Fair is fair, and last week I started by noting the HOF accomplishments of Philip Rivers and Frank Gore. So, before anything else, we begin by acknowledging the great Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who collected a modest five passes for 44 yards on Sunday. It was enough to move past Randy Moss to hold the #3 spot with 15, 311 yards, leaving just Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice ahead on the all-time list. One more season a la 2017 (he has 922 this year) and Fitzgerald moves to #2, though Rice’s 22,895 is clearly in a class by himself.
I found Week 14 particularly frustrating, and I have to qualify that I don’t have any Carson Wentz shares, which would indeed have exacerbated the results of my teams. As it is, I can only lament that this has been part of one of the worst Fantasy Football seasons I have ever played.
Things did start well enough, with dominant wins in all seven leagues Weeks 1 and 2 plus a couple of nice DFS paydays. But, as fate would step in, that is when my mate Todd Zola and I agreed to separate our businesses, he keeping Mastersball, while I went to rebuild and revise Creativesports.
So, now the site is stable, and my teams which started so promising had their biggest week since September, in particular when it doesn’t matter any longer. I only hope your season is progressing a little more towards some kind of league championship.
As for Wentz, I hate to see injuries, especially at this point — such a talented guy who had led his squad to the top of the league and into the post-season. The Eagles do have Nick Foles in the wings, who filled in well enough in the fourth quarter (six of 10 for 42 yards) and certainly has enough of a resume. Remember that as the starter in 2013, Foles completed 64.8% of his passes for 2,819 yards, 27 TDs (to just a pair of picks), and a rating of 119.2. For the Eagles, Foles is as safe a transition as the team could want.
As for your team, should Wentz be rostered, ideally you have a reserve pick not named Aaron Rodgers, Tyrod Taylor, or Matthew Stafford. If not, then Foles might be the only game in town. But if you are in a Super Flex league and had Wentz, jump on Foles before being reduced to playing Jason Witten in your flex spot (and I am a big Witten fan!).
Where else can we mine for points as the fantasy season moves into its final phases? Well, within the Eagles, tight end Trey Burton has filled in admirably for the injured Zach Ertz, collecting a pair of pre-injury passes from Wentz for a pair of TDs and 71 yards. As we know from our friends at Inside Injuries, if Ertz is a concussion question-mark on Thursday then he will probably not play, so grab’n’play Burton accordingly. In fact, with Foles playing, the Eagles are likely to play a conservative game meaning a lot of TE activity.
Well, the Cowboys are trying to get playoff healthy without Ezekiel Elliott, so the question is who emerges as the ball carrier? Well, du jour is Rod Smith, a third-year player who was an Ohio State alum of Zeke’s, it would seem. Smith had the biggest day of his NFL career Sunday, bagging five receptions for 113 yards while rushing for 47 yards on six carries, earning a pair of scores in the process. Undervalued, unexpected, and unbelievable as all this might seem, he is the play for Dallas next week and likely is a cheap DFS pick to consider.
The Chargers are indeed charging, and this week Tyrell Williams grabbed the spotlight, scoring and racking up 132 yards on four Philip Rivers passes. L.A. has such a wide array of weapons at their QB’s disposal that it would be easy to overlook the third-year receiver who has caught 32 for 530 yards, averaging a solid 18.1 yards per catch. At this point, Williams makes a much better play than does Jordy Nelson (I hate to say).
New Orleans’ Tommylee Lewis, a second-year player, has been primarily a punt returner for the Saints. In fact, Lewis on Sunday returned five kicks for 121 yards in addition to catching four Drew Brees throws for 60 yards and two scores. Obviously these are lofty numbers to consider on a regular basis for Lewis just yet, but as the season closes down and as we move toward year, Lewis is likely to get a lot more opportunities as a third-year vet. So watch him.
One more rook who grabbed some eyeballs Sunday is Dede Westbrook, a Jacksonville receiver who caught his first pass a month ago against the Browns. Since then he has 20 receptions for 235 yards and a score this past Sunday as the Jags held off the Seahawks. As with Lewis, watch how much more involved Westbrook is as the season winds, and watch for participation in August.
Finally, Jonathan Stewart says the talk of his demise is greatly exaggerated. One-hundred-three yards and three TDs corroborate this. Christian McCaffrey is still a hot property, but Stewart the vet is the go-to guy, at least till camp breaks in 2018.
Remember to tune into the Tout Wars Hour on the FNTSY network, hosted by me, with Justin Mason and featuring Lord Z every Thursday night at 9 PM ET.
Follow me @lawrmichaels.
