Jamaal Charles is done. He will not rise again this season. Let us weep. And pray for a backup running back. His torn ACL will make room for the great Thomas Jones to average at best 3 yards a carry! And for Dexter McCluster to get 3 end arounds, 4 receptions, and 3 rushing attempts! Jones in non-ppr and McCluster in PPR make for decent pick ups, but don’t expect huge things.
Well, I don’t know if I can go on after this news, but I’ll give it my best, which at this point is me barely fighting back tears and self flagellation.
Arian Foster: At first it was “reported” that he reaggravated his hamstring injury, but then Kubiak said he was just fatigued and wanted back in the game, but they wanted to rest him. And then Foster said his hamstring did tighten up. So, that was fun. Of course Ben Tate went for 103 yards after getting a lead on the Dolphins. I’m optimistic here for Foster owners, but it’s not the greatest news you are ever going to hear. Tate has shown that he can be counted on so Foster’s leash is shortened. But I still think if Foster is full go he still gets the bulk of the work. His conditioning and hammy are what we need to worry about right now.
Cam Newton: He has lost both of his starts. Next.
Denarius Moore: With Darrius Heyward-Bey and Jacoby Ford out with injuries the preseason/practice sensation came up huge against the Bills. 146 yards and a touchdown should keep him in the starting lineup next week and if it doesn’t we may need to try a stake to the heart of Al Davis. Oh, he’s worth picking up.
Cam Newton: Oh, I forgot this is fantasy football and wins and losses are incredibly irrelevant and Cam Newton looked awesome once again and this time it was against the Green Bay Packers, not the Arizona Cardinals. Cam threw 3 interceptions and only 1 touchdown, but so far this week is the 2nd highest point scorer for QBs. He finished with 432 yards passing, 53 yards rushing and another rushing touchdown. Next week he gets the Jaguars who are horrible. Yes, he won’t have to throw quite as much as he has so far, but he’s proven he can and the Panthers defense isn’t going to hold teams down very often. He’s going to be a QB1 going forward.
Chris Johnson: He had a pretty crappy game. 24 carries for 53 yards is not good. But remember who they were playing (The Ravens if you forgot). The nice game by Hasselbeck, Britt and Washington is a great sign for Johnson. They were keyed on CJ and burnt by the passing game. Other teams will have to respect the passing game. I’m in full buy mode.
Felix Jones: He was in and out of the game against the 49ers due to injury, and now the word is he has a separated shoulder. He played with it wrapped so he may not miss time, but it’s not the news you want to hear. The 49ers are a tough rush defense and I’d be happy to recommend Felix after a down game against them, but we could see more Tashard Choice and Demarco Murray with the separation.
Miles Austin: The Cowboys came out of the game winners, but with lots of injuries. Jones, Romo (ribs), and Austin hurt his hamstring after having a huge game, going for 143 yards and 3 touchdowns. Initial wild speculation is that Austin could be out until week 5. If Dez Bryant can come back healthy he should do well and we’ll also see some more of Kevin Ogletree.
Andy Dalton: Dalton looked like a real quarterback against Denver. You pretty much have to play well to give two receivers over 100 yards receiving. Both AJ Green and Jerome Simpson topped 100 yards and Green caught an insane touchdown. As long as Dalton continues to keep he head screwed on Green will be a fantasy starter. Dalton will need to show me some consistency before I think about tossing him out there though.
Fred Davis: He followed up a nice game with another nice game, this time for 86 yards and a touchdown. Can’t argue with success here. Cooley is droppable. Davis is a must add if he’s out there.
Roy Helu: Helu’s line of 10 carries for 74 yards and 3 receptions for 38 yards says quite a bit on it’s own, but the point in the game where he did a lot of that damage also says a lot. The game was always close and in the 4th quarter Helu was in there for quite a few plays while Hightower was on the sideline. Hightower is still the main guy, but Helu looked too good to keep off the field. He is a must add for RB depth.
Daniel Thomas: So that lead back role for Reggie Bush; you know, the 70/30 split? Well, that’s done. Daniel Thomas had 19 looks to Reggie Bush’s 7. I think that 70/30 split was the opposite of what we thought. Thomas is better suited for the lead back role with Bush as the passing down guy. That’s how I would value them for now.
Julio Jones: I don’t really have much to say about him, but this is pretty cool.
LeGarrette Blount: Blount had a nice bounce back game rushing for 2 touchdowns and 71 yards on only 13 carries. If you own him you should feel darn lucky he was able to pull that kind of game out on that many touches. He needs his team to not suck so bad to start games so they can play with a lead and he can get more carries.
Vincent Jackson: Hoodie took Antonio Gates out of the game so Jackson had all types of room to roam and roam he did. He had his best game ever with 172 yards and 2 touchdowns. There’s no reason to think he won’t have a huge season.
Jared Cook: Well, he’s not getting the looks he needs. He made a pretty nice catch, but until he starts seeing 6+ targets a game he needs to be on your bench and I could see dropping him with all the deep talent at TE.
Titus Young: Young had a nice 7 targets, catching 5 of them for 89 yards. Burleson had 9 and Megatron had 7 so there were plenty to go around and for the time being Young will be on the short end of the target stick, but his upside is pretty nice in that offense.
Devery Henderson: I keep hating on Devery Institute Henderson, but it’s hard to argue with production, but I’m going to anyway. Lance Moore was on the field, but he wasn’t fully back. The wide receiver targets were, Moore 4, Meachem 4, Henderson 3, and Arrington 2. I hate to say it, but you can’t expect a 79 yard touchdown every week. I don’t think. And Moore should be back at full strength next week. He’s boom or bust.
David Nelson: It looks like Nelson took over that #2 receiver position for the Bills. He had 13 targets, 10 receptions, 83 yards and a touchdown. As long as the Bills are moving the ball they should be able to support 2 fantasy receivers. Nelson looks like the guy. He’ll be in the waiver wire post.
Delone Carter: With the Colts heading straight down the crapper we should start to see more Carter. We already are and he looks to be running well. He had 11 carries to Addai’s 14 and I believe will start to see him on early downs with Addai in passing downs.
Dwayne Bowe: Matt Cassel has looked horrible so far this season, but thankfully for Bowe owners he was able to cobble together a 100 yard game. Better than nothing.
