Another week means another opportunity to sit in judgment of Jeff Mans!  I have poured over Jeff’s rankings and opinions and well, let us see how he did.  Oh, and as usual, I will pepper this piece with a few of my own masterpieces and pieces of [use a word for dung] from the past week.

Here is the 2015 Week 5 edition of Right, Wrong or Indifferent:

RIGHT

Sam Bradford:  Maestro Mans was dead on when he penned,  “The Saints give up the third-most amount of points to QBs and most points per play to QBs this season. Bradford caught fire in the second half last week and should be able to parlay that into this home matchup against the worst pass cover team in the NFL”  While I am no fan of Sammy B and think the odds of him staying upright all year are small, I cannot argue with 333 yards and two TD.  If I am being totally honest (and I am), I have to admit I played Bradford in some daily lineups despite my fantasy dislike because of my faith in Jeff and the system.  Hmmm, there may be a "there there!" 

Todd Gurley:  Mr. Mans was spot on regarding the Rams rook.  Jeff wrote, “This is a GPP play only. My model has the Rams giving the Packers a run for it this week and, with that, Gurley gets a lot of touches. The Packers run defense is in the bottom third of the league and 28th in YPC (4.8).”  Well, Gurley surely got a lot of touches on his way to a 30-carry, 160-yard day.   He did not cross the goal line but I cannot kill Jeff for that.  Bottom line is there should be no health concerns with Gurley – that he was fed the ball 30 times shows the coaches have no workload worries or pitch counts for the prized draft pick.

Justin Forsett:  Jeff is looking good here as he wrote about the Baltimore back:  “The Ravens lose Steve Smith this week but get LT Eugene Monroe back. The Browns have given up the second-most rushing yards and third-highest YPC this season. They also grade out 29th against the run according to PFF.”  Forsett rewarded Jeff’s faith with 170 total yards, four receptions and a TD.   Talk of Forsett’s demise has been greatly exaggerated. 

Darren McFadden.:  Ok, one for me.  I know a lot of his production came in garbage time, but I correctly pushed Darren McFadden for RB3/Flex play all week.  With his nine receptions, McFadden put up solid PPR numbers.  Bottom line here – Joseph Randle dances around at or behind the line of scrimmage way too much.  That line is built for a one cut, hit the hole runner.  Either McFadden or Christine Michael is going to get that role and there is little doubt McFadden is going to hold the third down role.  There is value in them there hills!

 

WRONG

Boobie Dixon:   Well, now for the other side of the coin.  This Mans prediction hardly came to pass.  “It’s almost impossible to pass up on this price for a feature RB who has always been strong around the goal line. Dixon is banged up a bit himself but the volume should easily allow him to produce 3x value in this matchup.”  Gong! Boobie’s seven rushes for 19 yards and three catches for 20 yards hardly paid 3x or even x value.  Lesson:  it is dangerous to lean on lesser-talented players.

Leonard Hankerson:  I think Jeff got Falcon fever when he got on the Good Ship Hankerson:  “A mixture of value, upside and narrative here with Hankerson who is going against his former team. Hankerson has become the clear WR2 in Atlanta & is averaging seven targets, four receptions and 60 yards per game this season. The Redskins' run defense has been strong so expect the Falcons to air it out a bit more on Sunday.”  Water finds its level and Hankerson is just not that good.  He laid a complete egg this week, notching just one catch for 13 yards.  Again, be wary starting lesser-talented players in fantasy or otherwise.

Nelson Agholor:   While the faith in Bradford was rewarded, it was not because of Agholor.  Jeff booted this grounder when he said:  “I'm expecting a breakout game for Agholor this week after he finally got going last week against the Redskins. His diving catch seemed to give him confidence and the targets soon followed. If you are looking for a GPP value play with upside, here you go.”  Well, Jeff gets an E6 as Agholor got only one catch for five yards.  Ugly.  It is very dangerous relying on any Eagles player in fantasy.  First, the offense could sputter at any moment.  Second, even when the offense clicks, it is impossible to know who will get the rock.  Let others fly with the Eagles.

Charles Clay:  In all fairness, I have to look in the mirror and scold myself at least once.   I was convinced Charles Clay would have a big game with Watkins out.  After all, he hauled in 14 receptions for almost 200 yards over the previous two weeks.  WRONG.  Clay laid an egg, catching one pass for seven yards.  To make matters worse, I pushed the Wolfman to play Clay in some of our leagues.  Ugh!

 

INDIFFERENT

Tyrod Taylor:  Jeff noted: “The Bills have a hodgepodge at RB this week and could also be without Sammy Watkins yet again. To me this means they will run a few more designed runs for Taylor, who has already rushed for 111 yards this season and had a 30-yard TD called back last week. I am very surprised at how low his DK price is once again.”  I give this a wash.  Taylor posted an awful 109 yards passing but did rush for 76 and one TD.  Unless you play in a league where passing yards and passing TDs are worth a fraction of rushing yards and TDs, Taylor is not a guy to ride week to week.

T.J. Yeldon:   Jeff was pretty high on the Jags RB:  “Yeldon ranks third in snap percentage among RBs this season (77.8 percent) and is facing the worst rush defense according to PFF. The Bucs have given up the fourth-most rushing yards this season as well.”  Well, the value was there because of the receptions – five for 31 and a TD.  But the rushing production of 11 carries for 32 yards just does not cut it.  I give this a wash but like Jeff, I am excited about the bell cow potential for Yeldon as the season progresses.

Derek Carrier:  About the Washington football franchise sudden starting TE, Jeff penned as follows:  “The Redskins target the TE position on 27 percent of pass attempts which is second in the NFL. Jordan Reed is out awhile so familiarize yourself with the name Derek Carrier as he will step in and garner a share of Reed's 10 targets per game.”  Well, he did score a TD but two catches for 27 yards on three targets hardly get your blood pumping.   

Ok, let’s use what we learned and win in Week 6.  Good luck!