By MV October 26th 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 3rd 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.