Week 3 Review

What. A. Weekend.

I don't remember a weekend with more drama.  It was ridiculous.  Word on the street is the NFL owners and refs are going to sit down and hammer out a deal.  I guess it took an incident like we saw on Monday Night Football to really get these two sides together.  I don't think we'll see a deal done in time for the game on Thursday (and therefore not at all for week 4), but I would be very surprised if we didn't see the real refs back on the field for week 5.

A lot of players put up some big fantasy stats this weekend...and a lot of those big numbers came from downright shocking guys.  That being said, it was not a great weekend for me in the predictions arena.  Let's check out the notable QB numbers.  Remember: Standard scoring with 6 points for a touchdown pass.

QB

Big Ben comes in at number one with a monster 39 fantasy points, throwing for 384 yards and 4 touchdowns.  I was way off target here, having Roethlisberger at number 8 in my rankings.  I don't think we can understate how terrible their running game looks without a healthy Rashard Mendenhall, so it shouldn't be a surprise if they put up big passing numbers going forward.  He definitely has the weapons for a nice year.

As a side note, there was a little controversy surrounding his fourth TD toss due to the fact that the receiver, Antonio Brown, fumbled the ball just before reaching the end zone but recovered it out of the ensuing dog pile.  I think the controversy here is completely justified.  The main reason?  Roethlisberger didn't throw a touchdown, so how can he get credit for one?

The biggest shocker of the week for me was Matt Shaub's 33 points putting him at number two for the week.  This was by far my worst call of the week.  I didn't even rank Shaub in my top 20 QB's, and for good reason (or so I thought).  The Texans are known for their persistent and dependable running game, and Shaub showed nothing of note for the first two weeks of the season.  I know, I know...we've seen Shaub use his arm to win games in the past, but I didn't see that happening with Houston going to Denver and facing a pesky Broncos pass defense.

Two quarterbacks, Newton and Rodgers, who were in my top five didn't even crack the top ten this week.  I'm definitely not worried about Aaron Rodgers long-term fantasy value, but Cam Newton is someone to keep an eye on.  After a strong rookie campaign, he hasn't looked as confident or accurate after the first three games in 2012.  I don't see him falling out of the top 15, but he has a lot of work to do in order to live up to be the top 5 QB that most analysts predicted.

RB

I had C.J. Spiller at number one for the week, but an injury took him out of this game early.  It's too bad since he looked well on his way to a monster fantasy day.  I was way off on Jamaal Charles, who had a breakout game with a booming 233 yards rushing and a TD, racking up 34 fantasy points.  He outscored the number two RB by 10 points, and he certainly looks to be over any lingering effects of the knee injury that knocked him out of action last year.

The other running back who seriously exceed my expectations was Andre Brown, getting 24 fantasy points and leading anyone who started him this week to (almost) certain victory.  This was a guy who went undrafted in most leagues, but was snatched up off the waiver wire after Ahmad Bradshaw went out last week.  With Bradshaw getting up there in age, I wouldn't be surprised if they keep him out a few more weeks and give Brown a little more time to grow as "the guy" in New York.

Mikel Leshoure was a guy who I didn't believe in at all.  He'd never played a snap in the NFL, and was coming off a preseason where he didn't show much talent.  I ranked him 26th this week, and boy, was I wrong.  He ends up this week as the number 5 RB, with 19 fantasy points.  I don't like overreacting to such a limited sample size, but he looks like the real deal.  A lot of that has to do with who surrounds him in Detroit.  Other RB options in the Motor City include Kevin Smith (brittle), Javid Best (might not return this year), and Joique Bell (doesn't look like a three-down back).  Detroit is a pass-first offense, but when defenses have to triple-team Calvin Johnson, there will be plenty of opportunity for Leshoure to shine if they let him.

Dap,
John