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DeMarco Murray, Jordan Matthews, Sam Bradford's Post-Week 2 Fantasy Advice

Fantasy Football
September 20, 2015

The only people who had a worse Sunday than Chip Kelly are fantasy football owners who started Sam Bradford and DeMarco Murray. At least the Jordan Matthews owners picked up a receiving touchdown in garbage time of the Philadelphia Eagles‘ 20-10 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys.

Here’s a look at how the three players performed in Week 2:

Murray’s numbers between Weeks 1 and 2 are almost comical—to the extent they have nowhere to go but up. Should this tweet from ESPN Stats & Info actually come true, it would almost be impressive on the part of Murray and the Eagles:

Also, let’s enjoy all of the players who temporarily have more rushing yards than the Eagles running back, per SportsCenter:

If you have Murray on your team, don’t overreact. Maybe you put him on the bench for a week to see if this trend continues, but you shouldn’t drop him from your team completely.

You also shouldn’t trade him because his value isn’t exactly sky-high at the moment. There’s little chance you’d get fair value for Murray in return.

Be patient. Maybe the 27-year-old doesn’t emerge as an RB1 this year, but he should be a valuable fantasy option in 2015 nonetheless.

The same positive attitude shouldn’t be afforded to Bradford, who is firmly QB2 material. Judging by how he looked Sunday, that designation is unlikely to change this year. Bradford can’t handle pressure in the pocket, and his decision-making is questionable at times.

While head coach Chip Kelly didn’t outright say he plans on benching Bradford any time soon, he didn’t completely dismiss the notion after Sunday’s game.

“We’ve been there, and we understand that,” Kelly said of his team’s slow start, per Max Rappaport of PhiladelphiaEagles.com. “(But) just because we went through it before doesn’t mean we’re going to get it straightened out. We’ll evaluate everything, (like) we evaluated everything then.”

Unless he loses his starting job to Mark Sanchez, Bradford should occupy a place on your bench in the seemingly unlikely event he goes all Nick Foles circa 2013.

The good news for fantasy owners who have Matthews is that his value shouldn’t fluctuate quite like Bradford’s or Murray’s. Matthews is the No. 1 target in the Eagles’ passing game, which is bound to lead to big numbers in Philadelphia’s offense.

Bradford’s inconsistency could hurt Matthews somewhat every once in a while but not to the extent you’ll want to bench him.

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Steve Smith Sr., Crockett Gillmore, Joe Flacco's Post-Week 2 Fantasy Advice

Fantasy Football
September 20, 2015

The Baltimore Ravens had Super Bowl aspirations coming into the 2015 season, but they sit at the bottom of the AFC North after a disappointing 0-2 start. Fortunately for fantasy owners relying on the offensive playmakers like Joe Flacco, Steve Smith Sr. and Crockett Gillmore, the win-loss record doesn’t matter as much as the stats.

Baltimore fell behind the Oakland Raiders early during Sunday’s 37-33 loss, which means Flacco aired it out in a comeback effort. Here is a look at the final numbers from the passing attack:

Flacco and Smith are proven commodities, but Gillmore is not quite a household name at this point. He will be if he continues to make plays like this, from the NFL:

It is important to note before fantasy owners overreact to Gillmore’s performance (and Flacco’s and Smith’s) that Oakland was dead last in the league in scoring defense in 2014 and allowed 33 points in each of the first two games this year. Offenses should rack up plenty of fantasy points against the group if Sunday’s contest was any indication.

Still, Gillmore is already shedding questions about his pass-catching abilities in his second season after he tallied a whopping 121 receiving yards in 15 games in 2014. Clifton Brown of CSN suggested as much during Sunday’s showing:

Tight end is not a loaded position in fantasy circles, but owners need to see more before they simply hand a starting spot to Gillmore. If he turns in a couple more impressive outings like Sunday’s against defenses that are better than Oakland’s, you can start to consider him a starting option.

As for Smith Sr., the track record is impossible to ignore, especially since Torrey Smith is no longer there to siphon targets. Smith is the clear-cut No. 1 wide receiver, and he boasts eight seasons with more than 1,000 receiving yards in his career. He also had 73 career touchdown catches coming into Sunday’s contest against the Raiders.

Perhaps most impressively, Smith played at least 14 games every year of his career except for 2004. Considering this is his 15th season in the league, that is a testament to his durability and fitness level at age 36.

If the past is any indication, Smith will be healthy and productive throughout the 2015 campaign. Make sure he is in your lineup.

Smith will also be receiving passes from Flacco, who is more than just a former Super Bowl winner. The quarterback boasts six straight seasons with more than 3,600 passing yards and had 148 touchdowns coming into Sunday’s contest.

His performance was critical Sunday for confidence purposes because he struggled in the opening week this year against the Denver Broncos with 117 yards, no touchdowns and two picks.

Normally a poor performance and an excellent performance in the first two weeks means you should wait a couple of games to see which one is the true indicator. However, Flacco is a proven playmaker who consistently racks up yardage and touchdowns. His showing Sunday is more in line with what you should expect the rest of the season.

Feel comfortable playing him every week.

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Chip Kelly On Loss, Start Of Eagles’ Season

NFL News
September 20, 2015

After a horrible loss to the Cowboys, in which the team rushed for seven yards on 17 carries, Chip Kelly took to the podium to address the media about the team’s slow start.

“I dont think any of our running backs had a chance,” said Kelly, according to John Clark os CSN Philly (via Twitter). Kelly in that way is putting a lot of the blame on his new offensive line, saying the offensive line “just didn’t block them,” (via Twitter).

“I don’t think the running backs even really had time to assess if there was a hole,” Kelly said, according to Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). It was those struggles that led Kelly and the Eagles’ offense to try to throw the ball into the endzone from the three-yard line (via Twitter). “We weren’t moving their defensive line, so we probably had to throw it in,” said Kelly. “We let a really good defensive effort go for naught because we didn’t do what we needed to do offensively.”

“We need to stick together as a team and get this figured out,” Kelly told his team, according to Clark (via Twitter).

Kelly also reminded the media, “We were here two years ago…and then we went 7-1 down the stretch,” according to Berman (via Twitter).

With a trip to New Jersey to face the ferocious Jets defense, the Eagles have a big challenge ahead of them, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News notes (via Twitter). “We better show up this week,” said Kelly. “Because it’s not going to get any easier.”

Kelly, who is not only the coach but has the final say on roster decisions for the Eagles, was asked if he thought too many playmakers were traded or signed away in free agency this offseason, to which he predictably disagreed, writes Jeff Skversky of WPVI-TV Philadelphia (via Twitter). The team lost Jeremy Maclin to free agency, cut guards Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans, and traded both Nick Foles and LeSean McCoy.

The most important thing Kelly said was that everyone will be evaluated, including the coaches and quarterback, according to Matt Mullin of The Philly Voice (via Twitter). That could open the door for a change from Sam Bradford to Mark Sanchez at some point if the offense continues to struggle.

Terrance Williams, Jason Witten's 2015 Fantasy Outlook After Tony Romo's Injury

Fantasy Football
September 20, 2015

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo suffered a fractured left clavicle against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, according to NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling, which means players in head coach Jason Garrett’s offense are about to be downgraded across the board for fantasy purposes.

Citing a source, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reported Romo is expected to be sidelined eight weeks—which comprises the majority of the fantasy regular season.

With Dez Bryant already out for an extended period after undergoing surgery on his foot, wide receiver Terrance Williams and tight end Jason Witten have emerged as the Cowboys’ most reliable targets.

The question now is whether backup quarterback Brandon Weeden will be able to feed Williams and Witten the ball with any sort of consistency.

While an answer will remain elusive until we’re exposed to a bigger sample size with Weeden under center, it feels safe to say the stock of both players is set to drop. That said, Williams’ regression figures to be more dramatic than Witten’s because of the fact that the tight end’s conservative route tree is more conducive to adaptation.

Romo and Witten have established tremendous chemistry, but if the 33-year-old can continue to eat up soft zones underneath and run intermediary routes that open him up for easy opportunities in the red zone, owners should be able to get away with starting him until the franchise quarterback makes a return.

Williams, meanwhile, was a borderline fantasy starter to begin with, and it’s hard to imagine owners trusting Weeden to find him for big gains week in and week out.

Although he could remain a matchup play in the weeks ahead—especially against the porous Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints secondaries—trusting him to regularly put up starting-caliber numbers will be a mistake.

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Brandon Weeden's Updated 2015 Fantasy Outlook After Tony Romo's Injury

Fantasy Football
September 20, 2015

Quarterbacks cannot rack up fantasy points unless given the opportunity, and Brandon Weeden now has a golden opportunity with the Dallas Cowboys.

The director of media and programming for the Cowboys, Derek Eagleton, noted Sunday that star quarterback Tony Romo fractured his clavicle against the Philadelphia Eagles. That means Weeden is now the starting signal-caller for a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations and plenty of offensive talent.

The problem for the Cowboys and fantasy owners is Weeden is not one of those players with plenty of talent.

Weeden boasted 26 career touchdown passes to 28 interceptions coming into Sunday’s contest and a mediocre 56 percent completion mark. He is also not a threat to pick up rushing yards (154 in his career), and SportsCenter highlighted just how much the former Oklahoma State Cowboy has struggled in the professional ranks:

Jeff Cavanaugh of 105.3 The Fan indicated the plan for Dallas at this point should just be to survive Romo’s setback:

That is not an enticing plan for Weeden fantasy owners, and the absence of superstar receiver Dez Bryant only worsens the quarterback’s prospects. Bryant tallied three straight years of more than 1,200 receiving yards and led the league with 16 touchdown catches last year, but he suffered a broken foot in Week 1.

Even a quarterback like Weeden can throw it where someone like Bryant can catch it.

Weeden still has Terrance Williams (eight touchdown catches a season ago), Lance Dunbar (led the team with 70 receiving yards in Week 1) and Cole Beasley as a threat from the slot, but none of them is as talented as Bryant.

Perhaps the best option for Weeden is tight end Jason Witten, who racked up more than 700 receiving yards in each of the past 11 seasons. He also topped 1,000 receiving yards four different years and had 59 career touchdowns coming into Sunday’s game.

There are few tight ends in the history of the league as consistent as Witten, and Weeden can build fantasy points simply by throwing him the ball.

What’s more, Dallas has arguably the top offensive line in the league, so Weeden should have time to find open targets. Pro Football Focus rated the Cowboys as the No. 1 offensive line in the NFL in 2014 (fourth in pass blocking and second in run blocking):

Years of building through the draft paid off in spectacular fashion. It was already a pretty good line, but the selection of Zack Martin pushed them over the edge. Strong in pass protection and opening up running lanes that would get me to 1,000 yards, the Cowboys were a true joy to watch. Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together?

It is easy to point to the offensive line and an incredibly consistent tight end and say that Weeden could perhaps give fantasy owners a spark if given the chance. Still, it’s impossible to ignore his lackluster track record when making lineup decisions.

You should not put him in your lineup unless you are in an absolutely desperate situation with injuries or if you are scraping at the bottom of the waiver-wire barrel in a deep league.

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