September 14th 2017
Thursday Edition
My Thursday Night Takes
The Houston Texans will travel to
Cincinnati tonight in our Weekly Thursday Night Matchup, and unfortunately for
those fans that enjoy lots of points this affair has the makings of an ugly
matchup and not a lot of points. That being said, there’s still going to be
some fantasy relevance, whether you play or avoid certain play.
Here are some of my Thursday night takes
for fantasy owners;
The Texans rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson
is expected to start. Its unlikely fantasy owners even drafted Watson this
season, except for maybe Dynasty leagues, but his matchup this week has the
potential of being a train wreck. He’s only played quarterback for a half in
the NFL and he’s gets his first start on the road and a short week; nuff said.
Although his quarterback may struggle
tremendously tonight, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is almost assured to see a
plethora of targets. Even with 16 targets in week one Hopkins was not able to
generate much of a big game, but his 4th quarter score was able to salvage the
day. Fantasy owners may be able to count on the same happening here tonight,
especially if the Bengals get up big.
One area of success the Texans offense may
be able to rely on tonight, is the running game led by running back Lamar
Miller. The Bengals defense did not struggle too poorly in week one allowing
157 yards on the ground; they held Ravens ball carriers to less than 4 yards
per carry on 42 attempts. This one could be close throughout providing Miller
plenty of opportunity to accumulate the carries; Miller’s got a good shot at 20
or so carries and 100 yards.
Perhaps the favorite play tonight will be
the Bengals Defense. The team is coming off an embarrassing week one loss and
with a home game tonight and the prospects of facing a rookie quarterback the
thinking could be someone ring the dinner bell. Bengals D should be a DFS
streaming favorite this week.
And his name is Dalton; quote from the
movie Roadhouse. Unfortunately quarterback Andy Dalton is not our hero, as was
displayed in week one. Dalton has a tendency to be like that, cold and hot, so
tonight at home could be quite the opposite from last Sunday. I’m not gambling
any farms away on this, Dalton should be decent against the Texans, but hardly
worth starting.
Fortunately for wide receiver AJ Green, a
good game for Dalton only means good things for Green. In week one AJ was
targeted 10 times finishing 5/74, he’s going to be featured heavily once again.
The Texans do have good corners so owners should not expect a huge game; more
in the line with week one numbers, but maybe add a score.
I’m not going to bank on a bounce back
game for tight end Tyler Eifert who was targeted just once in week one. He’ll
be a part of the passing game plan, but may only put up modest numbers. I,
however think he gets a couple of looks in the red-zone tonight and may be able
to cash one in. He’s a tough play, especially in DFS.
The area of confusion fantasy owners may
have trouble sorting through for tonight’s matchup is the Bengals backfield;
running backs Jeremy Hill, Giovanni Bernard, and (rookie) Joe Mixon. There’s no
easy read here where the team might commit, but of the three Giovanni looked
like the best in week one. Hill and Mixon will get looks on the ground, but if
you have to play any of the three I am leaning with Bernard because of his pass
catching prowess.
That’s My Take.
~David Ortega
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