and toil away without complaint
every Sunday afternoon. And by all accounts, that’s what
Bell’s been doing. His numbers are way down in New York
(10.6 FPts/G, by far a career low), but some of that can be attributed
to uneven quarterback play (Sam Darnold), straight-up unsightly
quarterback play (Luke Falk when Darnold was on the shelf with
mono), and an underachieving, similarly well-compensated offensive
line. His per-tote numbers are still pretty rotten, but Bell’s
averaged 13.4 FPts/G in his past three and has scored twice. I
like his chances of doing that again this coming weekend, either
by ground or by air, against the road-weary Raiders. Start Bell
Sunday.
You’re forgiven for not knowing who Scarbrough was prior to last
week, despite the fact he hails from the modern-day equivalent of
Running Back U, Alabama. He was never the main man in Tuscaloosa,
backing up Derrick Henry, Kenyan Drake, Josh Jacobs, and Najee Harris
in three seasons. Yet, there he was, a seventh-round draft pick,
racking up 55 yards and a score on 14 carries in his first professional
action last weekend. I’m typically pretty skeptical of one-hit wonders
who lack good fundamentals (no targets and a meh YPC mark), but
Scarbrough has little competition for carries, possesses the bulk
to handle a larger load (6’1”, 232 pounds), and now squares off
against a below-average Washington run defense (133.9 YPG and 4.1
YPC). He could be Week 12’s Brian Hill, but I’m betting he’ll more
closely resemble Week 11’s Bo Scarbrough. Start the rook.
The aforementioned Hill was one of the more disappointing Week
11 performers after a surprise Week 10 breakout filling in for Devonta
Freeman. He gained just 30 yards on 15 carries, failed to score,
and contributed a hardly noticeable 3.8 fantasy points to Atlanta’s
29-3 pasting of the Panthers in Charlotte. Freeman may be back this
week, but I’d be leery of both Falcons backs against the Buccaneers.
I’ve been fading RB opponents of Tampa all year long, as I’m sure
you’ve noticed, and for very good reason: They haven’t been very
successful. Only one has topped 100 yards (Chris Carson) and only
two others have discovered paydirt (Todd Gurley and CMC). Granted,
Alvin Kamara tallied over 100 total yards last Sunday, but he needed
23 touches to do that and neither of these guys are getting that
kind of volume. Nope.
At one point last Sunday, the fantasy ticker update on Ballage
read “6 carries, TD.” Surely they’d forgotten
to include his total rushing yards, right? How does one carry
the ball six times for no yards but still have a rushing TD to
his credit? If anyone could do that, it would be Kalen Ballage
and that’s precisely what he did. His first five carries
netted him -3 yards and it wasn’t until that sixth carry
that he got back to zero, where he’d started the day. All
told, the former Sun Devil only managed to accumulate 17 yards
on 14 touches. Take away that six-pointer and he’d have
netted a microscopic 1.7 points. I guess what I’m saying
here is that 99% of you already know Ballage stinks. For the 1%
of you intrigued by that TD and a better Week 12 matchup, please
reconsider.
Guice seems like another guy who could attract attention this
Sunday based on a single statistical data point, a 45-yard catch-and-scoot
TD reception, his first NFL score. There are several things wrong
with reading too much into that one play, however. First, it was
his only meaningful NFL touch of 21 he’s accumulated in
two years as a pro. Second, he’s only touched the ball 21
times in two seasons, meaning he’s not exactly proven to
be a reliable contributor so far. Third, it was a garbage time
score in the fourth quarter of a game Washington was trailing
34-3. Finally, Dwayne Haskins threw him the ball and Dwayne Haskins
is nowhere near ready to lead Washington out of the NFC East basement.
I love the matchup against a Detroit team allowing nearly 27 FPts/G
to opposing backs. I just don’t like the opposing back.
