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Fantasy Watch
Week 7 Quick Hits
By Chad Stapley
Quick Hits: Week 7
I really like that the Jets are giving Geno Smith all the time in the world to develop as a starting QB; knowing they have a probable upgrade in Mike Vick, I believe Smith is the better long term answer. Minus the drubbing at the hands of the Chargers, the Jets have been in contention for every game. Smith is doing this with only one decent WR in Eric Decker, who is always injured. With the addition of Percy Harvin look for Smith and the Jets to take a step in the right direction. Smith actually gave the Jets a chance to win this game at the end, but the FG attempt got blocked and the Patriots held on to a narrow victory.
Chris Ivory not Chris Johnson is the answer at RB for the Jets. Ivory ran the ball 21 times for 107 yards and a TD, Ivory runs hard and seems to always get extra yards.
Tom Brady threw for 261 yards and three TDs, he is still one of the best options at QB for any fantasy team.
Shane Vereen is a stud. He produces each week, mainly catching passes out of the backfield. The thing that impresses me is that teams know he is mainly a pass catching back and he still seems to always be open. This week he had 16 touches for 114 yards and two TDs. The two TDs were receiving TDs, which just goes to show how dangerous he is in the open field.
Andre Ellington is the horse the Cardinals are riding on. This week in a victory over the Raiders Ellington had 30 touches for 159 yards. The Raiders along with almost every NFL team the Cardinals have played thus far did not have an answer for Ellington.
The only bright spot I saw from the Raiders offense was Brice Butler. Butler is a second year WR who is really starting to impress as of lately. He caught his only target of the day for a 55 yard reception. Look for him and Derek Carr to continue to develop a better relationship. Carr by the way isn’t playing half bad, he just does not have an offensive line that is capable of blocking for him.
Peyton Manning had another outstanding game, throwing for four TDs and breaking the record for Passing TDs. Manning seems to be getting better and better.
Ronnie Hillman is finally starting to be the RB the Broncos envisioned when they drafted him three years ago. This week Hillman who is filling in for injured starter Montee Ball, had 18 touches for 103 yards and two TDs in a beat down of the 49ers. When Ball gets back from injury the Broncos are going to have a RB problem at hand.
Is there a WR who is playing better than Demaryius Thomas right now? Thomas absolutely embarrassed the 49ers this week catching eight passes for 171 yards and two TDs. He is as close as it comes to unstoppable right now.
The Ravens are playing some dangerous football as of late. Joe Flacco has been leading the way throwing for another two TD passes this week in a lopsided victory over the Falcons. Flacco has thrown 14 TD passes to just five INTs this season. He is looking especially elite as of lately.
It helps when you have perennial back-up RBs like Justin Forsett running the ball 23 times for 95 yards; looking like an every down RB and making Ravens fans forget all about Ray Rice.
The Falcons will never win a football game if they only attempt running the ball 16 times to 44 pass attempts from Matt Ryan. I understand, the offensive line is in shambles, and you don’t really have a decent option at RB but Ryan is not going to be able to throw his way to a victory.
The Titans vs. Redskins game had me feeling one common idea for both teams. The Redskins are hoping Colt McCoy can bridge the game until RGIII is healthy enough to run the offense. The Titans are hoping Jake Locker can come back from injury and stay injury free long enough for them to develop some sort of offensive chemistry.
I have been saying this for the last couple of weeks but I will say it again; Austin Davis is the answer at QB for the Rams. Davis went 18/21 for 152 yards and two passing TD against the defending super bowl champion Seahawks. Davis looks poised and calm in the pocket and he throws a nice spiral. He has been getting better each week as he is finally starting to fully control the offense.
Tre Mason is finally running like the Rams hoped he would. This week against the tough Seahawks run defense Mason ran the ball 18 times for 85 yards and a TD. Mason was a big reason as to why the Rams were able to keep their lead. He controlled the clock with every big run he broke off. Mason is going to be a stud.
The problem with the Seahawks has nothing to do with their offense. They ran for 171 yards and threw for 292 yards with no fumbles and no INTs. The problem is that their defense cannot stop anyone as of late. They cannot stop the run nor the pass, a first time starter like Austin Davis should not be able to complete 18/21 passes against a championship winning defense.
Brian Hoyer had the type of game against the Jaguars that has got to have Browns fans screaming for Johnny Manziel to get a chance. Hoyer completed 16/41 passes for 215 yards with no TDs and one INT. Hoyer has to be better, especially against a winless Jaguar team.
Blake Bortles is still making a lot of rookie mistakes but he did so in a winning fashion. Bortles lead his team to a victory over the Browns by throwing one TD and three INTs; that is not the recipe for success but he was able to make the big throws when the team really need him.
When Dennard Robinson runs like a true every down RB like he did this Sunday it makes you wonder if the Jaguars did the right thing by gambling on him a couple years back. Robinson ran the ball 22 times for 127 yards and a TD; in doing so the Jags gave him the starting RB role for the foreseeable future. Trust in Robinson, he has a knack for making big plays.
The Bengals and Andy Dalton have looked horrible as of late. Dalton was unable to find the end zone this week and the Bengals were shut out by the Colts.
Andrew Luck on the other hand continued to steam roll the NFL by throwing for 344 yards and two TDs in a 27-0 victory over the Bengals. Luck looks unstoppable right now.
TY Hilton is a big reason as to why Luck has been on such a roll. Hilton caught seven passes for 107 yards this week, he has game breaking speed and exceptional hands.
Teddy Bridgewater looked shaky in a close defeat at the hands of the Bills. Bridgewater threw for just 157 yards with one TD and two INTs. Bridgewater looked very indecisive for most of the game and it showed when the Bills brought an extra man in the rush.
On the other hand rookie RB Jerick McKinnon had a break out game making Vikings fans forget all about Adrian Peterson. McKinnon ran the ball 19 times for 103 yards showing off his game breaking speed on numerous occasions. The Vikings need to find a way to get the ball in his hands more often.
Kyle Orton went 31/43 for 283 yards with two TDs to just one INT in a win over the Vikings. Each week Orton plays, the more I think they made the right decision in making him the starter over EJ Manuel. Orton didn’t look good for the entire game but when his team needed him the most he stepped up to the plate.
Sammy Watkins proved he was worth that high draft pick; he is already developing a better relationship with Orton through two games than he ever did with Manuel through five games. Watkins caught nine passes for 122 yards and two TDs. Watkins scored the only two TDs for the Bills on the day proving that he is a legitimate threat every time he is on the field.
What a day for Ryan Tannehill; in a victory over the Bears Tannehill accounted for 325 yards of offense and two TDs. The Bears had no answer for him whether he was passing or running the ball. He did all of this in an efficient manner, if Tannehill keeps playing like this they could be the dark horse of this division.
The only thing that is consistent about the Bears is Matt Forte’s production week in and week out. Forte had 18 touches for 109 yards and scored the only two TDs for the Bears on Sunday. Forte is a fantasy stud because he is so good at catching out of the backfield.
Golden Tate has to be the best FA acquisition by any team thus far. He has had almost no adjustment period and is having monster games each week. This week he caught 10 passes for 154 yards and a TD. Tate has been doing so the past two weeks going up against opposing teams #1 CB given that Calvin Johnson has been out with injury.
With how well Corey Fuller has been playing since Johnson went out with injury it could be safe to say that he is settling in at the #3 WR role. Fuller made an absolutely amazing toe tapping End Zone TD catch this week to go with his two other catches for 44 yards total. Fuller is big and runs excellent routes, look for him to continue to get more playing time.
Randall Cobb & Jordy Nelson were at it again this week in a beat down of the Panthers. The WR duo combined to catch 10 passes for 201 yards and two TDs. I don’t think there is a defense in the NFL that could stop these two.
DeMarco Murray is on a tear this year; and I don’t think anyone can stop him. This week he had 29 touches for 132 yards and a TD. Murray is playing like the MVP. Ditto for Dez Bryant who caught nine passes for 151 yards.
Keep an eye on the Cowboys second year TE Gavin Escobar who caught three passes for 65 yards and a TD; it looks like he is starting to get more playing time each week and he is as athletic as they come for the TE position. He could make some serious noise in the fantasy world if he continues to produce like the Cowboys envisioned him to.
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