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Stretching the Field

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If you’re in a formatted league that gives points based on big plays, then you’re happy to have quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers that have great averages per throw, run, or catch. The impact on receivers that have high yards per catch alleviates the risk some if a player is limited to under five catches. Let’s look at some players that exceeded their positions in averages per pass attempt and per catch on Sunday.

Key Stat Filler Game of the Week: Packers vs 49ers

Both Aaron Rodgers and Colin Kaepernick put on a show Sunday. Kaepernick completed almost 70 percent of his passes. Some were blown coverages by the Packers and others were darts in tight windows. Kaepernick seems to not mind being a drop back passer if he needs to be. His yards per attempt was almost eleven, while Rodgers was near ten. Boldin and Vernon Davis had receiving averages of over sixteen yards a catch. For Green Bay, Rodgers had a nine yard average per attempt while Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb put up stellar yards per catch with Nelson over 18, and Cobb over 15.

Quarterbacks

Peyton Manning
I won’t list all the Broncos receivers that Manning’s eleven yards per completion had to do with their monster yards per catch. Manning’s night went from basic to unreal in a matter of just an intermission. A special night all around, and one of the freakish fantasy games of all time.

Russ Wilson
Wilson was the sole reason that the Seahawks were able to do anything offensively, as the Panthers negated the Seahawks ground game. He only had eight incompletions on thirty three attempts, and averaged a few tenths beneath ten yards a completion. One of his best games to date.

Ryan Tannehill
Tannehill will always be in the shadow of Wilson, Luck, and RG3. His play though has Miami thinking they’re in good shape to over take the Patriots sooner than later. He averaged over seven yards a completion Sunday and this was with only one completion to Mike Wallace.

Matt Stafford
Detroit has been looking for a back since Jahvid Best had issues with concussions. They have found one in Reggie Bush, who did not waste anytime running wild Sunday. His 100 yards receiving helped pad Stafford’s yards per attempt at 8.3.

Andy Dalton
AJ Green put on a show on Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings and the entire Bears secondary Sunday. Dalton continues to elevate his game based on having AJ Green on the field. The big plays will not stop with the duo, and if Mohammed Sanu can become a suitable second receiver watch for Dalton’s numbers to continue to remain strong.

Wide Receivers

Trio of Giants Receivers: All three Giants receivers reaped the dividends of a frustrating evening of playing from behind. Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, and Reuben Randle all had averages of over twenty yards a catch. Those numbers surely will come down. With the Giants rushing woes it won’t be surprising to see Eli gunning the football through the air on a weekly basis.

Michael Floyd
Arizona provided Larry Fitzgerald with half of the touchdowns he had all season in one game Sunday. Floyd though had the best catch of week one, with an amazing one handed grab with a cornerback draped on his back. Floyd hauled in four catches for over eighty yards for a twenty yard average.

Antonio Brown
Brown had an average of just over fourteen yards a catch against the Titans. It looks like Brown will be used to try and fill the void left of big play potential without Mike Wallace. There are a lot of concerns with the Steelers offensive line and running game, which may hinder Brown’s overall value.

Torrey Smith
By now we have seen enough from the connection of Joe Flacco and Smith to know that these two are lethal on deep plays. Smith averaged over twenty yards a catch against the Broncos. That was on just four catches but his total was just over 90 yards.

Jerome Simpson
Simpson flourished with big plays two years ago as a Bengal. His summersault flip for a touchdown still makes people hit the replay button. With Christian Ponder’s struggles it will likely be an up and down battle for Simpson and Greg Jennings to have consistent numbers. Simpson did have an average of over 20 yards a catch Sunday.

Marques Colston
Colston is sort of like a tight end that complements Jimmy Graham. He is always in the stats sheets and he makes the over the middle type of catches that you’d expect from a tight end. He had five catches for nearly 70 yards near fourteen yards a catch.

Vincent Jackson
Jackson continues to shine as a Buccaneer, as he had his way with Antonio Cromartie Sunday. If you watched the game though it appeared more damage could have been done. On paper though Jackson had an average of 22 yards a catch week one. He’ll remain a top ten to twelve fantasy receiver all season.

Newton Must Buckle Down Now

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Adversity in a career is sure to pop up several times. Cam Newton had instant success when he stepped onto the football field as a rookie against the Arizona Cardinals. It carried over to one of the more memorable years by a rookie quarterback. Then the offseason happened and defensive coordinators and staffs were able to prepare and study Newton’s tendencies all offseason.

Sort of like a pitcher that sees his command lost and ERA continue to skyrocket, Newton has not been able to snap out of a fantasy slump. Owners that want to say he stepped it up late in the season must have had some surprise players such as Alfred Morris or RG3 that helped boost Newton’s early woes in the season. For most owners of Newton he cost them several games for the first few months of the season.

You could pinpoint that Seattle against Carolina was a defensive game, which it was. But Russ Wilson was able to figure out a way to catapult his Seahawks when necessary and had over 300 yards passing.

Head to Bookmakers for up to date odds for Week Two’s games

This type of performance by Newton could be detrimental to his third year. In prior years Newton could look at his six divisional games as an opportunity to flourish against the mediocre and weak defenses of the Saints, Falcons, and Buccaneers. Well, those days are over. New Orleans has upgraded the defense with Monte Kiffen, and stifled the Falcons from their usual high octane offense. Atlanta has pieces in place to make a further run at the playoffs, and the Buccaneers main strength is defensively where they spent a ton of money bringing in key players.

So for Newton to be effective he is going to have to bring his A game to the table against top tier defenses. He can’t have ping pong type of performances where he settles for poor outings against higher caliber defenses, and then shines against teams that are poor. That will land Newton and Carolina with another record of near .500 or even a few games short.

Someone needs to emerge from the veteran Panthers and have a breakout game to lessen the burden for Newton. Whether it’s old skilled receiver Steve Smith, or running back DeAngelo Williams, Newton needs someone that almost all other top tier teams have in difference makers. All the pressure can’t be on Newton’s shoulders.

One game to start the year would not be a huge significant to a lot of player’s, but this one was for Newton. It does not get any easier for Newton as he has to travel to Buffalo and Arizona over the next three weeks. The game sandwiched in between is a rematch of last year’s Thursday night game against the New York Giants. In that game the Panthers also just scored one touchdown and were blown out from the onset.

An area Newton can find hope is the Panthers defense. They shined in preseason and have a great front seven that limited the Seahawks ground attack. Defenses only hold for so long before they begin to fold from poor offensive plays.

For fantasy owners you have to live by your decision to believe in Newton. As I stated after Sunday’s games, you may want to start your backup quarterback over the next game or two, until Newton has a game worthy of starting. That is if you have a capable fantasy backup.

Best Catches to Target Percentages Week One

Follow @cimini Often in games you will see announcers spotlight a defensive back in the amount of footballs thrown his way versus actual catches completed. Darrelle Revis only allowed one catch his way on four throws Sunday. Each week on Monday I will give you the reverse. For fantasy owners it is not all about the obvious stats that you should think about. Knowing how many targets versus actual catches is a necessity. Here are some key breakdowns of player's that fared well and one's that didn't when it came to targets there way. The top overall fantasy wide receivers in terms of targets and catches Anquan Boldin- Kaepernick looked Boldin's way often--17 times, and Boldin hauled in thirteen of those targets. Of course those type of numbers put Boldin at the top for both statistics this week. Reggie Wayne- Wayne was able to catch all of the eight targets that came his way. This is nothing new to Wayne as he is able to control his body and catch a ball in numerous ways. He had a fabolous one handed catch and a back of the endzone touchdown on Sunday. Danny Amendola- Filling Wes Welker's old role means Amendola should assume the piles of fantasy stats that Welker left. If he maintains his health ten catches on twelve targets may be on the low end of a week for Amendola. Brian Hartline- Hartline trailed Boldin just by two targets Sunday with fifteen. He only had nine catches though. Fifteen targets is awfully high. Miami had to resort the pass in the second half as the ground game just did not work. Jordan Cameron- Cleveland threw the ball enough to age Brandon Weeden another year Sunday. Cameron was one to benefit greatly from that with thirteen targets, and catching nine of those. Based on Cameron's preseason and his week one performance, he is now to be considered a top five fantasy tight end. Others that had strong outputs based on targets- Doug Baldwin 7 catches/8 targets, Jerome Simpson 7 catches/8 targets, AJ Green 9 catches/13 targets, Brandon Marshall 8 catches/10 targets, Andre Roberts 8 catches/9 targets, Jared Cook 7 catches/10 targets, Kellen Winslow 7 catches/8 targets, Julio Jones 7 catches/9 targets, Brandon Gibson 7 catches/10 targets, Vernon Davis 6 catches/9 targets, Emmanuel Sanders 7 catches/12 targets, Dallas Clark 7 catches/12 targets, Nate Burelson 6 catches/6 targets, Julian Edelman 7 catches/9 targets, Miles Austin 10 catches/12 targets, Jason Witten 8 catches/9 targets, Desean Jackson 7 catches/9 targets, Andre Johnson 12 catches/16 targets Others that did not handle their targets well Greg Olsen Olsen caught half of his ten targets. Carolina's mediocre offense is going to go on the shoulder's of Cam Newton. He needs to be more accurate and involve Olsen consistently on a week to week basis. Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams The slant worked to perfection by the Buccaneers offense. Other routes the receivers seemed to be stifled a bit. Vincent Jackson had a big day on paper but it could of been much better. He had thirteen targets and only hauled in seven passes, while MIke Williams caught four of his eight. This is something that Josh Freeman has to get better with and so do his receivers at catchin the football. Greg Jennings It was a disappointing debut for Jennings as a Viking. He caught just three passes on seven targets. Maybe Green Bay was correct in letting Jennings walk via free agency. Eric Decker Decker seemed to be out of it a bit on Thursday, as he had a few drops. Fantasy owners should not expect just a paltry two catches on seven targets typically. He'll bounce back from his rough opening game. Kembrell Thompkins Thompkins showed why he was undrafted Sunday and struggled in his new unexpected role with the Patriots. He had only four catches on fourteen targets. Cecil Shorts Seemingly the only receiver with fantasy consideration with Justin Blackmon suspended is Shorts. He did well last year, but Sunday no one on Jacksonville was able to do much of anything. Shorts was targeted eleven times and only had three catches.

Go For The Fade

When it’s red zone time most people want to gravitate to the coaches inserting their power back in I formation. With the rise of quarterbacks statistically throwing the football more, there are other key red zone stats to look out for. Big tall targets are a quarterbacks best friend inside the five yard line. Knowing the tallest receivers in the NFL that are likely to be thrown a fade route, is yet another key stat you should know going into your fantasy football drafts. The fade route is one of the most common throws on the goal line. Seemingly every team knows it’s coming, but teams just can’t stop it. The reason why is because of the height advantage and leaping ability with a wide receiver over the smaller defensive back. That and the quarterback and receiver have worked on the route countless times. It’s a timing route that the receiver and quarterback have a spot in mind before the ball is even snapped. All the receiver has to do is go up and get it. Here are some guys you should keep in mind for the fade route. Obvious names such as Calvin Johnson, Fitz, Bryant, Colston, Jackson, and Dwayne Bowe I’ll keep off this list. Mohammed Sanu Sanu had his ups and downs as a rookie a year ago for the Bengals. It looks like he has overcome some of his struggles and will be the second receiver for the Bengals this year. He is a tall target and has already had a nice fade route touchdown catch with Andy Dalton in the preseason. Attention is coming AJ Green’s way for the third straight season, and will keep things open for Sanu in the red zone. Mike Williams Mike is not necessarily the tallest receiver, but he is a touchdown gobbler in red zone. He could be having a horrific game, and then have his one catch for six yards and a touchdown. That’s what makes Williams a different type of tier two wide receiver. He has done it many of times where his catches and yards may not be there in a certain game, but he makes up for it with a meaningful six point touchdown catch for you. Justin Blackmon When he returns from suspension Blackmon should and will be a commodity for fantasy owners. His physique and abilities is what made him a top draft pick a year ago out of Oklahoma State. I actually think he’ll still come close to his numbers from a year ago even with a four game suspension. Golden Tate A fade throw might not be how Russ Wilson looks for Tate, but the two have a knack for connecting in the red zone. Tate had seven touchdowns last year, including a couple of big game winners. A deep ball catch against the Patriots and the replacement referee’s jump ball notoriety catch. At 5’10 the Seahawks work and look for Tate as if he was 6’3. Malcolm Floyd The red zone is still Antonio Gates’ but age and loss of speed mean that others can and will have a chance to still Gates thunder. Floyd has filled that role somewhat over the past few years, but the Chargers are still looking for that Vincent Jackson type. If healthy Floyd, at 6’4, is still the primary receiver to have the best opportunity. Jon Baldwin His role in San Francisco and how he develops is the key here. The Chiefs obviously did not like his development so sent him for another receiver in AJ Jenkins. With Michael Crabtree out and Anquan Boldin aging, Baldwin may get a chance to replant his NFL steps and take ahold of an opportunity. In college he was dominant at Pittsburgh, and has the size at 6’4 is a quarterback’s best friend. Alshon Jeffrey Knowing the lingering effects of Brandon Marshall’s hip injury will be a high indicator of what Jeffrey’s season will look like. If Marshall is hindered by the injury mentally and physically on the field, it will give Jeffrey’s a prime chance to have a breakout season. Trestman’s new offense is expected to be fantasy friendly, and Cutler should look Jeffrey’s way plenty of times.

Austin Gives Rams Two More Wins

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