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.
Torrey Smith, Ravens – Chad Parsons (@ChadParsonsNFL)
tweeted out, “Torrey Smith with 8+ targets in each game, got the expected TD in W4, on
pace for 160+ targets on the season, which spells 1400+ yds IMO.” Torrey
has produced no less than 85 yards during the first quarter of the season and the
targets will always be there. The Ravens
struggles to run the ball should continue to fuel his status as a weekly start
in all formats.
Jimmy Graham, Saints – Nick Mensio
(@NickMensio) extrapolated
some stats for Graham saying, “Jimmy Graham is on pace to catch 108 passes for
1,832 yards and 24 touchdowns. #Monster.”
While 24 TDs is not likely, I would not want to bet against him
either. Not sure I would accept any
offers to trade Graham.
Dolphins RBs – Rotoworld’s Evan Silva (@evansilva)
stated what most everyone else is seeing in Miami, “Daniel Thomas 2013 YPC:
2.80. Lamar Miller YPC: 4.56. Lamar Miller YPC last 3 gms: 5.85 & 2 TDs.
Hope yall get this figured out.” The
Dolphins use of their RBs is frustrating, but Miller is showing himself the
better option and hopefully this leads to more carries and fantasy production.
Broncos RBs – Consistency and
Frustration. Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) tweeted out the following
stats, “Knowshon Moreno has no fewer than 9 carries and no more than 13 in a
single game this season. Montee Ball has
no fewer than 8 and no more than 12 carries in a single game this year.” Moreno is still the most valuable Bronco
running back to own, but there is a definite ceiling on his production. I would rather have a RB like the Bengals
Giovani Bernard who continues to separate himself in the Bengals backfield.
Peyton Manning, Broncos – This guy is
kinda good. A completely ridiculous stat
from Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal)
proves why when he stated, “Peyton Manning's last 4 TD drives Sunday didn't
require a single third down conversion.”
Seriously?! I am assuming that there
will be an unusually high number of fantasy football champions from the Denver
area this season. Being a homer is good
for Broncos fans.
Michael Vick, Eagles – Chad Scott (@Chad_Scott13) tweeted an
interesting stat, “Mike Vick's points per drop back this season:
W1: 0.89, W2:
0.86, W3: 0.54, W4: 0.38 Don't count on him to be your every week QB ROS.” If Vick is on your roster you likely either
have no choice to start him or drafted him as a backup. Moving forward he may be more of a match up
play, though his floor is higher than most QBs due to his legs.
Victor Cruz, Giants – With the Giants
likely to continue to trail in games, Cruz will be a WR1 in fantasy. As Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling) points out as well, “Per @PFF, Eli
has a passer rating of 120.5 throwing to Victor Cruz vs. 47.1 throwing to
Hakeem Nicks.”
Joe Haden, Browns – Take note of these
stats from Evan Silva (@evansilva) before starting your receivers
versus the Browns. “No. 1 WR stats vs #Browns: A.J. Green 7-51; Mike Wallace
1-15; Torrey Smith 7-85; Greg Jennings 3-43. No TDs. #HadenIsland.” Next up are the Bills and if Stevie Johnson
can’t go, Robert Woods is a definite sit in week 5.
David Wilson, Giants – Last week I tried
to gauge the trade market for Wilson and most feedback showed his owners
valuing him based more on draft position than fantasy production. Another dud in week 4 might have been enough
to push his owners over the edge. As
Dave Richard (@daverichard) tweeted out, “Over
last 3 wks PHI has allowed 179.0 total yds per game to RBs. This is David
Wilson's best chance to break out.”
While Wilson may be nothing more than a flex option the rest of the way,
I would suggest still trying to trade for the RB if you don’t have to sell the
farm.
Vincent Jackson, Buccaneers – Not sure
you can feel good about starting any Buccaneers at this point highlighted by Josh
Moore’s (@4for4_Josh) tweet, “Vincent Jackson's
2-27-0 day was fueled by 11 Mike Glennon targets.” Josh continued by stating, “Got to love Doug
Martin's 30 touches. Can't love the 2 yards per touch. Cardinals have been a
poor matchup for RBs, however.” You
still have to start Martin because you drafted him as your No. 1, but all other
Bucs might be better left on the bench in favor of better options.
Giovani Bernard, Bengals – The Bengals
have continued their shift towards Bernard as the primary ball carrier as Joe
Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) tweeted, “Gio
Bernard 73.5% of the RB snaps compared to BJGE's 26.5%. It might be too late to
try and acquire his services, but after a quite week 4 there still might be
time. Bernard is looking like he could
produce RB2 numbers the rest of the season.
Le’Veon Bell, Steelers – If you sat on
him, well done. As Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) pointed out, “Le'Veon Bell
played 60 snaps, while Jones/Dwyer combined for 14. No quesiton he's
healthy/the workhorse. RB2 worth targeting.”
Patriots RBs – Evan Silva (@evansilva)
provided a little hope for Ridley owners stating, “Last night was best Ive seen
Stevan Ridley run. Attacked gaps with velocity, incredibly light feet for power
RB. Even made plays in pass gm.” Of
course he followed it up tweeting out, “Unfortunately, this LeGarrette Blount
stuff is killing Ridley's FF value. Blount has stolen 34 carries. Bolden not
the problem, it's Blount.” Without an
injury not sure you can trust any RB in this offense and the return of
Gronkowski will continue to limit opportunities for yards and touchdowns.