I swear I mentioned this kid prior to tonight. I did a site search. I did a read through of the buy/sell columns. The only thing left was the podcasts and of course the week Brandon Gibson went down, I didn’t get to mention him. Ah well, just as my wife has kindly pointed out on multiple occasions, I can’t be right ever, er, all of the time. Ah well, maybe someone out there who reads me can remind me when I wrote or talked about Rishard Matthews. Well, no matter, it’s hard not to talk about him after his Monday night line. On a night that seemed anti-fantasy football on so many levels – and anti-good football in general – Rishard was the lone bright spot, racking up a nice 11 catch, 120 yard and 2 touchdown game on 14 targets. On a night where Miami totaled 2 rushing yards on the night, Matthews was the lone bright spot, drawing the weakest coverage while others got stranded on Revis island, Rishard was able to perform on a level even I was a bit surprised with. Moving forward, he’s a great WR4 or 5 for depth with use in deeper leagues but I wouldn’t buy heavily if this is the line that sparks my interest. Look more back at what Gibson was doing when Miami was successful and you have your target area. Anything more, you’re in the money. Of course, if the guys who are actually making the big money to catch the ball in MIA stay M.I.A., this might become the norm. No, I’m not gonna quote Black Eyed Peas. I’m mad at myself for even bringing them up with the title in the first place. In other news from Monday Night Football…
Mike James – Probably the other biggest news from the night, James was rolling, going for 5/41 on the first drive alone, getting Tampa down to the one on his final carry. Then…death. James left the field on a cart and left the locker room in a cast. After a fractured right ankle, there’s probably some fractured dreams out there for fantasy owners of what could’ve been heading into the playoffs. That’s two…TWO top 10 caliber RBs that’ve gone down in TB this year. And we all thought the MSRA scare was bad; I wouldn’t wanna be a lead back in Buccs territory nowadays.
Ryan Tannehill – I’d talk bad about him if it was worth it. Sure, he had some issues passing the ball here and there. Very little arc on passes that could’ve been long gains that just sailed over players’ heads. But the reality is this kid is missing half of an o-line that wasn’t good to begin with. It was a boring night from a low-end QB2 on a team that is finding a way to get worse by the week. Yes, I’m over the Tannehill for 2013 outside deep leagues.
Lamar Miller – I’m pretty sure 5 of the whopping 7 carries Lamar got for his 2 yards were on the left side. You know, the side that is entirely new. If you’re kicking ‘Dick In Disguise’ off the team for misconduct, how ’bout you do the same to Philbin at this point, hrm? People in Tampa tonight are like ‘man, I thought Schiano was bad’.
Brian Leonard – White flash went for 20/57 after James left. I’m pretty sure he’s not gonna be the point of interest next week as Rainey went for 8/45 and had a nifty 31 yard run to set up his own TD score from inside the 5. Leave it to the white running back to forever be the change of pace in the running game. Oh and pick up Chocolate Rainey.
Mike Wallace – Had 4/15 on 7 targets. I’ve seen more feigned enthusiasm from parents at a school play. And they’re there for free and just supporting their kids. Yo Mike, just wanna let you know this Rishard kid just ate your lunch and copped a feel on your GF in the cafeteria. But nah man, ef it. Go back to smoking cigs behind the gym. You’re too cool to care.
Mike Glennon – Simple offense can make any QB look reasonable. It eventually crumbles. Still can’t throw a deep ball to save his life and faced pressure that led to quite a few errant throws. Tampa was lucky to win tonight but I guess I’ll say congrats to the QB whose Adam’s Apple extends beyond his own chin. Seriously needs its own helmet.
