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Drew Brees, Mark Ingram, Benjamin Watson Post-Week 6 Fantasy Advice

Fantasy Football
October 15, 2015

The New Orleans Saints saved their season with a 31-21 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday, thanks in large part to strong fantasy performances from their offensive skill players.

The Saints ranked seventh in total offense (387.4 yards per game) entering Week 6 but sit at 2-4 largely because of their lack of scoring. Their 22.3 points per game rank 18th.

The team’s scoring shortfalls have translated over to its distinctive fantasy playmakers—particularly Drew Brees, Mark Ingram and Benjamin Watson.

Brees remains a QB1 commodity but can’t be considered a must-start, as was the case in years past. He has lacked the lights-out numbers owners are accustomed to and missed the Saints’ Week 3 game after suffering a shoulder injury.

His performance against Atlanta—30-of-39 for 312 yards and a touchdown—was impressive but typical. Brees has enjoyed more success against the NFC South rival than any other team in his 16-year career.

Brees has thrown a career-best 6,098 yards and 37 touchdowns with a 67.7 completion percentage in 20 games against the Falcons, with 14 wins.

The Saints play two of the four worst pass defenses, the New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts, in consecutive weeks, leaving Brees’ viability high. But keep an eye out for their Week 9 game against the Tennessee Titans, who have allowed the fewest passing yards to quarterbacks this year.

Running back Mark Ingram churned out just 46 yards against Atlanta but scored a pair of goal-line touchdowns to prove he’s a weekly must-start.

Despite his low yardage output, Ingram had 20 carries, while Khiry Robinson and C.J. Spiller combined for just 10—showing that Ingram is the Saints’ clear No. 1 option.

Ingram entered Week 6 as the 11th-ranked fantasy running back and has posted a reliable 11.6 points per game. However, owners should be wary of a looming matchup against a Giants defense that ranks fourth against the run.

Tight end Benjamin Watson ranked higher than Falcons superstar Julio Jones in almost every receiving category Thursday. He led all pass-catchers with 10 receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown.

Watson is owned in just 3.9 percent of fantasy leagues—but for warranted reason. Entering Week 6, he averaged just 3.2 points per game, had seen just 21 targets and took five weeks to score his first touchdown. Before Thursday, Watson hadn’t eclipsed 100 yards since Week 12 of the 2010 season.

While his performance against the Falcons was formidable, Watson remains a cautious start. Owners who are thin at tight end or looking for a reliable bench option with the array of oncoming bye weeks will find Watson to be useful.

Read more Fantasy Football news on NerdyFootball.com

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Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman Post-Week 6 Fantasy Advice

Fantasy Football
October 15, 2015

The Atlanta Falcons‘ top-10 running game was in action against the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night, and fantasy football owners have gotten somewhat unlikely results from the team’s backfield.

While rookie Tevin Coleman was out for two games after suffering a rib injury, Devonta Freeman went off for fantasy owners, recording 25 or more points in three consecutive weeks.

Let’s take a look at how both fared Thursday night.

Devonta Freeman

Atlanta didn’t run the ball much. Playing from behind for most of the game will do that, which probably infuriated fantasy owners who were looking to Freeman for a big week.

There were no indications that he would have a slow week, though, as ESPN Stats & Info pointed out:

Yet he managed to put up some nice numbers on limited carries. He hit the 100-yard plateau on his 13th carry of the game. The touchdown machine again found his way into the end zone, as the NFL showed:

If the Falcons didn’t have to play from behind, Freeman would have had a bigger game. It’s unlikely that they’ll play from behind against the Tennessee Titans next week, which should allow Atlanta to play its normal game of smashmouth football—a style that suits Freeman perfectly.

Tevin Coleman

Coleman wasn’t playing much as it was, getting four carries on the night, but he didn’t see much of the ball at all after fumbling while the Falcons were driving to try to shrink their deficit.

That opened the door for Freeman, as NFL.com’s Michael Fabiano noted:

With the way Freeman has been playing over the past few weeks, carries will likely be sparse for the rookie.

Fantasy owners should stay away from Coleman until the Falcons start increasing his touches. There is no use in starting a running back who has to work his way back into his team’s favor.

Stats and fantasy points courtesy of ESPN.com.

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Minor NFL Transactions: 10/15/15

NFL News
October 15, 2015

Here are Thursday’s minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL:

  • The Raiders have waived former Seahawks safety – and Kam Chancellor‘s brother – Keenan Lambert, the team announced today in a press release. Oakland, on its bye week, will have more than a week to make more roster moves to fill the two openings on the team’s roster.
  • Using the roster spot they opened up when they placed offensive lineman Rodger Saffold on injured reserve earlier today, the Rams have promoted tight end Justice Cunningham from their practice squad to their active roster, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
  • After moving fullback Derrick Coleman to the reserve/suspended list this afternoon, the Seahawks had an opening on their 53-man roster, and have re-signed wide receiver B.J. Daniels (Twitter link via John Boyle). Daniels was just cut by Seattle two days ago.
  • Former Ravens cornerback Rashaan Melvin has been claimed off waivers by the Patriots, per Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). As Zrebiec points out, the Patriots’ offense went after Melvin frequently during last season’s playoff game, so the move is an interesting one.

Julio Jones, Matt Ryan, Roddy White Post-Week 6 Fantasy Advice

Fantasy Football
October 15, 2015

The Atlanta Falcons offense didn’t assume particularly explosive form against the New Orleans Saints, but quarterback Matt Ryan and his primary receivers connected for some solid gains to keep the chains moving.

Here’s a look at how the fantasy stocks of Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and Roddy White shifted as a result of Thursday’s performances.

Matt Ryan

Ryan fumbled a couple of times in the first half as the Falcons were building momentum and mounting what appeared to be solid scoring drives, so it’s crucial to understand his numbers could have been off the charts had it not been for those lapses.

But despite the giveaways, the volume was there. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan drew up repeated play-action rollouts to get Ryan in space, and he completed 20 of his first 26 passes thanks to that strategy.

Ryan tossed only one touchdown during that span, but the team moved the ball through the air at encouraging rates that should keep his stock steady entering Week 7. Consider Ryan a top-10 quarterback with room for improvement as the Falcons prepare for the Tennessee Titans.

Julio Jones

Ryan targeted Jones early and often as the Saints played a soft zone that allowed Jones to run deep routes and sit down in coverage for easy catches. His first four catches went for 73 yards, including a 30-yard reception in the first half.

While his hamstring was a concern entering the evening, Jones wasn’t on any sort of snap count, as Pro Football Focus’ Nathan Jahnke noted following the first half:

After Jones caught just five passes for 67 yards in Week 5 against the Washington Redskins, Thursday’s performance was reassuring for owners who may have been stressing a bit.

Jones should remain locked in as a WR1 for the remainder of the season as he continues on a pace that could see him finish as fantasy’s most prolific pass-catcher.

Roddy White

He’s alive.

White entered the evening with eight catches for 115 yards in his first five games, including consecutive performances without a reception in Weeks 2 and 3.

Although White didn’t put together a particularly impressive game from a statistical standpoint, he did score for the first time this season, courtesy of a seven-yard touchdown pass from Ryan in the second quarter.

White’s now been targeted at least four times in three straight games. That may not feel like much, but it’s a positive step forward for a receiver who appeared to be lost in the Falcons’ offensive shuffle.

He’s not worth starting, but fantasy owners should roster White as a bench flier in deeper leagues.

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AFC Notes: Broncos, Mingo, Revis, Brady

NFL News
October 15, 2015

In a mailbag this week, a reader asked Troy Renck of The Denver Post whether the Broncos should consider benching Peyton Manning in favor of backup Brock Osweiler. Manning is off to a rough start in 2015 and the concerns about him are understandable, but Renck says it’s not time to panic, especially with Denver at 5-0.

Manning, 39, had another excellent season for the Broncos in 2014, putting up 4,727 passing yards to go along with 39 touchdown passes. However, he was hampered by injuries late in the season and struggled down the stretch, particularly in the team’s divisional playoff loss to the Colts, in which he totaled just 211 passing yards on 46 attempts.

This offseason, Manning agreed to a contract restructuring that included a no-trade clause. However, in theory, Denver would be free to deal the future Hall of Famer after the season.

Here’s more from across the AFC:

  • Jeff Guerriero, the agent for Browns linebacker Barkevious Mingo, expressed some unhappiness with his client’s playing time, telling Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter links) that Mingo “is an impact player and needs to be on the field.” According to Cabot, Guerriero wouldn’t say whether or not he’d ask the Browns to trade Mingo — if he and his client want a deal, they’ll have a couple more weeks to make that request, with the trade deadline coming up on November 3.
  • In an interview scheduled to air this weekend, Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis spoke to 60 Minutes about the fact that he has signed five contracts in seven years, suggesting that the best players should be willing to take some risk to maximize their value (Twitter links via Brian Costello of the New York Post).
  • Jimmy Smith joked about it, but cornerback Shareece Wright says that he actually chose to sign with the Ravens, in part, for chance to be reunited with his good friend, Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun writes. The opportunity to play with Smith “played a big role” in him choosing Baltimore, but not the only one. “We always talked about if we had the opportunity to play on the same team, and be playing corner on the same team one day like we did in high school, it’d be a blessing,” Wright said.
  • In a sitdown with The Associated Press, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was asked about how much longer he sees himself playing. “I’ve got a lot of football left,” the 38-year-old said. “Football is a contact sport and there’s a lot that goes into it. But I have committed myself for a long time to doing it, and because I love doing it so much I want to make that commitment.”

Zach Links contributed to this post.