Game Recaps - Week 10 (Part I)

Lions (12) v. Bills (14)

The Bills finally pulled off a victory, which everyone should appreciate. They were a lot better than their no-loss record represented. Fitzpatrick's numbers were his worst all season throwing for just a buck-forty-six and one score - but the weather was frigid so it shouldn't drive owners away from starting him next week against the Bengals. He remains a sexy start that could be a top 10 option depending on his matchup. Since Fitzy suffered, none of the Bills' receivers excelled. Lee Evans picked up 52 yards - but his standard deviations are too high to be a WR2. I still like Steve Johnson even though he only had 37 yards. Note his 8 targets which were a team high and expect more yardage in games where the Bills are less competitive. Instead, the leading receiver was Fred Jackson who had a HUGE game with CJ Spiller's hamstring hurting. Jackson had his best game of the season racking up 133 yards on the ground - and 37 more in the air - both were season highs. I like Fred against Cincy if Spiller is still hurting.  

Shaun Hill threw for more than 300 yards for the third time this season including a last minute TD to Calvin Johnson on 4th down. Megatron only has three games without a TD this season - and one was last week against Revis. He's elite and put up a gaudy 128 yards today. The running game didn't get going today - and Best wasn't an option in the passing game. He hasn't had any games worse than today. On the bright side, he matched his season high for carries with 17 - meaning that Kevin Smith shouldn't be a significant threat to take much away from him. Best is still the horse. I'm loving Pettigrew who picked up 50 yards - but I'm loving the 8 targets more. Expect more from him this season. 

Vikings (13) v. Bears (27)

Brett Favre's magic ran out today throwing three interceptions. He is obviously not the Favre of last year - and he is not a reliable option. He did throw a huge score to Harvin - but none of his receiving options thrived. AP didn't get it going running for a season low 51 yards. He's still the 2nd best back in fantasy - but you should expect more against the messy Bears. 

We're going to eat some crow on our call to bench Cutler - his three TDs made his owners happy. Of course it wasn't all smiles for Cutler owners; two INTs held him back from having a huge fantasy day. Knox picked up 90 yards - he's quietly a top 25 WR. Forte was pedestrian - but his 69 yards were his second best all season on the ground. On the other side of the token, his 9 yards on 1 catch were his worst receiving totals of the season. You need Forte to be more involved in the passing game to be a RB2. In a Martz-led offense, you should expect more - but he was targeted twice. This is a cause for concern. 

Bengals (17) v. Colts (23)

This ended up being a pretty dramatic game; the Bengals recovered an odd onsides kick after a late 4th quarter Palmer-led TD. But a turnover put the nails in the coffin as the Colts are queitly remaining in the conversation concerning the best team in the AFC. The biggest disappointment of the game was from Peyton who threw for less than 200 yards and failed to find the endzone. Some of these games are expected when you draft Peyton - his game has evolved with age and he is now more of a game-manager than a TD-hurler. The Colts collected their scores through unsung methods - Javarris "Don't call me Edge" James scored on a 3 yard TD run and the defense picked 6. If Addai's injury concerns don't get resolved soon, I think you have to pick up James. His 10 carries today rivaled Donald Brown's share - and any back with double-digit carries in this offense should be owned. Garcon is not the new Collie - no WR thrived during Peyton's lackluster day. But, as expected, Tamme was studly with 73 yards. He led the team with targets - he is the real deal. He better be owned in your league by now - or you might want to start re-thinking how much of an "expert" league you really are a part of. 

Palmer, on the other hand, was productive but he had his second 3-interception game this season. He can be effective - but he is all over the place. Start him with caution. On the bright side, he has thrown 2 tds in every game this season but two. He's a good bet to consistently score double-digit fantasy points but he's not a 1st or 2nd tier QB. If you're struggling for help in the TE department, you might as well take a look at Jermaine Gresham. It's hard to argue with 9 catches for 85 yards. Even though he was targeted 10 times, remember that he's still the #3 option. Though we still think TO is the better option, it was Ochocinco that led the team in yards and found paydirt. Both are WR2s. Ced Benson was ineffective once again - his 3.7 YPC on the season makes me think Bernard Scott could be closer to eating into his carries than we think. 24 yards on 14 carries is unacceptable. 

Titans (17) v. Dolphins (29)

Randy who? After all the hype about Randy Moss and his assimilation into the Titans offense, the stud WR left owners disappointed collecting 1 catch for 26 yards. You know he's gonna bounce back but you gotta figure that learning all these different playbooks is taking its toll on him. VY got injured and so Kerry Collins and the Texas alum both threw 18 or tosses. You should not be starting either. What I love about the consensus #1 pick is that even in a losing effort Chris Johnson still crossed the century mark in yardage. Studly... that's all there is to say. Bo Scaife finally woke up catching a season-high 7 receptions. But you can probably do better at the TE spot.

The Miami QB merry-go-round was no more stable. Pennington started, but got injured. Then came Henne. And finally it was the former Chief Thigpen who was under center. Henne was effective but none of these guys should be owned. Brandon Marshall put up another dud. He just can't be trusted anymore. Brian Hartline sniffed 100 yards in his second consecutive successful game. If you are desperate and in a deep league, take a look. I wouldn't be looking at Fasano for help in the TE position because of today's game. Until there's stability at QB, you can't really say this was more than an aberration. Ricky Williams was effective, but it was Ronnie Brown who scored. Again, both are cannibals - neither should be trusted unless the other is out.

Jets (26) v. Browns (20)

I was rooting for the Browns to put together a third straight shocking upset - and they almost did. But ultimately, it was Santonio Holmes that found the endzone in OT to give the Jets their 7th W. Sanchez had a great game - but he's not reliable. Two scores and 299 yards is a great blue-collar day. I wish one of his three WRs were gone - they eat into each other's production too much. Holmes is the most effective right now - but note that a lot of his production has come in two consecutive weeks of OT. Shonn Greene showed signs of life collecting his second most amount of yards on the ground all season. He outproduced LT which is nice for those of us who squandered a single-digit pick on Greene. 20 carries is the most he's had since week 4. Don't read into it too much - OT was loooong and both RBs' workloads increased. LT's game was not shabby either - 50 yards in the passing game and 50 yards in the running game is always appreciated in the flex/RB3 slot.

Peyton Hillis remains the center of the Browns offense racking up 109 all-purpose yards and a score. He's a top 5 running back. If you got him off the wire, your team should be competitive. None of the receivers did anything noteworthy - but big Ben Watson was targeted a whopping 10 times. He had his second most productive day of the season. Consider starting him if you need the help.

Texans (24) v. Jaguars (31)

This had to be one of the most bizarre endings to a game I've ever seen. Garrard threw a last second hail mary. The ball was swatted by a defender....right into the arms of Mike Thomas. Even without this last second bomb, Garrard was very effective. 342 yards and two scores is great production. That's his first time cracking the 300 mark this season. He's startable against the Browns. Mike Thomas should definitely be owned now - even without the 50 yard hail mary, he had a great day. Mike Sims-Walker was injured but came back in and still finished with an ineffective day. The other Zach Miller was studly with 80+ yards, but Marcedes is the #1 option. It was MJD that erupted for 100 yards and two scores. This is encouraging - but what I like the most is seeing him being used in the passing game. If that keeps up, he will justify his high draft position.

Schaub showed signs of 2009 throwing for two scores and 300+ yards. Andre Johnson was a monster once again with 146 yards and a score. Kevin Walter woke up after three games without a catch for 90 yards and a score. You can't start him yet - but if the offense picks up, he could be someone to watch. Arian Foster showed that he is human by putting up so-so numbers. Finding the endzone saved his otherwise ordinary day.

Panthers (16) v. Buccaneers (31)

I just can't get myself to drop Steve Smith. He is so talented that you can't really rule him out. But this team is a mess. You can't start him unless you need a hail mary yourself. Goodson ran for 100 yards - but don't get excited to pick him up. He is the 4th back in this offense - if any of the other 3 come back, he is worthless.

Freeman is a horse - 241 yards and two scores is solid for where you got him. You'd like a little more yardage on the ground, but these are better numbers than Peyton had today. He's a very startable weapon that should be owned. LeGarrette Blount justified our hype running for 91 yards and picking up a score. Owning him is not the question. Start him against the 9ers next week over all but the top 10 RBs. Mike Williams kept his name in the Rookie of the Year conversation but didn't have an explosive game like the last couple weeks - but he's still your fantasy hero if you own him. Just about when we were close to putting a fork in K-squared, Winslow scored a touchdown for the first time all season. His yardage was impressive - but temper your expectations... This was Carolina after all.

-By Patrick Hammon