Week 15 Fantasy Football Review: Ryan Mathews, James Jones and More
Ryan Mathews was once again a huge disappointment in fantasy football.
What did we learn from the weekend? We learned nothing is safe. Roddy White, fail. Victor Cruz fail. Eli Manning fail. Doug Martin, fail. Apparently only those who had their ACL operated on less than a year ago (that’s you AP) can be counted on.
Onward to a look back at Week 15 in fantasy football:
Ray-laxing: When the Ravens announced that revered superstar Ray Lewis would not be playing on Sunday they failed to announce that their other revered superstar named Ray would be joining him out of the action. Ray Rice finished with 38 yards rushing and three catches for …yep…three yards and 0 TDs.
Good Things Do Come to Those Who Wait: For those Aaron Hernandez owners who suffered through seemingly endless weeks of injuries, happiness has arrived. The tatted-one has taken full advantage of Rob Gronkowski’s absence and has been simply dominant over the past two weeks. Following last week’s 2TD, 8-catch effort, Hernandez burned the 49er defense for 10 catches, 92 yards and 1 TD. Of course Hernandez owners who lost by a few points are certainly lamenting the many drops he had along the way. Don’t get too giddy Hernandez owners; Gronkowski began practicing last week and could play Scrooge next Sunday.
Pain Alert # 1 – After having been burned by consecutive horror shows over the past two weeks, Drew Brees owners had to suffer through watching Brees light up the Bucs defense for 307 yards and four touchdowns.
Pain Alert #2 - Can’t be greedy because you probably drafted him in the fourth or fifth round, but Doug Martin owners got hosed Sunday. Facing a glorious matchup against the Saints, Martin finished with 16 yards rushing. That’s not a typo. The three catches for 19 yards probably did little to salve the wounds of owners, who kept hitting refresh on their computer in hopes the stat feed had crashed.
Pain Alert # 3 - After at least 10 targets in three of his last four games, San Diego’s Danario Alexander got just three targets and 0 catches on a day when the Chargers were down early and had to throw the entire second half. Of course Philip Rivers couldn’t find anyone, as his leading WR was Malcolm Floyd and he finished with 39 yards. Thanks for stopping by Norv, you have two weeks left.
Yawn: Ryan Mathews, hyped all week as likely to get his biggest workload this year, finished with 24 yards rushing and a broken clavicle. Or maybe it was a leg injury, or a shoulder, does it really matter?
Cruz Control: After last week’s blast-off performance, Victor Cruz appeared poised to carry fantasy owners to their Super Bowl, but Cruz sputtered Sunday catching just three passes for 15 yards. Apparently the Giants can’t just turn it on when they want, as Eli Manning, Hakeem Nicks, Martellus Bennett and this week’s waiver-wire king David Wilson all put up miserable numbers. If you happened to have the only productive Giant Domenik Hixon in your lineup, I have a spot for you in my league next year.
Speaking of Mannings: Peyton didn’t do fantasy owners any favors either. Despite putting up 34 points on the Ravens, Manning threw for only 204 yards and 1TD, taking down Demaryius Thomas (four catches for 19 yards) with him. While Thomas owners were crying in their beers, Eric Decker owners were barking for another one after his 8-catch, 123-yard, 1TD day. Knowshon Moreno owners weren’t far behind, rejoicing over his 118-yard, 1 TD effort.
The Jones Brothers: Only the most desperate owners had Green Bay WR James Jones (3TD) in their lineup against the Bears Saturday, but Julio (six catches for 74 yards and 2TD) owners were locked and loaded and he delivered. Roddy White (two catches for 15 yards) and Greg Jennings (four catches for 50 yards) owners likely weren’t feeling the Jones love.
While David Wilson was the trendy waiver-wire pick up last week, it’s looking like DeAngelo Williams was the guy to get. After yesterday’s massive game (93 yards rushing, 51 yards receiving, 1TD), Williams faces the Raiders defense next. Cut by many owners after three consecutive dogs in November, Williams is en fuego. Scoop him up if he’s out there.
