Fantasy Football: The Things I Learned – Week 7, 2015

By Chet Gresham – @ChetGresham
Follow @walterfootball for updates.

Below, check out my fantasy-centered recaps of key players from this week’s contests. For instance, did a player come back to earth after an aberrant breakout, or were they simply affected by something like game flow?

Jaguars 34, Bills 31
E.J. Manuel isn’t all that good, but Jacksonville’s defense allowed him to return from an unbelievably bad start, to almost pull out a victory and have a decent fantasy game. Tyrod Taylor will be back next week, but the takeaway here is to keep playing your guys against the Jaguars.

With Sammy Watkins and Percy Harvin out, Robert Woods led the way with 13 targets, of which he caught nine for 84 yards and a touchdown. At one point, the Bills were down 27-3, so they were in pure catch up mode. That led to Woods’ nice game, but hopefully with Tyrod Taylor back, the Bills wont get down quite that bad, and the running game will continue to limit these receivers, and with Watkins and/or Harvin returning, Woods moves back down the pecking order.

LeSean McCoy looked good in this game, but his overall fantasy numbers suffered from the big deficit and a fumble on a hard hit. From the way he was moving, I feel good about his chances to keep up positive fantasy games going forward.

Two of Jacksonville’s touchdowns were of the defensive variety, so the 34 points scored by the Jaguars doesn’t quite reflect the fantasy points this offense finished with, but there was still a decent amount to go around, especially to T.J. Yeldon, who had his best game as a pro, rushing 20 times for 115 yards and a touchdown – from 28 yards out. Even though he’s been injured recently, he has also looked his best in these contests book-ending his missed game. He’s not going to be consistent in this offense, but he’s showing enough ability to be able to get more than given him.

Allen Robinson is quickly becoming matchup proof. These Bills corners are stout, yet he was able to catch 6-of-9 targets for 98 yards and a touchdown. That gives him four scores over the last three games and six on the season. Even against the Jets next week, he needs to be in your lineups.

Chiefs 23, Steelers 13
Kansas City was Charles-less and Maclin-less in this game and still came out ahead due to the Steelers being Roethlisberger-less, but the Chiefs did manage to get Charcandrick West going against a stout Steelers’ run defense. West went over 100 yards rushing and scored his first rushing touchdown ever – and the first against the Steelers this season. His arrow is pointing up after this game, but he’s not a special enough talent to beat any defense; he’ll still be inconsistent.

With no Jeremy Maclin, due to a concussion, Alex Smith spread the ball around a bit too much for his top receivers to put up big numbers against this leaky Pittsburgh offense. Travis Kelce, Albert Wilson and Chris Conley all put up decent numbers, but Conley got the only touchdown and nobody topped 73 yards. Maclin seems like the only receiver who Smith will target well enough to give you consistent numbers.

Travis Kelce had an okay game with five receptions for 73 yards, but this was a great matchup, with the No. 1 receiver out of the game. If he can’t put up a big game here, we are just going to have to continue to lower expectations.

Landry Jones was not the Steelers’ savior again this week, but he did help loosen the defense up enough to give Antonio Brown his best game in a while, as he caught 6-of-8 passes for 124 yards. This was a great result, as we were getting used to his down games with the backups of Pittsburgh (a soon-to-be Bravo reality show).

The beast that is Martavis Bryant just keeps scoring touchdowns. He had one today and now has three in his first two games back, and this was without Roethlisberger. Get your popcorn ready.

Dolphins 44, Texans 26
By halftime, Ryan Tannehill had thrown for four touchdowns, while completing 18-of-19 passes for 282 yards on the day. After getting up by 41 points, the Dolphins just coasted in for the win, but to see Tannehill able to execute like this, no matter the defense, is pretty amazing. And even though he has had some pretty gnarly games this season, he’s still passed for two or more touchdowns in five of Miami’s six games this season.

So this Dan Campbell character seems to be doing something right, especially with Lamar Miller, who rushed for 175 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown, and also caught all three of his targets for 61 yards and another touchdown. Joe Philbin is most likely hiding under a rock somewhere after not using Miller for the first four games of the season. This week, I think sending Campbell a cheesecake would be a nice gesture.

Rishard Matthews continues to play as the No. 2 receiver and ended up catching all three of his targets for 75 yards and a touchdown, while No. 1 receiver Jarvis Landry one-upped him with two touchdowns on five receptions for 83 yards. Matthews continues to put up good fantasy numbers, and this Miami resurgence isn’t hurting.

Brian Hoyer and the Texans went three-and-out on their first six possessions of the game, completing just one of his first 13 passes for seven yards and an interception. But not all was lost for those who played Hoyer this week, as he went full garbage-time mode in the second half, finishing with 23 completions on 49 passes for 273 yards, three touchdown passes and the one interception. Fantasy is a weird game sometimes.

The worst thing that happened to the Texans on Sunday wasn’t getting blown out, it was losing Arian Foster to a torn Achilles. Foster had totaled 127 yards and two touchdowns when he went down, but it does seem a little odd that he was in the game in the fourth quarter of a blowout. Alfred Blue should get first crack at lead back duties, with Chris Polk working in to steal as many carries he can muster.

Falcons 10, Titans 7
Matt Ryan is not a good quarterback right now. He has six turnovers in the last three games and threw two interceptions Sunday against the Titans. Of his 38 pass attempts, 17 went toward Julio Jones, which is good for his fantasy value, but they should be able to produce a healthier line than nine receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown from 17 targets. Ryan is locking in on Jones, and that’s hurting both of their efficiencies.

Devonta Freeman continued his great play with another 100-yard rushing game, but it was a letdown for those who were counting on his usual touchdown barrage. He had 10 touchdowns in his last five games, but ended up with zero this week. Of course that is in no way a knock on Freeman; he had a great game, but was just unlucky in the touchdown department for the first time in a while.

Leonard Hankerson went down with a hamstring injury and couldn’t return to the game. That left Roddy White as the second receiving target, but he only ended up with four targets on the day, which was behind juggernaut Nick Williams. Right now, there really isn’t an Atlanta receiver you can count on other than Jones.

Zach Mettenberger threw for just 187 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. In a close game, the interceptions were killers, especially the last one, which ended a possible drive to tie or win the game. Marcus Mariota should be back next week and when healthy, is a better fantasy start than Mettenberger by far.

Delanie Walker and Kendall Wright led the team in targets with nine and eight respectively. That is the way it should be each week in the passing game going forward, because they are the Titans’ best and most reliable receivers. Let’s hope this target share sticks.

Rams 24, Browns 6
St. Louis is starting to look like a team to be reckoned with in real football. When you look at Nick Foles’ stats for this game, you might question that statement, but the biggest stat for him is the zero under interceptions. He finished with 16 completions on 23 targets for a measly 163 yards and no touchdowns, but refraining from turning the ball over while handing it off to Todd Gurley is Foles’ most important job. Defense and Gurley are now the catalysts of this team.

Gurley didn’t start off strongly, but he slowly built up steam and took over in the second half. Gurley rushed 19 times for 128 yards and two touchdowns, plus added 35 yards on four receptions. Defenses know what’s coming, but they just can’t stop it.

No other Rams offensive player did anything of note, and with the way this defense and Gurley are playing, there won’t be much consistency out of any other Rams fantasy player.

The Browns did very little on offense against St. Louis’ stout defense, but the indestructible Gary Barnidge once again managed a big day with six receptions on seven targets for 101 yards. You can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him.

Duke Johnson Jr. showed up in this one, putting up 90 total yards, but catching all seven of his targets, to help him put up a nice PPR day. He’s holding the most value of Cleveland’s running backs right now and is probably the only one worth holding onto.

Redskins 31, Bucs 30
Coming into this game, Kirk Cousins was averaging 11.5 fantasy points and over an interception per game before putting up 29 on Tampa Bay with no turnovers on Sunday. He did it by completing 33-of-40 passes (a crazy 82.5 percent completion rate) for 317 yards and three touchdown passes, as well as a rushing touchdown. You won’t see this all that often, so be wary going forward.

Jordan Reed returned from his concussion to catch two of Cousins’ three touchdowns and finished as the team leader in receptions, targets, yards and, of course, touchdowns. Cousins and he were on the same page all day as Reed caught 11-of-13 targets for 72 yards and the touchdowns. When healthy, Reed is a top tight end.

After Reed, no other Washington player saw more than six targets, with eight players catching passes. Reed was by far the No. 1 receiver in this game and could easily lead the team in targets going forward if he can stay healthy.

Tampa Bay let a 24-0 lead evaporate, but we did see Mike Evans finally get back on track, catching 8-of-12 targets for 164 yards and a touchdown. The bye week must have helped Evans get fully back and up to speed, and it helped Jameis Winston have a nice game, completing 21-of-29 passes for 297 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Doug Martin also continued his stellar play, looking better than he was his rookie season, totaling 171 yards on 22 touches. He’s starting to look like he’s matchup proof, which I didn’t expect to say about a Tampa Bay running back this year.

Vikings 28, Lions 19
Teddy Bridgewater took advantage of the Lions’ poor pass defense and his new-found favorite target, Stefon Diggs, to put up his best passing game of the year. Bridgewater completed 25-of-35 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns. This was his first game over 300 yards and his first multi-touchdown game. He’ll need to prove he can keep it going before he becomes a fantasy start, but it’s good news for this offense.

Stefon Diggs has now started three games in his short NFL career and has totaled 19 receptions for 324 yards, and today he caught his first touchdown. Diggs finished with nine targets to lead the team, while Mike Wallace and Jarius Wright had five and six. Diggs is the No. 1 receiver now, and I don’t see that changing.

Adrian Peterson got off to another slow start, but had a 76-yard run to keep him from back-to-back down games. He finished with 110 total yards and no touchdowns, but he heads to Chicago next week.

Matthew Stafford started out hot in this one with two quick touchdown passes, but then the offense bogged down for much of the game. He did keep from throwing an interception and had a nice completion percentage against a decent Minnesota secondary, so even with the slow second half, he was worth a start and didn’t have a meltdown!

Eric Ebron returned from his knee injury to have a nice game, catching all five of his targets for 89 yards and a touchdown. He now has a touchdown in three of his five games and should be owned in all leagues.

Saints 27, Colts 21
The Colts spotted the Saints 27 points in this game, with two rushing touchdowns for Khiry Robinson and one for Mark Ingram. Ingram backers can’t be overly ecstatic with Robinson’s two touchdowns as both players had 14 carries, but Ingram rushed for 143 yards while Robinson had just 28. But the bigger picture here is a good one for Ingram, who had a big game, which had not been his norm this season. He has been finding the end zone, but he hadn’t topped 77 yards rushing all season, but almost doubled that this week.

New Orleans’ three rushing touchdowns doomed Drew Brees’ fantasy outing, as he finished with one touchdown pass. The days of his huge passing and touchdown days look like they have gone, but he’ll still have better games than this.

Brandin Cooks led the way with 13 targets, but once again had an inefficient day, catching just six for 81 yards. As long as he’s getting targets like that, he’ll be useful, but counting on 13 targets isn’t going to get you very far each week.

Andrew Luck didn’t have his first completion to his own team until the second quarter, and at halftime, was just 9-of-17 for 79 yards and two interceptions. And there really wasn’t much to say that would excuse such horrible numbers. He was just awful. Thankfully for his fantasy owners, he rallied in the second half, throwing for 254 yards and three touchdowns. But this was the Saints. A stronger defense would have probably finished him off.

Two of Luck’s second-half touchdowns went to T.Y. Hilton, who had his best day of the season. Thankfully for those who played him, his defender fell down on his 87-yard touchdown reception, but all is fair in love and fantasy. Hilton remains the No. 1 receiver on a team that will pass the ball a lot, no matter how poorly Andrew Luck plays.

Patriots 30, Jets 23
The Jets’ defense came to play, and they played well most of the game, but Tom Brady just played better. He completed 34-of-54 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns as well as a rushing touchdown, while his receivers dropped pass after pass. Brandon LaFell was the main culprit, dropping a total of six passes on the day. How Brady put up the numbers he did, and helped win the game, is a testament to his ability to stay focused. At the moment, he is tied for the most fantasy points for a quarterback this week, and he just played the best pass defense in the league.

With Darrelle Revis shadowing Julian Edelman, and with Brandon LaFell dropping ball after ball, it was Danny Amendola who was easily his most efficient pass catcher. He secured 8-of-9 targets for 86 yards and a touchdown and made multiple tough receptions.

Rob Gronkowski was the other receiver who held onto the ball and played well, catching 11-of-16 targets for 101 yards and a touchdown. After a long drought of two games, Gronkowski has now caught a touchdown in each of the last two games. He’s just too good.

Ryan Fitzpatrick hadn’t topped 15 fantasy points through his first four games, but coming out after his bye, Fitzpatrick has put together two strong fantasy outings. This week, he completed 22-of-49 passes for 295 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, while rushing five times for 29 yards. He’s never going to be a fantasy stud, but he has the players around him now to help him go from average to good.

Chris Ivory was hurting in this game and had to leave for a time, but still managed to get into the end zone to save his fantasy day. He’s going to get dinged up with his violent running style, but his fantasy floor continues to stay high.

Raiders 37, Chargers 29
Derek Carr put together his best game since Weeks 2 and 3 as he had an extremely efficient 24 completions on 31 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns. Carr looked great in this game, making many perfect passes as he picked apart San Diego’s talented secondary. Of course, we thought he had turned the corner after those early games, but he hadn’t. That may happen again, but we’ve seen him at his best, and if he can get there consistently, he’s going to be a fantasy asset.

Amari Cooper had the toughest assignment this week, but he showed that he can take on any defender, especially when Carr is on. He finished with 5-of-6 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown, and that touchdown was a thing of beauty as he went 51 yards through the San Diego defense.

Latavius Murray got a little lucky to start this game since a Philip Rivers turnover set Murray up for a goal-line touchdown, but he had plenty of good runs as he went 85 yards on 15 carries. Unfortunately for his fantasy ceiling, Taiwan Jones and Marcel Reece combined for six targets, while Murray had just one. It looks like his days of gaining value through receptions are over for now.

The Chargers got their butts kicked all game, but Philip Rivers knew his fantasy backers were counting on him, so he threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. It was garbage time, but they all count the same. Rivers is still the leader in passing yards and will most likely be second in fantasy points to Tom Brady after this week is over. Keep throwing him out there and reeling in the points.

Danny Woodhead was the main beneficiary of Rivers’ last-quarter surge of garbage points as he caught two touchdowns. With Melvin Gordon benched to start the game, Branden Oliver took his place, so Woodhead didn’t see a glut of work due to Gordon being out, but in hurry up, he was there for 11 receptions, boosting his one-point PPR day to 32 points, which was only topped by Lamar Miller’s huge day.

Giants 27, Cowboys 20
You wanted the Giants’ defense and special teams in this game as they scored two touchdowns and led the team in fantasy points and led them to victory. After the defense, there wasn’t much fantasy goodness coming from the Giants.

In two games against Dallas last year, Eli Manning had six touchdowns and 1 interception. In two games this year, he’s had zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. This week, Manning completed 13-of-24 passes for 170 yards and mainly just sat back while Matt Cassel made mistakes.

Game flow killed the Giants’ offensive players, while Matt Cassel killed the Cowboys’ offensive players, all except Darren McFadden. McFadden took over as the lead back after Joseph Randle hurt his back and most likely won the lead back job, at least for now. On 29 carries, he ran for 152 yards and a touchdown, while also catching two passes for 10 yards. It was a great performance by the Dallas line and McFadden, and it kept the Cowboys in the game, but Cassel’s three interceptions and the special teams allowing a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown, did Dallas in.

Panthers 27, Eagles 16
Cam Newton threw three interceptions in this game, which in the past has been a recipe for six Panther losses, but Sunday night was the exception, as the Panthers’ defense played well, holding the Eagles to 3.4 yards per pass. Newton did run in another touchdown, giving him four in six games, but this was his worst fantasy game since Week 1. Look for him to rebound against the Colts next week.

Jonathan Stewart had another good game against a good run defense this week. He put up 125 rushing yards on 25 carries against this Philadelphia defense, which was giving up 3.7 yards per carry coming into Week 7. But the real tragedy here is his zero touchdowns, while Mike Tolbert scored two touchdowns and Newton one, all from two yards out.

Ryan Mathews again looked better than DeMarco Murray, needing just nine touches to put up 121 total yards and a touchdown, while Murray had 20 touches for 70 yards and no touchdowns. Mathews hasn’t had over 12 touches in a game this season other than the one DeMarco Murray was out. Mathews should be the lead back in this committee, but that doesn’t seem to be forthcoming.

This was Sam Bradford’s first game without a touchdown pass this season, which is kind of amazing for how bad he’s looked. He now has had four games where he didn’t reach double-digit fantasy points. Bradford gets a bye next week to think about what he’s done.

For more thoughts, check out Walt’s updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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