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Looks and Touches: Week 3

The following is a list of the Week 3 leaders in looks and touches. It defines those running backs and receivers who received the most attention this past weekend.

Touches is defined as the number of times a running back carried or caught the football.
Looks is defined as the number of times a player was the intended target of a pass.

TOUCHES
Matt Forte continues to be heavily utilized by the Bears – he led the league for the second time in three weeks with 34 touches (27 carries, 7 catches), and his 155 yards of offense (89 rushing, 66 receiving) were good for fourth in the league among RB. On the season, Forte's 86 touches (73 carries, 13 catches) are 13 more than second place Frank Gore's 73, while Gore has a slim lead over Forte for the top mark in total offense (412 to 409). Of note: he was only able to manage 3.3 yards per carry this past week, and his matchup with a tenacious Philadelphia defense in Week 4 will be a challenge.

Reggie Bush is starting to make it look like he doesn't have to fit the mold of the "typical" starting RB to be a successful one in fantasy. He may never average 20 carries in a game, but he's currently sixth in the league with 68 total touches (42 carries, 26 catches) and his 402 yards of offense (152 rushing, 250 receiving) are good for third in the league.

Steven Jackson's fantasy owners probably shouldn't be too enthused that he considers a day's work at 2.9 yards per carry "a pretty nice day". Granted, he pulled in five catches for 62 yards (28 touches, 128 yards total), but he's not going to justify his ADP (4.6) without getting it done on the ground, and then some. We'll find out if Trent Green's handoffs are more effective than Marc Bulger's in Week 4 versus a Bills' defense that has allowed 3.6 yards per carry to this point (Jackson's mark is currently 3.2).

The Jacksonville RB attack finally got it going against the Bob Sanders-less Colts – both players got plenty of work (touches: Fred Taylor 28, Maurice Jones-Drew 23) and did a lot with it (yards: Taylor 130, MJD 166), and Jones-Drew also had a six-yard TD run. Through the season's first two weeks, the two had combined for 173 total yards on 44 touches.

Friendly matchups aside, it's safe to say that Julius Jones was wildly successful in two weeks as the lone feature back for the Seahawks. His two-game averages include 143 yards (134 rushing, 9 receiving) on 26 touches (24 carries, 2 catches), and 1 rushing TD. His performance has likely earned him a firmer majority of the touches moving forward, even when Maurice Morris returns.

The platoon watch notes when a team's RB2 is given at least half as many touches as the RB1, regardless of the reason. Platoon watch for Week 3 included: Atlanta (Michael Turner 23, Jerious Norwood 12), Baltimore (Le'Ron McClain 18, Willis McGahee 16), Carolina (DeAngelo Williams 12, Jonathan Stewart 7), Denver (Selvin Young 12, Andre Hall 6, Michael Pittman 6), Jacksonville (Fred Taylor 28, Maurice Jones-Drew 23), Miami (Ricky Williams 18, Ronnie Brown 18), Minnesota (Adrian Peterson 17, Chester Taylor 14), New England (Sammy Morris 10, LaMont Jordan 6), NY Giants (Brandon Jacobs 14, Derrick Ward 12), Oakland (Darren McFadden 17, Michael Bush 15), Seattle (Julius Jones 23, T.J. Duckett 19), Tampa Bay (Earnest Graham 12, Warrick Dunn 9), and Tennessee (Chris Johnson 18, LenDale White 16).

Yards-per-touch leaders for Week 3 (minimum 10 touches) included: Derrick Ward (8.83, 12 for 106), Jerious Norwood (8.57, 12 for 105), and Rudi Johnson (7.71, 17 for 131). The bottom three: Earnest Graham (1.33, 12 for 16), Willie Parker (1.54, 13 for 20), and Brandon Jacobs (2.5, 14 for 35).

LOOKS
Reggie Wayne, Brandon Marshall, and … Antonio Bryant. Bryant becomes the first somewhat unlikely leader of the looks tallies, in large part due to the fact that Brian Griese attempted 67 passes, just three short of the NFL record. Don't dismiss this entirely as a fluke, however – Bryant makes for a solid roster add.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh finally busted out in a big way, converting 15 looks into 12 catches for 146 yards and a score. Chad Johnson remained quiet on the field, however, turning seven looks into three catches for 29 yards.

Derek Anderson completed just 14 of 37 passes (37.8%) in Week 3, and Kellen Winslow bore the brunt of it – just two of his 13 targets resulted in catches (14 yards). Andre Johnson didn't fare much better, as he hauled in just two of his 12 looks (29 yards) – Matt Schaub completed 17 of 37 passes on the day (45.9%).

The numbers were once again ugly for the notable Chiefs receivers – Dwayne Bowe was targeted 12 times, but it resulted in just 4 catches for 43 yards (albeit with a score); Tony Gonzalez was targeted 10 times, resulting in four catches for 35 yards. In two games, Tyler Thigpen has completed 28 of his 69 pass attempts, just 40.6 percent.

Week 3 Touch Leaders

RANK

PLAYER

TEAM

WEEK 3

YEAR

T/G

1

Matt Forte

CHI

34

86

28.7

2

Frank Gore

SF

31

73

24.3

2

Marion Barber

DAL

31

72

24.0

4

Reggie Bush

NO

29

68

22.7

4

LaDainian Tomlinson

SD

29

65

21.7

6

Steven Jackson

STL

28

65

21.7

6

Fred Taylor

JAC

28

53

17.7

8

Marshawn Lynch

BUF

27

68

22.7

9

Larry Johnson

KC

24

59

19.7

10

Clinton Portis

WAS

23

69

23.0

10

Julius Jones

SEA

23

67

22.3

10

Michael Turner

ATL

23

61

20.3

10

Maurice Jones-Drew

JAC

23

42

14.0

14

Chris Perry

CIN

22

64

21.3

14

Steve Slaton

HOU

22

38

19.0

16

Edgerrin James

ARI

20

65

21.7

17

T.J. Duckett

SEA

19

21

7.0

18

Chris Johnson

TEN

18

57

19.0

18

Ricky Williams

MIA

18

44

14.7

18

Ronnie Brown

MIA

18

40

13.3

18

Le'Ron McClain

BAL

18

39

19.5

22

Adrian Peterson

MIN

17

70

23.3

22

Darren McFadden

OAK

17

49

16.3

22

Joseph Addai

IND

17

47

15.7

22

Rudi Johnson

DET

17

21

7.0

26

LenDale White

TEN

16

49

16.3

26

Correll Buckhalter

PHI

16

20

6.7

26

Willis McGahee

BAL

16

16

16.0

29

Jamal Lewis

CLE

15

51

17.0

29

Michael Bush

OAK

15

31

10.3

31

Brandon Jacobs

NYG

14

52

17.3

31

Chester Taylor

MIN

14

27

9.0

33

Willie Parker

PIT

13

66

22.0

33

Ryan Grant

GB

13

40

13.3

35

Thomas Jones

NYJ

12

56

18.7

35

DeAngelo Williams

CAR

12

43

14.3

35

Earnest Graham

TB

12

41

13.7

35

Jerious Norwood

ATL

12

35

11.7

35

Derrick Ward

NYG

12

32

10.7

35

Selvin Young

DEN

12

28

9.3

41

Sammy Morris

NE

10

35

11.7

41

Jamaal Charles

KC

10

21

7.0

43

Warrick Dunn

TB

9

34

11.3

43

Pierre Thomas

NO

9

29

9.7

45

Tim Hightower

ARI

8

30

10.0

46

Jonathan Stewart

CAR

7

31

10.3

46

Felix Jones

DAL

7

19

6.3

46

Darren Sproles

SD

7

18

6.0

46

Lorenzo Booker

PHI

7

14

4.7

50

Fred Jackson

BUF

6

29

9.7

50

Andre Hall

DEN

6

23

7.7

50

Michael Pittman

DEN

6

20

6.7

50

LaMont Jordan

NE

6

19

6.3

50

Chris Taylor

HOU

6

6

3.0

55

Brian Westbrook

PHI

5

50

16.7

55

Ray Rice

BAL

5

30

15.0

57

Brandon Jackson

GB

4

22

7.3

57

Ladell Betts

WAS

4

14

4.7

57

Mike Tolbert

SD

4

13

4.3

60

Kevin Smith

DET

3

37

12.3

60

Kevin Jones

CHI

3

17

5.7

60

Leon Washington

NYJ

3

17

5.7

60

Kevin Faulk

NE

3

10

5.0

60

Ahmad Bradshaw

NYG

3

9

3.0

60

Lawrence Vickers

CLE

3

5

1.7

60

Patrick Cobbs

MIA

3

5

1.7

60

Travis Minor

STL

3

3

1.0

68

Dominic Rhodes

IND

2

12

4.0

68

Leonard Weaver

SEA

2

11

3.7

68

Jason McKie

CHI

2

9

3.0

68

B.J. Askew

TB

2

8

2.7

68

DeDe Dorsey

CIN

2

7

2.3

68

Kolby Smith

KC

2

7

3.5

68

Justin Griffith

OAK

2

7

2.3

68

DeShaun Foster

SF

2

7

2.3

68

Tony Hunt

PHI

2

5

1.7

68

Nick Goings

CAR

2

4

1.3

68

Naufahu Tahi

MIN

2

4

1.3

68

Mike Karney

NO

2

3

1.0

68

Mike Sellers

WAS

2

3

1.0

68

Darian Barnes

BUF

2

2

0.7

82

Rashard Mendenhall

PIT

1

11

3.7

82

Kenny Watson

CIN

1

9

3.0

82

Brad Hoover

CAR

1

5

1.7

82

Ahmard Hall

TEN

1

5

1.7

82

Greg Jones

JAC

1

4

1.3

82

Jason Wright

CLE

1

3

1.0

82

Jerome Harrison

CLE

1

3

1.0

82

Madison Hedgecock

NYG

1

3

1.0

82

Carey Davis

PIT

1

3

1.0

82

Zak Keasey

SF

1

3

1.0

82

Tim Castille

ARI

1

2

0.7

82

Lorenzo Neal

BAL

1

2

1.0

82

Vonta Leach

HOU

1

2

1.0

82

Owen Schmitt

SEA

1

2

1.0

82

Garrett Wolfe

CHI

1

1

0.3

82

Montell Owens

JAC

1

1

0.3

82

Mewelde Moore

PIT

1

1

0.3

82

Jacob Hester

SD

1

1

0.3

Week 3 Look Leaders

RANK

PLAYER

TEAM

WEEK 3

YEAR

L/G

1

Antonio Bryant

TB

18

29

9.7

2

T.J. Houshmandzadeh

CIN

15

28

9.3

3

Reggie Bush

NO

14

32

10.7

4

Kellen Winslow

CLE

13

30

10.0

5

Dwayne Bowe

KC

12

34

11.3

5

Brandon Marshall

DEN

12

32

16.0

5

Larry Fitzgerald

ARI

12

25

8.3

5

Andre Johnson

HOU

12

24

12.0

5

Jerricho Cotchery

NYJ

12

21

7.0

10

Jeremy Shockey

NO

11

20

6.7

11

Calvin Johnson

DET

10

32

10.7

11

Tony Gonzalez

KC

10

30

10.0

11

Santana Moss

WAS

10

29

9.7

11

Marvin Harrison

IND

10

25

8.3

11

Greg Jennings

GB

10

25

8.3

11

Matt Forte

CHI

10

16

5.3

11

Jerramy Stevens

TB

10

10

10.0

18

Plaxico Burress

NYG

9

28

9.3

18

Jason Witten

DAL

9

27

9.0

18

Amani Toomer

NYG

9

26

8.7

18

Hines Ward

PIT

9

23

7.7

18

Brandon Lloyd

CHI

9

22

7.3

18

Justin McCareins

TEN

9

17

5.7

18

Hank Baskett

PHI

9

15

5.0

18

Kevin Walter

HOU

9

13

6.5

18

Jordy Nelson

GB

9

12

4.0

18

Jabar Gaffney

NE

9

11

3.7

18

Steve Smith

CAR

9

9

9.0

29

Donald Driver

GB

8

21

7.0

29

Santonio Holmes

PIT

8

19

6.3

29

Randy Moss

NE

8

18

6.0

29

Torry Holt

STL

8

17

5.7

29

Josh Reed

BUF

8

16

5.3

29

Chris Cooley

WAS

8

15

5.0

29

Billy McMullen

SEA

8

15

7.5

29

Chansi Stuckey

NYJ

8

15

5.0

29

Steve Smith

NYG

8

14

4.7

29

Nate Washington

PIT

8

11

3.7

29

Michael Clayton

TB

8

9

4.5

29

Dustin Keller

NYJ

8

9

3.0

41

Wes Welker

NE

7

28

9.3

41

Braylon Edwards

CLE

7

25

8.3

41

DeSean Jackson

PHI

7

25

8.3

41

Eddie Royal

DEN

7

25

8.3

41

Lee Evans

BUF

7

20

6.7

41

Ike Hilliard

TB

7

19

6.3

41

Terrell Owens

DAL

7

19

6.3

41

Ashley Lelie

OAK

7

18

6.0

41

Laveranues Coles

NYJ

7

17

5.7

41

Chad Johnson

CIN

7

17

5.7

41

Roddy White

ATL

7

17

5.7

41

Alex Smith

TB

7

16

5.3

41

Lance Moore

NO

7

12

4.0

54

Reggie Wayne

IND

6

30

10.0

54

Muhsin Muhammad

CAR

6

27

9.0

54

Roy Williams

DET

6

18

6.0

54

Bobby Wade

MIN

6

15

5.0

54

Ted Ginn Jr.

MIA

6

14

4.7

54

Dane Looker

STL

6

13

4.3

54

Marshawn Lynch

BUF

6

12

4.0

54

Tim Hightower

ARI

6

11

3.7

54

Syndric Steptoe

CLE

6

11

3.7

54

Chester Taylor

MIN

6

11

3.7

54

Antonio Chatman

CIN

6

10

3.3

54

Owen Daniels

HOU

6

10

5.0

54

Correll Buckhalter

PHI

6

9

3.0

67

Anquan Boldin

ARI

5

22

7.3

67

Greg Camarillo

MIA

5

19

6.3

67

Vincent Jackson

SD

5

17

5.7

67

Tony Scheffler

DEN

5

17

5.7

67

Bernard Berrian

MIN

5

16

5.3

67

Roscoe Parrish

BUF

5

13

4.3

67

Robert Royal

BUF

5

13

4.3

67

Maurice Jones-Drew

JAC

5

12

4.0

67

Reggie Kelly

CIN

5

12

4.0

67

Derrick Mason

BAL

5

11

5.5

67

Jamaal Charles

KC

5

10

3.3

67

Warrick Dunn

TB

5

10

3.3

67

Devard Darling

KC

5

9

3.0

67

Steven Jackson

STL

5

9

3.0

67

Kevin Boss

NYG

5

8

2.7

67

Donald Lee

GB

5

8

4.0

67

Dallas Clark

IND

5

6

3.0

67

Donnie Avery

STL

5

5

2.5

85

Anthony Gonzalez

IND

4

24

8.0

85

Matt Jones

JAC

4

24

8.0

85

D.J. Hackett

CAR

4

20

6.7

85

Shaun McDonald

DET

4

20

6.7

85

Antwaan Randle El

WAS

4

18

6.0

85

Antonio Gates

SD

4

16

5.3

85

Brandon Stokley

DEN

4

15

5.0

85

Rashied Davis

CHI

4

14

4.7

85

Marion Barber

DAL

4

13

4.3

85

Frank Gore

SF

4

13

4.3

85

Michael Jenkins

ATL

4

13

4.3

85

Jason Avant

PHI

4

12

4.0

85

Isaac Bruce

SF

4

12

4.0

85

Chris Johnson

TEN

4

11

3.7

85

Bo Scaife

TEN

4

11

3.7

85

Marcedes Lewis

JAC

4

10

3.3

85

Mike Tolbert

SD

4

10

3.3

85

LaDainian Tomlinson

SD

4

10

3.3

85

Alge Crumpler

TEN

4

9

3.0

85

Vernon Davis

SF

4

9

3.0

85

Todd Heap

BAL

4

9

4.5

85

Devery Henderson

NO

4

9

3.0

85

Heath Miller

PIT

4

9

3.0

85

Jamal Lewis

CLE

4

8

2.7

85

Derrick Ward

NYG

4

8

2.7

85

Domenik Hixon

NYG

4

7

2.3

85

Steve Slaton

HOU

4

7

3.5

85

Chris Baker

NYJ

4

6

2.0

85

Maurice Stovall

TB

4

5

2.5

85

Rudi Johnson

DET

4

4

4.0