The Shadow Knows Week 3 2018

By Gary Davenport
Gary Davenport


THE SHADOW KNOWS: Week 3

Patrick Peterson needs a hug.
The eighth-year veteran owns an unenviable title in 2018—he's arguably the best player on arguably the NFL's worst team. The Arizona Cardinals are a dumpster fire of a football team, although to be fair most of the blame for their struggles lies with the offense.

Peterson's coming off a big game against the Los Angeles Rams, tying for the team lead with eight tackles. The problem is that big game came in a 34-0 loss that dropped the Cardinals to 0-2—a game in which quarterback Jared Goff mostly avoided Peterson altogether in coverage.

Peterson admitted to Kyle Odegard of the team's website that the defense didn't get the job done against the Rams. “I’ve got to look at the tape, but when you’re playing zone you have to rely on the front getting pressure there, getting hands up,” Peterson said. “We weren’t able to create pressure up front, and a quarterback as good as Goff, as he’s shown so far, it’s tough. There are going to be holes in the defense. We just have to continue fighting up front to make sure we get to him, get him off his spot.”

In Week 3, Peterson and the Cardinals welcome in wide receiver Allen Robinson and the Rams. In theory it's a fascinating matchup—one of the game's best corners against a wideout who has averaged double-digit targets over the first two weeks of the 2018 campaign.

However, before you downgrade Robinson's fantasy prospects, consider this—the Cardinals aren't using Peterson as a "shadow" cornerback this season, and Robinson lines up on the opposite side if the field. So, unless the Redbirds change things up on Sunday, Peterson will once again likely not get thrown at much while Jamar Taylor gets peppered with targets.

Here's a look around the rest of the NFL at which receivers get the game's best cover men and which may have dodged a bullet.

Buffalo Bills at Minnesota Vikings (Tre'Davious White vs. Stefon Diggs)
Per Sean Murphy of Buffalo Rumblings, it's Diggs who will lock up with Buffalo's best cornerback most of the game. "White often shadows a team’s top receiver," he said, "leaving the second wideout covered by an inferior player. If the Bills play zone, White stays on the left side of the field, so he will most likely match up against Diggs for the majority of the game. Enter Thielen, who operates both outside and from the slot, and who should be able to exploit favorable match-ups all over the field. Whether the player lined up across from him is Phillip Gaines, Lafayette Pitts, Taron Johnson, or Ryan Lewis, Thielen will be the superior player in the pairing. Unless White follows him around, expect Thielen to cause havoc in the Bills’ secondary all day."

Frankly, like just about everyone else in Buffalo White's off to a rocky start in 2018—two-thirds of the passes thrown in his direction have been completed. However, that's been an admittedly low sample size—more often than not opponents just target the marshmallow that is the rest of the Bills secondary. It's likely the Vikings will do the same.

Panic Level: 3 (I wouldn't bench Diggs, but this has the feel of a Thielen week in the Twin Cities)

New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons (Marshon Lattimore vs. Julio Jones)
Per John DeShazier of the team's website, Lattimore knows he has his hands full this Sunday. “He can do everything,” Lattimore said. “So I’ve got to be on my game. There’s no special way to put anything – I’ve got to be on my game. He’s a No. 1 receiver in the league, I feel like one of the top three in the league. So I’ve got to be on my game. He’s great, so I’ve got to come out and be great and I’ve got to go at him. There’s nothing to it other than that, just go out there and compete and try to win the battle.”

While Michael Thomas of the Saints and Desmond Trufant of the Falcons play on opposite sides of the field, Lattimore Jones are quite familiar with one another. The two faced off twice in the regular sea son last year, with Jones catching 12 of 22 targets for 237 yards in those games. In case you were wondering, the team split the matchups.

Panic Level: 1 (It's Julio Jones – and six catches for 118 yards isn't exactly a bad stat line.)

Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins (Davante Adams vs. Josh Norman)
As ESPN's Jason Wilde wrote, Adams didn't hold back even a little regarding the officiating in the team's Week 2 tie with the Vikings. "The reffing today, I'm not one to even go there, especially in front of the cameras, but it was questionable all game," he said. "That's why you can't put the officials in position to determine the outcome of the game. ... It was terrible."

Adams had a good game against Minnesota, making eight catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. The 25-year-old has found the end zone in both games this season, but has yet to eclipse 100 yards in a game. Week 3 brings with it another stiff coverage test, as Adams will go from facing Xavier Rhodes to lining up opposite Josh Norman. Adams has been targeted just 20 times this season in part because of the coverage he's faced, and it's entirely possible Norman will cause more action to go the way of Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison.

Panic Level: 2 (We just saw a reasonable expectation for what to expect from Adams in Week 3, and 8/64/1 is a line most fantasy owners can live with.)

Indianapolis Colts at Philadelphia Eagles (TY Hilton vs. Ronald Darby)
There's been some question regarding Hilton's availability for Indy's trip to the City of Brotherly Love in Week 3, as he was absent from the practice field on both Wednesday and Thursday. However, the seventh-year veteran insisted to Kevin Patra of NFL.com that his injured quad isn't a big deal. I'm feeling good," Hilton said. "I'm still getting there. I should be fine. Nothing to worry about."

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Hilton has quickly gone back to being Andrew Luck's go-to receiver, parlaying 22 targets into 12 catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Assuming Hilton's a go, he'll face off against a Jekyll-and-Hyde cornerback in Darby who looked great against Julio Jones in week 1 and then not-so-great last week against Mike Evans and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This is one of the harder calls of the week given Hilton's injury and Darby's inconsistency, so I'm inclined to set the Panic Meter right down the middle.

Panic Level: 4 (The extra point is for the Philly pass rush. If Hilton has a big day here it's going to be partly because of garbage time. I smell a thumping in the offing. My apologies to all seven Colts fans.

Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Rams (Keenan Allen vs. Aqib Talib)
Per Sosa Kremenjas of Turf Show Times, Allen's matchup with Talib may be the most fascinating matchup of its kind in Week 3. "This is going to be one of the funnest battles of the entire week three NFL slate," he said. "Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib both have plenty of familiarity playing the Chargers as both were division rivals for years. In four years of battles with QB Philip Rivers, Talib only registered one interception though his shutdown coverage ability has been among the league's best. Peters is a different enigma as he logged four interceptions and a forced fumble in six games against the chargers. Both corners will need to be on their p’s and q’s facing one of the best WR’s in the league in Keenan Allen."

It's not an apples to apples comparison, but we do have plenty of examples of Allen squaring off with Talib and Peters in the past—including four meetings a year ago with either the Chiefs (Peters) or Broncos (Talib). If those meetings are any indication, Allen may be in for a down week. In those four games Allen managed just 18 receptions for 201 yards and a single touchdown, and he didn't have more than five grabs or 61 yards in any single meeting.

Panic Level: 4 (You can't really sit Allen, but numbers don't lie—and the Rams are playing lights-out defensively.)

San Francisco 49ers at Kansas City Chiefs (Richard Sherman vs. Sammy Watkins)
Watkins had his first 100-yard game with the Chiefs in last week's shootout win over the Steelers, but he told Brooke Pryor of the Kansas City Star he's more interested in wins than stats. “I’m not going to have 100 yards every game,” Watkins said. “That’s not realistic. But to be out there playing hard, playing physical, blocking. I think that’s what it’s about. It’s not about who got the stats and stuff like that. If I’m playing hard, playing fast and we’re getting wins, that’s what it’s about.”

Watkins didn't bring in one of Patrick Mahomes six touchdown passes in the game, but he offered a tease of sorts of what he could be capable of playing opposite Tyreek Hill in Kansas City. The issue in Week 3 is that Watkins will draw easily the 49ers best cover man in Sherman Sunday. However, all is not lost—Sherman's biggest weakness at this point in his career is long speed. Watkins has no shortage of that.

Panic Level: 3 (This feels like a back-to-earth week…and another huge stat line for Tyreek Hill)