What we are talking about:
Drew Brees
Let it fly
Philip Rivers
Numbers not good
Dwight Howard
Hahahaha Enjoy, Houston!
I've been known to bench fantasy players for various offenses and perceived slights, and I might have to make a bold move with Jordan Cameron. The Browns tight end joined me for the latest episode of the Adam Rank Gridiron Podcast for Kids (a spin-off of the "Dave Dameshek Football Program) and we got to the heart of a number of serious matters.
For starters, which superpowers are clearly overrated. Cameron, like so many others, believed flight was the way to go. Yet, I would hate to be able to fly because for starters, you would be asked to help people move all of the time. It would be worse than having a truck. Plus think of all of the other stuff you have to do. I mean, your entire post-Thanksgiving weekends would be booked helping people put up Christmas lights.
Plus, are you going to be impervious to cold when you are flying? What about wind shear? Do you have to get your flights approved with the FAA? Because it would be terrible to run into a jet plane. Or birds. Bah, you can keep your ability to fly.
Invisibility would also be a bummer, don't even suggest it. Are your clothes also invisible? If not, you would only be able to use your super powers in the nude. And let's say you were going to use those powers to help the Angels win, and all of a sudden, your invisibility stops working. You'd be out there in the nude in the middle of Angel Stadium looking like a stoop. Forget about it.
But to get back to the issue at hand, there was one subject we got into with Jordan that was somewhat embarrassing. Namely, he loves the Twilight books. Actually, I have no issue with that. I mean, I wear sherbet-colored shirts, I have a Green Lantern coffee mug, I read comics myself so I can judge no man who likes the Twilight books.
The issue came when I made a Kristen Stewart joke and Jordan actually defended her. What the what? That might be inexcusable. This is the kind of thing that gets you traded in a fantasy league, buddy! Timmy Wright is going to be my fantasy tight end for the rest of the year now!
Or not.
Turns out Jordan is a huge fan of "Adventureland" and we're all friends again. Seriously, you should check out the movie, because it's rather awesome. A must-see. Even though Jordan and I kind of spoil it for everybody. Sorry about that.
Who else do I like and dislike this week? Let's proceed in what our homepage editor Patrick Crawley called the best use of a soap box in world history. Or something like that.
A big hand to stats mavens Bill "Sudsy" Sudell and Careen Falcone for dropping the knowledge.
And without further ado ...
Peyton Manning has a losing record against just four quarterbacks (minimum five starts). Who is Manning's version of Bane? It's none other than Philip Rivers. The Chargers QB is 4-3 against Manning.
Manning is 10-4 after the bye, and 7-0 in his last seven after the bye. Manning's last lost after a bye was a dramatic 27-24 loss in 2004 to the Jaguars; Manning threw for 368 yards, three touchdowns and no picks with a passer rating of 124.7.
Eric Decker has scored a receiving touchdown in three consecutive games against the Chargers, and in four of the last five against San Diego.
Keenan Allen has become a true No. 1 receiver for the Chargers, and he needs to be in consideration for rookie of the year honors. The Chargers really nailed this pick.
Antonio Gates seems to have found a fountain of youth, too. Possibly because Allen has played so well. And let's not sleep on what Danny Woodhead has done for the Bolts.
Three quarterbacks have thrown 20 touchdown passes this season. Two will face off when Drew Brees and Tony Romo go head-to-head. Well, they don't go head-to-head because they both play offense. But you get my drift. Wait, you do ... right?
Romo has 728 pass yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions in his last two meetings against the Saints. Brees has 1,480 passing yards with 10 touchdowns in the last four games.
Romo has 60 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in his career during the month of November.
Dez Bryant has 18 receiving touchdowns in his last 16 games, which is the most in the NFL since Week 10, 2012. Jimmy Graham is next on the list with 14 receiving touchdowns.
If Dez's injury is worse than feared, this will be good for Terrance Williams as long as Dez is on the field. Dez draws all the coverage away from Williams. Otherwise, it could be a Cole Beasley game.
The Cowboys are one of two teams in the NFL which have allowed more than 300 passing yards per game. They have already allowed more than 500 yards of offense in three games this year, just two off the NFL mark.
That means this is a Kenny Stills game!
Marvin Jones is tied for fifth in the NFL with seven receiving touchdowns. Six of his seven touchdown receptions this season have come with Giovani Bernard on the field.
Nick Foles has 14 touchdowns and no interceptions, which ranks third behind Randall Cunningham on the list of QBs with the most consecutive passing TDs before throwing their first interception of the year.
Six of Riley Cooper's 10 career touchdown receptions have been thrown to him by Foles, who clearly loves the kid. Cooper has had at least 85 receiving yards in three of his last four games. He's had at least five targets in four consecutive games.
The Eagles are 3-0 this year when LeSean McCoy has 26 or more touches, and 1-5 when he does not. So what is Chip Kelly waiting for? Open the game with 26 touches for McCoy. Fantasy enthusiasts wouldn't mind.
Eddie Lacy has five consecutive games with 80 rushing yards. He leads the NFL in rushing yards per game since Week 5, at 109 yards per game. I like him a lot. But I have a concern that defenses will now start to load up on the line of scrimmage with Aaron Rodgers out.
James Starks has rushing touchdowns in back-to-back games, and in three of his last four games. In fact, he's had a rush touchdown in three consecutive home games. He's a nice sleeper option because the Packers still don't want to overwork Lacy.
One key to success en route to the Panthers surprising 5-3 record is rushing touchdowns. Carolina has nine rushing touchdowns in its five wins, and none in three losses.
Cam Newton's 55 rush attempts and 251 yards through eight games are the fewest in his career through eight games. But the Panthers have never looked better.
ImageNFL Network celebrated its 10th anniversary this week. Ten years ago today, I worked for NFL.com as Cris Collinsworth's ghost writer and I wrote a Monday-morning column called The Post Mortem. After Week 1, I predicted the Panthers would win the Super Bowl. I came close, but not close enough.
Andre Ellington's 154 yards in the Cardinals' Week 8 victory over the Falcons were the fourth-most rushing yards by a Cardinals rookie running back.
Pierre Garcon had 54 receptions, 684 yards and two touchdowns this season before a huge game against the Vikings. He and Antonio Brown are the only receivers in the NFL with at least five receptions in every game this season.
The Lions and Bears game will feature three of the top five players in scrimmage yards per game: Reggie Bush (121.9), Matt Forte (121.8) and Calvin Johnson (117.3).
Matt Forte has at least 100 scrimmage yards in three consecutive meetings against the Lions. He's scored a touchdown in three of his last four games against the Lions.
Reggie Bush has five games with at least 90 scrimmage yards. The Lions are 4-1 in those games. BTW, Bush had just five such games last year.
Brandon Marshall's 647 receiving yards and Alshon Jeffery's 621 receiving yards means the Bears are on pace to have two 1,000-yard receivers in the same season for just the second time in franchise history.
The Bears defense has allowed 3,049 yards through eight games, the most by the Bears since 1940. They have allowed at least 26 points in four games this season, after doing so only once last year. Start Matthew Stafford, and ignore his three touchdowns and eight turnovers in four road games at Chicago.
Zac Stacy has 261 rushing yards in the last two weeks, which is the most in the NFL. He is only the third St. Louis FC running back since 2003 to have two 100-yard rushing games in a single season.
Andrew Luck has three winning drives and has engineered the most winning drives in a quarterback's first two seasons since 1960.
Luck is much better at home, too, with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions in his career at home. He's a much different quarterback.
Maurice Jones-Drew has a rushing touchdown in back-to-back meetings against the Titans, and five rush touchdowns in six career road meetings. MJD has at least 95 rush yards in three consecutive games.
Don't look now, but Chris Johnson has scored at least 14 fantasy points in three of his last four games, and he's scored four touchdowns in those games. The Jags have allowed the most points to fantasy running backs this year.
Jake Locker has scored at least 19 fantasy points in three of his last four games, with at least a touchdown in his last five. The Jags have allowed the second-most points to quarterbacks this year.
A.J. Green has recorded 70 yards or less in each of the three meetings against the Ravens. But there is no way I would bench him.
Marvin Jones has failed to reach 11 fantasy points just once in the last four games. He's had a league-high six receiving touchdowns in the last four weeks.
The Falcons have allowed at least 100 rushing yards in five consecutive games. And here comes Marshawn Lynch, who has at least 90 scrimmage yards in five of his last six.
Russell Wilson was awesome in the Georgia Dome last year in the playoffs, and the Falcons can't stop anybody in the air at home.
Colin Kaepernick has fewer than 200 passing yards in six of his last seven games, but he has three rushing touchdowns in his last two. Finally, he's running after he started with none in his previous nine.
Mike Glennon has been my guy, but the Dolphins have been tough on quarterbacks. The only guys I trust are Mike James and Timothy Wright.
Ben Tate surely is a lot more valuable now. If you get a chance to add Dennis Johnson, you should add him too because Tate is currently questionable headed into Sunday against the Birds.
My Curt Hennig All-Stars: Drew Brees, Adrian Peterson, LeSean McCoy, Kenny Stills, Calvin Johnson, Jimmy Graham, Tennessee Titans and Seabass.
The Broncos defense has allowed the ninth-fewest points to fantasy quarterbacks over the past month, and it would have been even stingier if you take away Luck's great performance against them.
Philip Rivers has fewer than 280 passing yards in each of his eight career home meetings. Rivers has four touchdowns and six interceptions in the last two meetings.
Eddie Royal has not scored a touchdown in the last six meetings against the Broncos. He's been a new man this season, but it's hard to trust Royal this week.
Matt Ryan has seven interceptions in his last two games, the most interceptions ever in a two-game span for Ryan. Two of his opponents on Sunday, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman, are tied for the NFL lead with four interceptions.
Andy Dalton has guided the Bengals to a touchdown on nine drives that began inside their own 20-yard line, the most of any team in the NFL. The Ravens are the only team this season to not allow a touchdown on a drive that started inside their opponent's 20-yard line.
Eli Manning's Giants had 23 turnovers in the first six games, but just two in the last two, both wins. Eli opened the season with 15 interceptions in his first six games, but hasn't thrown one in his last two games.
Manning should be encouraged after Nick Foles torched the Raiders. But things have rarely worked out that way for marginal quarterbacks who have great matchups. If you need to add a quarterback because Rodgers is out, cool. But don't play Eli over a stud.
Hakeem Nicks has 34 receptions for 521 yards, the most receiving yards of any player without a touchdown this season. Nicks has not had a touchdown reception in nine games. Seneca Wallace has a 6-15 record as an NFL starter, but that record does not include last week, which was not a start.
How much longer can the Cardinals stay with Carson Palmer? Through eight games this season, the Birds have seven fewer explosive big plays (42) than they did through the first eight games of last season with John Skelton and Kevin Kolb.
Palmer has at least two interceptions in five of his last six games. He's had an interception in every game this year. Seriously, when does the Drew Stanton era begin? Actually, I'm curious to see what the Cardinals do in the draft this year.
Darrel Young rushed five times for 12 yards and three touchdowns last week. Young was the first player with 12 or fewer rush yards and three touchdowns since Jerome Bettis gained one yard on five rushes with three touchdowns for the Steelers in 2004. Keep this up, Darrel and people will want you to be in the Hall of Fame.
Or have we finally given up the notion Bettis was a Hall of Fame player?
ImageHonestly, if you were in the middle of a Super Bowl run and could have only one running back would you want Terrell Davis or Jerome Bettis in their prime? Be serious, you'd want TD. And to be honest, I'm not even sure it's close.
Mike Glennon's 123 completions are the most for any player through his first five career games since 1960, more than my guy Andy Luck. But the Dolphins have allowed the fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks over the last month.
Nate Washington hasn't scored a touchdown in the last six meetings against the Jaguars. Kenny Britt has scored all the touchdowns with four in the last four meetings.
Andy Dalton has two touchdowns and five turnovers in four career meetings against the Ravens. He's had fewer than 235 passing yards in three consecutive games.
Joe Flacco has 10 touchdowns and 10 turnovers in 10 career meetings against the Bengals. He's had fewer than 300 passing yards in each of those games. In fact, he's had fewer than 200 passing yards in seven of those 10 games.
Torrey Smith has fewer than 60 receiving yards and no touchdowns in three consecutive meetings against the Bengals.
Steve Smith hasn't been an elite receiver this year. And it doesn't look like it's going to get better with all the running the Panthers do. Steve Smith has had fewer than 75 receiving yards in 11 consecutive games.
Ben Roethlisberger has 12 touchdowns and 14 turnovers this season. He's lost a league-high five fumbles on the year. But he has attempted the most passes over the past couple of weeks.
Ryan Tannehill also has lost five fumbles this season. He's also had fewer than 210 passing yards in three consecutive games. Now he's going to be without a couple of his linemen. That should help.
There is a part of me that believes the Dolphins could come out and blow the doors off Tampa Bay this week. They rally the troops to have their best game of the season. But I see this ending poorly for them.
I had Lamar Miller penciled in as a starter this week, but just had to put him on the bench. There is just too much going on right now to really trust any of the Miami starters. The team could rally around this, but I expect Schiano's bunch to rise up to the challenge.
This might be the first time in NFL history when a team says, "Nobody outside this locker room believes in us" when in fact, nobody outside of the Dolphins locker room actually believes in them.
Dr. Neil joined NFL Fantasy Live this week and said Arian Foster could battle hamstring injuries into next season. And when you look at guys like Darren McFadden and Miles Austin, you start to get concerned. This could be a lingering issue.
ImageSpeaking of Houston, how do you like Dwight Howard right now? He missed the big free throws to allow our heroes, the Los Angeles Lakers to rally and win. This might have been the least surprising story of the year. Well, until Peyton Manning loses in the playoffs. Then that will be your least surprising story of the year.
There wasn't any other way the Lakers vs. Rockets game could have ended, either? Howard misses some big free throws (he's not clutch, folks) and the Blake Mamba sticks it right in front of him. If an alien came to Earth and asked to describe Dwight Howard in one sequence, that would be it.
I feel for the person who drafts Arian Foster in the second round next year. You will spend your time in the same soup kitchen I've been in waiting for Steven Jackson to do anything this year. You remember Jackson; the guy I thought would be the fantasy MVP this year. Sorry about that.
Jackson hasn't scored a rushing touchdown in five games (he did have a receiving touchdown) and he's had more than eight fantasy points only once this year. So he's going to need to do it against a great Seahawks team to make it happen.
At least Jackson was my second-round pick, and not a waste of a first-round pick. Can you imagine the team that drafted Spiller and SJax in the first two rounds this year followed by RG3 in the third?
Although, isn't this the kind of game where Jackson would end up torching the Seahawks, who have allowed more than 100 rushing yards in seven of their last eight roadies?
McFadden has been ruled out for Week 10. That doesn't mean there won't be some teams who will think they should bring in McFadden next year when he's a free agent.
Jay Cutler has returned and is expected to start for the Bears this week. I like Jay. I find him kind of cool. But if Josh McCown has played well, why not stick with him until you need to make a change? It's kind of like the way the Lakers won on opening night against the Clippers. The bench played so well in the fourth quarter, there was no reason to sub them out. Sometimes you need to stick with the hot hand, as they say. Imagine what would have happened if Bill Belichick had continued with Drew Bledsoe back in 2001? Sometimes you just need to ride it out and see what you have.
I like what Houston has done with Case Keenum. But, I would only play him as a sleeper. The Birds are a tough matchup. And too many times we get caught up trying to chase fantasy points. It's like people who always play black on the roulette wheel because they think it's bound to come up. It doesn't always work that way.
Since we honor Mr. Perfect with the "Curt Hennig All-Stars" I guess the reverse for the worst fantasy team should be the Curtis Axel All-Stars. Here is a list of the biggest big-name disappointments for the week: Matt Ryan, Steven Jackson, Trent Richardson, Torrey Smith, Anquan Boldin, Jared Cook, Dallas Cowboys, any kicker who isn't Seabass.
ImageBTW, I didn't hate John Cena this week. If you caught his awesome celebration after a win, you know what I mean. I just kind of wish they'd keep him on SmackDown! seeing as I rarely watch the show. That would be the best of both worlds, really.
For the record, you can submit your fantasy questions to NFL Fantasy Live, Michael Fabiano or me on Twitter. But realize, NFL Fantasy Live has 100,000 followers, and Fabiano has 100,000. Me? Just four. See, the odds are better I will answer your question, so hit me up both via Twitter or via Facebook. And if you follow him on Sundays, he'll quote "The Wolf" from "Pulp Fiction" and then it's game on! Although, it's tough to catch me on Facebook. Twitter is your go-to. Also be sure to catch the latest "Dave Dameshek Football Program."
