It would be nice if NFL coaches cared a little bit more about fantasy teams. Or maybe it would be bad, and that will be the huge, future scandal the league will face that the fantasy football world will be drawn into. "Tom Coughlin had a fantasy league with Rueben Randle starting, and Eli threw to Randle five times down near the goal line last week!" You know it's coming.
Anyway, I was thinking about it while watching Stepfan Taylor score 2 TDs, to the dismay of Andre Ellington-led teams everywhere. Now, Ellington had a fine game anyway, especially in point per reception leagues, but still. How about a touchdown for the guy? Maybe Bruce Arians had Taylor going in one of those weekly leagues. Hmmm.
Falcons at Ravens: Sometimes we call game outcomes pretty well. I was a little wary of making the Ravens my suicide pool pick, but Ian thought the Falcons would pretty much get trucked in this game, and that's what happened. You got some good production out of Roddy White, finally, but that's about it. Saw Bernard Pierce vulture a touchdown at the goal line, after a Torrey Smith grab set him up at the 1, plus Owen Daniels getting free for an early touchdown. So basically touchdowns from the guys you didn't start, a recurring theme this week. At the start of the season I might have thought the Ravens were the third-best team in the division; now I think they're going to win it. ... Matt Ryan is starting to get overwhelmed behind that line.
Vikings at Bills: Both Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller got hurt in this game, so Anthony Dixon and Bryce Brown may be the new committee. Buffalo defense is really playing well, and Sammy Watkins is as advertised. Having a big rookie campaign, and the friend who drafted him early (I thought way too early) in two leagues with me is reaping the benefits. Sweet touchdown grab in the final seconds to win the game. Heartbreaking loss for the Vikings, who haven't had so much luck of late. Cordarrelle Patterson sighting; they put him in the slot, then threw him a short pass which went for a touchdown. He also got a deep ball where it looked like he might have been held. Not sure you can safely start him, but at least it's a spark of life.
Dolphins at Bears: Big game for Matt Forte, and no one else. Dolphins are doing a nice job of losing the games they should win and winning the games they should lose this season. Their defense is good, and the Bears defense isn't. Frustrating if you started Chicago receivers, but that's a really good Dolphins pass rush and it's going to cause problems for some teams. Charles Clay met up with the end zone again, that was nice to see. Decent games for Wallace, Miller, and an impressive road win for Ryan Tannehill. Miami is at Jacksonville next week, let's see if they can muck that one up.
Saints at Lions: You may not have noticed, but Jimmy Graham actually played some in this game. Kind of like the last game or two that Calvin Johnson played in. An unlikely win for the Lions after the Saints totally blew some angles in letting Golden Tate score a long touchdown to get Detroit back in the game. Watching the play, I wondered if Seattle regretted letting Tate leave. I think they probably do, now. Reggie Bush caught 5 passes, but no real payback for him. (Actually, he had a stat line reminiscent of his years with the Saints, humorously enough.) Maybe he's not over the ankle injury. Bell was the one who got to score the short touchdown in this game. New Orleans did nothing on the ground, as expected. Big game from Colston with Graham more or less out, also the kind of thing you could see coming. Next week, well, we'll see. I have Graham in a league and am not sure if I'll use him or not.
Panthers at Packers: Say this for Kelvin Benjamin, even when his team gets blown out, he delivers. Good games for him and Greg Olsen, and no other Saints. The Packers just marched up and down the field, and could probably have scored 50 if they'd tried. Carolina's defense totally fallen apart without last year's pass rush. Jordy Nelson easily slipped behind the secondary for a score. Randall Cobb easily got free for a score. Davante Adams wasn't even covered for a third. And Eddie Lacy benefits with a touchdown. Nice week to be holding Green Bay players. James Starks left with injury, more good news for Lacy I guess.
Bengals at Colts: On Saturday I conceded the Colts were probably the better team in this game. But that much better? Without A.J. Green, Cincinnati's offense was basically unable to do anything. I had to check to make sure Giovani Bernard was even playing. Offense kept going 3 and out. Two TDs for Ahmad Bradshaw, and a hamstring injury for Trent Richardson, so Dan Herron should be a pickup for the week (they'll want to limit Bradshaw's workload). A workmanlike huge game for Andrew Luck, and another good game for T.Y. Hilton. Colts are obviously for real, and it's not just Luck. Defense has looked legit the last few games.
Browns at Jaguars: Since I've mentioned a few good calls, I'll mention that on Saturday I'd pretty much dismissed Denard Robinson as a change-of-pace running back. That's how he'd been used, and after a couple of years of disappointment, he'd been added and dropped by basically half the teams in my dynasty league (I drafted him initially, then gave up). But he looked really good in this game, albeit against a soft run defense, and I can't see them sticking him behind Toby Gerhart when he comes back. I held onto Storm Johnson, but Robinson looks like the more likely starter going forward. ... Guess the Browns really missed center Alex Mack (who the Jaguars tried to steal away last offseason). And Brian Hoyer, whenever I saw him passing the ball, was throwing it behind his receivers, or into defenders hands. Bad game for the entire offense, but Hoyer is probably the guy who has to worry most if he turns in a clunker or two. ... Early on, up 6-0, the Browns passed up a short field goal to go for it on 4th down. Failed, and then their defense failed to properly execute an easy tackle or two on a long Allen Robinson touchdown. Just when you start believing in the Browns....
Seahawks at Rams: A bizarre punt return touchdown that fooled everyone including the cameraman. A fake punt in the final minutes of a 2-point game from a team's own end zone. And another crazy Seahawks-Rams game with a breakout rookie performance that still wasn't over until the Rams recovered that rookie's own last-minute fumble. Afterward Doug Baldwin hinted the Percy Harvin trade last week didn't help the team's focus, which I kind of agree with. But this was Seattle's second straight loss and hardly their first dud performance this year, so you've got to give some credit to the whole Super Bowl hangover thing. Nice fantasy game for Russell Wilson, anyway. Baldwin, too, who as expected was the main beneficiary there. And if you started Cooper Helfet, who had a really nice touchdown in the corner of the end zone, congratulations. And Tre Mason, the waiver wire pickup of the week. Looked good and clearly Stacy and Cunningham have had their chance to impress without doing so.
Titans at Washington: At last the Kirk Cousins trade talk can be buried in a deep hole for good. "Benched for Colt McCoy" is not a resume-builder. Outplayed by Charlie Whitehurst isn't, either, although that one's less clear. Whitehurst did have a very nice touchdown throw to Derek Hagan, who I admit I wasn't aware was still in the league. Shoddy tackling and poor angles on the long touchdown by Pierre Garcon, a sign of why both teams are 2-5 and going nowhere. Not much rushing offense for either team, which I will attribute to the way you can defend teams without good quarterbacks.
Kansas City at Chargers: Had a hunch Kansas City would spring the upset here. It's a pretty good team, despite injuries and a lack of wide receivers and such. I am keeping an eye on the fact that Kansas City has not yet had a wide receiver catch a touchdown, which has to be some kind of record, or at least will be if they keep it up. And why not. They don't seem to care about throwing to the position. Bowe put up 84 yards, which is good for him these days, but probably no one started him anywhere. Anthony Sherman scored in this game, I'm sure you all started him. ... Branden Oliver looked great again. I think when Ryan Mathews returns, Oliver is still going to have a sizable role in the offense. Either a 2 or maybe even a 1A, assuming Mathews is the No. 1. The guy is fun to watch with the ball in his hands. Great balance. San Diego now has two tough games entering a bye, at Denver and Miami. Still like this team. Great touchdown reception by Antonio Gates off a tipped ball.
Giants at Cowboys: Two pretty good teams here, and I didn't see this coming at the beginning of the year. The Dallas offensive line is dominating right now, and if you can slow down the run, as the Giants were able to at times, they'll make some plays through the air. Another big game for Demarco Murray even with the Giants focusing on stopping him. And huge game for Dez Bryant. ... It's been nice to see Odell Beckham, off a terrible preseason, making a big impact early on. Probably better than Rueben Randle, Maybe the team's best receiver the rest of the season. Andre Williams didn't do much, which is not a huge shock. Kind of a poor man's Alfred Morris, looks like so far.
Cardinals at Raiders: Already talked a bit about this game. The Raiders really seem to lull opposing offenses to sleep some weeks. Arizona seemingly could have been a lot more productive, but instead they just kind of ground it out. And let Stepfan Taylor score 2 TDs. At least Floyd scored, but disappointing outing for Larry Fitzgerald. Ellington, no touchdowns, but a lot of fun to watch.
49ers at Broncos: Ho hum, another huge day and all-time record for Peyton Manning. He really didn't get drafted early enough in every league I'm in. I think a slight regression from last year was to be expected, but now I'm not so sure. Would it really be surprising if he throws 50 again? It's a quarterback-friendly league and he's great. More importantly fantasy-wise, I don't see any way the Broncos go back to Montee Ball. We could kind of see this coming when he was struggling the first month -- that the problem certainly wasn't the defenses he was facing, but him -- and now that Ronnie Hillman is tearing it up, how will Ball be featured again? He won't be. ... For San Francisco, I'm sure they'll rebound. They won't face an offense as good as Denver's all the time, and they'll get Patrick Willis back. But it's not a team you want to have a lot invested in fantasy-wise.
Monday, Monday: Hey, Steelers-Texans. I thought Pittsburgh was going to be pretty good this year; turns out, no. But I do like their offense in this game. And Arian Foster and Andre Johnson. Should be a competitive contest with good numbers from the key fantasy guys. Call it Pittsburgh 26, Houston 23, and hope you're not facing anyone important in a close matchup.