Category: Fantasy Football (Page 98 of 324)

Pick up Sammy Morris!

I did mention this (our Twitter feed — scroll down) last week, but…

With the news that Fred Taylor is going to undergo surgery, the crowded New England backfield suddenly becomes less crowded. In the first four games, Taylor accounted for 36% of the team’s touches (45 carries/124 total RB touches).

If there was some question how this work would be divvied up amongst Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk and Laurence Maroney prior to Week 5, there shouldn’t be any further confusion. Against the Broncos, Morris had 19 touches for 107 yards, including two catches for 39 yards. Faulk had seven touches for eight yards, while Maroney had five carries for 21 yards. In the first four games, Faulk averaged 6.8 touches, while Maroney averaged 8.8 touches. (It’s important to note that Maroney had 12 touches in Week 1, a game that Morris missed because of injury. Since then, he has averaged just 7.7 touches per game.)

For his part, Morris averaged 7.3 touches in Weeks 2-4, working himself back from injury, so in Week 5, he essentially received all of Taylor’s workload. This makes sense, since the two are pretty similar players. Both are hard-nosed runners that thrive between the tackles, though Morris is better at catching the ball out of the backfield. And he has always been a Belichick favorite because he’s willing to do whatever it takes to help the Patriots win. For the foreseeable future, that job will entail being the Patriots’ RB1.

Is there a chance that the Pats go with the hot hand? Sure, but Faulk is nothing more than a fine third-down back, and probably won’t get the chance to get hot on first and second down. As for Maroney, I realize that he’s just 24, but is there anything in his recent past that would indicate that he’s capable of carrying a big workload for any length of time? It might not be a bad idea to handcuff the two (Morris and Maroney), but if Week 5 is any indication, Sammy Morris is the New England RB to own going forward.

He has a rough schedule, but it’s not often you can pluck a #1 RB off the waiver wire. If he’s available, grab him.

Fantasy Fallout, Week 5: QBs

– It’s not surprising that Ben Roethlisberger (277 yards, 3 TD, INT) had a nice game against the Lions, but it is surprising that he had to throw the ball 30 times.

– Matt Cassel (253 yards, 2 TD) struggled to stay upright behind Kansas City’s shaky line, but finished with nice numbers.

– Tony Romo (351 yards, 2 TD) didn’t play quite as well as his numbers would indicate, as Miles Austin’s spectacular runs saved the day for the Cowboys.

– Donovan McNabb (264 yards, 3 TD) posted great numbers against a very bad Bucs pass defense.

– Josh Johnson (240 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT) is going to have his share of struggles, but he’s going to produce some decent fantasy numbers since the Bucs look like they’ll be trailing a lot this season. Along with Kellen Winslow, if Antonio Bryant can stay healthy, Johnson will have a couple of good options in the passing game. He also runs the ball pretty well (5 carries, 40 yards against the Eagles).

– Kyle Orton (330 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) had his best game of the season, but almost gave the game away when he underthrew Brandon Marshall in overtime. He was lucky that pass didn’t get picked off.

– Think the Seahawks need Matt Hasselbeck (241 yards, 4 TD)? Granted, Jacksonville’s defense is pretty terrible, but Hass was sharp in his first game back.

Fantasy Fallout, Week 5: RBs

– Just a tremendous effort from Cedric Benson (29 touches, 136 yards) who became the first RB to rush for more than 100 yards against the Ravens. He looks like an every-week start.

– Ray Rice (14 carries, 69 yards) ran the ball well and caught seven passes for 74 yards and a TD. Willis McGahee surprisingly only got two touches the entire game.

– Marshawn Lynch (23 touches, 125 yards) seems to be taking over in the Buffalo backfield, but Fred Jackson (15 touches, 47 yards) is still involved.

– Jamal Lewis (31 carries, 117 yards) was questionable all week, but dominated the carries in the Cleveland backfield. Jerome Harrison only had eight carries for 21 yards.

– Jonathan Stewart (11 touches, 45 yards, TD) was healthy enough to eat into DeAngelo Williams’ (20 touches, 59 yards) workload, and it was Stewart who got most of the goal line work.

– Clinton Portis (21 touches, 74 yards, 2 TD) didn’t run the ball all that well, but he scored twice against the Panthers.

– Rashard Mendenhall (17 touches, 93 yards, TD) had another nice game with Willie Parker out, and he should have earned himself some more work even when Parker returns.

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Fantasy Fallout, Week 5: WRs

– Chris Henry (3-92) finally had a big yardage game for the Bengals. With Laveranues Coles’ lack of production, there’s opportunity for Henry to step up.

– After a big Week 4, Derrick Mason (0-0) was held without a catch. Kelly Washington (1-21) and Mark Clayton (3-36) also had quiet games. Todd Heap and Ray Rice caught 14 of Joe Flacco’s 22 completions.

– Don’t cut Mohammed Massaquoi (1-16) just yet. The wind was a big factor and Derek Anderson did target him six times.

– Calvin Johnson (1-2) left the game early with a leg injury.

– Do you think Miles Austin (10-250-2) earned a few more snaps with his outstanding game against the Chiefs? I do.

– Dwayne Bowe (5-74-1) has been battling a hamstring injury, but it looks like he’s back now and is developing some chemistry with Matt Cassel. He should be owned in all leagues.

– Don’t worry about Steve Smith (3-70) having a relatively quiet game. The Giants didn’t have to throw the ball much, and when they did, Eli Manning found Mario Manningham (2-36-1) and Hakeem Nicks (4-49-1) for scores.

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Fantasy Fallout, Week 5: TEs

– After a great start to the season, Chris Cooley (0-0) posted a goose egg against the Panthers.

– After a big game last week, Heath Miller (5-54-1) had another nice game against the Lions. He has 29 catches in five games.

– Zach Miller (4-69) led the Raiders in catches and yards…by a long shot. JaMarcus Russell is just so erratic that you can’t count on anyone in the Raider passing game.

– Kellen Winslow (9-102-2) is far and away Josh Johnson’s favorite target and despite a couple of quiet weeks in the last three, he should be in fantasy lineups going forward.

– Owen Daniels (8-94) continues his fine season and is a must-start at TE in most formats.

– Marcedes Lewis (3-13) had a poor game after posting a couple of nice lines in recent weeks. Given the fact that the Jags trailed the entire day, three catches is pretty pathetic, though that term could be applied to the entire Jacksonville effort on Sunday.

Be sure to check back for the fantasy fallout for the QB, RB and WR positions.

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