Month: September 2017

Will the Browns get only their second win since the 2015 season?

According to the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook (via ESPN), yes they will. The Browns opened as 2.5-point favorites to defeat the Colts this Sunday, marking the first time since 2015 they are favored to win.

The Colts have struggled mightily without quarterback Andrew Luck, who is still rehabbing his surgically repaired shoulder. Backups Scott Tolzien and Jacoby Brissett have been abysmal, throwing a combined three interceptions with no touchdowns.

The Browns were 2-point favorites over the 49ers in Week 14 two seasons ago, and they won, 24-10. So maybe history can repeat itself for Cleveland, which won only once last season.

As crushing as the loss has to be for the Texans, there are positives to take away from what was by far their best performance of the season. Their pass rush finally woke up; after going sackless through the first two games of the season, their big three of Jadeveon Clowney, Whitney Mercilus and J.J. Watt combined for three sacks, seven tackles for loss and six quarterback knockdowns. It helped that the Patriots were down starting right tackle Marcus Cannon and didn’t appear to have a full-strength Nate Solder all game on the left side.

Watson also appears to have sprung the Houston offense to life, although the fact that O’Brien opted to start Tom Savage over Watson after the preseason has to make Texans fans wonder what exactly the former Patriots offensive coordinator was watching. Watson’s ability as a runner has forced opposing linebackers to hesitate and created running lanes for what has been a moribund Houston running game under Miller, with D’Onta Foreman helping shoulder some of the load as both a runner and checkdown receiver.

During one drive in the fourth quarter, it seemed like the Texans were running an offense called Just Throw The Ball To Nuk. It was the second-longest drive of the game, and even though it ended in a field goal, it was as fun as the game had been all night.

Hopkins enjoyed what he saw out of Watson, too. “He was a leader,” he said after the game. “He was a warrior. He was everything we expected; he was the guy that we drafted.”

Watson targeted Hopkins 13 times during the game, eight more than the next closest Texan, Tyler Ervin.

It’s hard to be the old guy in a wide receiving corps with young guns like Odell Beckham Jr., Sterling Shepard, and Evan Engram. He had just one reception in Week 1, but when he got an opportunity to make a big play Monday he promptly dropped it.

The Giants instead had to punt and it was returned for a touchdown, digging a hole that was too much to overcome. For a second week in a row, Marshall finished with just one reception.

He needs just 59 receptions this season to become the 15th receiver to ever get to 1,000 in a career, but that’s looking like it could be a tall task.

That touchdown was nice and it’s cool that he’s getting involved as a rookie, but this is going to get the Giants a penalty every time.

Not only did the crotch grab draw an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, it’ll probably land the rookie a pretty decent fine.

The Saints are going to fix things and stop lingering around the bottom of the league on defense. Well, if Week 1 is any indication, this is yet another season of that empty promise.

The New Orleans defense let Sam Bradford complete a ludicrous 84.4 percent of his passes for 346 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. It also gave up 129 yards on the ground, most of which were from rookie Dalvin Cook. The defense had three unnecessary roughness penalties called against it in the first half, which surely didn’t help.

If you’re a Saints fan, it’s hard to look at this defensive performance and not be worried that the rest of the season is going to look as familiar as the last three.

Panic index: New Orleans added plenty of defensive talent this offseason. Maybe it will just take them some time to jell on the field, but it’s completely fair to be uneasy in the Big Easy.

The former MAC standout has earned his share of headlines, but he’s still in the infant stages of his NFL career. While he performed admirably in the preseason and during the Lions’ season opener, he’ll face plenty of struggles as opposing defenses study his game tape more carefully and begin to plan their passing defense around him.

However, he’s in a great position thanks to Stafford, the Lions’ pass-heavy attack, and the presence of Tate and Jones to take defensive pressure from his shoulders. Golladay has the talent and instincts to remain a valuable piece of the Detroit offense for years. It’ll be another major hurdle for him to overcome, but that’s all Golladay has done since stepping foot on the gridiron.

Some Denver Broncos fans and players are still hot about an alleged pass-interference foul late in their victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Getting the ball to Green makes all the sense in the world. That’s basically what the Bengals did in the past. Losing OC Hue Jackson to the Browns coaching job two years ago has made the offense worse. The team’s made it worse by allowing a talent drain in the last two years.

Head coach Marvin Lewis said after the game that Dalton’s job was safe. He had to reassure the press of this after two games. Think about that. There’s really no point replacing Dalton anyway: AJ McCarron is, at best, a push talent-wise and there’s not much any QB could do with this sorry excuse for an offensive line.

As for Lewis himself, he’s slouching toward Jeff Fisher-status. It was a terrible night for coaching all around. Bill O’Brien of the Texans looked overmatched on most plays, but Lewis lapped him in haplessness with these last two outings from his team.

Before the season started, consensus awarded the Jets the dubious honor of the NFL’s worst team. We might have to rethink that. The Bengals look like they have something to say about it.

But the Broncos also represent the caliber of team that Dallas will have to face in the postseason. Can the Cowboys make any noise once they get to the playoffs? That’s a fair question.

Panic index: Not only did the Broncos beat the Cowboys handily, they also cracked the code to shutting down the run game entirely and gave other teams film on how to make that happen. There’s cause for concern.

Below are notes covering each of the NFL’s 32 teams from a fantasy perspective. Use these tidbits to make the best waiver-wire, trade and lineup decisions for Week 3. Be sure to check back each week of the season for a new version of the Fantasy 32.

Throughout this piece, I’ll be referencing “OTD.” OTD stands for opportunity-adjusted touchdowns. It is a statistic that weighs every carry/target and converts the data into one number that indicates a player’s scoring opportunity. For example, if a player has an OTD of 3.0, it means that a league-average player who saw the same number of carries/targets in the same area of the field would have scored three touchdowns.

With so few healthy bodies in the pass-catching group in Chicago, Miller will remain a prominent part of the offense. He had nine targets in Week 2. The reality is, few tight ends are a steady bet for seven or more targets per week. Miller is up to 15 through two games and is a usable tight end.

The Saints will be without Willie Snead for one more week, meaning the team will continue to rely on other players to pick up the volume for him. Fleener has found the end zone in consecutive weeks. Adding him and relying on him can be justified based on the quarterback he plays with and the volume of throws in New Orleans. He’s going to get looks at the end zone.

The Giants’ offense has had basically one highlight so far this season, and it’s Engram. The first-round rookie has caught four passes in each of the team’s two games and has the G-Men’s lone touchdown of the year. He’s an outstanding athlete who already seems to be emerging as a top two or three passing game option in a high-volume offense.

CenturyLink could not have lucked into a better day for Stefon Diggs to launch their joint “Boostbox” promotion.

“I just wanted to go back out there and support and show everybody that I’m not down, you shouldn’t be down, I’m good, I’m all right,” Foster said. “A lot of guys were worried.”

Clay Matthews had everything needed to become as successful a pitchman as he was a football player.

A distinctive look with long, blond hair flowing across the shoulder pads of his Green Bay jersey and movie-star visage with the helmet off. Respect earned as one of the NFL’s top players during the team’s journey to winning Super Bowl 45. A trademark sack celebration. And the inherent advantage in being associated with a brand as popular as the Packers.

You would think with Odell Beckham out the Giants would have looked to Brandon Marshall to get the offense going early in the game. It didn’t happen. Marshall disappointed in his debut. He had one catch for 10 yards, which came in the final moments. Not what the Giants needed on this night.

Stephon Tuitt, DE, Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers fear Tuitt suffered a torn biceps Sunday, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. If an MRI confirms the biceps is torn, Tuitt will miss the season. Tuitt has 108 tackles and 11.5 sacks in three seasons and added a tackle in Sunday’s win over the Browns.

Ronald Darby, CB, Philadelphia Eagles: Darby went down with an ankle injury and was carted off the field before being downgraded to out for the game. Following the contest, it was revealed that Darby has a dislocated ankle, but a source told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen that Darby will not need surgery.

Considering the dominance of the Jaguars’ defense and the fact that it scored a touchdown of its own, Jacksonville probably should’ve scored more than 29 points against the Texans.

There were missed opportunities — including a missed field goal and extra point — and plenty of drives that stalled prematurely. But that wasn’t the fault of Leonard Fournette, who kept the Jaguars’ offense in rhythm and away from the quick possessions that took a toll on the defense in 2016.

The rookie carried 26 times against Houston and finished with 100 yards, the kind of statline that fans should probably come to expect from the powerful rookie. Fournette is the first Jaguars rookie in team history to rush for over 100 yards in his debut, according to ESPN’s Michael DiRoccio. That is even more impressive when you consider that Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor both began their careers in Jacksonville. Fournette also added three receptions for 24 yards.

For comparison, Bortles threw just 21 passes, and Chris Ivory also added nine carries for the team.

Rivers finished with a higher passer rating than Siemian (99.6 to 94.2), going 22 of 33 for 192 yards, three touchdowns and one pick. The Chargers, now under Anthony Lynn, tried to control the time of possession by feeding Melvin Gordon but the running back managed just three yards per carry against a makeshift Denver defensive front.

After losing the division title to the Chiefs for the first time in six years last season, the Broncos will need consistent play from Siemian and their defensive front if they are to return to the playoffs.

Ronald Darby’s first regular season game with the Philadelphia Eagles ended early with an ankle injury that caused him to get carted off and immediately ruled out for the remainder of the game.

Darby avoided serious ligament damage, but will miss 4-6 weeks, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The Eagles acquired Darby from Buffalo in August in exchange for wide receiver Jordan Matthews and a third-round pick in 2018.

What this means for the Bills: It’s not a great start for Taylor, who needs a big year in 2017 to retain his hold on the team’s starting role. Through one quarter, he’s got a 35.4 quarterback rating. If he threw his eight passes directly into the turf instead, he’d be sitting at 39.0.

Great hustle from Wood, though.

What this means for the Jets: New York turned its momentum-shifting interception into a three-play, six-yard drive before punting. Go Jets!

Redskins: “Kirk Cousins is a big waste of money and is playing his last season in Washington.”

The latter might be true regardless, but Cousins didn’t suddenly forget how to play in a new-look offense. The team needs to help him by actually trying to stick to the power rushing attack Jay Gruden desires with Rob Kelley and Samaje Perine.

Eagles: “Carson Wentz has arrived as an elite quarterback.”

He had a great game, the best of his young career to open Year 2. He made some incredible throws, including the post-scramble 50-yard touchdown to Nelson Agholor, but he also threw a pick six to keep the Redskins in the game and took some heat with little help from the running game. He’s headed in the right direction, but there will be plenty more lumps ahead as a sophomore.

The two started dating when they were in college, and her father had been Godwin’s high school coach, so Godwin knew the family. But he’s shy, apparently, and he didn’t make the best impression on Mariah’s mother.

“And he came over and he would just, like, sit at the kitchen table with his headphones on, and my mom was like, ‘This kid sucks. He doesn’t talk to anyone,’” Mariah said.

General manager Jason Licht says Winston is “the best leader I’ve ever been around,” and that Winston was instrumental in bringing DeSean Jackson to Tampa Bay.

Winston had some character concerns coming out of college, which I will not belabor. But Licht said that once the team completed its investigation and vetting process before the draft, and then they drafted, him, he literally cried.

Stafford and Detroit agreed on a five-year contract extension worth $135 million, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, eclipsing the five-year, $125 million deal Derek Carr signed with the Raiders earlier this summer.

The deal includes a $50 million signing bonus and the potential for $92 million guaranteed. Both are NFL records. Stafford has $60.5 million fully guaranteed at signing, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

The deal is the 29-year-old quarterback’s second extension with the Lions, coming on the heels of a three-year, $53 million pact back in 2013. He was slated to earn $22 million this fall before this most recent restructuring. Now he’s set to earn $27 million per year under the new deal.