GET OUT: What Week 4 Has Taught Us….(Fantasy Football)
I know you have seen the film, “Just because you are invited doesn’t mean you are welcome!” And this is just what this is about…the fantasy football happenings Sunday week four that were pretty much invited but not completely welcomed with open arms.
INJURIES
It will always begin with injuries. So far we have to watch the fantasy landscape for:
- Running back, Nick Chubb
- Running back, Austin Ekeler
- Tight end, OJ Howard
- Running back, Kenyan Drake
It is too early to tell if they are going to be out a significant amount of time, but the fact that three were carted off, doesn’t inspire confidence. Plan accordingly.
IT IS TIME TO GIVE ANTONIO GIBSON HIS DUE
Gibson was an “iffy” start yesterday going against the Baltimore Ravens defense (sorry Kevin G). It doesn’t help that the Washington Football Team’s offensive line is…well… garbage. According to Football Outsiders when Washington runs to the left end the offensive line is ranked 30th and to the left tackle they are ranked 31st. When they run to the right tackle they are ranked 26th and to the right end 22nd. In the middle they are ranked seventh. (Middle it is).
None of this really matters to Gibson. For the first four weeks:
Week 1: 9 rushes, 36 yards, 4.0 avg., 2 targets, 2 receptions, 8 yards; 18 snaps, 1 red-zone touches
Week 2: 13 rushes, 55 yards, 1 touchdown, 4.2 avg., 2 targets, 1 reception, -3 yards, 43 snaps, 2 red zone touches
Week 3: 9 rushes, 49 yards, 1 touchdown, 5.4 avg., 3 targets, 3 receptions, 11 yards, 26 snaps, 2 red zone touches
Week 4: 13 rushes, 46 yards, 1 touchdown, 3.5 avg., 5 targets, 4 receptions, 82 yards, 4 red zone touches
There was reason to be pessimistic in his week four fantasy projections, as he was going up against the Baltimore Ravens defense who had yielded only 97.5 average rushing yards and 12.6 average fantasy points to the running back position. But even in a negative game script, Gibson was a factor.
Week five he will go up against the Los Angeles Rams who are giving up 21.4 fantasy points to the running back position and 123.5 rushing yards.
ROBBY ANDERSON IS WR1 IN CAROLINA (AND ADAM GASE IS THE BLACK HOLE TO NFL TALENT NOT NAMED PEYTON MANNING)
The preseason word was the Anderson was a “boom or bust” guy. He will give you that long touchdown…but there were serious misgivings about his sustainability as a weekly fantasy football producer. Shhhhhh….
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Anderson currently sits as WR9 according to FantasyData.com. He is on the field for at least 75% of the offensive snaps. His target share is consistent, from week one to four he has been targeted eight, 10, six and 11 times respectively. His stats for week four were 8-of-11, for 99 yards. (Meanwhile, DJ Moore’s targets have gone from nine, 13, four and six, respectively).
The Panthers are a surprising 2-2. Their quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has 104 passing attempts and a 79.4% completion rate.
Next week they will play the Atlanta Falcons. We all know what that means.
HOW ABOUT THEM COWBOYS?
Week four Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott attempted 58 passes. He completed 41 for 502 yards, four touchdowns, one interception, and three sacks. I think it is safe to say the offense may not be the problem in Dallas.
The defense gave up 49 points to the Cleveland Browns. Yep, the Baker Mayfield led Cleveland Browns who existed without their number one running back who went down with a knee injury after six rushing attempts.
Maybe it is time for Jerry Jones to take a knee and bow out as general manager?
IS IT TUA TIME IN MIAMI?
This isn’t because Ryan Fitzpatrick is going a poor job, he isn’t? But the Dolphins are currently 1-3-0, and while they aren’t in the bottom of thee AFC East, they are looking up at a 4-0 Buffalo Bills team and a 2-1, New England Patriots team.
Their next game is against the San Francisco 49ers who allowed a hapless Carson Wentz and a group of no name receivers to beat them 25-20.
It is time to kick those tires and see what they got in the first round. It’s Tua Time!
CAN WE JUST AGREE KENYAN DRAKE AIN’T DOING IT?
Week four was supposed to be a “get right” time for Kenyan Drake. He was going up against a Carolina Panthers defense that has surrendered the second-most fantasy points to running backs.
Drake touched the ball 13 times. He had 35 yards. He averaged 2.5 yards per carry. AGAINST THE CAROLINA PANTHERS RUN DEFENSE. That resulted in 3.5 fantasy points, for Drake against the Carolina Panthers run defense.
The bright side to this sad saga is that the reeling Arizona Cardinals will get to play the New York Jets in week five.
Good Luck on Monday Night Football!
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