October 9th 2017
Monday Afternoon Edition
Monday
Night Takes
(Week 5)
My Takes
Quarterback Sam Bradford;
it's sounding very much like Sam will go tonight against the Bears. The matchup
is never favorable in the friendly confines of Soldier Field and last season
Bradford was ineffective in a 20-10 loss. But that was about a year ago and an
old Bradford. The new Bradford brings with him some great weapons and an even
greater understanding of the offense. It's not going to be a breakout
performance, but rather a solid one for Sam returning from injury. Feel
confident if you have to ride Sam tonight, he's a nice bye week fill.
Running backs Latavius Murray &
Jerrick McKinnon; the loss of rookie running back Dalvin
Cook hurts, but with Bradford back under center the combination of Murray and
McKinnon should fill just fine. Murray is expected to log the majority of
carries and if he's close to 100 percent he should be able to provide some of
the in-between the tackle presence the running game was missing last season;
he's a fade option at running back this week. McKinnon will likely play his
regular 3rd down pass catching role, but he's not fantasy worthy tonight.
Wide receivers Stefon Diggs & Adam
Thielen;
these two are the Vikings wonder twins. Both run great routes, both have great
hands, and with Bradford under center, both are worth starting. Also, only a
mother can tell these two apart. Unfortunately for the Bears secondary (ranked
4th in the NFL), they don't have any mom's playing safety, so it'll be a long
night for them. Diggs and Thilen should both be started.
Tight end Kyle Rudolph;
with his starting quarterback returning this week, Rudolph is back in play. Now
fantasy owners will need to hold their water as he's only a backend TE1 this
week. The Bears are pretty good against the tight end spot, but I like Rudolph
as a great candidate for a red zone score.
Quarterback Mitchell Turbisky;
the Bears roll out the Trubisky era tonight, but don't expect a welcoming
reception from the Vikings defense tonight. It's likely going to be a long
night for the rookie, but more importantly for the Bears among the inevitable
mistakes he'll make, they are hoping to see a spark on the offensive side of
the ball. Trubisky is not worth starting or owning at this time, but tonight it
will be interesting to see what he can do.
Running backs Jordan Howard & Tarik
Cohen; unfortunately
for Thunder and lightning and fantasy owners, the weather's been pretty calm
the past couple of weeks and the forecast for tonight does not look stormy. The
Vikings are ranked 2nd versus the run, so fantasy owners should temper their
expectations. The only good thing to count on, with a rookie quarterback you
will see a lot of run and a lot of short passes. Despite the terrible matchup,
expect volume for both Howard and Cohen; they'll both be serviceable tonight.
Wide receiver Kendall Wright;
it's another one of those cases of Trubisky has to throw the ball to somebody.
Wright has emerged as the likely go-to candidate leading the team with 14
receptions for 154 yards, and a touchdown. It's not a promising matchup
tonight, especially with the expected growing pains with a rookie quarterback
making his first start. If you are desperate, Wright will be a tough start
tonight.
Tight end Zach Miller;
with a rookie quarterback under the center the expectation is the tight end
becomes his security blanket. That is likely the rule to follow here to
tonight. Miller (30th ranked TE in PPR) has only 13 grabs this season, but may
get caught up in a lot of check downs and short routes to keep his quarterback
clean. What this likely means for Miller is a busy night for few yards, but he
could salvage things with the potential for a red zone grab; but keep in mind
Miller has zero touchdowns in four games.
That's My Take.
~David Ortega
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