Ray Rice has been battling a knee injury, but it didn’t appear to bother him on Sunday, as he gained 133 yards on 27 carries with two touchdowns. Willis McGahee failed to punch it in from close early in the game, so the Ravens used Rice around the goal line and he rewarded them with two scores. He’s back in ‘must-start’ territory going forward. Anquan Boldin (1-8) was very quiet and Joe Flacco (198 yards) didn’t throw for a TD, but he snuck one in early on. On the other side of the ball, Brandon Lloyd (5-135-1) — this year’s Miles Austin? — and Jabar Gaffney (9-87) helped Kyle Orton (314 yards, 2 TD) to another good fantasy line.
Another guy who is oscillating in and out of ‘stud’ territory is Maurice Jones-Drew, who only gained 84 yards in a great matchup against a terrible Bills’ rush defense. It’s important to note that rookie Deji Karim (15 carries, 70 yards) was the Jags’ RB2 this week. Marcedes Lewis (4-54-2) and Mike Sims-Walker (4-46-1) led the Jags in receiving. For the Bills, Steve Johnson (5-46-2) caught a TD for the third straight game.
For the Bucs, I’ve seen some owners considering cutting rookie Mike Williams (7-99-1), but his performance in a tough matchup proves that he’s absolutely worth holding onto. The Tampa Bay RBBC is getting ugly with Carnell Williams (11 touches, 33 yards), Earnest Graham (3 carries, 65 yards, TD), LeGarrette Blount (4 carries, 3 yards) and Kareem Huggins (1 carry, 4 yards) all getting some work. For the Bengals, Terrell Owens (7-102-1) had another big game while Chad Ochocinco (3-20) was once again quiet.
The Nets only won 12 games last season, but there are reasons to be optimistic about this team. Brook Lopez is developing into an All-Star caliber center and Terrence Williams played well in the last two months of his rookie season. Devin Harris is still a dangerous guard, and he’ll be reunited with his former coach, Avery Johnson. Throw in a good power forward (Troy Murphy) to mentor the #3 overall pick (Derrick Favors) and there are some pieces in place in New Jersey. Of course, Nets fans want to see the franchise swing a deal for Carmelo Anthony, but that plan looks to be on hold (or dead?) for now. He’d be a great fit at small forward, though after missing out on LeBron, the Nets did fork out $35 million at the position by signing Travis Outlaw this summer. That contract could come back to bite them, but for now the team has plenty of financial flexibility and a projected payroll of only $38 million heading into next season. The Nets would rather trade and extend Melo this season because they know the risk inherent anytime a player hits free agency.
