Unless you’re a psychotic NFL super fan or live in Cleveland or Seattle, there were only two reasons that you could have possibly cared about the Browns-Seahawks matchup. One was the obvious fantasy implications of the matchup. I think you know the other reason.
You weighed your options and ultimately looked at deep options with these defenses involved. Instead, you received a boatload of carries from Montario Hardesty and little else.
Marshawn Lynch pulled out of the game because of a back issue that flared up during warm-ups.
Sidney Rice caught two passes for 38 yards and stepped out of bounds when he lost track of where he was on the field.
Ben Watson yielded a single reception for five yards to let owners in PPR leagues down.
Waiver wire hero and “Ninja” special Doug Baldwin did not record a single reception. Fortunately, this was a week in which your opponent probably took a zero or received a miserable effort from one or more players to minimize that disaster.
I’m not going to bother going through the stat lines for any of the Indianapolis players. With the exception of some running from Delone Carter, this was an awful effort on every possible level. Curtis Painter was harassed and abused. Reggie Wayne led the receiving corps with three receptions for 36 yards. Pierre Garcon caught three passes for 31 yards.
One week following the revival of Dallas Clark’s fantasy season against the Bengals, Clark has held without a catch by the Saints. He had recorded at least one reception in 72 straight games entering Sunday night’s matchup.
The Saints piled on the points against the Colts, but receivers Lance Moore (three receptions for 44 yards) and Robert Meachem (two receptions for 27 yards) didn’t get to join in the scoring parade.
Similarly, Miles Austin was merely a bystander in the Cowboys’ obliteration of the Rams. He recorded two receptions for 16 yards following a solid seven-reception, 74-yard return to the field in Week 6 against the Patriots.
The Steelers did all of their damage against the Cardinals by air. Running back Rashard Mendenhall was unable to sustain the momentum gained in Week 6 when he ran over the Jaguars. He was limited to 13 carries for 32 yards, adding one reception for five yards. His effort against the Jaguars is the anomaly in 2011. Mendenhall has been limited to 66 rushing yards or fewer in his other five appearances (he did leave the Week 4 game against Houston early).
You receive no fantasy points for drawing holding or pass interference penalties, so Santonio Holmes finds his way to the “Flops” list again. Holmes was limited to two receptions for 24 yards by the San Diego defense. He’s yet to match his Week 1 yardage total in six starts (70) and has been limited to 42 or fewer yards in four games.
Dustin Keller caught four passes for 53 yards, a solid effort, but had the ball stripped from him and watched Donald Butler sprint 37 yards for the Chargers’ first touchdown.
The heretofore woeful New York run defense did a fantastic job against second-year starter Ryan Mathews. Mathews carried the ball 13 times for 39 yards, adding four receptions for 26 yards. He’d amassed at least 118 total yards in five straight games before Sunday’s shutdown effort by the Jets.
Philip Rivers completed a mere fifty percent of his pass attempts (16-of-32) for 179 yards with one sack, one touchdown and two interceptions. Rivers has thrown just three touchdown passes in the past four weeks with five interceptions. He added a rushing touchdown in Week 5. Overall, Rivers has produced seven touchdown passes with nine interceptions. In the “Year of the Passer,” this former fantasy hero has disappeared for owners.
The Jets did a fantastic job in erasing Vincent Jackson (one reception for 15 yards) and Malcom Floyd (two receptions for 36 yards) from the box score. Jackson has been limited to four receptions for 49 yards in the past two games.
The Texans walloped the Titans in Week 7, but the wide receivers failed to have an impact.
Kevin Walter produced three receptions for 35 yards after being the focus of much of the chatter leading into the matchup. Seriously, how many times did you see the Andre Johnson fight footage this week?
Speed threat Jacoby Jones caught two passes for 27 yards on four targets.
You keep starting Chris Johnson in anticipation of the breakout performance. Once again, he failed to deliver. Johnson carried the ball 10 times for 18 yards, adding six receptions for 27 yards to offer some support to owners in PPR leagues. He’s rushed for 53 yards or fewer in five of six games (101 against the Browns in Week 4). Perhaps the Titans can make the Colts scream “Uncle!” in Week 8?
Tennessee quarterback Matt Hasselbeck completed 14-of-30 attempts for a meager total of 104 yards with one sack, one touchdown and two interceptions. Following a hot start to 2011, Hasselbeck has passed for just 376 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions in the Titans’ past two games.
Nate Washington caught a single pass for 10 yards against the Texans. It has to get better for him against the Colts in Week 8, right?
The Packers continued their aerial assault on opposing defenses, but James Jones (four receptions for 63 yards) and Jordy Nelson (four receptions for 52 yards) were unable to cash in on opportunities against the second-string Minnesota secondary. You celebrated the John Kuhn score at the time.
The Falcons did a fantastic job to slow the vaunted Detroit passing attack. I’ve been banging the drum about the running game for weeks, but I’ll leave that diatribe for another time. Matthew Stafford completed a 57-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Stafford in Sunday’s loss to Atlanta, but produced little else (183 yards on 15-of-32 passing).
Brandon Pettigrew was limited to four receptions for 32 yards.
Nate Burleson caught a single pass for one yard. He started the season with 12 receptions for 153 yards through two weeks. He’s amassed 10 receptions for 69 yards in the past five weeks with one touchdown. Oh, Burleson rushed for 10 yards against the Falcons.
Miami running back Daniel Thomas was shut down by the Denver defense. The rookie tailback carried the ball 19 times for 53 yards. He added two receptions for zero yards.
Top target Eric Decker caught two passes for 21 yards against the Dolphins. Decker sprinted open downfield on a few occasions, but Tim Tebow failed to deliver the ball.
Knowshon Moreno was in discussion for a RB3 or Flex play against the Dolphins for owners in PPR leagues. Moreno carried the ball seven times for 28 yards and generated just two receptions for 10 yards.
Brandon Marshall returns to the “Flops” piece with six receptions for 61 yards. Marshall continues to be a strong play in PPR leagues (four or more receptions in every game), but Miami quarterback play (and his own ill-timed lapses) are making him a difficult proposition for anything more than a WR3 slot. Marshall has been limited to 61 receiving yards or fewer in three of the past four weeks.
The Panthers continue to split carries between Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams, but it’s evident that Stewart is the more consistent and productive option. Williams logged 10 carries for 35 yards in the Panthers’ win over Washington. He’s produced 44 rushing yards or fewer in five of the Panthers’ seven games.
I can’t believe that I let myself get “Shanahaned” again! Tim Hightower was the lone running back for the Redskins against the Panthers before exiting with a significant knee injury (ACL). As a result, Ryan Torain was a veritable bystander and contributed a big, fat zero to fantasy lineups. Torain carried the ball two times for -5 yards. I have no confidence that he is actually the leader in Hightower’s absence. Who’s to say that Shanahan doesn’t turn to rookies Roy Helu and Evan Royster?
Finally, I need to head back up the coast to Oakland. The Raiders have been in the headlines consistently through the first half of the season between the hot start, Darren McFadden’s brilliance, the death of Al Davis and this week’s arrival of Carson Palmer. The six weeks of positivity crashed hard in Week 7 against Kansas City.
McFadden left with an injury. The offense was pathetic under Kyle Boller with three interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown. Palmer entered the game and threw three interceptions of his own, including a second interception returned to the end zone. The Chiefs won 28-0.
The Chiefs generated 28 points, but Matt Cassel and the passing game failed to register a big note against the secondary. Cassel completed 15-of-30 attempts for 161 yards with two interceptions. He’ll face a much stiffer test in Week 8 against the Chargers.
Dwayne Bowe caught six passes for 76 yards. It wasn’t a bad effort, but you needed more from this No. 1 option in a tough, tough week.
