Courtesy of: SportsGlory.com
A few years back, I decided I wanted to be a writer. More accurately, a professional writer. I had written many things prior to that point, all of which resided in my head or on a zip disk that seemed like the best place to keep it; after all, zip drives are the way of the future! Anyway, upon deciding that writing was a true pursuit of mine, I got serious about it. I wrote every day. I wrote about many different topics. I started a blog and slowly but surely, a following. I wrote for other blogs, other websites; any and everybody looking for content. I wrote passionately and began to develop and craft a style of my own.
The more I wrote, the better I got. The practice was paying off; I could tell and so could those reading my work. The compliments and feedback were encouraging and I knew I was on to something. It was only a matter of time before that call or that email would come…the one acknowledging my work and skill and offering a job.
But the calls didn’t come. The emails didn’t come. The writing continued to pour out, but the job offers were not pouring in. I started to get discouraged, disappointed, and unsure of myself. Maybe I just wasn’t good enough. But the support of family, friends, and complete strangers that simply enjoyed my words kept me going. I had a goal and I wasn’t about to quit now. That’s when The Sports Column called and that’s why you’re reading this right now. This site provided me an opportunity; which in turn, may provide additional opportunities down the road. I’ll keep writing passionately about what I love, and I’ll keep churning out column after column, and eventually another opportunity may come my way.
What does all of this have to do with fantasy football? Opportunity my friend. With another six teams on bye in week 9, fantasy rosters are being held together with scotch tape and a prayer. So we, as fantasy owners, must dig deeper to find guys who can help us win this week and that means looking for opportunity. Injuries happen every year, but this year seems practically bubonic. Because of these injuries, guys we probably never heard of in the preseason are being given the opportunity to break out and prove they are capable of holding a starting spot.
Last week, guys like Andre Ellington, Zac Stacy, Jarrett Boykin, Marvin Jones, and Harry Douglas had solid, and in some cases, spectacular games for their respective teams. These guys “came out of the woodwork” according to many casual football fans; but us fantasy followers have been talking about them for weeks. Its guys like these that you need to continue to search for when dealing with bye week woes. Don’t give up because they certainly won’t. Their working hard every week to get on the field and prove their worth; all they need is the opportunity.
Last week, I went 6 for 6 in the fantasy 6-pack so let’s see if we can keep this train rolling. Here are this week’s 3 I like and 3 I don’t.
3 I Like
RB, Ryan Mathews (13 proj. pts)- If you discard week 5, which he barely played due to an injury, Mathews has had 3 straight double digit fantasy weeks. His 4.4 yards per carry over that stretch is evidence of the skill and talent we all thought he possessed when the Chargers selected him in the first round a few years back. His lack of involvement in the passing game is a real thing and can’t be dismissed thanks to the effective Danny Woodhead, but perhaps it’s a blessing. Mathews has been able to focus on his carries, which have increased lately, and two weeks ago he scored his first rushing TD of the year. Coming off a bye and facing the worst run defense in the league against opposing fantasy backs (Washington) is a recipe for success again this week as Mathews tops 15 points easily.
WR, Vincent Jackson (7 proj. pts)- Since Mike Glennon took over as the Bucs starting QB, Jackson has led the league in targets among WR. Even last week in a tough Thursday night matchup against Carolina, Jackson saw 13 passes come his way which he turned in to a solid 79 yards (though he didn’t find the endzone). Nevertheless, it’s clear that the young Glennon is looking Jackson’s way early and often in games and that trend doesn’t look to be bucked anytime soon with Tampa Bay’s Mike Williams now out for the year. It’s another difficult defensive matchup with Seattle, but I think V-Jax is nearly matchup proof and will likely find his way into the endzone again this week.
TE, Coby Fleener (2 proj. pts)- Call it hedging if you want; to put a guy on the like list that is only projected for 2 points. Shouldn’t take much to top that right? The reason I’m listing Fleener here this week is that not only do I like him in this game, but he’s a perfect example of the story I mentioned above. The season-ending injury to Reggie Wayne, which he suffered right before the bye week, is a tough one to swallow for this Colts offense. But with a blossoming Andrew Luck under center, not all is lost. Someone has to step up however and absorb the over the middle targets that Wayne was so instrumental in snatching up. I believe that will be Fleener. Luck and Fleener have a chemistry that first began at Stanford and is slowly getting better and better as teammates now in the NFL. I don’t trust Darius Heyward-Bey to rise up for Indy and I think Fleener becomes a top 8 TE for the rest of the season.
3 I Don’t
RB, Pierre Thomas (12 proj. pts)- Thomas appears to have taken on the role of lead back in the Saints offense for whatever that is worth. His usage has increased, but his production has basically plateaued. His only double digit fantasy day of the year came when he managed two receiving TDs against Chicago in week 5, but other than that, he’s topped 5 fantasy points in only one other game. This week the Saints take on the Jets who are fairly stingy against the run so I expect another high flying aerial assault from Brees and company. Don’t expect double digits from Thomas this week…but with 6 teams on bye, I suppose you could do much worse.
WR, Marvin Jones (13 proj. pts)- Jones was one of the aforementioned spectacular performances of week 8. His 4 TDs resulted in 36 fantasy points for anyone lucky enough to have started him. What’s crazy is that Jones played less than 20 snaps the whole game. Impressive…but unlikely to happen again. Yes, Jones serves as a quality red zone threat; however his usage throughout the game is not likely to change all that much. He’ll continue to see the field sparingly and while he’s a potential TD machine, he’ll face a strong secondary this week in Miami which has only given up 1 TD to opposing WRs all year. If I had to bank on it, I’d bet AJ Green gets that TD tonight, not Jones.
QB, Andy Dalton (17 proj. pts)- I just think this is the week the Dalton train comes off the rails. The past 3 weeks have been wonderful for Dalton owners; unfortunately they were likely too skittish to start the Bengals QB due to his general inconsistencies and probably missed out on one of two of these performances. This week, he goes to Miami on a short week to take on the Dolphins who rank in the top 10 against opposing fantasy QBs, only allowing an average of 13.6 fantasy points per week. His streak of 3 straight games with at least 3 TDs comes to an end tonight and Dalton barely gets to the teens in fantasy points scored.
Last Week: 6-0
Year To Date: 29-13
