FSH NOTEBOOK: DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST

October 4th, 2017

Wednesday Evening Edition

Week 4 Sunday Heroes

Not-the-Usual Suspects 

This is a late look back at some of Sunday's top performances from the guys you might not have been expecting. Did these guys help you? Whether they did or didn't doesn't matter now. They may not have been the usual suspects leading into week 4, but you'll be watching for their names leading into week 5 and beyond.

The return to the fantasy spotlight this week goes to Giants quarterback Eli Manning. With the talent at receiver he has this season, an athletic tight end, Shane Vereen out of the backfield, we'd surely expect to see Manning's name. Such has not been the case for a while, so his appearance is a pleasant surprise for fantasy owners. It is concerning though, he had to heave the pigskin 49 times though. Nonetheless a big week 4 for Eli with 288 yards passing, two passing touchdowns, and a rare rushing touchdown.

Last season Rams quarterback Jared Goff was not considered a viable fantasy option at any time. Nowadays, the 2nd year passer is making a case to be on rosters. He's continued his steady play and currently resides as the No.10 fantasy QB after passing for 255 yards with two touchdowns in a week 4 win over the Cowboys. Goff tops our list of signal callers for Week 4;

Quarterbacks

Jared Goff: 255 pa yds, 2 tds

Eli Manning: 288 pa yds, 2 tds, 1 ru td

Andy Dalton: 286 pa yds, 4 tds

Deshaun Watson: 283 pa yds, 4 tds, 1 ru td

Maybe it's not usual to expect big games from running back Andre Ellington, but fantasy owners may have to get used to it. Each week Ellington has seen his touches increase and each week he has responded. In Week 4 Ellington fnished as the No.12 fantasy RB (in PPR) totaling 104 yards with 9 catches.

The Eagles newest battering ram running back LaGarrette Blount finally got rolling in Week 4. In the pass happy league that the NFL has become, Blount is more of a one trick pony sticking to the ground game. Through the first 3 weeks of the season, Blount has barely been able to pull his engine out of the garage totaling just 113 yards rushing. On Sunday Blount carried the ball 16 times and rushed for 136 yards (8.5 yards per carry average) adding a rushing touchdown and a 20-yard reception.

A very notable add to this list is the Saints rookie running back Alvin Kamara. It's quite evident the Saints love this kid and he's getting on the field regularly. He's been steady through the first quarter of the season and on Sunday he finished as the No.6 fantasy RB (in PPR). He's locked in a timeshare, but he's the Saint running back to own. Through 4 weeks he's the No.24 fantasy RB, 5 spots ahead of started Mark Ingram.

Running backs

Andre Ellington: 18 ru yds, 9 rec, 86 rec yds

LeGarrette Blount: 136 ru yds, 20-yd rec, 1 td

Giovani Bernard: 12 ru yds, 3 rec, 67 rec yds, 1 td

Duke Johnson: 13 ru yds, 9 rec, 47 rec yds, 1 td

Elijah McGuire: 93 ru yds, 2 rec, 38 rec yds, 1 td

Alvin Kamara:25 ru yds, 10 rec, 71 rec yds, 1 td

Bilal Powell: 163 ru yds, 4 rec, 27 rec yds, 1 td

A big surprise appearance this week comes from the Ravens wide receiver Mike Wallace and for two reasons. First, we haven't seen much from Wallace this season, so this Week 4 appearance is eyebrow raising. The second reason is because how poorly the Ravens offense has played thus far this season. So don't get used to seeing him return often.

Wide Receivers

Cooper Kupp: 5 rec, 60 rec yds, 1 td

Mike Wallace: 6 rec, 55 yds, 1 td

Will Fuller: 4 rec, 35 yds, 2 tds

Tyrell Williams: 5 rec, 115 rec yds, 1 td

The interesting suspect at tight end this week is the Bengals Tyler Kroft. Their normal tight end usually plays fairly active in the passing game each week and with Eifert out for a few weeks Kroft may become a return visitor. His Week 4 performance of 6 catches for  68 yards and two scores earned him a trip here and put him on top of all fantasy tight ends this week.

Tight Ends

OJ Howard: 2 rec, 63 rec yds, 1 td

AJ Derby: 4 rec, 75 rec yds, 1 td

Cameron Brate: 4 rec, 80 rec yds, 1 td

Tyler Kroft: 6 rec, 68 rec yds, 2 tds

That's My Take

~David Ortega

FSH NOTEBOOK: DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST

November 19th, 2016
Saturday Morning Edition

Week 11 Fantasy Notes

Now in week 11, the fantasy world has hit the back stretch with just a few weeks left until most leagues begin their fantasy season playoffs. With just four teams on bye this week, there are plenty of matchups and player options to explore.

It's not been all bad this season for the 4-5 Steelers and their 11th ranked offense, and this week it will get even better for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. This week Big Ben and the Steelers will face the Browns and a defense that allows the 3rd most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, including 25 passing touchdowns (most in the league). Fantasy owners can expect nothing less than a huge day for Big Ben as he'll go for his 5th 300-yard plus passing game this season (maybe 400).

Another favorable quarterback play flying under the radar this week is the Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Taylor has posted at least 18 fantasy points in four straight starts and this week faces a Bengals defense that allows the 5th most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. Taylors 194 yards rushing (48.5 yards/game) in those past four starts give him a much higher floor and make him a safe play this week.

In the backfield this week, I am going to be leaning heavily on arguably the highest rated running back this week, the Steelers LeVeon Bell. Like his quarterback, Bell has a great matchup against a Browns defense that gives up the second most fantasy points to opposing running backs, including the 2nd most rushing yards in the league. Being the dual threat that Bell is, a monster day could be in the works.

Just like Bell, another running back with a great matchup (but not getting as much noteriety) this week is the Patriots LeGarrette Blount. Blount will the draws the 49ers who allow the most fantasy points to opposing running backs including 13 rushing touchdowns (most in the league). While quarterback Tom Brady and company may move the ball up and down the field, those in touchdowns leagues and standard scoring can feel good with Blount on their lineup. He's likely to vulture a score or two on Sunday.

That's my take.

~David G. Ortega

FSH NOTEBOOK: DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST

Tuesday Evening Edition

September 9th, 2014 

 

David’s Daily Digest

Week 1 Recap

Sorting through the Debris

The fantasy football roller-coaster is just starting to pick up speed and with one week in the books, there’s so much to cover and talk about. We have to look at who did what, who was a bust, which sleepers emerged, and which studs were on par this past Sunday. Was there real concern in the Steelers backfield with Le’Veon Bell and LeGarette Blount splitting carries, who is the real feature back in New England, and with Wes Welker missing which Broncos receiver emerged to pick up the slack?

With all of this to sort through it can become real over-whelming for fantasy owners looking to rebound from their week one debacle or continue their winning ways following a season opening win. There’s never too much information when it comes to fantasy football, just sometimes we need to take a minute to sort through the debris and see a clear picture.

The refuse…

With Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell seeing the bulk of work (27 touches) in week one, looks like fantasy owners that drafted running back LeGarrette Blount (4 touches) may have to rethink their strategy. He did sneak in a score, but going forward if he is limited to few touches, owners can’t count on consistent production.

There was a lot of hype surrounding the Lions rookie tight end Eric Ebron, but for now that’s all there is. Ebron was targeted just twice and did not record a catch. He’s not worth owning at this time; at least not until fantasy owners see something.

The Cardinals running back Andre Ellington saw plenty of action on Monday night; 18 touches. Back-up running back Jonathan Dwyer saw about the most action he might see all season; 9 touches for 28 yards. You can toss Dwyer back into the pile.

The Salvage….

The Ravens basically benched running back Bernard Pierce after fumbling, which opened the door for running back Justin Forsett. The journeyman back finished with 16 touches, which included 6 targets. Going forward, in light of the Ray Rice loss Forsett should continue to see plenty of action as long as he responds as he did in week one; he had 84 total yards and a score.

The Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger likes his receiver Antonio Brown, but his second year wideout Marcus Wheaton could quickly become his second favorite. Wheaton has great speed and tremendous upside, along with his seven targets (tied for most on team) on Sunday he looks to be busy fantasy receiver as well. Wheaton is probably a low WR3 or flex at the moment, but should be owned.

So much for the worry surrounding Texans receiver Andre Johnson; he was a bit quiet on Sunday, but still turned in a decent fantasy day with six receptions for 93 yards. His nine targets should be a real indicator he’s still a safe fantasy play on Sunday.

The Broncos just have too many weapons and with Wes Welker out, quarterback Peyton Manning just dipped into his receiving depth targeting wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders nine times. Sanders also added a carry for 11 yards. He’s a safe weekly play as a mid flex or high WR3.

Lastly, I heard about this kid early last week, the Saints rookie receiver Brandin Cooks and what I saw on Sunday confirmed the deal. Cooks is a special talent that we’ll continue to see lots of moving forward. On Sunday he totaled 95 yards with one receiving touchdown on 8 touches. In the Saints explosive pass game Cooks should be a gamer. Owners may want to temper their expectations momentarily until we see a larger sample, but he should be a safe flex for now.

These are just some of my takes for the Week 1 recap.

~David Ortega

FSH NOTEBOOK: MONDAY MORNING HUDDLE

December 20th, 2010, Monday

Monday Morning Huddle
(Late Evening Edition)

The week 15 experiment didn’t go so well for most teams that were forced to making a quarterback change; Matt Flynn, Rex Grossman, and Tim Tebow all lost their first starts of the 2010 season. Such is the way of the NFL as injuries will always play a big part, but in Denver through defeat comes hope and maybe a glimpse of the future. While Tebow did not win in his debut as a starter, he may have won enough faith in his staff to give him another look; a look at what could possibly be the promise of what is to come?

Maybe, maybe not…

Top Stories

Are the Broncos Ushering in the Future?
It was a little bit of the good, the bad, and the ugly on Sunday when rookie quarterback Tim Tebow made his first start of his NFL career. Although it wasn’t a victory, it’s safe to say it was not a total loss either.

Tebow had an ugly looking 40 yard quarterback keeper, aided by some poor tackling for a touchdown in the first half of Sunday’s matchup against the Raiders. Later in the half he also had an bad looking balloon pass that fell right into the arms of Brandon Lloyd in the back right corner of the end-zone for another score.

Now for some of the good, Tebow did not commit a single turnover on Sunday while completing 8 of 16 passes for 138 yards. The former Florida Gator (Tebow) also took fans back to his college days showing off his running skills while he scampered his way to 78 yards on the ground.

It was not the most prolific performance by a quarterback, but clearly Tebow did add a much needed spark to the offense (23 points). It was enough to impress the coaches and earn a second start, but if the Broncos are hopeful of different results they must open up the playbook and let Tebow play.

With running back Knowshon Moreno questionable for week 16, unless the coaching staff is willing to take off the handcuffs (from Tebow), aside from there quarterback wide receiver Brandon Lloyd (4 catches, 79 yards in week 15) appears to be the only safe fantasy play next Sunday against the Texans.

Just my thoughts.

Fantasy Spotlight

After all the flack this guy took in the media, in the pre-game shows, criticism all week long, and from all of the guys at the NFL Network, this week’s fantasy shout out has to go to Redskin’s quarterback Rex Grossman. On Sunday against the Cowboys, he did a whole lot more than anyone would have given him credit for before the start of the game.

It didn’t all start out pretty for Grossman on Sunday. On the Redskins second possession already trailing in the game 3-0, Grossman was intercepted on an ill-advised throw. That would not be the only bad throw he would make the rest of the game, but the Redskins quarterback would finish the game completing 25 of 43 passes for 322 yards and four touchdowns before he was threw.

The Redskins would fall behind by as much as 27-7, before Grossman would rally the troops and throw three second half scores to tie the game up at 30. While it was a nice statistical game in the box score and for fantasy owners, it should also be noted it was a typical Grossman game; he led his team to four touchdowns and 30 points, but also had three turnovers and they lost.

He’s our Fantasy Spotlight Player of the Week!

Diamonds in the Rough

RB-LeGarrette Blount

Clearly it’s safe to say that rookie running back LeGarrett Blount is no longer a secret. After five straight starts, three 100-yard games this season, 164 carries, and 777 yards rushing he’s working his way up the fantasy boards for 2011. Blount wasn’t even a consideration when the season started and didn’t see his first action until the third week of the season. After seven weeks of play, he had only toted the pill 21 times in three appearances. Since that time he has caught the fantasy world by storm averaging nearly 85 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry. Blount was a relative unknown buried on the Bucs depth chart when the 2010 fantasy season, but looks to be their starting tailback for 2011 fantasy season (if there is no lockout).

WR-Mike Williams

Like his teammate (Blount), rookie wide receiver Mike Williams has made the most of opportunity this season. Williams didn’t waste any time turning heads as early as the Bucs training this season, and though he has had some ups and downs, he has remained a relatively consistent option in the passing game. Williams has started all 14 games for the Bucs this season while collecting 58 balls and scoring eight touchdowns. As he and 2nd year quarterback Josh Freeman continue to develop their rapport and improve their chemistry, Williams has a chance to become a star in the league. Looking ahead to next season’s fantasy draft, Williams is going to be a much earlier pick for owners as he continues to improve and impress.