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Touch and Target Report - Week 7
by Michael Jones
(Byes - Dallas, Indianapolis, Miami, San Francisco) Running Backs Maurice Jones-Drew called out the coaching staff this past week, called for the ball, and with a great match-up against St. Louis, plus heading into a bye week, saw the ball for a NFL season-high 38 touches. His 178 total yards and 3 touchdowns won a lot of fantasy leagues. DeAngelo Williams wasn't very far behind Jones-Drew with 32 touches, as the Panthers got the ball to their running backs 47 times against the Buccaneers (James Stewart - 17). This week Carolina gets a Buffalo defense that allowed 318 rushing yards to the New York Jets, but they can't lean on Williams 30+ times, so expect more from Stewart. Brian Westbrook and Ray Rice tied for the lead this week with 11 targets each, followed by Tim Hightower and Steven Jackson with 8. Two backs passed the 100-yard mark in receiving, with Rice totaling 117, and Steve Slaton going for 102, while Westbrook came just short with 91. Of note, back-to-back weeks of 6 receptions for Slaton as he has moved into 2nd place behind Ray Rice for most receiving yards on the season with 282. Rice leads in targets (43), receptions (33) and yards (325). Steven Jackson is 1st in average touches with 23.3. This puts him on pace for 373 for the season. Cedric Benson follows with 22.7 (363), Adrian Peterson 22.5 (360), Maurice Jones-Drew 22.3 (357), Kevin Smith 21.3 (341) and Larry Johnson 21.2 (339). Frank Gore is averaging 23 touches a game, but in only two games, and returns to the starting lineup this week against Houston. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are allowing the most rushing attempts per game (35.3), followed by the Buffalo Bills (34.3), Cleveland Browns (33.8), Oakland Raiders (33.7), and San Diego Chargers (32.8). The Pittsburgh Steelers allow the least (19.5), followed by Arizona (21.6), New Orleans (21.8), and Miami (22.6). Strong Week 7 RB Match-ups Carolina vs. Buffalo New England vs. Tampa Bay Green Bay vs. Cleveland NY Jets vs Oakland Kansas City vs San Diego Wide Receivers While there were the usual suspects leading the wide receivers in targets in week 6, with Larry Fitzgerald being the high in targets with 15 (13-100-1), and Andre Johnson with 14 (8-135-0), there is a development in Kansas City where Dwayne Bowe is starting to return to his dominate place among the looks with Matt Cassel, 14 targets (6-109-0). A number of receivers bounced back from zero weeks in Week 5, with DeSean Jackson 12 targets (6-94-0), Derrick Mason 12 targets (7-97-0), Mike Sims-Walker 11 targets (9-120-0), and Mohammed Massaquoi 10 targets (5-83-0). After having 15 targets in Week 5, Eddie Royal re-disappeared with only 4 targets. For leagues that count them, he did have the two kick return touchdowns, but he continues to have issues gaining separation. Some notable target totals from week 6: Lee Evans and Devin Hester both had double-digit targets for the first time this year with 11 and 10 respectively. Evans had a season-high 68 yards receiving with his 1st score since week 2 against Tampa Bay. Steve Breaston, Andre Caldwell, Mike Thomas, and Mario Manningham all showed the value in secondary receivers with 9 targets each, and all scoring in double-digits in PPR leagues. Sidney Rice is becoming the go-to receiver in Minnesota, leading the team with 7 targets against Baltimore, and turning in a game-changing performance of 6 catches for 176 yards, an average of 29.3 yards per catch. We'll find out more about his development this week as Minnesota travels to Pittsburgh. With the injury to Julian Edelman (broken arm), there's an interesting void in the New England passing game. It should be filled immediately by Special Teams captain Sam Aiken, but keep an eye on the Patriots 3rd round pick Brandon Tate, who was just taken off the reserve list and took part in his first practice of the season. Wes Welker, though he has only appeared in 4 games, leads the NFL in targets average with 13 per game. He is followed by Andre Johnson (11), Steve Smith - Car. (10.3), Mike Sims-Walker (10.25), Larry Fitzgerald (10), Randy Moss (9.8), Calvin Johnson (9.75), Reggie Wayne (9.6), and Steve Smith - NYG/Nate Burleson (9). Tennessee allows the highest amount of targets per game to the wide receivers position (24.8), followed by Indianapolis (23.6), Dallas (22.8), Arizona (22.4), New Orleans (22.4), and Jacksonville (21.8). Of those targets, Tennessee allows 17.5 completions per game to wide receivers, followed by Jacksonville (14.6), Indianapolis (14.0), Seattle (13.3), and Detroit (13). Tennessee (226.2), Jacksonville (184.7), Detroit (176), Kansas City (173.2), St. Louis (167.7)Baltimore (167.5), have all allowed more than 1,000 yards to wide receivers through 6 weeks. Interestingly, Tennessee, Jacksonville, Detroit, and Baltimore all have byes this week. Philadelphia is the stingiest in wide receiver yards allowed at 80.4 yards per game. Tennessee has allowed the most touchdowns to the wide receiver position, 15, followed by Jacksonville and Tampa Bay with 10 each. Indianapolis, Atlanta, Carolina, and Buffalo have only allowed 1 passing touchdown each. Week 7 Strong Match-ups New England vs Tampa Bay (London, England) Atlanta @ Dallas San Diego @ Kansas City Tight Ends Zach Miller was able to take advantage of a vulnerable Philadelphia linebacking corp to piggyback on Kellen Winlsow's outstanding game in week 5 against the Eagles, to put together his best game of the year - 11 targets, 6 catches for 139 yards and a 86-yard score. Chicago vs Atlanta saw a battle of top tight ends, as Tony Gonzalez was targeted 9 times, while the Bears Greg Olsen is starting to come around, having 10 targets of his own. Both Gonzo and Olsen scored in the game. For Olsen, it was his third straight game with a touchdown. Owen Daniels is the hottest tight end in the league. He has now 16 targets in the past two weeks with 14 catches, 172 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Visanthe Shiancoe, facing a Baltimore defense that had allowed the least amount of receptions to tight ends, and no touchdowns, broke the Ravens streak with two touchdowns. That leaves the Colts, Texans, 49ers, Saints, and Raiders who have not allowed a TE score in 2009. Antonio Gates averages the most targets per game with 8.8 followed by Dallas Clark (8.4), Owen Daniels (7.83), Vernon Davis/Brent Celek (7.8), Kellen Winslow (7.7) and Tony Gonzalez (7.4) Minnesota has allowed the most targets (9.5), receptions (6.8), and yards (86.5) per game to the tight end position. They are followed by Philadelphia (9.4 targets, 6.2 receptions, 73 yards). Strong Week 7 match-ups Pittsburgh vs Minnesota Washington vs Philadelphia Kansas City vs San Diego |
