Sorry for the long title, but I like to use the “that noise you hear…” intro whenever I can. Clearly the biggest fantasy news from the early games is Adrian Peterson‘s ankle injury. He was on his way to a huge day (7 touches, 70 yards, TD) before the injury, but could not return. Toby Gerhart (24 touches, 81 yards, TD) did an adequate job of fillling in. With the Bills on tap in Week 13, Gerhart will be a hot pickup this week, and if AP’s sprain is of the “high” variety, he could miss the remainder of the fantasy season. Given the tasty matchup with the Redskins’ woeful secondary, Brett Favre (173 yards), Percy Harvin (5-32) and Sidney Rice (1-20) were big disappointments this week. For Washington, it looks like Mike Shanahan is up to his old tricks. After carrying the load the past few games, Keiland Williams (6 touches, 26 yards) got the start but took a backseat to James Davis (6 carries, 11 yards), who was equally ineffective.
Speaking of surprises, Carolina put up a better offensive effort than expected, thanks to Mike Goodson (22 touches, 131 yards, TD) who started ahead of Jonathan Stewart (12 carries, 98 yards), who ran the ball much better (8.2 ypc), but Goodson brings a lot of value in the passing game. This is shaping up as a timeshare the rest of the way.
The Bills gave the Steelers a run, thanks to a workman-like effort by Fred Jackson (17 touches, 163 yards, TD) who is approaching must-start territory. RBs have fared horribly against the Pittsburgh defense this season, but Jackson averaged 4.9 ypc and racked up 104 yards and a TD in the passing game. Steve Johnson (7-68, 15 target) is clearly Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s (265 yards, TD, INT) favorite receiver, but he dropped a 50-yard game-winning bomb in OT that would have given him some gaudy numbers. Keep him in your starting lineup despite the drop(s).
Brandon Jacobs (14 carries, 87 yards) got the start over Ahmad Bradshaw (9 carries, 49 yards), but Bradshaw finished with 4-34 in the passing game to finish with almost as many touches and yards. Unfortunately, this looks like a throwback to the RBBC that the Giants have utilized the last few years. Jacobs will have more value in TD-heavy leagues while Bradshaw will score more in PPR leagues.
I’m looking at this TEN/HOU box score and I can’t help but scratch my head. I thought even Rusty Smith (138 yards, 3 INT) would be able to post nice numbers against a terrible Houston pass defense, but I was gravely mistaken. That, coupled with the Titans’ decision to only hand the ball off to Chris Johnson (9 touches, 7 yards) seven times, and I’m perplexed. Randy Moss (3-23) deserved to be benched and Nate Washington (1-10) was a huge disappointment as a result of Smith’s struggles.
The big headline from the late games was Dwayne Bowe‘s continued dominance of NFL secondaries.. He racked up 13 catches for 170 yards and three TDs, single-handedly winning fantasy games around the country. Jamaal Charles (22 carries, 173 yards, TD) went nuts, while Thomas Jones (20 yards, 68 yards) put up less than stellar numbers behind the same offensive line. It’s clear that Charles is the better back, but the Chiefs aren’t going to give him the ball 35 times a game, so they’re going to use Jones when they can. If Charles produces like this, his owners won’t care. For the Seahawks, the only thing to note is the emergence of Ben Obomanu (5-159-1), who filled in admirably for the injured Mike Williams. He caught two deep balls from Matt Hasselbeck, including an 87-yard TD bomb.
DeSean Jackson (2-26) was a dud in a bad matchup with the Bears, as Michael Vick (333 yards, 2 TD, INT, 44 rushing yards) had to throw to his other receivers, including Brent Celek (3-50-1), who finally had a good game with Vick under center. The Bears receivers took advantage of the absence of Asante Samuel — both Earl Bennett (4-56-2) and Johnny Knox (3-68-1) scored. Greg Olsen (1-9-1) caught a TD for the third time in four games, but was only targeted once the entire game.
It was a mediocre matchup for Darren McFadden (8 carries, 2 yards), who was never able to get it going on the ground. Before his Week 11 matchup with the Steelers, he averaged 6.8 ypc in the previous three games, so Oakland’s inability to open up running lanes is puzzling. It’s not going to get any easier next week against the Chargers, though the schedule eases up considerably after that (JAX, DEN, IND in W14-16). Jacoby Ford caught four passes for 108 yards and a TD and tied DMC for most targets (10) in the Oakland passing game. For the Dolphins, Chad Henne got the start and finished with 302 yards, 2 TDs and a pick, and with Brandon Marshall out, Davone Bess (6-111) re-emerged as a favorite target. PPR leaguers should pick up Bess this week if he’s available.
There were two big disappointments in the TB/BAL game, and they were both WRs. Both Mike Williams (2-20) and Anquan Boldin (3-27) were in line for solid games, but neither delivered. Both matchups were mediocre, so they should have done more. Instead, it was Derrick Mason (8-87-1) and Kellen Winslow (4-44-1) who delivered for their respective teams.
