September 6th, 2019
Friday Night Fantasy Fixx
Thursday Night Recap
First let’s talk about the disaster that was the two offenses in last night’s NFL opener between the Packers and Bears. While we can attribute some of the Packers woes to a great looking Bears defense (ranked 3rd in total defense in 2018), we can also consider a little pre-season rust. Normally I might rewatch the game using my annual NFL Game Pass, but come on, lets face it, this game was hardly worth the first watch.
The Bears D did what they do, sacked quarterback Aaron Rodgers five times, held the Packers offense to 16% 3rd down conversion rate, and limited them to just 213 yards of total offense. Fantasy owners of running back Aaron Jones were no doubt grumbling last night, with the lack of production, but this should have been expected with the Bears number one run defense from a year ago. What was not expected was the split snaps with running backs Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams. Williams edge out Jones in the first half, but Jones finished with 38 to 26. This is concerning, but Jones did in fact out touch williams two-to-one, with 14 touches to 7, and outgained Williams 39 yards to 15 yards. Probably no need to panic here with the results, the Packers aren’t likely to see a defense this stout, that is of course until the face the Bears again. Keep calm.
One of the surprises of the night had to be the Packers Defense (pick them up off waivers). They registered five sacks of their own, came up with one turnover (although the secondary did let two slip through their hands) on the night, and shut down Mitchy (quarterback Mitchell Trubisky) and company, holding the Bears offense to 3 points. This was not expected, but neither was the poor play of the aforementioned quarterback; staring down receivers, ill-advised passes, poor decision making in critical moments. Trubisky still has some growing to do, and fortunately for the Bears, their defense may afford him a little time. He will need to clean up some of his flaws, but the poor coaching decisions and play calls he can’t control; what was up with that.
For now, the only Fantasy studs on this Bears offense are wide receiver Allen Robinson who finished with 7 catches for 102 yards on 13 targets (28.8% share; this is massive) and flex receiver Tarik Cohen, zero carries, with 8 catches for 49 yards on 10 targets (22.2% share; this is huge, but likely not sustainable). These two should be in weekly PPR lineups.
Bad News: The Antonio Brown Saga
This is an incredible day-time soap opera in Raider Nation; I hear it’s up for a Daytime Emmy. Susan Lucci could never hope for as good a storyline as the one AB is trail-blazing. Since all of his antics have been adequately covered and monitored by all the media outlets and sports networks, there’s no need for me to dive down that rabbit hole. The only thing I can offer, is this was one of the reasons I steered cleared of AB during my season-long redrafts. He’s unquestionably one of the best receivers in the game today, but watching this free-fall he’s taken of late had me concerned about his availability. If Brown can overcome himself and manage not to trip over his own actions, he should payoff huge for owners that took a chance on him. I, for one will continue to steer clear for now, until the situation stabilizes and dust settles.
And then there was one. Another fantasy concern heading into week one is Chargers running back Melvin Gordon, the lone running back holdout this season with Ezekiel Elliot signing an extension with the Cowboys earlier in the week. This situation has no timeline, so there’s no telling if or when Gordon might rejoin the team, if he even does. He was another draftee I avoided, due to concerns with his contract situation. Fantasy owners, don’t hold your breath on this one.
Injury notes
It’s late Friday night, so I will check out the injury reports from today and update my perspective on the notables tomorrow.
That’s My Take
~David G. Ortega
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