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NFC Notes: Packers, Saints, Eagles

NFL News
November 15, 2015

A look around the NFC. . .

  • Although the Packers’ offense is slumping, head coach Mike McCarthy said after Sunday’s 18-16 loss to Detroit that he won’t take play-calling duties away from coordinator Tom Clements. “I like the way our staff works, and I like the way they work with our players,” McCarthy stated, per ESPN’s Jason Wilde. McCarthy called Green Bay’s offensive plays from 2006-14 before deciding to give the role to Clements this year.
  • The 4-6 Saints are entering their bye week, and Larry Holder of NOLA.com writes that it’s the perfect time for head coach Sean Payton to fire defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and give Ryan’s job to defensive assistant Dennis Allen. Payton brought in Allen after Ryan’s defense finished 31st in the league last season. Led by Ryan, the Saints have allowed 130 points over the last three weeks – including 47 in an embarrassing defeat in Washington on Sunday. Afterward, Payton said that “we’re not going to discuss any of those types of changes, certainly not right now.”
  • While Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford hasn’t been particularly good this year, Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer submits that Sunday’s output by backup Mark Sanchez was a prime example of why nobody should call for Sanchez to take over the starting job. After an injured Bradford left the Eagles’ game against Miami with Philadelphia leading 16-13, Sanchez came in and failed to help the team to victory – even throwing a costly interception – in a 20-19 defeat. The season’s on the brink for the 4-5 Eagles, and Sielski doesn’t expect their playoff chances to stay alive for long if Bradford misses time and Sanchez has to be the No. 1 signal caller.
  • Jeff McLane of the Inquirer believes that Eagles head coach and football czar Chip Kelly‘s decision to trade for Bradford in the offseason was a worthy gamble. However, Kelly could be done in by his failure to surround Bradford with a sturdier offensive line and better receivers, McLane opines.

Rashad Jennings, Shane Vereen, Andre Williams Post-Week 10 Fantasy Advice

Fantasy Football
November 15, 2015

The New York Giants had their collective hearts broken Sunday in their 27-26 loss against the undefeated New England Patriots, and fantasy owners who were relying on the team’s running backs suffered a similar fate.

New York was 24th in the league in rushing yards per game coming into Sunday’s contest, and the running backs combined for 70 yards against New England. It makes sense for the Giants to throw the ball (sixth in the league in passing attempts entering Week 10) with a weapon like Odell Beckham Jr., but that doesn’t help fantasy owners who started Rashad Jennings, Shane Vereen or Andre Williams.

Here is a look at the totals for each as well as some reactions:

The most important development for fantasy owners was the fact that Jennings tallied double-digit carries for the fifth time in six games. His 11 carries, compared to four for Vereen and two for Williams, were a clear indication that he is the primary ball-carrier in the New York rotation (Orleans Darkwa had five), which automatically means Jennings has some value.

Still, Jennings has not topped 63 rushing yards a single time all season, and he is not a major part of the aerial attack (one game with more than 50 receiving yards). He also hasn’t tallied a rushing touchdown since Week 1.

Jennings is not a viable fantasy starter at this point unless you are desperate for running backs because of injuries or bye weeks.

Vereen has topped 25 rushing yards only one time all year, and that was because he busted a 39-yard carry against the Dallas Cowboys.

He provides most of his fantasy value as part of the passing attack, with three touchdown catches on the season and three separate games with at least 60 receiving yards. He is also fresh off a 52-catch season in 2014 and a 47-catch season in 2013, so catching passes is nothing new for Vereen.

While the receptions are encouraging in a lackluster New York backfield, it is difficult to trust a running back who has 31 combined rushing yards over the past three weeks. What’s more, he doesn’t have one game with more than six carries all year.

Don’t start Vereen.

Williams is the least trustworthy fantasy option among New York’s running backs at this point, largely because he has not followed up his solid rookie campaign with impressive numbers.

He ran for 721 yards and seven touchdowns in 2014, and many expected him to build on that this year. Instead, Williams has a single touchdown in 2015 (which came back in September against Washington) and 58 measly rushing yards in his past six outings (9.67 yards a game).

He also has only one catch all year as a non-factor in the New York passing attack.

Williams has become an afterthought in the Giants offense and should not be a fantasy option heading into the season’s stretch run.

Read more Fantasy Football news on NerdyFootball.com

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Danny Amendola, Brandon LaFell Fantasy Outlook After Julian Edelman Injury

Fantasy Football
November 15, 2015

Tom Brady has proved over the years that he can lose any number of talented wide receivers and still be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. As a result, Danny Amendola’s and Brandon LaFell‘s respective fantasy football stocks are trending upward after Julian Edelman suffered a foot injury Sunday.

Edelman exited Sunday’s win over the New York Giants, and NESN’s Doug Kyed reported he was in a walking boot and needed crutches after the game. According to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports, Edelman could be out for the remainder of the year with a broken foot.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter shed more light on the situation:

Since Rob Gronkowski is almost universally considered the No. 1 fantasy tight end, his ceiling won’t change much should Edelman be absent going forward. Amendola and LaFell, on the other hand, could benefit from more targets in each game.

After all, somebody has to be the Patriots‘ No. 1 wide receiver.

Amendola is arguably the stronger option in points-per-reception leagues since he’s a possession-based wideout and can thus take on Edelman’s role in the offense. Look no further than his 10-catch, 79-yard night against the Giants.

Amendola might be available on the waiver wire, and if that’s the case, you should move immediately.

LaFell has more value in almost any other format, though, based on his big-play potential. Entering Sunday, LaFell was averaging five more yards per catch than Amendola. He also caught 12 touchdowns between 2013 and 2014, the same total Amendola has registered in his seven-year NFL career.

LaFell hasn’t found the end zone yet in 2015, but that’s bound to change sooner rather than later. Going into Week 10, he was still working his way back from the foot injury that kept him on the shelf to start the season.

“I think I’m real close,” he said earlier in the week, per Phil Perry of CSNNE.com. “We had a long week. We had a Thursday night game and we had an extra couple practices this week so I’m getting back to getting my wind, not being able to try to come out after three or four plays, going the whole series. I feel close.”

Don’t overrate LaFell’s abilities too much, though. WR2 production is likely the best you can expect in standard leagues, but he’ll unquestionably be valuable as the playoffs approach in the coming weeks.

Amendola, meanwhile, should be a fringe WR2 or flex play. In addition to his general lack of explosion when compared to LaFell, durability is a concern. He played a full season just twice in six years entering 2015.

With an increased workload, the chance he suffers another injury goes up as well. Keep that in mind when you project his potential value for your team over the rest of the campaign.

Read more Fantasy Football news on NerdyFootball.com

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Teddy Bridgewater, Adrian Peterson, Stefon Diggs Post-Week 10 Fantasy Advice

Fantasy Football
November 15, 2015

The Minnesota Vikings continue to roll, which is good news for fantasy owners, because their offensive trio of Teddy Bridgewater, Adrian Peterson and Stefon Diggs is making its presence felt in grand fashion. 

Week 10 was all about Peterson, who tied O.J. Simpson’s record with his sixth career 200-yard rushing game Sunday against the Oakland Raiders, per NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano.

Not that anyone was keeping Peterson, who leads the NFL with 961 rushing yards, on the bench, but if it wasn’t clear before, there is no doubt the 30-year-old remains the best and most valuable fantasy running back.

In fact, since Week 1, when he got only 10 carries against the San Francisco 49ers, Peterson has scored at least 10 points in ESPN.com standard leagues seven times in eight games. He’s also heating up with three consecutive 100-yard games.

The next two weeks look fruitful for Peterson, as Green Bay and Atlanta are allowing at least 16.5 points per game to opposing running backs this season.

One byproduct of Peterson’s success is that the Vikings don’t have to rely on Bridgewater as much as they did earlier in the season. This week marked his third straight game with fewer than 200 passing yards, though his touchdown pass to Rhett Ellison did salvage a mediocre fantasy game.

Bridgewater is not a viable fantasy starting quarterback at this point in his career. His seven touchdown passes in nine games are tied with Nick Foles for the fewest among quarterbacks who have started all of their teams’ games this season.

The Vikings have asked Bridgewater to throw only 43 passes over the past two weeks, so expect head coach Mike Zimmer to continue limiting the second-year signal-caller with Peterson running over everyone in his way.

After a brief run in which he had at least 95 receiving yards and 12 fantasy points in three straight weeks, Stefon Diggs appears to have hit the rookie wall. He has recorded nine total points in the past two games.

Until the Vikings start throwing the ball more, Diggs is a fantasy player who should remain on the bench. He showed promise against Kansas City, Detroit and Chicago—though not the best defensive teams in the NFL—so dropping him would be an overreaction. 

After all, Bridgewater will still drop back 20 to 25 times, and someone has to be on the receiving end of those passes. Diggs is the Vikings’ No. 1 option, and he’ll get back to being the playmaker we saw before. 

Keep Diggs on the bench next week when Minnesota plays Green Bay before starting him again in Week 12 against Atlanta’s inept defense.

 

Stats per ESPN.com.

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Patriots’ Julian Edelman Suffers Broken Foot

NFL News
November 15, 2015

The Patriots improved to an AFC-best 9-0 on Sunday with their last-second, 26-24 win over the Giants, but the victory comes at a cost: Wide receiver Julian Edelman broke his foot and his season is in jeopardy, reports Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo (Twitter link).

Edelman, who caught four passes for 53 yards against the Giants, departed in the first half after injuring his left foot and – according to Art Stapleton of The Record (Twitter link) – was wearing a protective boot afterward.

The 29-year-old Edelman leads the Pats in receptions (61) and is second in both yards (639) and touchdowns (seven). Prior to his injury, he was on pace to finish with at least 90 catches for the third straight year. He appeared primed to eclipse the 100-reception and 1,000-yard barriers for the second time each, and had already hauled in a career high in TDs. His loss comes on the heels of the season-ending ACL tear suffered last week by teammate Dion Lewis, a running back who was one of the Pats’ best weapons pre-injury. Of quarterback Tom Brady‘s 251 completions this season, 97 have gone to Edelman and Lewis.