What a day in fantasy football Week 10. Some crazy performances to take a look at once again so let's focus right in on the 1:00 games.
-Of course Russell Wilson did not throw for 300 yards. He never does and you know that. However 2 more passing touchdowns as Wilson ups his season total to 15 with only 6 INT's. And that doesn't take into account the very underrated contributions he makes in the running game. I am a full convert.
-On one carry Sunday Marshawn Lynch almost carried the entire Falcons defense on his back. Thus the 145 rushing yards on 24 carries and one TD should not be a surprise. It really is amazing how great Lynch has become after it looked like his career was headed for a premature death during his stay with Buffalo. Right there with Matt Forte and Jamaal Charles as the most consistently productive fantasy football runner in the game this season.
-Boy am I glad I got out from under Matt Ryan when I did. As soon as the word came down that Julio Jones was done for the season, I got right to work in finding a taker for Ryan whose numbers were great to that point but were headed for a sharp downfall as a result of his receiver corps being decimated. While Ryan didn't add to the 7 picks he threw combined the previous two weeks, he did only manage one late garbage time score and 172 yards. Yes Roddy White came back but he caught all of one ball which showed you how rusty he is. Not good at all here.
-Golden Tate was another guy who took some time to find his footing at the NFL level. Clearly though Tate has taken advantage of the need for a number 1 wideout in the Seattle passing offense as he once again had a big game Sunday with 6 catches for 106 yards and a crazy good score (check it out on YouTube). Percy Harvin looms in Week 11 which is the only worry at this point.
-Tony Gonzalez doesn't stand a chance right now with all the double-teams all game long. Caught only 3 balls Sunday for 29 yards and he pretty much has been a non-factor since Jones went out. This could be a rough ending to one of the best player in NFL history.
-Matthew Stafford continued his huge season by throwing for three more touchdowns Sunday among his 219 yards. There is a not a throw the guy can't make and my prediction of Stafford being the QB value play of the season has more than come through.
-Jay Cutler couldn't finish up his first game back from the groin injury, exiting late in the fourth with a leg issue. Threw for only one score and 250 yards before he came out. Josh McCown jumped right off the bench and threw a late TD to Brandon Marshall. Speaking of Marshall, he and Alshon Jeffrey were unstoppable Sunday. Jeffrey grabbed 9 passes for 114 yards while Marshall caught 7 balls for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns. Clearly the Bears have the best pair of wideouts in fantasy football. While we would love to continue seeing Cutler throwing deep to Marshall and Jeffrey, McCown has done nothing but good things when he has played.
-Reggie Bush needed only 14 carries to rush for 105 yards but overall Bush has not been much of a help since October began.
-Rare off game for Matt Forte who rushed for 33 yards on 17 carries but as usual he did some things in the passing game for those in PPR by catching 4 passes for 16 yards.
-The Nick Foles Show continued Sunday as he threw for 228 yards and 3 touchdowns. That's now 16 TD's and ZERO INT's for Foles as the Eagles clearly have their QB for now and the future. Hope you were lucky enough to nab him on waivers.
-Finally the September LeSean McCoy re-appeared. McCoy rushed for 155 yards on 25 carries. Great sign and after Foles went nuts last week, I correctly surmised McCoy would get more room to run since opposing defenses would have to respect the pass more.
-Riley Cooper is really becoming a major player with Foles under center as he made it two games in a row where he caught at least two touchdowns. Cooper hit paydirt twice Sunday among his 3 catches for 102 yards. Not enough raw catches for Cooper to be a PPR guy but those in standard formats are liking how this is turning out.
-With James Jones back I told you all to cut loose Jarrett Boykin, especially with Aaron Rodgers out. Well Boykin made a fool out of me by catching 8 balls for 112 yards. The QB situation is still nutty but maybe I jumped the gun on pushing Boykin aside.
-Ryan Fitzpatrick is the classic backup QB who always seems to come in with energy and put up some numbers but over the course of a season starting, he gets exposed. Well Fitzpatrick played well in replacing Jake Locker who is likely done for the season and possibly his Titans career with a foot injury. The Harvard grad threw for 2 TD's and 264 yards while also adding a third score on the ground. Those who play in two-QB leagues might want to look here if need be as Fitzpatrick has some decent enough weapons.
-Back to mediocrity for Chris Johnson who rushed for only 30 yards on 12 carries. Against Jacksonville. Ugh. Back to the fantasy football bench we go.
-Washout game for Cecil Shorts owners as he got only 2 catches for yards. No reason to get nervous that the absence of Justin Blackmon hurt Shorts as the latter put up numbers even when the former was serving his first suspension.
-Wow Andrew Luck owners got screwed Sunday. How Luck managed to throw three INT's against the Rams with only 1 TD is a mystery unto itself. Truth be told Luck has not had that awesome breakout we all anticipated. There has been a lot of talk about the offensive plan not allowing Luck to throw it downfield much which is true to a point but the offense has looked out of sync. Blame the ineffective running game no matter who is back there. Trent Richardson? Rushed for a grand total of 2 yards on 5 carries. He is absolute garbage and should be cut loose. I am not even joking. Forget the name value. The guy plain stinks. The Colts got completely fleeced by the Richardson deal.
-I discussed Tavon Austin in its own piece so I won't go into it too much again and repeat myself. Great game no doubt but Austin scored both of his receiving touchdowns on the only two balls he caught. Don't overreact to this as Kellen Clemens is still at QB and Austin was not used on the majority of snaps.
-Zac Stacy added yet another rushing score. Only picked up 62 yards on 26 carries which is obviously not a great average but the rushing TD keeps him as one of the best values of the season.
-Wish I could have gotten my hands on T.Y. Hilton. As quiet as he was earlier in the season as the coaching staff stupidly had him behind Darrius Heyward-Bey, Hilton is more than making up for it now by exploding everytime he touches the football. Hilton caught 7 balls Sunday for 130 yards as he remains a threat to take it to the house any time he touches the football.
-More of the same garbage from Terrell Pryor Sunday as he threw his obligatory INT and only 122 passing yards. He should be rotting on your league's waiver wire.
-Told you all TWO Weeks ago to pick up Andre Brown is a pre-strike move before he busted out. Well he took only one game to literally hit the ground running in rumbling for 115 yards and a TD on 30 carries. He won't catch many passes but Brown showed last season in rushing for 11 scores how quietly potent he could be on the ground. Peyton Hillis we hardly knew you.
-Quiet day for Giants receivers as Victor Cruz caught only 3 balls for 37 yards and Hakeem Nicks 4 for 49.
-Ben Roethlisberger is an idiot. Just wanted to get that out of the way. With the team struggling for the first time in years he reportedly popped off about asking for a trade at the end of the season. Threw for 204 yards with a score and an INT Sunday. Only for two-QB formats.
-Antonio Brown has been even better than I thought he would and I was on record saying he was a prime fantasy football sleeper coming into the season. Brown leads the NFL in receptions as he added 6 more for 104 yards Sunday. Once again though Jerricho Cotchery was the red zone target as he caught his third touchdown in two weeks.
-C.J. Spiller still sucks. As great as the numbers looked last week, I noted that Spiller's great athleticism almost guarantees a game or two like that at some point but that overall he would continue to struggle. Enter the 23 yards on 8 carries Sunday. Never easy with this guy.
-It was the Good and Bad Andy Dalton show Sunday as he threw for two touchdowns and 274 yards but also was picked off three times. The Hail Mary made good to A.J. Green saved the day but this is the second week in a row Dalton has struggled after being arguably the best QB in the NFL for a three-week stretch in October. I wouldn't worry too much as Dalton has way too many weapons to continue on the rough path.
As far as Green was concerned, he had a grand total of 1 catch for 7 yards in the first half but helped by the Hail Mary, finished with 8 catches for 151 yards and the score.
-Giovani Bernard is going to be a first round pick next season. Write it down. The LeSean McCoy clone rushed for 58 yards on 14 carries while also catching 8 passes for 37 yards and a score. The kid has terrific athletic ability and is looking like the next big star which I talked about last summer.
-Ray Rice? Only 30 yards on 18 carries. As a Rice owner, I will tell you that he is glued to my bench right now. Can't play a guy who is producing such terrible stats.
There you have it. As always I welcome your thoughts.
