FSH NOTEBOOK: DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST

September 16th, 2016

Friday

Week 2: Friday Football Fixx

After one week of action, there's plenty of football discussion at the local employment water-cooler. I was able to catch quite a bit of the action from week one and here's what I see for this Sunday, so if you are ready let's get into it....

Week 2 presents quite a few savory matchups for fantasy owners to salivate over. If you are looking for fantasy friendly matchups and need help under center, the Bronco's second year quarterback Trevor Siemian wasn't spectacular in week one, but with a healthy match-up against a suspect Colts secondary (340 yards passing allowed in week 1), he has the weapons to product top-10 numbers in week 2.

After facing a very tough and stingy Seahawks defense (81 rushing yards allowed in week 1), the Dolphins running back Arian Foster should fare much better this Sunday. Foster touched the ball 16 times for more than 100 total yards last week. Against the Patriots (4.8 yards allowed per carry) this Sunday he's likely to see as many, if not more chances and should easily better his numbers from a week ago. Fantasy owners can even expect the versatile Foster to add a score.

Last week the Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz (4 receptions on 4 targets) made his long awaited return to the field of action against the Cowboys. His performance may have been less than stellar, but his familiar return to the end zone could be an indication of what's to come. This week the Giants will play host to a Saints team that was torched and burned last Sunday by a Raiders offense that accounted for 486 yards of offense, including 319 yards in the air and one score. Cruz and company will be looking to cash in big this week; expect the salsa-man to do his dance again.

After a big week one performance in the Big Easy, the Raiders second year receiver Amari Cooper (6 rec/137-yards in week 1) is looking for another big Sunday with a tasty matchup against the Falcons this Sunday. The birds will be traveling to the Black Hole on Sunday and after their secondary was torched for 5 pass plays of 20 yards or more in week 1, Cooper and company will be looking for the long ball again this week.

Last on my Friday list is Eagles running back Ryan Matthews. His numbers weren't huge in week one, but he did manage a solid fantasy Sunday with 77 yards and a score. While his total out-put wasn't anything to scream about fantasy owners should be excited with his 22 carries, a sure sign he is the feature runner in the Eagles ground game. This Monday night Matthews could find quite a few holes in Bears run defense (129 yards rushing allowed in week 1).

These are my Friday Fixx plays I like for week 2.

That's my take

~David G. Ortega

FSH NOTEBOOK: DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST

September 5th, 2016
Monday

My Top 10 Quarterbacks in 2016

Without a doubt in this fantasy gamer's mind, the number one fantasy quarterback heading into the 2016 season is Aaron Rodgers. The Packers quarterback had a down year in 2015, but still passed for over 3,800 yards and 31 touchdowns. Rodgers has been a top tier passer for the past 8 seasons and with one of his favorite targets (Jordy Nelson) returning in 2016, he should once again find himself at the top of the passing charts.

While Rodgers could lead the way in 2016, the Panthers quarterback Cam Newton won't be far behind. Newton exploded in 2015 with huge fantasy numbers passing for 3,837 yards and tossing 35 touchdowns. The versatile quarterback also added 10 rushing scores to go with 636 yards rushing.


My Top 10

1. Aaron Rodgers (GB) Best in the game.
2. Cam Newton (CAR) Another solid year for Cam.
3. Andrew Luck (IND) Bounce back season for Luck.
4. Drew Brees (NO) New weapons, another big season.
5. Carson Palmer (ARI) Plenty of big weapons to choose from.
6. Russell Wilson (SEA) He finds a way to make plays.
7. Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) A big arm with lots of weapons.
8. Tom Brady (NE) His suspension knocks him down a few slots.
9. Eli Manning (NYG) Coming off a nice 2015 campaign.
10.Blake Bortles (JAX) Has a nice compliment of weapons.


While the top 10 are the normal cast of fantasy characters, a couple of passers that could fill the spot in the later rounds of your draft are Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and Matthew Stafford. Both are falling well outside the top 10 ADP for quarterbacks and could offer near top 10 production in 2016. 

The Falcons quarterback will benefit from having one of the leagues very best (Julio Jones) to throw to this season, so fantasy owners can expect another 4,000 yard-plus season from Ryan and better than the 21 touchdown passes a year ago.

Over in Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford has lost a big weapon in wide receiver (Megatron) Calvin Johnson, but with a weak running game (ranked last in 2015) fantasy owners can expect the former Georgia Bull Dog to put up another 600 passes this season. Stafford just missed the magic number of 600 by 8 passes in 2015 and over his past five seasons (with four of those seasons well over 600 attempts) Stafford has averaged more than 640 passing attempts per season.

Like Ryan, Stafford has not missed a start in his past five seasons (Ryan actually dates back through 2010) through the 2011 season. These two are reliable performers that you can count on week-in and week-out.

That's my take

~David G Ortega

FSH NOTEBOOK: DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST

August 19th, 2016
Friday







Some Draft Strategy (Wait on the QB)

In my most recent draft, it was clearly evident waiting on your QB was the safe move. It's a pretty standard PPR league with a slight emphasis on yards, but like in most leagues the scoring differential from your top tier QB to the next levels presents very little drop off.

For instance the top QB's taken in our draft (3rd round) were your standard top guns; Aaron Rodgers (#7 ranked in 2015), Drew Brees (#6 ranked), and Andrew Luck (#2 ranked in 2014). I was able to take Carson Palmer (ranked #5) in the 5th round, drafting a top tier RB and two top 15 WR's with Kelvin Benjamin in the 4th round (a slight reach, but I think he has a bounce back season).

The quarterback has the alure of being the main guy, the driving force behind today's pass happy offenses, but aside from Cam Newtons 45 touchdowns last year the difference between the number three quarterback and the number 12 was by average 3.5 fantasy points per game.

Waiting on the QB can give you the opportunity to snag that top flight WR or that reliable running back to solidify your fantasy backfield. Let the other guy reach early for that signal caller, in the long run you'll be the benefactor.

That's my take

~David Ortega

FSH NOTEBOOK: DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST

August 17th, 2016
Wednesday

Early Fantasy Sleepers to Consider Late

Well the new fantasy is well under way and if you are like me, you've already had your share of multiple mock drafts as we get closer to to the actual. There's no time of the year quite like this, when fantasy frenzy takes over and consumes all of us fantasy gamers.

The training camps are in full swing and the fantasy rumor mill is churning on high. If you've been paying attention there is a lot of information out there , so just make sure you don't get lost in the clouds and take plenty of notes.

Week 2 of the preseason kicks off tomorrow and before you know it the 2016 season will be kicking off, so let's not waste any time and start talking some fantasy football.

I haven't done too much digging to this point, but looking at some of the changes in the offseason and the new lineups, these are some of my early sleeper picks I will be looking to steal in the mid-to-later rounds of my upcoming drafts....

With the departure of DeMarco Murray to Tennessee, running back Ryan Mathews appears to be pegged as the lead back in Philly now. Durability may be a concern, but if Mathews can stay on the field he's has shown the ability to produce (5.1 yards per carry avg) and could very well improve on his 7 total touchdowns from a year ago. Mathews is should be available from the middle of the third round or later, and that's where I would take him.

There's no question in Pittsburgh there's only one name opposing DB's will need to be concerned with and that's Antonio Brown. But fantasy owners should be keeping an eye on Darrius Heyward-Bey. With Martavis Bryant gone for the season, DHB could be a flyer fantasy owners could target late in their drafts. DHB has the potential for the big play and his 15 yards per catch average last season were his best numbers since his 64-catch, 975-yards, and 15.2 yards average in 2012.

One more quick note for the night, a couple of tightends I like that should go later in drafts (6th-to-7th rounds or later) are Dwayne Allen (Indy) and Martellus Bennett (NE). With Fleener now in New Orleans, Allen inherits the lead role as the primary pass-catching tightend and with Andrew Luck throwing to him, his numbers will improve vastly this season. 

Over in New England, Bennett's arrival returns to quarterback Tom Brady his bookend tightends. Gronk is Gronk and will put up his Gronk like numbers, but expect Bennett to improve his 2015 numbers (53 rec/439 yards/3 touchdowns) with Brady throwing to him. He's a mid-round TE2 pick with a lot of upside potential.

That's my take

~David G. Ortega

FSH NOTEBOOK: DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST

August 16th, 2016
Tuesday

Fantasy Football 

is Back!!

~David G Ortega