Studs who were Slam Dunks:
QB: Matt Ryan (ATL) vs. TB: After getting burned by him last week, I was willing to give "Matty Ice" one more chance in Stud territory this week against the Bucs in a home matchup. He took a little while to get going, but ended up throwing for 397 yards and 2 TDs. Even though he lost the game and turned the ball over twice, he still put up 20 points in ESPN standard leagues, his most since Week 3 this season. QB: Cam Newton (CAR) vs. IND: Even though it looked as if Cam was going to find himself in Airball territory, he really pulled things together for his fantasy owners late in the MNF game. Dealing with incredibly horrendous weather conditions, he turned the ball over twice, or else he would have had 20+ fantasy points. Regardless, rushing for 41 yards and throwing for roughly 250 and 2 TDs was more than enough to warrant a start. RB: Charcandrick West (KC) vs. DET: A rookie I had a good feeling about in London this week was RB Charcandrick West. After a big game last week, he performed well once again in Week 8, finishing only behind Todd Gurley in standard league RB scoring. His 122 total yards and touchdown were deserving of Stud treatment. WR: Jeremy Maclin (KC) vs. DET: The second Chief I pegged as a Stud for this week was Maclin. The Chiefs didn't need much help through the air, as they were up big for most of the game. Still, Maclin delivered a solid outing with 35 yards and a nice touchdown, and he could've had an even better game had the Lions gave them any competition. WR: Stefon Diggs (MIN) @ CHI: This clutch rookie delivered another strong stat line in Week 8, making him a bonafide stud. He has been on fire lately, and that streak continued this past week, grabbing 6 of his 12 targets for 95 yards and a long touchdown. Keep starting him. Duds who were Slam Dunks: QB: Matt Stafford (DET) @ KC : Following two strong games in a row, I had a feeling Stafford would revert to his usual ways. He played very poorly overseas, throwing for just over 200 yards and a TD to INT ratio of 1:2. That was good for only 9.1 points for ESPN standard leagues, making him a Dud. WR: James Jones (GB) @ DEN: Going up against the vaunted secondary of the Broncos, I recommended you sit one of Aaron Rodgers' most trusted weapons. He was limited to an embarrassing 2 yards on 1 grab, which perfectly defines a fantasy Dud. WR: Amari Cooper (OAK) vs. NYJ: Coming off a monster performance against the Chargers, Cooper was given a much harder task on Revis Island. Even though sitting him would be tough to do, I recommended that owners certainly consider it, as a solid game was very unlikely. He received praise from Revis after the game, but he was only able to catch 4 balls for 46 yards. WR: Dez Bryant (DAL) vs. SEA: I urged owners not to rush Dez back into their lineups last week against Sherman and the Seahawks, and I hope people listened. He was on a pitch count and dealing with Matt Cassel at the helm, which turned into a measly 12 yards on 2 receptions. He'll see better days in the near future, but until Romo is back (Week 11), I'm fine with leaving him on the bench. TE: Jason Witten (DAL) vs. SEA: Witten had a similarly discouraging game, struggling to get open or catch meaningful passes all game against the LOB. He finished the game catching 2 of his 4 targets for 16 yards. He was certainly a Dud. TE: Jordan Cameron (MIA) @ NE: In a thin TE position, I recommended you sit the Dolphins Jordan Cameron. Even playing from behind all night against the Pats, Cameron was only able to grab 2 balls for 34 yards. He's got major athleticism, but lacks consistency. Studs who were Airballs: RB: Gio Bernard (CIN) @ PIT: I was anticipating a Gio-heavy offense run by the Bengals this week, in what had the looks of a shootout. Oddly enough, both teams played very strong defensively, and the Bengals rolled with Jeremy Hill for the entirety of the game. Bernard was effective with his 3 touches, racking up 34 yards, but it wasn't enough to get him out of Airball territory. TE: Ladarius Green (SD) @ BAL: With Gates hobbled, Green looked primed for another solid outing. He may have been on his way to a good game, but an ankle injury in the first quarter forced him from the game after 1 catch for 10 yards. He was only an Airball because of the injury, but was still a poor play nonetheless. TE: Eric Ebron (DET) @ KC: Unlike Green, Ebron didn't have an injury excuse for his performance. His woes stemmed from a pathetic game from his quarterback and offense altogether. He was only able to corral 3 of his 5 targets for 24 yards, and will be a risky option in Week 9. Duds who were Airballs: RB: Latavius Murray (OAK) vs. NYJ: My only major Airball from the Dud section was Murray. I whiffed on him, but I had a lot of reasoning for why I thought he'd struggle. Well, he proved me and plenty of others wrong with his strong outing against a normally tough Jets run D. He churned out 113 hard-fought yards on 20 carries, showing off his size-speed combination. Seemingly matchup-proof, he'll be an upside RB2 on most weeks. Sleepers who panned out: QB: Bryan Hoyer (HOU) vs. TEN: In what wasn't a flashy game without a rushing attack, Hoyer had clean numbers of 235 yards and 2 TDs. He finished in the top 15 at QB in ESPN standard scoring, which was a good performance after being ranked outside the top 20 by the expert consensus rankings. RB: Duke Johnson (CLE) vs. ARI: Having a major role in the Browns passing game, I said Duke Johnson was a good sleeper. Well, that's right where he delivered, gaining 68 receiving compared to only 3 rushing yards. WR: Brandin Cooks (NO) vs. NYG: I have always preferred Cooks' talent in the Saints passing game, and that certainly paid off this week. He caught 2 of Brees' 7 touchdowns, along with 88 yards, giving him a whopping 20.5 fantasy points in standard ESPN scoring. WR: Michael Floyd (ARI) vs. BAL: For the second week in a row, I pegged Floyd as a nice sleeper, and he proved me correct once again. Playing much more than bang-up John Brown, he grabbed 4 balls for 106 yards and a TD. WR: Nate Washington (HOU) vs. TEN: Even though I don't like to "chase points" from past weeks, I opted to list Nate as my third WR sleeper. He delivered nice numbers again, grabbing 4 balls for 73 yards and a TD. TE: Heath Miller (PIT) vs. CIN: Getting no love on other fantasy websites, I said Miller would be a sneaky TE streaming option with Big Ben returning. Ben struggled for most of the game, but Heath was one of his most reliable options, catching 10 balls for a very nice 105 yards. Summary of Week 8's Studs & Duds: This week of Studs & Duds was pretty accurate, as I Slam Dunked on many more players than I Airballed on. There were some middling options like Chris Johnson, who rushed for 100 yards like I predicted, but fumbled his way out of the Slam Dunk territory. Cam Newton was undoubtedly impacted by the horrible weather on MNF, but still managed a very nice game. In addition, Matt Ryan finally delivered, as well as Charcandrick West. However, I wrongly recommended starting Gio Bernard and sitting Latavius Murray, both of which stunk and exploded, respectively. After two weeks of writing this Start/Sit guide, I have been unbelievably accurate in my WR section, so keep an eye on that portion of next week's article. I nailed multiple Studs (Maclin & Diggs), hit on all three of my Duds (Jones, Cooper, & Bryant), and I even struck gold on all of my WR sleepers (Cooks, Floyd, & Washington). Where I struggled was at the razor-thin TE position, airballing on both of my Studs. However, Heath Miller came through with a nice sleeper performance. In summary, I hope you combined my Studs & Duds with my rankings and picked up a big win. Check back on Thursday for Studs & Duds for Week 9. |
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