Ryan Fitzpatrick got back on track against the Jets by throwing at Revis Island.

Bills-Jets

Most analysis that you hear on TV falls victim to the “prisoner of the moment” error. Teams are either the next-big-thing, or the sky is falling. The Buffalo Bills have been on both sides of that equation this year but as I explained last week, neither really applies. They are simply a mediocre team en route to a mediocre record. Although, if Buffalo fans remembered the dire predictions from the preseason(4-12 was common) they would take mediocre in a heartbeat. So a four-point loss on the road, with their running game hampered by the absence of Fred Jackson, to the mediocre Jets, is the kind of result we should expect from Buffalo.

Buffalo’s mediocre defense held Mark Sanchez to 180 yards and 50% completion percentage. However, in the red zone, they let up, repeatedly leaving guys wide open and allowing Sanchez to throw four very easy touchdowns. Two of those went to Dustin Keller while Plaxico Burress caught yet another TD. The problem for fantasy owners, is that this offense is too inconsistent to feel confident with any of them on your free fantasy football team. Shonn Greene also put in a decent if uninspiring effort for New York, gaining 78 yards on 13 carries.

Buffalo’s offense was a mixed bag. As mentioned before, their running game was a disaster. CJ Spiller gained just 55 yards on 19 carries. Ryan Fitzpatrick had has best day in several weeks against the Jets defense, connecting on 26 of 39 passes for 264 yards and 3 scores. Part of that was the flukish performance of Brad Smith, who the Jets frequently forgot to cover, allowing him to score and gain 77 yards as a receiver.

The other major contributor is the one player who was decidedly not mediocre. Stevie Johnson torched Revis Island to the tune of 8 catches for 75 yards and a score. Johnson made all the tough catches. However he is still a young player and he dropped the biggest catch of the night: a touchdown that would have been the game winner. When he puts it all together he will be a force. He should be considered an option weekly in salary cap fantasy football.

Panthers-Colts

A matchup between the two worst defenses in the league should have been a bonanza for fantasy owners, especially those that play weekly fantasy football and could take advantage of the matchup without keeping Colts and Panthers on their rosters. Only two players were actually able to turn the matchup into a big day. Deangelo Williams ran for 69 yards but, more importantly, scored twice while Reggie Wayne blew up for 122 yards and a touchdown.

Jonathan Stewart played well, running the ball 10 times for 70 yards. He’s actually had a nice year, but from a fantasy perspective, it’s hard to play him. Williams still receives more carries, and because of the defense, carries are limited in Carolina. Quarterback Cam Newton, who scored again on the ground,  presents yet another rushing threat on the goalline. Owners wanted more from Steve Smith than 68 yards receiving against Indy, but he remains the only credible play in this offense.

If you picked up a Colt running back to play this excellent matchup, it was likely Joseph Addai. The veteran ball carrier gained 23 yards on 7 rushes. Salary cap fantasy football players will wish they had given Donald Brown a shot, who surprised everyone with 80 yards and a score on 14 carries. Though Wayne had the big day, Curtis Painter wasn’t able to get much from anyone else. He finished with just 226 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.

Patriots-Eagles

It’s not surprising that Lesean McCoy didn’t rush the ball many times against New England. (just 10) It’s surprising how poorly he fared when he did run against a porous Patriot defense. (3ypc) For those that thought he might struggle without Michael Vick spreading the defense, this should raise a flag. But McCoy looked great against New York last week, so weekly fantasy football players should not rush to judgment.

It should also be considered that Vince Young did spread those Pats out. He threw for 400 yards, albeit a chunk of that in garbage time. He ran for another 40 yards. Young did everything but score, although some of the fault for that has to lie with Desean Jackson who dropped two touchdowns. Jackson ended up with 73 yards, though his statline should have read 100+ with two scores.

It was the Eagles defense who truly lost the game, allowing Tom Brady to throw all over them, amassing 360 yards and three touchdowns before shifting into handoff mode.

Chargers-Broncos

Norv Turner doesn’t get it. After another pathetic performance by Mike Tobert, 11 carries for 44 yards, Turner put the game in his hands, giving him two straight carries when the Chargers needed at least 8 yards to have a reasonable shot at a game-winning field goal. Tolbert managed -4. While Tolbert isn’t good at any point on the field, he is especially bad in short-yardage situations. Turner still doesn’t get that. Ryan Matthews had torn up the Broncos, taking 22 carries and turning them into 137 yards of offense.

In previous years, Turner’s gaffes could be covered by his top-five quarterback. Unfortunately for San Diego, and the owners of any Chargers in a fantasy football competition, Rivers has digressed. His errant throws are frequently wide of the mark. He again sunk the value of Vincent Jackson, hitting him only twice for 25 yards. Antonio Gates did score. He remains a must-start in all formats.

For the Broncos, Willis McGahee ran like lightning, putting up 117 yards. Erik Decker was constantly open deep. He gained 65 yards and scored. Noone else on Denver is worth anything in fantasy football. Tim Tebow, as usual, was atrocious, connecting for only 143 yards, 99 of which came against a prevent.

Raiders-Bears

The debut for Caleb Hanie was a mixed bag. He threw some nice deep balls, connecting three times with Johnnie Knox for a total of 145 yards. But he also gave away three interceptions. The Bears have to hope that their defense will carry them through the remaining games on the schedule. Since they have several easier games than Oakland, that should be possible. If Jay Cutler can return from the playoffs, the Bears are the biggest threat to the Packers, as Cutler has unquestionably been the third best quarterback this season. The running backs continued to play well in his absence, With Matt Forte racking up 59 yards and Marion Barber adding 63 on the ground. Clearly, they are saving Forte for winnable games, so plan accordingly.

On the other side of the ball, Michael Bush struggled but he did cross the goal line once. Carson Palmer could hardly find receivers open, so his game was comprised of a series of dumpoffs to Marcel Reese. Look for him to get back on track against a better matchup.

Vikings-Falcons

Without Adrian Peterson, the Vikings are barely an NFL team. Now that his opponent doesn’t have to stack the box, Christian Ponder struggles. He put up 186 and a single score against a Falcon defense that hasn’t scared many this year. With the box open Toby Gerhardt managed an uninspiring 34 yards on 17 carries. The lone bright spot for the Vikes was Percy Harvin who caught 8 balls for 95 yards and the only score.

It was a lost opportunity for Minnesota as the defense shut down Michael Turner and the Falcons running game, allowing only 3 ypc and 60 total yards to the bruiser. Roddy White broke free often, though, coming down with 120 yards and one of Matt Ryan’s three touchdown passes.

Titans-Bucs

Just when fantasy football owners were about to give up on him, CJ2K comes through with an outstanding performance, albeit against a weak defense. But the way Johnson kept ripping off 15-25 yard gains would have been impressive against anyone. He ended the day with 190 yards, though the fumble and lack of score hurt his value on the day. Between his carries and the Bucs turnovers, the Titans carried the day, keeping pace in the wildcard hunt.

Quick Hits

Steelers-Chiefs
Tyler Palko was Tebowesque with 167 yards and 3 picks in a losing effort. Between Rivers, Palko/Cassel and Tebow, the Raiders are poised to dominate the air battle in this division for a while.
The Antonio Brown train continued with another 81 yards for the young wideout.
Rashard Mendenhall again struggled. Not sure what is so much worse about this team since last year, but it is there.

Rams-Cardinals
Has anyone been more up-and-down this year than Beanie Wells? 27 for 228 and a TD on Sunday.
Has anyone been more consistent than Brandon Lloyd since joining the Rams? 74 yards and touchdown for the third straight week.

Browns-Bengals
Peyton Hillis got the bulk of the carries when Montario Hardesty pulled out during warmups. The 19 for 65 he put up? Not impressive.
Is it possible that AJ Green is underrated? After another century on the day, he is possibly the real rookie of the year. Between him and Gresham, there is no question that Andy Dalton has far better weapons than Cam Newton.

Texans-Jags
Ben Tate only ran the ball 5 times and all early. His absence was mysterious given he gained 26 yards and Arian Foster was largely ineffective on the day.
Maurice Jones-Drew continued his run of consistency, with 99 yards. He did add 67 receiving yards, making for one of his better days on the year.

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 28th, 2011 at 11:23 am and is filed under Best Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.