Week 4 Condensed Game Notes
Bengals @ Titans
Joe Burrow and his calf are not 100%. He’s not moving well rather sitting in there like a statue looking like Carson Palmer. The Titans brought a lot of heat and it paid off. They hit, sacked and disturbed Burrow. The Bengals passing game is essentially a bunch of short throws like slants, screens, etc. There was next to nothing downfield. At this point you could say Burrow being out there is probably hurting this offense, at least it did in this game. Although the alternative is Jake Browning. Burrow is unable to even scramble or get outside the pocket, he didn’t do it once in this game. The Bengals offensive line also didn’t protect him well, but the Titans know he’s basically a sitting duck so they are coming after him.
I thought Joe Mixon ran well and looked good, he looks like he’s running better than last year. Tee Higgins left this game early with an injury. Jamaar Chase caught passes, but again there was nothing downfield and no big plays. It’s killing this offense and it’s very concerning right now. Burrow needs to get healthy fast or maybe they just need to sit him out a week and hope they can pull off a win. He’s not moving in the pocket, going down very easily and the pass game is limited, either by design or Burrow is just afraid to get hit and risk further injury.
Good game plan for the Titans, they ran the ball effectively with Henry and ran a ton of playaction.It seemed to open up things for Henry and give Tannehill a little more time to throw. People were giving up on Henry after last week, Fantasy “Experts” are just waiting for this guy to fall off a hill, because he doesn’t catch passes!!! Little tulip boys would get smashed trying to defend this guy. They have been doubting him since he came into the league, what does that say about their analysis or about the status of the Fantasy game? Maybe we should ditch PPR for standard or at least go to .5 PPR. I mean Alvin Kamara caught 97 passes for 4 yards this week. It’s not really showing talent or production just a result of a QB who is afraid to go downfield and just dumping it off to his back over and over. It’s a disgrace, meanwhile Henry continues to work his ass off every offseason and continue to defy the odds. He’s an amazing player, a hall of fame RB and we should appreciate what he has done in this league. Please no more waiting for his demise, just appreciate it, he continues to slice the doubters and spreadsheet dorks..
Tannehill played solid for the most part, threw one pick, still not a guy you can rely on in Fantasy. DeAndre Hopkins slow day even without Treylon Burks, same with Chig. It’s just going to be tough to really explode with Tannehill at QB and this team still heavily reliant on the running game with Henry and the rookie Tyjae Spears. Spears is a good not great talent, but still hard to really rely on as a flex play. He will need a Henry injury or be used in gamescripts where the Titans are going to have to pass a ton. I’m trying to be patient with Chig but it’s just not happening, although the Titans would be smart to get him more involved. Treylon Burks is also going to be very inconsistent with Tannehill behind center. Hopkins is the only guy I really trust using in this offense along with Henry.
Rams @ Colts
You can continue to see it with Anthony Richardson as he continues to gain experience and talent around him he’s only going to get better and better. The arm talent, strength, speed power are all there, and he’s showing some good accuracy and decision making as well. Still is missing some throws of course and he did have a fumble lost, another was called back, but the Colts look to have a bright future with him. Richardson didn’t do much at all in the first half, but in the 2nd half he made plays with his arm and feet and almost led a nice comeback, but they fell in OT. Slow game all around from the WR’s, Josh Downs not sure he can get fantasy relevant this year, Zach Moss wasn’t his best day, but he’s still getting all the work, Trey Sermon works very sparingly. The Tight end room is being mixed up as it always seems to be in Indianapolis
Matt Stafford continues to look good this year, although he does take some hard hits because of his lack of mobility and him standing in the pocket. He hurt his hip in this one, but finished the game, even though he was noticeably hurt. Stafford is throwing for a lot of yards just not a lot of TD’s as they are kicking a lot of FG’s, but Brett Maher missed two of them terribly, still probably not a bad fantasy kicker because the Rams seem to move the ball a lot and get into FG range. Kyren Williams once again used like a workhorse, finishing with two rushing TD’s. Tyler Higbee is picking up the pace getting more targets, but continues to just be a system guy mostly, although they are using him down the field more this year. Van Jeffeson had a couple catches early, but still is off the fantasy rader. Bad game for Tutu Atwell, Colts seemed to be covering him well, Puka Nucua went off once again, making tough catches, getting open in zones and finishing the game off breaking a tackle and getting into the endzone for the game winner. For sure he will continue to have a nice role when Kupp comes back, Kupp’s value may take a hit because of the effectiveness of Puka, but both should be very solid going forward. Kyren did lose a fumble in this game and it’s hard to see him maintaining this type of workload all season and holding up, especially with just Ronnie Rivers behind him who is lackluster. Rookie Zach Evans still isn’t being used. I wouldn’t count out the Rams trading for Jonathan Taylor. However, in regards to Kyren I will say he was a workhorse at Notre Dame and sort of reminds me of a lesser Ray Rice
Bucs @ Saints.
Baker Mayfield is playing well this season, evading pressure and making some nice throws down the field. He made a mistake throwing a bad pick on a pass to Godwin in the endzone. The Bucs had a ton of possessions because the Saints offense was doing little all day. I’m still not fully trusting Baker going forward but he’s starting to play with some consistency here. Mike Evans got the best of Marshon Lattimore twice in this game before leaving with a hamstring injury. Trey Palmer, who is talented, filled in and caught a TD on a fade route after the saints fumbled on their own 6 yard line. Palmer is someone to add if Evans is going to be out a week or two. Chris Godwin had a nice game running a lot of crossing routes and Baker hitting him. Cade Otton scored a TD, I don’t feel terrible about using him, but still I’m not expecting much. Rachaad White had one nice catch and few nice runs, but still didn’t do much in this game and for the first time all year we saw KeShawn Vaughn get some more work, even getting some carries near the goal line. Vaughn just isn’t very good so he didn’t do much. White is a decent player but he’s clearly the best back on this team, Sean Tucker has failed to do anything in his playing time so far. The Bucs Oline isn’t opening many holes and this wasn’t a great matchup. The Bucs have a bye in Week 5.
The Saints and Dennis Allen have now lost their last three games to the Bucs and Todd Bowles only scored 35 points in those three games. It was clear from watching this game that Bowles seems to have an edge on defending Pete Carmichaels’ offense. The Bucs were allowing nothing down the field, which forced them to dink and dunk pretty much all game. Alvin Kamara had 13 catches for 33 yards!!!! Can we please move to .5 PPR. Kamara had 51 yards rushing on 11 carries and looked his normal self at times, although there wasn’t much room to move against this Bucs D. This was as fresh as Kamara will be all year but he will continue to be a workhorse. It’s possible we will see more Kendre Miller as he gets healthier and gets more used to the NFL, but right now he’s barely playing and splitting time with Tony Jones. Carr almost hit Chris Olave deep but Antoine Winfield made a great play by sticking his hand out at the last minute, knocking the ball out and preventing a TD. The Saints seemed to dial up the pass game a little bit more at the end but weren’t very successful. Slow but decent day for Michael Thomas, he led the saints in receiving with four catches for 55 yards. He’s just not going to get the volume he used to get and not going to give you big plays. Rashid Shaheed would be better with more targets and touches, but he’s competing with Kamara, Olave and Thomas. They should be utilizing him more. Another dud for Juwan Johnson, he didn’t have a target in this game. He’s almost droppable at this point, I still think he could turn it on, but it’s just too crowded right now and he’s the odd man out.
Vikings @ Panthers
Kirk Cousins threw a pick six that went 99 yards for a TD and had another in near the red zone where he got hit, but still the Vikings came away with the win. He threw a couple dimes to Jefferson per usual, Jefferson could have had three TD’s, but one was called back. KJ Osborn ran a ton of routes but did little, Jordan Addison with a doughnut on one target. Cousins only threw the ball 19 times in this game which is shocking, most games they will be playing behind, but their defense played well today. With the lack of passing attempts everybody outside Jefferson had poor fantasy days including T.J. Hockenson. The Panthers defense even without Jaycee Horn can still be effective. Alexander Mattison looked spry and ran well again with 17 carries for 95 yards. He was only targeted once in the passing game. Mattison can play, Akers got involved some wearing the number 31 no longer wearing the prestigious number 23, eh. He had five carries for 40 yards and caught two balls for 11. Ty Chandler was not used. Will see if AKers gets more carries going forward, but Mattison is still clearly ahead and will be as long as he continues to play well.
I still believe in the prospects of Bryce Young and you still saw some of what he can do in this game, quick decision making, quick release, accuracy and has good zip on his ball. What I am unsure about is the surrounding offense and this design. Young was being pressured a lot and had no chance especially on the last drive where they were trying to tie the game. Too many penalties on offense also hurt them. Terrance Marshall, Adam Thielen and Ian Thomas all had bad drops, Thomas’ would have been a TD. There were too many stuffed 1st and 2nd down runs and too many 1st down stuffed runs combined with a screen pass the following play that left them in poor 3rd down situations. I am kind of unsure about Frank Reich as a head coach and offensive coach. This offense doesn’t have a lot of talent, but this was not a good gameplan. Adam Thielen looks like the clear #1 with another solid game and Terrance Marshall jumped DJ Chark in this game with 10 targets versus 3 for Chark. Marshall was mostly used on screen routes, again there was next to nothing downfield. Miles Sanders was running into a brick wall most of the day, running twelve times for 19 yards, and even though Chubba Hubbard ran 14-41 it really wasn’t much better. Sanders was coming in with a groin injury, so I would expect him to eventually regain the carry load soon. Hayden Hurst, I just don’t think he can really get open consistently, the route running from these wideouts other than Theilen leaves a lot to be desired. I do think Brian Flores and this defense could be getting better however.
Steelers @ Texans
I didn’t think Kenny Pickett played terribly in this game, obviously the interception wasn’t a good throw, but there really wasn’t a lot of time to throw or people open. This offensive design is lackluster. George Pickens also dropped a TD which wasn’t an easy catch, it was heavily contested, but it was a good throw by Pickens and George usually comes down with that. Speaking of Pickens, I was very big on him coming into this year, but he’s a bit of a headcase and little lackluster in his route running. Also not working for him are the routes they use him on, a lot of fade routes down the field, not very high percentage throws that have to be made by a struggling QB. I don’t think I’ve seen one screen pass thrown to him this year and he very rarely is in the slot. Now the Steelers have to roll with Mitch Trubisky for the next week until their bye, he may take some shots but he’s likely to toss one or two to the other team.
I thought Najee Harris had some better holes this week and ran well, also made a great catch, he needs more targets. Get him in open space. Still this offense is so inefficient right now it’s tough to trust him. Jaylen Warren continues to get work, but he’s not doing much, he lost a fumble that was recovered and lost another but his knee was ruled down. Pat Friermuth was knocked out of the game but once again was not doing much in this game. Calvin Austin, Allen Robinson are all off the fantasy radar. This team will need Diontae Johnson back after their Week six bye.
I thought C.J. Stroud played good and not great in this game, made some good throws once again, what was impressive was this depleted Texans offensive line holding up against this Steelers pass rush. Nico Collins had a day and he’s just a solid big target for Stroud. He’s also smart, comes back to the ball, runs good routes and has soft hands. They also threw him a screen route that he broke for a first down. Nobody else really did much outside of Collins who caught a long TD pass late on bad coverage by the Steelers secondary. Damion Pierce had a receiving TD called back due to a penalty and started the game out with some better holes. That line is going to be healthy at some point and Pierce is going to start producing, he’s a good buy low right now. Slow game for Tank Dell, him and Nico seem to be swapping weeks, but I would bank on Nico being the more consistent option going forward. Dalton Schultz caught a long seam route and a TD, he’s not a terrible option each week, but still his days of being a consistent fantasy producer are likely over. John Metchie only had two targets and caught a 22 yard pass, I still think his role will increase as we go on here. He’s coming off a year off plus missing a lot of time in training camp. He’s a good addition in deeper leagues as he has real potential to be a star in this league.
Ravens @ Browns
Another Ravens game, another snoozefest. Lamar and this Ravens offense had a very slow start before picking it up and Lamar throwing some dimes to Mark Andrews, and Zay Flowers, also Nelson Agholor for a TD but it was ruled out of bounds. Lamar got his feet going again for the 2nd straight week and finally Mark Andrews got in the end zone twice. This is the best formula for the Ravens as it’s always been. Zay did catch another deep pass like last week, but not sure he’s going to be the huge target hog that we saw in Week 1. Getting Beckham and Bateman back should give this offense a little of a boost, but I’m still not seeing much special in this Monken offense. It’s basically Lamar running mostly and making plays in the pass game. The run game did get it going here in a tough matchup, opening up holes despite the oline banged up. It was a 3 headed monster with Gus Edwards, Justice Hill and Melvin Gordon all getting carries. Hill broke a few nice runs and also had a huge play in the passing game but it was called back due to a holding. He also botched a handoff from Lamar that led to a fumble. Gus had a couple nice runs and so did Gordon. If they are going to use multiple guys like this every week, who the hell knows who to start. Keaton Mitchell also may get into the mix soon. Only out of pure desperation should you use one of these guys. I do think Justice Hill should get more looks, but he’s not going to become the guy here.
I like Dorian Thompson Robinson coming out of UCLA and he looked good in the preseason but this game was a pure disaster. He looked like he didn’t belong at all out there. Some of his passes weren’t even close and he turned it over multiple times. Watson being out basically ruined the entire Browns offense, although David Njoku had his best game of the year. Just throw this entire game out the window for the Browns. They have a bye coming up and should have Watson back after that. DTR needs to sit out the rest of the year and just learn, having him out there it looks like the Browns will have no chance at winning.
Fantasy Savvy 