Tony Cutillo
Still no Dez Bryant, Drew Brees was on a bye and Cam Newton couldn’t get cleared. Rob Gronkowski looked in top form, while Martellus Bennett caught three scores. Will he cut into his red zone production? Brian Hoyer actually was fantasy relevant. Well it was only one week, but he threw to a guy named Meredith, not Jeffery. Concerned yet? Kelvin Benjamin and CJ Anderson started off hot and now have had three straight weeks under their projected output.
Week 5 rolled through like a steam engine and now we are left to pick up the pieces. The bye weeks will continue to come into play and players will always be picked up off the street to come in and make a cameo appearance. The questions, will you pick the right one? Let’s take a look at the recap of Week 5 below and see what went wrong:
Standout Stars
QB
- Ben Roethlisberger: 380 yds, 4 TD
- Tom Brady: 406 yds, 3 TD
- Marcus Mariota: 163 yds 3 TD; 60 yds rushing; 1 TD
RB
- David Johnson: 157 yds rushing, 2 TD; 3 rec, 28 yds
- Ezekiel Elliot: 134 yds rushing, 2 TD; 3 rec, 37 yds
- Tevin Coleman: 31 yds rushing; 4 rec, 132 yds; 1 TD
WR/TE
- TY Hilton: 10 rec, 171 yds; 1 TD
- Sammie Coates: 6 rec, 137 yds; 2 TD
- Martellus Bennett: 6 rec, 67 yds; 3 TD
….
Substandard Stiffs
QB
- Ryan Tannehill: 191 yds, 2 INT
- Casey Keenum: 271 yds, 2 INT
- Brock Osweiler: 184 yds, 1 TD/ INT
RB
- Lamar Miller: 20 yds…1 rec, 4 yds
- Jerick McKinnon: 36 yds…1 rec, 10 yds
- Fozzy Whittaker: 45 yds….1 rec, 9 yds
WR/TE
- Will Fuller: 1 rec, 4 yds
- John Brown: 1 rec, 11 yds
- Danny Amendola: 2 rec, 11 yds
…
Surprise Performers
Marcus Mariota – When Mariota was drafted by the Tennessee Titans second overall, his ability of running an NFL-style offense was in question. It’s amazing what talent, a decent O-line and a running back to lean on will do. Mariota has started to find his way and finished in the top three this week among QBs for the first time this season. Now he has the Browns in Week 5. He may actually be able to finish as No. 1 this week. Fortunately for him, Chip Kelly finally put his stamp of approval on something legitimate that worked.
Carlos Hyde – If you read my preseason reports, you would know that I was very high on Carlos Hyde this year. Everyone said he was on a bad team and Chip wouldn’t use him the right way. Well, if you know Chip, the one thing you can bank on is him to run the rock. This guy could be down 30 and he’d still call a draw play on 2nd and 18.
Hyde has been a consistent source of offense this year and has left the owners who took a chance on him in the draft instead of selecting the guy who is working at the local Tires Plus with a huge smile. So far this year these are his numbers: 377 Yards, 75 YPG, 4.0 APG and 6 TDs. He is averaging 17.6 fantasy PPG and that number will be sure to go up!
…
Statistical Busts
Julio Jones – Inconsistency has always been a part of his game and this year is no different. He was only 271 yards off of his Week 4 pace and the Falcons won the game. Just look at the stats below….
Through five weeks in 2016: 16, 21, 2, 48, 4 = 91 pts on 41 targets.
Through five weeks in 2015: 35, 26, 40, 7, 11 = 119 pts on 62 targets.
The scariest part of the numbers above is the 21-target difference from last year. If you remember, Tevin Coleman got injured in Week 1 after earning a huge chunk of the offensive plays due to his stellar preseason. Coleman is now healthy and looks to be stealing a lot of Jones’ targets. Obviously Jones has a mega deal that guarantees to keep his plate full of footballs, but if they keep winning by spreading the ball around he will be eating a lot less this year.
Will Fuller – Did him and DeAndre switch places this week? The Houston Texans offense is as embarrassing as this year’s presidential election. Week-to-week it becomes more dysfunctional. I know Fuller will get his touches, but after his one-catch showing this week, I would certainly proceed with caution.
…
Week 4 Thoughts and Theories
– Ezekiel Elliot is the real deal – Dare we say Emmitt Smith reborn? The Cowboys are rolling and Zeke continues to take the team on his back. All I can say is congrats to the owners who drafted him in the top five. I know a lot of people stayed away, but for those who didn’t, take a bow!
-Tevin Coleman proves to be just as valuable as Devonta Freeman – Freeman and Coleman are taking over Atlanta and leaving the Julio Jones owners wondering what to expect. In a game where Julio only scored four fantasy points, his teammate was racking up 132 yards through the air. Atlanta is 4-1 and their offense is rolling without Mr. Jones. Besides his monster 300-yard performance, there is nothing here to see. Can you say overdrafted decoy? I hate to admit it, but it is starting to feel like it.
-Tom Brady gives the NFL a double middle finger – Did you expect anything less? Tom Terrific has been the most dominant QB, or player for that matter over the last 10 years. He is on a mission to show Roger Goodell he made a big mistake pushing his deflated balls all over the news. An angry Brady is just what his owners want. Surrounded by the right compliments, he will catapult you into the playoffs.
…
My Skinny Post for Week 5:
Tom Brady is back and angrier than ever! His 400+ yards in Week 5 are just the beginning of his “F the NFL” campaign … The Cleveland Browns are 0-5 and continue to lose QBs. Is Bernie Kosar able to suit up? … Watching Brock Osweiler is like a living a bad nightmare for Texan fans. Brock has been nothing short of a monumental bust so far and continues to make John Elway the King of the Wonderlic test … The Cowboys are the first team in NFL history to have a rookie quarterback with at least 1,000 passing yards and a rookie running back with at least 500 rushing yards through the first five games of a season. Tony Romo needs to be left on the doctor’s table … Steve Smith Jr. is injured again. Over the last three years, he has needed his own emergency wing in Baltimore. Looks like an opportunity for sophomore Breshad Perriman is on the horizon … LeSean McCoy is running away from defenders like he does from his bar tabs. He is on fire … Ryan Tannehill is imploding right before our eyes. Looks like Adam Gase went from one bad QB to another … TY Hilton is the most consistent player in fantasy? He is the only player in the league to be targeted at least 10 times in every game … If the Giants expect to win and keep OBJ under control, Eli Manning needs to do better than two touchdowns in four games. Bring on Week 6!