.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
Can I start the “Flops” entry for this week with DeSean Jackson? He missed an alarm, failed to attend a meeting (the last straw, per reports out of Philadelphia) and was deactivated for Sunday’s LOSS to the Cardinals. Jackson reportedly declined comment when asked about the missed meeting and if he was making some sort of statement on his contract. After muffing a punt that helped in the Week 9 loss to Chicago and posting 16 receiving yards, Jackson probably picked a bad time to push the coaching staff.
To that end, Michael Vick entered Sunday’s game without one of his deep threats. That still didn’t have anybody backing off of a Vick start in fantasyland. He still had Jeremy Maclin (for a spell), along with McCoy, Celek and Avant. It didn’t matter. The Cardinals played an inspired game and limited Vick to 128 passing yards and shut him out. Vick added 79 rushing yards, but that hardly makes up for the round numbers under the “TD” category headings. He’s been shut out in back-to-back weeks.
Will you trust him against the Giants? They shut him out in Week 3.
Take it further, Andy Reid told reporters that Vick reportedly sustained broken ribs early in Sunday’s loss. He did absorb several big hits and spent a good amount of time on the turf.
I won’t belabor the point. Add Brent Celek and Jason Avant to the list of “Flop”-worthy performers with 53 and two receiving yards, respectively.
The Atlanta run defense continues to confound opposing running games.
• Pierre Thomas carried the ball six times for 29 yards in the Saints’ overtime win over Atlanta. He added four receptions for just nine yards.
• Fantasy owners finally decided to trust Darren Sproles in their lineups and, like milk on a hot San Diego day, it was a “bad idea.” Sproles caught four passes for a whopping two yards. That is not a misprint. He added two carries for a single yard.
Roddy White’s rough 2011 season continued on Sunday against the Saints. He finished with four receptions for 64 yards on seven targets. He had hoped to see Julio Jones streaking opposite him against the New Orleans secondary. Alas, Jones’ hamstring started barking and he left the field early. White has topped 80 receiving yards once this season and has scored only three times.
Josh Freeman’s horrid 2011 season continued with a blowout loss at home to the Texans. Freeman completed 15-of-33 attempts for 170 yards with one touchdown (Preston Parker) and three interceptions. He was sacked four times and rushed for 25 yards. Freeman has now thrown multiple interceptions in four games this season and enters Week 11 against the Packers with more interceptions than touchdowns.
Mike Williams appeared on the Week 10 injury report, so low expectations had already bounced lower. Williams caught two passes in 43 yards in the Buccaneers’ latest defeat. He’s topped 60 receiving yards just twice this season.
Kellen Winslow had scored in back-to-back weeks entering Week 10, but his weekly yardage total left fantasy owners wanting. Winslow has not amassed more than 54 yards in a game since Week 1. In Sunday’s loss to Houston, Winslow caught three passes for 33 yards.
The Buccaneers fell behind to the Texans early on Sunday, thereby putting LeGarrette Blount into the role of spectator. He was limited to 10 carries for 34 yards, adding one reception for zero yards.
Kevin Walter caught a single pass in Sunday’s win over Tampa Bay to extend his streak to six games with a catch. As expected, Matt Schaub didn’t need to air it out, and Walter played a minimal role. He finished with six receiving yards, beating last week’s total by a single yard.
Cedric Benson rushed 15 times for 57 yards in Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh. He’s rushed for 64 yards or fewer in five of the eight games in which he’s appeared.
Cam Newton called Sunday’s loss to Tennessee “embarrassing.” He was shut out for the first time in his career (“ever,” he added in his post-game comments), finishing with 212 passing yards, 55 rushing yards and an interception. The Titans registered five sacks.
* I can’t wait to see Newton take on the sinking Lions in Week 11.
Steve Smith was limited to five receptions for 33 yards to extend his strong run for owners in PPR leagues. He was targeted eight times in the crushing loss. Smith needs 49 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the season.
Greg Olsen was shut out for the third time in four weeks, producing four receptions for 45 yards in the blowout loss to Tennessee. He also lost a fumble in the red zone following a seven-yard reception. The Titans scored on the ensuing drive and never looked back.
I’ll still add Matt Cassel to the list despite his early departure from Sunday’s loss to Denver. Cassel completed 13-of-28 attempts for 93 yards with one touchdown, 16 rushing yards and four sacks. He’ll have his hand examined this week and his availability against the Patriots is in question.
Dwayne Bowe couldn’t shake free from Champ Bailey and became another top-tier option to fail miserably in Week 10. Bowe caught two of his seven targets for just 17 yards, giving him three losses in his past four individual battles with Bailey.
Jonathan Baldwin was a “Ninja” special against the Denver secondary and was essentially invisible. Baldwin caught a single pass for 15 yards on five targets.
Things have been difficult for Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Bills of late. Fitzpatrick was on the wrong end of a lopsided game in Dallas on Sunday afternoon. He completed 20-of-31 attempts and, to be fair, was betrayed by his receivers on a couple of occasions (and he missed a streaking Donald Jones for what would have been a walk-in long touchdown). Fitzpatrick passed for a season-low 146 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. His 20 rushing yards did eliminate the negativity of the one of the turnovers.
** Before you jump ship, take a peek at the upcoming schedule. Fitzpatrick has a return bout with the Jets in Week 12. Other than that, he’s got a string of quality matchups on tap. Fitzpatrick has two dates with Miami, a road trip to San Diego and home dates against the Titans and Broncos.
Stevie Johnson left Sunday’s game with a sore shoulder, so he enters this list with an asterisk. Johnson caught two passes for eight yards against the Cowboys, his fifth game with fewer than 60 yards in the past six outings.
The Cowboys obliterated the Bills early on Sunday, thereby shutting down the passing game and leaving Jason Witten wanting. Witten did not get to enjoy the red zone love from Tony Romo (he set up Laurent Robinson’s first touchdown reception), finishing the game with five receptions for 37 yards. Witten had scored in four of the Cowboys’ previous five games, but owners are getting restless about his sinking yardage total. He’s finished five of the past seven games with 60 receiving yards or fewer.
I contended that I wouldn’t get “Shanahan’d” again. As a result, I was reticent to move Roy Helu any higher than a back-end RB2 for Week 10. Mike Shanahan started Ryan Torain, a move designed to stick a pitchfork deep into the hearts of fantasy owners everywhere. Helu played a reserved role and finished with six carries for 41 yards. One week after piling up 14 receptions, he was an afterthought to Rex Grossman and logged just three receptions for 13 yards.
I nominated Mike Thomas as a potential deep flier selection for a WR3 slots against the putrid Indianapolis secondary. I let it cloud my memory of Blaine Gabbert’s early performances. Thomas finished Sunday’s win with one reception for one yard and a 12-yard rushing attempt.
I’ll just nod and mouth the word “Indianapolis.” You can fill in the adjectives as necessary. The Colts turned to Dan Orlovsky in-game for the third time in four weeks, and Pierre Garcon and Reggie Wayne have joined Austin Collie in hiding.
I cautioned my Fantasy Freaks brethren against dismissing the Ravens’ trip to Seattle. I didn’t believe that the Seahawks would dominate the action and send my Baltimore friends into a terrible downward spiral, but I believed that the game would be competitive for a stretch. This latest road loss marked another terrible moment for Joe Flacco. Flacco completed 29-of-52 attempts for 255 yards with a touchdown and an interception. His last multi-touchdown performance came in Week 3.
Ray Rice threw perhaps the second-best pass from a lefty in Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks. He completed a short touchdown pass to tight end Ed Dickson. Rice carried the ball just five times for 27 yards, though he did add eight receptions for 54 yards. Owners in PPR leagues finished happy, but that’s not saying much. Rice has produced only two 100-yard games this season, the second of which came in Week 6.
Alas, speedster Torrey Smith was unable to carry momentum from his Week 9 game-winner into Sunday’s tilt in Seattle. Smith caught just three of his eight targets for 28 yards. His one carry for 16 yards was hardly inspiring.
The 49ers earned a huge win on Sunday against the Giants in front of an amped-up home crowd. Top receiver Michael Crabtree did not post much of a stat line for the victorious 49ers. Crabtree caught one of his four targets for 21 yards, though he did convert a two-point conversion try.
Matthew Stafford blamed his finger and the wind for his troubles (I use the term loosely) in Chicago on Sunday afternoon. I’m not sure how much air was under the two passes thrown for pick-sixes, but I digress. Stafford passed for 329 yards in frantic comeback mode and finished the game with four interceptions, two sacks and one late touchdown pass. Things get interesting for the slumping Lions in the second half. The Lions face Carolina in Week 11, but two dates with the Packers are spotlight contests in a schedule that includes road trips to New Orleans and Oakland and a home date against the Chargers.
Calvin Johnson makes his first appearance on the “Flops” list this season. Overall, Johnson posted a solid effort for fantasy owners with his seven-reception, 81-yard performance against Chicago. However, he dropped a pass inside the Chicago five-yard line and lost a fumble.
Brandon Pettigrew posted his fifth consecutive game with 42 or fewer receiving yards (sixth this season) in Sunday’s debacle in Chicago. Pettigrew caught five passes for 38 yards, a solid return for owners in PPR leagues. He’s still amassed 46 receptions on the season, but his 44.2 yards per game and two touchdown receptions are hardly inspiring.
The Jets’ three-game winning streak fell to the wayside with a resounding thud. Shonn Greene averaged a strong 4.7 yards per carry, but his workload was limited in the second half of Sunday’s blowout lost. Greene finished with 13 carries for 61 yards, his third-lowest carry count of the season. His two receptions for 14 yards hardly moved the needle. Greene has topped 80 rushing yards just twice this season and remains stuck on two touchdowns.
Wes Welker continued his run of solid performances for PPR league participants in Sunday night’s resounding win over the Patriots. Welker caught six passes for 46 yards, his ninth straight game with at least five receptions (72 on the season). However, fantasy owners in standard leagues are a bit salty with Welker’s output of late. Welker has finished three of the past four games with 46 receiving yards or fewer (one touchdown reception and a 136-yard effort mixed therein).
Fantasy Football News and Notes | Fantasy Studs and Duds Week 10
