Welcome to the 2015 Fantasy Alarm Game Recaps! Nobody watches more NFL football than yours truly mostly because it is impossible to do so. Each week I’ll open up my notepad to all of our Fantasy Alarm readers so that you guys can go beyond the boxscore to get the information you need to win your league.
It feels like we have been here before doesn’t it? A huge scoring output in New Orleans, Ben Roethlisberger being carted off because of injury, DeAngelo Williams making fantasy owners forget the name Le’Veon Bell and Karlos Williams stepping in for an injured LeSean McCoy and going off.
It was a very familiar week in many ways but if you an Eddie Lacy or DeSean Jackson owner you are not loving this script. As I mentioned in this very space last week, fantasy football in 2015 has become all about survival. Let’s take a spin through all of the games and see just how well you survived this week.
Here are the Week 9 Fantasy Football Game Recaps:
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29 – Green Bay at Carolina – 37
For awhile there I was worried that all of my faith in Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense was ill advised as the Panther stormed out to a 27-7 lead at the half. Though they lost the game it was good for the Packers offense to finally wake up from an eight quarter slumber the past few weeks.
An early fumble and failure to convert on back to back carries inside the Panthers five yard line led to Eddie Lacy being benched for the middle portion of this game. I am not going to overreact about this because the Packers schedule softens up considerably in the coming weeks and I believe Lacy will be a part of that. The issue is that if he loses even more playing time to James Starks it won’t matter who the opponents are.
The Devante Adams situation has worked out just as we said two weeks ago. He is playing a ton of snaps, is now logging time ahead of James Jones and the production is finally there. Adams should be owned in all 12 team leagues and fewer and should be considered a viable WR3 or FLEX option going into week ten.
Cam Newton is obviously playing at an MVP level this season but what I think many people miss is just how intelligent a QB he is. Today Newton realized early on that the Packers defense was selling out to stop the run and also sending everybody in blitzes and he adapted. Newton lured the Packers defense into the rush and then forced the ball deep down the field which paid off immensely in the Panthers building that early lead. It’s these little things that rarely get noticed by fantasy analysts but are very important to future prognosis of these players.
Devin Funchess is a guy to keep your eye on moving forward. The announcers of this game mentioned that several Panthers and coaches singled out Funchess as a player they are “going to need” down the stretch this season. Funchess made a couple real nice grabs in this game and has the size that Newton likes to target especially in red zone situations.
10 – Washington at New England – 27
After a strong start to this game the Patriots offense really just kind of coasted the rest of the way en route to their worst point total of the season thus far.
On the first play of the game for the Redskins, Cousins threw a pass to Pierre Garcon who bobbled it up into the air where the Patriots intercepted it. Maybe Garcon should worry more about his performance and less about his likeness.
The Redskins were credited with seven drops today and that number honestly could have been a few more by my count. Kirk Cousins definitely was having panic attacks out there but he got absolutely no help from his receivers this afternoon.
The up and down season of Matt Jones continued today as he showed hands, power and speed late in the first half in helping the Redskins finally drive down the field. Then he lost another fumble early in the third quarter and basically was in and out the rest of the way. Jones is a great talent but is worthless to chase here in 2015.
Though I wasn’t super high on LeGarrette Blount this week, I deem it a “Blount Week” on the SiriusXM pregame show which at this point has me scared on how I know this. Most of Blount’s fantasy value has been dependent on game flow but I have a feeling this is about to change.
The reason for Blount’s added value going forward is what could be a significant injury to Dion Lewis today. Lewis went down with a non-contact injury to his left knee and had to be helped off of the field. Here’s wishing all of the best for the kid but as a fantasy owners I wouldn’t be too optimistic.
The Patriots have scored in 31 consecutive quarters which ties an all time NFL record. The 1999 Rams and 2005 Colts are the only other teams to accomplish this feat.
34 – Tennessee at New Orleans – 28
The officiating crew for this game, Jerome Boger’s crew is the most penalty calling group in the NFL and it showed up here today. These teams were officially penalized 17 times for a total of 141 yards with five more flags being throw that were not accepted.
Marcus Mariota became only the second rookie QB ever to throw for four or more TD’s in a game twice in a season. While this may seem like a great achievement notice that the other player to do so was Robert Griffin III. The better news here maybe that he has become the only NFL rookie QB to ever throw for 350+ yards, 4+ TD’s and have zero interceptions in a game.
Interim head coach Mike Mularkey made good on his promise to use one primary RB and that was Antonio Andrews. Andrews is honestly a terrible RB. He has absolutely no speed, his power is NFL average and there is absolutely no creativity to his runs. But in the current fantasy RB environment opportunity is enough to give a guy like Andrews value.
Drew Brees had a terrific first half throwing two TD and rushing for one more. But a roughing the passer penalty that negated an interception that he threw deep in Titans territory that was returned deep into Saints territory also saved him.
Just in case you were wondering, it is fine to cut bait on C.J. Spiller. Spiller got just three touches today and once again is in a situation where he is begging for opportunities.
As disappointed as I am in Ben Watson’s final numbers, I am still high on him going forward. If you look around the league this week you will notice a lot of bad numbers out of the TE position lessening this one for Watson.
17 – Miami at Buffalo – 33
So much for the afterglow, huh? After a fantastic start to his head coaching debut Dolphins interim head coach Dan Campbell has been a total mess. Today he not only forgot that he still had a timeout remaining but decided to not take a short field goal to end the first half and instead go for the touchdown. Needless to say, the Dolphins didn’t get it and it really set the tone for the second half of the game. I’d still take these kinds of errors as bad as they may be over the genuine disinterest of Joe Philbin.
The first offensive play of the game for the Dolphins a snap that sailed over Ryan Tannehill’s head and out of the back of the endzone for a Bills safety.
Lamar Miller had another great fantasy day especially in PPR league formats. Miller went for 12-44-2 on the ground with another 7-97 receiving today. It should be noted that Jay Ajayi was active and actually played quite a bit today logging five carries for 41 yards including an explosive 23 yard burst. I don’t see Ajayi taking much work away from Miller but it is a situation worth monitoring.
The Bills really look a lot better offensively now that they are healthy. Tyrod Taylor only completed 11 passes today but by averaging 15.1 yards per completion he expanded the field to open up running lanes for his team.
LeSean McCoy was knocked out of this game with a shoulder injury in the third quarter. After the game McCoy says that he will be good to go by Thursday night but I wouldn’t be nearly that optimistic. Karlos Williams once again becomes a huge fantasy asset if McCoy cannot go or is at all limited.
I owe everybody an apology for completely whiffing on Sammy Watkins today. I truly didn’t think that he was going to be active after the whole Friday practice incident. So, I told a bunch of you to avoid him at all possible which turned into a huge mistake.
Karlos Williams became just the fifth player in NFL history to score a TD in each of his first five career games. Remember Patriots RB Robert Edwards who was a fantasy dynamo back in 1998? Well he is the all time leader having scored a TD in his first six career games that year. Williams will try and tie that mark on Thursday night against the New York Jets.
18 – St. Louis at Minnesota – 21
I genuinely think that the Rams thought they could handle the Vikings without DE Robert Quinn today. This is becoming a trend for the Rams under Jeff Fisher. By the time the Rams offense is sustainable its defense will have probably fallen off enough to keep them a .500 team.
I had a feeling that Todd Gurley would be challenged in this matchup and although his numbers weren’t on par with his past three games, I am more impressed with this one. Gurley carried the ball 24-89-1 and also caught 3-20 in the passing game. He is the top fantasy RB at this point and moving forward.
Under no circumstance should Tavon Austin carry the football eight times in a football game. Austin seriously looks like a small child got lost in the stadium and is out wandering around on the field.
Adrian Peterson played his best game of the season today. This game was an example in how certain players simply will not be denied. Peterson would not go down for anything this week in what I believe was in response to all of the Todd Gurley hype leading up to this game.
A very scary scene late in this game as Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater was knocked unconscious after a hit to his head while attempting a slide. A lot is being made on whether or not this was a dirty hit by CB Lamarcus Joyner. I will say that it really appeared that way in real time but upon numerous replays I don’t believe that Joyner tried to hurt Bridgewater. The issue is that Joyner left his feet before Teddy had given himself up and at that point there was nowhere to go. Hopefully Bridgewater will be OK but I highly suspect he could miss a week or two here.
We knew that Stefon Diggs had a tough matchup today and it played out exactly that way. Diggs value going forward relies heavily on Teddy Bridgewater’s health so be sure to address your lineup accordingly depending on what happen with his QB.
23 – Jacksonville at N.Y. Jets – 28
This game showed be two things. The Jets aren’t quite as good as I thought they were earlier this season and the Jaguars aren’t as bad as their record indicates. The Jags had every chance to win this game but made some huge mistakes down the stretch including two fourth quarter fumbles that gave the Jets new life.
So for all that fear we had about Allen Robinson matching up against Darelle Revis he had himself yet another big day. Let’s make a deal…you and me loyal reader. No more identifying Revis as a “shutdown corner” or any more references to “Revis Island.” Robinson is a WR1 in fantasy football and should be started each and every week. Alen Hurns for that matter is an every week starter himself. Hurns scored a TD for the sixth straight game, the longest streak in the NFL this season.
The Jaguars lost DT Michael Bennett left the game with a strained hamstring and did not return.
Jets center Nick Mangold tried to give it a go today but couldn’t finish the game after aggravating his neck injury. He originally hurt it two weeks ago against the Patriots and couldn’t play last week. Mangold’s loss is directly related to the drop in run game production here for the Jets. Chris Ivory received 23 carries today but only accumulated a horrific 26 yards in the process. Thank goodness that he was able to get into the endzone twice to bail out his fantasy owners.
WR Brandon Marshall has been known for making some huge gaffes this year with the Jets but he had himself a very big game today. Marshall only caught 4-44-1 today but made his TD grab on a diving catch that put the Jets up two scores late in the fourth quarter. But Marshall also recovered a Chris Ivory fumble saving the Jets a possession. He also was able to corral an onside kick late in the game to help preserve the win.
The Jets lost both CB Antonio Cromartie (thigh) and safety Dion Bailey (ankle) to injuries in this game.
35 – Oakland at Pittsburgh – 38
Go ahead and tell me that coaching doesn’t matter in the NFL. Then go back and watch the last decade of Oakland Raiders football then watch this years team. Jack Del Rio and his staff has this group of Raiders hungry, skilled and disciplined a term that is never used in conjunction with the Raiders.
There has not been a more consistent WR in the NFL this year than Michael Crabtree. Let that sink in for a moment. I was completely wrong about him coming into this season but am making up for it in DFS where he’s been one of my favorite plays the past three weeks. The least amount of targets he has this year is six. The least amount of receptions is four. Crabtree has four TD’s in his last three games where he has averaged 10.3 targets, 6.7 targets and 91 yards.
Latavius Murray was poised for a big game today before he was knocked out in the third quarter due to a concussion. Murray had 17-96 on the day before departing.
I am concerned with something I saw late in this game by Derek Carr. There is no doubt in my mind that he lost velocity on his throws late in this game. If you watch the tape, you will see some serious zip on his passes early on while there was nothing but loft in the fourth quarter. I am not even sure what this means whether there is an injury or something else going on but it was evident to me.
I’m sure by now you know that Ben Roethlisberger was once again injured and had to be carted off the field today due to a left foot injury. Initial tests indicate that it is not a Lisfranc injury which is very good news for Ben and the Steelers. At this point it appears though Roethlisberger will be out 2-4 weeks with this latest injury. Landry Jones replaced Roethlisberger and did quite well in continuing to get the ball to Antonio Brown. The problem here is that without Le’Veon Bell and now without Big Ben as well, just how much can the Steelers backups do to help them win games and stay productive?
As I’ve said on the SiriusXM show and the Mans & Flowers Podcast the last week: if you were a Le’Veon Bell owner and don’t have DeAngelo Williams you have nobody but yourself to blame. In three starts this season Williams has accumulated 68-374-5 on the ground with another 7-75 receiving. He’s averaging 23-125-1.7 while Le’Veon Bell was averaging 19-93-.5 in his starts this year. Not saying Williams is better or that he’ll continue at this pace but at the very least I’d like you all to understand just how important it is to handcuff your RB’s who are in elite situations as Bell was.
Speaking of DeAngelo Williams, he easily could have and probably should have had a third rushing TD late in this game but decided to go out of bounds at the 2.5 yard line for some odd reason. This decision forced the Steelers to kick a field goal to win the game instead which, in my opinion was a very risky move considering all of the issue that Steelers kickers have had this season. Chris Boswell had already missed what would have been the go ahead field goal late in the fourth as it was.
32 – N.Y. Giants at Tampa Bay – 18
The return of Jason Pierre-Paul was a big boost to a defense who was in desperate need of a pass rush this entire season. JPP’s hand is a mangled mess but it is a true testament to just how tough these players are for him to go out there after losing a good part of his right hand.
Please remind me to stop trusting Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. in DFS cash games. Luckily I only had ODB in cash today but was very tempted by Eli and his discount salary this week. Beckham is a big play guy and he gets plenty of targets to stay somewhat consistent but his salary is such that you need a TD out of him or it just doesn’t work.
I don’t get people who start Shane Vereen every week. I seriously almost feel sorry for them except when they play me. If you are a Vereen owner please treat him like you would a fire extinguisher or a can of baked beans. Only break the seal in case of an emergency and only if you are in a PPR league.
The Giants lost DT Johnathan Hankins late in the first half with what was later diagnosed as a torn pectoral muscle. He is likely done for the season with that injury.
Mike Evans final numbers look real good 8-152-0. But if you watched this game there is no doubt that you were frustrated with Evans and the crazy amount of drops he had today. Evans had 19 targets and as of this writing was charged with five drops though I could credit him with at least two more than that.
As good as I have been in predicting LeGarrette Blount’s big games, I have been equally bad at identifying Doug Martin’s good games. I thought Martin was in a great spot coming into today’s game but he never got going. The fact that Martin splits time with Charles Sims on a near equal basis, has never sat well with me at all.
The Bucs lost safety Bradley McDougald early on in this contest due to a concussion.
They also lost small school rookie RG Ali Marpet who had to be helped off of the field due to an ankle injury today and did not return. Evan Smith who has been a real busy backup for the Bucs having also filled in for Logan Mankins earlier this year replaced him in the lineup.
16 – Atlanta at San Francisco – 17
There is absolutely no excuse for the Falcons to have come to San Francisco, played a close game throughout and have only rushed the ball 14 times total. This is a gross misuse of personnel. The Falcons offensive line has been very efficient in run blocking but has struggled at times in pass protection. Granted DeVonta Freeman didn’t have a good game by any stretch (12-12 on the ground) but they needed to stay with the run game for those bigger gains to happen.
If you need even more proof that the Falcons coaching staff blew this game, look no further than the decision to kick a field goal with just over two minutes left. Atlanta was down four points and had the ball at the eight yard line, marched it down to the one yard line on fourth down and elected to kick the field goal. If you don’t have the stones to go for the win with one yard to go on the road I am not sure you have what it takes to be a head coach in the NFL.
I don’t get why Matt Ryan simply refuses to throw the ball to Roddy White. It is a bizarre situation in which White is on the field all of the time, runs solid routes, gets open but absolutely never gets the ball. He was easily fifth on the food chain today even without Leonard Hankerson playing. I have watched White’s play extensively this season and although he is not as quick as he used to be I can assure you that he still has a lot to offer.
Falcons DT Paul Solai was taken out of this game due to a head injury and did not return. Safety Robenson Therezie was also lost early on when he went down with a hamstring injury.
I’m already hearing praise for Blaine Gabbert after he guided the 49ers to a big upset victory today. Gabbert did perform admirably but let’s not lose sight of the fact that he did throw two interceptions the last of which nearly cost the 49ers the game. I love a good comeback story but be careful before you throw any support to Gabbert or any of these 49ers offensive players.
It was Kendall Gaskins who started at RB for the 49ers today but it was clear that veteran Shaun Draughn was the back they were most confident in today. Draughn is a competent player but not someone that I would spend any waiver budget on. The 49ers are off next week and by then Carlos Hyde should be ready to return and Pierre Thomas will be more comfortable in the offense.
Also, in case you were wondering I am not impressed or interested in Garrett Celek despite his performance today. If I was confident in Gabbert holding the job, his refurbished skill set or his chemistry with Celek I may be more interested. But to be absolutely clear, I am not.
24 – Denver at Indianapolis – 27
If we learned one thing in week nine it certainly was that great players do not stay down for long. Andrew Luck took down the best defense in the NFL today a week after leading a ferocious second half charge against the Panthers. He needs to be in your lineup every week even during his struggles.
Although the Broncos running game never got off the ground today, it was interesting that C.J. Anderson actually was on the field in key situation late in the game as opposed to Ronnie Hillman who had been the preferred option the past few weeks.
I guess all that it took was a trade for Vernon Davis in order for Owen Daniels to have a breakout game. Daniels racked up 6-102-1 today which was by far his best game of the season. I still expect Vernon Davis to assume the lead TE job here shortly but it was good to see Peyton Manning trusting his TE’s once again.
Broncos OLB DeMarcus Ware left the game and was ruled out immediately after aggravating his lower back injury. Ware missed week six also with what is believed to be the same injury. After the game he said that he believes that he’ll miss a week or two but that it isn’t a season threatening deal.
In Rob Chudzinski’s first week as Colts offensive coordinator we saw the TE’s targeted a season high 11 times today. Though only Jack Doyle was able to get into the endzone, I’d buy low on Dwayne Allen here soon as Chudzinski has a way with TE’s.
Everybody that I talked to this week around the Colts thought it was a long shot that T.Y. Hilton would play against the Broncos. Yet, there he was leading the team in targets, receptions and yards this afternoon. To my eye, Hilton appeared to be the same he usually is. I am not buying into Griff Whalen either folks so save your free agent money for just about anybody else.
Colts safety Mike Adams had to leave the game immediately after his first half interception. Adams sprained his left ankle on the return and will require an MRI on Monday.
It looks as though rookie DE Henry Anderson will miss most if not all of the rest of the season after sustaining a significant knee injury today. Anderson was a big help in run stopping and if he isn’t able to go it will weaken an already poor defense against the run.
33 – Philadelphia at Dallas – 27
You have to understand that even though none of us are super impressed with Chip Kelly or his offense, there is just so much volume here for fantasy purposes. When you get an offense that runs 70+ plays per game you want to have some shares of that.
Sunday was Sam Bradford’s 28th birthday. How do I know this? Only because the NBC announcers mentioned it like 1300 times throughout the night.
The Eagles dodged a bullet late in this game when it appeared as though Ryan Mathews had lost a fumble on the first drive in overtime. Instead Mathews was ruled down after a review and Bradford threw the game winning TD pass to Jordan Matthews just two plays later.
Darren McFadden has been a touch monster in recent weeks and I simply don’t see that trend ending any time soon. The problem is that the Cowboys aren’t running the ball inside the 10 yard line much at all. So, although DMC will usually see more receiving targets, the TD upside may be quite hard to come by.
It’s almost sad to see Dez Bryant out on the field right now. Sure the numbers from tonight look great (5-104-1) but he is a shell of his former self. It makes those of us who drafted Dez in the first round long for what could have been this season.
The Cowboys suffered some significant defensive losses tonight as well. The often-injured LB Sean Lee was diagnosed with yet another concussion and LB Anthony Hitchens left with an ankle injury as well.