Monday Hot Takes Review.

Gary Barnidge is 6th at the tight end position with 403 receiving yards. He’s fifth at the position with 33 receptions. He still hasn’t scored a touchdown for the Browns.

Martellus Bennett has disappeared with the return of Gronk. Bennett has caught 16 passes the past four games but he’s also failed to reach 50-yards in ¾ outings. He’s averaged 38.8 yards per game in those four as well. He does have three scores, but none the last three weeks and he’s scored in just one of his last six games.

Devontae Booker averaged 2.8 YPC. He had a solid game, around injury and all, but he wasn’t very effective. When you get 24 touches though, while being on the field for more than 81 percent of the snaps… that will play.

Tom Brady has 12 scores and no picks. Only two other quarterbacks have done that in their first four games of a season: Peyton Manning in 2013 and Don Meredith in 1966.

When the pocket was clean in Week 8 Derek Carr threw for 458 yards as he completed 37-of-48 passes. Carr had 71 yards wiped out by penalties and he finished 41 yards short of the NFL single game passing record). Tom Brady was even better with a 158.3 QB Rating when the pocket was clean. By the way, that’s a perfect passer rating. Brady is on a 16 game pace for 5,200 yards and 48 scores. #TakeThatRogerGoddell

Derek Carr is rolling with a career performance in week 8. Matt Forte needs the football from the Jets to be productive. Have patience with Allen Hurns, he is slowly rounding into form. Check out the Big-3 video.

Amari Cooper saw four passes of at least 20-yards downfield in Week 8. He had seen just three deep balls over the previous four outings.

Tyler Eifert was thrown at 11 times catching nine passes for 102 yards and a score. That’s his first 100-yard effort in 15 games.

Ezekiel Elliott ran for 89 yards after contact. He only has seven yards before contact in the outing. He broke seven tackles on the way (actually it was nine as he forced two misses as a pass catcher). He also had a 60-yard run called back on a penalty or it would have been another massive day on the ground. By the way, adding in his receiving yards gives him a run of 5-straight games of at least 140-yards from scrimmage, the longest streak since Chris Johnson hit the number in 11-straight games from 2009-10. #TheNewBeastMode

Antonio Gates has 29 targets compared to 15 for Hunter Henry the last month. Seriously. Gates has only caught 15 of those targets for 1117 yards and two scores.

Melvin Gordon ran for 111 yards on 23 carries in the best rushing outing of the season. He also forced seven missed tackles and produced another 44 yards on four catches. He looked spry. Of course, he didn’t get in the end zone.

A.J. Green went for nine and 121 against the Redskins. He also drew four penalties against Josh Norman. #NoSuchThingAsAShutdownCorner

Tyreek Hill touched the ball infrequently in Week 8 but he produced 183 all-purpose yards on just 21 snaps on offense and four on special teams. He’s not addable in anything but the deepest of leagues though. #LikeReallyDeep

Chris Hogan went for 91 yards and a score. Tom Brady threw 33 passes but only four of them were aimed at Hogan. He is outside the top-80 amongst wide receivers in targets this season. He just doesn’t get any volume.

Jordan Howard was reportedly out of a job in Chicago in yet another lie by a coaching staff. On MNF Howard saw 50 snaps, Ka/Deem Carey saw six and Jeremy Langford five. Apparently, when Howard nearly went for 70-yards on his second carry of the game that convinced the coaching staff that he was the man for the job (so unbelievably lame). Howard produced more than 200-yards of offense and looks to be back in the lead in the Bears backfield, for what that’s worth. The situation is a total mess. #YetAnotherCoachingStaffLie

Alshon Jeffery finally scored on MNF, his first of the year. He’s now tied with Jarvis Landry with one touchdown a piece. Just to compare, Sammie Coates has scored twice.

David Johnson averaged only 1.3 yards before contract on 10 carries in Week 8. He carried the ball 10 times for just 24 yards in the outing. He did catch seven passes for 84 yards though to give him 17.8 points in a PPR setup, remarkable given that he didn’t score and that he only ran for 24 yards. He also generated 108 yards from scrimmage meaning he’s hit 100-yards in every game he has played this season.

Robert Kelley forced five missed tackles in Week 8 and now has forced eight misses on 38 carries. Matt Jones has forced 12 misses but he’s also had 100 carries.

Josh McCown completed 28 percent of his passes in Week 8 when he was pressured. He threw for 341 and two scores, but he also fumbled (recovered) and was picked off twice.

DeMarco Murray and Derek Henry led the Titans backfield to the tune of 116 rushing yards before contact out of 221 rushing yards in total.

J.J. Nelson has been named a starter over the oft-injured, seemingly always unproductive Michael Floyd. Nelson caught 11 passes for 162 yards and two scores. Can’t expect that level of production moving forward. He’s still behind Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown, and the Cardinals are on a Bye in Week 8, but the fact he was on the field for 91 percent of the snaps last week is encouraging.

The Packers released Knile Davis. Wow. They threw a conditional draft pick that they sent to the Chiefs two weeks ago in the garbage can. Seems like the Packers don’t think they need running backs. #TheyAreWrongIfTheyThinkThat

Allen Robinson saw a whopping 15 targets tying his season best. He caught only six passes for 70 yards. He has gone three games without a score.

Aaron Rodgers completed touchdown passes to Geronimo Allison and Trevor Davis. He had never completed a pass to either man before Week 8.

Darren Sproles is 33 years old, stands 5’6”, and has been in the NFL since 2005. That’s more than a decade of work in which Sproles has caught the ball and returned the ball on special teams. He’s never been a ball carrier – in over a decade. He has never carried the ball 95 times in an NFL season. Leave it to Doug Pederson and the staff in Philly to think that more than a decade, heard that before, of teams and coaches were all wrong. Sproles, who has 83 carries already, might be the new lead back in Philly. #GoodLuckWithThat

The Vikings are the best defense ever! That is until Jay Cutler, fresh off missing nearly six weeks of action with a hand issue, returns to complete 2/3 of his passes for 252 yards and a score. He also wasn’t picked off and was sacked just once. The Bears were even down two offensive lineman in that game. Oh yeah, and Howard produced 202 yards of offense as well. #TooMuchIsBeingMadeAboutTheGoodButNotGreatVIkingsDefense

Carson Wentz completed 32-of-43 passes. He was plagued by six drops meaning his adjusted completion percentage was 90.5 percent. He’s playing solid football. Still not a starter in fantasy leagues though. #RealWorldIsDifferentThanFantasy

Russell Wilson is no longer a top QB starter in fantasy football. Latavius Murray continues to disappoint fantasy owners. Julio Jones is still a top WR, but needs to be more consistent. Check out the Daily Dive video. 

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM EDT on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).