The 3M Report: Week Four
Welcome to the week four 3M report. A look back at the magic, mayhem, and mishaps of the weekend’s games.
Miami came out throwing in color rush uniforms resembling actual dolphin vomit. Confusion in Cincinnati’s secondary after a defensive adjustment led to Ryan Tannehill connecting with Kenny Stills on a 74-yard touchdown pass. After that, things got even uglier than their creamsicle ripoff uniforms. The next eight possessions for the Dolphins went like this: Punt. Punt. Punt. Fumble. Punt. Punt. Punt. Punt. Tannehill completed just three passes in the first half in what was his worst game of the season. Miami head coach Adam Gase made the decision to bench his expensive free agent cornerback Byron Maxwell in favor of converted wide receiver Tony Lippett and AJ Green took advantage by exploding for 173 yards and a touchdown on ten receptions. Kicker Mike Nugent took care of the rest of the scoring with his five field goals. I’m glad I don’t play in leagues with kickers anymore because I certainly would have been playing whatever team started him.
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I get up at 4:45am on work days so even waking up at 6:30am on the west coast for the London game felt like sleeping in. The Jaguars were once again off to an incredibly disappointing 0-3 start, but Blake Bortles and the offense were able to get out of the garage against the hapless Colts defense in week four. Bortles tossed touchdowns to both Allens and ran in another one himself for a decent fantasy day. Chris Ivory was back in the lineup but was still out-touched by TJ Yeldon 18-8. I’m expecting this gets to 50/50 or even leans more heavily toward Ivory once he is fully healthy. Indianapolis managed just 92 yards of offense in the first half despite dominating the time of possession 18 minutes to 12. The Colts rallied in the fourth quarter. Frank Gore ran one in, and Andrew Luck hit both TY Hilton and Phillip Dorsett for touchdowns, saving everyone’s fantasy day.
If you felt the ground shake on Sunday it was probably the fantasy monster known as Julio Jones rampaging through your fantasy team on his way to a 12 catch, 300 yard, one touchdown performance for 48 fantasy points in PPR leagues. Matt Ryan went nuclear with 503 yards passing and four touchdown passes. If you had both in DFS then go ahead and get that resignation letter in because you won’t have to work your day job much longer.
Cam Newton was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day and then it got worse when he took a big hit that sent him to the locker room and into the concussion protocol. At some point, you have to wonder if Cam is a player whose flame burns bright, but extinguishes faster than other quarterbacks. He doesn’t seem like the type who will want to alter how he plays the game, but he can’t continue to get beat up like this and expect to play into his late 30s. Derek Anderson came in and tossed a couple of garbage time touchdowns. He will likely be a hot waiver wire pickup in superflex and two quarterback leagues but could also be a look in standard leagues depending on your quarterback situation.
It was Michael Crabtree and not Amari Cooper who was the play of the day for the Raiders offense. Crabtree accounted for three of David Carr’s four touchdown passes today in a game against the Ravens which saw four lead changes in the fourth quarter. Latavius Murray’s fantasy value has been held up by touchdown production but we found out today what happens when he doesn’t find the end zone. Eight carries for 19 yards. Brutal.
I had a bunch of Mike Wallace in DFS today but it was the immortal Steve Smith Sr. who benefitted from the soft Oakland pass defense with eight catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. Terrance West also woke up in the absence of Justin Forsett. Baltimore trusted him with 21 carries and he produced a respectable 113 yards and a touchdown. I’ve been advocating for Kenneth Dixon all season but West may have something to say about who the lead back will be in 2016.
Just one week after pitching a 27-0 shutout of the Houston Texans, the Jacoby Brissett led Patriots put up a 0-16 goose egg of their own in week four. Buffalo’s defense dominated New England in the first quarter. They struggled to get anything going early with just 20 yards and one first down in the first quarter of play. Rob Gronkowski caught his first pass of the season and Martellus Bennett went over 100 yards but it was nowhere near enough. Going 3-1 with Jimmy Garoppolo and the aforementioned ‘Jake Brisket’ is still quite the feat and the Patriots will be ready to rain fire down on the rest of the league once the “angry” Tom Brady narrative returns for week five.
Marcus Mariota struggled again in week four against a JJ Wattless Houston Texans. Is it possible that Mariota just isn’t that good? I’ve been on #TeamJameis from the beginning but a lot of smart people were hyping up Mariota this off-season and so far year two has been a step in the wrong direction. A 44.8% completion percentage isn’t going to get it done against a division rival missing the best defensive player in the league. DeMarco Murray continues to be the only bright spot for the Titans. He had another nice game with 119 total yards and two touchdowns. Will Fuller has been a revelation for the Texans. He showed his versatility today by taking a 67-yard kick return for a touchdown while putting up 81 yards and another touchdown as a receiver. DeAndre Hopkins owners are once again left wanting more. Nuk had just one catch for four yards on only six targets in this game.
I had Washington in a winner take all survivor pool today and they gave me quite the sweat against the Browns. Washington was able to avoid going 0-3 at home largely due to Kirk Cousins and Jordan Reed who I traded away this week in a deal for Stefon Diggs. I still like the move long-term because Reed’s concussion history is scary to me, but it stung on Sunday when he caught two touchdowns. I almost moved Terrelle Pryor as well but he paid me back for holding on with another touchdown. Isaiah Crowell continued his hot streak with another 100-yard game and a touchdown.
Sprained MCL? Ankle injury? Neither seemed to affect Russell Wilson’s fantasy line of 309 yards and three touchdown passes. On tape, you could certainly tell his mobility was limited, but Wilson was able to adjust his game and still be successful. The Christine Michael train keeps rolling with 90 total yards, five catches, and another touchdown. Even newly acquired CJ Spiller got in on the action with a receiving touchdown. Is it possible another former Buffalo Bills running back is resurrected in Seattle? Does this mean we won’t see much of CJ Prosise during his rookie season? Did anyone have Tanner McEvoy on their radar?
For New York and Ryan Fitzpatrick, it wasn’t the Fitzpocalypse from last week but it wasn’t far off as he tossed three more interceptions against Seattle. For those keeping score, that makes nine in the last two weeks and ten total through four games. If you started Brandon Marshall you were satisfied but four catches on 12 targets isn’t the efficiency we are looking for. One thing of note is Bilal Powell’s increased usage. He received nine targets and caught six for 54 yards.
Matthew Stafford and the Detroit offense had their first hiccup of 2016 against an unlikely opponent. Chicago’s pass defense has been picked on this season but intercepted Stafford twice and didn’t allow a single touchdown pass. Brian Hoyer outplayed Stafford today by a large margin and led the bears to their first win of the season. Eddie Royal and Zach Miller were the recipients of Hoyer touchdown passes and rookie running back Jordan Howard kept the chains moving in his first start with 132 total yards.
The Dallas Cowboys have to be thrilled with their two rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. After falling behind by 14 points in the second quarter, the duo led the team back to 24-17 victory. Elliot went over 130 yards on the ground for the second straight week and added a rushing touchdown. Dez Bryant flew with the team to San Francisco but didn’t end up seeing the field. Brice Butler filled in and caught one of Prescott’s two touchdown passes. Not much to say about the San Francisco side. Blaine Gabbert did get them out to an early lead but the most talented team eventually won out. Carlos Hyde owners are ok with 74 yards and a touchdown and if for some ungodly reason you went back to the Jeremy Kerley well, you were rewarded with a 20 point fantasy day.
Trevor Siemian had a nice game going until leaving the game with a non-throwing shoulder injury. Before he left, Demaryius Thomas caught a strike for a touchdown. Rookie Paxton Lynch was forced to make his NFL debut earlier than planned. On the last drive of the first half Lynch led his team down the field for a field goal before halftime. The Broncos rolled to another victory on the backs of their defense. Jameis Winston ran for an early touchdown but was mostly ineffective against the Denver defense. None of his weapons helped you out this week in fantasy either.
What the hell is wrong with the Arizona Cardinals? Despite a tough matchup against the Los Angeles defense, I fully expected the Arizona offense to rebound after an inept performance in Buffalo last week. For fantasy purposes, everyone got something out of the passing game but unless you played John Brown who finally broke out with ten catches for 144 yards, you probably weren’t happy. To make matters worse, Carson Palmer left the game late after Aaron Donald sacked and slammed his head to the turf. Palmer is being evaluated in the concussion protocol and there is a decent chance he misses Thursday night’s game against the division rival 49ers.
Case Keenum completed his second touchdown pass to Brian Quick with 2:36 left to play after being set up by a 47-yard punt return by Tavon Austin. Todd Gurley owners continue to question their life choices after watching Gurley pile up 33 yards on 19 carries. At least he got involved in the passing game this week and helped his fantasy day by catching all five of his targets for 49 yards. Somehow, some way, the Los Angeles Rams are 3-1 and sitting at first place in the NFC West. The NFL is fun. I just wish the Rams were too.
I currently live in San Diego but I’m a lifelong Packers fan. I will root for the Chargers when appropriate but unfortunately know all too well how the team constantly breaks the hearts of my friends who are true fans. With about 12 minutes left in the game, San Diego was up by two touchdowns and the Saints were about to get the ball back. I said out loud, “wouldn’t it be the most Chargers-ish thing ever for them to allow Drew Brees to lead a comeback here and smite the team that forsook him?” That’s just what happened. Melvin Gordon fumbled, setting up a touchdown pass to Michael Thomas. Then Travis Benjamin fumbled and John Kuhn scored his third touchdown of the game on a one-yard run. On the final drive and in a fourth and 22 hole, Philip Rivers threw it up and was intercepted by B.W. Webb completing the 35-34 loss for the Chargers. Despite the fumble, MG3 scored two touchdowns on the ground and caught six of seven targets for 43 yards.
Ben Roethlisberger’s home and road splits are well documented. Sunday night was another big game, throwing four touchdowns in the first half, two to Antonio Brown. The Steelers rolled out to a 29-0 halftime lead and then it was Le’Veon Bell time. The best running back in the league returned from both a knee injury and a three-game suspension. Bell made his 2016 debut Sunday night. All he did was rush for 144 yards and catch five of six targets for another 34 yards. The Chiefs couldn’t get anything going in the first half and the pain continued to rain in the second half. In the third quarter, Big Ben hit Markus Wheaton for a 30-yard touchdown for his fifth passing score of the game. Alex Smith threw for two garbage time touchdowns to finish with a serviceable fantasy day.
That wraps up the week four 3M report! It’s nuts that we are already a quarter of the way through the fantasy season, but here we are. I’m taking my wife out of town next weekend for our five-year wedding anniversary. It’s the least I can do for the woman who puts up with me spending so much time on the NFL and fantasy football. Mo Brewington will be filling in for the week five 3M report. I’ll be back with you in week six.
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Creator and Co-host of Dynasty Game night, the fantasy football game show.
Creator and host of the Zookeeper Stories podcast.
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