Sunday Morning Huddle: Week Eight

Ken Kelly

Let’s face it, there’s an enormous amount of information out there this morning. We’re not going to waste your time by repeating the news and notes about who’s in or out this week, since that’s really not what you visit us for. We’re also not going to do another article on starts or sits this week – we already have the personalized lineup advice for you on the premium content. Again, there are 100 places you can go for that, so we do something different on Sundays for our Premium Content subscribers every year.

The Sunday Morning Huddle goes through each game and states what we’re looking to see from a dynasty perspective. We’ll pick one player from each team who we have our eye on and describe why their weekend performance is a key one for them in relation to their dynasty value.

Early Games

NY Giants at Philadelphia

The Giants’ Hakeem Nicks has really struggled in what equates to a contract year. With the trade deadline coming in just days, speculation in running wild that Nicks could be on the move. Unfortunately, his drops and inability to separate from defenders has to have other GMs noticing. If Nicks has a big game against an awful secondary, he could add some fuel to the trade fire – his owners likely hope that happens because he could use a change of scenery.

For the Eagles, it’s time for Michael Vick to fly again. After Nick Foles experienced a major face plant, Vick returns to the helm of the offense and could use a good performance to put him back on the radar as a back-end QB1 through the bye weeks.

San Francisco at Jacksonville

Nine touchdowns in seven games isn’t what owners of Colin Kaepernick had hoped for this season, but things are looking up. With Kaepernick seemingly more involved in the running game, he now finds himself with the tastiest of matchups against the Jags and their suspect (and that’s putting it friendly) defense. It’s time for Kaepernick to put on a performance to vault himself back up the quarterback ranks.

For the Jags, let’s focus on Mike Brown. This undrafted free agent from Liberty has nine catches for 169 yards the past two weeks. While nobody is really reliable in this offense, those numbers deserve notice. Sounds like a sneaky add in a dynasty league before the games start today.

Cleveland at Kansas City

For all the talk of new quarterbacks, Jason Campbell hasn’t received much. I’m most curious to see how he performs today not because of the value he holds, but there has to be hope he can at least maintain value for Jordan Cameron and Josh Gordon. I just wouldn’t expect much from the Browns against the ferocious defense of the Chiefs today.

Speaking of Kansas City, it’s time for us to see something (anything) out of Dwayne Bowe. It looks like he’ll play today and the patience of dynasty owners is wearing thin. Unfortunately, he may draw Joe Haden today.

Miami at New England

Lost in the amazing tight end performances this year has been the emergence of Charles Clay, who is putting up low-end TE1 numbers so far this year. He has a touchdown in three straight games. Can he make it four?

The Patriots need help on offense and Stevan Ridley is finally stepping up to the plate. After a horrific start to the year, Ridley has 146 yards and three touchdowns over his past two games. More importantly, he has 31 carries over those two contests and has now not lost a fumble since week one. Let’s see what this week brings us, shall we?

Buffalo at New Orleans

We don’t focus much on IDP players in this column, but Kiko Alonso has been unreal this season. At this point, he’s on pace for a ridiculous 160 tackles and has been playing as well as two IDP linebackers combined on most weeks. We’re starting to see the beginning of a great IDP career here.

For the Saints, all eyes are on the tight end position. If Jimmy Graham can’t go 100% even while active today, Ben Watson will be a decent option. The Graham injury may be the biggest story in all of dynasty leagues at this point.

Dallas at Detroit

Let’s combined these two today. While we could pick players like Joseph Randle or Kris Durham today, this is all about the battle between Dez Bryant and Calvin Johnson. Can Bryant really establish himself as a receiver in the same category as Megatron in both reality and fantasy?

Late Games

Pittsburgh at Oakland

Le’Veon Bell has given the Steelers a pretty big spark and the numbers don’t necessarily match how well he’s played thus far. A date against the Raiders in a crucial matchup should provide Bell a chance to really establish himself as an RB2. He’s being used as a workhorse and a 100-yard game is coming soon.

For the Raiders, Denarius Moore continues to fly under the radar even though he has 336 receiving yards and three touchdowns over his last four games. It really looks like Terrelle Pryor and Moore have something going and it’s time to buy if you can.

NY Jets at Cincinnati

Want to have some fun with numbers?  In odd numbered weeks, Geno Smith has nine touchdowns and just five turnovers. In even numbered weeks, he has one touchdown and nine turnovers. Uh oh. It’s week eight.

The surprising Bengals have been great lately and “The Red Rifle” has been a huge part of their success. If Andy Dalton can have success against a tough Jets defense, it’s time to take notice and breathe a sigh of relief. There was a time earlier this season where Dalton was a huge question mark moving forward. A solid performance will put that to rest.

Atlanta at Arizona

The return of Steven Jackson has finally come and his owners are rejoicing. The problem is we have no idea just how effective he’ll be. Today should be a good litmus test for the rest of the season. He had looked a bit slow already. Is he really on the wave of his big decline?

For the Cardinals, I’m actually going to pick Drew Stanton. Yep, a guy who isn’t even playing. If Carson Palmer continues to play this horribly, Bruce Arians will have no choice but to turn to Stanton. Will it happen today?

Washington at Denver

The running back position in Washington manned by Alfred Morris over the past year and a half is now being manned by Morris and Roy Helu. As we’ve moved along this season, Helu has started taking more and more snaps away from Morris. With the Redskins ready to really unleash Robert Griffin III, we should see just how much the Redskins want to see Helu on the field.

Want another sneaky pickup today? How about CJ Anderson, who is taking the place of Ronnie Hillman on the active roster. With Knowshon Moreno’s contract situation unclear beyond this season, Anderson could play himself into a significant role starting today, especially with Montee Ball disappointing owners thus far.

Sunday Night Football

Green Bay at Minnesota

The Packers got a nice boost from Jarrett Boykin last week and could get more this week with James Jones doubtful again this week. The Packers are banged up and need some players to step up. Boykin has the talent to be a significant contributor and this should be fun to watch.

For the Vikings, it’s Christian Ponder’s last stand. I think we all know what to expect.

Monday Night Football

Seattle at St. Louis

Russell Wilson has been spectacular lately and looks to vault himself to the upper tier of QB1’s with another solid performance on Monday Night. With the Rams reeling from the loss of Sam Bradford and owning a defense that has really struggled, Wilson looks like he’s on the cusp of a monster performance.

The Rams are in serious trouble without Bradford and Kellen Clemens is being thrown to the wolves. Look, we all know what Clemens is worth in a dynasty league. The only question is if he’s bad enough to open the door for young Austin Davis, who may be yet another sneaky pickup in dynasty leagues.

Shhhh….

ken kelly