Preseason Week 3 Lames: Matt Forte is quickly losing fuel

There’s a large contingent of football fans that staunchly believe preseason games are completely inconsequential. To these naysayers, they’re nothing more than an evaluation phase for head coaches looking to comprise the best 53-man roster. However, most fanatics would vehemently disagree. Exhibition action gives owners the opportunity to gain invaluable insight into potential sleepers and busts. In an attempt to decipher the meaningful from the meaningless, here are my top-five Lames from Preseason Week 3.

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Matt Forte, NYJ, RB (46.8 ADP, RB17) – The Jets need a time machine. Over the years, they’ve willingly pulled old dudes off the scrap heap in an attempt to resuscitate their former greatness. It certainly worked with Curtis Martin and Thomas Jones, but LaDainian Tomlinson failed to rediscover the spark. Forte, I fear, could fall in line with the latter. The former Bear, who’s been coddled due to a hamstring injury for much of August, made his Jets debut Saturday against the Giants. Though he didn’t light up the box score, he performed adequately totaling 37 yards on 12 touches. Despite the promising effort, reservations about the thirty-something are warranted. Backup Bilal Powell, who is expected to open the season as a likely 8-12 touch per game contributor, is younger, fresher and as effective as Forte is now. Recall when given at least 40 percent of the opportunity share last year (six games), Powell averaged 15.5 fantasy points per contest, an RB1 level output even in eight-team leagues. His three-down skill set, underrated power and general productivity pose a serious threat to a veteran RB who saw a massive reduction in playing time in his waning Chicago days. Forte should head up the timeshare to begin the year, presumably logging roughly 13-15 touches per game, but Powell is the better, and significantly cheaper (137.6, RB44), play long term.

Kelvin Benjamin, Car, WR (46.6 ADP, WR20) – Without question, Benjamin is one of the virtual game’s most divisive figures. Two years ago, though his 7.1 yards per target was rather inefficient, he burst onto the fantasy scene totaling 73 receptions, 1,008 yards, and nine touchdowns. His 6-foot-5 frame and accompanying strength were attractive qualities for Cam Newton in red-zone situations. That season, he enticed shy of 27 percent of the Panthers’ targets, an unrepeatable sum. Benjamin drew the start in the Panthers’ tune-up Saturday catching two passes for 20 yards. However, it was Devin Funchess who again stole the headline. He caught five balls for 49 yards on a team-high 10 targets. Funchess, tabbed camp MVP by the Charlotte Observer, is knocking hard at the door. A near mirror of image of Benjamin physically, he’s carried over momentum from his WR34 line notched from Week 9 on last year. In what will be a closer targets distribution than most think, Funchess, going close to 80 picks after Benjamin in average drafts, will be the torpedo that sinks the U.S.S. Kelvin. Piling on, Ron Rivera said just 10 days ago his goal for KB, who’s struggled with conditioning issues, was 35 snaps by the end of the Preseason. Funchess starts fast and he will likely leave his teammate in the dust.

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DeVante Parker, Mia, WR (80.1, WR33) – A popular next-step player hyperbolized by fanalysts for the past several weeks, Parker is destined to fall well short of placed expectations. Foot and, most recently, hammy injuries cost him critical developmental time in Adam Gase’s newly installed system. Consequently, he fell behind allowing Kenny Stills to take advantage of increased opportunities in preferred sets. His demotion was clear in Miami’s exhibition tilt Thursday versus Atlanta. He saw exactly ZERO snaps in two-WR formations, as Stills and Jarvis Landry dominated action. Being the Dolphins’ dress rehearsal, his minimized role is substantial. The sophomore was dynamite over Miami’s final six games last year finishing inside the position’s top-25 in fantasy points per game. His size/speed combination and phenomenal downfield skills suggest a bright future. However, until Gase feels comfortable with him in basic packages, targets may be few and far between. He’s not a bankable WR3 in 12-team formats, yet.

Torrey Smith, SF, WR (124.1, WR47) – The infatuation a few ‘experts’ have toward Smith is laughable. To be fair, he’s an explosive downfield sprinter of similar ilk as Washington’s DeSean Jackson. He averaged a ridiculous 20.1 yards per catch and 10.7 yards per route run a season ago. However, his route tree is rather emaciated. He’s more of a streak specialist than the gritty, grinding yeoman some would lead you to believe. His volume will increase from last year’s 3.8 targets per game, but the overall offensive situation by the Bay is dire. Blaine Gabbert is a viable threat to ground vermin. His lack of zip and affinity for drilling feet are alarming. Toss in San Francisco’s dreadful pass protection and the overall view is eye gouging. Bruce Ellington’s myriad setbacks and the Niners’ rough division add to the recommended avoidance. Smith, who’s seen one measly target this Preseason, isn’t the undervalued WR2 snake oil some are selling. In reality, he’s a middling home run hitter who’s sure to whiff often. Give me Willie Snead, Tavon Austin or Travis Benjamin all day around the same time in average drafts.

Frank Gore, Ind, RB (87.7, RB29) – The Colts are driving a monstrous Par 5 with a putter. Due to an offensive line that couldn’t protect Andrew Luck from a group of ‘hard-crawling’ babes, they are clearly engaged in an uphill battle, especially on the ground. Gore openly expressed his frustration with the transparent line last fall noting it was his most difficult year ever running the football. Though he made the most of an unfavorable situation, he finished shy of 1,000 yards for only the second time since 2006, a year when this writer had significantly more dome foliage. His disgusting 3.7 yards per carry was masked by seven total touchdowns and 34 receptions. Yes, the septuagenarian is the unrivaled early down and goal-line option in Indy. However, lineman Jack Mewhort, who ranked top-10 in run blocking among guards last year according to Pro Football Focus, suffered a knee injury Saturday which could cost him regular season action. His departure throws more gas on an already raging inferno. Gore is an ironman who is a strong candidate to record at least 280 touches, but with little or no breathing room to operate hollow totes will be aplenty. Unless Jim Irsay is secretly farming orcs from Middle Earth, Indy’s woeful trench work is sure to severely hinder Gore’s worth.

Quick Hitters: For the DFS fans in attendance, budget for whatever QB matches up against the Colts. Down Vontae Davis for the first month of the season, the My Little Ponies could own the worst defense in the league. When Sam Bradford shreds the first unit for 167 yards and two TDs on 17-of-20 completed passes, that speaks volumes. Indy’s Week 1 opponent: Matthew Stafford. Lions stack baby! … A one-year-old with a bowl of spaghetti. That’s how messy the Baltimore backfield currently is. Justin Forsett, the widely perceived starter, saw limited action in Saturday’s dress rehearsal versus Detroit allowing rookie Kenneth Dixon and Terrance West to showcase their wares. Both benefited from the extra time casting themselves in a positive light. If you’re willing to invest in any Ravens RB, it’s Dixon, whose tremendous hands, surprising power and shiftiness are ideal traits for Marc Trestman’s system. If his knee checks out, he will soon rise to the top … Matt Ryan is still bad. Against a Miami secondary that should be one of the more yielding units in the league he completed 12-of-22 attempts for 129 yards, zero TDs and an INT. You’re fooling yourself if he returns to the 4,100-yard, 28-TD plateau of 2011. His questionable decision making and marginal YPA are likely to again resurface. …

Another Preseason, another abysmal exhibition by the Giants first-string offense. Virtually uninterested in playing football against the Jets, Eli Manning and Co. sank in quicksand. The QB completed 66.7 percent of his attempts, but only at a 4.3 YPA clip. Meanwhile, Rashad Jennings finished south of the border rushing six times for -1 yard. Don’t be alarmed. This is just par for the course. Odell Beckham, Sterling Shepard, Eli and Jennings will soon wake from their slumber … Lift your finger off the panic button, Latavius Murray owners. DeAndre Washington, despite his fantastic performance against Tennessee (53 yards on 11 touches, TD), is not supplanting the incumbent anytime soon. Jack Del Rio has remained steadfast in his support for Latavius and, admittedly, played the starter sparingly to get a closer look at his backups. Washington is an appealing handcuff, but Murray is still a likely 300-touch rusher.

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