Darren McFadden – The Fantasy Sports Coach

Fantasy Football Week 8 Rankings
Gallery
Fantasy Football Week 8 Rankings

Fantasy Football

Fantasy Football Week 8 Rankings

Week seven of the NFL season saw, not one Buffalo Bills Running Back go down, but two! So with CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson out this week the burning question becomes who is higher in the week 8 rankings between Anthony Dixon and Bryce Brown? Does it matter as they face a stout Jets run defense? Of course it matters, it’s fantasy football!

Dare we start Darren McFadden against the Browns? How high does Sammy Watkins climb in the rankings? How far down the rankings did Matt Ryan slide? All these questions can be answered when you check out my early fantasy football week 8 rankings.

Make sure you check back before you set your lineups as the rankings will change as information becomes available.

Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyPros

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Jimmy Graham in the 2nd or Bust!

First of all I am not saying that you definitely have to take Jimmy Graham in the 2nd round of Fantasy Football drafts, but if he is available at pick 20 overall then it’s a slam dunk pick. I’m talking Dr. J posterizing Michael Cooper type of pick. (What, you don’t know who Dr. J is? Fine, Blake Griffin over Kendrick Perkins.) Getting a tight end that’s head and shoulders above all the others is awesome, but getting one that could put up wide receiver 1 type numbers is a huge bonus. What type of numbers are we talking? Well some fantasy pundits think Jimmy Graham can get to 100+ catches with 1500 yards and 15 TDS. Those numbers are ridiculous by normal tight end standards, but only sound outlandish. In 2011 Graham had 111 catches, 1468 yards and 14 TDs and he had room to grow.

Crazy Numbers

Jimmy Graham’s 2011 TE numbers Compared to Last year’s Highest scoring WRs

Jimmy Graham scored 341.8 fantasy points in 2011

Calvin Johnson scored 348.4 total fantasy points in 2012

Brandon Marshall scored 334.8 fantasy points in 2012

Andre Johnson scored 323.5 fantasy points in 2012

Yeah, so when you’re faced with taking Graham or Demaryius Thomas or Julio Jones just look at those numbers. When healthy Jimmy Graham will outscore every wide receiver in the league not named Megatron and plays a position where there is precipitous drop off after he is drafted. I’m not condoning taking him in the first round like some other guys are, but I definitely see their point. I just don’t like the way my team looks after taking Jimmy graham in the first round. My running backs end up being either a year away from social security or rookies that are a complete mystery.

I’m much more comfortable taking a running back or Calvin Johnson in the first round of a draft. I tend to like how my team looks on paper after the draft and it helps me sleep at night. When I go running back in the first round I feel like there is an opportunity to take Jimmy Graham in the second round because I already have that security blanket. Just call me Linus hanging onto C. J. Spiller with all my might. I will take Jimmy Graham before almost every receiver after Calvin Johnson. The only one that gives me pause is Dez Bryant because of his Megatron-lite like qualities.

If I don’t get Graham in the second round you can count on me putting the tight end blinders on until the 10th round. 10th round, really? Yep, I will only look at tight ends if there is a tremendous value. I will contemplate Gronk at the bottom of the 4th round if my top 14 WRs have all been taken. I will look at Jason Witten in the middle of the 5th if I’m not happy with what’s there at runningback or wide-receiver. Almost every time they haven’t made it to where I would be willing to pick them. So on the blinders go until the 10th.

The 9th round is usually the toughest to hold off because the ADP usually is pushing Greg Olsen or Jared Cook, but I can always find a wide receiver or a high upside back up running back to take. I do like Olsen because he is legitimately the number 2 passing target in Carolina, but there are similar tight ends available much later. Jared Cook is said to be the new slot favorite of Sam Bradford, but I have heard his virtues sung from many a Titans training camp only to have a giant hole on my roster.

the 10th round is where I start to survey the tight end landscape and usually to my surprise some very decent tight ends have fallen. Guys like Jermichael Finley, Owen Daniels, and Martellus Bennett are usually available in the 10th round and you can look at other owners roster dept to plan your course of attack. I usually take Bennett out of the equation as I have never been a fan of his sloppy route running, but I do like the huge chunks of yardage Owen Daniels rips off in the Texans play action passing game. If Daniels isn’t on the board I have to back to Jermichael Finley once again.

The guy has burned me more times than Dunkin Donuts coffee, but I will still go back for more. Finley’s impending free agency and his age (only 26) make for a great opportunity for him to cash in big time if he has a huge year. He has the talent, but he is only the fourth option in the Packers’ vaunted passing offense. It’s better now that Greg Jennings has moved on to Minnesota, but I would still be more comfortable with Daniels because of his position in the pecking order in Houston.

Let’s say I miss out on all those guys in the 10th round. Should I panic? Heck no! I still have options. Jordan Cameron of the Browns becomes my new tight end obsession. I will him to come to me in the 11th or 12 rounds. It’s just that simple. I wish for it and he appears. The power of positive thinking! (or some bullshit) Again if there is another sneaky GM just in front of me who happens to steal him from me I turn my sites to some guys that were once considered tight end 1 material. I start to go after Brandon Pettigrew, Fred Davis and ~~Dustin Keller~~ like there’s no tomorrow. And usually there isn’t a tomorrow because I am doing this at the very end of drafts.(Note:Dustin Keller suffered a career threatening knee injury last night.)

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my affections for Tyler Eifert and Zach Sudfeld. Two huge targets that are going to be a big part of their passing games. I love to pair them with a seasoned veteran as a high upside TE2.

Looking up and having Brandon Pettigrew as my starting tight end might not feel very good, but it’s a lot more comforting than having Darren McFadden or DeMarco Murray as my RB1! Take it from me you will sleep better at night waiting on a tight end than drafting anyone, but Jimmy Graham in the early rounds.

Fantasy Football 2012 Post Season Awards

After a long and grueling season, it is now time for Coach Dennis to hand out his awards for unique and completely fabricated categories.

The Least Sexy Pick of the Year

Winner: Marshawn Lynch (RB-SEA)

On draft day you would probably heard a lot of people say good pick as you put Marshawn’s name on the board. Not great, but good is the moral of this story. No one was super excited about drafting Lynch with an unknown commodity starting at QB in 2012. The smart GMs saw the late season matchups and knew the offense would run on Marshawn slipping into “Beast Mode” if the Seahawks were to reach their potential. Marshawn put up ten 100 yard rushing days and 12 total touchdowns during the season. His biggest games came at the most important times for fantasy GMs. Weeks 13 through 16 Lynch put up huge numbers carrying GMs into the playoffs, and onto the winners stand. Lynch averaged 109.75 yards rushing and 1.75 touchdowns during the most critical weeks of the year, earning him a Post Season award from yours truly, and a place in the hearts of Fantasy GMs around the country.

The Dennis Green “They are what we thought they were!” Award

Winner: Michael Turner (RB-ATL)

The entire world was ready for Michael Turner to fall off the list of must start running backs, and he did not disappoint. The talking heads on TV and even the guy at your draft that shows up with a draft guide printed in April all knew to stay away from this aging former fantasy stud. His decline in production was a perfect storm of factors for the Atlanta Falcons. The team was finally full of healthy weapons all over the field, and was moving more to a pass first offense, which did not bode well for the old war horse. The continued maturation of Jacquizz Rogers was just another nail into the coffin. While Turner did produce 11 combined touchdowns, he only totaled 800 yards rushing while only topping 20 carries once.

Same Team, Same Stats, Different Guy

Winner: Steven Ridley (RB-NE)

Stevan Ridley’s 1,263 rushing yards were well beyond Benjarvis Green-Ellis’s last few seasons in New England, but the 12 touchdowns was exactly what you could count on from the law-firm in his final two years in New England. Ridley was a steal as a top notch Running Back 2 in most leagues as he topped 100 yards four times and was the consistent goal line back piling up 12 touchdowns (when he was not in Belichek’s doghouse for fumbles). While he may not be Adrian Peterson, he is definitely the most talented back to feature for the Patriots since Corey Dillon.

Different Team, Same Stats, Same Guy

Winner: Peyton Manning (QB-DEN)

Peyton Manning was a steal in most drafts. He would have easily been the fourth or fifth quarterback taken if not for his career-threatening injury coupled with an address change to Denver. Manning was snapped up in the middle rounds in most drafts and threw 37 touchdowns, placing him third in the league while also eclipsing his totals during his previous two healthy years (2009-2010). He also threw for over 4,600 yards without breaking a sweat and seemingly getting better as the season progressed. Manning single-handedly made Demaryious Thomas and Eric Decker a dynamic receiving duo. Having these receivers and a solid running game, Manning’s renaissance is not a one-year wonder and he should return to the top of draft boards in 2013.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Darren McFadden

Winner: Darren McFadden (RB-OAK)

While fantasy owners constantly salivate over Darren McFadden’s potential and raw skills, he has proven again and again that he cannot hold up over the course of a season. This year proved no different as he missed four games due to constant foot and ankle injuries. Even when he was in the lineup, he had trouble adapting to a new zone read scheme. McFadden registered 700 yards rushing and just three touchdowns after being a late first or early second round pick. Two of his three 100 yard rushing days were against the Chiefs – enough said. I know there are a lot of you reading this cringing like a girlfriend constantly scorned, but I am willing to bet that you will probably draft him again next year based on potential.

Worst Deep Round Sleeper

Winner: Titus Young (WR-DET)

No matter where you looked, everyone and their mother were touting Lions wide receiver Titus Young, the second-year pro out of Boise State. I was almost swept up into the madness until I realized that he had more personal fouls during his rookie season than the entire New York Giants defense. Not exactly the calm, cool under pressure young receiver I wanted for my team, to say the least. With Calvin Johnson constantly seeing double coverage, Young was supposed to reap the rewards. Young was expected to almost double his 2011 stats of 600 yards and 6 touchdowns, but instead he cut that in half as he regressed into a banished draft bust. Young is the first receiver I have ever seen who purposely lined up in the wrong position, as well as ran the wrong routes in protest of how he was being used in the Lions’ offense. I believe everyone deserves a second chance, but I think his will come on the waiver wire both in the NFL and in fantasy leagues.

Most Valuable Surgeon

Winner: Dr. James Andrews

Dr. Andrews once again worked his magic as Adrian Peterson came back from a torn MCL and ACL to come within 9 yards of breaking the all-time single season rushing record. Peterson was only held in check by his own coaching staff as he was eased back into his workhorse role. He was a man amongst boys from Week 7 through Week 17 as he averaged 159.8 yards rushing and just over a touchdown per game. Peterson was nothing short of phenomenal as he carried many fantasy owners to the Promised Land.

(Honorable Mentions must go out to the surgeons for Jamaal Charles and Peyton Manning as they returned to their old selves sooner than anyone could have anticipated.)