By MV October 26^th 2015

Good thing teams have adopted the concept of Running Back by Committee. It clearly is ensuring the longevity of the best running backs by preventing injuries. Meanwhile Jeff Fisher having Eddie George flashbacks keeps pounding the rock with Gurley until he eventually busts a long one. He understands that a running back needs momentum to do what they have been doing for the last 10+ years. RBBC’s do not work. They do not preserve your running back through the game or through the season and it definitely does not help the game flow with a change of pace back.

With that, we lost another great this weekend: Arian Foster. Nothing could prevent his loss as much as I would like to blame the Head Coach Bill O’Brien in Houston or at least blame Hard Knocks star Chris Polk’s Mom. Yes, I want to blame Arian’s injury on Chris Polk’s Mom and that horrible attempt at a marketing some catch phrase. No, Arian just has some bad ligaments. He is one of the best fantasy running backs to play in the last twenty years and it is sad to see him go through this much stuff. So what now? Do they go back to Alfred Blue? Chris Polk? Jonathon Grimes? Chicken and Shrimp? None of the above?

Remember not to over spend your FAAB on one player. Again the basic rule of thumb is to keep the cost beneath 20% of your total FAAB for any one player. There are always exceptions to this rule and it is contingent upon a ton of variables; what week we’re in, situation, opportunity, etc.

Quarterbacks

Blake Bortles JAX – Quieter game this week for Blake Bortles, but he is making some great plays and has taken huge strides this year. Again with those weapons he is like the poor man’s Ben Roethlisberger.

Kirk Cousins WAS – Kirk has put up some games the past couple of weeks that require notice. He still has a PeeWee arm though, but as long as they continue to give up 30+ points he will continue to throw.

Jay Cutler CHI – Fresh off the bye Cutler could be a good fantasy spot starter for the rest of the way. The Bears have a ton of weapons and should be playing catch up for a lot of their remaining games.

Ryan Fitzpatrick NYJ – Still Mr. Consistency.

Running Backs

Christine Michael DAL – Is still worth a stash in deeper leagues. We love McFadden’s talent but we cannot keep total faith in him given his injury history.

Darren McFadden OAK – We told you last week to pick him up where available. We also wrote about him this summer as a talented 27 year old sleeper primed for a big year if he only gets a shot. In week 7 he finally gets his shot and man did he impress. That whole Christine Michael carry nonsense was a smoke and mirrors for the coaches to work an entire game plan around McFadden secretly. If he’s available in any of your leagues spend 100% of your remaining FAAB on the guy. He is going to have a real nice run here behind that beast of an offensive line.

David Cobb TEN – This is a speculative add. I speculate that the entire Tennessee run game is a total pile of dung. The Titans will want to get him involved when he comes back in week 9. Own him before he looks good.

Branden Oliver SD –Melvin Gordon spent a lot of time on the sidelines again and Branden came in and played well catching 6 of 7 targets and rushing 9 times for 35 yards. Oliver may carve out a PPR-Flex role in this offense.

Alfred Blue HOU – He is the obvious replacement at this point for Arian Foster. The Texans have been the most patient with him in the back field, I would however grab Chris Polk also if I have room for the stash. I just do not believe that Alfred Blue who has a lingering turf toe deal will stay on the field for the rest of the year. If the toe doesn’t get him, then his ability will. In other Texans news, did you hear that Ryan Mallett missed the team plane and had to take a commercial flight to the game?

Charcandrick West KC – I doubt anyone cut him that quickly after one poor week, but if they did he is a solid bet to put up RB2-3 numbers from here on out.

Wide Receiver

Brian Quick STL – What you didn’t see was in his disappointing no catch game was an incredible deep catch down the sidelines where he barely stepped out of bounds. He is not startable yet, but I believe he will string down a couple of solid weeks together down the stretch.

Brandon LaFell NE – This is the 3^rd week in a row we have been talking about him, well he is back and while his 6 drops looked bad he is back and Brady and him will get in sync here.

Danny Amendola NE – Danny did an amazing Wes Welker/Julian Edelman impersonation this weekend. We love him down the stretch in all PPR formats.

Stefon Diggs MIN – Is he still available? He is not going anywhere and Diggs is playing really well. If you did not see his TD catch this last weekend please Google it.

Davante Adams GB – Did people drop him in any of your leagues? Well he is probably going to play this week when he returns on Sunday Night Football. Grab him.

Nate Washington HOU – He does this every year, please don’t start him next week chasing this week’s points. Still it is worth noting that he has carved out a role as the #2 WR     in an offense that should throw a lot for the remainder of Bill O’Brien’s short career.

Robert Woods BUF – As Watkins is complaining about not getting reps while on the sidelines and Percy out on his annual mid-season sabbatical Robert Woods is ballin’, not quite, but he is the best WR on the team and is getting double digit looks. Also, keep an eye on fellow Bills WR Chris Hogan who also had double digit targets.

Tight End

Julius Thomas JAX – Did people forget to pick him up in your league? Well if they did he is still one of the best tight ends in the NFL.

Ladarius Green SD – It looks like Gates is in danger to miss multiple weeks. Even with Gates on the field Lad was getting a lot of looks like the Patriots of old in double tight end sets; you know when they had that murderer running routes. Green is a solid 12 team or more start for PPR leagues even with Gates back. If Gates stays out he will be a beast.

Vernon Davis SF – The fact is that Vernon wants to get paid one more time and I would expect that to come from another team that believes in what they see from him the remainder of this year. This team is in shambles. Insiders tell me that due to an injury clause in Kaepernick’s contract where the team has to pay him millions of dollars if he gets hurt that he will be benched after the bye week. It is sad that they will hold him as the scapegoat for the teams down fall. So Blaine Gabbert to Vernon for the rest of the year. OK, sure. Deep league only speculative add.

By MV October 26^th 2015

Nate Washington, lol. Actually a lot of us in the business had him ranked to get a fair amount of action this weekend, but 16 targets. Really? TY finally shows up with double digits, but what is going on with that offense?

While Sammy Watkins is complaining about not getting enough looks while on the sideline and Percy Harvin is dealing with his annual ah-fuck-it-it is Robert Woods and Chris Hogan are playing ball. They each had double digit targets and both looked pretty good.

Danny Amendola caught 8 of the hardest catches this week. He seemed to be all over the field getting smashed, jumping fearlessly, diving and getting clobbered. Lafell is back and he looked rusty, but he still had 8 targets.

Please stop being a top 10 RB in PPR Woodhead, it’s getting weird. And please, for the love of God, stop making the list Baltimore RB Kyle Juszczyk. That is the biggest pain in the ass to type. It’s like the name of that one street on the drive to Vegas from LA.

By MV October 26^th 2015

Are you guys watching what Gurley is doing? Isn’t Jeff Fisher’s commitment to one running back to gain momentum nice? How about the quote that Lamar Miller had: “I wasn’t getting the ball that much. So every time I got it I was trying to make a big play, and I wasn’t reading my keys. Now, I’m trusting my offensive line more. They’ve been getting a lot of movement. I’m being patient and decisive.”

So why is the Running Back by Committee so popular? Why don’t more coaches remember that a running back needs multiple opportunities to pop off a long one? Consistency and momentum are the two things that running backs need to be great. It doesn’t seem like running back are staying healthier now due to the RBBC. I am sure that a study will come out in 10+ years talking about the ligaments go cold on the sidelines causing more injuries. Maybe?

Only 6 running backs had 20+ carries this week. 5 of those 6 teams won their game. Darren McFadden was the only one that lost, and he led the way with 29 carries for 152 yards. We had Run DMC listed as an early preseason sleeper and it seems that the Cowboys brain trusts are finally utilizing the 27 year old talent.  All of the talk about Christine Michael taking the job turns out to be smoke and mirrors. NFL coaches are so clever.

By MV October 19^th 2015

The waiver wire in your league is starting to thin out. Some of my leagues it is beginning to look like a barren wasteland with tumbleweeds rolling by.

Remember not to over spend your FAAB on one player. Again the basic rule of thumb is to keep the cost beneath 20% of your total FAAB for any one player. There are always exceptions to this rule and it is contingent upon a ton of variables; what week we’re in, situation, opportunity, etc.

Quarterbacks

Blake Bortles JAX – Yet another 300 yard game for Blake Bortles. He is like the poor man’s Ben Roethlisberger. We still love him.

Jay Cutler CHI – Cutler had 353 yards this Sunday and finally got Jeffery back.

Ryan Fitzpatrick NYJ – Ryan off the bye, again had a solid 250 yard 2 TD performance while adding 1 rushing TD. Fitzy might be the safest week to week start off the wire.

Colin Kaepernick SF – Now the Niners faced the Ravens who have proven to not be able to stop a marching band from moving down the field, but Kaep put together a 2 TD 340 yard passing game which will boost his confidence, and right now that is what Kaep needs the most of. We don’t like him this Thursday against Seattle, because it is just not the type of game he looks good in.

Running Backs

Christine Michael DAL – Just in case he is still available. The Cowboys figure to make a ton of adjustments during their bye week and one of them is to give Michael first team snaps. He was on everyone’s sleeper radar a couple of years back but could not find the field behind Beast-Mode. He’s a freak talent and could be this year’s CJ Anderson that carries teams through the playoffs.

Darren McFadden DAL – Run DMC figures to get all of the Dunbar check downs in the passing game. A change at the QB position this upcoming bye week to Matt Cassel could help this offense out, doubt it, but it could. Still even if it doesn’t look better Darren will be targeted an awful lot every game.

Cameron Artis-Payne CAR – Fresh off the bye and nobody is thinking about this one. Why? Well it’s not very exciting. Jonathon Stewart will get hurt, be prepared and grab the Artis formerly known as Payne on your roster and you will have a starting RB for a bunch of games down the stretch.

Branden Oliver SD – After Melvin Gordon fumbled twice in the first half Oliver came in and got most of the 2^nd half work. He did not excite, but he handled the workload while the team was playing from behind. If Gordon continues to pull a Trent Richardson imitation Oliver may carve out a PPR-Flex role in this offense.

Wide Receiver

Brian Quick STL – Fresh off the bye and he still may be available in your league. Brian was targeted 3 times in his second game back and has the talent to emerge as the best wide receiver on the Rams. I am sure that the staff has designed a couple of big plays to showcase the next couple of weeks. It is especially intriguing as the emergence of Gurley will keep defenses honest.

Dorial Green-Beckham TEN – DGB’s targets are slowly increasing. We like him because of his big play ability. He has difference making talent and could be the guy to own down the stretch if you’re in a deep league and need a homerun.

Brandon LaFell NE – No idea, just a desperate shot in the dark. He is currently eligible to return.

Danny Amendola/Keshawn Martin NE – If LaFell stays out for any amount of time then Danny could give some value to deep leagues troubled in bye weeks. I would also keep an eye on Keshawn Martin’s role in this offense over this next week. Martin played 50 of 59 snaps and caught both of his targets. If his role progresses then you may want to grab him.

Stefon Diggs MIN – We wrote about Diggs a couple of weeks ago and we believe that he has taken over as Bridgewater’s favorite target in this inept passing game. He will be a fine PPR option for the remainder of the year.

Devin Funchess CAR – The team has figured that they would begin to utilize their big rookie WR during the bye week. Devin was given 6 targets and only caught 2 of them, but considering the other WR options in Carolina he could progress into a real target for Cam.

Tight End

Jacob Tamme ATL – Jacob had a mediocre night on Thursday (3 rec. on 5 targets) but we still think he has a chance to be a decent PPR tight end in this high-powered offense for the remainder of the year.

Julius Thomas JAX – Did people forget to pick him up in your league? Well if they did he is still one of the best tight ends in the NFL.

By MV October 19^th 2015

This week there was again only 8 running backs that had over 20 carries. Of those 8 running backs only 4 had over 70 yards rushing while only 2 of them rushed for over 100 yards. The day of the workhorse running back is gone, unless you play for Jeff Fisher. Todd Gurley will have 280 carries the remaining 10 weeks.

We have always subscribed to the theory of loading up on running backs because of the scarcity of studs at the position, but it is becoming clear to me that it just does not matter anymore. If I can get a Giovani Bernard, Danny Woodhead or Chris Ivory in the mid-rounds than why wouldn’t I load up on wide receiver, tight end and quarterback? Just a thought, but it seems that with big injuries, jobs changing hands, and 3^rd down backs coming out of nowhere it may make sense to start playing with “the punt on running back” strategy.

By MV October 19^th 2015

John Brown leads the way as the biggest target surprise for the week with 14 targets. There were 24 players with over 10 passing targets this weekend (note to self: punt on running backs next season).

Malcolm Floyd in his 29^th season (11^th)  with Philip Rivers catches only 5 of his 12 targets. I am sure most of you foresaw the day Jaguar Bryan Walters had: 8 catches on 12 targets. Chris Thompson continues to show up as a fine PPR option catching 6 of 10 targets. Julius Thomas is officially back catching 7 of his 13 targets.

By MV October 12^th 2015

Take a look at this week’s production. Really seems like the usual suspects at the top: Willie Snead, Gary Barnidge, and Jacob Tamme. Ha! It just goes to show that this is a game about opportunity and who makes the most of theirs when given the chance.

On any given week a player can come out of nowhere and be heavily involved around the offensive scheme. In other words on one week alone these results can be deceiving, but what we look for is the patterns. Who has been increasing their targets week over week while gaining their QB’s trust? Who is regressing?

By MV October 12^th 2015

WE had a total of 8 running backs this week that cracked the 20-carry mark.

Thomas Rawls went Beast Mode with 169 yards. He might have some value down the stretch even though Marshawn Lynch is due back this week.

Todd Gurley is one of the best running backs I have seen come out in a couple of years and Jeff Fisher loves to feed the rock to one guy. Gurley had 30 carries this Sunday.

Frank Gore, Justin Forsett, and DeMarco Murray all had their vanilla break out games. All three had over 20 carries and went for over 4 yards per rush.

We’re still killing it with our 5th straight weekly win! We started off with $400. Our projections are the best in the business. Win like a DFS pro, use our projections for week 6!

By MV October 12^th 2015

Injuries are one of the most painful parts of fantasy football. They are the true wild cards of the game, nearly impossible to predict and they can shift your team in a day. Injuries present an opportunity for the next man up to step in and show that they can help their team and thus become fantasy viable. As it is, that’s why in-season management and waiver wire activity is the difference between a championship or not.

This week saw one of the best RB’s in the game go down with his second torn ACL. Jamaal Charles has been an awesome fantasy stud for a long time and we hope he can make another comeback. So who do you pick up? His handcuff Knile Davis did nothing wrong to lose the reins, rather Andy Reid believes that Charcandrick West is more of a direct replacement comparable to Jamaal Charles ability. For the sake of complete confusion the Chiefs will be working out Pierre Thomas and Ben Tate tomorrow.

Remember not to over spend your FAAB on one player. Again the basic rule of thumb is to keep the cost beneath 20% of your total FAAB for any one player. There are always exceptions to this rule and it is contingent upon a ton of variables; what week we’re in, situation, opportunity, etc.

Quarterbacks

Blake Bortles JAX – We have been talking about Blake for a few months now. Blake had a 300 yard game and 4 TD’s. He also suffered a mild shoulder injury which he played through. He will be fine, and he is progressing exactly like we thought he would.

Jay Cutler CHI – Jay has 4 TD’s and 533 yards and 2 wins over the last 2 weeks. Believe it or not, the Bears are still in this with a huge win Sunday in Arrowhead. I know right? Hopefully the win will help Alshon Jefferey finally find the field. With Forte, Alshon, and Bennett this is still a pretty dynamic offense.

Running Backs

Charcandrick West KC – West figures to be the lead back in Kansas City with Charles out (ACL) for the season. As mentioned above Andy Reid believes that he is a good fit to fill the void. According to reports some in the locker room believe that Knile Davis is a better fit, it doesn’t matter. Don’t drop Knile Davis just yet in deeper leagues. Also keep a close watch on Pierre Thomas and Ben Tate who will both work out for with the team on Tuesday. My guess is that Pierre will come in and could make some noise as a PPR back in this offense. Sounds to me like a running back by committee in the making for the remainder of the year.

Theo Riddick DET – What a complete debacle this offense is. Still they will be playing from behind and Theo will get a ton of looks in the passing game. He hauled in 10 of 13 on Sunday and they figure to be playing behind in a bunch of contests this year. Theo’s a good bye week, PPR plug in.

Darren McFadden OAK – Run DMC figures to get all of the Dunbar check downs in the passing game. A change at the QB position this upcoming bye week to Matt Cassel could help this offense out, doubt it, but it could. Still even if it doesn’t look better Darren will be targeted an awful lot every game.

Cameron Artis-Payne CAR – Fresh off the bye and nobody is thinking about this one. Why? Well it’s not very exciting. Jonathon Stewart will get hurt, be prepared and grab the Artis formerly known as Payne on your roster and you will have a starting RB for a bunch of games down the stretch.

Thomas Rawls SEA – Tom Rawls had 23 carries for 169 yards, that’s 7.35 yards per carry against a good Cincinnati defense. That is beast-mode. Marshawn should be returning this week but there are no guarantees that he will remain healthy.

Buck (Javorious) Allen BAL – This is a deeper league option only but he seems to be the handcuff to Justin Forsett who suffered in ankle injury this Sunday. Forsett is considered day-to-day.

Wide Receiver

Leonard Hankerson ATL – Hankerson is clearly the #2 WR in this offense now and is involved. He will be a good fantasy wide receiver three this year. Really, Roddy only got 4 targets this week?

Brian Quick STL – Brian was targeted 3 times in his second game back and has the talent to emerge as the best wide receiver on the Rams. As he gets healthier and more in sync with Foles he will become much more productive. He is a great bench stash.

Dorial Green-Beckham TEN – We like DGB simply because of his big play ability. He has difference making talent and could be the guy to own down the stretch if you’re in a deep league and need a homerun.

Ty Montgomery GB – Ty is making the most of his opportunities by catching TD’s in back to back weeks. His targets increased to 5 this week

Marquess Wilson CHI – It’s good to see the Bears win which means they may postpone their plan to dismantle this roster in season. Wilson is 6’4 and is beginning to look like a legitimate wide receiver. He will be a decent fill in option as a flex during bye weeks as long as Jay Cutler is heaving the ball around and while Alshon is sidelined.

Willie Snead NO – If you did not believe him (or us) the last few weeks and he is still available, grab him. Is it blasphemy to believe that he will out produce Brandin Cooks this year?

Brandon LaFell NE – Just someone to start thinking about as he is eligible to return after Week 7. Currently Danny Amendola and Aaron Dobson are the #2-3 WR’s in this offense. Weird, considering Brady will have 35+ touchdowns this year.

Jamison Crowder WAS – Jamison had another great performance in PPR hauling in all 8 of his targets. He looks superfast out there too, only if Kirk Cousins peewee arm could get it out there for him.

Kamar Aiken BAL – Kamar had 9 targets this week and with Breshad Perriman reaggrivating his PCL tear and Steve Smith breaking three ribs Kamar sets in as Joe Flacco’s number one option in a Marc Trestman offense.

Tight End

Gary Barnidge CLE – Barnidge proves to be the real deal, I guess. He definitely has made the most of his opportunity and collected 8 of his 10 targets last week.

Jacob Tamme ATL – Julio Jones is questionable for Thursday’s game and I am sure that even if he suits up he will be a decoy in the divisional matchup against the Saints. Tamme is not a superstar but this is a game about opportunity and the Falcons will give him some good volume while Jones is out.