Since
necessity is the mother of alliteration, I have decided to try to make this
triumphs-tragedies-trends thing… well… a trend. However, in the spirit of whimsy I will be adding another
piece called Trail Mix, which is a quick random piece of information for you to
munch on. Again, I’m looking
mostly at individual performances from Week 3 that are anomalous either positively or
negatively, as well as events that I think are likely to continue.
RAVENS
37, RAMS 7
TRIUMPH: Ravens rookie WR Torrey Smith
caught his first three receptions of his career for 133 yards and 3 touchdowns,
all in the first quarter of their game against the Rams. Keep in mind that one game does not a
stud make.
TRAGEDY: Speaking of one game and
studs, Steven Jackson had just 4 carries in the loss while Cadillac Williams
had 18. However, keep in mind that
the Ravens were leading 21-0 in the first quarter, and the team wanted to make
sure Jackson left the game healthy since the game was out of hand.
TREND: Sam Bradford appears to be
vulnerable to a sophomore slump as much as anyone, completing just 51 percent
of his passes thus far this year and already has 3 fumbles, all of which have
ended in opponents’ touchdowns.
TRAIL MIX: Joe Flacco had been taking
some flak for his flaccid play last year, but while he has thrown for under 200
yards in 4 of his last 6 regular-season games, he has thrown for an average of
306 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT in his team’s two wins this year, by a combined score of
72-14.
RAIDERS
34, JETS 24
TRIUMPH: Shonn Greene caught 7 passes
in this game. He already has at
least half of the receptions and receiving yards that he had all of last
year. However, LaDainian Tomlinson
is still the pass-catching back on this team (as shown by his team-leading 116
receiving yards in this game).
TRAGEDY: The Jets outran their
opponents by 50 yards per game last year.
This year, they’re getting outrun by 50 yards per game. However, before this game that was only
15 yards per game. Don’t worry,
Jets fans. As much as I would like
you to.
TREND: Darren McFadden is an all-out
monster, showing the burst and power that he did in his career in
Arkansas. He leads the league in
rushing and has four 100-yard games in his last 6.
TRAIL MIX: Two years ago in this
matchup, Mark Sanchez got a lot of attention for eating a hot dog on the
sideline. Perhaps if he had put a
little more mustard on some of his throws, the Jets may have won this time.
SAINTS
40, TEXANS 33
TRIUMPH: James Casey, whose position is
the famed H-back (a tight-end/running back hybrid of sorts), came out of
nowhere to reel in 5 catches, 126 yards, and a touchdown. Maybe he sticks around, but there are a
number of important mouths to feed before his.
TRAGEDY: The Texans defense had allowed
just 10 points per game in their first two games, and then allowed 40. It was
the Saints though.
TREND: The Saints ran the ball 22 times
for 100 yards, and no more than 9 and 38 went to any one player. As far as fantasy is concerned, I’m not
seeing much coming from back there.
At least when Brees spreads it around through the air there’s 30
receptions to go around.
TRAIL MIX: 9 players from this game
scored in the top 55 among fantasy scorers this week. No player in the 49ers-Bengals game made the top 60.
PACKERS
27, BEARS 17
TRIUMPH: Ryan Grant received more
carries and ran for 87 more yards than James Starks in this game, which is a
stark (see what I did there?) difference from what we’ve seen thus far this
year and is likely to be more balanced in the future.
TRAGEDY: Matt Forte ran the ball 9 times
for 2 yards. Jay Cutler ran 3
times for 11 yards and led the team.
TREND: The Packers have allowed the
second-most passing yards in the league this year, which is certainly related
to losing a couple key pieces to injury.
This is not going to get too much better. Also, it’s interesting to point out that 2011 offensive
juggernauts Buffalo, Green Bay, and New England are all in the bottom 10 in
pass defense.
TRAIL MIX: Jermichael Finley scored 3
touchdowns in this game.
Jon-Michael Frank is afraid of Dutch clowns with fame.
No comments:
Post a Comment