Category: NFL

Week 16 RB Recap

CJ Spiller and Chris Ivory each carried the ball twenty times in their week sixteen contests.

Analysis: CJ Spiller rushed for 77 yards on 20 carries and tacked on 26 receiving yards on Sunday afternoon against Miami. Spiller is averaging 15 carries, 79 rushing yards and 15 receiving yards over his last four games. Although Spiller is available in about 2% of fantasy leagues he is only being started in just over half of all leagues. Up next for Spiller is the New England Patriots. The Patriots rank 31st in rushing yards allowed and 24th in yards per carry against.

Chris Ivory is another back coming on strong. Ivory is averaging 15 carries and 78 rushing yards over his last four games. Ivory carried the rock 20 times for 109 yards today against the Browns who have a top ten defense against the run this year. Chris Ivory is available in 10-20% of fantasy leagues at the moment. Up next for Ivory is the Miami Dolphins. Miami is 22nd in rushing yards allowed and 17th in yards per carry against this year.

Streaming Defenses- Week 16

Week fifteen is officially over and now it is time to take a look at our “team to stream” in week sixteen.

Analysis: This week we will take the Detroit defense at home against the New York Giants. The Detroit defense held the Ravens to just 18 points on six field goals Monday night. Joe Flacco recorded a 70.3 passer rating and was sacked once. Eli Manning on the other hand threw 5 interceptions in his week fifteen contest and has 25 picks this year.

The Giants have been very poor on offense this season. They rank 28th in yards, 30th in points per game, 31st in turnover margin and 31st in passer rating. Eli Manning has thrown just 2 touchdown passes to 8 interceptions in his last three games.

The Detroit defense has been playing well of late but they are an average unit for the year. They rank 16th in yards per game, 16th in points per game, 28th in sacks and 16th in interceptions. The Detroit D/ST is available in over 90% of fantasy leagues.

You may want to consider the St. Louis and Denver defenses if they are available. St. Louis is at home against Tampa Bay and Denver is on the road against Houston who are on a twelve game losing streak.

Stock Rising- Alex Smith

Alex Smith threw 5 touchdown passes Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.

Analysis: Smith has thrown at least 2 touchdown passes in each of his last five games. He has 14 passing touchdowns to just 2 interceptions in that five game span. He’s on fire and will make it very difficult on fantasy owners in the coming weeks.

Up next for Smith is the Colts at home in week sixteen. The Indy defense is 15th in the NFL in passing yards against, 15th in sacks and 20th in quarterback rating against. Smith will be in San Diego the following week. The Chargers are 29th in passing yards against, 21st in sacks and 30th in passer rating against.

In week sixteen Drew Brees is in Carolina, Matt Ryan is in San Fran and Russell Wilson has the Cardinals at home, so difficult quarterback decisions will have to be made. At the moment Alex Smith is available in 20-30% of fantasy leagues.

Jennings/Hartline Updates

Greg Jennings and Brian Hartline are red hot as we head into the last two games of the season.

Analysis: Greg Jennings put up 163 yards on 11 receptions with a touchdown today against the Eagles. Jennings has averaged 7.6 receptions, 10.6 targets and 98 receiving yards in his last three games. Cordarrelle Patterson is explosive and hyped but he is only averaging 6 targets per game in that same three game span. Matt Cassel has been the quarterback responsible for most of those big numbers in recent weeks. Cassel has averaged 297 passing yards in that three game span as he appears to have it figured out once again, but who knows for how long? The reality is Matt Cassel is playing well and Jennings is one heavily targeted wide out these days. Greg Jennings is available in 10-50% of fantasy leagues.

Brian Hartline has been a solid fantasy performer all year but in recent weeks his play is starting to stand out. He’s averaged 6 receptions, 9 targets and 81 yards in his last four contests, he also has 2 touchdowns in that span. Ryan Tannehill is averaging 39 passing attempts in his last four games which is good news for Brian Hartline and Mike Wallace owners. Hartline is available in 25-60% of fantasy leagues.

Streaming Defenses- Week 15

Week fourteen is officially over and now it is time to take a look at our “team to stream” in week fifteen.

Analysis: This week we will take the Jacksonville defense at home against the Buffalo Bills. The Jaguars are on a three game win streak and much of it can be attributed to their improved defense. Jacksonville has 8 sacks and have forced 6 turnovers in that three game span. They are far from a dominant unit but they have been playing very well as of late.

The Bills on the other hand struggle mightily on the road(1-5). EJ Manuel is only completing 52% of his passes on the road and his road passer rating is just 57.2. Manuel has 9 passing touchdowns to his credit to go along with 10 turnovers in nine games this season. The Bills have averaged just 11 points per game in their last three road games. Overall for the season the Bills rank 23rd in total yards, 25th in points and 24th in sacks allowed. The Jacksonville D/ST is available in 99% of fantasy leagues.

Another team of note this week is the Miami defense at home against the Patriots. Miami is 5th in the NFL in sacks and 5th in interceptions while New England has struggled in recent weeks with Houston and Cleveland.