Have you ever heard the joke about how the casinos in Las Vegas get built? It’s simple. When it looks like a sure bet, it isn’t.
Fantasy owners loaded up on the San Diego offense for Sunday’s tilt against the heretofore hapless and injury-decimated Chiefs. Unless they owned Ryan Mathews, they were left wanting.
Philip Rivers completed 24-of-38 attempts for 266 yards, tossed two interceptions and was sacked twice. Rivers threw two touchdown passes in the Chargers’ first two games, but he’s now thrown multiple interceptions in three consecutive contests.
One week after setting the fantasy world on fire, Vincent Jackson was held in check by injured Kansas City secondary. Jackson was limited to five receptions for 63 yards on eight targets.
Was Mike Tolbert’s calf the reason, or has the aforementioned Mathews just become the player we anticipated he’d be in the spring of 2010. Mathews dominated Sunday’s action in San Diego, while Tolbert yielded just 43 total yards on seven touches (three receptions).
It’s hard to include Malcom Floyd, but owners saw the “Active” tag and rushed to get him into the lineup. Floyd caught two passes for 28 yards on five targets and was clearly affected by his groin injury.
For the third straight week, Chris Johnson owners were left holding the proverbial bag. “Swear jars” are overflowing and flights to undesirable destinations are being booked whilst revisions to Week 4 lineups are underway. Johnson was limited to 21 yards on 13 carries by the Denver run defense. I can’t believe I just typed that sentence. Johnson added four receptions for 54 yards.
• Johnson has amassed 189 total yards in three weeks. My head hurts.
Mark Sanchez posted a huge game in Sunday’s defeat to Oakland. Alas, Santonio Holmes didn’t get to join in on the fun. Holmes was targeted twice in the loss and recorded just a single reception for 19 yards.
Ben Roethlisberger posted his first 300-yard game of the season in an uttering confusing and downright unwatchable game (with notable exceptions, of course). Roethlisberger completed 25-of-37 attempts for 364 yards with one touchdown (an 81-yard gem to Mike Wallace), one interception and two lost fumbles. Roethlisberger battled through more losses on the offensive line and he faced immense pressure throughout the evening (three sacks and a mountain of hits).
• We look at Michael Vick’s injuries and talk of him getting out of the pocket and subjecting himself to additional hits (some, Vick says, are past the proverbial line). Roethlisberger plays the same way and absorbs some gut-wrenching shots. One play comes to mind from Sunday from late in the third quarter. Roethlisberger scrambled out of the pocket and worked toward the sideline while looking back toward the middle of the field. He slowed up as he approached the sideline and was leveled by a HUGE hit. Live to see another day.
Rashard Mendenhall failed to surmount much of an attack against the always-suspect Indianapolis run defense. Mendenhall produced a feeble total of 37 yards on 18 carries. His three receptions for nine yards were hardly inspiring. The attrition on the offensive line that I alluded to in the Roethlisberger blurb says it all. The Steelers can normally rely on the running game to get things rolling. Mendenhall has amassed just 111 rushing yards through three weeks (one touchdown). He’d be the drawing the attention of the fantasy world for his early struggles if not for Chris Johnson.
Hines Ward barely registered in the box score as Roethlisberger targeted speedsters Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown with regularity. Ward tallied three receptions for 17 yards on four targets.
The other side of the ledger in the Sunday night game was equally dismal. Celebrate Joseph Addai’s ability to work on the ground despite the lack of support from the receiving corps (drops) and quarterback inefficiency (Painter).
Reggie Wayne was targeted 13 times by the Kerry Collins-Curtis Painter combination on Sunday night. He produced just three receptions for 24 yards. Collins was locked onto Wayne all night before leaving with a concussion. Painter looked for Collie and Garcon. It’s something to note, as Painter may be under center in Week 4.
I won’t belabor the point. You know that Austin Collie (five receptions for 27 yards) and Dallas Clark (two receptions for 12 yards on six targets) were ineffective. Collie’s fortunes rise if Painter gets the nod.
The Tampa Bay run defense solved Michael Turner, who ran for 195 yards and three touchdowns in two meetings last season. Turner was limited to 20 yards on 11 carries as the youthful Tampa Bay defensive line played big. He had opened the season with back-to-back 100-yard games.
Mike Williams was a non-factor for the Buccaneers once again. Williams was limited to five catches and 43 receiving yards on eight targets. I’ll get deeper into how Atlanta attacked him once I complete my second review of the games, but this is concerning. Williams has yet to record 60 receiving yards in a game.
Kellen Winslow was a question mark coming into the game. Hopefully, the late injury tag helped him to find your fantasy bench. Winslow was targeted four times, producing just two receptions for 20 yards.
I feared that the Seahawks might rise up to stop the Arizona offense at home. They played strong football and limited Kolb to 252 yards with one touchdown, two interceptions and three sacks (16 rushing yards). The Arizona offense looks to bounce back against the confusing Minnesota squad in Week 4.
James Starks had seemingly assumed the reins as the No. 1 back for the Packers. Instead, he served as the No. 2 to a more explosive and effective Ryan Grant. Starks managed five yards on 11 carries with a lost fumble. His three receptions for nine yards were little consolation.
Jordy Nelson (three receptions for 40 yards on five targets) and Donald Driver (zero catches and two targets) were mere bystanders to “The Rodgers Show, featuring Jennings and Finley.”
Matt Forte caught seven passes for 80 yards, but I can’t give him a pass. Forte carried the ball nine times and produced two measly yards.
The Ravens owned the St. Louis offense. Sam Bradford was hit frequently and was sacked five times. He completed 50% of his pass attempts (16-of-32) with a touchdown, an interception and a fumble.
Mike Sims-Walker logged three receptions for 36 yards. Danario Alexander generated just two receptions for 28 yards.
You’d think that a final score of 34-31 would result in nothing but “Heroes” on the slate. That’s not true, as the Patriots had several pathetic offensive efforts to call out.
Chad Ochocinco dropped a sure-fire touchdown reception that would have made him, if only temporarily, a hero in “Patriots Nation.” Instead, Ochocinco ended the day with two receptions and 28 yards on four targets. You can’t trust him. Get the ball to Gronkowski.
Power back BenJarvus Green-Ellis couldn’t move the pile in his multiple goal-line tries. Trusting fantasy owners were left frustrated as the bruising tailback was limited to 16 yards on nine carries. He received goal-line work, but rookie Stevan Ridley emerged to lead the team on the ground (seven carries for 44 yards).
Deion Branch was a hero through two weeks. He was targeted merely three times and finished the game without a catch.
Kevin Walter was a bit of a surprise in his availability, thereby relegating Jacoby Jones to his return role. Jones was targeted once and did not record a catch.
Eli Manning did well to find his other option, including both tailbacks, while the Philadelphia defense worked to eliminate Hakeem Nicks. The strategy to hold Nicks down worked beautifully for that All-Star secondary. He caught three passes for 25 yards and registered only five targets.
I can’t dud him up because he was injured, but Michael Vick was hardly dominant against the Giants. Vick produced 176 passing yards (16-for-23) with an interception and 31 rushing yards.
I will throw his top receivers, Jeremy Maclin (five receptions for 69 yards) and DeSean Jackson (two receptions for 30 yard), into the fray.
The Dolphins fell to 0-3 with a road loss in Cleveland, but fantasy owners expected a better effort from stud receiver Brandon Marshall. Marshall was limited to four receptions for 43 yards on seven targets. He’d caught 13 passes in the Dolphins’ first two games.
Brandon Lloyd returned to action but, as expected, he struggled against the Tennessee defense. Lloyd yielded 38 yards on four receptions (seven targets).
Tag-team partner Eric Decker fared slightly better, offering PPR owners some value with his seven-reception, 48-yard performance. Decker squares off with Tramon Williams of the Packers next week.
Nobody stumped harder for Nate Burleson than I. Unfortunately, I forgot to lobby the Detroit coaching staff, as we watched Brandon Pettigrew and Titus Young pile up sizable target counts. Burleson was targeted just twice and finished the game with two receptions for 12 yards in the comeback thriller. Yawn.
Who’s a mudder? Did you see the torrential downpour that changed up the fantasy fortunes of our would-be heroes in the Jacksonville-Carolina tilt? That weather was a foreshadowing of the tears to be cried while watching the miserable Indianapolis-Pittsburgh tilt.
DeAngelo Williams was again a non-factor for the Panther and in fantasy lineups. Williams carried the ball 10 times for a paltry total of 18 yards while adding two catches for 17 yards. I’ll let you do the math on the dollars earned per carry through three weeks. It’ll just invoke more images of the Carolina rain. (Too bad the game wasn’t in Kentucky, or I could have led a sing-along to Elvis’ “Kentucky Rain.”)
Marcedes Lewis returned to the field for the Jaguars in Week 3, but he barely scratched out a place in the box score. Lewis caught both of the passes for which he was intended for 15 yards.
Carolina wideout Steve Smith opened the season with back-to-back monster performances in support of Cam Newton. Newton struggled in the rain, and Smith failed to find space on the bad track. He was targeted seven times, but produced just two receptions.
The Bengals failed to put on much of a show for the home crowd on Sunday. Andy Dalton came into Sunday’s matchup against San Francisco as a top-10 rated quarterback. Dalton completed 17-of-32 attempts for 157 yard with two interceptions and a sack. Dalton next faces a Buffalo team that appears set on participating in shootout after shootout.
Following his huge effort in Week 2, fantasy owners were all-in on rookie A.J. Green. Green was limited to four receptions and 29 receiving yards (five targets). The whopping total of eight points that kept flashing up on the television screen and your mobile phone told the tale. Better days lay ahead in Week 4 against Buffalo.
Mike Williams of the Seahawks disappeared from the fantasy radar just as quickly as he’d appeared on it. The 2010 comeback hero has been an afterthought in the Tarvaris Jackson-led offense, and the return of Sidney Rice certainly didn’t help things. Williams was targeted once in Sunday’s win over Arizona. In the previous two weeks (in Rice’s absence), Williams logged five receptions for 43 yards on nine targets.
