NFL Week 8 Daily Fantasy Recap

by Stephen Keech (SBK) Last Updated 2013-11-04 19:38:02

What Worked

• The Lions. For anyone with a Stafford-Megatron combination, the Detroit/Dallas game must have been very fun to watch. Stafford threw for 488 yards and scored 2 TD’s – one came on a 1-yard run – but he wasn’t the biggest story. That honor goes to the machine that is Calvin Johnson; 329 yards and a TD on 14 catches (16 targets) led to his biggest fantasy output of the season, and no doubt left his owners feeling confident going into the later games. Brandon Carr and the Cowboys secondary had no answer for Megatron, and Stafford wasn’t shy about looking for his top target. Reggie Bush also had himself a nice game, piling up 122 yards and a TD on 29 touches. Eight of those touches were receptions, and he will be a constant force in this passing attack as long as he can stay healthy. Joique Bell stole a one-yard TD plunge from Bush early in the 4th quarter, but Bush received a carry at the one later in the quarter and was able to turn it into six points.

• The Saints aerial attack. Drew Brees is the top quarterback of Week 8 going into MNF after throwing for 332 yards and 5 TD’s at home against the Bills. Lance Moore came back from the dead to reel in a 15-yard TD pass in the first quarter, but didn’t do much after that, finishing with just three catches for 34 yards. Kenny Stills was GPP gold on Sunday, as the minimum-priced rookie WR caught two long touchdowns from Brees. Stills ended the day with a 3-129-2 line, so it’s obvious he will continue to be a boom-or-bust player as the deep-threat in this offense. While it was a mystery whether or not Jimmy Graham would be active yesterday, he decided to give it a go and continued his dominance in the redzone, catching two TD’s from inside the 15 yard line. Most owners were afraid to pay Graham’s high price tag due to his injury, but anyone who paired him with Brees had to be happy with his this one turned out. There were also a few disappointments in this passing game, but we’ll get to them later.

• The 49ers running game. This match-up was a rather predictable one. At this point, everyone who follows the NFL knows just how bad the Jaguars are. They can’t do anything on offense, so they leave an already weak defensive unit out to dry pretty much every week. San Francisco completely dominated this game from start to finish, as both Frank Gore and Colin Kaepernick set the tone by rushing for TD’s in the first quarter. The 49ers had a 28-3 lead at halftime, so they came out in the third quarter with a pretty simple game-plan: run the ball. On 38 attempts (compared to just 17 passing attempts), the Niners racked up 221 yards – good for 5.8 YPC – and 4 TD’s. Kaep’s two rushing TD’s (and 54 rushing yards) made up for his pedestrian passing numbers, and Gore was well worth his salary thanks to his two TD’s on 77 total yards. Kendall Hunter even rushed for over 80 yards on just nine carries.

• Andy Dalton to Marvin Jones. If you played these two together, you found the best QB/WR combo of the Week 8. Not exactly the two players anyone would have guessed going into the weekend… Regardless, every week there are a few cheap WR’s that are often the difference makers in GPP’s and qualifiers, and this week it was Jones and Kenny Stills. Jones caught all eight of his targets for 122 yards and an outrageous four touchdowns. Dalton has shown trust in him in the redzone this season, and it just so happens that each of Jones’ 4 TD’s came inside the 20. Dalton has now thrown for over 300 yards and 3 TD’s in his last three, so this passing game should be worth turning to in their better match-ups. Even in a blowout, neither BJGE or Gio Bernard could get anything going.

• Injury fill-ins at RB. Starting for an injured Rashard Mendenhall, Andre Ellington went off for 154 yards and a TD on just 15 carries. He was a popular play on deeper sites like Draftstreet, and his owners were rewarded with an 80-yard TD run that accounted for a nice chunk of Ellington’s production. The fantasy world has been waiting for his breakout, and the injury to Mendenhall allowed the Arizona coaching staff to see what he can do as the number one guy. It would have been nice to see him rack up a few more garbage time carries or be more involved in the passing game, but you can’t complain about his overall production. Fred Jackson didn’t overwhelm anybody but was able to come away with 53 total yards and a TD with C.J. Spiller on the shelf. Owners were hoping for more, but the TD salvaged his day. Peyton Hillis also looked good as the lead back for the Giants, rushing 20 times for 70 yards and adding three catches for 15 yards. The Giants couldn’t get much going inside the 20, or Hillis could have had a much bigger day. His price tag was near-minimum almost everywhere, so his stat line was definitely useful.

• The Packers. Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson and Eddie Lacy all took advantage of a great match-up with Minnesota and turned in very strong fantasy lines. Rodgers completed 24 of 29 passes for 285 yards and 2 TD’s, and added 31 yards on the ground. Both touchdowns landed in the reliable hands of Jordy Nelson, who reeled in 7 catches for 123 yards on the day. With Randall Cobb, James Jones and Jermichael Finley all out with injuries, Nelson continued his strong season as the no doubt number one target. Jarrett Boykin couldn’t find the endzone, but was just 11 yards shy of a 100-yard receiving effort. Once the Packers found themselves with a comfortable lead, they started to pound the ball with Eddie Lacy. He ended up with over 100 total yards and a TD for the game on 33 total touches, even with James Starks stealing some work down the stretch. Starks also ended up with 57 yards and a TD on just seven carries.

What Disappointed Us

• Robert Griffin III. In what was deemed a dream match-up for the Redskins franchise quarterback, he turned in just 132 passing yards and a 1/2 TD to INT ratio. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he had to leave the game and was replaced by Kurt Cousins who proceeded to even further destroy the Redskins hope of a comeback by throwing two INT’s on just nine attempts. While Jordan Reed turned in a pretty strong effort – eight catches for 90 yards – Pierre Garcon hurt his fantasy owners with just 46 yards on seven catches. With Champ Bailey still out with an injury, this looked like a great match-up for the Skins No. 1 wideout. It looked like this game would come down to the wire as Peyton continued to turn the ball over in the second half, but Washington could never get anything going on offense after an Alfred Morris TD early in the third quarter.

• The Eagles. Things are not going well for Philadelphia sports teams. The Sixers are in tank mode (pleaseeee give us Andrew Wiggins), the Phillies and Flyers look like trash, and now the Eagles are looking like a team who will be picking early in the 2014 draft. When Matt Barkley is the only healthy QB on the roster, you know you’re in trouble. Michael Vick heard a pop in his hamstring and had to leave the game very early, leading to basically a big fat zero out of him. After Vick left, Barkley continued to show why he plummeted in the draft, throwing for just 158 yards and an INT (and 3 fumbles!) on 26 attempts. Therefore, LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson were doomed. McCoy had no space to run, finishing with a mere 48 yards on 15 carries, while Jackson ended up with only 63 yards on 8 catches. Normally 8 receptions would lead to 100+ yards and a TD for DeSean, but Barkley has no ability to stretch the field. This team is in big trouble; the only part of this offense I want in the near future is targeting the defense facing them.

• The Giants. As bad as the Eagles were, the Giants didn’t do much to take advantage of it. Their 15 points was a productive of five field goals, as Eli Manning and the Giants offense failed to take advantage of a defense full of holes. Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks could have had nice games had they been able to find the endzone, but were not worth their price tag’s based on yardage and receptions alone. Against the 31st ranked passing defense, Eli yet again under-performed and it is probably wise to stay away from him in the near future, because he looks like a guy that has really lost his confidence. Reuben Randle failed to even register a reception in this game after torching the Eagles in the last match-up between these two.

• The Patriots passing game. Maybe it is time to start worrying about Tom Brady numbers, if you haven’t already. Eight games into the season, Brady has just one game with over 20 fantasy points. This week was probably the last straw for some people, as Brady couldn’t take advantage of an average pass defense that has struggled to contain tight ends. With that in mind, Gronk was a relatively popular play this weekend after seeing 17 targets in his debut, but it was a much different game-plan this week. The Patriots were having success on the ground, and they stuck with it. Gronkowski finished with just two catches for 27 yards, and Danny Amendola didn’t fare any better with just 15 yards on three catches. Dobson was the only winner in the Pats WR circle, reeling in four catches for 60 yards and a touchdown.

• Tony Gonzalez and Steven Jackson. I don’t think anyone was hoping for a top-five performance from Jackson, but I was certainly expecting more than 13 yards on 14 touches. Jackson had absolutely nowhere to run, plodding into the Cardinals line and never making anyone miss. He didn’t seem to have any burst and he’s not a strong play outside of GPP’s in the coming weeks, due to some tough match-ups mixed with ineffectiveness. The Cardinals defense is tough, but they are not as good as Jackson made them look on Sunday. Tony Gonzalez was a big disappointment for a second straight week. Facing the worst ranked defense against tight ends, it seemed logical to expect the Falcons to make him a focal point of the offense, but this wasn’t the case. He saw eight targets but only caught three of them for 26 yards.

• Darren Sproles and Marques Colston. Due to the fact that Jimmy Graham seemed like a decent bet to sit this game out, it looked like Colston and Sproles could have big games against a bad Bills defense. Anytime Drew Brees squares off with an inferior opponent at home, watch out. Even with Brees throwing for 5 TD’s, neither of these two had anything to do with the scoring on Sunday. Colston continued his miserable season with just 18 yards on three catches, while Sproles somehow managed zero yards on four catches, and didn’t receive a single rushing attempt all game. With Graham stealing most of the redzone looks on a regular basis, there hasn’t been enough to go around for Colston and Sproles.

What Surprised Us

• Several value-play WR’s. We know this will happen week-in and week-out, but it’s almost impossible to actually predict. This week, Marvin Jones and Kenny Stills were the cheap WR’s who could push you over the top in a GPP, but they weren’t the only obscure names to have productive games. Emmanuel Sanders, Drew Davis, Stevie Johnson, Dexter McCluster and Aaron Dobson also put up performances that more than paid off their respective salaries. Stevie Johnson might not have been as cheap as the rest of these players, but his price has dropped due to a struggling passing game in Buffalo. He was able to turn 11 targets into seven catches for 72 yards and a score, and it’s clear he is Thad Lewis’ favorite wideout to target.

• Peyton Manning turning the ball over four times. There was some concern in the air after Manning took a huge hit from Robert Mathis last week, but he didn’t look too hampered by the injury yesterday. However, Peyton uncharacteristically turned the ball over four times, throwing three picks and losing a fumble on a sack. Even with the turnovers, Peyton and the Broncos offense was once again rolling along smoothly. Manning threw 4 TD’s, and all of the usual suspects outside of Decker and Julius Thomas put up nice stat lines.

• Montee Ball stealing goal-line carries from Moreno. With Ronnie Hillman being scratched from the lineup, it seems like Montee Ball has moved into the No. 2 RB role. The Broncos had said they were looking to ease the load on Moreno going forward, but I did not expect him to lose touches in the redzone. The big problem with Denver RB’s not named Moreno has been fumbles, and both Hillman and Ball have lost them near the goal-line, while Moreno has been very sure-handed. Nonetheless, Ball picked up quite a few carries inside the ten-yard line (while the game was still close) and was able to turn one of them into a touchdown, but could have had two. He finished with only three less carries than Moreno, but lucky for Knowshon’s owners, the lead back caught six passes for 89 yards and a TD.

• Jamaal Charles didn’t score a touchdown. Charles has been the most consistent running back in fantasy this year, scoring at least one touchdown in each of his first seven games. Andy Reid has made him the focal point of the offense all season long, and since the Chiefs are now 8-0, don’t expect that to change any time soon. Even if Charles can’t get it going on the ground, he is as reliable in the passing game as any RB in the league. For this week, Cleveland was able to keep Charles out of the endzone, but they didn’t contain him completely. He still compiled 120 yards, and further entrenched his status as the top RB in fantasy football.

• Darren McFadden. DMC may have been overlooked by most people this week, but anyone who played him had to be very happy with the result. McFadden didn’t run with a ton of burst, but was able to turn 26 total touches into 78 yards, and added two short touchdown runs to cap off his day. Since he seems to always be battling injuries, he has fallen off the radar compared to the hype he had been getting the past few years. He has two pretty nice matchups with Philly and the New York Giants coming up, so expect a few more weeks of heavy usage if he can stay on the field.

What to Take Away

• Always trust the Broncos. Even amid some potential injury issues with Peyton Manning, the Broncos yet again find a way to put up 45 points. This offense is really a thing of beauty; they have so many options to turn to that someone is always open enough for Manning to find them. While Demaryius Thomas usually sees the other team’s top corner, Eric Decker and Wes Welker have been taking advantage of single coverage and Peyton has done a great job of spreading the ball around and keeping everyone happy.
  Knowshon Moreno might be the steal of 2013, considering he was an afterthought in year-long drafts and his price has finally started to rise up to his level of production. Keep playing this unit and you will continue to be pleased with the results.

• There is no one in the NFL more dangerous than Calvin Johnson. I know the Lions love to throw the ball, but 329 receiving yards? In one game? When he gets the ball in his hands in the open field, good luck tackling a 6’5 receiver with 4.35 speed. There isn’t a corner in the league who can take him one-on-one, even if Joe Haden may have shut him down the week after he returned from an injury. He still somehow manages to get tackled inside the five yard line a frustrating number of times, but even without the TD, the yards and receptions alone made him a great play. Keep rolling him out with confidence.

• Dez Bryant isn’t too far behind. While he might not be able to match Calvin in terms of size and explosiveness, it’s pretty clear Bryant has become a great receiver in his own right. For some reason, Bryant was only targeted six times in this game, while Terrance Williams saw ten targets. However, Bryant was able to turn those six looks into three catches for 72 yards and 2 TD’s. On his long TD, Bryant turned what should have been a three or four yard gain into a 50 yard score. The Cowboys coaching staff should have made more of an effort to feed him the ball, something that Dez himself seemed to agree with on the sideline yesterday.

• At least for now, is tough to trust the Patriots. Of any NFL team, the Patriots might be the toughest to predict in terms of game-planning for the week ahead. Belichick never gives anything away as far as injury information, so the players with questionable tags basically end up as game-time decisions. With the way Brady is playing right now, and the fact that the running back situation is still very fluid, it is tough to feel good about rolling out any of the Patriots skill-position players. Gronk seems to finally be healthy, but just a week after seeing 17 targets, he ends up with just three catches. This is not a fantasy friendly team right now. They like to spread the ball around and it’s not easy to predict who will be the focal point on any given week.

Top Performers By Position: Week 8

This Week’s Top Performers: Quarterbacks

This Week’s Top Performers: Running Backs – Half Point PPR

This Week’s Top Performers: Wide Receivers – Half Point PPR

This Week’s Top Performers: Tight Ends – Half Point PPR

This Week’s Top Performers: Running Backs – Full Point PPR

This Week’s Top Performers: Wide Receivers – Full Point PPR

This Week’s Top Performers: Tight Ends – Full Point PPR

Optimal Lineups

Optimal Lineup: FanDuel

POS		Salary	Score
QB	Drew Brees	$9,600	33.18
RB	Andre Ellington	$5,200	23.20
RB	Knowshon Moreno	$7,700	22.30
WR	Calvin Johnson	$9,200	43.90
WR	Kenny Stills	$4,600	26.80
WR	Marvin Jones	$4,900	40.20
TE	Jimmy Graham	$8,000	17.20
K	Josh Brown	$5,000	15.00
DEF	Cincinnati	$5,300	30.00
	TOTALS	$59,500	251.78

Optimal Lineup: DraftStreet

POS		Salary	Score
QB	Drew Brees	$16,851	33.18
QB	Andy Dalton	$13,206	32.00
RB	Andre Ellington	$5,746	23.20
RB	Darren McFadden	$8,413	20.80
WR	Calvin Johnson	$15,952	44.90
WR	Marvin Jones	$4,705	40.20
TE	Jordan Reed	$9,558	13.00
FLEX	Jordy Nelson	$13,172	27.80
FLEX	Kenny Stills	$4,253	26.80
DEF	Cincinnati	$6,388	28.00
	TOTALS	$98,244	289.88

Optimal Lineup: DraftKings

POS		Salary	Score
QB	Andy Dalton	$7,000	32.00
RB	Andre Ellington	$3,000	24.20
RB	Knowshon Moreno	$6,000	25.30
WR	Calvin Johnson	$8,800	51.90
WR	Marvin Jones	$3,000	44.20
TE	Jordan Reed	$4,300	17.00
FLEX	Jordy Nelson	$7,300	31.30
K	Josh Brown	$3,000	15.00
DEF	Cincinnati	$4,200	30.00
	TOTALS	$46,600	270.90

Note: DraftKings Optimals does not include bonuses awarded in DK’s scoring system