Weekly Twitter Observations
In this series of Twitter Observations, we will focus on some of the interesting tweets you may have missed. Twitter can be overwhelming with the amount of information that streams live, but it also proves to be one of the fastest and easiest ways to communicate. In 140 characters or less you can learn something about a player you may have never thought of from trends, stats or analysis. Let’s review some of the best tweets I’ve captured this week.
Chris Wesseling, Around the NFL Writer
Chuck Pagano has high expectations for rookie running back Josh Fergusonhttps://t.co/G5HV8O299p
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) June 19, 2016
Back in January-February, I evaluated a lot of the incoming rookies and Josh Ferguson jumped out right away as a Dion Lewis type running back. At 5’9” 198lbs, has similar size and same shifty-ness. His ability to stop, cut, change direction, and seemingly not slow down is so fun to watch. In the Colts offense, as a complement to Frank Gore, Ferguson will be a perfect weapon for Andrew Luck as a receiver out of the backfield. Prior to the NFL draft I expected him to go in the fifth or sixth round as a change of pace back. With others like Tyler Ervin and Kelvin Taylor were drafted, I cannot figure how Ferguson went undrafted. I like, Chuck Pagano and the Colts, expect good things from him.
If theres a Dion Lewis in this 2016 rookie class, its Josh Ferguson.
— Kevin (@the_FF_engineer) February 7, 2016
Darin Gantt, Reporter. http://Profootballtalk.com/NBC,
The @Seahawks are very excited about their running backs https://t.co/Gno5fKDbUc pic.twitter.com/A0dewNjbsB
— NFLonNBC (@SNFonNBC) June 23, 2016
I’ve been torn how to evaluate the Seattle backfield. Thomas Rawls is expected to resume his role as the lead back. However, I am very impressed with C.J. Prosise not only as a receiver, but as a runner. After reading this article by Darin Gantt makes me think that I haven’t given even credence to the idea we may just be looking at a symbiotic relationship similar to that in Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati. These three situations in 2015 had two running backs in the top 28 of PPR scoring. Primarily with one running back excelling in the running game, while the other excelled in the passing game. There’s lots of coach speak this time of year, but I think head coach Pete Carroll is indicating that both Rawls and Prosise will have significant roles. When discussing Prosise he mentioned a big role for him, but also that the diversity of the backs they brought in will be fun to watch. This backfield will be a fun one to see pan out, but I would only buy either in cost favorable situations. Prosise as a mid to late first round rookie pick and Rawls as a fifth or sixth round startup pick are both too pricey for me given the lack of clarity prior to training camp.
Jonathan Bales, Co-Founder @FantasyLabs
Per @RotoViz, the Cowboys’ splits w/ and w/o Romo the past four years are nuts. pic.twitter.com/adnuvdzfVu
— Jonathan Bales (@BalesFootball) June 20, 2016
These splits of the Cowboys with or without Tony Romo show a clear difference that the team is so much better with him. However, this also highlights the reason the Cowboys drafted Dak Prescott in the fourth round of the NFL draft. The head coach who was a career back-up quarterback simply had very little talent behind Romo over the past 4 seasons. A cast of Matt Cassel, Brandon Weeden, Kyle Orton, and others just won’t cut it. The investment in a draft pick had to be made in the hopes they can not only groom a quarterback, but possibly develop a solid backup. It also should be noted that during Romo’s largest absence, wide receiver Dez Bryant missed significant time with injury and was not 100% upon his return. As well, the same season that the Cowboys brass decided to part ways with running back Demarco Murray. The 2015 season was an extremely difficult season in general for the Cowboys. With a healthy Romo, and a healthy Bryant, I fully expect the duo to get back to the high producing combination they were, prior to 2015.
*Cowboys quarterbacks 2012-2015
Rich Hribar, Writer @thefakefootball @rotoworld @rotoviz. thefakefootball.com/author/rich-hribar/
More bad news is that overall TDs are way up and rushing TDs are still dropping. pic.twitter.com/frE0ro3RcC
— Rich Hribar (@LordReebs) June 24, 2016
In a general sense, we all realize the NFL has become much more of a passing league. Here, Rich Hribar highlights the rate at which we are seeing not only the increase in pass to run touchdown output, but also the overall offensive touchdown output is on the rise. Some in the fantasy community have wondered if there will ever be an elite running back tier again as we had with many year over year producers like we have with Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Matt Forte, Jamaal Charles, Chris Johnson, etc. This goes beyond just rushing touchdowns, but we are seeing fewer running backs with 250 or more fantasy points in a season. With recent additions of Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliott, and the upcoming 2017 class, I will be anxious to see if the next crop of running backs will form a new elite tier in fantasy.
The Fake Football, http://thefakefootball.com/
The Fake Football 2016 Writing Contest starts July 1st!
If you’ve never been paid to write, then you are eligible! pic.twitter.com/O9qkphuHjI
— The Fake Football (@TheFakeFootball) June 23, 2016
Once again The Fake Football is running their Writing Contest. Last year they offered cash prizes and an opportunity to have a plaTform for your work on their site. This is a great opportunity to get your work noticed and give a start to writing about fantasy football. Follow them on Twitter and keep an eye out for more details.
With so much information on Twitter, there are so many great minds contributing great discussion, articles, and bits of data, truly a hot bed of fantasy goodness. I will be doing my best to capture the highlights of the week and mining it out in one place for you.
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