On top of trying to provide the best fantasy analysis that I can and putting in a lot of thought on the questions in the comment section, I have to try and manage my own teams, too. So far, I am having an awful season. Out of 6 leagues, I have only one team that is 3-1. So, what happened? I liked all of my drafts at the time, and the only devastating injury that I’ve had that I can remember at the moment is 3 shares of David Johnson. Whenever I bring up my unfortunate luck to a colleague or fantasy football playing friend, the majority say, “yeah, it’s been a weird year.” But isn’t every year weird? Maybe I’m just destined to have a bad fantasy season. Hopefully I can help you all better than I am helping myself this year…
New Orleans Saints Vs. Miami Dolphins
We had ourselves another London matchup and you’ll never guess who didn’t show up. Playing against a defense where a quarterback can have a monster day exploiting the secondary, Jay Cutler refused to throw the ball down the field after throwing a bad interception in the end zone. This offense isn’t doing Jay Ajayi any favors. His use was sporadic throughout the game and when he was used the Saints were not surprised. The only positive in this offense at this point is Devante Parker. Parker continues to be a must start in any format despite not finding the end zone yesterday.
On the New Orleans side of the ball, I continue to love Alvin Kamara as his usage continues to increase. He had an astounding 10 catches and found his way into the end zone for the second straight week. Michael Thomas continues to be a the WR1 caliber player that we expect him to be but I think at this point, Coby Fleener is droppable if you haven’t dropped him already.
Buffalo Bills Vs. Atlanta Falcons
I have to give props to Zach once again for his call on Charles Clay this season. He’s pretty much the only playable asset in the Buffalo Bills passing game and he is playing like a top 5 tight end. I expected more out of LeSean McCoy this week, but he found his way to 100 all-purpose yards even though he didn’t find the end zone. This is the performance that I’ve been expecting to see more of out of the Atlanta Falcons’ offense. If you’re able to take Julio Jones out of the game, they really can’t do much. Devonta Freeman scored a touchdown for the 8th straight game which is impressive to say the least.
Cincinnati Bengals Vs. Cleveland Browns
Well, Joe Mixon is finally getting the touches that I have been calling for, it’s just a matter of doing something with them. Even in a blow-out loss, the Browns were able to contain the rookie. A.J. Green found the end zone once again as the Cincinnati offense looks like it’s finally hitting some sort of stride for the second week in a row. On the other side of the ball, Kenny Britt continues to be short of usable with 3 catches for just over 50 yards. I’m not sure what to do with Isaiah Crowell. I don’t think you can start him at this point. It’s a bummer because he is talented, but it looks like Jay was right about him, if you take away the big runs that he had last year 7 carries for 20 yards is what you’re left with.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs NY Jets
If you can sell high on Powell, I’d do that right about now. His 75-yard rushing touchdown should have been ruled down right around the line of scrimmage. The officiating crew failed miserably on that call. Today was the first time I’ve had a chance to see some Elijah McGuire carries and I liked what I saw, he’s a good stash if you can get him. Although he isn’t at all impressive, Leonard Fournette continues to be an RB1. He is a true work horse and continues to get a tone of touches. Other than that, Jacksonville’s offense continues to stall and they lost a very winnable game.
Detroit Lions Vs. Minnesota Vikings
It was a quiet day for Stefon Diggs and Adam Theilen as they combined for 197 receiving yards. Seriously, that’s a quiet day for them. That’s a pretty good 1-2 punch. Dalvin Cook has a knee injury, so we are hoping for the best. He’s such a stud, but that’s football, what can you do? Hopefully it’s a sprain, when he walked off of the field he didn’t have much of a limp, but then again, neither did Jordy Nelson when he tore his ACL in the preseason a couple of years ago.
Ameer Abdullah is a good running back. It was good to see him get into the end zone, and he earned every inch of it. The Vikings have a good secondary, so there really isn’t much to look into when it comes to this performance from the Detroit passing game. I did expect more from Golden Tate, but he doesn’t care about your fantasy team, as he expressed on Twitter.
Los Angeles Rams Vs. Dallas Cowboys
I didn’t get a chance to say it last week because I didn’t post on Monday. Todd Gurley is the best back in the league. Gurley had over 200 all-purpose yards and a mind-blowing 7th touchdown of the season. The moves that he’s making in the open field look even better than they did when he was a rookie. Jared Goff is a borderline QB1. That’s something that I didn’t think that I would type in 2017. Sean McVay has found a way to put a spark in this offense that Jeff Fisher never could.
Dez Bryant had a nice day which is good to see. He’s going to continue to see days like today where he receives 13 targets. Jason Witten came back to Earth again. Those first couple of weeks were kind of confusing. Ezekiel Elliot found the end zone but was unable to get over 100 yards rushing. Hm.
Carolina Panthers Vs. New England Patriots
Hallelujah! Cam Newton is starting to get his swagger back. Never mind that it was against the worst Patriot’s defense that we have seen during the extent of their dynasty. Jonathan Stewart had a nice day despite having a fumble but Christian McCaffery was quiet. We are still waiting on the huge breakout game from McCaffery. Devin Funchess saw 9 targets and made the most of them. Am I in a rush to grab him on the waiver wire? Nah.
Are you starting James White in your flex every week in PPR leagues? You should be, as he racked up another 10 catches on Sunday afternoon. Gronk continues to Gronk, and Tom continues to Tom. Gillislee is still seeing the majority of carries out of the backfield and I think Chris Hogan is an every week starter at this point.
Pittsburgh Steelers Vs. Baltimore Ravens
I’m starting to get impatient with Martavis Bryant’s targets. He should be seeing more than five per game. Le’Veon Bell looked like himself and he carried the ball 35 times. Yikes. It was good to see Ju-Ju Smith-Schuster get involved in the passing game, he has such a cool name. Alex Collins led the Ravens in carries, and despite a fumble, he looked like the best running back on the team. He was able to bust out two big runs of 50 and 22 yards despite only carrying the ball 9 times. For me, he’s probably near the top of waiver wire priority.
Tennessee Titans Vs. Houston Texans
So, DeShaun Watson is pretty good, eh? He might even be good for fantasy football going forward. I’d take a shot on him if he’s on the waiver wire. I like what I’ve seen out of Lamar Miller this season. It was good to see him get in the end zone a couple of times on Sunday. I also like what I’ve seen out of Hopkins this year. He makes some incredible side line catches and it’s good to see him putting up the stats to match his abilities again this season. Also, welcome back, Will Fuller V! On the Tennessee side of the ball, Mariota looks good when he runs the ball. Other than that, nothing to see here.
New York Giants Vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It was another day at the office for Mike Evans, and despite the ho-hum stats he almost found the end zone twice. Cameron Brate continues to be Jameis Winston’s favorite red zone target. Speaking of Jameis, I wish the guy who showed up this past Sunday would be the Jameis that showed up every week. I like him a lot this Thursday against the Patriots. He should be in your starting lineup if you own him. Wayne Gallman looks like the back to own in New York going forward. I think he’s probably going to be the starter going forward, if not, the Giants are making a mistake. I liked Evan Engram and Sterling Shephard coming into this game and they both had decent days. Each scored at least 10 points in PPR.
Philadelphia Eagles Vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Legarrette Blount is an engine that keeps on chugging. On top of having a 68 yard run, he totaled 136 yards on the ground, but Wendall Smallwood was the back that found the end zone. I continue to love Carson Wentz and Zach Ertz as starters. Philip Rivers wasn’t a turnover machine on Sunday, but that didn’t change the fortune of the Chargers. Keenan Allen had an awesome day and continues to be a legitimate WR1, and Tyrell Williams had a nice touchdown play. Hunter Henry saw 3 targets, which still isn’t what we want to see, but he was able to find the end zone.
San Francisco 49ers Vs. Arizona Cardinals
Unfortunately, when neither Carlos Hyde or Pierre Garcon have big days, the 49ers aren’t going to put many more than 15 points on the board. Carson Palmer continues to pile up big yardage for the Cardinals, but he was only able to find the end zone once. That one touchdown was a beautiful game winner to Larry Fitzgerald in overtime. Chris Johnson struggled and there doesn’t seem to be an answer at running back on the Arizona roster.
Oakland Raiders Vs. Denver Broncos
Wow, I didn’t quite expect Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryous Thomas to be non-factors against this secondary, but divisional games are always weird. On the contrary, C.J. Anderson continues to be awesome, despite not finding the end zone on Sunday. There’s not a lot to say about the Raider’s side of the ball, either. Amari Cooper has been very disappointing since week 2 and Marshawn Lynch is borderline not unstartable at this point. This offense really needs Derek Carr’s back to be okay, or you can kiss these Raiders pieces good-bye on your fantasy team.
