Sometimes you just know what you’re going to write about early in the week.
Fantasy football stats: The worst of Week 10
The weekend started and ended with disaster performances, and there was plenty to hate in between as well.
Andy Lyons
Hey, can I write my @SBNationFantasy Worst of the Week column for Monday now? I feel like I have an idea of how it'll go.
— Daniel Kelley (@danieltkelley) November 7, 2014 Week 10 of the NFL started with a 24-3 blowout in Cincinnati that wasn't even as close as that sad score indicated. Sunday capped off with a 55-14 game that wasn't even that close. The end result was a lot of awful, awful performances that cost fantasy owners.
I'll put it this way: In one of my leagues, with six-point touchdowns for quarterback and some scoring bonuses, Aaron Rodgers got me 53.55 fantasy points. My buddy Sean's team had 52.65 total, with Greg Olsen left to play Monday night. I say that only partially to brag (because bragging is fun), but also to illustrate that there were just some bad numbers this week.
And on that note, let’s dive in.
Worst quarterbacks in Week 10
Andy Dalton, CIN (86 passing yards, 3 interceptions, 8 rushing yards, -3 fantasy points)
Almost forgot this one, didn’t you? Dalton tried to sneak his disaster in on Thursday night so we’d all forget it by the end of the weekend. There’s not much to say about the game that hasn’t already been said in the days since, so I’ll just remind you of this tweet of mine a few days earlier:
Colt McCoy last week. Brandon Weeden this week. Derek Anderson Week 1. Ex-Brown Jason Campbell gets to replace Andy Dalton soon, right?
— Daniel Kelley (@danieltkelley) November 2, 2014 Next game: The Bengals travel to New Orleans for Week 11. I was already ranking Dalton pretty low every week; this sure ain't gonna help.
Austin Davis, STL (216 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble lost, 6 fantasy points)
In retrospect, it was pretty terrible for the Rams that Davis had those decent games early in the year, because it gave the illusion that he was, you know, actually a good player. He hasn't had nine fantasy points in a game since Week 7, and he's averaging 8.6 since Week 5. Shaun Hill would be better for this team. And we might find that out before too long if something doesn't change.
Next game: The Rams host the Broncos in Week 11. If I'm St. Louis, I'm going back to Shaun Hill. If I'm a fantasy player, I'm staying as far from Davis as I can.
Brian Hoyer, CLE (198 passing yards, 1 rushing yard, 7 fantasy points)
Lost in the Browns' run to 6-3 and first place in the AFC North is the fact that, from a fantasy perspective, Cleveland's quarterback has been terrible. Hoyer has averaged only 12.8 fantasy points per game this season and has gone for more than 16 points in a game only once, in Week 5. The team runs the ball a lot, and it's hard to tell if the returns to health of Andrew Hawkins and Jordan Cameron and the return to eligibility of Josh Gordon will change that.
Next game: The Browns host the Texans in Week 11. It's the Tom Brady Bowl, Brian Hoyer vs. Ryan Mallett. I'm going to nap through that game.
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Worst running backs in Week 10
Ronnie Hillman, DEN (13 rushing yards, 9 receiving yards, 1 fantasy point)
There wasn’t really a single answer for why the Broncos went away from Hillman in favor of C.J. Anderson Sunday afternoon. Hillman was dealing with a foot injury, sure, and Anderson had the hot hand. Either one of those by itself would have kept Hillman on the field -- the injury doesn’t appear to be serious -- but the two in tandem, along with the fact that the Broncos rolled to an easy victory, meant that the Broncos were comfortable giving the backup the rest-of-the-way carries.
Next game: Broncos at Rams. Hillman should be healthy, but Anderson's emergence, Juwan Thompson's continued presence and Montee Ball's return from injury mean that Hillman probably will only profile as a flex play.
Lamar Millar, MIA (10 rushing yards, -4 receiving yards, 1 fantasy point)
Miller was one of a handful of players Sunday (Fred Jackson and Sammy Watkins come to mind) to be technically active, but clearly be playing at less than full strength. Miller ceded several of his normal touches to backups Damien Williams and Daniel Thomas as he dealt with a sprained AC joint. Miller is still the best running back on the Miami roster, but until he's fully healthy his fantasy usage might be dicey.
Reggie Bush, DET (20 rushing yards, 5 receiving yards, 2 fantasy points)
The big names getting healthy for the Lions is something of a mixed blessing for fantasy owners. Owners of Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson have to be counting their blessings, but for the next tier of players -- Bush, Joique Bell and Theo Riddick -- the extra mouths to feed could lead to each individual mouth struggling to get fed. The team's three running backs had 22 combined touches Sunday, with 12 for Bell, five for Bush and five for Riddick, and none of the three had anything like a primo fantasy day.
Next game: The Lions travel to Arizona for a late-afternoon game next week. Against that run defense, and with his underwhelming performance all year, Bush is a stay-away.
Worst wide receivers in Week 10
Terrance Williams, DAL (0 yards, 0 fantasy points)
The prognosis on Williams appeared to be pretty binary entering the week. If Tony Romo played, Williams was a reasonable flex play; if Romo sat and Brandon Weeden played, Williams needed to be benched. Well, this game threw a wrinkle into that -- Romo played, yet Williams had no catches, and was only targeted twice. A few things played into that -- the team's early lead, Romo's aches, Dez Bryant's dominance -- but Williams' value is and always has been far too tied to his touchdown ability (or lack thereof) to be a reliable week-to-week performer.
Next game: The Cowboys play at the New York Giants in Week 12 after a Week 11 bye. That's a friendly defense to face, so Williams could do something, but he's not a piece you want to have to rely on.
Steve Smith, BAL (17 receiving yards, 1 fantasy point)
Smith averaged almost 13 fantasy points a game through the first six weeks; he's averaged 3.3 in the four weeks since. Making matters worse, Smith's catches and targets have been on a steady decline as well, and teammate Torrey Smith has been picking up the slack. The elder Smith looked like a reliable piece a month ago, but at this point he's hard to start, and getting harder and harder to even roster.
Next game: The Ravens get a Week 11 bye then play Monday night at New Orleans in Week 12. Smith probably shouldn't be started when they get back.
Antonio Brown, PIT (74 receiving yards, 2 fumbles lost, 3 fantasy points)
There were some other name receivers with worse performances than Brown (Andre Holmes had zero fantasy points, A.J. Green and Mohamed Sanu had two), but after the dominant run Brown has had this season, this one had to hurt more than any of them. It was only Brown's second game all season of fewer than 11 fantasy points, and first one with fewer than eight. And he still saw plenty of action -- eight catches on nine targets -- but the fumbles cost him. It's not been a chronic problem by any means (those were only the second and third lost fumbles of Brown's career), but lord, it had to be frustrating Sunday.
Worst tight ends in Week 10
Vernon Davis, SF (8 receiving yards, 0 fantasy points)
For much of the season, I’ve been advocating stashing Davis while you wait for him to get healthy, but not use him in fantasy until he proves he’s healthy again. But we’re going from Week 10 into Week 11 now, and Davis hasn’t gone for more than three fantasy points in a game since Week 1. At this point, you can just drop him. If he gets back to the good, oh well. The ship has sailed.
Next game: At the Giants in Week 11. But just drop him. There’s got to be something better out there.
Travis Kelce, KAN (19 receiving yards, 1 fantasy point)
The Chiefs seem bound and determined to keep Kelce's fantasy value low, which is frustrating, because per opportunity, Kelce has been one of the league's best tight ends this season. But the second-year tight end was targeted only twice Sunday, with the Chiefs leaning much more heavily on wide receiver Dwayne Bowe despite having little success in that department much of the year.
Next game: If I'm starting a roster for my own team, Kelce would be one of the first few tight ends I would take. His usage in Kansas City, though, means that he's more like a low-end top-10 tight end, even with a nice matchup against the TE-friendly Seahawks next week.
Larry Donnell, NYG (26 receiving yards, 2 fantasy points)
So there are six or seven tight ends this season who are always going to be in your lineup, and who you're happy to have there. But fantasy leagues are 10, 12 teams deep. So guys like Donnell, like Kelce, like Davis, like Delanie Walker and Owen Daniels and Coby Fleener, end up getting started, because someone has to be in the lineup. Donnell has at least shown the upside to make his owners hopeful, but the main takeaway is that tight end is just a wasteland this season.
Next game: The Giants host the 49ers next week. Donnell will be a low-end TE1 or a high-end TE2. If you have him, good chance you don't have a better option.
Worst defense/special teams in Week 10
Oakland Raiders (41 points allowed, 2 interceptions, -4 fantasy points)
It’s tough for a defense to be that far in the negative with two interceptions on its board, but if someone’s going to do it, it’ll be a team like the Raiders against a team like the Broncos. Sometimes things go exactly as you expect. This is one of those.
