Fantasy Football Week 10 Studs & Duds
FOX Sports’ Ryan Fowler is here to help you make your picks.
This Week in Fantasy Football Small Talk
I’ve picked up on a fascinating fantasy football trend when speaking to parents whose kids participate in fantasy sports. After responding to the question, “Ryan, what do you do for a living?” The proud moms and dads, almost instinctively, blurt out “You do? {Insert genius child name here} wins all the time.” By my calculations, these fantasy savants have a combined record of 1,329-3. So, here’s a piece of advice to parents shelling out thousands of dollars on private baseball, basketball and tennis lessons: stop what you are doing and invest heavily in your kids’ fantasy football research and analysis lab. You never know, one day you may have to make small talk with me.
Week 10 Fantasy Football Studs
Tavon Austin – 26.2 fantasy points vs. Colts
Of the 31.2 percent of FOXSports.com fantasy football owners that kept Austin on their roster, only 7.8 percent had the stones to start him in Week 10 against the Colts. Those analytics come with a +/- 3 percent margin of error for those lazy slobs in your league that forgot their password in Week 2 and think Tavon is having a great year at West Virginia. Austin’s fantasy production had been so bad this season he nearly doubled his nine-game point total in Week 10. The wide receiver managed 32.3 fantasy points through the first nine weeks with his last (and only other) double-digit performance coming in Week 2 against the Falcons. Not to take anything away from Austin, but the Colts did rank 23rd in fantasy points allowed to opposing receivers heading into Week 10 (26 FP/Game).
Riley Cooper – 22.2 fantasy points vs. Packers
He didn’t quite reach 115 receiving yards (his average when Foles starts in 2013), but I don’t think fantasy owners mind. Foles’ favorite target hauled in three receptions for 103 with two touchdowns of more than 30 yards. Foles only threw 18 passes in the game. Cooper now has six touchdowns in his last five games. The Eagles face the Redskins’ 29th-ranked fantasy defense against wide receivers next week (27.6 FPA/game).
Andre Brown – 17.9 fantasy points vs. Raiders
I’ll always remember where I was when Brown broke his leg in the Giants‘ final preseason game of 2013. The injury occurred about 5 minutes after I suggested the FOX Sports South Girls draft him during the 2013 FOX Sports Girls Fantasy Football Draft at theChive.com offices. Whoops. A number of owners took advantage of their empty IR slot, while some in recent weeks picked up the running back and stashed him on their bench as David Wilson‘s neck injury kept him on the sidelines and ultimately ended his season. However, he is still available in 63 percent of leagues on FOXSports.com. In his first game back since breaking his leg, coach Tom Coughlin let him carry the load to the tune of 30 carries for 115 yards (3.8 YPR) and a touchdown.
John Carlson – 15.8 fantasy points vs. Redskins
Back in November of 2008, Carlson set a career-high when he hauled in six Matt Hasselbeck-passes for 105 yards. The Notre Dame product actually scored 12 touchdowns his first two seasons in the league for the Seahawks. Speaking of the Irish, Carlson moved up the Vikings‘ depth chart when Kyle Rudolph, also out of Notre Dame, broke his foot in Week 9. Carlson torched the Redskins’ secondary with seven receptions on seven targets for 98 yards and a touchdown. It was his first score since 2010.
Jermaine Kearse – 13.5 fantasy points vs. Falcons
With Sidney Rice on injured reserve, Golden Tate (7 targets vs. ATL) and Doug Baldwin (8 targets vs. ATL) have both seen an uptick in Russell Wilson‘s attention, but it’s Kearse that has made the most of his opportunities. Over the last two weeks, he has five receptions on only six targets for 118 yards with two touchdowns.
Case Keenum – 25.3 fantasy points vs. Cardinals
Without the services of Arian Foster behind him, the undrafted rookie quarterback has managed to pass for 551 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions in his last two starts for the Texans. He’s averaged 29.5 fantasy points during that stretch.
Mark Ingram – 22 fantasy points vs. Cowboys
Where in the heck did this come from? Ingram finished with 14 carries for 145 yards and a touchdown.
Week 10 Fantasy Football Duds
Eli Manning – 9.3 fantasy points vs. Raiders
As if little brother needed another reason to hate his 2013 stats, Peyton scored more fantasy points in his first two pass attempts than Eli had for the entire Week 10 contest against the Raiders. This is the same Oakland pass defense that allowed Nick Foles to light ’em up for 400 yards and seven touchdowns a week ago. Manning only completed 54 percent of his passes for 140 yards with a touchdown and another interception. The 9.3 fantasy points marks the fifth time he’s been held to less than 10 fantasy points this season.
Trent Richardson – 3.5 fantasy points vs. Rams
Chris Johnson looked like CJ2K last week against the Rams’ rush defense. He finished with 150 rushing yards with two touchdowns against the Rams’ rush defense. The Rams’ rush defense could not stop the Titans‘ running back. So, knowing that Trent Richardson (ankle) needed a breakout performance in order to keep the Colts’ brass encouraged that they made the right move in trading a first-round pick for his services, the matchup against the Rams’ rush defense seemed like perfect timing. Richardson finished with five carries for two yards. I wouldn’t be shocked if Donald Brown continued to cut into his touches and targets down the stretch. Richardson has not rushed for more than 60 yards in a game since December 2, 2012.
C.J. Spiller – 3.4 fantasy points vs. Steelers
Spiller gave fantasy owners hope in Week 9 against the Chiefs (eighth-ranked fantasy rush defense) when he racked up 116 on 12 carries and finished with 15 fantasy points. His fantasy ceiling remained relatively high in Week 10 against the Steelers’ 27th-ranked fantasy rush defense (21.7 fantasy points allowed per game). However, the first-round running back only managed 23 carries on eight carries against Pittsburgh. It was the third-fewest fantasy points scored by Spiller in a game in what has been a disastrous season.
Colin Kaepernick – 3.2 fantasy points vs. Panthers
Heading into Week 10, CK7 had averaged over 23 fantasy points per game in his last three contests. When you consider he averaged just over 11 fantasy points per game in his three games before that stretch, owners were ecstatic the team moved to a more run-focused offense, which included Kaepernick moving the chains with his legs. The Panthers boasted the top fantasy defense against quarterback (12.3 fantasy points per game) and held CK7 to 91 passing yards, no touchdowns and only 16 rushing yards.
This Week in Fantasy Football Kickers
Steven Hauschka – 19 fantasy points vs. Falcons
He’s the third fantasy kicker to score 19-or-more fantasy points in one game this season. Mason Crosby and Alex Henery both scored 20 points in Week 5.
Fantasy Football Week 10 Studs, Duds
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