Bye Weeks: Arizona, Green Bay, Jacksonville,
Los Angeles, N.Y. Giants, Tennessee
Cohen had one touch for 70 yards last week
against Carolina. Expect more opportunities in Week 8.
Grab a Helmet
Jay
Ajayi @ BAL (Thu): We aren’t expecting much in the
way of fireworks on Thursday night, but if Miami’s smart, they’ll
pound the rock with Ajayi against a defense that is stout on the
back end and suspect on the front end. The Dolphins seem to know
that Ajayi is their most deserving mouth to feed, despite underwhelming
returns so far as he’s carried the ball 20 or more times three
weeks running, all wins. In fact, he’s only been out-touched by
Le’Veon Bell during that stretch. Meanwhile, the Ravens are surrendering
145.3 rushing yards per game (worst overall) and have yielded
a staggering 359 the past two weeks. Matt Moore is good enough
to keep Baltimore honest and I think that allows Ajayi to do one
thing he hasn’t done through seven weeks, find the end zone. He’s
getting the looks and now come the results. Start him.
Jordan
Howard or Tarik
Cohen @ NO: The Bears attempted an astounding seven
passes last Sunday against the Panthers, in rookie Mitch Trubisky’s
third start. If you’re scoring at home, that’s 48 career passing
attempts for the overall No.2 draft pick, or 4 fewer than Derek
Carr attempted last week alone. It’s also the fewest number of
passing attempts in a game since 2006, when Chris Weinke (coached
by John Fox, incidentally) also attempted seven. There’s conservative
game-planning to protect your franchise investment and then there’s
what Fox and the Bears appear to be doing. It’s hard to be too
critical if the wins keep coming, but one wonders how long this
can go on. Nevertheless, Howard’s going to keep getting 20+ touches
and Cohen will be the chief beneficiary if New Orleans forces
the Bears to diversify their attack. I like either RB to perform
down in the Big Easy.
Jalen
Richard or DeAndre
Washington @ BUF: Marshawn Lynch’s preposterous peacekeeping
mission cost him a one-game suspension, but possibly even more
than that. If suspicions he was actually protecting best bud Marcus
Peters instead of quarterback Derek Carr prove accurate, he could
also have lost the trust of his Oakland teammates. It’ll be interesting
to see how it plays out, for sure, but in the meantime, no Lynch
means plenty more Richard and Washington at Orchard Park this
Sunday. And between you and me and the fencepost, I’m not sure
the Raiders will miss him that much. Buffalo’s been chewing up
and spitting out between-the-tackles backs like him all season
and neither Richard nor Washington fit that mold. Expect another
45+ passes from Carr and plenty of check-down opportunities for
both as they team up to fill the void left by Beast Mode. Gun
to my head? I’d go Richard.
Grab a Gatorade
Latavius
Murray @ CLE (in London): Murray finally looked like
a legitimate meal ticket for the Vikes last Sunday, rushing for
113 yards and a score on 18 carries in the win over Baltimore.
Understandably, he’s a hot waiver wire add heading into Week 8.
I’m not buying it for one second. As discussed above, the Ravens
field the worst rushing defense in the league and we would expect
even below-average options to make some hay against them. Murray
is a below-average option, for sure, and now faces a Cleveland
squad that is surprisingly stingy against the run. Tennessee’s
bruising tandem of DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry combined for
only 72 yards on 31 carries last Sunday. On the year, the Browns
are giving up just 3.0 yards/carry, tied with Denver for best
overall. It’s crash-back-down-to-earth time for Murray and the
Minnesota rushing game this Sunday on the Twickenham pitch.
Carlos
Hyde @ PHI: Hyde seems to have stiff-armed the recent
threat to his workload, personified by rookie Matt Breida. Since
essentially sharing the backfield with Breida in Week 5, the Niners’
main man has carried the ball 36 times to the rookie’s 7 and outscored
him by 24 fantasy points. This regular work makes the former Buckeye
one of the more reliable backs in the league, despite playing
for (arguably) its second worst team. There are reasons to be
dubious of his continued success, however. First, he’s never made
it through a complete season unscathed. Second, he’s got some
rough matchups dead ahead, starting with the Eagles this Sunday.
Philly’s allowing the fewest rushing yards/game so far, mostly
because they’ve allowed the fewest rushing attempts. It’s hard
to run the football consistently when you’re constantly playing
catch-up. The Niners will be for sure in Week 8, so beware Hyde.
Frank
Gore @ CIN: Gore has mostly defied the over-30 stereotypes,
notching three 1,000-yard seasons and a near miss (967 in 2015)
since he reached that ripe old running back age in 2013. He’s
starting to show some signs of slippage, however. The long-time
49er is averaging just 3.4 yards/rush, a career low, and is projected
to garner only 200 or so carries, which would be his fewest since
2005, the year he debuted. His explosive understudy, Marlon Mack,
has had a lot to do with that, of course, but so has the absence
of Andrew Luck and the Colts’ continued mediocrity. It’s
all adding up to a fairly disappointing season for a guy who’s
been remarkably consistent for over a decade. With six teams on
byes and plenty of other muddled backfield situations, you may
not be able to sit him down. If you can, though, it’s probably
advisable.
