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Kirk Hollis | Archive | Email  
Staff Writer


Tuesday Morning Buzz
Fantasy Headlines from Week 3
9/20/16

Strange happenings in Week 3 of the fantasy football season to be sure, but at least the injuries were far less prominent than they were in Week 2. Running backs and tight ends were resurgent - just one of the many themes we’ll be touching on this week.

Tevin Coleman

Revenge of the RB: 22 running backs (including Tevin Coleman) scored double-digit FPts in Week 3.


Revenge of the Running Backs


Somewhat quietly, Week 3 was the best week for running backs in a long time. A whopping eight running backs scored multiple touchdowns for the week including Carlos Hyde (vs. Seattle), Jeremy Hill (vs. DEN another top defense), Todd Gurley, Christine Michael, LeGarrette Blount, David Johnson, Tevin Coleman, and LeSean McCoy. For Johnson, Coleman, and Blount, it was just more of the same as all three were already off to good starts in 2016, but for Gurley, Hill, and McCoy, it was confirmation that they are still the backs most thought they would be when they drafted them in August. As for Hyde and Michael, their performances were the most encouraging of them all. Hyde proved he can be trusted beyond Week 1 and Michael is showing no signs of relinquishing the starting gig in Seattle to a gimpy Thomas Rawls. With Le’Veon Bell returning next week, and Devonta Freeman and Ezekiel Elliott combining for nearly 300 yards rushing, look for running backs to continue the ascension back to fantasy respectability.

Matthew and Marvin Make Magic in the Motor City

It’s sometimes difficult to tell how good a No.2 WR on a team is when the No.1 is a legitimate superstar. Such is the case with Marvin Jones who was second fiddle to A.J. Green in Cincinnati for four years. Three weeks into this season, Jones is looking like a superstar himself amassing over 400 yards on 23 yards a catch and a couple of touchdowns. Both TDs came against Green Bay on Sunday when Jones embarrassed the secondary on big play after big play. It was thought that Calvin Johnson’s retirement would move Matthew Stafford permanently to the role of backup fantasy QB, but he’s been so much more than that with two games above 340 yards and 3 TDs. Expectations moving forward should be tempered as he can’t play against the Green Bay and Indianapolis defensive back each week. Still, both Jones and Stafford belong in lineups every week moving forward. The odd man out? That would be Golden Tate (13-94-0) who has struggled to gain traction in September.

Three Hours in Philly

How do we begin to talk about what happened in Philadelphia on Sunday? Carson Wentz is having is off to an incredible start in terms of real-world QB value, but Sunday, he shifted into fantasy relevance as well. Wentz looks like a seasoned veteran, throwing for 301 yards and 2 TDs. Darren Sproles (6 catches, 128 yards, 1 TD) was his favorite target on Sunday, but his emergence has also increased the value of Jordan Matthews and the tight end position as well. The other side of the coin was Pittsburgh’s paltry three points. Antonio Brown was able to get open and catch his fair share of balls (a dozen to be exact for 140 yards), but he was kept out of the end zone and could sue for lack of support from his teammates. Was this performance on Pittsburgh’s part just an aberration? Can the Philly defense be as good as it’s been the first three weeks moving forward? Those are worthy questions that just don’t have answers for…yet.

The Gronk Dilemma

If you’re a Rob Gronkowski owner, you know exactly where this title is leading. Last Thursday night, Gronk owners were forced into an uncomfortable start /sit decision. For those that put their faith in him, the results were sorely disappointing (no catches, no yards, no nothing). That can be put in the past, but the dilemma remains for at least one more week. One would think that the return of Tom Brady in Week 5 should alleviate any anxiety about starting Gronkowski, but that anxiety is definitely still lingering into Week 4. The way several other waiver wire tight ends stepped up this week (Kyle Rudolph, Zach Miller, Jack Doyle, Cameron Brate), it’s probably best to sit Gronk this time around. But, can we really blame you if you choose otherwise?

Tampa Bay: Our Third Fantasy Boomtown

If you’ve been a reader of the Buzz all three weeks this season, you know that New Orleans and Indianapolis were declared fantasy “boomtowns” based on the complete lack of defense they exhibit from week to week. That reality adds up to offenses desperately trying to keep up with the rabid scoring on the other side of the ball. Add Tampa Bay to the list. The Buccaneers gave up 37 points on Sunday…to the Rams. That’s not a misprint. The Bucs are averaging 34 points allowed through three weeks. So, who benefits from this besides opponents of Tampa Bay? Namely, Mike Evans and Jameis Winston who become this year’s version of Blake Bortles and Allen Robinson. And, Charles Sims took advantage of the phenomenon on Sunday putting up 124 total yards and a TD. Evans is going to finish the season top-five at his position barring injury and Winston may do the same. Even TE Cameron Brate (2 TDs on Sunday) looks like a legitimate fantasy starter. The bottom line is this: Tampa can’t stop people…and they have the talent to try to keep up with what their defense allows. As was/is the case with Saints and Colts, hitch your wagon to this group unless interceptions are heavily penalized (Winston has already thrown six).

Swiss Army-Knife: Fantasy Football Style

For those who have been playing fantasy football for a long time now, Kordell Stewart was the ultimate multi-position weapon, scoring fantasy points in multiple ways. In Week 3, someone even more diverse emerged in the form of Terrelle Pryor. Pryor was forced into a do-everything role due to injuries at the quarterback and wide receiver position. What resulted was fascinating to watch as Pryor caught 8 balls for 144 yards, ran for 21 more yards and a TD, and completed 3 passes for 35 additional yards. His current role is born out of sheer necessity, but makes Pryor an intriguing guy to plug into your lineup moving forward.

Welcome Back, Jimmy Graham!

If you’ve only played fantasy football for a couple of years, you might think that Rob Gronkowski has no peers at his position. But, from 2011-2014, that was not the case as Jimmy Graham went off for over 4,400 yards and 46 TDs over that span. Many thought after last season’s devastating season-ending (and possibly career-ending) injury, Graham would be lucky to be a quality backup TE from a fantasy standpoint moving forward. If yesterday is any indication, Graham is not ready to accept that role anytime soon. Graham’s 6-catch, 100 yard, 1 TD day was without question his best effort since his days in New Orleans. He did fumble, but that will be forgiven if he can return to even 75 percent of what he once was. Graham’s effort was a very pleasant sight to see if you gambled on Graham in the middle rounds of your redraft league.

Buzzed Befuddlement

Why do so many people love and loathe fantasy football at the same time? It isn’t an exact science, folks. Sometimes, it doesn’t resemble science at all. Case in point: The New York Jets. The lead story for Week 2 here at the Buzz had to do with how incredible the Jets offense looked the first two weeks of the season. Eric Decker was a red zone beast. Matt Forte was running like he was 22 again. Ryan Fitzpatrick was the second coming of Rich Gannon in Oakland. Yada, yada, yada. How foolish do we look this week? Fitzpatrick resembled Gannon alright - the Rich Gannon from the Oakland-Tampa Bay Super Bowl. And Decker? One catch. I do hope you enjoy our weekly attempt at recap and reflection, but sometimes one week’s revelation turns into next week’s chopped liver.

Flipping the Script in Denver

Through two weeks, we had the post-Peyton Broncos all figured out. They were going to run the ball early and often. C.J. Anderson was going to be the only fantasy-relevant player on the team except on the few weeks that Demaryius Thomas beat up a poor secondary. Trevor Siemian was barely rostered heading into Week 3 except in leagues that have more than a dozen teams. And now? Considering the Bengals defense was able to shut down the Steelers passing game the week prior, their inability to slow down Siemian (312 yards, 4 TDs), Emmanuel Sanders (117 rec. yards, 2 TDs), and Thomas (100 rec. yards, 1 TD) was startling. So, what is the real face of the Broncos offense moving forward? I still think it will be a heavy dose of Anderson more often than not based on game flow, but it was nice to see that there's more to Denver than ground and pound. Thomas remains a solid No.2 fantasy WR...Sanders an excellent No.3.

77 Points, 948 Yards

At least a few things in fantasy football didn't deviate from the norm. Enter Saints-Falcons last night. The Saints are going to make everyone look great (except the invisible Julio Jones) and dome conditions are just that: dome conditions. It's just a shame that the other Saints-Falcons game this season is in Week 17...a week that nearly all fantasy owners are no longer reaping the benefits of such juicy matchups. Hope you started Brees, Ingram, Freeman, and/or Coleman last night. Condolences if you were counting on Jones or Brandin Cooks (2 fantasy points combined).

That's a wrap for fantasy football in September. What will October bring? We'll start down that path next week. Until then...