Divisional Debriefing: Week Six

Eric Olinger

allen

Each week we give a player from each division a “Player of the Week” honor. In an attempt to not cram the same info down your throat that you might find elsewhere, we are going to try to focus on players who weren’t draft day all-stars. In some cases they won’t even be rostered in redraft leagues, but players worth stashing in dynasty leagues. We are going to focus on guys that have yielded the greatest return on your investment. You don’t need to be told Peyton Manning had a great day. He was drafted in such a spot that it was expected. Same with LeSean McCoy and Calvin Johnson. That’s not to say that we won’t honor a truly elite performance, especially from rookies.

As part of a group collaboration, members of the DLF Staff have chosen to represent a division and will be selecting which players will be getting the “gold star” for the week. As an added bonus, I will also include the most impressive IDP performances of the week for each division because defensive players need love too!

Here is who is will be nominating players for each division:

  • AFC West- Scott Peak  @Scott_Peak
  • AFC East- Jeff Beran  @JefeBeran
  • AFC North- Eric Olinger  @OlingerIDP
  • AFC South- Tim Stafford  @DynastyTim
  • NFC West- The FF Ghost  @TheFFGhost
  • NFC East- Karl Safchick  @KarlSafchick
  • NFC North- Dan Meylor  @DMeylor22
  • NFC South- Eric Hardter  @EDH_27

AFC West

Keenan Allen, WR SD

In the past three weeks, Allen is the WR11 in PPR leagues, and is the WR13 using standard scoring. Even better, he is the WR3 in PPR and WR4 in standard scoring systems the past two weeks. Allen is really coming on and dynasty owners would be wise to take notice. In the first three games, Allen had a total of four targets. Starting in week four, Allen’s targets jumped to five and he has a total of 26 targets in the past three games.

Here is a summary of Allen’s productivity rise over the past six weeks:

Week

Targets

Snaps

Receptions

Yards

Touchdowns

PPR rank

Standard scoring rank

1

0

0

0

0

0

2

3

45

2

34

0

74

72

3

1

49

1

3

0

110

110

4

5

70

5

80

0

32

29

5

9

75

6

115

1

9

8

6

12

77

9

107

1

4

9

Clearly, Allen is becoming more trusted in the Chargers pass-happy offense. He is playing more snaps each week and only missed one snap on Monday Night Football. Fears about his college injury should be put to rest. Allen is an excellent dynasty asset, and is at minimum a nice weekly WR3 starter for his owners this year. In terms of long-term value, Allen is a player to target in trade if his owners are unconvinced or not paying attention to this spike in productivity. Get those offers out now!

IDP- Tamba Hali, LB KC

It was difficult to pick one player of the Chiefs after they thoroughly destroyed Terrelle Pryor and the Oakland Raiders. The team sacked him ten times, intercepted three passes and scored one touchdown. Leading the sack charge was Hali. He’s been somewhat of a forgotten man on the Chiefs defense this year due to the play of linebacker Justin Houston and defensive tackle Dontari Poe. The man who frees everything up for Houston is Hali.

AFC East

Jeff Cumberland, TE NYJ

New York Jets tight end Jeff Cumberland has now led his team in receiving yardage for two straight weeks with a combined seven receptions for 138 yards and one touchdown in losses to the Falcons and Steelers.  With starting tight end Kellen Winslow’s recent four-game suspension for PED and disruptive locker room behavior, it wouldn’t be that surprising to see Cumberland figure more heavily into the Jets’ weekly offensive game plan from here on out.  Don’t expect anything above TE2 numbers on a weekly basis for the rest of this season, but don’t ignore him either.   As injuries and bye-weeks mount up, you could do a lot worse than a solid eight to 12 points from your tight end position as the race for the fantasy playoffs heats up.

IDP- Da’Norris Searcy, S BUF

Searcy was a beast against the Bengals on Sunday. In a game where 114 total tackles were given on 81 offensive plays, Searcy finished second on the team with 16 total tackles, 13 solo and three assists. He also registered a sack and three tackles for loss. He does everything Jarius Byrd does for a fraction of the cost. Look for the Bills to try trading Byrd before the deadline. Searcy is an IDP asset. 

AFC North

Tandon Doss, WR BAL

I never thought I would write about Tandon Doss here and I don’t expect to write about him again. His four catch, 99 yard performance against the Packers was fluky. He broke loose for a 63 yard gain on one play to pick up a large chunk of his yardage on a day the team was frantically trying to catch up with the Packers, which they almost did. Bottom line, this is a prototypical one week wonder. Don’t waste your time with Doss.

IDP- TJ Ward, S CLE

TJ Ward had a nice fantasy day this week. He finished with eight solo tackles, three assists, a tackle for loss and two passes defended. The problem with Ward is he’s a fantasy Jekyll & Hyde. In Ray Horton’s defensive scheme Ward should be a no brainer weekly start at safety but he’s invisible too often. If you had him in your lineup this week you were happy, but his play is too erratic to count on every week. 

AFC South

Kendall Wright, WR TEN

This is it. It’s your last chance to buy low. Wright’s becoming the go-to wide receiver in the Titans offense. The target count is mounting. If you’re a contender and thus your 2014 first is projecting to be late, trade it for Wright. He’s a much safer bet than going in to the uncertainty of any rookie draft class toward the end of the first.

IDP- Paul Posluszny, LB JAX

Nobody did anything special in the AFC South this week except Posluszny. His seven solo tackles were pretty par for the course, but his interception returned for a touchdown was awesome. He’s just the second player to pick off Peyton Manning this year. Like the bull being slowly lowered into the T-Rex cage in Jurassic Park, the Jaguars were expected to be devoured by Manning and company. Posluszny’s play sparked belief into the Jaguars and they went blow for blow against the T-Rex until nature ultimately won. Kudos to Poz.

NFC West

Andre Ellington, RB ARI

Andre Ellington is something special, let’s just hope the Cardinals realize it sooner rather than latter. Thus far Ellington has seen his workload steadily increase and the results he has produced have also grown steadily as well. In Week Six he rushed seven times for 56 yards and a touchdown. He also added another five receptions for 36 yards in the passing game. Ellington is head and shoulders above any other running back that the Cardinals currently have and he is showing now signs of slowing down. Ellington is currently averaging seven yards per rush, which is an astronomical number. He’s also gaining ten yards per reception, which is very good for a running back. If he is on your waiver, grab him now. If you can manage to pry him away from his current owner, I’d suggest doing so as well. This guy looks to be the brightest spot in the Cardinals offense we’ve seen in quite a while.

IDP- Alec Ogletree, LB STL

Ogletree’s entire portfolio was on display against the Texans. He led the team in tackles with seven solo and three assists, but his biggest play was a 98 yard interception return for touchdown. Ogletree has had some rookie mistakes and growing pains adapting to the NFL level, but this shows the sleeping beast’s capabilities. Ogletree and James Laurinaitis are going to form an impressive linebacker duo for many years, in both reality and fantasy. 

NFC East

Joseph Randle, RB DAL

With the inevitable injury to DeMarco Murray and a hobbled Lance Dunbar, Randle finds himself with a great opportunity the next couple weeks. He has the chance to showcase his three down skill set while running with the starters. This is Murray’s job without a doubt, but this will benefit dynasty owners more than anyone. If Randle shows poorly, we will have the opportunity to cut bait early. If he flashes, we know we have a legitimate gem. In PPR leagues I would have no issues starting him as a low RB2 with all the bye weeks coming up.

IDP- Jon Beason, LB NYG

Could a change of scenery be all this one time IDP monster needed? A career sapped by multiple lower leg injuries, Beason was written off as a player who could no longer perform, but his Giants debut was pretty impressive. He led the team with 11 solo tackles and one assist. The Giants have been looking for legit linebacker to man the middle since Antonio Pierce left and Beason can be that player as long as his body can hold up. I’m not expecting early career Beason, but I’m intrigued enough to want him on my team if the price is right.

NFC North

Kyle Rudolph, TE MIN

Welcome back to fantasy relevance Mr. Rudolph. Matt Cassel might have been the best thing to happen to Rudolph since being drafted by Minnesota. Unfortunately, Matt Cassel is another terrible quarterback in the Cleveland-esque search for a signal caller. With the inevitable switch to Josh Freeman happening as soon as this week, we find ourselves at the same old crossroads with Rudolph. Will he thrive despite poor quarterback play or do the Vikings finally have someone who can get the Gronk-like tight end the ball? There is a chance Rudolph has been dropped in some shallower leagues. Make sure he’s not on your waiver wire. Talents trumps all and he’s oozing with it in a very non-Gronk way.

IDP- AJ Hawk, LB GB

I don’t think anything says you have offensive line problems like AJ Hawk lighting your quarterback up like a Christmas tree. This game reminded me of the Ohio State-Notre Dame Fiesta Bowl where Hawk destroyed Brady Quinn for four quarters. In this game he had eight solo tackles, two assists, three sacks and five tackles for loss. Hawk lived in the Baltimore backfield essentially shutting down both the passing and running game for most of the afternoon. For a few years now the Packers have done everything they can to replace Hawk, but he continuously steps up and makes it impossible. He should be owned in every league.

NFC South

Brandon LaFell, WR CAR

Given that both the Saints and Buccaneers lost and the Falcons were on a much-needed bye, I’ve chosen to highlight a player from the only NFC South team that emerged victorious this past week, receiver Brandon LaFell of the Carolina Panthers.  In week six, LaFell led the Panthers in receiving with four receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown, more than doubling the output of the next best “pass catcher,” running back DeAngelo Williams.  In his biggest play of the day (and season), LaFell scored on a 79-yard touchdown, undoubtedly delighting owners desperate enough to start him.

To that last point, raise your hands if you did in fact reap the benefits of LaFell’s aberrational performance.  Anyone?  Bueller, Bueller?  Well you’re not alone and barring exceptionally deep leagues the fact is you were right to leave him riding the pine.

LaFell’s yardage on Sunday now represents 48.6% of his yearly output and despite the fact he made the most of his targets, he only received four on the day.  Unfortunately for LaFell, this doesn’t drastically differ from his seasonal average of 5.4 targets per game – suffice it to say, on a team that only averages 30.1 passes every Sunday, that’s a small piece of an already tiny pie.  LaFell might put up a few more fluky stat-lines before the year is over, but he remains one of the low men on the Panthers’ totem pole.  It’s more than likely week six will go down as his 2013 moment in the sun.

IDP- Quintin Mikell, S CAR

If you need safety help and Mikell is available, grab him. He’s returning from injury and is familiar with the defensive scheme. His first game back was decent, he had five tackles, all solo. He is going to be the starter and see plenty of opportunities to make plays. His teammate, Mike Mitchell had the better game this week, but Mikell is the player I want moving forward.

eric olinger
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