Tuesday Morning QB, Week 7

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

America's Team?

Two days after the Dallas Cowboys made headlines for beating the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, essentially establishing themselves as back to "relevant" in the NFL landscape, they woke up to a less desirable headline: The Denver Broncos are America's team.  At least that's according to the annual Harris Poll, a national survey of adults who follow football to find out who the most popular team in the country is.  The Cowboys fell to the 4th spot, which comes as a shock considering they had been number one for the last six years.  In all fairness to Dallas, the poll was conducted between September 10-17, BEFORE they went on their 6-game winning streak (or 6 free coffees from DFW Dunkin Donuts!).  The Cowboys probably have bigger things to worry about anyways, like making sure ALL players are adequately supplied with underwear and cologne. 

Also, breaking news as of Friday afternoon: the Seattle Seahawks traded Percy Harvin to the New York Jets for a conditional draft pick.  I'm not afraid to admit that I have no idea what's going on here.  Either the Jets are delusional or the Seahawks are getting really cocky.  I'm guessing a combination of both.

And congrats to Peyton Manning, 510 and counting...

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 - Minnesota Vikings.  We already know about the AP drama.  Then there was the brief glimmer of excitement mixed with hope when Teddy Bridgewater started - and that was cut short with a 1-week ankle injury.  Yesterday, they lost to a Buffalo Bills team that played half the game without a running back.  At almost the halfway point of the season, they stand at 2-5, and there's no reason for optimism.  Well, Kyle Rudolph might be off IR in a few weeks, so I guess that's something....

 Impish - New Orleans Saints.  For weeks, I feel like we've all been saying: "That was a close game, they'll bounce back," "They just need a game at home," "Drew Brees will throw his way out of this funk," "A Rob Ryan-led defense can't stay this bad for too long," "They'll turn it around," etc, etc, etc.  Saints fans, your team is 2-4, no road wins, and they blew a 13-point lead with under 6 minutes to go Sunday against the Lions.  Perhaps most alarming is that Drew Brees continues to look.... human?

 Admirable - Jacksonville Jaguars.  Jags win!  Jags win!  Normally, a 1-6 team does not merit "admirable" status, but when a team is this bad, you can't help but feel good for them when they get their first win.  Blake Bortles was forgettable, but Denard "Shoelace" Robinson had a career day rushing.  This is a week-to-week list, so don't anticipate seeing Jacksonville on this side of "Impish or Admirable" for the rest of the season. 

 Admirable - Green Bay Packers.  "Relax."  Hindsight is always 20-20 vision, but that was a profound statement by Aaron Rodgers in week 3 after a 1-2 start.  The Packers have won 4 straight, and the offense is running on all cylinders: Rodgers is putting up MVP-like numbers, Jordy Nelson is at least statistically the best wide receiver in the NFL, Randall Cobb is settling in as a solid number two receiver (even with ketchup on his jersey), and Eddie Lacy found the end zone 4 times in that span.  The defense is bottom 3rd in the league, but at the top of that bottom 3rd, and when your offense that good, who cares?

Fantasy Watch

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

Like - Shane Vereen, New England Patriots RB.  Is this me hopping on the bandwagon after his 26-point performance on Thursday?  No.  In fact, if Steven Ridley were healthy, Thursday would have been enough reason to stick Vereen in the "Pyrite" category.  However, the fact of the matter is that Ridley is out for the season, and that changes the entire dynamic of the Patriots running game.  In past weeks, either of the Pats RB's were risky starts, and they were being dropped and picked up week-to-week on fantasy rosters like bad habits.  With Ridley hurt, Vereen is likely not available on most waiver lists.  If you were one of the managers who had Vereen before the Ridley injury and wisely held on afterward, it's reasonable to start him as either a RB2 or flex from here on out.

Dislike - Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins QB.  Confession: I picked up Cousins on one of my teams when RG3 went down.  To be fair though, I did not agree with late 2013 season/offseason/early 2014 season cries for him to be named full-time starter.  I knew RG3 would be down for a while, and Cousins put up good numbers at the end of last season (except for wins, which mean nothing in fantasy). I picked him up in the event that if he went off, I could: 1.) start him and get solid point production, or 2.) trade him for a high-value player at one of my weaker positions. Neither happened.  Colt McCoy led a game-winning drive on Sunday.  RG3 will be back before season's end.  Teams in my "Backyard Football 11" league will find Cousins on the waiver list later this week.

Pyrite - Lamar Miller, Miami Dolphins RB.  Miller has been the mirage of fantasy running backs for years now.  I remember the first time I nabbed him a few years ago: it was after a very similar effort to last week - 60+ yards rushing, 20+ yards receiving and a touchdown.  I thought to myself "wow, this guy is versatile, he could be a huge help."  Daniel Thomas then proceeded to out-rush him for a couple weeks.  It may be tempting to nab Miller, especially now that we know Knowshon Moreno is out for the year.  However, unless you're desperate, I wouldn't do it.  I don't have any clever, in-depth analysis for why he won't produce, I just know he has a history of burning fantasy owners.  Plus, Daniel Thomas is somehow still employed by the Dolphins.... 

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