Fantasy Football weekly recap

Hot
Matthew Stafford
The Lions quarterback had been left for dead in many fantasy leagues, but he passed for 335 yards and five score in a big victory over the Carolina Panthers, finding different receivers for scores.

Ray Rice
The Baltimore Ravens running back rushed for 104 yards and a pair of scores while also hauling in five receptions for 43 yards to pace the Ravens in a 31-24 victory. Rice averaged 5.2 yards per carry.

Josh Freeman
Freeman outgained Aaron Rodgers with 342 yards and a pair of scores in a loss. The Tampa Bay quarterback’s numbers could have been even better had Kellen Winslow not dropped a 2-pt conversion towards the end of the game.


Not
Chris Johnson
Has anyone seen Chris Johnson all season? The Tennessee Titans back carried 12 times against Atlanta and gained 13 yards. He did put up 15 receiving yards, but you’d expect a bit more from your first round pick.

Steven Jackson
The Seattle defense isn’t exactly a lockdown unit, so it is a bit surprising that the Rams stud running back only gained 42 yards on 15 carries. He wasn’t much of a factor in the passing game either, contributing just 19 yards.

Ryan Fitzpatrick
The Buffalo Bills rewarded Fitzpatrick recently with a huge contract. Oops. The quarterback failed to get the Bills into the end zone and was pulled after tossing two interceptions.


You often hear the term “handcuffs” in fantasy football but typically it involves running backs. Ideally you always want to draft or acquire the backup to your top running back, as the running back position is generally the top point-achiever in various leagues. On run-first teams you would want to have the guy behind the guy if the guy goes down. This year you may want to have handcuffed Julio Jones with Harry Douglas. Jones has missed time with hamstring injuries, but the Falcons have barely missed a beat with the emergence of Douglas. He tore up the Saints secondary for eight receptions and 133 yards and followed that up with another 51 yards receiving against the Titans. Matt Ryan has started targeting the receiver and he is actually helping to open up targets for Roddy White, which surely pleases those fantasy owners.

Meanwhile Jake Locker got an extended run thanks to a Matt Hasselbeck injury, and Locker looks like he could get more snaps throughout the rest of the season. Locker was 9/19 for 140 yards and two scores in just a little over one quarter of action. Locker will also provide you will some points with his legs, but unlike Tim Tebow and Michael Vick, Locker is a genuine threat to pass it, making those rushing yards more valuable.

Michael Turner continued his strong season with another 100-yard rushing game with another score. Turner rushed for 96 yards against the Saints and is well on pace to surpass 1300 yards for the year.

Patient Carson Palmer owners are still in flux after Palmer passed for a score, ran for another and achieved a high NFL rating. Palmer only passed for 164 yards though so owners will again have to flip a coin to decide whether or not to start him. With Chicago and then two straight road trips, I would say bench him until late December.

Moving forward I will not be drafting anymore Cleveland Browns running backs. Much like Denver a few years back, the franchise just plugs unknowns in and churns out 100-yard rushers. Problem is it is never who you think it will be. Peyton Hillis was the expected back to carry the load this year but for the last two week Chris Ogbonnaya racking up yards. After toasting the St. Louis Rams for 90 yards on 19 carries, he smoked the Jacksonville Jaguars for 115 yards and a score on 21 carries. He has the Bengals this week, ride him if you can but bench him for the Ravens and Steelers the next two weeks.

Not sure what is happening out in San Diego but the usual fantasy point factory has been shut down this season. Philip Rivers has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns this season and while he has still thrown for around 3000 yards, he just isn’t putting together the season you thought you’d get when you likely took him as one of the first quarterbacks off the board. Ryan Matthews and Mike Tolbert have also been highly disappointing over the last few weeks. You won’t be able to count on either as you gear up for your playoff run. Only play these two in a flex position and go with other backs in your true RB positions.

He threw two more interceptions last week but Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is trying to hold his team’s season together as best he can. The Georgia product passed for 335 yards and five scores in his team’s win over Carolina. Stafford’s favorite targets continue to be Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson. He is also finding Brandon Pettigrew at a high rate. Remember the Lions play in a dome so the passing game won’t suffer down the stretch as three games remain indoors with two games in California. The team wraps up outside in Green Bay but the Packers may have home field clinched and could be resting starters. Lions receivers are a go.