Takeaways from Week 7 as told by the tweets of the Fantasy Stronghold.
Last week, we didn't expect much from Adrian Peterson and he exploded. This week, we thought he could put in some work against a bad Rams run defense. He finished with 21 yards on 11 carries. He certainly wasn't helped by a game script that had to be scrapped after the Rams ran out to a big early lead. Things only got worse when Carson Palmer left with a broken arm. Now it looks like the Cardinals will be forced to play the rest of the season without their starting quarterback and star running back. Instead, it'll be Drew Stanton behind a still suspect offensive line. This is not a recipe for an Adrian Peterson late-career revival. I wouldn't advise dropping him just yet but it's hard to make a case to start him if you have any other options.
It's not certain if the Packers wide receivers will be able to thrive with Brett Hundley at quarterback but it looks like Green Bay has found an answer in the backfield. For the third straight week, the rookie has outgained Ty Montgomery and looked far better doing it. This week, Jones had the best game of his young career with 138 total yards while scoring a touchdown for the third time in four weeks. If the snap percentage stays this lopsided, Montgomery's fantasy value will evaporate into the ether.
Things are still going swimmingly for the Saints running backs now that Adrian Peterson is gone. The snaps this week were split a little more evenly (Ingram - 42, Kamara - 36) and both posted double-digit fantasy points. This is obviously good news in the short term for anyone with one of those two players. But the better news is what it could mean down the road. The Saints have a pretty favorable fantasy playoff schedule with two games against the Falcons sandwiched around a matchup with the Jets. It's a happy ending for everyone. Except Adrian Peterson, I mean.
The frustration is understandable but this feels like a bit of a fluke. Jerick McKinnon played more snaps and had a similar number of touches (Murray - 18, McKinnon - 17), it's just that Murray was able to hit a pair of big plays accounting for more than half of his yardage total for the game. That's a bit out of character for Murray and doesn't feel like something you bank on every week from a player who had previously averaged 2.4 yards per carry. The process was right in starting McKinnon this week, even if the results didn't work in your favor.
The excitement over Mitchell Trubisky after his first start was palpable. The buzz in the two games since has been decidedly less buzzy. Chicago's offense has effectively taken the ball out of the rookie quarterback's hands. Just 25 attempts combined in the past two games? Even Blake Bortles thinks that's low. While no one is consistently starting any Bears receivers, this is very troublesome for Tarik Cohen. The Bears pass-catching back has had just six targets in the past two games and now will have to fight Jordan Howard for carries. While the Saints backfield is making everyone happy, the Bears care not for your personal joy.
If you had any lingering doubts about what to do with Martavis Bryant, let this day put them all to rest. All of the protests and proclamations that The Alien would have a bigger role ended with Bryant posting five total yards of offense. In the meantime, JuJu Smith-Schuster continues to make his presence felt by scoring his third touchdown of the season. There really aren't enough targets to go around in Pittsburgh's passing game and Bryant is definitely the odd man out.
Wait...what?"
- Heading into Sunday Night Football, nine different kickers had double-digit fantasy points.
- Mark Ingram faced eight or more defenders in the box on half of his 22 carries and still ran for 105 yards.
- Ted Ginn has caught all of his targets in each of the past three games.
- The Jaguars defense had 20-plus fantasy points for the third time this season.
- Le'Veon Bell has had 30-plus touches in four of Pittsburgh's seven games this year.
- TE Watch: Some of the luminaries who were in the top 10 entering Sunday night -- O.J. Howard, Marcedes Lewis, Anthony Fasano, Tyler Kroft and Logan Thomas.
And one for the road...
Marcas Grant is a fantasy editor for NFL.com. He would appreciate if the people who schedule sports wouldn't put two of his favorite teams playing opposite one another. The tilt potential is too strong and he's getting too old to handle that kind of stress. Your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated. Tweet him about your stress-inducing scenarios on Twitter @MarcasG. If you read all of that, congrats. He also dishes out fantasy advice -- and life shenanigans -- on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (marcasg9)
