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Bye Weeks: N/A
TD Machine: Rookie wide receiver Mike Evans
is the T-3rd with 11 touchdowns among wide receivers.
Grab a Helmet
Mike
Evans v. GB: In any other season, Evans might be the
runaway winner of the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. As it
stands now, though, with two weeks to play, he probably won’t even
finish in the top two. Dallas’ rock solid guard, Zack Martin, is
going to get a ton of votes. There’s also this other wide receiver
in New York who’s made a late push for the postseason hardware.
Not that Tampa’s new touchdown machine should in any way feel bad.
All the former Aggie has done with 59 receptions (32nd overall)
is score 11 six-pointers (tied for 3rd) , a staggering one TD per
five receptions rate. If he continues being that insanely efficient,
the Bucs might miss out on the opportunity to pair him with next
year’s possible Offensive Rookie of the Year and this year’s Heisman
winner, Oregon’s ethereal Marcus Mariota (GO DUCKS!).
Steve
Smith @ HOU: So this is what a “declining” receiver looks
like, huh? If Mike Evans is the youngest top-tier wideout in the
league, Smith is surely it’s oldest. Deemed to be washed up by a
Carolina team that once considered him the face of its franchise,
Smith moved on to the Charm City in 2014 and has already surpassed
his reception, yardage, and touchdown totals from a year ago (in
one less game, mind you). And naturally, he saved his very best
effort for the Week 4 showdown with his former Panthers teammates.
This week, he draws a Texans squad that, despite employing the league’s
most disruptive (best?) player, can’t seem to prevent opposing pass-grabbers
from going wild. The Ravens aren’t as desperate as Houston, but
they can’t afford a misstep at this late juncture. Expect plenty
of looks and maybe a vintage Steve Smith performance this Sunday.
Harry
Douglas @ NO: If there’s one thing we’ve learned about
Harry Douglas this year, it’s this: When opportunity knocks, he
knows how to answer the door. In eight games he’s played with Roddy
White and Julio Jones, the former Louisville standout has averaged
just 4.4 points per game. That’s what Jerricho Cotchery and Cordarrelle
Patterson have averaged this season, for comparison’s sake. When
White or Jones has missed action, though, he’s either scored (Week
3) or notched 100+ yards (Weeks 13 and 15). So why is he on our
radar for Week 16? At the time of this writing, neither White nor
Jones has practiced leading up to the NFC South showdown with New
Orleans. The stakes are high, so I’m sure one or both of them will
give it a go on Sunday. It’s just as possible, however, they could
also sit. Be safe and keep Douglas handy.
Grab Some Wood
Larry
Fitzgerald v. SEA: Here are several tidbits from the
“this season couldn’t get any more bizarre” file: 1) Fitzgerald
is now the 52nd ranked player in the FF Today receiver ranks (read:
he’s on the second page); 2) Despite having the league’s least
utilized passing offense, Seattle actually has a receiver ranked
ahead of him (Doug Baldwin); 3) Arizona has TWO receivers ranked
ahead of him (John Brown and Michael Floyd). I’m not sure what
to do with that last piece of info other than to suggest something
slightly heretical: Larry Fitzgerald might actually be finished.
Wait, what? He’s only 31 years old and we just got done raving
about the ageless Steve Smith two paragraphs back! I hope I’m
wrong here because I like him, but I wouldn’t even use Fitz as
a WR3 right now, especially against the Seahawks’ suddenly resurgent
Legion of Boom. Trust the numbers.
Alshon
Jeffery v. DET: Before the Bears’ brass inexplicably
benched their $126 million dollar man, Jeffery looked like a good
bet to help secure a fair amount of fantasy championships out
there. For starters, he wasn’t going to compete with Brandon Marshall
for looks as the season wound down. The Bears also weren’t going
to be playing from out in front much. Finally, the strong-armed
Cutler, despite a nasty turnover addiction, was still on pace
for his very best fantasy season in an almost decade-long career.
Emphasis on that “was” part, I guess. Now, Chicago turns to Jimmy
Clausen. ESPN’s Total Quarterback Rating (QBR) stats go back to
2006 and JaMarcus Russell’s 2009 grease fire still stands as the
second worst total QBR (for qualifying starters) in that span
at 11.6. The worst? That would be Clausen’s even more disastrous
2010 Carolina campaign (11.0). How does this possibly work out?
Dwayne
Bowe @ PIT: I’ve spent all season trashing the
Chiefs’ putrid wide receiving corps, fully expecting that,
somewhere along the way, they might make me pay for hurling those
biweekly insults. It’s not actually possible for a team
to play an entire season’s worth of games, after all, 16
total regular season contests, without throwing a single scoring
strike to a wideout, is it? Is it??? I guess we’re officially
witnessing NFL history in the making. Our esteemed editor-in-chief
is a Kansas City homer and probably doesn’t appreciate me
rubbing this in week after week, but…man, it’s just
too hard to resist. If you’ve somehow, miraculously, amazingly,
made it to your league’s fantasy championship tilt starting
Bowe, don’t tempt fate and bank on this being the week he
or one of his cronies finds pay dirt. They’d probably need
a GPS device to even find it at this point.
Good luck, folks, and have a great holiday season!
Quarterbacks 
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