Mostly NFL Notes: Talking David Johnson and a look around the league
Carson Palmer entered Sunday night against an Eagles team that had allowed the second most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, but it was David Johnson who shined, as he ran for three touchdowns, totaling 229 yards from scrimmage. Since taking over as Arizona’s lead back after Chris Johnson went down, (David) Johnson has averaged 157.3 yards, and he’s now up to 12 touchdowns on the year, including this run that’s one of the best of the season. Johnson is a feature back on a team that’s won eight straight games and has averaged the second most ppg in the NFL. There’s no reason not to consider him a top-three fantasy running back in Week 16, when he faces a Packers defense that’s allowed 4.6 YPC.
The Cardinals haven’t committed a turnover in any of their past four games…John Brown dropped a pass that was a sure 78-yard score, but it was just his second drop of the year…Palmer owners suffered a brief scare when he left the game, but his injured finger is hopefully minor…DeMarco Murray was given two carries, and he’s obviously unusable in fantasy leagues…Larry Fitzgerald has averaged 10.5 targets over the past six games, a span in which he hasn’t scored…This Michael Floyd catch was no joke.
At home this season, Kirk Cousins has a 16:2 TD:INT ratio with four rushing touchdowns, getting 8.4 YPA. In other words, he’s been one of the best players in the NFL when playing in Washington…Rough day for LeSean McCoy owners, as someone named Mike Gillislee rushed for 81 yards and a score on four carries…Over the last two weeks, Jordan Reed has secured all 16 of his targets for 204 yards and three touchdowns…Here’s DeSean Jackson making a 77-yard TD catch look easy…Over the last four games, Sammy Watkins has averaged 114.8 receiving yards with six scores, including this grab Sunday. He’ll be a second round pick in fantasy drafts next year.
One week after not playing a snap, Alfred Blue had 20 carries for 107 yards, although he also lost a fumble in an epic game that featured Brandon Weeden, T.J. Yates, Matt Hasselbeck and Charlie Whitehurst…T.Y. Hilton had 1,345 receiving yards last year over 15 games, and he’s been targeted more than seven times just once over the past seven games.
Here’s the badminton play of the week.
Pretty frustrating to see Javorius Allen benched after losing a fumble early. I hope the rookie learned his lesson while playing for a 4-10 team helmed by Jimmy Clausen. The snaps given to Terrance West will no doubt help this franchise in the future…This Kamar Aiken catch was pretty sick. Kansas City didn’t play well, gave up a hail mary touchdown, didn’t have a RB rush for 80 yards or a receiver gain 75 yards or a QB throw for 175 yards yet still won by 20 points, giving them eight straight victories after losing five in a row.
Headlines of the Week: Man Suffering From Hypospadias Thought He Was The Only Man In The World With A One-Inch Penis…Castaway Survives Year At Sea, Sued For ‘Eating Colleague’…Millionaire Cleared Of Rape After Claiming He Fell And Accidentally Penetrated Teenager…Australia Opens First Hangover Clinic…Mom Shaved Daughter’s Head, Told Her She Was Dying For Cancer Scam.
The 5-9 Jaguars have outscored their opponents by 50 points more than the Colts, but Sunday’s loss ended any playoff hopes…Over the last nine weeks, Jason Myers is 16-for-17 on field goal attempts, but he’s missed six extra points over that span…Dick Stockton kept referring to the Falcons back as “Daunte” Freeman…This Marqise Lee catch was great.
I had Brandon Bolden as a top-20 fantasy back this week, but even acknowledging the unpredictable nature of the Patriots, I didn’t foresee Joey Iosefa leading the team in carries. He entered Week 15 with zero rushing attempts during his career…Danny Amendola had the same amount of lost fumbles as he did catches, while Delanie Walker turned both of his catches into scores, including this one…This was the worst camera work of the season.
The Panthers scored 38 points, yet Fozzy Whittaker saw two carries…After not reaching 65 rushing yards since 2014, Rashad Jennings has beaten that mark in each of his past two games…Odell Beckham Jr. burnt Josh Norman for a would-be long score early on, but he had a brutal drop. His battle with Norman all day Sunday was one of the best highlights of the 2015 season, culminating in this late score.
Teddy Bridgewater has gone from a disappointment to throwing five touchdowns (while rushing for a score) with no picks and getting 10.1 YPA over the past two games. He entered with nine touchdown passes on the season and threw three in the first 35 minutes Sunday, totaling four….Alshon Jeffery caught one of five targets for 10 yards. At least it went for a score.
Vernon Davis had yet another horrendous drop, while Markus Wheaton continues to be relevant, as he’s up to three touchdowns over the past four games…The Broncos have been shutout during the second half of each of their past three games…I can’t remember the last time I didn’t take a running back in the first round of a draft, but I’ll be recommending taking Antonio Brown first overall in 2016. The Broncos entered allowing the fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers, ceding just two touchdowns. Brown matched those two himself Sunday, including this game winner.
Police Blotter: Reporter Witnesses Robbery Suspect During Live Shot…Attempted Self-Abortion Results In First-Degree Attempted Murder Charge…Herpes-Infected Dairy Queen Worker Spat On Cop’s Burger…‘Catastrophically Drunk’ Man Couldn’t Get Taxi Because He Had Horse With Him…Naked Man Carjacked Federal Express Truck But Could Not Drive Vehicle.
Facing a Chargers front seven that entered having allowed the fifth most fantasy points to opposing backs, Lamar Miller was held to 12 yards on nine carries and saw just two targets, as he watched teammates Ryan Tannehill and Jay Ajayi both rush for scores. Few fantasy players have been more frustrating than Miller this season, and Miami is doing everything in its power not to re-sign the soon to be free agent...Danny Woodhead recorded San Diego’s first rushing touchdown since Week 1, as he hit paydirt four times…I can’t remember a time in which a quarterback who threw a pick recovered a fumble on the same play such as here.
A.J. Green was targeted three times, which was fewer than Kendall Gaskins, Blake Bell, Quinton Patton, Vance McDonald and Travaris Cadet…Jeremy Hill leads the NFL with 10 rushing touchdowns. He’s gotten 3.4 YPC and hasn’t recorded one rush for 20+ yards (Tavon Austin has six of them). Hill didn’t even see the field until the second quarter Sunday, when he totaled 31 yards on 19 touches while losing a fumble. But two scores made his fantasy owners plenty happy in what’s been a truly weird season…Down 24-0 with three minutes left in the third quarter, Jim Tomsula elected to kick an extra point after scoring a touchdown. He’s not very good at being an NFL head coach.
These Jimmy Kimmel/John Krasinski prank wars remain great.
I have no idea what to make of the Seahawks running back situation, other than I was wrong ranking Bryce Brown ahead of Christine Michael, who continues to infuriate fantasy owners…Cleveland was competitive throughout the first half, although they ruined that by committing a penalty with no seconds left in the second quarter, leading to the second Steven Hauschka field goal in the final minute…Russell Wilson has thrown at least three touchdowns with zero interceptions during each of his past five games (the first QB ever to do so), with Sunday’s 8.3 YPA mark easily his lowest over that span…Doug Baldwin has 10 touchdowns over his last four games, joining Jerry Rice in 1987 as the only wide receiver ever to do so. Baldwin’s run will go down as one of the most epic in fantasy football history for someone available on most waiver wires beforehand.
Longread of the Week: The Marshall Project – An Unbelievable Story Of Rape
Eddie Lacy had just five more rushing yards than Randall Cobb, who had just seven more receiving yards than Jared Abbrederis. The Packers scored 30 points, but Aaron Rodgers finished with 5.2 YPA, as Green Bay is clearly struggling on offense. The Packers are 10-4, but there’s no way I’d put them ahead of the Seahawks in a power ranking right now…Amari Cooper is going to be the rare wide receiver who leads the NFL in drops as a rookie yet will be drafted as a top-15 WR the following season.
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