Sunday Six Pack: Week Seven

Dwight Peebles

Six Six Packs in and things are getting wacky. What a season this has been thus far – we will likely break a record for how many quarterbacks start a game this season. Enjoy this week seven Six Pack, after a crazy week seven Thursday opener that saw MVP Patrick Mahomes go down!

1. What are over $25 million of quarterback supposed to buy these days?

Jared Goff has now ‘led’ the Los Angeles Rams to three straight losses and last Sunday was one of the ugliest games of his career. Goff completed only 13 passes for 78 yards and didn’t have a touchdown nor an interception. Statistically, the prior games this season were at least tolerable from a fantasy standpoint. He did throw for 517 yards versus Tampa Bay but three interceptions brought his fantasy output down.

It goes beyond the numbers. He isn’t the same efficient player he was last season when he led one of the most potent offenses in the NFL. The huge contract was a vote in confidence from the team and the offense is still dangerous. The offensive line has not been as good and Todd Gurley hasn’t been the weapon he was the past two years – but the receiving corps is one of the best in the league.

Goff doesn’t look as confident in running the offense. The stats hide the fact that a lot of his production has been late in the game when offenses rack up yards in garbage time. He is not as efficient and careful, and he is missing a lot of throws an elite quarterback should make. I don’t see many people calling Goff elite but he is being paid to be and running an offense which puts him in advantageous situations.

Am I worried? Yes – but if you are not calling Goff your locked and loaded QB1 on your fantasy team, you will be fine. He is a perfect high-end QB2 to team with another solid QB in superflex or as one of a tandem in one-quarterback leagues in which the matchups dictate who gets started. It feels like maybe some were too quick to anoint him a sure-fire QB1 – which he should be in the Rams potent offense.

2. Which leads to this question – do we fade offensive stars when they face San Francisco?

San Francisco’s defense has been stifling this season, through week six, they are ranked first against the pass, sixth against the run, and second in points as well as yards allowed per NFL.com. They have recovered seven fumbles, gathered in seven interceptions, and have 17 sacks as well. The defense has only allowed over 300 yards once, in week two when the Bengals’ offense played the entire second half in garbage time.

The defense stymied the Rams high-powered attack in week six, flag-planted the Browns offense in week five, and never allowed Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, or Pittsburgh to get anything going the first three weeks. The upcoming schedule features two games versus Seattle, a game versus Green Bay, and one versus New Orleans but many games are winnable and the defense should feast against Washington, Arizona twice, and able to contain Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.

Fade your stars when they face San Francisco until further notice. The team has legitimate secondary stars, two great young linebackers, and a few defensive linemen amongst the best in the league. This defense is legitimate and it’s built to last as well.

3. Heads or Tails: Aaron Jones or Jamaal Williams?

It is starting to feel like the Packers coaching staff flips a coin each game and decides which back to feature. It’s maddening! Everyone – well, maybe it’s just me and a few others – realize Jones is by far the most talented and consistent of the duo. And when it looks like he may wrangle the job and make it his, Williams has a great week and we are left in limbo again.

Jones has had a few great weeks. Week five versus Dallas was one of the best in his career – he rushed for 107 yards and four scores as well as caught seven passes for 75 yards and won some weeks for fantasy owners. Jones is only averaging 3.9 yards a carry over the season though but eight rushing touchdowns have helped his fantasy value.

Williams followed Jones’ huge week five by rushing for 104 yards and tacking on 32 yards receiving while looking dynamic versus Detroit. Williams has had games where he displays great athleticism and looks like a better back – particularly in the passing game.

Your sell-high window on Jones was likely last week, maybe this week is a sell-high for Williams but a smart owner won’t invest much on either back. It’s likely always going to be murky and both may be relevant, but we will never know which one will have the big game – unless one is injured.

4. Can Ryan Tannehill make anyone on the Titans offense relevant?

Marcus Mariota was sinking the Titans offense, he has been for the past few years. I am a huge Corey Davis truther and blame his struggles entirely on the Oregon quarterback (although it is not entirely true, obviously). Davis has not shown consistency and has not looked like the WR1 he was drafted to be.

The offense looked much better last Sunday when Tannehill took over. In just over a quarter, Tannehill completed 13 of 16 passes for 144 yards and the offense was moving versus Denver. He got the ball to Davis and rookie AJ Brown despite being under intense pressure.

Tannehill has never been an elite quarterback but has put up numbers in the past – he has two 4,000 yard seasons and a 63% completion percentage on his career. Interceptions have been an issue as he has thrown 76 picks in 90 career games. He led offenses at Miami which scored points and moved the ball, and the teams he played on were not rich with talent.

Going forward I expect this to bolster the options in Tennessee – Tannehill will throw more and with some positive game scripts possibly not be asked to throw 50 times to win games. I think it’s a bump up for the whole offense. Teams were allowed to key in on stopping the ground game and Tannehill will make them respect the pass a little more. Davis, Brown, Adam Humphries, Delanie Walker, and Dion Lewis give him five solid pass-catchers and the offense should score more with Tannehill at the helm.

5. Guess who’s back? Back again – Trubisky’s back – tell your friends!

The last two games with Chase Daniel at the helm have shown the Bears offense is still capable but it is not as good as when Mitchell Trubisky is under center. The defense will always keep them in games and the quarterback will not be asked to win games often.

For the record, I am not defending and saying Trubisky is the answer long term, I still have my doubts. The first two games this season were not great and the offense looked pathetic against Green Bay in particular week one. In weeks four and five, Daniel was an efficient fill-in, completing over 73% of his passes but only for 195 yards and 234 yards with two costly interceptions sinking the team in week five versus the Raiders. The offense has not looked good overall this season, despite the re-emergence of Allen Robinson.

The offense does have a better shot of being an asset rather than a liability with Trubisky taking the snaps – he has still only started 42 games counting college and pros and is still developing. Last season, he had a few games in which he guided the team to wins by slinging the rock around and showing the moxie needed to win in the NFL. There were a few games he was a liability as well so he’s not the perfect answer.

I’m not giving up on Trubisky – as far as a dynasty asset, I am not sure he is ever going to be a start every week QB1 but he does give the Bears offense a chance to be more fantasy viable.

6. Is Kyler Murray a legitimate QB1 already?

We haven’t really seen the running ability on display in the NFL which was supposed to keep Murray in QB1 discussion. The rushing would supposedly be able to buoy him weekly like it has for Lamar Jackson. In week five, Murray rushed for 93 yards but he only has one other game over 50 yards rushing.

The passing has been improving and Murray is getting comfortable in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense. Week six brought Atlanta into town and Murray completed 73% of his passes for 340 yards and three scores as well. He looks more confident each week and the offense looks potent despite an offensive line being one of the worst in the league. They have now won two straight and have been in every game with the exception of Seattle in week four.

Murray is making better choices with every game. He shows good anticipation and isn’t leading his receivers into bad situations with good placement. The rushing threat is always there – watching the games, you get a feeling he is going to scramble out and be gone on every play. It is keeping defenses honest and allowing him more options in the passing game.

Yes, Murray is a start every week QB1 already – Arizona has a fairly easy schedule the rest of the way and Murray could lead your team to a fantasy championship. He is showing he is a top quarterback option, not in the way we thought it would be exactly though.

dwight peebles
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