What we are talking about:
Da Bears
This could be rough
Ameer Abdullah
The kid looks amazing
Carlos Hyde
I missed the boat
This is going to be a tough week for Chicago Bears fans. I mean, the loss last week against Aaron Rodgers and the dreaded Green Bay Packers is never easy. But this week should smart even more. If you're not aware, the Bears had a chance to hire Bruce Arians. They went with Marc Trestman.
We all know how this story ends.
I'm curious to see if Arians will use this opportunity to really put it on the Bears. I know Arians seems like a genial guy. The kind of person who would have a Werther's Original at the ready for you. Just one, though, lest you spoil your appetite!
Don't overlook revenge as a factor when you set your fantasy lineup this week, too. And it's not the only game, either.
DeMarco Murray will go up against his former team this week. Again, you would think Chip Kelly would have other things on his mind, other than getting his running back a few extra carries against his former team. But that's exactly what I expect Kelly to do. I really expect him to want to show the Cowboys they made a bad move when they let Murray go last year.
And for all of you who freaked out about Murray's "bad game" last week. You need to relax. Murray struggled last week, and yet he still scored 12 points thanks to two touchdowns. I hope all of my other running backs struggle so mightily.
You think your running backs have struggled? I had to start Darren McFadden in a league last week. I'm serious. And since you are probably wondering how I could have ever got myself into such a situation, I have Le'Veon Bell, Arian Foster and Todd Gurley as my other running backs. I'm going to have running backs swimming out of my ears by the middle of the season. But it certainly sucked last week.
(Although I would have won that week if Kelly had challenged the Jordan Matthews touchdown. But I can get into that a little bit later on in the 'likes'.)
A big hand to stats maven Careen Falcone for dropping the knowledge.
And without further ado ...
Carson Palmer has been one of the most consistent quarterbacks (when healthy) under the direct tutelage of Bruce Arians. His 2015 debut was pretty remarkable. He's got a nice matchup this week against the Chicago Bears, who have allowed three touchdown passes in three of their last four home games.
Many rookie quarterbacks get pulled during their debuts. Few (if any) are ever pulled after they post a perfect passer rating. But that's exactly what happened to Marcus Mariota who had a perfect 158.3 passer rating and four touchdowns. But you can't expect that again. Unless you are going up against the Cleveland Browns.
If a rookie torched the Buccaneers defense for a perfect passer rating, what is Drew Brees going to do to this team? Brees was pretty good against a pretty good Birds defense on Sunday. Plus he has a nice history against the Bucs with 339.8 YPG, 17 touchdowns and nine picks in his last six games against Tampa Bay.
Matt Ryan has been more of a spot-play kind of guy to me. But as long as Julio Jones is out there doing work for him, he might be a legit week-to-week starter for me. He's got a great matchup against the Giants, who allowed 356 passing yards during their season debut. Seriously, Tony Romo just marched through that squad.
Sam Bradford had a rather mild day when you consider the high expectations for him headed into the season. But remember, if Chip Kelly had challenged the potential Jordan Matthews touchdown (and it was a touchdown), that would have changed Bradford's point total from 13.44 to 17.44, which is a little better.
ImageHere's my thing, though. If all scoring plays are reviewed, shouldn't that played have been reviewed since it was a potential scoring play? I mean, if the play had been ruled a touchdown, they would have reviewed it. But instead, it wasn't. For a league so concerned with "getting it right" this loophole in the rule is completely stupid.
I know somebody will come up with a contrarian viewpoint as to why this should not have been reviewed. And I love you, but you're dead wrong if you disagree with this. College football has the review rules correct. Well, I mean if you're going to review stuff. I hate replay. But if you want to use it, use it the right way.
Oh my God! How great was Ameer Abdullah? I was doing the Jessie Spano, "I'm so excited. I'm so excited. I'm so … scared!" for most of Sunday morning. And then Double A took his first handoff, put Eric Weddle on skates and rolled into the end zone. I'm just bummed the Lions didn't go to him more. He was amazing.
Welp, it looks like I missed the freaking boat with Carlos Hyde. If you know me, you know I loved him last year. You also know I was very concerned about him this year. I swear to you, sometimes we can get so cute with our analysis, we miss the simple things like Carlos Hyde is just really, really good at football.
Justin Forsett disappointed a little bit on Sunday. It's cool. (Stuff) happens. But he's going to bounce-back this week against the Raiders, who allowed the fifth-most points to fantasy running backs last week. Remember when everybody said the Raiders were going to be improved this year? Nope, me either.
Jeremy Hill is going to make people regret passing on him in drafts. I grabbed Antonio Brown in our NFL Fantasy LIVE league and was delighted to find Hill still available in the second round! He has five rushing touchdowns in his last five games. The Lions moved the ball on the ground against the Bolts, expect Hill to do the same.
Doug Martin is back. His stat line was a bit of a disappointment. But that was because the Buccaneers fell behind the Titans pretty quickly. This game should be closer and if you remember, Martin rushed for 108 yards against the Saints late last year. So feel pretty good about him this week.
Joseph Randle was pretty good against the Giants. I don't want to get too hyper about him because I'm not convinced he's going to be the guy when the dust clears at the end of the season. But you have to like the matchup this week. The Cowboys rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns against the Eagles in Week 15, 2014.
ImageHoly (stuff)! Please tell me that you watched the finale of America Ninja Warrior? How amazing was that? Nobody had ever conquered Mount Midoriyama and then two guys went out and did it? Are you kidding me? But how does it feel to be the guy who finished the course with the slower time and not get the $1 million? Nobody had ever done it and now you don't get the money because your time was slower?
ImageI'm not sure if you caught the video of Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns as they talked about their potential third partner for Night of Champions. Spoiler Alert: It's Savio Vega. Or the Great Khali. But probably Savio Vega. I'm telling you, if it's not Savio Vega, I'm going to be very disappointed. But my expectations for Night of Champions are rather low. Which means it shapes up to be the show of the year. But be sure to check out Brandon Stroud's Best and Worst of Raw.
A.J. Green was a mild disappointment on Sunday. But what do you expect when you play the Raiders? The Bengals were up like 80-4 at halftime and then just ran it.
Jarvis Landry was another mild shocker against Washington, but he still had 12 targets and had eight receptions. He's going to be fine this week against the Jags.
Brandin Cooks, yeah. I know I'm trying to make you guys and girls feel a lot better about some of these guys. But the Bucs can't stop anybody defensively so feel good.
John Brown did manage to live up to expectations. He's got another great matchup against the Chicago Bears this week. Go ahead and start him again this week.
DeAndre Hopkins is the real deal, folks. A monster game against the Chiefs, and I expect him to be a little bit better with Ryan Mallett at quarterback. He's the goods.
Sammy Watkins had a Blutarsky. Zero point zero. He wasn't even targeted until the fourth quarter. The Patriots secondary should help remedy that this week.
Donte Moncrief is my sleeper of the week. He had 11 targets against the Bills and looked like the best receiver on the field. Dude is poised for a breakout this year.
ImageI'm sure everybody saw the awful story about the actor from "The League" who lied about how he narrowly escaped disaster on 9/11. "Saturday Night Live" star Pete Davidson had the best response of anybody to the situation. Davidson is easily my favorite part of SNL right now. And his performance in the Roast of Snoop Dogg easily stole the night. Go check it out if you can.
Tyler Eifert was pretty incredible against the Raiders last week. He showed a lot of the potential we all thought he had last year. The most striking thing were the team-high 12 targets he had which matched a career-high. It appears Andy Dalton likes him.
Greg Olsen was a huge disappointment in Week 1. HUGE. I figured he would be the top pass-catcher with Kelvin Benjamin gone. He scored 1.1 fantasy points. That will change this week. Travis Kelce abused the Texans last week. I know Olsen isn't the same exact player, but he will do some damage against this team.
Image"South Park" continues to shine. It's amazing how some other shows out there (it would be way too easy to mock "The Simpsons" right here) seem to lose steam after a number of years, but "South Park" continues to roll along. Be sure to check it out.
ImageAnd finally, you had to be inspired by Dez Bryant, who limped out of the locker room after the Cowboys win over the Giants to congratulate his teammates. There hasn't been a one-legged performance that great since Lisa Turtle suffered a sprained ankle and then went on to win that dance contest at The Maxx. So as you celebrate the coming weekend, everybody do The Sprain!
If you see me out in public with a Bears shirt on, maybe a Bears hat, it doesn't give you the right to strike up a conversation with me about Jay Cutler. I know our Sunday show producer Heather Pink has the same lament. But honestly, I don't care what you think about Cutty. He might be a jerk, but he's our jerk, damn it.
Jameis Winston has played football before, right? The biggest difference between him and Mariota has to be the head coach. Mariota has the benefit to play with a head coach with an offensive background. Bucs coach Lovie Smith comes from a defensive background and he never groomed a QB during his time in Chicago.
Matthew Stafford, a word please. How in the name of Great Caesar's Ghost can you allow a tight end to be the most-targeted pass-catcher on your team? You have Megatron on the field with you. He needs to get about 80 percent of your targets. Maybe more. Of course, the remainder of them should go to my guy, Double A.
Joe Flacco is one of the most clutch quarterbacks in the game. Seriously, there aren't many quarterbacks I would want in a pinch during the playoffs. But what the hell last week? When the game is on the line and you think Crockett Gilmore is your best option, dude, I don't know what to think. Not like he has more options, though.
Ryan Mallett is about to come in for the Texans and really throw the rock. But I'm going to wait a few weeks to see what this dude is able to do. He's a tempting DFS prospect, but I would rather go with somebody who is a little steadier. My confidence is almost shaken on Teddy Bridgewater, too. I said almost.
ImageI already hate the new extra point rules. The NFL surely has their finger on the pulse of society if they believe screwy extra points are something NFL fans want. And you fantasy enthusiasts should start to think about cold-weather kickers who could miss out on an extra point or two in the back half of this season. This stuff hurts my brain.
ImageI would imagine if you gave fans the choice of rules changes, the extra point would be one of the lowest priorities. Seriously, they should just get rid of it instead of constantly tinkering with this. The new NFL extra point rules are something George Lucas would come up with if you gave him a chance to tinker with the league.
Anybody regret the way the Vikings used Adrian Peterson during the preseason? The guy didn't play a snap after Week 1 last year and then he didn't play any during the preseason, either. So I guess it's not much of a surprise he didn't break a sweat until late in the fourth quarter. Get your (stuff) together over there Norv Turner.
I see you working, Bishop Sankey. Congratulations on a great game last week. Truly amazing. I'm scared, however, because Terrance West and Dexter McCluster were the goal-line backs. If you get a chance to move Sankey this week for somebody like Arian Foster, I would make the most of that opportunity.
Melvin Gordon was actually pretty good during his debut for the Chargers. He scored just 4.7 fantasy points, but he barely missed on a touchdown run that was rather impressive. The only bummer is that Danny Woodhead will get all of the goal-line work for the team in the immediate future. I don't see that changing soon.
Frank Gore had a tough debut with the Colts. But a lot of running backs are going to struggle against that Bills defense. The only rub here is (stuff) won't get easier for Gore with the New York Jets. I hope you kept Gore on the bench last week. Go with the guys you started over him instead. At least for another week.
Don't fall for the Dion Lewis (stuff). This is exactly what Bill Belichick wants you to think. If he benched Jonas Gray after he scored four touchdowns against the Indy Colts last year, do you think he's going to give Lewis the benefit of the doubt after a decent performance against the Steelers? Plus Leggy Blount is back, people.
I was impressed with Darren McFadden out there on Sunday night. He looked pretty good. He was given limited opportunities, but he averaged five yards per touch. That's not bad. But it's going to take him a bit of time before he gets a chance because the other two guys looked pretty great as well. Or maybe the Giants suck.
ImageI will never watch "Big Brother" again if Vanessa wins. How could she do that to my man Austin? I know exactly what her strategy is going to be if she makes it to the final two. She's going to point out that she had a hang in every eviction and really "out-played" everybody. It's really her best hope. And to a point she's right. But I really hope the players look at how conniving she is and hold it against her.
ImageCongratulations to Nikki Bella who is now the longest-running Divas champion in WWE history. Good for her. She really has developed into one of the better WWE wrestlers right now and she looks great in the ring. But the Dusty finish? Are you kidding me? Using "Twin Magic" to boot? I wish WWE would have been more creative. Maybe start a program where Charlotte couldn't beat her and then eventually go over her when it would be special. But who am I to say?
Dude! Didn't I tell you James Jones was going to be nothing more than a TD vulture? He's already started. But don't start him. I mean, he was still cut by the Raiders.
Terrance Williams is going to be an alright start this week because of the matchup. But don't assume he's going to go out there and put up Dez Bryant-type production.
You should also scour the waiver wire in all of your leagues to see if some itchy manager dropped him into the wild. Scoop him the hell up right now if so.
I'm not ready to punt on Nelson Agholor just yet. But damn, dude, what was up with that horrible pick play against the Falcons? That (stuff) will land you on the bench.
Amari Cooper is going to be good. I don't go with him this week. The Ravens allowed 175 receiving yards with no touchdowns against the Broncos last week.
The Lions provide a pretty enticing matchup for the Vikings this week. But I'm not very enthusiastic about Mike Wallace. I'd rather go with Chuck Johnson there.
Andre Johnson looks like a veteran receiver out for one last chance at glory. He has just three receiving touchdowns in his last 23 games. One 100-yard game in his last 19.
ImageCongratulations to all of the nominees for the 2016 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. Well not you, Tiki Barber. Who let that one slip through? I mean, let's be serious for a moment. Barber played roughly the same time as Terrell Davis. Is there anybody in the entire world who would have taken Barber over Davis during the prime of their careers? Anybody? I feel that's a fair question to ask.
Hey remember when I advocated Josh Hill? That's on me. If it makes you feel any better, I had Hill on a host of my traditional fantasy leagues as well as every one of my DFS leagues. I know that doesn't really make any of you feel better, but I thought I would throw it out there.
Kyle Rudolph didn't do anything. I have the strong suspicion that I have backed the wrong former Notre Dame tight end. Damn it. This is why I'm not a fan of Notre Dame.
ImageDo you think there is any chance Vinny Testaverde can sneak into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? I mean, the guy just seemed to linger in the NFL forever. (Honestly, I thought he played in a game last year. It kind of surprised me that he is eligible for the Hall of Fame at all.) So wouldn't it stand to reason that Testaverde just kind of slips through the induction process? And then all of a sudden next year in Canton, Ohio, Testaverde is up there in a gold jacket and we are all left to ask, "How did all of that just happen?"
For the record, you can submit your fantasy questions to NFL Fantasy Live or me on Twitter. But realize, NFL Fantasy Live has 300K followers. Me? Just 14. See, the odds are better I will answer your question, so hit me up both via Twitter or via Facebook (if you're RG3). And if you follow me on Sundays, I'll quote "The Wolf" from "Pulp Fiction" and then it's game on! Although, it's tough to catch me on Facebook. Twitter is your go-to. Plus seriously people, I'm not taking your tweets after midnight. I'm into the #HashtagWars via @Midnight. I've started to mute people who ask me questions at that time.
