SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks	Yards	TD
Daniel Jones	322-13	4
Deshaun Watson	279-46	3
Drew Brees	373	3
Gardner Minshew	279-28	3
Aaron Rodgers	305-29	3
Running Backs	Yards	TD
Tevin Coleman	105-13	4
Latavius Murray	102-55	2
Christian McCaffery	117-38	1
Dalvin Cook	98-73	1
Aaron Jones	67-159	2
Wide Receivers	Yards	TD
Mike Evans	198	2
Cooper Kupp	220	1
Kenny Golladay	123	2
Julian Edelman	78	2
Michael Thomas	112	1
Tight Ends	Yards	TD
Ryan Griffin	66	2
Darren Fells	58	2
Jonnu Smith	78	1
Austin Hooper	65	1
Travis Kelce	63	1
Placekickers	XP	FG
Dan Bailey	1	4
Adam Vinatieri	0	3
Josh Lambo	2	3
Cody Parkey	3	2
Jason Myers	3	2
Defense	Sck-TO	TD
Patriots	5-3	1
49ers	7-3	0
Jaguars	8-1	0
Vikings	4-2	0
Lions	3-1	1

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

WR Marquise Lee – Shoulder
WR Brandin Cooks – Concussion
RB Miles Sanders – Shoulder
RB Chase Edmonds – Hamstring
WR Dede Westbrook – Shoulder
TE Jeff Heuerman – Knee
RB Matt Breida – Ankle
QB Sam Darnold – Thumb

Important Info 

Week 10 has six teams on bye – DEN, HOU, NE, PHI, JAC and WAS. Plan your free agent picks since many teams will be looking for that extra kicker, defense, etc.. You’re already going to miss ATL, CIN, LAR and NO this week. Shop for the next two weeks.

Chasing Ambulances

WR Brandin Cooks – Left the win over the Bengals in the first quarter with a concussion and likely takes that flight back from London with a headache. If he misses time, Josh Reynolds will step up as he did in London when he caught three passes for 73 yards and a score. But the Rams go onto their bye so Cooks gets two weeks to heal.

RB Miles Sanders – Injured his shoulder in the second half after a solid performance. He held his arm immobile when he went to the locker room, so Week 9 hosting the Bears could be in question. If he remains out, Boston Scott would see a bump in usage but Jordan Howard is already the primary and Sanders has been limited to around six or seven touches per game for the last few weeks. His absence would mostly mean more work for Howard.

RB Chase Edmonds – Left after a hamstring strain and only totaled eight yards on seven carries in New Orleans. David Johnson could be back next week anyway and regardless, the Cardinals have to host the 49ers and that’s not as much fun this year. Chances are running backs won’t matter much next week and Johnson may be back if he isn’t traded away as is rumored.

RB Matt Breida – He left with an ankle injury and if that bleeds into Week 9 in Arizona, Raheem Mostert would step up as he did this week (9-60, TD). But, obviously, Tevin Coleman remains the primary anyway.

Free Agents, Flops and Weekly Warriors

By this point in the season, the only “new” free agents are the product of injuries, demotions or promotions. We’ll spin through the notable players and comment if they have free agent implications. There are always several interesting performances that are good to be aware of and plenty of guys to know for watercooler talks on Monday.

WR Emmanuel Sanders – First game as a 49er and his five targets were second only to George Kittle. The ex-Broncos caught four passes for 25 yards and one touchdown in his debut.

WR DK Metcalf – He only caught three passes for 13 yards but two went for touchdowns and one was a highlight-reel catch. He could stand to increase his volume of receptions, but he’s getting the confidence of Russell Wilson.

QB Matt Schaub – He may be a one week fill-in since the Falcons go on their bye, but the old veteran passed for 460 yards and a score on the Seahawks while relying on Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley and Austin Hooper. He can post the fantasy points if he needs to fill in again.

TE Zach Ertz – Maybe Carson Wentz thinks that Ertz hit on his wife? Two catches for 20 yards while Dallas Goedert snared three passes for 22 yards and a touchdown. Goedert scored three times this year – Ertz had one. While Ertz is the No. 9 fantasy tight end, that may not be true next week. He’s declined to only average 37 yards per game for the last three weeks.

RB Devin Singletary – The Bills stick with old-man Frank Gore but once again, the rookie gained 19 yards on his three carries and caught four passes for 30 yards and one touchdown.  Gore never had a target and only gained 34 yards on nine runs. Gore averages 4.4 YPC and Singletary averages 8.6 YPC. Odd that the Bills just won’t involve Singletary more.

TE Hunter Henry – So every week won’t be a fantasy explosion. Only caught four passes for 47 yards in the win over the Bears. Keenan Allen and Mike Williams were more involved.

RB David Montgomery – The rookie went from two carries for six yards in Week 7 to 27 runs for 135 yards and a touchdown in Week 8. He even added a career-high four catches for 12 yards. Next week faces a tough rush defense in Philly, so maybe back to the two carries. Or 30. It’s a Nagy thing.

WR Darrius Slayton – The Giants’ rookie is filling in for Sterling Shepard and caught two passes for 50 yards in Detroit – both touchdowns. He’s been held below 30 yards in most games but at least he’s improving. The Giants have almost nothing but tough secondaries in the coming weeks.

WR Danny Amendola – In case his 105 yards on eight catches in Week 7 were not enough, he turned in eight more receptions for 95 yards versus the Giants this week. Plays the Raiders this week. Now that Kevin Johnson is gone, it’s all back to throw-throw-throw.

RB Ty Johnson – Again, now that Kevin Johnson is gone, so is the notion that a Detroit back will have any fantasy value. Johnson only ran for 25 yards on seven carries while Tra Carson actually started and was given 12 rushes for 34 yards. Paul Perkins ran three times for four yards. J.D. McKissic had a carry. Just stay away. The schedule is all worse than hosting the Giants from here on out. Ends up the Ty Johnson era wasn’t very long.

TE Jack Doyle – Ended with four catches for 61 yards versus the Broncos but it’s a one-game thing. He was held below 25 yards in almost every other week. You’d be better off with Eric Ebron since he scores in every other game and Week 9 was a no-score week.

TE Ryan Griffin – Scored twice on his four catches for 66 yards in the loss to the Jaguars. But four of his last five games never contained more than one catch and Chris Herndon may be back for Week 9  at Miami.

WR Chris Conley – Started the year with two big games but then went cold for a month. But  Conley gained 83 yards on three catches in Week 7 and then followed that up with 103 yards and a touchdown on the Jets. And the Jags play the Texans this week.

WR Alex Erickson – In week 7, he caught eight passes for 137 yards. On Sunday, he ended with 97 yards on six catches but that included the 52-yard completion with only 54 seconds left to play against the prevent defense. He also caught two other passes for nine total yards on that final drive. The Bengals go on their bye this week and then face the Ravens. Oh yes, and A.J. Green is slated to return in Week 10.

WR Christian Kirk – He was out for three weeks with an ankle injury but returned to lead the Cardinals with eight catches for 79 yards and even was the leading rusher with a 19-yard run. His 11 targets were more than twice any other receiver in the loss to the Saints.

QB Drew Brees – Threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns. What thumb?

TE Jonnu Smith – One week after bringing the wide receivers back to life, Ryan Tannehill focused on Smith instead with six catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. He also turned three receptions into 64 yards in Week 7 in Tannehill’s first start. But notable is that both games were with Delanie Walker out with an ankle injury.

WR Tyrell Williams – He missed Weeks 5 through 7, but his return in Week 8 had him catch three passes for 91 yards and a touchdown. His fifth touchdown. One in every game he’s played this year. All other Raider wideouts combine for only two scores.

RB Nick Chubb – Ran for 131 yards on 20 carries at the Patriots. He was the only element of the Browns that truly could match with them. But, he also lost two fumbles.

RB Aaron Jones – Could have been The Huddle player of the week. Ran for 67 yards on three catches and led the Packers with seven catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns. He’s a Top-3 fantasy back now despite owning two clunkers. When he is good, he is very, very good.

QB Matt Moore – Everyone still remembers Patrick Mahomes. Very clearly. Moore wasn’t bad with 267 yards and two scores, he just wasn’t Mahomes. Tyreek Hill (6-76) and Travis Kelce (4-63, TD) did not suffer any significant decline.

Huddle player of the week

Tevin Coleman  –  He opened the year with only six runs for 23 yards and then was injured until Week 5. But the 49ers reunited Coleman with his original offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and that paid off on Sunday. Coleman ran for 105 yards on just 11 runs and scored three touchdowns. He added two catches for 13 yards and a fourth score. He’s just a flex play for most and could have been on a bench or two. But Coleman comes off a career-best fantasy game.

Salute!

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Comedy		Yards	TDs	Tragedy		Yards	TDs
QB	Daniel Jones	335	4	QB	Kirk Cousins	285	0
RB	Miles Sanders	118	1	RB	Chase Edmonds	13	0
RB	Raheem Mostert	60	1	RB	Le’Veon Bell	35	0
WR	Darius Slayton	50	2	WR	Brandin Cooks	0	0
WR	Hunter Renfrow	88	1	WR	Odell Beckham	52	0
WR	Josh Reynolds	73	1	WR	T.Y. Hilton	54	0
TE	Ryan Griffin	66	2	TE	Zach Ertz	20	0
PK	Dan Bailey	1 XP 4 FG		PK	Steven Hauschka	1 XP
Huddle Fantasy Points = 141				Huddle Fantasy Points = 30

Now get back to work…