Tuesday Morning QB, Week 8

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

Doppelganger?

There's not much news I care to write about this week.  However, I noticed in the Bengals-Ravens post-game interview that Andy Dalton bears a striking resemblance to the Heat Miser from A Year Without Santa Claus.   Judge for yourself:

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 - Chicago Bears.  Less than a week after Brandon Marshall was calling people out in the locker room, this team pretty much forgot to show up against the New England Patriots on Sunday.  Jay Cutler should be embarrassed that he's surrounded with talent like Marshall, Alston Jeffery, Martellus Bennett and Matt Forte, but still has a losing record.  Whats even sadder is that he's not embarrassed.  Not at all.  

 Impish - Seattle Seahawks.  No, that's not a typo. I know, I know... defending Super Bowl Champs, coming off a win, winning record overall, etc.  Yesterday's 13-9 win over the Carolina Panthers was uninspiring to say the least.  They were trailing 9-6 with under a minute to go against a struggling Carolina team.  That's one week after they lost to St. Louis on a couple ridiculous special team plays, which was one week after losing to the Cowboys at home.  A 13-9 win does not answer lingering questions from the Percy Harvin trade and rumors about divisions in the locker room.

 Admirable - Denver Broncos.  I know it's only October and we should expect this level of dominance from Denver.  Sure, they'll be under a very critical microscope come playoff time, but right now, this is the best team in football.  Payton Manning's precision is unparalleled.  I realized this past Thursday that he doesn't just have a large number of targets to choose from, he has a large variety to choose from: Julius and Demaryius Thomas are big and athletic, Emmanuel Sanders is fast, Wes Welker is one of the best possession receivers in the NFL.  Peyton also has a big weapon he didn't have most of last season in Ryan Clady, arguably the best (if not, then definitely most underrated) left tackle in the business.  No Montee Ball, no problem.  Denver's running back by committee strategy has been very effective.  And the defense is significantly improved with a healthy and out of rehab Von Miller, the signing of DeMarcus Ware, and the addition by subtraction of releasing Champ Bailey combined with the addition of Aqib Talib (that's a plus 2 at cornerback if you lost count).   It's a week-to-week league, but they're going to need a lot of bad weeks to loose the Super Bowl contender label.

 Admirable - Buffalo Bills.  Don't sleep on this young (not counting Kyle Orton) team!  The season's been a bit of a roller coaster thus far, but right now they're in the midst of an upswing. The aforementioned elder statesman Kyle Orton has led the team to consecutive wins, and Sammy Watkins is quickly becoming a force to reckoned with at wide receiver (he'll learn to wait until the end zone to celebrate).  And the defense is sneaky good.  They're in the bottom third of the league in points allowed, but number 1 overall in sacks and interceptions, and 8th in forced fumbles (all of this sans Jarius Byrd).  I haven't watched  a Bills game yet this season, but these numbers coupled with 5 wins tells me that while they may be pushed around by better offensive teams, they make big plays when it counts.  The only serious question mark is at running back, after they lost both CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson against Minnesota last week.

Fantasy Watch

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

Like - Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers QB.  You can make an argument that after Sunday's record-setting performance, Ben would be a "Pyrite" candidate.  True, he will not throw for 500+ yards and 6 TD's every week, but the numbers still aren't bad.  He's top-10 in the league in total passing yards, touchdowns passes, completion percentage, and fewest interceptions thrown (minimum 100 attempts).   Traditionally a bench QB in 8-12 team leagues, you might want to start thinking about starting Ben.  And if you don't have him and need a QB, he's un-owned in 20-25% of most leagues. 

Dislike - Jordan Cameron, Cleveland Browns TE.  Remember when you weren't supposed to draft tight ends before the 6th round?  This was supposed to be the year of the receiver in fantasy football, and tight end stock consequently went up as well.  Jordan Cameron was one of those beneficiaries, with selections as high as the 3rd or 4th round in many leagues.  However, lingering injuries and an Cleveland offense without a clear identity has left many Cameron owners disappointed.  With the exception of a 17-point outburst in week 6, he hasn't topped 4 points in any other week, including this past Sunday.

Pyrite - Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints RB.  Ingram owners must have been excited this past Sunday, as the back tallied 172 rushing yards and a touchdown.  With injuries to Khiry Robinson and Pierre Thomas, Ingram is likely to see an increase in starts across fantasy leagues.  That makes sense for now, but I don't recommend having him as a major role in your late season and playoff plans.  This was his first 100 yard game of the season (after missing 3 games with injury).  Historically, Ingram has never ran for more that 600 yards in any season, and New Orleans has always been a pass-first, running back by committee team.  If Drew Brees and his receiving corps continue their momentum from Sunday, and if Thomas and Robinson get healthy soon, Ingram will be a RB3 or Flex option at best.

Questions, comments, smart remarks? Log in to your Gmail account and leave feedback below.  For last week's Tuesday Morning QB, click here.