Post Week Three: Stretching the Field

Follow@cimini Week three is in the books and it’s time to see which player’s did the most with their receptions. Yards after the catch and stretching the field reap the big rewards in terms of fantasy points. Here is a look at player’s that had success in week three. Antonio Brown I listed Brown as a fourth quarter killer for week two. He did much more than have a stellar fourth quarter statistically. He averaged over twenty yards a catch and added to the plethora of receivers that have scorched the Bears secondary to start the season. Nate Washington Days that a Tennessee Titans quarterback throws for over 250 yards you can expect Washington’s name to dot the fantasy spectrum of top performers. Sunday, Locker had an unordinary passing day that was brought to life by Washington’s 130 yards receiving on eight of ten targets. Will Locker find confidence in his arm, or will the Titans rescale back to a basic offense yet again? Josh Gordon Returning from suspension Gordon was the biggest impact player in the game even over Adrian Peterson. Gordon’s presence allowed Brian Hoyer to rip apart the Vikings atrocious secondary. Gordon hauled ten catches for nearly fifteen yards a catch. Donnie Avery Avery had a gem of a day with over twenty yards a catch against the hapless Eagles secondary. Kansas City has a package of plays called specifically for Avery. Alex Smith doesn’t look down the field much and a lot is expected of Avery and playmaker’s such as Jamaal Charles and Dexter McCluster to take Smith’s short passes for big gains. Avery has small value in PPR leagues and slim to none in others. Jimmy Graham Graham was the latest tight end to join the ranks of shredding the Cardinals secondary. Jared Cook did so week one, and the Lions had some success with their tandem as well in week two. Graham is paying strong dividends for those that went against the grain and drafted him in the second round of fantasy drafts. He had two touchdowns with a near 15 yards a catch average. Nate Burelson Detroit’s loss a week ago to the Cardinals came on a fourth and four in which Burelson could not break a tackle of Tyrann Mathieu. Sunday Burelson was a difference maker in getting the Lions their second victory of the season. He had right under twenty yards a catch with six catches. With him now out due to a broken arm in a car accident, Ryan Broyles will fill in and take a bump up in fantasy leagues. Tedd Ginn Jr The Panthers have enjoyed and welcomed the edition of Ginn Jr to their receiver group. He fits in perfect and relishes his role as the third receiver. Often times a team’s third receiver is a young player trying to work his way up to the number one receiver. For Ginn Jr. he knows that is not his main goal. He is just trying to show he can be an asset as a situational receiver. For the second straight week Ginn has caught a deep throw from Newton. His catches aren’t high but he is stretching the field for the Panthers. Torrey Smith Baltimore was in total disarray as their offense tried to figure out its way without Ray Rice in the first half Sunday. A pick six defensive touchdown and special teams touchdown seemed to relax the passing attack in the second half. Joe Flacco and Torrey Smith connected on a fabulous sideline throw, and Smith finished the day with five catches for just over ninety yards receiving. Stephen Hill and Santonio Holmes The Jets resorted back to phase one of offensive 101 basics. Establish the run and the passing game will flourish. Hill and Holmes have hardly been as impactful as a Jet as they were Sunday. Limited receptions for both did not matter as Hill and Holmes received a few big pass plays from rookie Geno Smith. Holmes caught the game winner on a tough grab in which he outran the defender for a 69 yard touchdown. Cecil Shorts III Shorts was tagged as a must sit by many fantasy football analyst, in a tough matchup against the Seahawks. I had him listed as a fourth quarter killer but was impressed with the all around game Shorts had. With Justin Blackmon returning after another week, Shorts and the Jaguars overall passing attack should see vast improvement. Shorts finished Sunday with 8 catches and over 140 yards receiving.

Best Target to Catch Ratios From Week Three

Follow@cimini Did you have Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks in your starting lineups Sunday? Any Giants for that matter? Ouch, the low output of points blasted on your fantasy leagues front webpage will be a stinger for a day or two. Here is a look at receivers that fared well with their quarterbacks and others that disappointed. Alshon Jeffrey Though Jeffrey’s has yet to have a prototype fantasy breakout game, signs are in the making. Cutler is not as radar locked on Brandon Marshall as he was last season, and that is allowing for Jeffrey’s to grow in the Bear’s offense. He had seven catches on eight targets Sunday. Jordy Nelson You can visualize Trent Dilfer’s laser projector for his weekly segment of “Dilfer’s Dimes” pairing Nelson and Aaron Rodgers every week. They have arguably the best connection of knowing what each other is thinking when a play breaks down. Nelson’s toe tapping sideline grabs and Rodgers spots of the football are becoming masterful. While the Packers offense was held in check Sunday, Nelson had a solid day catching eight of nine targets. Danny Woodhead Woodhead continues to be a pest for opposing fantasy teams. He isn’t doing much damage running the football but is a high volume receptions back each week for the Chargers. Philip Rivers loves his outlet backs and has made Woodhead a fantasy commodity. Woodhead had another seven catches on eight targets against the Titans Sunday. Santana Moss His age continues to be a question each year, but Moss remains a strong presence as a Redskin. With how much the Redskins are throwing the football each week, Moss’s value will be much higher than it has the last two to three years. Moss had seven catches on nine targets Sunday. Darrius Heyward-Bey I listed Bey on waiver wire pickups this week and think he’ll have a few big games ahead of him in upcoming weeks. He is running great routes and catching some tough throws from Andrew Luck. Bey finished Sunday with five catches on five targets. Look for the Colts to increase Bey’s role in the near future. They have yet to release him on any deep ball throws yet. Sidney Rice Rice finished Sunday with five catches on seven targets. He made the most of those five catches with two touchdowns. It seems that both Rice and Golden Tate are starting to develop in better progression than they did last year with Russ Wilson. Health will remain a lingering factor in Rice’s continued progress. Donnie Avery The Eagles seem to make it easy for receivers. Donnie Avery is the latest wideout that can attest to that. He had a field day catching all seven passes his way for over 140 yards receiving. Continuation of this success by Avery should not cross your minds. Avery has been around the NFL long enough to know his true fantasy value. So has Alex Smith and his dink and dump arm. Others: Antonio Brown 9 catches/13 targets, Nate Washington 8 catches/10 targets, Jimmy Graham 9 catches/15 targets, Pierre Garcon 8 catches/13 targets, DeAndre Hopkins 6 catches/7 targets, Julio Jones 9 catches/12 targets, Brandon Gibson 6 catches/8 targets, Golden Tate 5 catches/8 targets Players that did not fare well: Kenbrell Thompkins 3 catches/7 targets, Vincent Jackson 3 catches/6 targets, Marques Colston 5 catches/8 targets, Steve Smith 3 catches/7 targets, Victor Cruz 3 catches/8 targets, Hakeem Nicks zero catches/1 target, Stevie Johnson 6 catches/13 targets, Robert Woods 2 catches/10 targets, Kyle Williams 2 catches/6 targets, DeSean Jackson 3 catches/8 targets

Fourth Quarter Killers For Week Three

Follow@cimini If your diving on your bench and clawing for fantasy points for week three, an area to always look to is players that may be in games that are routs. The value of garbage fourth quarter fantasy points is always there when a team is not giving a concerted effort on defense in the latter parts of games. From a handicapping standpoint it allows backdoor covers to happen. In the world of fantasy sports it gives you an extra six to ten fantasy points to pad to your total. Here is a look at player’s that should rise up this week as fourth quarter killers. Chad Henne Henne is not necessarily starting quarterback material. But he has had some big games when you would least expect it. A few years ago against the Patriots he threw for over 400 yards, and last year as 15 point underdogs against the Texans he threw for over 350 yards and four touchdowns. He has done it before and it wouldn’t be shocking to see Henne have a solid game Sunday. As twenty point underdogs Jacksonville has to be going into Seattle with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. Their coach is the former defensive coordinator of the Seahawks and may have a few plays to expose the aggressive Seattle secondary. Andrew Luck Luck may throw for over 400 yards in this Sunday’s game against the 49ers. The high yards may equate to results Eli Manning has had over the last two weeks when he has been pressed to force the issue. The lack of running game from Indianapolis is going to put a huge burden on Luck. Expect the 49ers to get a ton of pressure on Luck and force him into mistakes early. By the time the latter part of the third quarter occurs, Indy, will be down a considerable amount of points, and forced to resort to Luck throwing the ball near fifty times. Vincent Jackson I expect the Buccaneers to keep staying in games and playing tough as they have against the Jets and Saints. Jackson’s last game against the Patriots as a Charger he had ten catches for over 170 yards and two touchdowns. For Josh Freeman to get his confidence back he is going to need a big game from Jackson. Tampa Bay’s defense is not the problem and may create opportunities for Freeman as they did last week against the Saints. TY Hilton If there is an area teams have attacked early this season against the 49ers it has been their secondary. In nickel packages, Nhamdi Asomugha has been exposed like he did as an Eagle. When TY Hilton comes into spread packages offensively for the Colts, they’ll be gearing to pick on the veteran Asomugha. Pierre Garcon When defenses let up, speed kills even more. For Garcon he has racked up a solid two games to start the season off of second half performances. Washington’s woes start with a defense that has been scorched by the Eagles and Green Bay. Thing don’t get easier this week against the Detroit Lions and Matthew Stafford. If DeSean Jackson and all three Green Bay wide receivers can have mega days, how on Earth can the Redskins attempt to contain Calvin Johnson? Look for Garcon and the Redskins to be trailing yet again in the second half. Cecil Shorts Shorts is the best asset to a Jacksonville offense struggling right now. He’ll have a tough time against a Seattle secondary that does not give up many yards. In order to achieve some success Shorts will have to utilize his speed and ability to run after the catch. Opportunities will present themselves for Shorts in the fourth quarter. Others: Andy Dalton, Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, Big Ben, Carson Palmer, Michael Floyd

Upgrades/Downgrades For Roster Flex, Bench Depth, and Borderline Starters

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Upgrades

Ryan Tannehill Reggie Bush left and so did tackle Jake Long. Concerns that Tannehill would regress without a strong back and his blindside protection are murmurs that have been stomped. Tannehill can hold his own and even though he is getting sacked, he is making the right throws. He may not be a top ten fantasy quarterback yet, but his accuracy is in the top ten. His confidence seems to be blossoming and the team as a whole may be ready to rise with him. Philip Rivers In week one Jon Gruden showcased on Monday Night Football how Rivers is sliding better in the pocket and holding the football with two hands when under pressure. Ken Whisenhunt worked on the little things with Rivers for limiting his turnovers. A vast difference is the speed in which Rivers is getting the football out. Designed plays are called and Rivers is hitting his reads with acceleration. People forget that Rivers was the head of this division for years before Manning arrived. Jay Cutler The errors are still there by Cutler but you have to love the way he finds a way to shake them off. He had a critical fumble for a touchdown and another interception in the endzone off of a tipped pass Sunday. Besides those drives the Bears moved with tremendous ease. It’s happening because Cutler isn’t getting drilled and knocked down every pass play like he was the last four years. Cutler is back into the role of a viable backup instead of a questionable one. DeAngelo Williams If there was one sign of hope for the Panthers it was that Williams had a solid game on the ground against the Bills. He didn’t fumble and ran the ball over twenty times. Carolina gets to face off against the Giants in a rematch of last years Thursday blowout. All Carolina has to do is figure out how to finish games. After Knowshown Moreno ran wild on the Giants it may be Williams turn this week. Knowshown Moreno Moreno was drafted high a few years ago but the injury bag tagged him for a few years. Denver is a team that loves to run the football but with their crowded backfield it’ll be unlikely that Moreno gets a full time load like he did Sunday. Moreno is perfect trade bait for an owner wanting to sell him high. Especially if he follows up with another decent week. Michael Floyd Floyd is showing enough in the Cardinals passing attack to be considered an every week fantasy WR3. The Cardinals are going to have a bottom tier running game again this year, so that means more opportunities for the Cardinals receivers. Working with Larry Fitzgerald seems to have improved Floyd’s attitude and on the field performance. Chris Givens A majority of Givens success Sunday came in the second half when the Rams had to abandon the ground attack and attempt a comeback via the air. That’s when they found success with Givens who continues to flourish with his amazing yards per catch average. Last year’s sixteen yards a catch was not a fluke. The Rams just need to figure out how to proportion the offense to Givens with newcomers Jared Cook and Tavon Austin in the fold. James Jones It’s not a question of which of the three Green Bay receivers is going to excel on a given week. It’s a question on who is going to have an out of the world week over a solid week. This set of Green Bay receivers has been on the roster for quite some time in Green Bay. It’s crazy to say but this group is better than an old Donald Driver and Greg Jennings on it. All the receivers know they are going to get the football and seem to be thriving knowing that. A role that neither Jordy Nelson, Jones, or Randall Cobb were in on a weekly basis two years ago.

Downgrades

RG3 If people want to say he is giving them enough fantasy points with his arm so be it. The truth of the matter is that RG3 is a lost soul on the field right now. His mechanics are off and you can tell he does not want to be the pocket passer the Redskins are making him be. Unless the Redskins let him test out his legs it’s going to be a long year in which Griffin does not last on the field. Josh Freeman I had high hopes for Freeman being a fantasy relevant backup. After two games of watching the Buccaneers I’m ready to say I was wrong in that department. Freeman needs new life elsewhere and fast. It seems each time he steps on the field now his skills and the Buccaneers offense are deteriorating away like the decay just to the north of them in Jacksonville. Daniel Thomas Thomas’s trend from how he contributed as a rookie to last year and now is why rookie contracts exist. Thomas will play out the remainder of this year but has set himself up to make life for his agent difficult in the offseason. Most backs that are in a number two role for three years have an impact a handful of games a year. For Thomas that is not the case, as he is right up there with Mike Bush as a back that’s just there for relief to rest the starter for a few plays. Owners of Miller that handcuffed him with Thomas should rid themselves of a roster spot now and improve in another position. Mike Williams It looks like the boomerang success and failure of Williams may land hit it’s spin on a down year. It’s not going to be all his fault but anyone can see that the Buccaneers likely will be replacing Freeman as starter soon. That would input a quarterback in Glennon who is not ready in my mind to grab the role. High amounts of yards were never Williams asset in fantasy football. It’s his touchdown value. With the Buccaneers scoring just one touchdown in week one and two offensively, there is going to be limited opportunities for Williams. Aaron Dobson and Kembrell Thompkins New England has had an unusual knack of being able to plug players into their system. Enough so that everyone figured that Dobson and Thompkins would automatically have instant success in it. That has not been the case and both have to be downgraded to bench depth status or waiver wire drops if you have solid bench depth. Tom Brady will not put up with the drops and issues at hand. New England likely will be trying to pry for a new receiver if Danny Amendola stays off the field for a significant amount of time.

Best Target to Catch Ratios from Week Two

Follow@cimini Paying attention to stats and not your fantasy points is how you can dive into your roster and decide to make necessary improvement. Each week I give a breakdown of a key category in best targets to catch results ratios from NFL players. Here is a look at who put up stellar numbers and others that did not. Julio Jones Jones ripped apart a St. Louis secondary considered strong. His biggest play came when he was lined up in the slot and the Rams failed to give the nickel back corner any help. That resulted in an eighty one yard play. Jones completed the game with eleven catches on fourteen targets. Stevie Johnson Stevie Johnson is used to playing with a different quarterback constantly. EJ Manuel may end up ending that trend for Johnson. That will allow Johnson to garner extra respect in fantasy leagues. He finished Sunday with eight catches on ten targets, including a game winning touchdown with two seconds left. Greg Jennings Jennings was in my personal dog house, but crept out momentarily after Sunday’s game. The Bears secondary is not the best at halting catches, their strong area is creating turnovers. Jennings was brought in to give Christian Ponder some confidence and comfort ability in finding a receiver to throw to. Sunday Jennings had five catches on six targets, and made the tough grabs over the middle you’d expect from the veteran. James Jones and Randall Cobb If Aaron Rodgers keeps slinging the football the way he is you might as well hand him the MVP. It’s only two games in but Rodgers nearly pulled off the upset at San Francisco, and torched the Redskins week two. James Jones enjoyed a monster game with eleven catches on twelve targets, and Randall Cobb finished the day with nine catches on ten targets. Mike Wallace Miami satisfied their well paid receiver with nine catches on eleven targets Sunday. They intermixed designed quick hot routes with also finding him on normal pass patterns. It seems that Wallace feeds off just getting the ball in any fashion possible to propel him. That’s a good sign for a Miami team starting to show strong signs. Others that did well: Greg Olsen 7 catches/8 targets, Dez Bryant 9 catches/13 targets, Eddie Royal 7 catches/8 targets, DesSean Jackson 9 catches/15 targets, Antonio Gates 8 catches/10 targets, Nate Burelson 7 catches/8 targets, Jimmy Graham 10 catches/16 targets, Cecil Shorts 8 catches/14 targets, Eric Decker 9 catches/13 targets, Julian Edelman 13 catches/18 targets

Not so Good

Tavon Austin 6 catches/12 targets, TY Hilton 6 catches/12 targets, Dwayne Bowe 4 catches/8 targets, Torrey Smith 7 catches/13 targets, DeAndre Hopkins 7 catches/13 targets, Vincent Jackson 5 catches/11 targets, Wes Welker 3 catches/8 targets, Brandon Myers 6 catches/10 targets, Anquan Boldin 1 catch/4 targets, Aaron Dobson 3 catches/10 targets, Kembrell Thompkins 2 catches/7 targets

Post Week Two: Stretching the Field Follow@cimini Getting big plays results in the theatrical crowd woos and celebrations. In fantasy sports bonus it’s a high indicator that perpetual success can be found on a weekly basis. Here are some quarterbacks and wide receivers that had big days yards per completion or for their receiving averages.

Quarterbacks

Aaron Rodgers and Company If Green Bay can get themselves in playoff contention, Rodgers may be on his way to MVP. Two weeks in a row now he has put up incredible numbers that have reflected in his teammates results. James Jones(16 ypc), Jordy Nelson(22ypc), Randall Cobb (14ypc), and Jermichael Finley all had great fantasy days. That happens when Aaron Rodgers only throws eight incompletions on forty two attempts with an eleven yard per completion average. Ryan Tannehill Tannehill had the best throw of Sunday in my mind with his third down absolute beaut to Brian Hartline. Tannehill had an amazing day even though he was sacked quite a bit. Sacks can derail some quarterbacks, and for others it’s smart to not make a mistake that is not there by forcing the ball. Tannehill recouped every time he went down, and finished the day with nearly ten yards a completion. Mike Vick If Vick can stay healthy he may have his best season to date. Sunday he made things look too easy, and that was with several dropped balls by DeSean Jackson. His near twelve yards a completion average are gaudy numbers that should propel owners seeking an upgrade at quarterback to try and trade for Vick.

Wide Receivers

Dez Bryant Bryant looked like he may easily have himself a 200 yard receiving game Sunday. Then a third and goal play that Bryant did not get a look by Romo, and went incomplete seemed to phase the rest of Bryant’s day. Before that play was enough to give Bryant another monster game in which he averaged over fifteen yards a catch. Pierre Garcon Garcon is starting to enter the category of best garbage time fantasy wide receiver producer in football. With the Redskins down 31-0 and every Redskins fantasy owner peeved, the team was able to move the football against a Packers defense that relented with a huge lead. Garcon finished the day with nearly 18 yards a catch with over 170 yards receiving. Chris Givens Givens continues to excel in the department of yards per catch as he did last year. Sunday he averaged over 21 yards a catch. Sam Bradford is still getting use to his new talent around him. When it all comes together, Givens may be a top twenty fantasy wideout. Tedd Ginn Jr Ginn has not lost a step and has got himself off to a solid start as a Carolina Panther. Sunday he had three catches for sixty yards, including a nice forty yard touchdown catch. We will all just have to see if Ginn remains a constant in the offense or fads down the depth chart as the season goes on. Brandon Marshall Marshall may find himself on this list each and every week. The connection that Marshall and Cutler have is second to none, and dates back to their days in Denver. Sunday Marshall averaged nearly 17 yards a catch, including catching a Dilfer Dime for a touchdown. Megatron After a big 72 yard touchdown the Cardinals sort of held Johnson and the Lions offense in check from halftime and beyond. The offense scored just two touchdowns as their other score came off of a pick six. All it takes is one big play and Johnson got it, and finished the day with over twenty yards a catch thanks to his big touchdown. Jimmy Graham For the second consecutive week teams have had great success at attacking the Buccaneers with their tight end. Graham made up for his low output of week one with an off the meter type of performance. It could have been even better if a second quarter touchdown was not called back. Others: Greg Jennings: over 16 YPC, DeSean Jackson 21 YPC, Antonio Gates 15 YPC, DeAndre Hopkins 17 YPC, Victor Cruz 15 YPC, Hakeem Nicks 20 YPC,