Booms and Busts: Giants and Saints put fantasy owners on tilt
Last November in the Superdome, the Saints and Giants played a game of pinball, 101 total points. Sunday in New Jersey, the machine went tilt.
While the Giants will surely take their 16-13 victory, it was a shocker to see New York fail to score an offensive touchdown against a maligned Saints defense, playing without its best cornerback. Eli Manning’s 32-41-368 line looks good, but he failed to make connections in the red zone. And the Giants rushing game didn’t go anywhere — Rashad Jennings was stuffed for 27 yards on 13 carries, while Shane Vereen had 14 totes for 42 yards.
Turnovers kept the Giants at bay — Manning, Vereen, and Victor Cruz each lost a fumble. Manning did funnel 20 connections to his three main receivers, so it wasn’t a total loss for Odell Beckham (8-86-0), Sterling Shepard (8-117-0) and Cruz (4-91-0) in seasonal leagues. But if you played the high-priced Beckham in DFS, it was a pesky afternoon. Beckham let a sure touchdown slip through his hands in the fourth quarter.
As for the Saints, we’ve seen this story before — the offense struggling to produce on the road. Drew Brees and Co. were held to 268 total yards and three conversions on third down. Mark Ingram (9-30) was running in place for most of the day, and it was another throwaway afternoon for tight end Coby Fleener (2-29 on eight targets). Maybe we should credit the Giants defense, which has been steady for two weeks.
The New Orleans receivers had reasonable days through volume. Brandin Cooks posted a reasonable 7-68-0 line on nine targets, and Willie Snead (5-54-1) was the only offensive player to score. Michael Thomas had an encouraging 4-56-0 showing on five opportunities.
Better days should be ahead for both offenses. The Saints host Atlanta next Monday night, so get your quarters ready. Meanwhile, the Giants get to host a Washington team that hasn’t stopped anyone through two weeks, Josh Norman or no Josh Norman.
In other early-action Booms and Busts . . .
• Cam Newton, QB, Panthers: Carolina was a little sloppy with turnovers early on, and Jonathan Stewart was lost on the third drive, suffering a hamstring injury. No problem, just leave the driving to the reigning MVP. Newton passed for 353 yards and four touchdowns as Carolina raced past San Francisco, 46-27. It sure is nice to be out of Denver, isn’t it?
Greg Olsen’s 78-yard touchdown was Carolina’s easiest score, but the real head-turner thus far has been Kelvin Benjamin. Newton found Benjamin seven times for 108 yards and a pair of touchdowns Sunday, a handy day on nine targets. Coming off a knee injury and a lost season, Benjamin hasn’t shown the slightest bit of rust; he’s one of my biggest ranking regrets from the preseason. The Vikings should provide a good test in Week 3.
• Josh McCown, QB, Browns: How do you stop a gunslinging veteran like McCown? Try separating his left shoulder. The Browns rolled to three quick scoring drives on Baltimore, but McCown injured his non-throwing shoulder shortly after that and never looked right for the balance of the afternoon. He finished with 260 yards passing, two scores and two picks in the 25-20 loss. It was a marked improvement over Robert Griffin, but what wouldn’t be? Nonetheless, the team is fearing the worst on McCown’s shoulder.
Corey Coleman turned into Cleveland’s receiving star, snagging five balls for 104 yards and two scores. Just imagine what the rookie is capable of doing once he gets the feel of the game down a bit. Gary Barnidge didn’t spike with McCown’s return — a modest 4-37-0 day on five targets.
Running back Isaiah Crowell was the very definition of boom-and-bust. He rumbled for 85 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter — Baltimore’s defense didn’t put up much resistance on the play — but his other 17 carries went for just 48 yards. Duke Johnson was underused again — seven touches for 56 yards. The Browns are at Miami next week.
• Antonio Brown and A.J. Green, Elite WRs: We expected a duel between two of the game’s best, but in-between the raindrops at Heinz Field, Brown and Green were surprisingly quiet. Brown snagged just four catches for 39 yards — not what you expect on 11 targets — and had one terrible drop. Green was limited to 2-38-0 on eight opportunities.
No long-term concern here, just one of those days. Wide receiver is a variance position. Ben Roethlisberger did throw three touchdown passes (DeAngelo Williams, Jesse James, and someone named Xavier Grimble), while Giovani Bernard scored the lone Cincinnati touchdown (117 total yards). Bernard was owed a little positive TD regression; last year’s two-score total was more fluke than anything else.
• Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Cowboys: Is the glass half-full or half-empty for Elliott? A 21-83-1 line on the ground is fine, but Elliott also put the ball on the ground twice (one lost). Alfred Morris (5-7-1) poached a late touchdown run, and Dak Prescott also ran one in. The Cowboys obviously have a meaty investment in Elliott, but anyone can land in the doghouse if a fumbling problem persists.
Prescott continues to look the part — he posted a 103.8 rating at Washington (22-30-292), sparking the 27-23 upset. Most importantly, Prescott showed improving rapport with Dez Bryant (7-102-0), sending 12 targets his way. The Pokes host Chicago, a defense they can exploit, next week.
• Marcus Mariota, QB, Titans: It took a while for the Tennessee passing game to get going, but two fourth-quarter touchdown passes lifted the Titans over the Lions (sorry about that, Survivor players). Mariota clicked on all six of his targets to Delanie Walker (6-83-1), taking advantage of a Detroit defense that can never seem to mark tight ends. Green Bay, Chicago and Philadelphia are the next opponents on the Lions schedule; choose your TE weapons carefully.
Mariota posted a 102.8 rating on 33 attempts, but he’s not running much yet (2-11 on the ground). No Tennessee wideout went past 40 yards receiving, and the game-winning touchdown went to the carbon-dated Andre Johnson (shortly after I gave him some Twitter shade). Thanks for the memories, AJ.
The Lions have to feel they left a win on the field, in part because of 17 penalties. Matthew Stafford (22-40-260-1-1) lost touchdown passes on consecutive tosses — one to Eric Ebron, one to Anquan Boldin. The push-off on Ebron sure looked like a phantom call to me. Marvin Jones didn’t visit the end zone, though he snagged eight passes for 118 yards.
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