Fantasy Football Twitter Reactions – Week 3

Each week I will be walking through the Twitterverse extracting some of the best commentary from trusted fantasy football minds and delivering to the general public.  Twitter can be overwhelming with the amount of information that streams live, but it also proves to be one of the fastest and easiest ways to communicate.  In 140 characters or less you can learn something about a player you would have never thought to analyze.  Trends, stats, analysis and simple suggestions pour out weekly after the NFL action is completed and below are some of the highlights to consider when hitting the waiver wire or seeking trades to win your fantasy championships.

Jamaal Charles, Chiefs – Everyone expected an uptick for Charles in the passing game with Reid, but Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) shows how valuable he could be tweeting, “Charles is on pace to catch 96 passes for 805 yards this season.”  Jamaal is averaging 23 touches a game so far and is PPR gold.  The conservative offense is working wonders for his fantasy value.

Week 3 Madness – I am pretty sure no one guessed right in fantasy this week as Rich Hribar (@LordReebs) offers, “Think WR’s are volatile? Santonio, Sidney, S Hill, Ginn, Avant, Avery, LaFell & Thompkins were all top 12 yesterday.”  One crazy week should not change your fantasy course.  Start your studs and hope your opponents don’t hit the lottery with players no one could have predicted to break out.

Underperforming RBs – Send this nugget from Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) out to your league and watch the trade offers fly.  “David Wilson, C.J. Spiller and Stevan Ridley's combined Sunday? 32 carries for 83 yards.”  2.6 yards per carry is not good in case math was not your strong subject in school.  You might be able to trade Nate Burleson for these guys (Disclaimer: I know he broke his arm).

Colts Receivers – The Trent Richardson trade and overall philosophy of the Colt’s coaches may not be good for fantasy owners as Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom) points out, “Unfortunately for us FF types, football gods smiled on #colts going smashmouth yesterday. FF stock of whole passing game trending down.”

Jordan Cameron, Browns – So Hoyer might not be fantasy death for the Browns as Denny Carter (@CDCarter13) stated, “Hoyer attempted 54 passes yesterday. I don't think that'll prove to be an anomaly.”  Being behind and needing to throw may be common, but they also won’t be playing the Vikings secondary every week.  Either way as Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) points out, “Jordan Cameron is on pace to catch 106 passes for 1434 yards and score 21 touchdowns.”  This is unlikely to happen, but a top 5 TE the rest of way is. 

Chris Johnson, Titans – Some fantasy advice from Rotoworld’s Evan Silva (@evansilva), “One RB I'd be trying to bail on = Chris Johnson. No GL carries or pass game work and murderer's row upcoming Run D sked: NYJ, KC, SEA, SF.”  Carries are there, but TDs are not.

Giovani Bernard, Bengals – Bernard will likely be a weekly fixture in this piece as his fantasy value continues to rise with each passing week.  John Paulsen (@4for4_John) showed why your window to buy might be already shut tweeting, “14 touches, 99 yards, TD for Gio Bernard; 10 touches, 29 yards, TD for BJGE. Gio led in snap % 54% to 41%.”  Gio’s percentage of plays as increased weekly and while BGE won’t ever go completely away, he likely won’t stop Gio from being a reliable weekly start either.

Bilal Powell, Jets – Might be a better time to try and sell on the Jets RB rather than expect more of the same as Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) relays, “Before you get excited about Bilal Powell, 5 things: (1) He's on Jets (2) Mike Goodson back in 2 weeks (3) Ivory is better (4 and 5) Jets.” 

Ryan Mathews, Chargers – Mathews’ fantasy value is likely capped in this offense with Woodhead and Brown.  Also as Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh) concludes, “Ryan Mathews purely a situational runner on obvious rushing downs. Not much value on 12-16 rushes per game with limited red zone work.”  Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) noticed the same tweeting, “Ryan Mathews is getting the Mark Ingram treatment. Chargers ran the ball on 17 of his 19 snaps.”  No one wants to be compared to Mark Ingram.  Expect more 5 – 8 point games from Mathews with an occasional TD splashed in.

Cecil Shorts, Jaguars – You would not expect the return of a QB from injury to be a negative, but the boys from Rotoworld did not miss a beat on what Gabbert’s return could mean for Shorts’ fantasy value.  Evan Silva (@evansilva) tweeted, “Nice knowing ya, Cecil Shorts,” while Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) made me spit out my water stating, “Your move, Cleveland.”  Shorts has been more garbage time maven the last two weeks with Henne, but Gabbert is simply garbage.  Back to the bench.

DeAngelo Williams, Panthers – More great fantasy advice from Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom), “Sell DeAngelo Williams high to an RB needy team. Stewart on track to come back soon & goal line carries just aren't going to come for him.”  He is on bye this week so might be hard to move, but 8 points a week will be the norm and possibly the ceiling if Stewart gets back in the mix.

Josh Gordon, Browns – Gordon came out of the gate like a rocket and as Davis Mattek (@DavisMattek) pointed out, “Despite the 19 targets, Gordon only received 1 RZ target while Cameron had 5. I expect Gordon's % to rise, while Camerons decreases slightly.”  If he can average 10+ targets per game he has the makings of a surefire WR2 with WR1 upside on a weekly basis.

Fantasy Defenses – So what round did the 49ers go in your draft?  Anything higher than the 2^nd to last round is too high for the 27^th best defense through 3 weeks.  Don’t bring up the Seahawks either because the Chiefs are looking like a great weekly add and I know they weren’t drafted until the last round.  Just remember this for next year, please.  

Fantasy Football Twitter Reactions – Week 2

Each week I will be walking through the Twitterverse extracting some of the best commentary from trusted fantasy football minds and delivering to the general public.  Twitter can be overwhelming with the amount of information that streams live, but it also proves to be one of the fastest and easiest ways to communicate.  In 140 characters or less you can learn something about a player you would have never thought to analyze.  Trends, stats, analysis and simple suggestions pour out weekly after the NFL action is completed and below are some of the highlights to consider when hitting the waiver wire or seeking trades to win your fantasy championships.

Pierre Garcon, Redskins – As John Paulsen (@4for4_John) pointed out, “Garcon has 15-207-1 through two weeks and is showing no ill-effects from injury. Will continue to thrive, especially with way D is playing.”  Getting 12 targets a game and defense that will force the passing game late, Garcon makes a great trade target as a high-end No. 2 WR.

Alfred Morris, Redskins – John (@4for4_John) followed up his tweet on Garcon stating, “Speaking of the WAS D, it's limiting Alfred Morris's upside. He averaged 20.9 carries last season and now has 25 total through two weeks.”  Morris is not the Redskins 3^rd down back and when the team gets behind his upside gets limited quickly. 

Texans RBs – Rotoworld’s Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) offered this stat on the Texans running game after 2 weeks, “Arian Foster is averaging 3.67 YPC on his 37 carries this season. Ben Tate is averaging 8.33 YPC on his 18 carries.”  While Foster still got the majority of touches after Kubiak stated he wanted closer to 50/50 split, Tate should begin to get more if he keeps this spread in production up.

Eddie Royal, Chargers – Looking for the biggest regression candidate in fantasy?  As Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh) tweeted, “Eddie Royal offensive TDs 2009-2012: 5. Eddie Royal offensive TDs 2013 Weeks 1 & 2: 5.”  Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) also offered this insight, “Only one of Eddie Royal's 5 scores came on an endzone target. Caught the others at the 3, 6, 9, and 18 yard lines.”  I would be trying to sell Royal for top dollar if you own him as the TDs will not continue to pour in for this guy. 

Lamar Miller, Dolphins – A horrendous week 1 left a sour taste in fantasy owner’s mouths.  Evan Silva (@evansilva) tweeted the following after Sunday, “Dolphins committed 16 touches to Lamar Miller & found a run game in Wk 2. Imagine that. LM ran downhill with zip. Expect more work ahead.”  Miller may just turn into the RB everyone expected and Thomas should fall back towards more of a backup role.  You also may still be able to acquire Miller relatively cheap so test the waters.

Adrian Peterson, Vikings – After a week 1 performance bolstered by 3 TDs, AP quickly looked to be earning his #1 overall draft selection.  Ryan Boser (@Ryan_Boser) offered the following stats and analysis that should provide pause to Peterson owners, “AP has rushed for 115 yards on 43 carries (under 2.7 YPC) since his season-opening 78-yd TD. Why = Ponder + OL + Felton suspension.”  AP overcame stacked boxes and Ponder last season, but 2,500 yards does not appear to be in the cards for the Viking RB in 2013.

Marlon Brown, Ravens – Brown is likely on your waiver wire and someone people still might not know at this point.  As Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling) points out though, “Marlon Brown is the first player in Ravens history with a TD in each of his first two games.”  Torrey Smith will continue to draw the most coverage and Brown will get his looks. 

Eric Decker, Broncos – A poor week 1 might have sent Decker to the bench, but as Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh) stated, “A week after being the odd man out, Eric Decker led Broncos in targets (13), receptions (9) & rec yards (87). Manning will find open man.”  Not sure you can bench any of the receiving options in Denver unless you are really deep.  This may cause some down weeks, but Manning does a great job of spreading the ball around and getting his guys involved. 

David Wilson, Giants – Some recent tweets on the Giants RB: From Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh), “David Wilson still has negative fantasy points on the season, making him something like RB190.”  From RyFo18 (@RyFo18), “As long as the #Giants are getting blown out, the longer David Wilson is gonna suck. Won't sniff the field if playing catch up.”  From Juan Elway (@JuanElway), “Coughlin is kidding himself if he thinks the running game will get going w/o Wilson getting touches.  Eli needs a running game-7 INT already.”  Wilson is struggling and his is not even clearly defined in this offense, but Jacobs and Scott are not the answers.  You can likely buy Wilson for waiver priority or some FAB dollars at this point so why not buy as low as possible and hope he becomes the stud many were expecting.

2013 Fantasy QBs – Practically everyone is a fantasy starting QB these days as Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom) tweeted, “16 QBs averaging over 20 pts a game in 4 pt pass TD/pt per 20 pass yd format.  And that doesn't include Romo/Brady/Wilson/Newton.”  Denny Carter (@CDCarter13) also shared, “QB stats that jump off the page: Bradford has thrown 96 passes. Eli has 812 pass yards. Tannehill has completed 70% of his 73 passes.”  We are only 2 weeks into the season and the cream may rise to the top, but drafting your QBs early may be a losing strategy while streaming them may be the way to go.  Look for 2 QB leagues to become more commonplace moving forward as the league continues it aerial assault.

Kendall Wright, Titans – Not that you want to necessarily own any of the Titans passing game, but as Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) offered, “32% of Jake Locker's throws have been directed at Kendall Wright so far. You didn't notice because of all the running.”  Britt was bench for a part of week 2 for mistakes and being lazy leaving Wright as the most consistent WR on this team.  The Titans pound the ball a lot so anything more than a WR3 should not be expected. 

Mark Ingram, Saints - JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) offered this simple stat on Ingram, “Mark Ingram through two games: 17 carries, 31 yards.”  If you are holding onto him, don’t.  Also realize though that Sproles remains your only bet for RB production in this offense.

Fantasy Football Twitter Reactions – Week 1

Each week I will be walking through the Twitterverse extracting some of the best commentary from trusted fantasy football minds and delivering to the general public.  Twitter can be overwhelming with the amount of information that streams live, but it also proves to be one of the fastest and easiest ways to communicate.  In 140 characters or less you can learn something about a player you would have never thought to analyze.  Trends, stats, analysis and simple suggestions pour out weekly after the NFL action is completed and below are some of the highlights to consider when hitting the waiver wire or seeking trades to win your fantasy championships.

Vernon Davis, 49ers – It was a great week for TEs across the board and Davis was at the front of the pack.  As Chet Gresham (@Chet_G) pointed out, “Vernon Davis' 9 targets were more than he had in any game last season,” we should likely expect solid production and consistency from Vernon in ’13.

Cecil Shorts,  Jaguars – You never want to root for injuries, but as Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) notes, “Cecil Shorts played in five games with Henne last year. Averaged 5.2 catches for 83.6 yards with three TDs. Gabbert injury big for Cecil.”  The Jaguars did look awful against the Chiefs, but hope for Cecil to get more involved and Henne to possibly hold the starting job.

LeSean McCoy, Eagles - Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh) tweeted, “LeSean McCoy had 32 touches last night, which is awesome, but hard to see that as sustainable from a physical standpoint.”  McCoy is on pace for nearly 500 carries this season after week 1! That is not going to hold up and handcuffing McCoy with Brown is highly suggested or owning Bryce to stick it to the McCoy owner is even better.

Eddie Lacy, Packers – Good news after the first week for owners who grabbed the rookie RB as John Paulsen (@4for4_John) stated, “Eddie Lacy CLEAR RB1 despite getting benched for fumble. Finished with 15 touches. Next RB (Kuhn) had one.”  If you start him in your flex looks like a solid play all year.

Bills Running Backs – Spiller owners did not enjoy the start to the fantasy season.  Fred Jackson looks to be part of the Bills game plan moving forward as Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom) highlighted, “Fjax was no nonsense downhill and BUF offense was feeding off of his energy in 2nd half. Not going anywhere. BUF smart to use both RBs a lot.”

Adrian Peterson, Vikings – 3 TDs and over 100 total yards sounds like an amazing day and not suggesting you sell high on the consensus number one pick in fantasy this year, but as Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) pointed out, “Adrian Peterson had a 78-yard rush on Sunday. He averaged 0.88 yards on his 17 other carries.”

Arian Foster, Texans – There was definitely some concern around Foster before the season, but as Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh) commented, “The Foster/Tate workload was split 24-11. Tate looked much fresher, but not worried about Foster as he works his way back into shape.”  It sounded like Tate would possibly grab at least 50% of the touches week 1, but Foster emerged as the man. 

Ahmad Bradshaw, Colts – While most everyone believed Bradshaw to be the superior talent in the Colts backfield, Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) tweeted “Ahmad Bradshaw barely cleared a dozen snaps yesterday. Problematic. Don't use him until he earns back the #1 job.”  At this point not sure how you can even flex Bradshaw with Ballard impressing in pass-blocking and clearly in the mix.

Mark Ingram, Saints – Preseason news from the Saints provided a lot of hope for Ingram to break out and at least be flex worth this year.  John Paulsen (@4for4_John) broke down the box score stating, “Pierre Thomas turned 13 touches into 59 yards and once again outplays Mark Ingram (9 carries, 11 yards).”  At this point leave him on your bench and possibly only injury will make him relevant on a weekly basis.

David Wilson, Giants – Great quote in regards to Wilson and overreacting to week 1 in general from Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling), “If you believe in his talent, hold firm. If you're a nervous nelly after 1 week, find a new hobby.”  Don’t sell off your team after only one week.  Yes Wilson was benched and the Giants are working out new RBs, but they need Wilson and trading for BGE is not the answer.

I suspect you are following all of these fantasy football greats already, but if not get on it!