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<div>Lamar Miller, Rishard Matthews, Jarvis Landry's Post-Week 10 Fantasy Advice</div>

Fantasy Football
November 15, 2015

The Miami Dolphins held on in Week 10 to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, 20-19, on Sunday. Some key fantasy players for Miami produced enough to satisfy fantasy owners.   

Running back Lamar Miller stayed true to his usual low-rushing output but made up for it with his third touchdown reception of the season.

Miller has only cracked 100 rushing yards twice this year, and he has not broken the 50-yard mark in three weeks. However, his pass-catching abilities have moved him into RB1 discussion.    

Miami’s Week 11 opponent, the Dallas Cowboys, are ranked 18th in the NFL in terms of rushing defense. The New York Jets, the Dolphins’ Week 12 foe, are ranked first.

However, at this point the defense doesn’t matter much for Miller. He likely is not going to gain a ton of yards, and you’ll need to rely on a short-yardage score or receiving touchdown.

Feel good about plugging Miller into your lineup as an RB2, but don’t expect 100 yards or multiple scores.

 

Rishard Matthews had one of his better games in terms of yardage in Week 10 but did not score. He does have four touchdowns for the year, but he’s never had more than seven receptions in a game.

He is quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s second-favorite receiver in terms of targets with 57.

What brings his value down a bit over the next two weeks is the fact Dallas is ranked 11th in passing yards allowed, and the Jets are ninth.

That doesn’t bode well for someone who hasn’t had 100 yards receiving since Week 3 and has not scored since Week 7.

He also adds no value in the running game, as his four rushing yards in Week 10 were his first of the season.

Right now consider Matthews a high-end WR3 and proceed with caution.

 

 

Jarvis Landry remains Miami’s top receiving target. It was encouraging for fantasy owners to see him score against the Eagles. Despite his high number of targets and receptions, he had only caught a touchdown in one game all season.

Although the rushing yards were not there in Week 10, he does have 101 yards on the ground and a score to go along with a return touchdown as well.

Landry’s 60 receptions and versatility make him a good play, but his opponents take him down a notch to a high-end WR2 the next two weeks. Don’t expect 100 yards and a score in those games, but he still should be able to have some decent fantasy outputs, especially in points-per-reception leagues.

Read more Fantasy Football news on NerdyFootball.com

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Extra Points: Saints, Ryan, Brown, Raiders

NFL News
November 15, 2015

As the second slate of today’s games head to halftime, here’s a look at a few notes from around the league…

  • The Saints‘ 47-14 loss to Washington today was the largest of the Sean Payton era, leading Mike Triplett of ESPN.com to wonder if New Orleans will consider firing defensive coordinator Rob Ryan during the clubs’s upcoming bye. Payton has never fired an assistant during a bye week, per Triplett, and he told Larry Holder of NOLA.com (Twitter link) that he didn’t want to address such changes after the game. Drew Brees feels the same way, telling Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com (Twitter link) that the team simply needs to get healthy, not dismiss staff.
  • Rams rookie right guard Jamon Brown has a fractured leg and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, tweets Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Brown, a third-round pick out of Louisville this spring, has played on nearly every Rams offensive snap this season.
  • A report earlier today stated that former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. was interested in joining the Raiders‘ ownership group, with the idea that his inclusion in the team’s hierarchy, along with his capital injection, would aid in moving the club to Los Angeles. However, both Raiders owner Mark Davis and DeBartolo himself have denied the report, according to Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group.

AFC Notes: Hunter, Manziel, Pettine, Luck

NFL News
November 15, 2015

Congratulations are in order for Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, who, with a four-yard pass to running back Ronnie Hillman, leaped Brett Favre and took hold of the NFL’s passing yardage record with 71,840 yards (and counting). It’s been a trying season at times for Manning — in fact, he threw an interception to begin today’s contest — but the future Hall of Famer earned some deserved recognition from the crowd following today’s accomplishment.

Let’s take a look at some more notes from the AFC:

  • Titans receiver Justin Hunter had to be carted off the field during today’s game against the Panthers, and head coach Mike Mularkey said the injury is “not good,” per Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com (Twitter link), who adds that Hunter has a cast on his right leg and is using crutches (link). Dr. David Chao of SiriusXM tweeted that the injury looks like a leg/ankle fracture, and postulated that Hunter will likely miss the remainder of the season.
  • Due to an injury to Josh McCown, Johnny Manziel started at quarterback for the Browns today, completing 33 of 45 attempts for 372 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in a 30-9 loss to the Steelers. However, head coach Mike Pettine‘s refusal to commit to Manziel full-time could be Pettine’s undoing, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com writes. Per La Canfora, there is “sweeping support” for Manziel throughout the organization, from ownership to the front office to the coaching staff. By continuing to stick with McCown, says La Canfora, Pettine is putting his job at risk. Meanwhile, owner Jimmy Haslam told Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link) that there will not be any coaching changes during Cleveland’s upcoming bye.
  • The NFL is still conducting its investigation into the Colts failure to report Andrew Luck‘s rib ailment on their injury report, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Indianapolis is expected to argue that it wasn’t necessary to include Luck’s rib injury given that it was actually a shoulder problem that kept him out of game action.

<div>Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant's Post-Week 10 Fantasy Advice</div>

Fantasy Football
November 15, 2015

An unusual start to Week 10 for the Pittsburgh Steelers turned out to be a gold mine for fantasy owners, as Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant put up huge numbers against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.     

Granted, there are likely a lot of fantasy owners who may not have been able to reap the rewards provided by Roethlisberger because he didn’t start the game while battling an ankle injury and was thrown into action when Landry Jones hurt his ankle in the first quarter. 

Yet even with the last-minute need for Big Ben to step in, the big-picture perspective does look better for owners of Pittsburgh’s star quarterback. The team originally projected he’d miss one or two weeks, but Roethlisberger progressed so well throughout the week he started Sunday as the No. 2 quarterback. 

Big Ben has been a fantasy gold mine when healthy this season, as he’s scored at least 18 points in ESPN.com standard-scoring leagues in four of the five games he has started and finished. Three of those games have come against the San Francisco 49ers, the Oakland Raiders and Cleveland, all of whom rank in the bottom seven in pass defense, so take some of the stats with a grain of salt. 

Bryant had his best game of the season, with a touchdown catch of 32 yards and another reception for 64 yards. He’s been hit-or-miss for fantasy owners since returning from a suspension, posting two games with single-digit points and three with double-digit points in standard ESPN leagues. 

Given Roethlisberger’s problems against defenses like New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals this season and looking ahead to the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati and Denver Broncos waiting after the bye, don’t expect the dominant games he’s provided lately—though the Indianapolis Colts do provide a break in Week 13. 

The same goes for Bryant simply because he isn’t the kind of receiver who can overcome a dominant defense on his own. He needs Roethlisberger to help him put up the kind of numbers he did on Sunday. 

Brown continues to be the most consistent receiver in fantasy circles, following up his 17-catch, 284-yard effort against Oakland with another double-digit catch, 150-plus-yard receiving day against the Browns. He’s a superstar who can make big plays and bail out his quarterback when things break down. 

Making Brown even more valuable is the way he seems to perform regardless of the opponent or who is under center. He’s got eight games with at least five receptions and six 100-yard games this season. Fantasy owners who aren’t starting Pittsburgh’s all-everything receiver each week should be banned from their league.

Read more Fantasy Football news on NerdyFootball.com

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Nerdy Football Originals: 11/8/15 – 11/15/15

NFL News
November 15, 2015

The original content and analysis produced by the Nerdy Football staff during the past week:

  • I examined the extension case for Panthers cornerback Josh Norman, arguing that even if he is franchise-tagged by Carolina, he should still approach the $14MM AAV earned by Darrelle Revis, Patrick Peterson, and other top CBs.
  • Zach Links rounded up the best of the football blogs in the latest edition of Pigskin Links.