Welcome to Week 8 of The Docket, a weekly column that will highlight rule and policy issues effecting players as well as offer strategy and advice on a select few players that you should be targeting or avoiding.
ON THE STAND
This is where we look at issues that could have an impact on your season.
Ray Rice (RB) – Ray Rice is currently serving an indefinite suspension for knocking out his now wife, Janay Rice, in an elevator in Atlantic City earlier this year. NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, initially handed Rice a two game suspension, but reversed his decision and suspended him indefinitely after TMZ leaked a video of the incident inside the elevator. A hearing on Rice’s suspension is going to be heard on November 5th and there are reports that Rice could be reinstated soon thereafter.
Rice claims that he has never lied during hearings and that tapes of the incident were always available to the Ravens and Goodell for viewing. Furthermore, under the NFL's new domestic violence policy, as a first-time offender, Rice should be suspended for only six games regardless. He has already missed seven, so his legal team will argue for immediate reinstatement.
However, the bigger question, is even if he is reinstated to play, will any team pick him up? With so much scrutiny this year in the NFL between this case and the Adrian Peterson case, there is a very good chance no team will take a shot on him until next year simply to avoid any backlash or media scrutiny. However, with Stevan Ridley going down in New England, the Patriots could certainly take a flier on Rice, especially since they have Super Bowl aspirations with an aging quarterback and a coach in Bill Belichick that will do whatever it takes to win. Greg Schiano, Rice’s college coach, is also an advisor for New England this season, and we already saw him help bring Tim Wright into the fold in a trade with Tampa Bay earlier this year. While Rice is not worth an add just yet in most leagues, he is certainly a player to continue to monitor.
CASE PENDING
This is where we look at select players who are on the verge of an upgrade or downgrade.
Cordarrelle Patterson (WR, Minn) – A colleague texted me late Sunday that Patterson was back. I couldn’t disagree fast enough. Yes he scored a touchdown, but he caught 2 passes on 4 targets for a whopping 9 yards and a touchdown. He also added 3 yards on the ground. That’s not back, that’s hard to trust. A couple of reasons are contributing to Patterson’s low numbers this season including, as his coach publicly noted, the ability to run proper routes and get open. Patterson is still too raw as a route runner and is really only capable of running 9 routes, right down the field, or catching the ball on short screen passes. Unfortunately, the Viking’s are not using Patterson on as many screen plays as they should and Teddy Bridgewater isn’t chucking deep bombs either. It’s nice to see Patterson score, but until we see real change, he is too risky to start as anything more than a bye week replacement. That said, if there was any week he was going to produce this season, this is the week against a very torchable Tampa defense.
Terrance Williams (RB, NE) – Unless your league is extremely touchdown dependent for scoring, if I’m a Williams owner, I’m selling high. Once again this past weekend, Williams had 3 targets, for 1 catch and a touchdown. It’s quite amazing that he has had these sorts of numbers now in 6 of 7 games. But if he is not catching a touchdown, you are getting absolutely nothing from him. He is on pace for a messily 43 catches, although for a whopping 14 touchdowns. TDs are always a fluky thing in the NFL, so if you can get legit value for him, take it. If not, roll with him as long as it lasts and hope it continues.
Tre Mason (RB, StL) – The tide is finally turning in St. Louis, as we knew it would. Mason is clearly the most talented running back on the Rams roster, but it often takes rookies some time to pick up the nuances of the NFL game and to also hone their pass protection skills. Remember, Zac Stacy only became the Rams starting back last year in week 5. Highly regarded player analyst Greg Cosell has stated that he thought Mason could be effective in any run game scheme and Mason was his favorite rookie running back coming out this year. Mason is a gliding runner, with very deceptive speed, who runs low to the ground, with strong legs and explosive feet overall. Unfortunately, the Rams still don’t fully trust Mason on pass protection, so they have been using Benny Cunningham in the pass game, which will limit Mason’s value. Mason also did have some fumbling issues in college, and almost coughed it up at the end of the game last week. But overall, Mason is looking legit, especially in dynasty leagues.
Keenan Allen (WR, SD) – Here is something most people probably don’t realize … Allen leads the team is targets and receptions. In fact, this past weekend he had ten targets, with 6 catches for 58 yards. The big problem with Allen this year is that he is not scoring touchdowns and his catches are not going for big gains. So while Allen is still the talented player he was last season, he just isn’t getting it done in Fantasy like we had hoped. In PPR leagues, he is still a solid WR3 or bye week replacement. In standard leagues, he just isn’t startable at the moment. That said, he is also not someone you want to drop either. If you don’t own him, he is a good buy low candidate. If you do own him, trade him for value if you can by packaging him with other players, but whatever you do, don’t just dump him.
CASE DISMISSED
This is where we highlight players that are looking particularly good.
Odell Beckham Jr(WR, NYG) – If he is on the waiver wire, get him. If you own him, keep him. If someone else owns him in dynasty leagues, trade for him. He’s legit. He stands 5’11”, 200 pounds with a 39” vertical and 4.43 forty speed and with Victor Cruz done for the season, Beckham was a full time player and also got plenty of looks in the redzone, catching two touchdowns this past weekend. What’s more impressive is that he essentially missed the whole pre-season and the first 5 weeks of the regular season with a hamstring injury. That means him and Eli are not even really on the same page yet, so the only place to go is up. I know many people see him as the smaller WR on the team compared to Larry Donnell and Rueben Randle, so they think he won’t be able to score a lot, but I’m not buying that. We’ve seen what guys like Randall Cobb and even Victor Cruz can do. Once again, this year’s rookie class is special. Donte Moncrief is up next.
Ronnie Hillman (RB, Den) – Hillman has disappointed for Fantasy the past two seasons. But as a relatively smaller back, it sometimes take a few years to adjust to the NFL game, especially playing with Peyton Manning. Hillman is a hard worker and runs with more juice than Monte Ball, and while a smaller back, at 5’10” 200 pounds, he is not necessarily tiny either. As we have seen in the past, any back playing with Manning is going to see relatively light boxes, as Manning puts his players in the best position to succeed. This past week Hillman carried the ball 14 times for 74 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also added another 29 yards on 4 catches on 4 targets. If you own Hillman, he has to be in your lineup, and even when Ball comes back, we are not sure he will have a starting job waiting for him.
Sammy Watkins (WR, Buf) – Finally with a professional quarterback at the helm in Buffalo, Watkins is an every week WR3 with WR 1upside. He has been touted as the best WR to come out of college since AJ Green, and we tend to agree. Kyle Orton also seems to be locking on to him, peppering him with 14 targets this past game, as Watkins went 9/122/2. While there are always going to be a few speed bumps, like being covered by Revis in Week 6, Watkins is a guy you want in your lineup most weeks as he has huge upside.
Matthew Stafford (QB, Det) – If you have weathered the storm with Stafford, you are in good shape. Stafford and the whole Lions offense is clearly not the same without Calvin Johnson playing (or playing at less than 100%). But Stafford came through in the 4th quarter for Fantasy players last week and this week the Lions play a very weak Atlanta defense. There are also reports that Calvin’s ankle is feeling better and he may actually suit up. Golden Tate is a legit WR2, and Erick Ebron and Reggie Bush are also getting healthy, so the cavalry is coming. After this weeks game, which takes place at 9:30am est in London, the Lions get a much needed bye to get everyone back fully healthy. Stafford looks locked and loaded for the home stretch.
THOUGHTS FROM THE BENCH
Here is where we highlight situations or strategies that are worth monitoring.
Play To Win – This past weekend the Rams did everything possible to pull off the win against the Seahawks including running a trick play on a punt return and a very risky fake punt from their own ten-yard line late in the game. The Rams did what they needed to do to pull off the victory and that is what you need to do this season. Without any risk, there will be no reward. So if be aggressive, take a flier on some deep sleepers and scour other rosters and make some trades. Play to win.
Handcuffs – I’ve been hammering people in this column all year to backup their RBs. With so many injuries this season, it will help you dominate in case of injury. Once again, better to back up your starters than own a bunch of random RBs. Case in point, this week Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller went down. The next man up will be Bryce Brown, and in this run heavy offense, you can expect him to shine despite some o-line issues. I know there is a lot of concern on which RB is best to pick up between Brown and Anthony Dixon. I think both will have value (remember CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson split reps), but Brown has all the upside. When asked about Bryce Brown, Fred Jackson said he was "an every-down back." Better believe it.
And if you are a DeMarco Murray owner out there and you don’t own Joseph Randle, you are playing with fire. Murray has the second most carries in the first 7 weeks in the history of the NFL. He has also has his fair share of injuries in the past with his rather upright running style. If you own Murray, Randle should be your #1 waiver wire pickup.
Wacky Season Continues – The top ten Fantasy scorers at TE this week were: Gavin Escobar, Antonio Gates, Cooper Helfet, Charles Clay, Owen Daniels, Dwayne Allen, Jeff Cumberland, Greg Olsen, Daniel Fells and Lance Kendricks. No Gronk, no Graham, no Kelce, no Jordan, not, not even Julius Thomas. So don’t freak out that your TE didn’t come through for you this week, it happens to everyone.
Song of the Week – In addition to writing about Fantasy Football, I also work in the music industry, so I figure it might be cool to throw out a song of the week since this column comes out on Tuesday’s the same day most artists release new music. This week I present, Vince Staples. Super dope hip-hop artist from Los Angeles. Check out his song Limos below:
I Invite You To Follow Me on Twitter: @FFesq