Only a single Packer has ever played
in a different Green Bay system than the one Matt LaFleur brought
with him from LA by way of Nashville this season. His name is
Aaron Rodgers and he threw all of 16 career passes for the other
Mike (Sherman) prior to spending the past 13 years as Mike McCarthy’s
bread, butter, jam, etc. It’s probably no surprise, then,
that the Pack has struggled on offense out of the gate. Rodgers
has admitted as much and is frustrated but optimistic, saying
he strives for “greatness out there.” Out there means
the Tundra this week and in primetime, no less, against a supposed
Super Bowl contender. What better stage/opponent for a bust-out
performance, yeah? The Eagles will be down CB Ronald Darby so
expect Adams to be the prime beneficiary of Rodgers’ greatest
work under LaFleur so far.
I suggested on the radio last week the Panthers
might just be better off with Kyle Allen under center than Cam
Newton, or at least this current version of Newton. He’s
obviously a great talent but hasn’t looked right since late
last year, continues to struggle with accuracy, and worst of all
for fantasy GMs, seems disinclined to do what made him so dangerous
all these years: run the football. Guess we know why now, huh?
That Lisfranc injury could shelve him for the rest of the year
(they’re saying “indefinitely” for now) and
that means Allen inherits the wheel for the foreseeable future.
The sample size is microscopically small, sure, but a 132.7 career
passer rating at least raises eyebrows. I like Samuel and his
running mate, D.J. Moore, to become MORE valuable now that they
have a healthy wingman throwing them the rock.
Any KC receiver @ DET:
I typically reserve these “any [insert
team name] WR” recommendations for the “Grab Some
Wood” portion of the column, reasoning crummy quarterbacks
directly correlate to crummy wide receivers. The reverse can also
be true, however, especially if a quarterback is the polar opposite
of crummy (read: otherworldly). I don’t want to say we’ve
reached Peak Patty just yet, but the rest of the league better
hope we have or they’re gonna hafta change the rules. Mahomes
is averaging a shade over 26 points per game in FIRST HALVES ALONE
(!!!), meaning he’d be QB8 even if he held a clipboard half
the time. Unsurprisingly Sammy Watkins, Demarcus Robinson, and
Mecole Hardman all are top 30-ish receivers and Travis Kelce is
TE3, meaning they’re all viable and, on any given week,
potentially explosive options. You most definitely want a piece
of this Kansas City gravy train. Any piece.
Grab Some Wood
Any NO receiver not named Michael Thomas v. DAL:
Standing that
blanket positional assessment technique on its head a little bit,
it was surprising to me the Saints made virtually no effort to
upgrade their receiving corps this past off-season, especially
in light of how shaky the offense looked when it mattered most
in 2018, down the stretch and into the NFC Championship tilt.
There was Michael Thomas and...well, more Michael Thomas. This
top-heaviness in the New Orleans receiving corps hasn’t
gotten better in 2019. It actually might be getting worse. Since
Teddy Bridgewater took the reins early in Week 2, Saints receivers
not named Thomas have accounted for eight targets, five receptions,
and 43 yards. Yuck! I could make a case for Ted Ginn Jr. in a
good situational spot, but you can forget about the rest of them.
It’s Thomas or bust v. the Boys this weekend.
I hate to break it to him, but Sanders’
“world of suck” might be about to get a lot suckier.
Galvanized by Gardner, the Jags are fresh off their first victory
of the season, a dominating suffocation of division rivals Tennessee
in Week 3. The Moustache got all the pub but it was the defense
that carried the day, sacking Marcus Mariota nine times (it probably
could have been more) and holding Derrick Henry to fewer than
three yards/carry. This on the heels of a solid performance in
Week 2, when they held the high-flying Texans to 263 total yards
and the best receiver in the game, DeAndre Hopkins, to 40. Sanders
and his battery mate, Joe Flacco, aren’t in the same league
as Hopkins and his Houston hookup, Deshaun Watson. He gets an
upgrade if Jalen Ramsey sits, but as of press time, no.
I picked on Davis last time we spoke but I”m
going back to the well after witnessing that aforementioned Thursday
night butt-tanning at the hands of the Jaguars. To be blunt, Davis
is a No.1 WR in name only. In fact, statistically speaking, he’s
currently Tennesee’s WR4, behind AJ Brown, Adam Humphries,
and Tajae Sharpe. Not exactly a who’s who of move-the-meter
wideouts, is it? It gets worse. If you include the Titans’
TEs and RBs in that receiving pool, he drops all the way to the
SIXTH most productive pass-grabber for Mr. Mariota. It’s
bad enough Tennessee sports the second least productive WR corps
in the NFL. It’s worse that the ostensible WR1 on that corps
isn’t even close to the most productive. Things could change
for Davis down the road, but he’s running out of time to
justify that lofty draft position. No way.
