BUMPS, BRUISES AND BOWOUTS

More injuries and depth chart changes happened from week six and injuries to Victor Cruz and Stevan Ridley in particular are going to change fantasy rosters. Adding in that tight end Jimmy Graham is now expected to miss two or three weeks and fantasy league champions are not going to be the craftiest drafters. They’ll be the ones with the healthiest rosters and quick access to the waiver wire.

SHUFFLING THE DECK AGAIN

The Patriots relied on Stevan Ridley as their primary rusher but his knee injury gives everyone a bump on the depth chart. Ridley already had 94 carries this season and was the designated short yardage scorer. Shane Vereen is already a “co-starter” and will see an increase in workload. Brandon Boldin is next in line behind Ridley and at 5-11/220 he is the pure runner that the Pats need to replace. Vereen is smaller and mainly an injury-prone receiving back. The Pats might call up the rookie James White who impressed in the summer but Bolden is a three-year veteran.  Expect Bolden to be a top free agent pick this week.

Matt Asiata replaced Adrian Peterson as the starting running back for the Vikings. In the four games to follow Peterson’s absence, Asiata ran 60 times for 221 yards and a 3.7 yard average.  The 3.32 draft pick of Jerick McKinnon was given minimal work until a breakout game of 135 yards in the win over the Falcons but most of his work all came late in the already decided game. The two runners split a 2:1 ratio in the next game that favored Asiata. But against the Lions, Asiata only ran twice for a five yard loss while McKinnon not only gained 40 yards on 11 carries, he was the leading receiver as well with 42 yards on six receptions. Asiata has already been passed by the rookie.

The first game without Montee Ball made it very clear what the Broncos intend to do with their backfield for the next month or so while Ball heals from a groin injury.  Facing very stout Jets defensive line, Ronnie Hillman gained 100 yards on 24 carries and added three receptions. Juwan Thompson carried eight times for 38 yards and caught one pass. Hillman carried eight times in the fourth quarter as opposed to just once for Thompson. C.J. Anderson was active but never touched the ball. Hillman is a strong starter for now and Thompson little more than the guy that now backs up Hillman.

The Ravens were without Bernard Pierce for two weeks. His replacement Lorenzo Taliaferro ran 18 times for 91 yards and a score in Cleveland, then 15 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown against the Panthers. Justin Forsett was given a lighter role in those games. Then all three backs had about half a dozen carries in the loss to the Colts. But against the Buccaneers, Forsett (14-111) and Pierce (15-32, TD) shared even carries while Taliaferro carried only twice in the final offensive series as an afterthought. Barring an injury, the rookie is back on the bottom of the depth chart.

Ben Tate returned from his sprained knee in week five ran for 124 yards against the Titans. Isaiah Crowell (6-19) and Terrance West (7-31) both had equal work. But with Tate healthy, he not only received 25 carries for 78 yards and two scores in the win over the Steelers, Isaiah Crowell also scored on his 11 runs for 77 yards. But West was a no-show. He was a healthy scratch who no longer has a role on game day unless another injury occurs.

The Eagles just developed a problem. In the same evening that LeSean McCoy finally exploded for a big game over the Giants, they lost Darren Sproles to a left knee injury. The only other active running back is Chris Polk who is out for at least another week or more with a hamstring issue. To finish out the game, they used rookie tight end Trey Burton who at 6-3/235 is certainly big enough though playing well out of position. Keep an eye on the Eagles this week because they will be making a move either from the practice squad or free agent signing.

Andre Holmes is just another third-year wide receiver who never translated impressive play in the summer to the regular season. His first three weeks totaled only six catches for 74 yards. But week four against the Dolphins, he caught five of 12 targets for 74 yards and one score. And then again facing the Chargers he reeled off a career best 121 yards on four catches for two scores. With the rookie Derek Carr looking to establish chemistry with his receivers, Holmes is a strong buy from the waiver wire but hold off starting him until he shows up in a road game.

GEAUX DOLPHINS AND GIANTS!

The Dolphins used their 2.31 pick in the draft to snag Jarvis Landry who left LSU as one of the most productive wideouts in their history despite leaving as a junior. After averaging four catches for about 40 yards in the last three games, he topped the box score in the loss to the Packers. Landry turned eight targets into six receptions for 75 yards and added his first NFL touchdown.  Mike Wallace remains the primary wideout but the Fins brought Landry in to eventually compete for the #2 spot manned by Brian Hartline who failed to catch either of his passes in the game.

The Giants had to wait until week five before they could use rookie wideout Odell Beckham because of a hamstring injury from the summer. In his first game, he caught four passes for 44 yards and one score in the win over the Falcons. The crushing loss to the Eagles dropped him to only two receptions for 28 yards. But this LSU product also left as a junior with more records than Landry and was the 1.12 pick in the NFL draft that comes in with a #1 receiver pedigree. Add that into the fact the Giants just lost their best wideout in Victor Cruz and Beckham will get every chance to make a difference for the rest of the season. Only Sammy Watkins and Mike Evans were drafted earlier than Beckham.

THE MANTRA OF JUST ONE MORE

It bears to be said – the Cowboys are both exceeding all expectations and lying while they do.  The total carries for DeMarco Murray add up to a jaw-dropping level. Each week, HC Jason Garrett says he understands he needs to reduce his workload.  But the weekly lure of winning means the Cowboys stick a “How ‘bout them Cowboys!” decal over Murray’s capacity warnings and just throw another 30 carries on his back. Coming into week six, Murray had 130 runs for 670 yards plus 15 catches for 124 yards.  By the time he left Seattle, he had tied with Jim Brown for the only other season that started with six straight 100 yard games. And he had 29 more carries for 115 yards plus six catches for 31 yards. That establishes a new pace for 424 carries for 2093 yards and 56 catches for 413 yards.

As pointed out previously, Murray has never run more than 217 times in any season and he has never missed fewer than two games. This is either going to be a “Magic Season” which happens when a player turns in a tremendously better year than any other in his career.  Or it is a really good time to own backup Joseph Randle who currently sports a 7.1 yard rushing average.

SUNDAY SNIPPETS

HUDDLE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

T.Y. Hilton – After starting the season with games of 5-41 and 6-65, some questioned if his hot streak to end 2013 was just from a lack of other options for Andrew Luck. But Hilton was good for at least 80 yards in each of the three previous games and last Thursday finally scored while merely catching nine passes for 223 yards. It never hurts to play with the #1 fantasy quarterback in the NFL. And at least for last week, it can really pay off.

Salute!

DRAMA 101 – SOMEBODY HAS TO LAUGH, SOMEBODY HAS TO CRY

Sunday’s Couch Commentary

What to think? Are the Cowboys, Colts, Chargers and Eagles really that good? Can the Jets, Jaguars, Raiders, Redskins, Buccaneers and Rams do anything to salvage their seasons? Week six served up a few nice upsets and who doesn’t like watching a Super Bowl champion getting beaten in their own stadium? All the while looking like they don’t quite comprehend what is going on. We’re just about to crest the halfway point for the regular season in most leagues – how is your team? This season has been fraught with so many injuries, so many depth chart changes, so many players who are great only for one or two weeks.

All those rookie running backs that made us wonder if they would show up this year. The answer is probably yes for the first four rounds if only for one game. We’ve already seen rookie wideouts make an impact and that continues but now even the tight ends are showing up in box scores. Jace Amaro couldn’t catch a pass this summer and ended up as the highest scoring tight end this week.

The changes are refreshing but taking a lot of time to track. No more start ’em and let it ride anymore.

The Game-O-The-Week?

Panthers 37, Bengals 37

This is a great example of the state of the NFL. The Panthers seem to vary between being a great defense or just getting pummeled. The Bengals were the juggernaut of the AFC until the Patriots slapped them around and now they cannot even beat the Panthers in Cincinnati.

Cam Newton passed for 284 yards and two scores but had totaled only 24 runs for 42 yards over the first five weeks. So naturally he runs 17 times for 107 yards and one score. Greg Olsen (6-62, TD) was tops for receivers and Fozzy Whittaker only managed 25 yards on nine runs but did score once. Mostly the Panthers are back to all Cam, all the time. Apparently he is completely healthy again.

Andy Dalton passed for 323 yards and two scores but had two interceptions. With A.J. Green out, he turned to Mohammed Sanu (11-120, TD) with great effectiveness. Giovani Bernard racked up 137 yards on 18 carries thanks to a 89-yard touchdown when he turned into a blur down the left sideline. Jeremy Hill also scored but only had 22 yards on eight carries.

This game really heated up in the fourth quarter when Dalton found Sanu for a 34 yard touchdown catch with 11:46 left to play to tie it up. But then Newton hit Olsen for a 13-yard touchdown with only 4:58 left on the clock for a 31-24 lead by the Panthers.

Unfortunately for them, the kickoff was returned 97 yards and Jeremy Hill needed only one play to score for the 31-31 tie.

The Panthers then threw an interception to give the Bengals the ball on the CAR 24-yard line with 3:22 left to play. Jeremy Hill ran for a touchdown but it was called back on a holding penalty. The Bengals would settle for a field goal with 2:16 left to play to make it 34-31 for the Bengals.

Newton would then drive the field with short passes and with only five seconds left, the Panthers kicked a 44-yard field goal to send it into overtime.

The Bengals took the kickoff in overtime and drove to the CAR 24-yard line where they kicked a field goal which meant the Panthers had to have their turn. They would end with a 36-yard field to re-tie the score.

After 75 minutes of play, it all came down to an easy 36-yard field goal as time expired and Mike Nugent pulled it right. And now we have a tie.

Go cruise your waiver wire and rebuild that team. There is still plenty of time for teams to rocket back up in the standings and every week is draining players from other teams. The way this season is going, you can be 1-6 and still be in it. This has the look so far of a magic year for DeMarco Murray and they do happen. Look at Knowshon Moreno last year. Doug Martin the year before that. Ray Rice before that.

It’s just that none of them were remotely close to 424 carries. It keeps reminding me of Jamal Anderson in 1998 with the Falcons. He was never much more than a1000 yard, five touchdown kind of runner but he went off for 410 carries for 1846 yards and 14 touchdowns plus 319 yards and two scores as a receiver. He never had more than 290 carries before that or after but for one magic year – he was running like Murray.

Here’s hoping this can be your magic year.

Now get back to work…