I'm going to mostly stick to last week's format for today's update, but I'm shuffling the order of things ever so slightly. First, I'll talk about guys from last night's game, but then I'm going to hit you with some injury updates before getting to my final rankings. As usual, I'll give you a few guys I'm high/low on versus the ESPN experts. And if you're new to the blog...? No, I will not discuss kickers. Buckle up. It's a long one...
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| He didn't wear the Superman cleats last night (didn't need em). |
QBs: The Thursday night game was mostly the
Cam Newton show, as the 3rd year QB put up top-5 fantasy numbers for the second time in his last three games. He's been very efficient this year, with a QBR near 100 and a 65% completion rate. He should be a top-5 QB again next week when the Falcons come to town. On the other side of the ball, Mike Glennon didn't look terrible for a rookie on a winless team. He didn't turn the ball over, but he also couldn't get a lot going against the stingy Panther defense. He gritted it out at the end though, running the hurry-up offense and getting some decent garbage time points in the 4th quarter. He'll stay off the fantasy radar for now, as it doesn't get any easier when the Bucs travel to Seattle next week.
RBs: I h
ad Mike James ranked #20 (ESPN ranked him #21), as he was at least in line to be the feature back last night. Again, Carolina's defense didn't give him much room to run, and his numbers were very mediocre. As I mentioned, he'll have that tough matchup next week against the Seahawks, but the schedule softens up a little for him after that, so hang in there if you have him (assuming we find out the Muscle Hamster is done for the year). The Carolina RBs both got into the action last night. DeAngelo Williams hadn't rushed for a TD all season, and Tampa Bay hadn't given one up. So of course, he broke a 12 yard run and found the endzone. Mike Tolbert scored for a 3rd game in a row (and 5th TD in his last 5 games). He then proceeded to celebrate next to a sign that I'm pretty sure was for Mike Williams. But in Tolbert's defense, Williams hasn't exactly been using it very much...
WRs: Vincent Jackson didn't quite see the 22 targets he did in Week 7, but he still got 13. In fact, in the last two minutes of the game (with the Bucs having approximately a 0.000001% chance of pulling out a victory), Glennon continued to try to throw it to Jackson in the endzone. You have to like that from a fantasy perspective. At this point, I think it's safe to drop any other Tampa WRs, including Mike Williams. As for the Panthers, Cam gave 5-7 targets each to Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell, and even Ted Ginn, Jr. Revis Island was back, as the Bucs let him finally play man-to-man. The victim was Steve Smith, but LaFell wasn't able to capitalize like I thought he would. Smith is still the guy to own there, and I think LaFell will continue to be a risky flex play moving forward.
TEs: Greg Olsen has been relatively quiet this year, especially as of late as he's been playing through a foot injury. But Cam Newton hit the veteran tight end in the endzone to cap off their opening 9 minute drive, giving Olsen some solid fantasy points. For Tampa Bay rookie Tim Wright, it was looking like he was all set to have back-to-back bad weeks until the end of the game. Remember that garbage time I was talking about? Well, Glennon hit Wright in the endzone for a meaningless touchdown in the waning seconds. And Tim Wright fantasy owners rejoiced...all 7 of them.
DEF: I had a tough decision to make last night because I had both Carolina and Cincinnati defenses to choose from on my fantasy team. Yesterday afternoon, I actually dropped the Panthers and picked up Coby Fleener in my money league.
I did this for two reasons...
1. With Jermichael Finley out, I'm in need of a long-term solution at the TE position. I don't know if Fleener is it, but I'm hoping he'll get more involved with Reggie Wayne out for the year. I'm planning for the 2nd half of the fantasy season.
2. This made my decision much easier, since I no longer would even have the option to play Carolina's defense last night. Plus, I ranked the Bengals higher, so I'm sticking to my rankings!
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| Sweet creamsicle hat, bro. |
OK, so maybe that's three reasons, two and a half tops. Needless to say, the Panthers put up double-digit fantasy points in my league, but I still think the Bengals will do better against the Jets on Sunday. Not only that, but Carolina doesn't get to play the 0-7 Bucs every week. Their upcoming schedule looks a little tougher than that of the Bengals to me, with the Niners and Patriots in Weeks 10 & 11...not to mention still two games left on the schedule with the Saints. In case you were wondering, Tampa Bay's defense did not have a good showing last night...
On Wednesday, I talked a lot about injuries. I'm sure at some point this season, you've had to sit at least one guy do to injury. If not, that's amazing. On my one team alone, I've had injuries to the following: Shane Vereen (Week 1), Reggie Bush (Week 2), Chris Ivory (Week 3), Cecil Shorts (Week 6), and of course...Jermichael Finley (Week 7). That being said, I thought I'd use my Friday update to talk about important fantasy players with injuries. I also decided to wait until later in the afternoon to post this because it give me a better idea on the status of these guys after a full week of practice.
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| Time to get Murray back in the lineup. |
I'm going to list these injury updates in order of fantasy significance, at least in my opinion. I guess that last part goes without saying, seeing as how this entire blog is my opinion. Whatever. Here goes...
1. DeMarco Murray: After missing just the one game with the knee injury, it sounds like Murray is ready to get back to work. If he had a tougher matchup, I'd probably be a little more conservative with my ranking of him this week. But against the Lions, I nearly have him in my top-10. Joseph Randle could still get some touches, but with Lance Dunbar also expected back this week, he becomes a very weak flex play.
2. Steven Jackson: Most people thought he'd play after Atlanta's bye week at the latest, but that was last week. Well, this week he's been practicing, and he says he's back. I think he'll be back too, and I've added him to my RB rankings. I've moved Jacquizz Rodgers down a bit, but I think he'll still be very much in the mix. With Jackson back, Jason Snelling becomes irrelevant, and he's been sitting out practice this week with an ankle injury himself. Snelling is now officially out for this Sunday and out of my rankings.
3. Jimmy Graham: Why is he not #1 on this list? I think he plays, that's why. The Saints are coming off their bye week, and Graham seems to be a tough dude. I think he's not practicing just to rest the injury, but I guess we'll find out on Sunday.
4. CJ Spiller: Head coach Doug Marrone has publicly discussed the possibility of sitting Spiller this week to rest his ankle, saying "we need to make a good decision". Meanwhile, Spiller says he feels "a whole lot better". Both are dancing around it, but it sounds like CJ might get the week off against the Saints. I'm removing him from my Week 8 rankings, as he's now listed as Doubtful. Tashard Choice finds himself in the top-30 as an interesting potential Flex play if you're desperate.
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| Bet you didn't think you'd see this guy in the NFL again! |
5. Brandon Jacobs: Another guy with a "Doubtful" tag, I think Peyton Hillis gets the start again as old man Jacobs most likely misses another week.
6. Danny Amendola: Basically the entire Patriots team is listed as "limited" in practices and will probably be questionable or probable for Sunday's matchup against the Dolphins. That's just how they roll. I'm ranking Amendola as if he's a full go for Week 8.
7. James Jones: He said this week that "if it was the Super Bowl, maybe I'd go". Yeeeeeah, it's the Vikings. I think Jones doesn't play until at least next week, which is a Monday night game. Jarret Boykin should be the biggest beneficiary in his absence.
8. Rashard Mendenhall: He hasn't practiced all week due to a toe injury. I think he'll suit up on Sunday against Atlanta, but I have him in the 30s on the RB list. I think this could be the week that Andre Ellington grabs a stranglehold on the starting job for the Cardinals.
9. Roddy White: Pretty much the same story as it has been all season with the former Ironman. He hasn't been practicing, and he's now listed as "Out" for Sunday.
Note: Reggie Bush showed up at practice today with ice on his upper leg. I'm not sure at this point if it's anything significant or not, but I've adjusted Joique Bell up a bit in my rankings. If Bush doesn't play on Sunday, Bell instantly becomes a top-20 play.
If I've missed someone, then they're probably not too important. Again, it's only Friday, so if you own one of these guys then you'll need to pay attention to any updates over the weekend. Those won't be coming from me, but if you want to shoot me a text, email, tweet, smoke signal, etc., then I'll try to get back to you on Sunday.
And now (finally), here are your Week 8 updated rankings!
BYES: Ravens, Bears, Texans, Colts, Chargers, Titans
QBs
1.Peyton Manning
2.Drew Brees
3.Aaron Rodgers
4.Matthew Stafford
5.RGIII
6.Tony Romo
7.Michael Vick
8.Russell Wilson
9.Tom Brady
10.Colin Kaepernick
11.Matt Ryan
12.Eli Manning
13.Andy Dalton
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14.Ben Roethlisberger
15.Carson Palmer
16.Terrelle Pryor
17.Ryan Tannehill
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18.Alex Smith
19.Geno Smith
20.Thad Lewis
I added Thad Lewis to the bottom of my rankings, but I have no interest in talking him up like I did Geno last week. As for the rest of my list, it seems like as the season goes on, my rankings are getting closer and closer to the experts. I first started noticing it with tight ends and defenses, but now I'm splitting hairs with the QB position! I'll give it a try though.
I'm high on: Michael Vick (ESPN #11, ME #8)
Vick should be back in there this week as the Eagles host the G-Men at home. I don't know if he's 100% health-wise, but I think he'll play with a chip on his shoulder to prove he's the starting QB, on top of it being a division game against the same defense who knocked him out of the game just a couple weeks ago. He might not run as much if the hamstring is still bothering him, but with his arm, I don't think he'll have a problem putting up top-10 fantasy numbers against the Giants.
I'm down on: Matt Ryan (ESPN #8, ME #11)
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| I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid this week. |
I was impressed that Matt Ryan managed to have a great fantasy performance last week against Tampa Bay despite double-teams on Tony Gonzalez all day and being without top WRs Julio Jones and Roddy White. He got the ball to Harry Douglas a lot (including a TD), but his other main target was Jacquizz Rodgers (who ran in for the other two touchdowns). With Roddy out again, Douglas remains as his only real option at WR, and Patrick Peterson can cover. Arizona has had a tough time defending TEs, so maybe Gonzalez gets into the action a little more this week. But I don't want to count on my fantasy quarterback to get his passing TDs to his running backs. I still think he'll have a solid game this week, but I think he'll finish outside of the top-10.
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RBs |
1.Marshawn Lynch
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2.Jamaal Charles
3.LeSean McCoy
4.Frank Gore
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5.Adrian Peterson
6.Knowshon Moreno
7.Eddie Lacy
8.Fred Jackson
9.Reggie Bush
10.Darren McFadden
11.Le'Veon Bell
12.Stevan Ridley
13.Alfred Morris
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14.DeMarco Murray
15.Darren Sproles
16.Giovani Bernard
17.Zac Stacy
18.Steven Jackson
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19.Maurice Jones-Drew
20.Pierre Thomas
21.Lamar Miller
22.Chris Ivory
23.Andre Ellington
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24.Peyton Hillis
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25.Roy Helu, Jr.
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26.Jacquizz Rodgers
27.Brandon Bolden
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28.Willis McGahee
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29.Joique Bell
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30.Tashard Choice
31.Benjarvis Green-Ellis
32.Kendall Hunter
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33.Bilal Powell
34.Rashard Mendenhall
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35.Daniel Thomas
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36.Joseph Randle
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37.Ronnie Hillman
38.Marcel Reece
39.Robert Turbin
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40.Chris Ogbonnaya
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| Hunter (not pictured) could have a big day in London. |
I'm high on: Kendall Hunter (ESPN #43, ME #32)
It's crazy that I'm this high on a backup RB, but with so many injuries and byes, I think Hunter's not a bad option if you're in serious need. The 49ers play the Jags this week, and if this game gets out of hand, I could see Hunter getting a good amount of 2nd half work. I realize I said the same thing about Ronnie Hillman when Denver faced Jacksonville, but that game ended up a lot closer than expected. San Fran has a much better defense than Denver, and I think this one will be a blowout. Hunter has a good chance for a few yards and a TD.
I'm down on: Alfred Morris (ESPN #9, ME #13)
I'm not very low on too many running backs versus the experts this week, but I don't have Morris in my top-10. What better place for Shanahanigans than the place where it all started? Denver. Roy Helu has been getting more and more reps, and add that to the fact that Denver has a tough run defense? I think Alfred finishes outside of the top-10 this week.
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WRs
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1.Calvin Johnson
2.Dez Bryant
3.Jordy Nelson
4.Victor Cruz
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5.Demaryius Thomas
6.DeSean Jackson
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7.AJ Green
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8.Wes Welker
9.Eric Decker
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10.Larry Fitzgerald
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11.Pierre Garcon
12.Jarrett Boykin
13.Antonio Brown
14.Justin Blackmon
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15.Marques Colston
16.Rueben Randle
17.Mike Wallace
18.Anquan Boldin
19.Terrance Williams
20.Cecil Shorts
21.Harry Douglas
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22.Danny Amendola
23.Denarius Moore
24.Josh Gordon
25.Hakeem Nicks
26.Michael Floyd
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27.Julian Edelman
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28.Golden Tate
29.Stevie Johnson
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30.Brian Hartline
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31.Jeremy Kerley
34.Greg Jennings
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36.Dwayne Bowe
37.Kenny Stills
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38.Jerome Simpson
39.Riley Cooper
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40.Marvin Jones
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| Kenny Stills even looks fast! |
I'm high on: Kenny Stills (ESPN #52, ME #37)
I'm also high on Reuben Randle...AGAIN! (ESPN #28, ME #16), but I talked him up last week. Let's talk about a fringe guy who I didn't even have on my list Wednesday, but he's now in my top-40. Kenny Stills is a deep threat for the Saints who is a textbook boom-or-bust fantasy player. How lucky are you feeling? Buffalo has given up the most passing TDs so far this season (15) and they've given up the most passing plays of 40+ yards (10). That's a formula for success for Drew Brees and Kenny Stills, baby! Also, if Jimmy Graham is still gimpy come Sunday, Brees has to throw to someone. I think Stills should have a good opportunity to hit a big play this week against the Bills.
I'm down on: Josh Gordon (ESPN #14, ME #24)
Two words: Jason Campbell. News broke around noon on Wednesday that Campbell would be the starting QB this Sunday for the Browns. It was right around that time that I posted my rankings, shortly followed by the experts (per usual). So I actually had Gordon a little higher on Wednesday, but I've lowered him even more since then (especially considering I removed two guys from my top-20 after last night's game). The ESPN experts still have Gordon ranked ten spots higher than I do, and I just don't see it at Arrowhead with, again...JASON CAMPBELL throwing to him!
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TEs
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1.Rob Gronkowski
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2.Jimmy Graham
3.Tony Gonzalez
4.Vernon Davis
5.Julius Thomas
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6.Jason Witten
7.Jordan Reed
8.Jordan Cameron
9.Heath Miller
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10.Charles Clay
11.Rob Housler
12.Jeff Cumberland
My tight end rankings are basically identical to the expert rankings with one exception: Rob Housler. I had originally picked up Jeff Cumberland to start this week, but he's dealing with a hamstring issue and that "Questionable" tag has me worried going into Sunday. So I picked up another guy who is averaging the same 6 targets in each of his last two games. Housler was a preseason sleeper on a lot of lists, but he quickly fell off the radar as he dealt with an injury early on in the season. He appears healthy now, and with a good matchup against Atlanta, I like my chances for at least some decent yardage on Sunday from the young tight end.
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DEF
1.Chiefs
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2.Seahawks
3.49ers
4.Saints
5.Bengals
6.Packers
7.Patriots
8.Steelers
9.Cardinals
10.Raiders
11.Jets
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12.Eagles
I'm high on: Saints (ESPN #8, ME #4)
New Orleans is a top-10 fantasy defense this year, and they're coming off their bye week (which followed a tough road loss against New England). They haven't had a home game since the Monday nighter in Week 4, and I think the Superdome will be rockin when Thad Lewis and company roll into town on Sunday.
I'm down on: Browns (ESPN #10, ME not ranked)
I wasn't even really considering the Browns when putting together my top-12. But now that Jason Campbell has been declared the starter for their offense, I can't imagine starting their defense in a road game with him as their quarterback. I'd be too worried about Campbell coughing up the football one way or another and giving the Chiefs great field position that they could use to put up a ton of points on the Browns D. No thanks.
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| A look that says "You've got to be kidding me..." |
If you've made it this far, congratulations. I know it was a long one, but hopefully it'll help you in Week 8. Good luck, everyone!
Cheers,
Bart
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