Week Eight Tidbits

By David Leisure

With the NFL schedule diminished by 3 games because 6 teams are on bye each of the next 2 weeks, it is critical that we have our lineups filled with not only active players, but players that will produce.  There have been far too many lackluster performances by key players this year that cost us losses by just a few points that make us ask “What if?”  This is the worst part of fantasy football in my book. The second guessing of your lineup decisions after the fact and when you realize that your selection was right and the player just laid an egg costing you the victory, you just want to scream.

Let’s try to find some players in Week 8 that should perform well so that we may optimize our Week 8 performance.  

In Buffalo this week, the Patriots look to avenge there one and only loss from earlier this season.  Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are obvious starters for their owners for sure, but keep in mind that there are other options in this game that have possibilities for quality production. Chris Hogan is a former Buffalo Bill and several people have pointed to him as a Revenge Game Breakout candidate. Earlier this year during Brady’s suspension, Hogan was targeted only 2 times against the Bills and got 0 catches in that 16-0 shutout.  I am willing to venture that Hogan may get double digit targets in this game, so the opportunity for him to produce will be there. Whether or not he takes advantage of them waits to be seen.

The New York Jets are visiting the 0-7 Cleveland Browns this week.  The Browns have to win sometime and this Jets team is a prime candidate to supply Hue Jackson his first victory as the Browns’ head coach.  I fully expect the Browns to throw everything that they possibly can at the Jets which may include Terrelle Pryor set up in the Wildcat formations and utilizing his past skills at quarterback rather than him just running the ball. I am predicting this scenario regardless of who the Browns starting quarterback may be, and let’s be clear, I am not proposing something so radical here.  The Browns have already displayed this strategy when they visited Miami earlier this season, and in that game, they took the Dolphins to overtime before losing. In some fantasy leagues that day, dependent on scoring structure of course, Prior scored over 30 fantasy points.

The game of the week in my mind for both fantasy output and disappointment will be the game between the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers in Charlotte.  This is a rematch of the NFC Championship game from last year and neither team is close to being as good as they were when last they met. The Cardinals are coming off of an embarrassing tie at home whereas the Panthers are coming off a much needed bye week.  David Johnson has been the heart and soul of the Cardinals offense this year. He has eclipsed 100 yards rushing in each of his last 3 games and is doing his part to help his fantasy owners achieve victory each week. This week though, after such a long game against the Seattle Seahawks, and playing a Panthers defense with fresh legs underneath them, do not be shocked if Johnson is contained by the Carolina defense.  I fully expect that the Cardinals will be throwing the ball a lot, so look for Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd to get plenty of targets and possibly be garbage time heroes at the end of this game.

On the other sideline, the Panthers are now 1-5 after their Superbowl run last year and they will be ready to play this Sunday. Cam Newton should be spectacular this week and his main target, Greg Olsen, should be the beneficiary of this upcoming offensive explosion.  I am not telling you anything you may not already know, but keep in mind that if we know this, then the Cardinals obviously know this too.  What we have to wonder is who will be the player who surprises us offensively when the Cardinals make their defensive adjustments?  My pick for this week will be Fozzy Whittaker.  No one is expecting much production from him since Jonathan Stewart is back in the mix.  These are the times when we see players such as Whitaker break out.  He is a quality guy to add to your squad as a bye week filler to supplement your lineups that should get enough volume to make him a nice play on your part.

The flavor of the week is Devontae Booker of the Denver Broncos.  If your league was one that Booker was available for pick up off of the waiver wire this week, you need to consider yourself very lucky.  There is always a player each year that comes around in the middle of, or even late in the season and then sets the fantasy football world ablaze.  Booker is certainly good enough to fit that bill, especially when you consider how well he fits the Broncos’ offense.  So far in limited action being a part of a timeshare, he is averaging 4.8 yards per carry as he has rushed for 244 yards over 51 carries. He has also caught 9 out of his 13 targets, so he can play a role in the passing game. Without C.J. Anderson being available due to injury, look for Booker to get over 20 carries and catch at least 5 passes as a check down option for Trevor Siemian.

This week’s Sunday night game features the Dallas Cowboys hosting the Philadelphia Eagles.  The Eagles are coming into this game after an impressive victory against the previously undefeated Minnesota Vikings. At home, the Eagles are undefeated as they have beaten the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers as well, but on the road so far, they are 1-2 with those losses being to the Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins. Neither of those games would be considered quality losses and with the Cowboys coming off of their bye week, expect Carson Wentz to feel the pressure from the Cowboy defense.  When a young QB receives such pressure as with Siemian referenced above, expect check downs to be the theme of the Eagles offense, which will make Ryan Mathews  and Darren Sproles nice plays in your lineups.  If Sproles is out there on your waiver wire, and you need to fill your lineup due to a bye week absence, make sure you get him this week and start him.

Dez Bryant should be returning this week for the Cowboys and I fully expect that the first offensive play will go his way.  If that play is completed and goes for positive yardage, I will expect the tone of the game to flow his way. If it is not completed, then I will not be shocked if Dez’s return falls by the wayside and Dak Prescott avoids interceptions by throwing to the weak side of the field and utilizes Ezekiel Elliott in the passing game as well.  In a perfect world, this should be how the Cowboys offense should be playing with even distribution and it should make them a better overall team.  However, as fantasy owners of Bryant, we want risks to be taken down the field to increase his production.  The simple truth of the matter is that NFL teams and their coaches do not care about our fantasy teams.  Let’s just hope that Dez and Dak can connect early on so that they may connect often on Sunday night.

I hope that I offered you some names to consider this week.  As always, I welcome your feedback as well as your offering of tidbits of your own. Enjoy your week everyone.