Sunday Morning Huddle: Week Three

George Kritikos

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Let’s face it, there’s an enormous amount of information out there on Sunday mornings. 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 here within our premium content. Again, there are 100 places you can go for that, so no reason to repeat ourselves or others.

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

San Diego at Buffalo

So, Ladarius Green will not be getting any chance to catch passes as long as Antonio Gates is putting up three touchdown games. Let’s instead look to Danny Woodhead, the real-life “Rudy” who everyone roots for, but also secretly hates because he is played by Sean Astin (maybe not so secretly). With Ryan Mathews looking at a four week layoff due to injury, I expect Woodhead to see an increased role in the backfield, splitting time with Donald Brown. Since he doesn’t have starter status, Danny boy may be a good buy low target as much as he is a receiving target.

The Buffalo Bills at 2-0 is the biggest story here, but alas, we need to focus on a player. How about Sammy Watkins and his two game stretch of inconsistency (the minimum amount of games needed to be inconsistent)? After a quiet week one, he exploded with eight catches on 11 targets for his first 100 yard game of his career. Dynasty owners want to know if their starting lineup will be playing tug-o-war with Watkins or if he becomes a focal part of the offense each week.

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Tennessee at Cincinnati

So it’s clear Bishop Sankey is a stash until further notice, but is Jake Locker a hold after two weeks of varying performance? Even the DLF staff is torn on his future so there are no clear answers here. I suspect a small rebound from Locker after last week but he may become more of a game manager than aerial artist.

Last week, I correctly highlighted Jeremy Hill, who had a nice week as he was given plenty of touches in what became a very conservative Cincinnati offense. This week, we turn to the receivers and Mohamed Sanu, a man highlighted in the DLF Summer Sleeper series. There is no better opportunity for Sanu to breakout given the depleted receiving core (A.J. Green’s status was up in the air at the time of this article). If he struggles here, I’m not sure he gets another chance to prove himself.

Green Bay at Detroit

Of all the buy low candidates out there, Eddie Lacy may be the buzziest. Two lackluster weeks against elite run defenses could become three as Detroit is among the best at defending the run. If he struggles again, it will likely be the last and best time to pull the trigger in your dynasty league.

In what I expect to be a shootout, I defer to the current leader in the tight end receivers with Eric Ebron. The rookie had five targets last week, converting three of them for 38 yards. I expect him to continue to split his time between the slot (49%) and inline (51%). With the Green Bay corners playing strong early, Ebron is a sneaky bet for a solid game.

Indianapolis at Jacksonville

As expected, T.Y. Hilton again led the team in targets (11) while Hakeem Nicks reverted to jobber status (one catch, negative four yards). This week, I would pay attention to the tight end situation and see if either Coby Fleener or Dwayne Allen becomes more involved in the passing game. Neither one is playable, but I would lean towards Fleener continuing to be the primary receiving tight end.

So, who is even healthy at wide receiver here? Let’s go with another rookie wide receiver in Allen Robinson who tied for the team lead in targets (five) in week two. He is likely their healthiest option in a game where they likely will be down early. The only caveat here is who Vontae Davis is primarily covering because he is capable of removing a receiver from the game.

Oakland at New England

Here is a fun stat – in 27 carries for Oakland running backs through two weeks, there have been zero missed tackles associated with their runs. In short, these backs can’t make people miss. Given that Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden have accounted for 25 of those runs, things are looking bad for the presumed co-starters. I’m giving Latavius Murray one more look here in the hopes the team realizes trotting out big names is not always the way to win games and give a chance to the young runner.

I like to give myself kudos for cautiously calling Stevan Ridley’s big game last week. Any time you call a Belichick move, you give yourself daps. That being said, I think Aaron Dobson is a player who will get increasingly more opportunities, starting this week. Kenbrell Thompkins was a healthy scratch in week two, occupying the doghouse Ridley called home last season. Dobson has the skills to be a good long-term option in New England so his progression is worth monitoring.

Baltimore at Cleveland

At some point, they will throw the ball to Torrey Smith, right? The fact Smith has nine targets in two weeks while Jacoby Jones has six is just wrong. Cleveland’s cornerbacks are among the worst in the league so if there is a week for Smith to turn things around, this is it.

Another week, another opportunity for the Browns to realize Isaiah Crowell is the superior backup to Ben Tate. Terrance West struggled in week two while Crowell showed superior ability to run through contact. I expect West to continue to lose carries to Crowell while Tate is injured, eventually ceding the primary backup role.

Dallas at St. Louis

After two weeks, there is speculation that Jason Witten is on the decline. While I’m not here to confirm or deny that, this may be the last opportunity for owners to sell before finding out. How the ball is spread around in the pass game under the heavy duress Tony Romo will see is going to determine Witten’s place in the offensive food chain.

Kenny Britt stinks like week old tuna and Tavon Austin is likely out for week three. I’m intrigued to see what the returning Stedman Bailey’s role looks like in the Rams’ offense. With how wide open the second receiver spot is, Bailey is walking into a very fluid situation.

Houston at New York Giants

Through two weeks, Ryan Fitzpatrick is second in the NFL in quarterback rating. Regardless of the flaws in that statistic, it is still very impressive. With that in mind, I will be watching the tight end situation where the snap split between the three players is 56/55/46. Someone is going to emerge here eventually with my early prediction being Garrett Graham.

Larry Donnell proved to be a wise watch last week, but let’s switch to the defensive side of the ball. Prince Amukamara is showing that his 2013 tackle numbers are no fluke. He plays the run well and is proving to be a difficult corner to pass on as well. For those IDP leagues that use position specific starting spots, Amukamara should be busy again on Sunday playing against Arian Foster and Andre Johnson.

Minnesota at New Orleans

The team has expressed a confidence in Jerrick McKinnon after barely letting him touch the ball in week two. Matt Asiata is not the answer here, unless the question is to see who can average fewer yards per carry than Trent Richardson. McKinnon should see some work in this game and begin to tilt the balance ever so slightly.

After a blistering week one, Brandin Cooks was unable to capitalize on Marques Colston’s disappearing act in week two, resulting in three catches for a measly 17 yards. I expect this to change some but with Kenny Stills back on the field, Cooks may be looking at some ups and downs in the near future.

Washington at Philadelphia

Washington’s offense is a mess and so far, my players to watch have gotten injured so I need to tread carefully here. The player to watch is Kirk Cousins though as reports of his abilities in this offense have been positive. While I don’t think he can play Robert Griffin III out of a job this season, he could convince the front office to move in a different direction for 2015 starting here.

The easy choice here is Darren Sproles but not just in his usual passing role. He has proven to be an effective runner thus far and could siphon a few more carries a game off of LeSean McCoy. His usage in various situations bears watching as McCoy may become more of a sell high candidate than owners would like to think.

Afternoon Games

San Francisco at Arizona

The 49ers and Colin Kaepernick consistently highlight one wide receiver per game, but guessing that receiver has been difficult. Week one saw Anquan Boldin (eight targets, eight catches) while week two featured Michael Crabtree (nine targets, seven catches). I think Crabtree will see primary status in more games but this is a volatile situation, almost Jerry Springer like.

My feelings on Drew Stanton, in haiku form – Drew cannot throw straight, Fitzgerald & Floyd are screwed, Get Mariota.

Denver at Seattle

While the return of Wes Welker is worth monitoring, I’m more interested in the impact on Emmanuel Sanders. He is a player who still has sell appeal given the success of the three receivers in Denver, but let’s be realistic, Sanders is no Eric Decker. Sanders is volume dependent like Welker and there is likely going to be less to go around for both of them. Who gets the lion’s share may be a week-to-week journey not worth traveling down.

Marshawn Lynch is dealing with the same balky back that has flared up on him the last two years. While I don’t expect it to hinder him too much, how the Seahawks rotate in Robert Turbin is more telling on how much the team tries to scale Lynch back. Also in play is the supposedly healthy Christine Michael; does he, too, become a factor in this game?

Kansas City at Miami

With the running back situation being unclear at the moment, I hesitate to pick Knile Davis. If he does start, watch him. I’ll instead suggest Alex Smith, who is taking on the #1 defense according to Pro Football Focus (and second isn’t very close). Smith really needs to get on track as he has struggled after a strong 2013. If he takes another bad game here, as expected, he could be a nice buy low candidate in two quarterback or super flex leagues.

Speaking of that top defense, Jelani Jenkins has been a nice deep find early in the season. He is among the leaders in tackles and against a Kansas City team that plans to run excessively, Jenkins could be in line for a big day. I would give the second year player a run as he has the looks of a true three down linebacker.

Sunday Night Football

Pittsburgh at Carolina

For those of you who follow DLF, which I assume is everyone, you know about Ryan Shazier. The rookie has looked very good so far, but I think this is the type of game suited perfectly for him. The Panthers are expected to run a lot so this may be the last chance to buy Shazier at a reasonable price.

Count me in as an interested party in Kelvin Benjamin. A great week one was for naught as a Cam Newton-led week two included two drops on eight targets (two catches). The youngster needs to perform for Cam to keep throwing his way. While Jerricho Cotchery and Jason Avant are less interesting, Cam is looking for consistency first, so the pressure is on Benjamin to do better.

Monday Night Football

Chicago at New York Jets

Alshon Jeffery has been fairly quiet to start the season, but I see this as his coming out game as the extra rest will be very beneficial for his injured hamstring. My expectation is he will see the end zone for at least the first time this season, although his yards may not be quite as juicy.

To this point, Jace Amaro is averaging about 20 snaps a game. However, this game could see the Jets behind early and force the team to call more pass plays. If that happens, Amaro could be a beneficiary as Geno Smith looks to spread the field and avoid the opportunistic Bears corners. I think we will continue to see Amaro on the field more and this could be the week he starts getting additional time.

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