Tuesday Morning QB, Week 3

Tuesday Morning QB is weekly feature on The Full Court Press, reacting to the past week’s happenings in NFL Football.

How 'bout them Cowboys?

This week's news was mostly a spill-over from last week's big news.  I've already shared my thoughts on that.  Also, Roger Goodell had a press conference.

On a lighter note, I was reminded of my inner struggle between my love for Dunkin Donuts (DD) and their sponsorship of the Dallas Cowboys.  With their win over the Tennessee Titans last week, I got a "Cowboys Win, You Win" notification on my phone via the DD app.  Anyone with the DD app and enrolled in their perks reward program receives a free medium coffee the day after a Cowboys victory.  I can't stand the Cowboys, but this makes their victories a little more palatable (literally).  After beating the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, I've enjoyed a free pumpkin coffee for the second straight Monday.  I'd be OK with a 9-7 season.

Impish or Admirable?

This is a recap of teams that are either looking good, or need help.  This is not a playoff projection. I call it impish or admirable.  

Impish - Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  This one was obvious.  Maybe even unfair.  However, NFL teams should not be giving up 56 points in a game.  They spent all of their draft picks and most of their off-season free agent signings on offensive players.  Didn't really pay off thus far.  And can we stop acting like Josh McCown was going to be the savior of the franchise?  All the pre-season reports I read could not stop clamoring about what a great pick-up McCown was and how he'd be the perfect fit to lead this team out of their current rut.  The man is a career back-up, and while he filled in exceptionally for Jay Cutler with the Bears last season, I think all the NFL talking heads ignored his previous 10 seasons.  Lovie Smith is a great coach, and it's a shame to see him in this mess right now.  I hope he gets the resources, and more importantly the time he needs to steer this ship right (pun intended).

Impish - Green Bay Packers.  Aaron Rodgers, what happened? Too many State Farm commercials? Week 1, I get it - defending Super Bowl Champs, top-ranked defense, shaking off pre-season rust, blah, blah, blah.  Then, you scare us with a slow start against the Jets, but it looked like you had your mojo back by the end of the game. Sorry, but Sunday's dud against the Lions is unacceptable.  Also, Eddie Lacy is this team's running back.

Impish - Denver Broncos.  What? The 2-1 Broncos who forced OT against the defending Super Bowl champs?  Look, they accomplished half their objective of proving that February's curb-stomping was a fluke by at least keeping it close - but they still lost.  Just after the 2-minute mark, Phil Sims started the whole "win or lose, they accomplished a lot today" speech.  The only time you hear that is in college football when some doormat team nearly upsets a ranked team.  In other words, that's not flattering if you're the Denver Broncos.  What's more concerning is that they forgot to show up to the 2nd half in their first two games, making them fortunate to get away with a win either time.  So, until you can string together 4 good quarters of football, I deem you impish, Denver Broncos!

Admirable - Philadelphia Eagles.  We eagerly anticipated Chip Kelly's fast-tempo offense in the NFL.  Now with a year under his belt, a healthy Jeremy Maclin, and the trade for Darren Sproles, we're starting to see that potential realized.  Their defense could still use a little work, but right now, they can beat you in a shoot-out, and that makes them dangerous.  Now if Kelly could just get rid of that stupid fight song...

Admirable - Arizona Cardinals.  Don't look now, but the Cardinals are perched atop the NFC West with a 3-0 record. This team quietly put together one of the better defenses in the league last season, and despite losing Carlos Dansby to free agency, Darnell Dockett to injury, and Daryl Washington to suspension, they got even better.  On offense, they have a litany of young talent led by Michael Floyd, Andre Ellington and John Brown.  And talk about clutch - they've outscored the opposition 30-0 in the fourth quarter this season. Some may have concerns about the QB situation - how long will Carson Palmer be out, and even when he's healthy, is Drew Stanton better suited to lead the team?  My answer would be whoever can get Larry Fitzgerald the ball more.  Despite age and injuries, he's still the best player on this team.   Palmer had no chemistry with him in pre-season and week 1. Stanton looked to favor him in week 2, but apparently changed his mind last week.  If Rod Rutherford (now probably a bagger at your local grocery) could break the University of Pittsburgh's school record of TD passes in a season (formerly held by Dan Marino) when throwing to Larry Fitzgerald, then an NFL QB should be able to get him more than 10 receptions through 3 games.  This team will only get better if Larry gets the ball more.

Fantasy Watch

A look at players worth having on your fantasy football roster, who needs to be cut, and who has deceptive stats.

Like - Steve Smith Sr, Baltimore Ravens WR.  I try not to gloat, but I like it when I'm right.  I was a little surprised when Yahoo!, ESPN and NFL.com fantasy forecasters had him ranked really low among WR's... like, not even a top 50 WR.  I understand he's getting old.  Yes, his numbers dropped last season.  But he's still got plenty of gas in the tank.  Everyone had Torrey Smith pegged as the number 1 receiver on the depth chart in Baltimore, which doesn't make much sense.  He's a feast or famine type of player - a number 1 WR is someone you can count on every week.  Torrey is the better athlete, but it didn't take Joe Flacco long to realize Steve is the better route runner and has more reliable hands, evidenced by his team-leading 32 targets through three games.  I got him in two of my leagues: mid-round in a snake draft (which my Yahoo! draft report card mocked me for), and my final roster spot for $4 (no competing bids) in an auction draft.  He has paid huge dividends!  He might slow down by season's end, but not next week as he faces his old team, the Carolina Panthers.  Considering Smith said there would be "blood and guts on the field" for this game as soon as Baltimore signed him, you can expect a big fantasy output in week 4.  

Dislike - Tom Brady, New England Patriots QB.  Looks like Brady has reverted to Tom Brady circa 2001-2006, when he managed games and won ugly.  If you're a Pats fan, I think you can still count on him to find a way to win games.  But there are no clutch points in fantasy football.  What it boils down to is that outside Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, he just doesn't have the juicy targets he's grown accustomed to since the almost-perfect 2007 season.  If he's on your team, you might want to use him as a bench QB, or try to trade him to that one guy in your league that hasn't watched much football since 2010 and still thinks Brady's the reigning NFL MVP.
  

Pyrite - Devin Hester, Atlanta Falcons WR.  First of all, congratulations on breaking the NFL's all-time return TD record, Devin.  To be clear, from a real football strategy, his return abilities significantly enhance anyone's special teams, and the Falcons are fortunate to have landed him.  However, from a fantasy standpoint, this guy is not reliable from week-to-week.  For years, the Chicago Bears tried to get him more touches to get the most out of his game-breaking speed.  But as a receiver, he can't run the routes.  As a runner, he can't get past the linebackers.  "Wait a minute," you might say, "He had 5 receptions for 99 yards, week one!  He ran a reverse 20 yards for a TD on Thursday!"  True.  And what did he do week 2?  1 reception, 2 yards.  And sadly, I think that's what you'll get from him most weeks.  His value is in the return game, and most fantasy leagues only reward you if your position player returns a kick for a touchdown - and that doesn't happen every week.  Unless you're in one of those weird leagues that reward return yardage, he's a boom or bust starter that will likely give you more busts than booms.  If you're buying into the idea that Atlanta cracked the code on how to make him useful on offense, there's safer bets you can place on other position players.  

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