Between the Hashes- Week 8 Recap and NFL Notes
Welcome to another edition of Between the Hashes!
Hope that everyone enjoyed last week’s games in the NFL, and if you had some of the players I mentioned, maybe they took you to victory in your fantasy football leagues. Let’s take a look back at what those players did.
Quarterback
Cam Newton- 22/35 290 3 TD, 6/53 rush yds – Newton was on fire against a depleted Vikings’ secondary, but still came up short. He also lost two fumbles in the game, that didn’t help things.
Eli Manning- 31/45 349 2 TD – Manning took advantage of a weak Miami defense who blew a lead for their lame duck head coach.
Matt Hasselbeck- 23/33 224 1 TD – Didn’t go off like Brees the week before, but he got the job done over win-less Colts.
Running Back
Ray Rice- 18/63/3 TD, 7/36 receiving – Rice told Fantasy owners he would bounce back, and he sure did.
Ryan Mathews- 13/57 – He got hurt midway through the game, as his medical sheet is now nearly as long as his career so far. San Diego is a mess.
DeMarco Murray- 8/74 – He only carried eight times in a game the Cowboys were never in. He’s their guy though.
Jonathan Stewart- 13/49 – Just an average day for Stewart, who again had more carries than DeAngelo Williams.
Wide Receivers
Wes Welker- 6/39 – Welker was blanketed by the Steelers secondary, something that hasn’t happened often this season.
A.J. Green- 4/63/1 – Green continues to get it done, now three straight games with a score. Becoming Dalton’s go to guy.
Marques Colston- 3/50 – Colston and the Saints turned in a stinker against the Rams.
Tight Ends
Fred Davis- 8/94 – Davis had another great game, but injured an ankle late in the game and the Redskins were shut out.
Vernon Davis- 3/27 – Cleveland defends the TE well, but I thought Davis would do something here.
Jake Ballard- 4/55 – He was right about where I thought he would be. He’s dependable.
Brent Celek- 7/94/1 – I mentioned if he didn’t have to block, he would have a great game and he did just that.
News, Notes and Thoughts
Week 8 of the NFL season continued to surprise us as we saw teams get inspired (St. Louis) and beat championship contenders (New Orleans), the win-less continuing to lose (Miami, Indianapolis) and very solid performances against solid opponents (Pittsburgh beating New England).
As inspiring and likeable as Tim Tebow may be, I think “Tebow Time” may just about be up. He’s not a QB who can win each week in the NFL, he doesn’t make enough plays with his arm. He will, however, start this week against the Raiders.
Opponents are laughing at facing Tebow, the media’s wondering can he produce and soon I think Broncos fans will as well. According to The Denver Post, Coach John Fox was asked about the possibility of Brady Quinn playing, saying, “In this business, all things are possible. Right now, we’re in the process of finding out who the quarterback is and we’ll leave it at that.”
Patriots’ HC Bill Belichick went back in time a bit this past week, giving 35-year-old RB Kevin Faulk a good amount of playtime against the Steelers, after coming off the PUP list last week. Meanwhile, Lawfirm (BenJarvus Green-Ellis) and Danny Woodhead saw a significant decrease in their playtime.
Faulk has always been decent catching the ball out of the back field and Tom Brady will love to have that in his arsenal.
What in the world is going on with Titans RB Chris Johnson? He could not get it going against the Colts of all teams, rushing for only 34 yards. Meanwhile, backup Javon Ringer got some action late, and carried the ball 14 times for 60 yards.
Can it be the line or play calling (like Johnson has stated) or is Johnson’s conditioning still a question after receiving a fat contract extension?
I really like how Vikings QB Christian Ponder is playing since taking over for Donovan McNabb. He’s smart, a leader and capable of making big plays. The most impressive thing is he’s doing this while having a bunch of struggling receivers to work with.
Having Adrian Peterson catching balls out of the back field definitely helps as well. He’s settling in and getting that team to play well.
Stay tuned tomorrow as we take a look at some players that are looking good for Week 9.
