Week 7 Target Watch: NFC

Here are this week’s NFC Targets for Week 7. They have a hint of pumpkin spice and candy corn.

But before we get to the team targets, I thought I’d give you the target leaders from each position, but within the confines of the thirty-yard line, which I will now refer to as the lemon-lime zone. I thought since we usually see red zone stats it might be nice to see some from a little further out.


Target leaders inside the 30

Arizona Cardinals

Larry Fitzgerald: 11-5-9-15-15-12 (67), Andre Roberts: 9-1-6-9-10-6 (41), Early Doucet: 3-4-1-7-7-3 (25), Michael Floyd: 1-0-2-8-3-3 (17), Rob Housler: 0-1-2-3-6-3 (15), Todd Heap: 4-9-dnp-dnp-dnp-0 (13), Jeff King: 3-0-2-2-1-4 (12), Ryan Williams: 3-2-2-2-1-dnp (10), William Powell: dnp-dnp-dnp-2-4-1 (7), LaRod Stephens-Howling: 1-2-0-dnp-dnp-2 (5), Anthony Sherman: 1-1-0-0-2-0 (4), Chris Wells: 0-1-0-dnp-dnp-dnp (1), Alfonso Smith: dnp-dnp-dnp-0-1-0 (1)

As soon as you think you can trust Andre Roberts in good matchups, he goes and puts up two receptions for 18 yards with none of his patented touchdowns. Really, unless you are in a deep league, don’t even try owning a Cardinals pass catcher not named Larry Fitzgerald. It will only cause heartache and suffering, mostly suffering.

The running back by attrition committee of LaRod Stephens-Howling and William Powell was taken over by Powell by sheer ability not to play as bad as Howling. There are absolutely too many puns in my head right now. Suffice it to say, Powell looks like he can hang, at least in good matchups. And that may be the biggest problem since Powell gets the unenviable matchups of Minnesota and San Francisco the next two weeks.

Atlanta Falcons

Tony Gonzalez: 6-10-12-5-14-7 (54), Julio Jones: 9-7-7-8-15-8 (54), Roddy White: 8-11-8-12-6-8 (53), Harry Douglas: 4-3-2-2-5-7 (23), Jacquizz Rodgers: 2-1-5-4-2-4 (18), Michael Turner: 0-1-2-5-5-1 (14), Jason Snelling: 0-1-1-4-1-0 (7), Tommy Gallarda: dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-2-1 (3), Michael Palmer: 1-0-1-dnp-dnp-dnp (2), Lousaka Polite: 0-0-0-dnp-dnp-1 (1)

The Falcons played down to their opponent this week and left fake points lying all over the field. With plus matchups like that, a win is worthless unless you destroy the other team in a fantasy way. But hey, that’s just one man’s opinion. I suppose we can’t always get perfection, but I do expect it! Michael Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers split time on the field again, 29 snaps to 21, but neither did much damage. Michael Turner’s numbers look more pathetic though. He rushed 11 times for 33 yards, which if I get out my abacus, let’s see, yep, that’s three yards per carry.

The Falcons need the lead for Turner to get enough carries to have value, and they didn’t this week. Of course they are a good enough team that we can expect them to have a lead more often than not. But you take his diminishing skills and add them to the uncertainty of opportunity, and it gets a little dicey.

Carolina Panthers

Steve Smith: 11-4-4-6-13-BYE (38), Greg Olsen: 7-3-14-7-3-BYE (34), Brandon LaFell: 5-8-5-3-3-BYE (24), Mike Tolbert: 3-2-5-3-1-BYE (14), Louis Murphy: 5-0-3-1-2-BYE (11), DeAngelo Williams: 1-0-2-2-2-BYE (7), Jonathan Stewart: dnp-1-dnp-1-4-BYE (6), Kealoha Pilares: 1-1-0-1-0-BYE (3), Armanti Edwards: 0-0-0-1-0-BYE (1), Ben Hartsock: 0-dnp-0-0-1-BYE (1)

The Carolina Panthers took a week off to regroup.

Chicago Bears

Brandon Marshall: 15-5-11-8-17-BYE (56), Alshon Jeffery: 5-2-7-5-4-BYE (23), Kellen Davis: 1-6-3-4-4-BYE (18), Matt Forte: 6-5-dnp-1-4-BYE (16), Earl Bennett: 4-6-4-dnp-dnp-BYE (14), Devin Hester: 2-1-2-4-4-BYE (13), Michael Bush: 0-0-2-1-3-BYE (6), Dane Sanzenbacher: dnp-dnp-dnp-1-2-BYE (3), Matt Spaeth: 0-2-0-0-0-BYE (2), Kyle Adams: dnp-dnp-1-0-1-BYE (2), Kahlil Bell: dnp-dnp-1-0-dnp-BYE (1),
Evan Rodriguez: 1-0-0-dnp-dnp-BYE (1)

The Bears took the week off to reinvent Jay Cutler.

Dallas Cowboys

Dez Bryant: 5-7-8-13-BYE-15 (48), Jason Witten: 3-10-6-14-BYE-7 (40), Miles Austin: 4-10-9-6-BYE-5 (34), Kevin Ogletree: 11-1-7-5-BYE-4 (28), DeMarco Murray: 2-4-4-7-BYE-1 (18), Felix Jones: 2-5-2-0-BYE-1 (10), John Phillips: 1-2-0-0-BYE-2 (5), Phillip Tanner: 0-0-0-3-BYE-0 (3), Lawrence Vickers: 0-0-1-0-BYE-1 (2), Cole Beasley: 0-dnp-dnp-2-BYE-dnp (2), James Hanna: 1-0-0-0-BYE-0 (1), Andre Holmes: 0-dnp-0-1-BYE-0 (1), Dwayne Harris: 0-0-0-1-BYE-0 (1)

Oh Dez, Dez, Dez, way to go! Great game! You’re the best! That’s what you heard from fantasy owners of Dez Bryant after he caught 13 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. You might have heard different sounds coming from non-fantasy playing Cowboy fans, i.e. Hank Hill, but thankfully they aren’t reading this and I can make fun of them, I tell you what.

The target score is heavily in Bryant’s favor over the last couple weeks, which probably has some Miles Austin owners worried. I can see that, but I’m sure we’ll see some fluctuation going forward. Austin is too good to turn into a five target a game receiver. But the best news remains for Bryant owners. In his first three games he totaled 20 targets and zero red zone targets and in the last two games he has totaled 28 targets and six red zone targets. I had lamented in this column earlier that they should get their most physical receiver more targets near the end zone and thankfully Jason Garrett reads me religiously.

The running back situation is in flux with DeMarco Murray hurting and it looks like Felix Jones will get the start in week seven. He came out of the game a few snaps due to cramps last week and Phillip Tanner saw nine carries to Jones’ 18, but Jones had a nice touchdown run and also had 92 yards rushing and 13 yards receiving. Tanner will serve as Jones’ backup, which could be fruitful with how often Felix is injured.

Detroit Lions

Calvin Johnson: 7-12-12-12-BYE-13 (56), Brandon Pettigrew: 10-4-12-9-BYE-7 (42), Nate Burleson: 8-3-12-8-BYE-9 (40), Titus Young: 3-3-7-3-BYE-5 (21), Tony Scheffler: 8-3-dnp-3-BYE-5 (19), Joique Bell: 0-3-5-8-BYE-2 (18), Mikel Leshoure: dnp-dnp-4-5-BYE-4 (13), Kevin Smith: 6-3-0-0-BYE-dnp (9), Will Heller: 2-1-1-0-BYE-0 (4), Keiland Williams: 1-0-0-1-BYE-0 (2), Stefan Logan: 1-0-1-0-BYE-0 (2), Ryan Broyles: dnp-dnp-0-1-BYE-0 (1)

The Lions have a lot of players to feed and they must feed Megatron first or he’ll blow them all up, Schwartz first. So after they give Calvin Johnson his 12 targets, unless the offense is really clicking, which it hasn’t, there aren’t many fantasy points left for the other guys. Nate Burleson needs a ton of targets because his yards after catch are a good reason to kvetch. Brandon Pettigrew is similar in his catch the ball and then fall downability and he was only on the field 50% of the snaps versus his usual 90%+. Why that is? His knee, his inability to catch the ball, Tony Scheffler? Titus Young is ailing. Tony Scheffler is finally back and taking targets from Pettigrew. And Joique Bell, whom I was ready to anoint the PPR steal of the year after his 12 receptions for 175 yards weeks two through four, saw a measly two targets last week. What’s a fantasy pundit to do!?

Well, we have to do something, because this offense, even though it has been scuffling, has a ton of potential, and you don’t want to be left behind holding a worthless Coke instead of a Mean Joe Greene jersey. Now that we know Jahvid Best won’t be walking through that door, it looks like we can settle on Mikel Leshoure and Joique Bell (I think Kevin Smith put icy hot in Jim Schwartz’s jock strap and no, don’t ask me why he wears a jock strap). Bell could have some value n PPR leagues, but there’s no consistency there. Leshoure is improving and could be RB2 material. Young is a no go at this point. Burleson’s upside is a snail’s belly. And Pettigrew could lose red zone targets to Scheffler like last season. So that’s all I have to say about that.

Here are this week’s NFC Targets for Week 7. They have a hint of pumpkin spice and candy corn.

But before we get to the team targets, I thought I’d give you the target leaders from each position, but within the confines of the thirty-yard line, which I will now refer to as the lemon-lime zone. I thought since we usually see red zone stats it might be nice to see some from a little further out.


Target leaders inside the 30

Arizona Cardinals

Larry Fitzgerald: 11-5-9-15-15-12 (67), Andre Roberts: 9-1-6-9-10-6 (41), Early Doucet: 3-4-1-7-7-3 (25), Michael Floyd: 1-0-2-8-3-3 (17), Rob Housler: 0-1-2-3-6-3 (15), Todd Heap: 4-9-dnp-dnp-dnp-0 (13), Jeff King: 3-0-2-2-1-4 (12), Ryan Williams: 3-2-2-2-1-dnp (10), William Powell: dnp-dnp-dnp-2-4-1 (7), LaRod Stephens-Howling: 1-2-0-dnp-dnp-2 (5), Anthony Sherman: 1-1-0-0-2-0 (4), Chris Wells: 0-1-0-dnp-dnp-dnp (1), Alfonso Smith: dnp-dnp-dnp-0-1-0 (1)

As soon as you think you can trust Andre Roberts in good matchups, he goes and puts up two receptions for 18 yards with none of his patented touchdowns. Really, unless you are in a deep league, don’t even try owning a Cardinals pass catcher not named Larry Fitzgerald. It will only cause heartache and suffering, mostly suffering.

The running back by attrition committee of LaRod Stephens-Howling and William Powell was taken over by Powell by sheer ability not to play as bad as Howling. There are absolutely too many puns in my head right now. Suffice it to say, Powell looks like he can hang, at least in good matchups. And that may be the biggest problem since Powell gets the unenviable matchups of Minnesota and San Francisco the next two weeks.

Atlanta Falcons

Tony Gonzalez: 6-10-12-5-14-7 (54), Julio Jones: 9-7-7-8-15-8 (54), Roddy White: 8-11-8-12-6-8 (53), Harry Douglas: 4-3-2-2-5-7 (23), Jacquizz Rodgers: 2-1-5-4-2-4 (18), Michael Turner: 0-1-2-5-5-1 (14), Jason Snelling: 0-1-1-4-1-0 (7), Tommy Gallarda: dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-2-1 (3), Michael Palmer: 1-0-1-dnp-dnp-dnp (2), Lousaka Polite: 0-0-0-dnp-dnp-1 (1)

The Falcons played down to their opponent this week and left fake points lying all over the field. With plus matchups like that, a win is worthless unless you destroy the other team in a fantasy way. But hey, that’s just one man’s opinion. I suppose we can’t always get perfection, but I do expect it! Michael Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers split time on the field again, 29 snaps to 21, but neither did much damage. Michael Turner’s numbers look more pathetic though. He rushed 11 times for 33 yards, which if I get out my abacus, let’s see, yep, that’s three yards per carry.

The Falcons need the lead for Turner to get enough carries to have value, and they didn’t this week. Of course they are a good enough team that we can expect them to have a lead more often than not. But you take his diminishing skills and add them to the uncertainty of opportunity, and it gets a little dicey.

Carolina Panthers

Steve Smith: 11-4-4-6-13-BYE (38), Greg Olsen: 7-3-14-7-3-BYE (34), Brandon LaFell: 5-8-5-3-3-BYE (24), Mike Tolbert: 3-2-5-3-1-BYE (14), Louis Murphy: 5-0-3-1-2-BYE (11), DeAngelo Williams: 1-0-2-2-2-BYE (7), Jonathan Stewart: dnp-1-dnp-1-4-BYE (6), Kealoha Pilares: 1-1-0-1-0-BYE (3), Armanti Edwards: 0-0-0-1-0-BYE (1), Ben Hartsock: 0-dnp-0-0-1-BYE (1)

The Carolina Panthers took a week off to regroup.

Chicago Bears

Brandon Marshall: 15-5-11-8-17-BYE (56), Alshon Jeffery: 5-2-7-5-4-BYE (23), Kellen Davis: 1-6-3-4-4-BYE (18), Matt Forte: 6-5-dnp-1-4-BYE (16), Earl Bennett: 4-6-4-dnp-dnp-BYE (14), Devin Hester: 2-1-2-4-4-BYE (13), Michael Bush: 0-0-2-1-3-BYE (6), Dane Sanzenbacher: dnp-dnp-dnp-1-2-BYE (3), Matt Spaeth: 0-2-0-0-0-BYE (2), Kyle Adams: dnp-dnp-1-0-1-BYE (2), Kahlil Bell: dnp-dnp-1-0-dnp-BYE (1),
Evan Rodriguez: 1-0-0-dnp-dnp-BYE (1)

The Bears took the week off to reinvent Jay Cutler.

Dallas Cowboys

Dez Bryant: 5-7-8-13-BYE-15 (48), Jason Witten: 3-10-6-14-BYE-7 (40), Miles Austin: 4-10-9-6-BYE-5 (34), Kevin Ogletree: 11-1-7-5-BYE-4 (28), DeMarco Murray: 2-4-4-7-BYE-1 (18), Felix Jones: 2-5-2-0-BYE-1 (10), John Phillips: 1-2-0-0-BYE-2 (5), Phillip Tanner: 0-0-0-3-BYE-0 (3), Lawrence Vickers: 0-0-1-0-BYE-1 (2), Cole Beasley: 0-dnp-dnp-2-BYE-dnp (2), James Hanna: 1-0-0-0-BYE-0 (1), Andre Holmes: 0-dnp-0-1-BYE-0 (1), Dwayne Harris: 0-0-0-1-BYE-0 (1)

Oh Dez, Dez, Dez, way to go! Great game! You’re the best! That’s what you heard from fantasy owners of Dez Bryant after he caught 13 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. You might have heard different sounds coming from non-fantasy playing Cowboy fans, i.e. Hank Hill, but thankfully they aren’t reading this and I can make fun of them, I tell you what.

The target score is heavily in Bryant’s favor over the last couple weeks, which probably has some Miles Austin owners worried. I can see that, but I’m sure we’ll see some fluctuation going forward. Austin is too good to turn into a five target a game receiver. But the best news remains for Bryant owners. In his first three games he totaled 20 targets and zero red zone targets and in the last two games he has totaled 28 targets and six red zone targets. I had lamented in this column earlier that they should get their most physical receiver more targets near the end zone and thankfully Jason Garrett reads me religiously.

The running back situation is in flux with DeMarco Murray hurting and it looks like Felix Jones will get the start in week seven. He came out of the game a few snaps due to cramps last week and Phillip Tanner saw nine carries to Jones’ 18, but Jones had a nice touchdown run and also had 92 yards rushing and 13 yards receiving. Tanner will serve as Jones’ backup, which could be fruitful with how often Felix is injured.

Detroit Lions

Calvin Johnson: 7-12-12-12-BYE-13 (56), Brandon Pettigrew: 10-4-12-9-BYE-7 (42), Nate Burleson: 8-3-12-8-BYE-9 (40), Titus Young: 3-3-7-3-BYE-5 (21), Tony Scheffler: 8-3-dnp-3-BYE-5 (19), Joique Bell: 0-3-5-8-BYE-2 (18), Mikel Leshoure: dnp-dnp-4-5-BYE-4 (13), Kevin Smith: 6-3-0-0-BYE-dnp (9), Will Heller: 2-1-1-0-BYE-0 (4), Keiland Williams: 1-0-0-1-BYE-0 (2), Stefan Logan: 1-0-1-0-BYE-0 (2), Ryan Broyles: dnp-dnp-0-1-BYE-0 (1)

The Lions have a lot of players to feed and they must feed Megatron first or he’ll blow them all up, Schwartz first. So after they give Calvin Johnson his 12 targets, unless the offense is really clicking, which it hasn’t, there aren’t many fantasy points left for the other guys. Nate Burleson needs a ton of targets because his yards after catch are a good reason to kvetch. Brandon Pettigrew is similar in his catch the ball and then fall downability and he was only on the field 50% of the snaps versus his usual 90%+. Why that is? His knee, his inability to catch the ball, Tony Scheffler? Titus Young is ailing. Tony Scheffler is finally back and taking targets from Pettigrew. And Joique Bell, whom I was ready to anoint the PPR steal of the year after his 12 receptions for 175 yards weeks two through four, saw a measly two targets last week. What’s a fantasy pundit to do!?

Well, we have to do something, because this offense, even though it has been scuffling, has a ton of potential, and you don’t want to be left behind holding a worthless Coke instead of a Mean Joe Greene jersey. Now that we know Jahvid Best won’t be walking through that door, it looks like we can settle on Mikel Leshoure and Joique Bell (I think Kevin Smith put icy hot in Jim Schwartz’s jock strap and no, don’t ask me why he wears a jock strap). Bell could have some value n PPR leagues, but there’s no consistency there. Leshoure is improving and could be RB2 material. Young is a no go at this point. Burleson’s upside is a snail’s belly. And Pettigrew could lose red zone targets to Scheffler like last season. So that’s all I have to say about that.

Green Bay Packers

Jordy Nelson: 7-9-3-12-5-12 (48), James Jones: 6-5-6-6-7-7 (37), Jermichael Finley: 11-5-5-5-5-4 (35), Randall Cobb: 9-2-2-8-4-10 (35), Greg Jennings: 9-dnp-10-3-dnp-dnp (22), Cedric Benson: 0-4-5-4-2-dnp (15), John Kuhn: 0-3-4-0-1-0 (8), D.J. Williams: 0-1-2-dnp-4-dnp (7), Donald Driver: 0-1-1-2-2-0 (6), Tom Crabtree: 0-0-dnp-1-1-3 (5), Alex Green: dnp-0-dnp-0-1-1 (2)

I (and everyone else in the world) told you last week that as long as Jordy Nelson was upright and getting targets, he’d get his. And boy did he get his to the tune of nine receptions, 121 yards and three touchdowns. And of course James Jones caught two touchdowns, just like the previous two weeks.

Randall Cobb’s ability is similar to Percy Harvin’s, but with less opportunity, but thankfully, two of the last three weeks, he’s topped eight targets and had seven receptions in each of those games. And even when (if) Greg Jennings gets back on the field, Cobb will continue to play in the slot and get work, maybe not as much, but enough to be worth a bye week/spot start.

Alex Green was the main back against Houston, getting on the field 51 snaps to James Starks’ eight. His upside is higher than Cedric Benson’s and with enough opportunities could have some big games this season.

Minnesota Vikings

Percy Harvin: 8-13-11-6-10-14 (62), Kyle Rudolph: 7-5-6-5-7-11 (41), Michael Jenkins: 5-6-5-4-4-10 (34), Adrian Peterson: 1-3-4-4-3-8 (23), Devin Aromashodu: 3-3-2-0-4-2 (14), Toby Gerhart: 1-3-4-1-0-3 (12), Jerome Simpson: dnp-dnp-dnp-5-3-dnp (8), John Carlson: 1-0-1-1-1-2 (6), Stephen Burton: 0-2-1-dnp-1-0 (4), Rhett Ellison: 0-0-0-0-2-2 (4), Matt Asiata: 1-0-0-0-0-0 (1), Allen Reisner: 0-0-1-dnp-dnp-dnp (1)

Unlike the dreaded cluster-effect of the Lions, the Vikings have three star players in Percy Harvin, Adrian Peterson, and Kyle Rudolph to dole their fantasy points out to. I’d like to thank the Vikings organization for making things so much easier for me.  All three aren’t going to mas out on fantasy points each week, but you can feel confident in them getting their chances, especially against poor-to-middling defenses.

The 11 targets for Rudolph last week was his most of the season, which was very nice to see, because he had been getting a concentration of targets near the end-zone. Now I’m not arguing against those targets, but I am arguing for more targets throughout the field of play. He has to get involved so Percy Harvin isn’t decapitated before the season is over.

New Orleans Saints

Marques Colston: 11-4-4-13-18-BYE (50), Jimmy Graham: 10-13-8-9-2-BYE (42), Darren Sproles: 8-14-3-7-7-BYE (39), Lance Moore: 10-5-7-15-dnp-BYE (37), Devery Henderson: 2-dnp-7-2-10-BYE (21), Pierre Thomas: 1-6-6-3-2-BYE (18), Joe Morgan: 2-3-dnp-1-1-BYE (7), Greg Camarillo: dnp-0-0-dnp-5-BYE (5), David Thomas: 2-1-0-2-0-BYE (5), Jed Collins: 2-0-1-1-0-BYE (4), Mark Ingram: 1-0-0-1-0-BYE (2), Courtney Roby: 0-1-0-0-0-BYE (1)

The Saints took the week off to build a statue of Sean Payton.

New York Giants

Victor Cruz: 11-17-8-13-8-13 (70), Martellus Bennett: 6-10-7-3-4-2 (32), Domenik Hixon: 5-1-dnp-11-8-6 (31), Hakeem Nicks: 6-15-dnp-dnp-dnp-5 (26), Ramses Barden: 0-2-10-4-dnp-0 (16), Rueben Randle: 0-0-3-1-9-0 (13), Ahmad Bradshaw: 2-0-dnp-4-6-1 (13), Andre Brown: 0-2-5-1-0-dnp (8), Henry Hynoski: 1-1-2-1-0-1 (6), Bear Pascoe: 1-0-1-2-1-0 (5), David Wilson: 0-2-1-1-0-0 (4)

The Giants manwalloped the 49ers on their home turf, which was a great bit of real football drama, but in fantasy terms, we weren’t raking in the fake points on either side of the ball. But even in a hard fought game against a tough defense, the Giants still managed to give a couple guys startable points, in Ahmad Bradshaw and Victor Cruz. That’s just how potent this offense is for fantasy. I think it has taken people a while to catch on, or maybe not, but either way, you want to own Giants players.

The pecking order has moved around due to injuries, but we saw the Giants main contingency out there on the field and the guys to own of course are Manning, Cruz, Nicks, Bradshaw, Bennett and Hixon.  Bennett has been hurting, but if he can get an infusion of unicorn blood, he’ll be good to go and Hixon is worth a desperation start even when Nicks isn’t hurt. With Nicks playing, Ramses Barden and Rueben Randle lose all value. And David Wilson is not worth starting with Bradshaw healthy, but he is very much worth a stash on that team, with his skill set.

Philadelphia Eagles

DeSean Jackson: 11-8-10-9-7-8 (53), Brent Celek: 8-11-6-5-5-8 (43), Jeremy Maclin: 14-1-dnp-3-8-10 (36), LeSean McCoy: 9-3-3-4-5-8 (32), Jason Avant: 5-2-4-2-3-4 (20), Damaris Johnson: 3-1-11-1-0-dnp (16), Clay Harbor: 6-2-0-1-1-2 (12), Stanley Havili: 0-1-0-2-0-0 (3), Riley Cooper: dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-3 (3), Bryce Brown: 0-0-2-0-0-0 (2), Mardy Gilyard: dnp-0-1-0-0-0 (1)

The top guys got a nice even distribution of targets in this game, with Jackson, Celek and McCoy all getting eight, while Maclin finished with 10 and the biggest fantasy day. That is exactly the target distribution I would like to see going forward. It gives each possible fantasy player a fair shot at putting up good numbers, and Jeremy Maclin is the best receiver on the team, so henceforth and forthwith and etc . . . he should see the most targets.

I was extremely pleased to see LeSean McCoy get eight targets. He hadn’t topped five since week one and no matter how well he did between the tackles last season; he is still a better player in space. He can catch the ball, make people miss and then get up field. Have you ever noticed Michael Turner steady himself to catch the ball and then have to take some time to get moving? No, not that often I realize, because it’s not smart to throw him the ball. You are wasting plays doing such a crazy thing. But McCoy is built for the passing game so passing him the ball is just good business, and it’s good points per reception business as well and it just makes good fiscal sense for the middle class.

San Francisco 49ers

Michael Crabtree: 9-7-8-7-7-6 (44), Vernon Davis: 5-7-8-2-7-5 (34), Mario Manningham: 4-4-5-5-5-10 (33), Randy Moss: 4-1-6-1-2-3 (17), Frank Gore: 1-4-2-2-0-4 (13), Delanie Walker: 2-2-2-4-0-2 (12), Kyle Williams: 0-2-3-0-2-4 (11), Kendall Hunter: 0-3-1-0-1-1 (6), Garrett Celek: dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-1-2 (3)

The 49ers had their buttocks handed to them unceremoniously in San Francisco last Sunday and I can see some people starting to worry about Frank Gore and Vernon Davis and whoever else you managed to get stuck with from that team, but they’ll rebound. The Giants just whooped them, end of story, next game.

I keep watching for Kendall Hunter to take a step forward in this offense, but I think it will probably happen in the second half of the season. Frank Gore looks fine, but he is going to wear down and they’ll want Hunter’s fresh legs. In the game Gore ran eight times for 36 yards and Hunter four times for 26 yards. Gore also had four targets to Hunter’s one. It’s still Gore’s job.

Seattle Seahawks

Sidney Rice: 9-5-1-7-6-6 (34), Golden Tate: dnp-4-7-3-4-6 (24), Doug Baldwin: 6-1-dnp-3-4-3 (17), Zach Miller: 3-1-4-3-3-2 (16), Anthony McCoy: 1-5-2-3-2-1 (14), Braylon Edwards: 9-0-0-0-1-3 (13), Marshawn Lynch: 2-0-1-4-2-1 (10), Robert Turbin: 1-2-0-2-2-2 (9), Ben Obomanu: 1-0-3-0-0-1 (5), Evan Moore: 0-1-2-0-0-0 (3), Leon Washington: 0-1-0-0-0-2 (3), Charly Martin: 2-dnp-1-dnp-dnp-dnp (3), Michael Robinson: 0-0-0-0-1-0 (1)

The passing game lives!! Can you believe the Seahawks actually went to the air?  Well, Russell Wilson only completed 16 passes, but he made them count by throwing three of them for touchdowns. The problem for us fake footballers is the fact that he spread the ball around so nicely. Eight players caught a pass and not one of them had more than six targets or three receptions.  Sidney Rice had the best day, but if you started him you sure had to white-knuckle that game out until the bitter end.

Wilson is the only quarterback not named Brady Quinn to not have completed 20 passes in a game this season. This game could lengthen his passing leash, but I’d like to see the ball get thrown around a bit more before recommending bargain shopping in the Seahawks passing basement.

St. Louis Rams

Danny Amendola: 9-16-9-9-5-dnp (48), Brandon Gibson: 5-4-6-4-4-9 (32), Chris Givens: 1-2-4-3-5-7 (22), Lance Kendricks: 2-2-7-2-2-4 (19), Steve Smith: 3-5-3-dnp-dnp-2 (13), Steven Jackson: 4-0-2-2-0-5 (13), Daryl Richardson: 0-3-1-3-2-3 (12), Brian Quick: dnp-1-dnp-3-1-2 (7), Austin Pettis: dnp-dnp-0-2-2-3 (7), Matthew Mulligan: 0-2-1-0-0-2 (5), Isaiah Pead: 0-0-1-dnp-0-1 (2), Brit Miller: 0-0-0-1-0-0 (1), Mike McNeill: 1-0-0-0-0-0 (1)

The post-Amendola world is here and it’s not all that horrible. With the target hog on the sidelines, Brandon Gibson and Chris Givens saw a nice bump in targets and both had decent yardage games, with 91 and 85 yards respectively. Gibson feels like the safer pick, but Givens the higher upside choice. Either way you go, you’ll probably choose incorrectly and be cussing me and/or your poor dog. So be careful. These guys will be very matchup dependent going forward, but the targets are nice to see.

The snap count distribution has stayed fairly consistent between Steven Jackson and Daryl Richardson at around 65% to 35% in favor of Jackson. But last week they had nearly equal touches, with Richardson at 13 to Jackson’s 15. I think Jackson continues to get the starts and the bulk of the snaps, but Richardson will see the ball when he’s on the field.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Vincent Jackson: 10-10-7-11-BYE-8 (46), Mike Williams: 3-5-6-8-BYE-6 (28), Doug Martin: 4-3-3-5-BYE-4 (19), Dallas Clark: 1-5-4-4-BYE-1 (15), Tiquan Underwood: dnp-dnp-1-3-BYE-3 (7), Danny Ware: 0-1-2-2-BYE-2 (7), Arrelious Benn: dnp-0-1-4-BYE-0 (5), Luke Stocker: 0-0-3-2-BYE-0 (5), Sammie Stroughter: 0-2-0-dnp-BYE-dnp (2), Preston Parker: 1-1-dnp-dnp-BYE-dnp (2), LeGarrette Blount: 1-0-0-0-BYE-0 (1)

For some reason I’ve adopted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as my fantasy football farm system.  I love Doug Martin, he moves like Ray Rice in traffic and in the open field. Last week he caught a short route; made a defender he was squared up with miss and then outran another defender for a 44-yard gain. His yards per carry has been low this season, but he’s had a few nice runs called back and has had some hard luck blocking. I know I’m making CJ?Kesque excuses here, but I’ve seen what I’ve seen! Over the last two games he’s 23 for 109 yards for 5.2 yards per carry and has four receptions for 64 yards. The fresh-legged LeGarrette Blount is coming in to steal his touchdowns, but Martin is starting to heat up and has a decent schedule ahead.

And Josh Freeman is also looking good, which is very much helping his receivers over the last couple games.  He has averaged 314.5 yards passing and two touchdowns over the last two games and all four of those touchdowns have gone to Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams, along with 394 yards receiving. This team can put up fantasy numbers with the right matchups. And that’s what you have to watch out for, even more than other teams, are the matchups.

Washington Redskins

Fred Davis: 4-5-7-4-6-4 (30), Leonard Hankerson: 0-3-7-11-1-3 (25), Santana Moss: 5-3-3-4-5-4 (24), Josh Morgan: 2-5-3-5-1-4 (20), Aldrick Robinson: 6-3-3-dnp-1-0 (13), Evan Royster: 0-3-4-3-1-1 (12), Pierre Garcon: 4-dnp-dnp-1-7-dnp (12), Roy Helu: 3-1-3-dnp-dnp-dnp (7), Alfred Morris: 0-0-1-2-1-2 (6), Niles Paul: 0-3-0-2-0-0 (5), Brandon Banks: 1-0-1-0-0-2 (4), Darrel Young: 0-0-0-2-0-1 (3), Logan Paulsen: 1-0-1-0-1-0 (3)

Oh the target numbers from a running quarterback. Paltry is the word I would use. If only RGIII could throw the ball to himself more often! Pierre Garcon teased us mightily with his first game, first quarter explosion, but that looks to be fool’s gold at the moment. Fred Davis has given us some hope with receptions and yardage, but has yet to find the end zone. He still is your best bet, with 23 receptions and 312 yards compared to Santana Moss, Josh Morgan and Leonard Hankerson all playing a weird game of trying to tie each other’s numbers. Each one has 16 receptions for 207 to 223 yards. Moss leads the team in receiving touchdowns with two, but is averaging a miniscule four targets a game.

RGIII has only thrown five touchdowns to his six rushing touchdowns; so don’t rely on the passing game right now. He leads the league in completion percentage and will round into more of a consistent passing threat, but with so few attempts coupled with the targets being spread around evenly, be wary.

Snap count data comes from our friends at Pro Football Focus, red zone data from our other friends at The Football Guys and target percentages from The Fake Football.