We are starting to get more parity between teams. My 8-8 dream is dead. #$*%. I’ll get over it. Injuries are the most frustrating part of football. Every second play, someone gets hurt and I cringe and cry for them. I myself was destined for stardom as a Division 1 basketball player. At age 17, I subsequently destroyed both my ankles and was just a fraction of what I once was. I feel for Tony Romo, Drew Brees, Kelvin Benjamin, Jordy Nelson and others. I especially felt for Big Ben after watching his leg get caved in versus the Rams this past weekend. It slowly had me heartbroken for Antonio Brown owners, but felt happiness for Le’Veon Bell owners. Today we talk about the outlook of the next 4-6 weeks for Pittsburgh Steelers offense sans Ben Roethlisberger.
[graphiq id=”avQPDSBBpl3″ title=”Michael Vick Overview” width=”640″ height=”545″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/avQPDSBBpl3″ link=”http://football-players.pointafter.com/l/21325/Michael-Vick” link_text=”Michael Vick Overview | PointAfter”]
But first we take a quick look at last week’s happenings. AND WATER ON MARS. I watched the Broncos and Lions game Sunday, and it was a tad (extremely) boring until late in the second-half. First off, Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are incredible. The only reason Peyton Manning seemed slightly above average was because of these two studs. I see that Peyton still has some of his touch, but I was still very worried about his season after watching this game. If you can find someone who will take him thinking he’s going to improve, jump on it. He still looks like an old man. C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman seem more unlucky that the offensive live is trash at run blocking than anything. I could see Anderson being a sneaky good buy low for the second-half of the season. It probably won’t cost you too much to get him away from another team. I would not start either of them until you get at least 1-2 solid games out of them. I own CJ in 2 of my leagues and I’m holding him for now.
Going into the season, I was o-facing real quick at the thought of the Steelers offense. I was hot for Big Ben and his arsenal of weapons. Deep threats? Martavis Bryant, Antonio Brown and Darrius Heyward-Bey. Safety blankets? Heath Miller, Le’Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown. Top Talent everywhere? Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. Solid O-line? Check. I challenge you to find a whole in their offense with everyone healthy. I now struggle to even crack a quarter chub with Michael Vick at the helm.
I watched Vick’s drives against the Rams, and man did he look lost and unable to throw an accurate ball further than 7 yards. Granted, he’s a fresh face just getting there, but he looked like he had no awareness in the pocket for any of the defensive linemen. I am very scared for receiver production going forward. Martavis Bryant is also very close to returning so everyone that is not Antonio Brown gets a downgrade automatically. Heyward-Bey and Markus Wheaton? Almost garbage now. I can see Brown’s value dropping a bit, but not too much, as I expect Vick will force a lot of balls to him just because he is Antonio Brown. I can see occasional deep plays to some of their speedsters after running and grinding a bunch; maybe some play action or deep forming routes. Heath Miller could be a consistent 3-5 catches for 30-40 yards and an occasional TD, nothing more.
With Bell back, I’d expect a good shift towards the run game, limiting Vick’s passing all together. I’d expect an uptick in RB targets until Vick gets comfortable with the offense; great for PPR leagues. Bell is a top-5 RB with Vick or Ben regardless. If you were able to survive weeks 1 and 2 with Bell on you bench, your future is bright. Deangelo Williams might see some touches but I can only see him on the field to give Bell some occasional rest. I would still definitely hold him as a handcuff to Le’Veon Bell. Give me 25-35 touches a game for Bell with Ben out.
Overall, I expect Brown and Bell to continue to hold lots of value fantasy wise while the lesser players that were giving you decent points and value based off their ADP’s to drop until Ben returns. Heyward-Bey’s value will soon be all but gone as Bryant returns and does his job but better. The next five games are tough ones for Pittsburgh (BAL, SDG, ARZ, KC, CIN) and I expect the offense to drop off a bit.
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