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Thursday Night Football: San Francisco 49ers

Nov 12

Posted by admin in San Francisco 49rs, Thursday Night football | No Comments

Here is the first half where we broke down the Chicago Bears. Again you can find the audio of this at Blogtalkradio.com if you’d like or over at ITunes.
 
As I have mentioned before, I feel this is a critical game for both teams. The 49ers have to keep pace with the Bears and Green bay Packers for a Wild Card spot and the Cardinals for a potential Division Title. The Bears are also vying for a Wild Card spot, as it is unlikely they will overtake the 7-1 Vikings.
The loser makes life MUCH harder for themselves.
And so without further ado – the San Francisco 49ers. 
 
Alex Smith
I don’t think Alex Smith is as bad as last weekend – I mean, if you throw 45 times against a Tennessee secondary that is finally healthy, you will turn the ball over. He made some bad decisions, yes, but the reason they plugged him in is that he can stretch the field which is something Shaun Hill couldn’t do.
 
All that being said, he should make you nervous. If you’re in a bind, he faces a defense with a myriad of linebacker and secondary issues coming off a game in which they got roughed up. He’s got a solid wide receiver in Crabtree, a great back in Gore and a red hot tight end in Vernon Davis. He’s risky as hell but if you have injury/bye week issues, he’s start-able and has some upside.
 
I’d avoid him if I could though.
 
Frank Gore
Gore didn’t let a sharp poke to the eye slow him down against Tennessee, compiling 158 total yards and a touchdown. At the beginning of the season, I was thinking they needed to work in Glenn Coffee more to preserve Gore for later in the season. Amazingly, they’ve gone too far the other way, with Gore only rushing the ball 41 times in three games. That’s not enough, especially when your overall offense has struggled a bit.
 
The Bears have allowed over yards per game in the last month including a 117 effort by Cleveland.
 
Folks THIS is a good match-up. I expect Gore to top 100 total yards and a touchdown tonight against a struggling rush defense while the 49ers try to control the clock and limit the overall passes Alex Smith has to make. 45 throws is too much when you have Gore on your roster.  
 
Michael Crabtree
Sure, Crabtree had a poor game last week, blanketed by a pretty effective Titans defense. As he has played more, teams have more tape of him and will adjust to account for his strengths and take advantage of his weaknesses.
 
All that said, he has still looked very good for a rookie who not only missed camp but a chunk of the season. Is he safe each week? Debatable. But he’s playing well and in a PPR alone has been pretty consistent. If you are looking for 5-10 points, I think he will get you that. As a WR3 or 4, he is pretty safe and should put up some yard points with the possibility of a touchdown as well.
It’s a little risky but I think it is well worth the roll of the dice.
Josh Morgan
Morgan has continued to be very much up and down. Now that Isaac Bruce is essentially out of a job, Morgan might be a tempting play. But unless you are very thin at wide receiver right now, I would avoid him. He could have a game like he did week seven against Houston but he is just as likely to repeat the last two weeks of frustration.
Vernon Davis
I said it in my article at Bleacher Report, but if someone told you in 2008 (or even early 2009) that Davis would have a career year and be one of the top producing tight ends in the game you might have checked them into rehab.
 
And yet, he’s tied for second overall in receiving touchdowns (with Miles Austin, Vincent Jackson and Larry Fitzgerald), second in targets amongst tight ends and 14th in targets overall. While other owners were falling all over themselves trying to reach for Witten, Gates and Gonzalez if you got Davis late, you got a huge value.
 
Smith looks for him early and often, frequently in the red zone. With this match-up, there are very few tight ends I would put in ahead of Davis and I expect him to continue to be an outstanding option from here on out. 

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Thursday Night Football: Chicago Bears

Nov 12

Posted by admin in Chicago Bears, Thursday Night football, Uncategorized | No Comments

In what is a pretty important matchup for both teams, the San Francisco 49ers welcome the Chicago Bears to Candlestick Park for the kickoff of NFLN’s Thursday Night Football Series.
 
As always for a Fantasy Football Owner it’s a blessing AND a curse. On the one hand, early football = YAY! On the other, make a mistake by starting a player you shouldn’t and you put yourself in an early hole.
 
Every Thursday we’ll break down both teams to make sure your Thursday night is more ‘Yay’ then ‘Crap’. If you prefer audio, check out the podcast from Wednesday night and we have you covered as well (or go ahead and download via ITUNES and carry it wherever you go).
Let’s start with the visiting Bears.
 
 Jay Cutler
Cutler faces a 49ers team which has allowed over 250 yards and a TD over their last four match-ups while only generating an average of .5 INTs a game. Cutler has been over 200 yards in every game but one (ironically against Detroit) and has scored multiple touchdowns in five out of eight games. Against this defense, I expect to see another 200+ game (I’m guessing 250 plus) and a pair of touchdowns this week.  
 
Matt Forte
Forte definitely heads the list of ‘guys who have busted hard’ this season. He has struggled behind a shaky offensive line and been ignored quite often in the passing game. Also he has flat out just not looked great this season. All that said, I think he’s an ok start this week as a RB2 or flex, moreso in a PPR league. Last week against the Cardinals, the team finally got him consistently involved in the pass game and I think that continues this week against a weak pass defense.
 
Is he a great start? No, he’s nowhere near consistent or safe enough. Is he an OK RB2 or flex? Yes, I expect good, though not great, production tonight.
 
Devin Hester
I was thinking on my comments from last night’s show and I think I underrated Hester a bit. Sure, he’s not hitting the end zone nearly enough.
Since week 6, Hester has had more than 80 yards and between six and eight catches each week.
 

That’s not perfect but it has become pretty consistent. He has been playing well and seems to be flirting with WR2 status. I’d rather assume WR3 numbers but against this defense – which has been struggling – he could be a nice start in a PPR. Less so if you just get yards.

 
Johnny Knox
Knox has cooled considerably although he is consistent in that he has caught about 4 passes a game for around 40 yards the last few games. I don’t expect big things from him this week, though the match-up is nice. As a flex or WR4 with upside Knox has potential but look your roster over and if you have more reliable, more productive or higher upside guys, go with them.
 
Greg Olsen
Olsen is not having the season people envisioned in back in August and there are a bunch of reasons for that. Bottom line though is he has been a disappointment. He FINALLY performed well last week with five catches for 71 yards and a trio of touchdowns. Mind you, the last pair was in a desperate fourth quarter when Arizona had eased back the throttle a bit.
 
Still, I think Chicago remembered they had a great receiving tight end to play with and he should see a slight uptick in production. Still, I don’t expect him to have another huge game so I would start him only if I am struggling at the position and don’t have a ton of options. I’d like to see some more from him consistently before I automatically plug him in.
 

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Trendspotting: Maurice Jones-Drew

Oct 22

Posted by admin in Jacksonville Jaguars, Maurice Jones-Drew, Uncategorized, fantasy football, running back | No Comments

I’ll be the first to admit that I had a bunch of concerns about Maurice Jones-Drew coming into this season. Most of those concerns – regarding his size, weight and their impact on his durability as well as the fact that he has never carried the ball as many times as the Jaguars want him to – are things which take a whole season to play out.
MJD is the Top Fantasy RB in many leagues

MJD is the Top Fantasy RB in many leagues

 
I felt he was still a top ten back. Six weeks in, he’s not only that but a top two back. He’s even the #1 back in many leagues.
 
However, while his overall numbers are very good his week to week numbers have fallen flat a few times.
 
A quick look at his overall games (credit to footballguys.com for supplying the stats) shows a few games where his owners might have struggled.
 
WK   OPP RSH YD TD TARG REC YD TD FPT  
1   IND 21 97 1 8 5 26 0 18.3  
2   ARI 13 66 0 7 4 17 0 8.3  
3   HOU 23 119 3 7 4 28 0 32.7  
4   TEN 6 14 1 3 3 26 0 10.0  
5   SEA 12 34 0 5 5 23 0 5.7  
6   STL 33 133 3 7 5 45 0 35.8  
TOT     108 463 8 37 26 165 0 110.8
 
Looking at the numbers I was struck by how inconsistent the production has been. His big games are big – very few backs have had games like that this season, much less more than one.
On the other hand, he’s had a few subpar games to alternate with those huge games.
 
What is going on with Jones-Drew? Is there a cause for concern? What is causing the yo-yoing production?
 
In this week’s Trendspotting, we look at the diminutive back and examine whether his owners need to sell high – or if the rest of us need to buy.
 
While I was working on the research for this, I did something a little different and threw out a post in the Footballguys forums to take the temperature of his owners and see what people felt might be going on if anything. You can check out response here, but I found very little worry for his prospects and some thoughts on the up and down production which mirrored what I was already thinking.
 
A few people are selling high(ish) and a few are looking to buy but overall his owners are patient and calm.
 
Good stuff there though and I encourage you to check it out.
 
And why shouldn’t his owners be patient. The overall picture in fantasy right now is one of struggling first round running backs.
 
Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, Steven Jackson, Steve Slaton – all are players taken in the first who have had issues in the first six weeks. We could add folks like Tom Brady and Randy Moss (Week 6 fireworks notwithstanding) as well. 
 
So it isn’t a reach to say that Jones-Drew has more than been worth his pick, along with the other survivor of the first round, Adrian Peterson. 
 
I took a look at the many leagues I am in (mostly PPR leagues, but some not) and Jones-Drew is the top back in many of them. You can’t be upset when so many other studs have fallen flat.
 
What about those down games? Well, first consider that in the above graph from FBG’s player page, eight and ten points are not tragic totals (and do not include PPR points). Disappointing? Perhaps. 
 
Looking closer though, Jones-Drew ran into things that may have shut down the production for many of the backs in the same situation.
 
As Sigmund Bloom points out in the thread, both the Arizona and Seattle games he was hamstrung by an early deficit. Looking at those two games, Jones-Drew got his usual amount of catches as well – between four and five which is right at his average so far. Against Arizona he still compiled a nice 83 yards total. 
 
While the Seattle game didn’t even have that going for it, there hasn’t been a back this year who didn’t put up lackluster points once.
 
Still, that game highlights one problem with Jones-Drew – or rather his situation. For whatever reason, the line has not been able to create enough room for him to run. It could be starting two rookies on the line, it could be an echo of the adversity the squad faced last season.
 
Is MJD dissmissing critics like he does these Bills?

Is MJD dismissing critics like he does these Bills?

Luckily, Jones-Drew has proven himself to be that special breed of back who can overcome weakness around him. In the tradition of LaDainian Tomlinson, Barry Sanders and Steven Jackson, Jones-Drew is a back who transcends situation. Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t have concerns (which we’ll touch on in a minute) but it does say that regardless of his team he will make positive yards most of the time.

 
One thing owners have to love is the propensity of the Jaguars to give him the rock in the red zone.
 
A quick look at the numbers show Jones-Drew has gotten more looks than ANYONE else on the team and by a huge margin. In fact, of 71 total red zone looks, Jones-Drew has been ‘the man’ on 30 of them. The next closest is quarterback David Garrard with 21. After that it is a huge dip to the surprising Mike Sims-Walker who has seven.
 
Of his eight touchdowns, all but one are short yardage/goal line scores. He can still break a long one on occasion (as evidenced by his 61 yards touchdown against the Texans in Week 3) but you know that the team will nearly always give him the rock in the red.
 
Mind you, so does the opposition. That’s true of many stud backs though, so really you’re looking for opportunity and Jones-Drew gets plenty of it.
 
You also have to like some of his upcoming schedule. The Titans aren’t scaring anyone, Kansas City, Buffalo, Texans and Colts can all be run on. The Jets are reeling – we’ll see how they are in a few weeks but they aren’t an immovable object, especially without NT Kris Jenkins.
 
They aren’t all easy match-ups but it’s not an awful schedule.
 
The only concern I have with Jones-Drew is no different than what I was worried about in August: can he hold up to the workload?
 
As much as he hasn’t carried the ball 30 times every game, he has already racked up 108 carries. His first three years the total number of carries were 197 (2008), 167 (2007) and 166 (2006). 
 
He’s already more than halfway to the most carries he has ever had in his NFL career. I’m not even adding the catches, which he should easily eclipse as well this season. 
 
Jones-Drew has never carried the ball as often as he will this season (barring injury). So my biggest concern remains, will he be able to keep it up all season.
 
The team is not forcing either Greg Jones or Rashard Jennings into the mix with great frequency. This is Jones-Drew’s team, it is not a running back by committee nor does it show any signs of becoming one.
 
It is a hard – and honestly very dicey – to try a predict injury. Many people do – I’m not one of them. But we have seen backs fade as a season goes. If Jones-Drew had carried the ball 250+ times at least once in college (as other slight backs have – most notably Barry Sanders who for some reason people love to point out to me was a smaller back who never had injury issues) I’d be less concerned.
 
He hasn’t though and any owner or analyst should at least be a little concerned as the season progresses if he continues on a pace to pass 300 carries (and probably 350 touches total including catches). He’s never done it before – that doesn’t mean he can’t and there is a first time for everything. There aren’t many things more season killing though than to have a stud back wear out as you hit the Fantasy Playoffs.
 
Am I saying sell high? Am I guaranteeing an injury or dip in production?
 
No, not at all. I wouldn’t sell Jones-Drew and if I ran across an owner who was looking to part ways, I would see what I could do to acquire him.
 
What I am saying is, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. If you own
Will MJD put the facepalm to his critics?

Will MJD put the facepalm to his critics?

Jones-Drew, make sure you have back-ups you would be comfortable rolling with into the playoffs. It’s not ground-breaking advice and further, it applies to just about any stud back.
 
With his lack of history though, it’s more critical than doing so for a guy like Peterson.
 
Otherwise though, if you’re an owner of Maurice Jones-Drew, it may be a slightly bumpy ride but it’s also one that could help you towards a championship.    

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Trendspotting: Thomas Jones & Leon Washington

Oct 1

Posted by admin in NFL, New York Jets, fantasy football, running backs | No Comments

NFL_new_york_jets_1[1]Before Brett Favre came to town in 2008, the New York Jets had built their offense to be one that would center on – though not exclusively – the ground game.
 
However, the moment Favre arrived, the Jets morphed into a more evenly balanced attack. Yet despite that, Thomas Jones had his fourth straight 1,000 yard season and his first with double digit touchdowns (Jones had 13 on the ground and a pair receiving).
 
Meanwhile, if you look at his partner in the backfield, most onlookers felt that Leon Washington was criminally underused by the former head coach, Eric Mangini. 
 
Ryan has brought a new attitude to Gang Green

Ryan has brought a new attitude to Gang Green

When new Head Coach Rex Ryan came on board he promised to utilize the offensive line to run block, as it was designed to do. He promised more Leon Washington (so much so that Peter King predicted 300 touches) and drafted a rookie quarterback who would need an effective ground game to keep him from having to win with his arm. 

 
In fact, since Ryan came from the Baltimore Ravens – who had just shepherded their own rookie, quarterback Joe Flacco – confidence was high that this could be a very good season for he Jets rushing attack.
 
After three weeks, what do we have? The Jets are tied for the tenth ranked rushing offense, though that’s largely skewed by game one. Leon Washington has barely topped 40 carries in three games and only has seven receptions. Thomas Jones has had only seven more carries than Washington and only 17 more yards.
 
Both Jets fans and fantasy owners are left wondering what is happening and how much longer it will last.
 
For today’s Trendspotting, let’s take a stab at answering these questions.
 
First let’s look at some hard facts.
 
As ineffective as the Jets run game has seemed, they’ve actually run a ton. They’ve run the ball 104 times versus the 83 times they have passed, a percentage of 56% of the time. A bit more balanced than we anticipated but still not a minuscule amount.
 
In fact, their 104 attempts put them second behind fellow New York team, the Giants. While neither team is totalling extreme numbers, the Jets rank 11th in total ground yards (The GMen are 8th).
 
Where the Jets are struggling is in yards per carry. They are at 3.8 ypc, ranking 22nd in the league. While you might throw the 3.8 out with a mere ‘it’s too early to count it yet’, with the exception of the Giants all the other teams with over 100+ carries are significantly better per carry.
 

TEAM

ATTEMPTS

YARDS PER ATTEMPT

DENVER BRONCOS

102

4.7

MIAMI DOLPHINS

102

4.7

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

102

5.0

BALTIMORE RAVENS

101

4.7
 
Now of course, it’s just three weeks and there are teams who came close to 100 carries like the Detroit Lions (90) with similar YPC (in Detroit’s case, 3.5).
 
Putting aside the small sample size, that’s a significant drop off from the 4.7 that three other 100+ carry teams have the the Jets’ 3.8.
 
So while they are running the ball often, they aren’t doing it effectively.
 
Individually, the yards per carry actually look fine for both backs. Thomas Jones has a 3.77 while Leon Washington has a 4.00 yards per carry.
 
Respectable, right?
 
Well here’s a closer look which tells you things may not be what the appear.
 
 
Watching Thomas Jones the first two weeks didn’t excite me much. Frankly, he looked slow and plodding. He didn’t seem to hit the holes when they were there. 
 
Even in Week 1, when he totalled 107 yards and two touchdowns (his only two thus far this season) Jones looked bad for much of the game. He broke two big runs – one 39 yard touchdown road and a second 39 yard run where he cut back across the defense, who had over-pursued too far to one side of the field.
 
I hate to play ‘taking away run X’ but in order to get a sense of what Jones is doing, you really have to. Because looking at the game as a whole, Jones didn’t look good at all and his yards per carry was awful for most of the game. Same with Week 2. 
 
The majority of runs for Jones are for one or two yards. Occasionally he gets an eight or ten yard run – even more rarely he gets a big gain like the 39 yard runs from Week 1. 
 
Raye's departure could be hurting Jones

Raye's departure could be hurting Jones

For sure, part of this is due to the departure of running back coach Jimmy Raye, who left to be the Offensive Coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. Under Raye, Jones had two of his most productive years ever. When a coach like that leaves, it certainly can have an affect on a player.

 
Of course, another part of this is could be Jones.
 
I’ll give this to Jones – he is not mailing it in. He may look a little slower than in the past, but he’s fighting hard.
 
Jones’ biggest issue might be – and here’s a shock – the offensive line.
 
As I said earlier, watching him on television for two weeks left me less than enthused. I got even more concerned when I saw Jones in person against the Titans in Week 3 but it wasn’t just because he looked a little slow.
 
Granted the Titans are a great team against the run even at 0-3. Record aside, they are ranked second in the NFL against the rush and they found ways to meet Jones at the line all day. The Jets line really struggled with the inside stunts the Tennessee unit threw at them. 
 
What makes it more difficult for Jones is that he can’t really attack the edge. He doesn’t have that speed and ability to turn that outside corner and when the Jets try that with him, he gets caught. So the Jets have to keep him pounding the middle even when he’s ramming into a wall of defenders.
 
The offensive line play hasn't been as good as expected

The offensive line play hasn't been as good as expected

During the Titans game the Jets’ offensive line didn’t get enough initial push – something that was the case against the Patriots in Week 2 as well. Sure, Jones has lost a step and yeah maybe he’s not all that happy with his contract but those are not affecting his overall work. On Sunday he recovered a fumble, sold the heck out of a play-fake and did some great pass-blocking.
 
Jones is giving effort, he’s just not getting enough help from his line. While I wasn’t in love with his play in Week 1, I’m more concerned with the line’s play in Weeks 2 & 3.
 
I think Jones can still have a very nice season and as Coach Rex Ryan has publicly stated he isn’t planning on putting Shonn Greene in more, he will continue to have opportunity. He’ll turn it around, and we’ll get to that in a minute. First, we have to look over the other half of the rushing attack.
 
Big numbers have eluded Washington so far this year

Big numbers have eluded Washington so far this year

Leon Washington
Ryan promised to use more of Washington in 2009. After an almost criminal under-utilization of Washington last year, fans and owners alike were ecstatic.
 
Washington is certainly getting more snaps, averaging 13.67 a game. He can run between the tackles, though he runs into the same problem Jones does in terms of no push from the offensive line.
 
What I am not seeing enough of, certainly considering what we expected, is a ton of pass targets.
 
In the first game, Washington had six targets, four of which he hauled in for a total of 24 yards. But the last two games he’s seen just five. He’s caught three of them and totaled in two games what he got in Week 1 – 24 yards.
 
Washington is very dangerous out in space and when catching a screen pass yet he hasn’t been used in that manner very often the last few games. Part of that is that teams now what he can do and guard against it. Yet it also comes down to play-calling.
 
Why aren’t Ryan and Offensive Coordinator utilizing him in the pass game more? Perhaps it has just been that in game planning for the last two match-ups, they were concerned both defenses might be waiting for it. That’s the problem early in the season – not a ton of empirical evidence to look over.
 
It could be Washington isn’t in as often on third downs as Jones is, as Jones has been a very good pass-blocker and may have an easier time doing that due to his heavier weight.
 
While Washington has been getting half the carries in the run game and plenty of touches overall, he may not be getting the right touches currently. Just having him run between the tackles – something I saw a bunch on Sunday against the Titans – seems to be a waste of his abilities.
 
 
Sanchez has won Rookie of the Week 3 Weeks in a Row - but that's not helping the run game

Sanchez has won Rookie of the Week 3 Weeks in a Row - but that's not helping the run game

Mark Sanchez
Wait a minute. Why is the rookie Quarterback in this edition of Trendspotting? We’re talking RUNNING BACKS.
 
Well, next to the oline, nobody on the field will impact the not-so-dynamic-duo as much as the ‘Sanchize’.
 
Sanchez – while now a three time Offensive Rookie of the Week and according to the media the ‘front-runner’ after three whole weeks for Rookie of the Year – isn’t perfect.
 
Listen, he’s cool in the pocket, brave to the point of insanity (ever hear several thousand Jets fans shriek ‘SLIDE MARK SLIDE’? I have.) and has been playing pretty contained football so far during this young season.
 
Yet he has forced throws, been baited into bad decisions and at times looked like what he is – a rookie quarterback. The thought prior to the season is that the team would protect him with a solid run game and that might up Jones and Washington’s numbers as it would increase their carries.
 
Of course, there was some discussion about how a rookie quarterback makes it hard on the run game. Defenses decide most of the time to make the rookie beat them and stack or attack the run. They don’t give up on the pass defense entirely, but a rookie quarterback has to earn their respect.
 
This seemed to get lost in some of the conversation about the Jets rushing attack just before the season.
 
As much as opposing teams respect what Sanchez brings to the table and as much as he has shown flashes of the ability to burn them long, he doesn’t do it consistently enough for them to lay off the run. 
 
OC Schottenheimer keeps things simple for rookie QB Sanchez

OC Schottenheimer keeps things simple for rookie QB Sanchez

Further, Schottenheimer and Ryan are keeping things pretty simple for the rookie. They don’t want to risk overwhelming him with too many schemes and choices. Keeping things a little plain allows the defenses playing against the Jets to focus on fewer potential looks and scenarios.

 
Given the large amount of carries, we know the team is protecting Sanchez with the run. But the vanilla plays they often run (with the exception of the occasional WildCat or razzle dazzle) allow the defense to concentrate on stopping that run.
 
Sanchez needs to get better and make a few more plays downfield if the Jets are to pull the dogs off Jones and Washington at the line. It wouldn’t hurt to see a few more screens to Washington either.
 
What To Do?
 
Both of these players are worth hanging on to. When it comes to Thomas Jones, if you have him and are not hemorrhaging points at the RB2 or Flex spot, hold him.
 
As for Washington, like Jones, he isn’t playing as well as we’d hoped. You probably drafted him much later than Jones, so he may not be hurting you as much. I believe he will continue to get his half of the carries and I believe that as Mark Sanchez continues to improve he will be able to move defenses off the line of scrimmage more.
 
Finally, you have to like the Jets schedule as it stands.
 
There are some tough teams, especially at first glance.
 
Looking over the whole of it though, the Jets have some match-ups which should make their backs salivate. Carolina (29th vs run), Oakland (28th), Tampa Bay (31), Atlanta (24th) and perennial good RB match-up Indianapolis (21st) all should be good days for the Jets tandem. Some of them will improve as the season goes and some of their stats are skewed due to small sample size (three weeks folks). 
 
Still they mark some good potential games for the Jets down the road.
 
Also, some of the tough match-ups aren’t necessarily all they appear. 
 
Sure, Miami (3rd vs the run), Jacksonville (14th) and Cincinnati (11th) seem tough against the run – until you look at their pass defense. Miami (26th), Jacksonville (32nd) and Cincinnati (19th) all struggle against the pass. So that’s what teams do – they pass against these shaky secondaries.
 
It doesn’t mean they aren’t decent run defenses or won’t improve. It does mean that a bad pass defense may be inflating what appears to be a good run defensive ranking. 
 
Many of the best match-ups come late in the Fantasy Season – in fact, Indianapolis is there for many owners Championship Week in Week 16. Carolina, Tampa Bay and Atlanta are all late season match-ups as well.
 
In both cases, these are players worth hanging on to. As I believe they will trend upwards over the next month or so, I would also recommend seeing if you can buy low on them. Point out the offensive line woes and the low total yards past week 1.
 
Looking forward I think this is a rushing attack that will improve as the season gets older.

 

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Fantasy Rankings: RBs

Sep 25

Posted by admin in Uncategorized, rankings | No Comments

So if you’ve been reading the site, you know I’ve been doing weekly rankings for fantasy football with some of the other hosts on the Fantasy Sports Channel over at TheFantasySportsChannel.com.

This week I thought I would give a little insight into some of my rankings here at the Blurb site. I like the sortable, easy ranking system the FSC uses but only one person can make a note per player which means we can overwrite each other.

Here are my thoughts on the RBs for Week 3 which again, you may peruse here with the handy sortable chart:

He's a bad little man!

He's a bad little man!

The world may end - I have Maurice Jones-Drew ranked over Adrian Peterson.

Houston couldn’t contain Chris Johnson and I think MJD is a better back. He may not survive he season, but right now he’s an excellent candidate to have a break out week.

Peterson faces a team which – as he has reminded us several times this week – once stifled him to under 20 yards. He’ll come in determined but the Niners are a very good defensive squad. He’ll have a good day but MJD will be better.

Speaking of the SF/Minn tilt, Frank Gore faces a defense which is hard against the run. Or is it?

Gore has been a man possessed...

Gore has been a man possessed...

It’s too early to really take much from the Team Stats category but the Vikes run defense isn’t as good as it was last year. Ranking 15th going into Week 3 isn’t a panic-inducing stat by any means, but having given up 129 yds to Detroit and then allowing 89 yards to Cleveland in Week 1 – not their best two weeks.

Add to this the clear intention of San Fran to run Gore until his wheels come off and there is a good chance he has a very nice game this week.

I have Brian Westbrook at 9 – I assume he plays. If not, LeSean McCoy should do very well against a slipshod KC defense. Not #9 ranking good, but very servicable as a RB2.

Finally healthy, Thomas looks to regain his job

Finally healthy, Thomas looks to regain his job

Pierre Thomas will be back this weekend (allegedly) and should get plenty of carries. Here’s hoping he re-establishes his fantasy value. The guy to watch might be Lynell Hamilton who isn’t on the list but has taken first team reps this week.

He may not perform now, but I’ve heard enough good things about him and have seen enough early injury in the Saints backfield to think he could have value this season.

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