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Were you one of those people who liked report card day back in school? I wasn’t but not for reasons that you might think. Being the youngest of five my parents really didn’t care what kind of grades I got because at that point they had seen it all. Even at a young age I had a thirst to learn and to know. I would pay attention to the things that I wanted to learn about and drift off when the class was talking something I didn’t care about. This happens in fantasy sports all of the time except now I am the teacher, which sucks a lot more than I thought it did by the way.
So each week I will be going over all of my rankings, projections, lineup advice and strong opinions and letting the record speak for itself. Obviously this is a risky proposition considering if I am wrong too much it could be a severe hit to my career. But I have confidence because fantasy football is something that I love and have a desire to learn about every single day. So despite the risk, I accept this challenge.
Here is the second edition of Right, Wrong or Indifferent taking a look back at NFL Week 11:
RIGHT
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Jay Cutler, QB, Bears
When writing your own narrative I suppose that you can just ignore plain facts. It seemed like everybody wanted to write Jay Cutler and the Bears offense off after their dismantling at the hands of the Packers last week. But the fact is that the Bears have a very potent offense and Cutler is still firmly a top 10 fantasy QB.
Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Vikings
I kept hearing how Bridgewater was a “sleeper” this week because of how bad the Bears defense has been this season. But one of the most important rules of fantasy football is that matchups do not make bad players suddenly good.
Mark Sanchez, QB, Eagles
The Eagles/Packers game went almost exactly as we discussed on The Fantasy Alarm Show last week. Sure the Packers crushed the Eagles defense but at the end of the day Sanchez and company still put up quality numbers in defeat. I had Sanchez ranked 9th in my final QB rankings of the week and we finished exactly 9th in QB points this week.
Jamaal Charles, RB, Chiefs
This one surprises me as much as any of you reading it. But when I listed Charles as the #1 RB in the DFS NFL Playbook this week I figured it was a given that he would be highly used. But over the weekend I heard a bunch of other fantasy analysts talking about what a bad matchup this was for Charles and the Chiefs. Obviously these guys didn’t do their homework as just about every indicator pointed to Charles having a big week against the Seahawks which he most certainly did.
Alfred Blue, RB, Texans
There is very little difference between Arian Foster and Alfred Blue. Foster has better lateral quickness but Blue is much more powerful of a runner. Hence, Blue was able to put up very good numbers in place of Foster against the Browns. Blue was in every single DFS lineup I did this week and he paid off big.
Bryce Brown, RB, Bills
Brown is taking the place of Fred Jackson, who was a PPR beast before injuring his groin. Brown hasn’t been getting a lot of carries but has proven valuable because of his receptions. I’ve been advocating for Brown the past few weeks and if you started him in a PPR league this week he did not let you down.
Brandon Marshall, WR, Bears
Whether you were buying low on WR’s in seasonal leagues or playing DFS this week, Marshall was heavily recommended by us at Fantasy Alarm. Maybe he will be more respected next week after finishing as the #3 overall WR in week 11.
A.J. Green, WR, Bengals
I couldn’t believe the lineup questions I got last week about whether to start AJ Green or guys like Andre Johnson, Martavis Bryant and Mohamed Sanu (all ACTUAL questions). Green is a star folks and he is an every week starter even if Andy Dalton does stink when the bright lights come on.
Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Panthers
Benjamin is in the “Right” column every single week and I will continue putting him here until the rest of society understands that he is an every week starter. The Panthers suck and Cam Newton is one of the most disappointing players of 2014. But Benjamin is on pace for 86 receptions, 1,282 yards and 12 TD’s.
Keenan Allen, WR, Chargers
Another player who has been disappointing but is still 15th in the NFL in receptions which is a very big deal in PPR league formats. His 8-63 was good for the 23rd best WR this week which is firmly a WR2 return. I had Allen ranked 29th for week 11.
Eric Ebron, TE, Lions
This is a win for a couple of reasons. I had a large contingent of people asking about TE’s to target in replacing the ineffective Vernon Davis or Jordan Cameron down the stretch. Ebron has missed three games with a hamstring injury but returned in week 11 to grab 4-22 in a loss to the Cardinals. Look for Ebron to make an impact as the Lions find ways to produce over the middle of the field.
WRONG
Drew Brees, QB, Saints
There really are no words for this performance. The Bengals defense had been lit up by Brian Hoyer, Blake Bortles and Cam Newton lately and thus this performance by Brees and the Saints makes no sense.
Robert Griffin III, QB, Redskins
I could hide behind the fact that I only had RGIII ranked 16th in my QB rankings this week. But I did say on my show that I felt he could have one of his patented “big games” that tricks everybody into believing in him once again. I also had him in the DFS Playbook for which I am embarrassed and a little bit ashamed. I am truly finished with RGIII forever now.
Theo Riddick, RB, Lions
I could basically put any Lions player that I believed in this week in the “wrong” category but Riddick was a guy that I have recommended several times this year and who had come through each time. That did not happen this week and it probably cost some of you a bunch of points.
Tre Mason, RB, Rams
The Rams being able to run the ball 33 times against the Broncos was something very few if anybody could have forseen. If the Broncos have even 1/3 of their regular production Mason gets just 20 carries (probably much less in actuality but I will play the game) and thus run for about 78 yards.
Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, Colts
This one really belongs in the “indifferent” pile but I’ll take the hit anyways. I predicted all week that Bradshaw would get yet another receiving TD against the Pats on Sunday night. Indeed, Bradshaw got two carries and two receptions inside the Patriots 15 yards line but didn’t convert on any of them. Then he suffered a broken leg and was lost for most of the fourth quarter. His final stat line was atrocious and thus this feels like a los.
Mike Evans, WR, Buccaneers
I was not wrong at all about Mike Evans this week. I am putting this here once again for a kick in the nuts for not liking Evans going into this season whatsoever. I still have big concerns about his offense, his QB’s and his off the field demeanor. But Evans has been one of the most consistent WR’s in fantasy football this year and everything I said about avoiding him this year has been wrong.
Pierre Garcon, WR, Redskins
Alright…I am finally over it. Going into week 10, Garcon has 10+ targets in every single game he and RGIII had played in together. I gave him a pass for a poor game in week 10 but this week was out of control. This is by far my biggest whiff of the week and I am absolutely ashamed to have fallen for this again. Garcon can rot in hell with Percy Harvin and Kenny Britt as WR’s I will never use again.
Kenny Britt, WR, Rams
Speaking of Kenny Britt…I will smile brightly right in the face of anybody who questions my dislike for Britt. He is slow, has inconsistent hands, has not QB and is an absolute nightmare to be around. Every now and then he will catch a TD out of nowhere that will make absolutely no sense. Good for him.
Jimmy Graham, TE, Saints
I will go down with this ship every single week. Why didn’t Brees target Graham more than three times this week? Because he is an asshole. Why wasn’t Graham in the game on first and second down while the Saints were in the red zone? Because God does not really exist.
Travis Kelce, TE, Chiefs
Sure enough, Anthony Fasano was inactive on Sunday which opened the door wide for Kelce to show off what he could do with more snaps. Three catches for 37 yards were hardly what I had in mind however.
INDIFFERENT
Cam Newton, QB, Panthers
My back and forth with Newton is actually spot on if you think about it. The talent is there and more often than not so is the production. But the let downs are almost too much to bear. He was solid for fantasy owners once again this week but really should have posted spectacular numbers.
C.J. Anderson, RB, Broncos
I told you all week that Anderson would be in the middle of a two or three way split in week 11 and that is exactly what was happening before Montee Ball went down on his second series of the ballgame. The only thing that saved C.J. Anderson is Ball, Emmanuel Sanders and Julius Thomas going down with injuries. Oh, and Andre Caldwell leaving with bruised ribs and the Broncos playing from behind the entire game. He ran like garbage but did have 8-86 which saved him in PPR league formats.
Rashad Jennings, RB, Giants
I said all week that Jennings would be good for 18+ touches in his first game back and that with that usage fantasy points usually follow. Indeed Jennings had 22 touches but just 10.7 fantasy points on the day. Not bad but not quite good either.
Andre Johnson, WR, Texans
When asked about the shift in the Texans WR’s now that Ryan Mallett was starting for Ryan Fitzpatrick, I felt as though Andrew Johnson would become the new favorite target in Houston. Right off the bat it appeared as though I was on the money with this assessment but then Johnson’s 38 yard catch was ruled incomplete after a review and then he only out targeted Hopkins 9-8 the rest of the way. The good news here is that both Texans WR’s I feel are in much better shape than they were just two weeks ago.
Julian Edelman, WR, Patriots
Sure Edelman disappointed with his 5-50 receiving stat line this week. But he did chip in 2-31 rushing and missed two series with a leg injury early on in the ballgame. All of that along with the fact that he continued to lead the Patriots in targets and receptions makes me very secure in having him as a top 10 PPR option week in and week out.
Zach Ertz, TE, Eagles
After Brent Celek went off in Mark Sanchez’s first start for the Eagles I asked the question as to whether Ertz or Celek was more valuable going forward. Ertz responded with a solid 4-55 effort while Celek had just 1-11 on the afternoon. Neither of these guys have much fantasy appeal but it was interesting to see Ertz rebound despite significantly less snaps (51-28).