Welcome to the crazy world of AFC Targets. There will be tears and jeers and maybe a couple cheers, which will most likely lead to an excessive amount of beers. Just don’t leer near the pier for a year or you’ll probably be picked up for being a wack-job or something. Anywho, take a look-see at the stuff I wrote below and at the NFC Targets and then follow me on Twitter so you can shower me with praise and lavish gifts.
All target data is for the last six weeks.
Baltimore Ravens
Torrey Smith: 13-BYE-9-6-7-13 (48), Anquan Boldin: 7-BYE-5-7-12-8 (39), Ray Rice: 5-BYE-2-5-5-9 (26), Dennis Pitta: 8-BYE-3-5-1-9 (26), Jacoby Jones: 2-BYE-2-3-4-7 (18), Ed Dickson: 5-BYE-3-2-2-0 (12), Tandon Doss: 1-BYE-0-3-0-4 (8), Vonta Leach: 0-BYE-0-2-0-1 (3), Anthony Allen: 0-BYE-0-1-0-0 (1), Bernard Pierce: 0-BYE-0-0-1-0 (1)
Ray Rice went PPR crazy with nine targets and eight receptions and a nifty 4th and 29 conversion, while Torrey Smith had his reception and yardage high for the season. It’s good to see the two best players get the work they richly deserve. That’s a good sign going into the fake playoffs.
With the dearth of quality tight end production I’d be remiss to not mention Dennis Pitta’s comeback from obscurity. He’s had two good games out of the last three, with 11 receptions and two touchdowns. The poor game was against the Steelers who he gets this week, but after that he faces some poor defenses against tight ends, Washington, Denver and NY Giants.
Buffalo Bills
Steve Johnson: 7-BYE-7-9-9-15 (47), Donald Jones: 5-BYE-9-10-5-6 (35), Fred Jackson: 11-BYE-7-5-dnp-1 (24), Scott Chandler: 4-BYE-5-8-4-3 (24), C.J. Spiller: 6-BYE-5-4-4-3 (22), T.J. Graham: 1-BYE-3-2-2-3 (11), Dorin Dickerson: 0-BYE-1-0-1-1 (3), Tashard Choice: dnp-BYE-dnp-0-2-dnp (2), Brad Smith: 1-BYE-0-1-0-0 (2), Lee Smith: 0-BYE-0-1-0-1 (2), Ruvell Martin: 0-BYE-1-0-0-0 (1)
Stevie Johnson had a bushel basket of targets and finished with six receptions for 106 yards. Those numbers aren’t bad, but Ryan Fitzpatrick helped him leave a bunch of yards on the field. Fitz is keeping Stevie’s ceiling pretty low as he takes his usual end of the season nosedive.
C.J. Spiller finally got the bulk of the work compared to Fred Jackson, but 15 touches were still way too little for such a dynamic player, especially when the quarterback is not dynamic, except in his ways to lose games.
Cincinnati Bengals
A.J. Green: 6-BYE-9-10-12-9 (46), Jermaine Gresham: 5-BYE-8-4-8-4 (29), Mohamed Sanu: 3-BYE-3-6-4-9 (25), Andrew Hawkins: 4-BYE-7-5-dnp-dnp (16), Brandon Tate: 1-BYE-6-1-2-1 (11), Ryan Whalen: 7-BYE-dnp-0-1-0 (8), BenJarvus Green-Ellis: 1-BYE-3-2-1-1 (8), Brian Leonard: dnp-BYE-4-0-1-0 (5), Orson Charles: 0-BYE-1-1-0-2 (4), Marvin Jones: 0-BYE-dnp-dnp-dnp-2 (2), Cedric Peerman: 0-BYE-0-1-0-0 (1)
A.J. Green didn’t get his 10th straight touchdown and I place on the blame on the Ginger General and his yes man, Mohamed Sanu. When you blow a team out like the Bengals did the Raiders and your star player is on a touchdown streak, you force the ball to him over and over and over again!! Well, I may be a little too involved with my fake team’s self interest, but still, come on! Anyway, Green still finished with a nice yardage game because he’s just that good.
Sanu on the other hand, had the same amount of targets and finished with 80 less yards and two touchdowns. The extra attention to Green helped him get his touchdowns, but we just can’t rely on the touchdowns to keep up like they have (see Josh Gordon).
Cleveland Browns
Josh Gordon: 10-5-3-BYE-7-7 (32), Greg Little: 7-5-7-BYE-4-4 (27), Trent Richardson: 2-1-9-BYE-8-4 (24), Ben Watson: 3-4-3-BYE-8-3 (21), Jordan Cameron: 2-4-2-BYE-2-2 (12), Josh Cooper: 8-1-dnp-BYE-2-dnp (11), Chris Ogbonnaya: 4-3-2-BYE-0-0 (9), Mohamed Massaquoi: dnp-dnp-3-BYE-2-4 (9), Alex Smith: dnp-3-4-BYE-1-1 (9), Travis Benjamin: 5-0-3-BYE-0-1 (9), Josh Cribbs: 0-1-0-BYE-1-0 (2)
The Steelers gave the ball to the Browns like they were playing fetch and they still had trouble putting up points. Jordan Cameron caught his first touchdown and is a great prospect, but overall the Browns passing game is going nowhere fast. Their offense relies on Trent Richardson. Richardson has more targets and rushing attempts than any other running back not named Arian Foster.
Denver Broncos
Demaryius Thomas: BYE-9-8-11-9-8 (45), Eric Decker: BYE-6-11-4-5-8 (34), Jacob Tamme: BYE-4-4-4-5-7 (24), Brandon Stokley: BYE-2-4-5-5-7 (23), Joel Dreessen: BYE-2-4-3-6-3 (18), Willis McGahee: BYE-2-1-6-2-dnp (11), Matthew Willis: BYE-1-1-1-4-0 (7), Ronnie Hillman: BYE-1-1-2-2-0 (6), Knowshon Moreno: BYE-dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-4 (4), Lance Ball: BYE-0-1-0-3-0 (4), Virgil Green: BYE-3-0-0-0-0 (3), Trindon Holliday: BYE-0-0-2-0-0 (2)
Right when I write off Jacob Tamme for dead he has a nice game. Of course that is the way with tight ends and his inconsistency should remain consistent. But thankfully Demaryius Thomas is as consistently consistent as a receiver can get. His target numbers have stayed high, as well as his production. Eric Decker saw a dip in his production of late, but he is still a favorite red zone target of Peyton Manning’s, with 18 targets to Thomas’ 10. I have a feeling Peyton will get him a touchdown at home against the hapless Buccaneers’ pass defense this week.
Whatchu Talkin’ Bout? Willis was replaced by Knowshon! No Knowshon! That’s a paraphrase of the gibberish I spewed when Moreno was named the starter Sunday morning. But it happened and he played pretty well. I sadly was on the Moreno bandwagon before he became the prime minister of John Fox’s dog house, so the rise of Ronnie Hillman seemed inevitable, but Moreno is trusted more in pass blocking and Peyton Manning is more valuable than chapstick on Mt. Kilimanjaro. So Moreno it is and his four targets for four receptions are good for his overall value going forward.
And as an aside I am not going to climb something that's named Kilamanjaro. Is there some guy named Jaro that waits at the top to push you off?
Houston Texans
Andre Johnson: 10-BYE-10-9-19-15 (63), Owen Daniels: 10-BYE-8-dnp-9-8 (35), Kevin Walter: 6-BYE-3-3-8-6 (26), Garrett Graham: 2-BYE-2-4-9-5 (22), Arian Foster: 5-BYE-1-5-3-5 (19), James Casey: 2-BYE-3-2-3-5 (15), Keshawn Martin: 2-BYE-0-1-1-3 (7), Justin Forsett: 0-BYE-0-0-2-1 (3), Jonathan Grimes: 1-BYE-0-0-0-0 (2), Lestar Jean: 0-BYE-0-0-1-0 (1)
Andre Johnson has been the target king lately, his 34 targets over the last two games is probably close to some kind of record that I’ll never be able to unearth. If I ever get to talk to Yahweh I doubt I’ll ask it about the meaning of life, instead I’ll ask about all the obscure records that I can’t find on Pro Football Reference. Anyway, Johnson is back to studville where he belongs.
Johnson’s been the only reliable non-Arian Foster of late for our Texans’ fantasies, but Owen Daniels continues to be the only other player that periodically brings you some fantasy vittles to gnaw on. Last week he got into the end zone for the sixth time this season, but was coming off a long two-week drought. He’s still as reliable as any tight end you’ll encounter in the wilds of the tight end outback.
Welcome to the crazy world of AFC Targets. There will be tears and jeers and maybe a couple cheers, which will most likely lead to an excessive amount of beers. Just don’t leer near the pier for a year or you’ll probably be picked up for being a wack-job or something. Anywho, take a look-see at the stuff I wrote below and at the NFC Targets and then follow me on Twitter so you can shower me with praise and lavish gifts.
All target data is for the last six weeks.
Baltimore Ravens
Torrey Smith: 13-BYE-9-6-7-13 (48), Anquan Boldin: 7-BYE-5-7-12-8 (39), Ray Rice: 5-BYE-2-5-5-9 (26), Dennis Pitta: 8-BYE-3-5-1-9 (26), Jacoby Jones: 2-BYE-2-3-4-7 (18), Ed Dickson: 5-BYE-3-2-2-0 (12), Tandon Doss: 1-BYE-0-3-0-4 (8), Vonta Leach: 0-BYE-0-2-0-1 (3), Anthony Allen: 0-BYE-0-1-0-0 (1), Bernard Pierce: 0-BYE-0-0-1-0 (1)
Ray Rice went PPR crazy with nine targets and eight receptions and a nifty 4th and 29 conversion, while Torrey Smith had his reception and yardage high for the season. It’s good to see the two best players get the work they richly deserve. That’s a good sign going into the fake playoffs.
With the dearth of quality tight end production I’d be remiss to not mention Dennis Pitta’s comeback from obscurity. He’s had two good games out of the last three, with 11 receptions and two touchdowns. The poor game was against the Steelers who he gets this week, but after that he faces some poor defenses against tight ends, Washington, Denver and NY Giants.
Buffalo Bills
Steve Johnson: 7-BYE-7-9-9-15 (47), Donald Jones: 5-BYE-9-10-5-6 (35), Fred Jackson: 11-BYE-7-5-dnp-1 (24), Scott Chandler: 4-BYE-5-8-4-3 (24), C.J. Spiller: 6-BYE-5-4-4-3 (22), T.J. Graham: 1-BYE-3-2-2-3 (11), Dorin Dickerson: 0-BYE-1-0-1-1 (3), Tashard Choice: dnp-BYE-dnp-0-2-dnp (2), Brad Smith: 1-BYE-0-1-0-0 (2), Lee Smith: 0-BYE-0-1-0-1 (2), Ruvell Martin: 0-BYE-1-0-0-0 (1)
Stevie Johnson had a bushel basket of targets and finished with six receptions for 106 yards. Those numbers aren’t bad, but Ryan Fitzpatrick helped him leave a bunch of yards on the field. Fitz is keeping Stevie’s ceiling pretty low as he takes his usual end of the season nosedive.
C.J. Spiller finally got the bulk of the work compared to Fred Jackson, but 15 touches were still way too little for such a dynamic player, especially when the quarterback is not dynamic, except in his ways to lose games.
Cincinnati Bengals
A.J. Green: 6-BYE-9-10-12-9 (46), Jermaine Gresham: 5-BYE-8-4-8-4 (29), Mohamed Sanu: 3-BYE-3-6-4-9 (25), Andrew Hawkins: 4-BYE-7-5-dnp-dnp (16), Brandon Tate: 1-BYE-6-1-2-1 (11), Ryan Whalen: 7-BYE-dnp-0-1-0 (8), BenJarvus Green-Ellis: 1-BYE-3-2-1-1 (8), Brian Leonard: dnp-BYE-4-0-1-0 (5), Orson Charles: 0-BYE-1-1-0-2 (4), Marvin Jones: 0-BYE-dnp-dnp-dnp-2 (2), Cedric Peerman: 0-BYE-0-1-0-0 (1)
A.J. Green didn’t get his 10th straight touchdown and I place on the blame on the Ginger General and his yes man, Mohamed Sanu. When you blow a team out like the Bengals did the Raiders and your star player is on a touchdown streak, you force the ball to him over and over and over again!! Well, I may be a little too involved with my fake team’s self interest, but still, come on! Anyway, Green still finished with a nice yardage game because he’s just that good.
Sanu on the other hand, had the same amount of targets and finished with 80 less yards and two touchdowns. The extra attention to Green helped him get his touchdowns, but we just can’t rely on the touchdowns to keep up like they have (see Josh Gordon).
Cleveland Browns
Josh Gordon: 10-5-3-BYE-7-7 (32), Greg Little: 7-5-7-BYE-4-4 (27), Trent Richardson: 2-1-9-BYE-8-4 (24), Ben Watson: 3-4-3-BYE-8-3 (21), Jordan Cameron: 2-4-2-BYE-2-2 (12), Josh Cooper: 8-1-dnp-BYE-2-dnp (11), Chris Ogbonnaya: 4-3-2-BYE-0-0 (9), Mohamed Massaquoi: dnp-dnp-3-BYE-2-4 (9), Alex Smith: dnp-3-4-BYE-1-1 (9), Travis Benjamin: 5-0-3-BYE-0-1 (9), Josh Cribbs: 0-1-0-BYE-1-0 (2)
The Steelers gave the ball to the Browns like they were playing fetch and they still had trouble putting up points. Jordan Cameron caught his first touchdown and is a great prospect, but overall the Browns passing game is going nowhere fast. Their offense relies on Trent Richardson. Richardson has more targets and rushing attempts than any other running back not named Arian Foster.
Denver Broncos
Demaryius Thomas: BYE-9-8-11-9-8 (45), Eric Decker: BYE-6-11-4-5-8 (34), Jacob Tamme: BYE-4-4-4-5-7 (24), Brandon Stokley: BYE-2-4-5-5-7 (23), Joel Dreessen: BYE-2-4-3-6-3 (18), Willis McGahee: BYE-2-1-6-2-dnp (11), Matthew Willis: BYE-1-1-1-4-0 (7), Ronnie Hillman: BYE-1-1-2-2-0 (6), Knowshon Moreno: BYE-dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-4 (4), Lance Ball: BYE-0-1-0-3-0 (4), Virgil Green: BYE-3-0-0-0-0 (3), Trindon Holliday: BYE-0-0-2-0-0 (2)
Right when I write off Jacob Tamme for dead he has a nice game. Of course that is the way with tight ends and his inconsistency should remain consistent. But thankfully Demaryius Thomas is as consistently consistent as a receiver can get. His target numbers have stayed high, as well as his production. Eric Decker saw a dip in his production of late, but he is still a favorite red zone target of Peyton Manning’s, with 18 targets to Thomas’ 10. I have a feeling Peyton will get him a touchdown at home against the hapless Buccaneers’ pass defense this week.
Whatchu Talkin’ Bout? Willis was replaced by Knowshon! No Knowshon! That’s a paraphrase of the gibberish I spewed when Moreno was named the starter Sunday morning. But it happened and he played pretty well. I sadly was on the Moreno bandwagon before he became the prime minister of John Fox’s dog house, so the rise of Ronnie Hillman seemed inevitable, but Moreno is trusted more in pass blocking and Peyton Manning is more valuable than chapstick on Mt. Kilimanjaro. So Moreno it is and his four targets for four receptions are good for his overall value going forward.
And as an aside I am not going to climb something that's named Kilamanjaro. Is there some guy named Jaro that waits at the top to push you off?
Houston Texans
Andre Johnson: 10-BYE-10-9-19-15 (63), Owen Daniels: 10-BYE-8-dnp-9-8 (35), Kevin Walter: 6-BYE-3-3-8-6 (26), Garrett Graham: 2-BYE-2-4-9-5 (22), Arian Foster: 5-BYE-1-5-3-5 (19), James Casey: 2-BYE-3-2-3-5 (15), Keshawn Martin: 2-BYE-0-1-1-3 (7), Justin Forsett: 0-BYE-0-0-2-1 (3), Jonathan Grimes: 1-BYE-0-0-0-0 (2), Lestar Jean: 0-BYE-0-0-1-0 (1)
Andre Johnson has been the target king lately, his 34 targets over the last two games is probably close to some kind of record that I’ll never be able to unearth. If I ever get to talk to Yahweh I doubt I’ll ask it about the meaning of life, instead I’ll ask about all the obscure records that I can’t find on Pro Football Reference. Anyway, Johnson is back to studville where he belongs.
Johnson’s been the only reliable non-Arian Foster of late for our Texans’ fantasies, but Owen Daniels continues to be the only other player that periodically brings you some fantasy vittles to gnaw on. Last week he got into the end zone for the sixth time this season, but was coming off a long two-week drought. He’s still as reliable as any tight end you’ll encounter in the wilds of the tight end outback.
Indianapolis Colts
Reggie Wayne: 11-11-9-11-18-14 (74), Donnie Avery: 6-7-8-5-4-8 (38), T.Y. Hilton: 5-6-11-1-9-3 (35), Dwayne Allen: 2-5-7-2-11-6 (33), LaVon Brazill: 1-1-5-2-4-1 (14), Vick Ballard: 1-1-6-2-1-1 (12), Donald Brown: dnp-1-1-1-2-1 (6), Coby Fleener: 2-3-dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp (5), Weslye Saunders: 0-1-1-0-0-2 (4), Mewelde Moore: 0-2-dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp (2), Robert Hughes: dnp-dnp-0-1-0-0 (1), Delone Carter: 1-0-0-0-0-0 (1), Nathan Palmer: 0-dnp-dnp-0-1-dnp (1)
Being the target guy that I am, I’ve spent too much time drooling over Donnie Avery’s target numbers. The guy just isn’t very good and can’t turn those targets into much of anything. On the other hand, T.Y. Hilton does turn his targets into fantasy points. This last week is a good example of just that. Avery had eight targets and caught three for 31 yards, while Hilton had three targets and caught all three for 33 yards and a touchdown. Avery was on the field for 73 snaps to Hilton’s 39. It’s time to give up the ghost.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Cecil Shorts: 10-12-4-13-6-7 (52), Justin Blackmon: 4-8-9-5-13-6 (45), Marcedes Lewis: 3-7-6-4-4-6 (30), Laurent Robinson: dnp-dnp-9-15-2-dnp (26), Rashad Jennings: 9-8-4-1-1-1 (24), Micheal Spurlock: 0-2-5-6-5-1 (19), Jalen Parmele: 1-1-1-2-3-1 (9), Kevin Elliott: 1-2-0-0-0-2 (5), Zach Potter: 1-0-0-0-1-0 (2), Jordan Shipley: dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-1 (1)
Much like the whole Hilton/Avery fiasco, the Shorts/Blackmon disaster is in full swing. After Chad Henne went all target crazy on Justin Blackmon, I assumed he was Henne’s guy. But in reality, Cecil Shorts is just good at football and does more with his targets than Blackmon. If you see consistent targets it’s going to help, but the skill level has to be there. There is a delicate balance in assessing future worth from the number of targets a player sees. Some players are good enough to overcome their lack of targets and touches, but only a few. We just have to hope that as they prove themselves the extra work comes along (see Spiller, C.J. . . still waiting).
So it looks like Shorts and even Blackmon are getting their work in. It’s hard to trust Chad Henne, but he has been playing well and there is something to be said about riding the hot hand.
Kansas City Chiefs
Dwayne Bowe: BYE-6-10-9-2-12 (39), Dexter McCluster: BYE-8-6-5-3-4 (26), Tony Moeaki: BYE-8-0-6-6-2 (22), Jamaal Charles: BYE-3-4-0-6-0 (13), Terrance Copper: BYE-0-1-1-4-3 (9), Jon Baldwin: BYE-2-2-3-dnp-1 (8), Shaun Draughn: BYE-2-2-0-3-0 (7), Steve Breaston: BYE-1-2-dnp-3-dnp (6), Jake OConnell: BYE-3-0-0-dnp-dnp (3), Jamar Newsome: BYE-dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-3 (3), Peyton Hillis: BYE-1-1-1-0-0 (3), Devon Wylie: BYE-dnp-dnp-0-2-dnp (2)
The Chiefs have scored three offensive touchdowns over the last seven weeks. In comparison, the Patriots have scored 28. That’s more than three for all you mathletes. So instead of getting into the Chiefs “offense, “ I think I’d rather take a nap. Oooh, check this out, the term "mathlete" is a portmanteau of the words math and athlete. But what is a portmanteau you ask? Well, it is a large suitcase or in the above instance, a word or morpheme whose form and meaning are derived from a blending of two or more distinct forms. I also believe portmanteau is a portmanteau of the words portly, manatee, and toe. What were we talking about?
Oh right, the Chiefs. The good news is that they are giving Jamaal Charles the ball. Giving the ball to your best player is sometimes a tricky thing for teams, so it looks like we are once again safe to start him now that he’s averaging 20 carries over the last three games. Now just throw him the ball more, Brady Cassel Stanzi.
Miami Dolphins
Davone Bess: BYE-9-9-6-11-9 (44), Brian Hartline: BYE-6-12-10-7-5 (40), Charles Clay: BYE-1-1-4-2-6 (14), Daniel Thomas: BYE-2-4-6-0-1 (13), Reggie Bush: BYE-1-3-2-3-3 (12), Anthony Fasano: BYE-2-4-3-2-1 (12), Jabar Gaffney: BYE-2-3-5-dnp-dnp (10), Marlon Moore: BYE-1-1-0-1-0 (3), Lamar Miller: BYE-dnp-0-3-0-dnp (3), Rishard Matthews: BYE-dnp-dnp-dnp-2-0 (2), Jorvorskie Lane: BYE-0-1-0-0-0 (1)
Davone Bess has been getting a good amount of targets all season, but has seen a little jump in numbers of late. His biggest problem continues to be lack of touchdowns though and even in a good matchup with New England this week I’d still be wary. He doesn’t top 100 yards all that often and his one touchdown this season doesn’t put another one on the horizon.
Daniel Thomas and Reggie Bush are splitting work pretty evenly, while Thomas has seen six red zone looks to Bush’s zero over the last three games. Thomas has come on of late, but Bush has also had some amazing runs. Neither is safe, but both have been showing off their ability.
New England Patriots
Wes Welker: 8-9-BYE-11-11-10 (49), Rob Gronkowski: 9-13-BYE-4-7-dnp (33), Brandon Lloyd: 8-4-BYE-6-7-6 (31), Danny Woodhead: 4-7-BYE-6-0-1 (18), Julian Edelman: 2-2-BYE-0-7-3 (14), Deion Branch: 2-1-BYE-8-dnp-dnp (11), Aaron Hernandez: 7-dnp-BYE-dnp-dnp-3 (10), Shane Vereen: 1-1-BYE-1-3-2 (8), Michael Hoomanawanui: 0-1-BYE-1-0-0 (2), Daniel Fells: 0-0-BYE-0-dnp-2 (2), Stevan Ridley: 0-0-BYE-1-0-0 (1)
The Jets beat themselves so badly that Tom Brady had his fewest completions and pass attempts of the season. Wes Welker led the way and there’s little doubt that he will continue his target lead the rest of the season. After Welker it was Brandon Lloyd with six and Aaron Hernandez and Julian Edelman tied with three. I believe Hernandez’s numbers will rise with more total pass attempts by Brady.
Shane Vereen is causing some pain for Steven Ridley owners, but on the whole Ridley is second in red zone targets/touches and 12th in total targets/touches. Belichick is going to use players in odd ways, but it’s tough to complain too much.
New York Jets
Jeremy Kerley: 11-11-BYE-8-3-10 (43), Dustin Keller: 7-11-BYE-5-2-7 (32), Clyde Gates: dnp-11-BYE-5-2-4 (22), Stephen Hill: 7-7-BYE-2-2-2 (20), Shonn Greene: 9-5-BYE-2-0-1 (17), Chaz Schilens: 3-5-BYE-0-5-3 (16), Jeff Cumberland: 1-dnp-BYE-0-1-4 (6), Bilal Powell: dnp-dnp-BYE-1-2-3 (6), Lex Hilliard: 1-1-BYE-2-1-0 (5), Konrad Reuland: 1-1-BYE-0-1-1 (4), Joe McKnight: 0-0-BYE-dnp-2-0 (2)
I’m thinking the Jets’ Thanksgiving game would have been a good swan song, but it looks like they are going to continue playing football. Shonn Greene has scored five touchdowns in three games and no touchdowns in the other eight while rushing for 3.8 yards per carry. Their best receiver, Jeremy Kerley, is the 40th best fantasy receiver. Mark Sanchez is the 25th “best” fantasy quarterback. Nick Folk is the 26th ranked fantasy kicker. Dustin Keller has actually been a bright spot since returning from injury. He ranks ninth in fantasy points since week seven. But they do get to play the Cardinals at home this week. Playoffs!
Oakland Raiders
Brandon Myers: 10-3-13-7-10-6 (49), Denarius Moore: 8-8-9-8-7-4 (44), Marcel Reece: 6-0-9-9-5-8 (37), Darrius Heyward-Bey: 7-3-6-8-5-4 (33), Rod Streater: 4-5-10-3-4-0 (26), Juron Criner: 1-2-0-3-6-5 (17), Darren McFadden: 7-6-3-dnp-dnp-dnp (16), Derek Hagan: 1-1-3-5-2-0 (12), Mike Goodson: 1-0-6-dnp-dnp-dnp (7), Jeremy Stewart: dnp-dnp-dnp-0-1-6 (7), Richard Gordon: dnp-0-2-0-0-0 (2), David Ausberry: 0-0-0-2-0-0 (2), Taiwan Jones: dnp-dnp-0-1-0-0 (1)
With Mike Goodson and Darren McFadden practicing, Marcel Reece’s reign of awesomeness looks to be coming to a sad close. For a running back to get 36 targets over the last four weeks is the stuff dreams are made of. He’ll still get some targets, but those 47 rushing attempts during that same span are a thing of the past. We all mourn in our own way. I’ll be gnashing things.
Carson Palmer had his worst game of the season against his old team, so hopefully he’ll get back into his garbage time groove at home against the Browns. Denarius Moore is still finding the end zone semi-regularly, but his game has been sketchy of late. He also gets to face Joe Haden, Champ Bailey and Brandon Flowers over the next three weeks.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Mike Wallace: 15-9-5-8-6-6 (49), Heath Miller: 8-6-5-4-5-8 (36), Emmanuel Sanders: 2-5-2-7-8-7 (31), Antonio Brown: 8-6-3-dnp-dnp-dnp (17), Will Johnson: 1-2-3-3-3-3 (15), Jerricho Cotchery: 1-dnp-4-4-5-dnp (14), Chris Rainey: 1-2-3-0-1-4 (11), David Paulson: 1-0-2-2-2-0 (7), Jonathan Dwyer: 0-1-dnp-1-3-2 (7), Isaac Redman: dnp-dnp-2-3-0-1 (6), Rashard Mendenhall: dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-4-0 (4), Baron Batch: 1-1-0-0-0-dnp (2), Plaxico Burress: dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-2 (2), Leonard Pope: 0-1-0-0-0-0 (1)
If the Steelers don’t get Ben Roethlisberger back, and fast, I don’t know how you can start any of their players with any confidence, especially when Albus Fumblemore has replaced their running backs’ coach.
San Diego Chargers
Danario Alexander: BYE-1-3-7-11-8 (30), Malcom Floyd: BYE-7-4-7-6-5 (29), Ronnie Brown: BYE-8-5-3-3-4 (23), Ryan Mathews: BYE-4-2-6-6-3 (21), Antonio Gates: BYE-4-3-5-4-2 (18), Dante Rosario: BYE-5-1-2-dnp-dnp (8), Eddie Royal: BYE-dnp-dnp-5-3-dnp (8), Robert Meachem: BYE-3-dnp-1-2-0 (6), Randy McMichael: BYE-0-0-1-1-3 (5), Seyi Ajirotutu: BYE-dnp-1-dnp-dnp-3 (4), Ladarius Green: BYE-dnp-dnp-dnp-3-0 (3), Jackie Battle: BYE-0-0-0-1-1 (2)
I never thought I would see the day that Danario Alexander played five games in a row without having to drain his knee. This is like Christmas in late November! I think I’ll give thanks by murdering a turkey or something. And besides staying upright, he’s also getting targeted the most on the team and catching said targets. Ride that train until it derails.
Ryan Mathews is dead to me.
Tennessee Titans
Kenny Britt: 6-5-8-6-BYE-4 (29), Nate Washington: 8-6-2-2-BYE-9 (27), Jared Cook: 5-4-5-3-BYE-9 (26), Kendall Wright: 3-5-7-3-BYE-8 (26), Chris Johnson: 2-3-6-2-BYE-3 (16), Damian Williams: 4-1-3-2-BYE-4 (14), Craig Stevens: 1-3-3-2-BYE-1 (10), Darius Reynaud: 2-0-0-1-BYE-2 (5), Quinn Johnson: 1-1-0-1-BYE-0 (3), Taylor Thompson: 1-0-1-0-BYE-0 (2), Lavelle Hawkins: dnp-1-dnp-dnp-BYE-dnp (1)
Kenny Britt is also dead to me. Yes, he caught a touchdown to salvage some value, but he was fourth in targets behind Nate Washington, Jared Cook and Kendall Wright and sixth in yardage behind those guys and some other guys.
Chris Johnson didn’t have a great game, but did manage to cobble together 109 total yards. But against the Jaguars 29th ranked run defense, I expected more.
The Titans have plenty of talent on the team, but bringing it together is probably a next year kind of thing.
Snap count data comes from our friends at Pro Football Focus and red zone data from our other friends at The Football Guys.