Tag: Marvin Harrison road performance

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how much better Marvin Harrison is playing at Lucas Oil Stadium. At that point, he was averaging 4.8-62-0.8 (or 15.8 fantasy points) at home and 2.2-22-0.0 (or 4.4 fantasy points) on the road.

Fast forward four weeks and the trend continues. In Week 11 against the Texans at home, he posted 9-77-1. In Week 12 at San Diego, he went for 6-44-0. In Week 13 at Cleveland, he posted 3-27-0. And in Week 14 against the Bengals at home, he finished with 3-78-1. Over the course of the entire season, his averages look like this:

At home: 5.2-67.3-0.8 (or 16.7 fantasy points)
On the road: 2.9-25.6-0.0 (or 5.5 fantasy points)

Harrison looks like a great start against the Lions next week, but should probably be benched (depending on your options) in Week 16 at Jacksonville.

There’s no real logic to this trend, but through 14 weeks, it’s hard to deny that it exists.

Marvin Harrison must really like Lucas Oil Stadium. In four games, the veteran wideout has caught 19 passes for 249 yards and three TD on the Colts’ home field. That projects to a 76-catch, 996-yard, 12-TD season. That’s not exactly what we’re used to from the standout WR, but it’s a lot better than the 53-catch, 635-yard, 5-TD season that he’s currently posting.

The good news is that the Colts have more home games remaining than road games, but the bad news is that one of those home games comes in Week 17 against the Titans, which doesn’t really help fantasy owners. Harrison can definitely be started in Week 11 at home against the Texans, and in Week 15 at home against the Lions. The other home game (Week 14 against the Bengals) is also a pretty nice matchup, though the 2008 Bungles aren’t as bad as usual against the pass.

While all three road games – Week 12 @ SD, Week 13 @ CLE and Week 16 @ JAX – do seem appealing, Harrison has posted an average of 2.2 catches for 21.6 yards on the road, and has failed to score a TD. I wouldn’t recommend starting Harrison in any of those matchups unless you don’t have a better option available.

So what’s the reason for Harrison’s increased production at home? At the old RCA Dome, he was virtually uncoverable on the artificial turf due to his incredible quickness and sharp route running. But Lucas Oil Stadium has Field Turf, which looks and feels like grass, so those advantages should be negated somewhat.

Maybe Harrison is just getting some good ol’ home cookin’ on game days.