All right, I’m sure there are a few owners out there who had the cojones (or were desperate enough) to start Steve Johnson (8-158-1) and/or Lee Evans (6-108-3) in a very bad matchup against the league’s 3rd-ranked pass defense. The bottom line is that Ryan Fitzpatrick (374 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT) is a legit starter in the NFL, and he’s giving the Bills’ receivers chances to make plays. Fred Jackson (23 carries, 74 yards) out-touched C.J. Spiller (7 carries, 33 yards) yet again, and is the clear starter for the Bills.
For the Ravens, Anquan Boldin (6-92-1) had a predictably good game and was easily the Ravens’ most targeted (13) receiver. Derrick Mason (2-48) was only targeted three times, which is worrisome. Todd Heap (3-59-2) was targeted five times but scored twice. Ray Rice (16 carries, 72 yards) was a big disappointment in a terrific matchup. Willis McGahee (11 carries, 64 yards, TD) had the better fantasy line.
Is Roddy White (11-201-2) the best WR in the league? He’s certainly playing like it. Michael Turner (144 total yards, 2 TD) had his best game of the season and even caught a couple of passes. On the other side of the ball, Chad Ochocinco (10-108-1), Terrell Owens (9-88-1) and Jordan Shipley (6-131-1) all had huge games for the Bengals, which led to Carson Palmer‘s best fantasy day of the season (412 yards, 3 TD). Shipley is likely available on your waiver wire and is worth consideration, especially in PPR leagues.
I’m sure there were more than a few owners who benched Kenny Britt (7-225-3) after the week he had. It was unclear how much he was going to play, or if he’d play at all. Chris Johnson (24 carries, 66 yards) struggled to run the ball against a shaky Eagles rush defense, so the Titans elected to air it out to Britt. There’s really no need to hold onto Nate Washington (1-7) at this point. For the Eagles, Kevin Kolb (231 yards, TD, 2 INT) did not play very well, so it’s likely that Mike Vick will return as the starter. Jeremy Maclin (5-42) had a disappointing day, but was targeted 14 times. LeSean McCoy (102 total yards) had good production in the passing game, but failed to find the endzone.
Thomas Jones (20 carries, 125 yards, TD) out-touched Jamaal Charles (15 carries, 71 yards, TD), but both backs were once again starter-worthy. Matt Cassel (193 yards, 2 TD) had a very solid game, thanks in large part to Dwayne Bowe (3-81-2) turning in his second straight two-TD game. For Jacksonville, Maurice Jones-Drew (16 carries, 47 yards) continues to struggle running the ball, but he was very active in the passing game (5-74-1). Mike Sims Walker (3-38-1) scored and was targeted six times, while Mike Thomas (0-0) was only targeted once. This is probably because Todd Bouman (222 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT) was QBing the Jags instead of David Garrard. I wouldn’t cut Thomas in PPR leagues.
It’s midseason, but I wasn’t expecting Ben Roethlisberger (302 yards, 2 TD) to be in midseason form this soon after serving his suspension. He almost scored a rush TD, but fumbled the ball away at the goal line. Hines Ward (7-131-1) and Mike Wallace (2-53-1) both scored, but Ward saw 10 targets to Wallace’s four. Rashard Mendenhall (15 carries, 37 yards) was a big disappointment. The Steelers gave him 16 touches, but he never got it going. For the Dolphins, Davone Bess (6-66-1) had his fourth straight game of 5+ receptions, and he has scored a TD in three straight games. He is on pace for 85-928-8 this season and should be owned in all leagues. The Miami rushing game is a mess. Ricky Williams (11 carries, 48 yards) ran a lot better than Ronnie Brown (9 carries, 14 yards), but neither guy is more than a RB3/flex start right now.
One of the most puzzling stories of this season is the inconsistency of the Saints’ offense. Drew Brees (356 yards, 2 TD, 4 INT) was picked off four times and it led to a loss. Chris Ivory (15 carries, 48 yards) continues to be the main ball carrier, but Ladell Betts (8-48) got all of the work in the passing game. Marques Colston (10-112-1) finally broke through with a TD and rewarded those owners who continued to stick with him. For the Browns, the only big surprise is Benjamin Watson‘s poor day (1-18) in a pretty good matchup. It was the defense that won the game for the Browns. They’re worth a look fantasy-wise when they have a good matchup.
The biggest story to come out of the Bucs/Rams tilt is the fact that LeGarrette Blount (11 carries, 72 yards) seems to be the new RB1 in Tampa Bay. He’s worth a pickup in most leagues. However Carnell Williams (8-34-1) saw the vast majority of the work in the passing game, so this should continue to be a RBBC. For the Rams, Danny Amendola (3-29-1, 21 rushing yards) scored while Danario Alexander (1-6) followed up his big Week 6 with a quiet game. He was only targeted twice, which is telling.
More problems for the 49ers: Alex Smith (129 yards, TD) injured his shoulder and David Carr (67 yards, INT) isn’t very good. If Smith misses any time, it’s going to hurt Vernon Davis (4-74-1) and Michael Crabtree (4-31). On the other side of the ball, DeAngelo Williams (19 carries, 44 yards) continues to struggle, but at least the Panthers got him involved in the passing game (4-19). Matt Moore (308 yards, 2 TD, INT) played well, finding David Gettis (8-125-2) and Brandon LaFell (6-91) repeatedly. Steve Smith 1.0 (4-50) made his return and was the second-most targeted receivier after Gettis (9).
Darren McFadden (18 touches, 230 yards, 4 TD) made his return to the Raider lineup and ran roughshod over the Broncos defense. Michael Bush (16 touches, 65 yards, TD) was also involved, but McFadden got the start and is clearly the RB1 in Oakland. Zach Miller (3-65-1) was the most targeted (6) Oakland receiver, while Louis Murphy (2-29) was knocked out of the game after he ran into his own man along the sideline. Jason Campbell (204 yards, 2 TD) was solid in the start. It will be interesting to see whether or not he keeps the starting gig once Bruce Gradkowski gets healthy. For the Broncos, Kyle Orton (198 yards, 2 TD, INT) finished with OK numbers in a great matchup, though Brandon Lloyd (1-46) had a disappointing day. The good news for the Broncos is that Knowshon Moreno (14 carries, 53 yards) looked pretty good running the ball, but he looked even better catching it (3-37-2).
In Seattle, the key thing to take from the Seahawks’ game with the Cardinals is that Mike Williams 1.0 (11-87-1) is emerging as an every week start. He now has 21 catches in the last two weeks and Matt Hasselbeck (192 yards, TD) targeted him 16 times on Sunday. Marshawn Lynch (24 carries, 89 yards) dominated the carries, but Justin Forsett (9 carries, 41 yards) was more productive and also caught two passes for 31 yards.
Antonio Gates (4-50-1) was iffy to play, and was quiet at the start, but he came on when the Chargers made their comeback. Patrick Crayton (7-82) and Craig Davis (6-53) filled in for Malcom Floyd, but this team needs Floyd and Vincent Jackson back. Ryan Mathews (8 carries, 15 yards) was a non-factor as the Chargers were in catch-up mode for most of the game, which means Darren Sproles (9-70) was on the field, not Mathews. For the Patriots, Tom Brady (159 yards, TD) had a relatively quiet game and spread the ball around to a number of different receivers. I’m sure Wes Welker‘s owners aren’t too happy with his production (4-25). BenJarvus Green-Ellis (11 carries, 24 yards, TD) and Danny Woodhead (8 carries, 24 yards) had the same number of touches since Woodhead went for 3-28 in the passing game.
In the night game, it was good to see the Packers use Brandon Jackson (13 carries, 48 yards, TD) more in the passing game, where he caught three passes for 46 yards and showed nice burst as he got into the open field. Donald Driver (0-0) was a no show and was only targeted once. James Jones (4-107) picked up the slack and Greg Jennings (6-74-1) had his second straight good game.
For the Vikings, Percy Harvin (8 touches, 106 yards, TD) was involved in both the running and passing games, and actually scored his TD on a 17-yard TD run up the middle. The Vikings said this week that they wanted to get the ball to Visanthe Shiancoe (3-30) and they targeted him six times. He had a TD catch that was overturned, so if you’re one of the Dallas Clark owners out there searching for answers, he’s worth a look.
