Scouting Notebook: Shady dealings

LeSean McCoy finally paid some dividends for owners on Sunday night (149 yards rushing) but it was still not the performance envisioned when they made him the No. 1 fantasy pick. McCoy again didn’t find the end zone and has just one score on the year. And he has just 74 receiving yards all year and 10 total receiving yards since September 15. That is not a misprint.

Here’s your sell McCoy window if you decided this isn’t going to work out but did not want to dump him. That’s your call. I wouldn’t have even drafted him, remember. I was taking Demaryius Thomas at the top of drafts where the the running backs went. But this is clearly your best chance if you now regret the pick. Heck, trade him for Calvin Johnson (the Eagles are off next week anyway).

There clearly is no stopping the best running back in football, DeMarco Murray, on pace for…. Heck, let’s just forget this on-pace nonsense. Murray is a common denominator on many winning teams. His health going forward is a big question mark, as it is for every other back.

Worrying about Murray’s workload is foolish for the Cowboys. This looks like it’s his year and you have to ride him. Moderating carries make sense only if you think fatigue leads to injuries. But how you randomly end up in a pile leads to injuries. With Murray’s carries add probability for something bad to happen, there’s no magic number to be avoided or feared if you are a Dallas fan or Murray owner. He could break on his next carry either way. You can’t hermetically seal him or keep him in is original packaging. These are the risks inherent at he position.

Oh, and that Dallas offensive line kicked the crap out of Seattle, which is used to dominating with just seven-men fronts.

Carson Palmer is in that murky tier at the bottom of mixed leagues, in that 10-to-15 range. But he makes his receivers and especially Michael Floyd much more valuable.

Kirk Cousins doesn’t win because he is so careless with the football (eight picks in his four starts). But the entire team is a mess. Alfred Morris can’t get going in the running game. Nothing is really working except DeSean Jackson. Pierre Garcon is so fringy now, borderline droppable (try to trade him though). There are bigger and faster models available on waivers in your league, I’m certain.

Andre Holmes tops that list. He has 20 targets the past two games and has turned them into about 200 yards and three scores. Hopefully, you grabbed him already out of the big and fast box. Every week, you should see the receivers with the highest snap counts who are available on your waiver wire and pick the tallest and fastest ones (NFL combine times are easy to research). Get ahead of the curve with guys like Holmes. Kenny Britt is a guy like that now. Brandon LaFell works off the waiver wire. Justin Hunter is still cheap, as in free off waivers. Hunter was tackled at the one-yard line on Sunday. Get him, please.

I pitched Holmes as a waiver wire add two weeks ago. This was just a model pick, no genius insight. He had the most snaps and targets in London and is 6-foot-4 while running a 4.53 40, plus a broad jump over 10 feet, so we know he’s an elite athlete.

I really thought Matt Ryan was going to have a big week. Julio Jones, too.

Antone Smith is amazing. He’s 29 and a life-long special teamer, but you would think he’d be given more touches. I imagine coaches’ meetings in Atlanta where Mike Smith and company debate whether they like touchdowns. “Nah, let’s keep feeding Steven Jackson.” He’s averaging 3.8 yards per carry but “running hard,” whatever that means.

I can’t defend Keenan Allen anymore and the Chargers are winning and thus have no incentive to re-sort their passing game. He also has a groin injury that may be limiting him. Malcom Floyd makes zero sense to me — sure, he’s big but also old. But you can’t quarrel with the results. I’d only bench Allen though. He’s still way too good to cut.

Brandon Oliver is not small, he’s short. He’s 27th out of 174 running backs in BMI, according to Pro-Football-Reference. Oliver has a higher BMI than the Jets' 6-foot-1, 246-pound fullback Tommy Bohanon. Oliver is an inch taller but over 25 pounds heaver than Darren Sproles, thus making Sproles a terrible comp. Sproles is 127th in BMI and thus not built for full-time duty, as is Oliver.

I still like Juwan Thompson longer term, even in 2014, in Denver. Ronnie Hillman’s day provides good cover. Thompson looks more reliable in the run game in setting up down and distance and giving the ball to Hillman near the goal line is a joke. The man can’t break tackles or move the pile.

Wes Welker is probably done. Peyton Manning is the captain now of Team Big Receiver, with all 15 of his scoring strikes going to players 6-foot-3 and taller.

Julius Thomas isn't especially gifted physically nor young (26) and he's a glorified Joseph Fauria. You need a plausible yards/TD ratio. He's averaging a TD every 30 receiving yards. That's a joke. If he was truly good, like a Gronk, he'd be good everywhere.

The Matt Asiata error, um era, is thankfully over. America’s favorite scrappy back ended his starting career with a sparkling 3.5 yards per tote but 6.0 yards per carry worth of heart and grit, which are key fantasy categories, don’t you know.

Cordarrelle Patterson just can’t seem to get open. He had 15 yards on a team-leading eight targets on Sunday. It’s okay to move on. Hurl him into the sun if you want. I’m no longer assuming that any NFL receiver with athletic prowess can master the handful of routes that make up the tree. You learn something new every year. ‘

Jordy Nelson had 16 targets on Sunday and now has 68 in six games. Randall Cobb has 41. I would trade Cobb in a heartbeat courtesy of that insane TD number as a little receiver. Cobb has failed to crack 60 receiving yards now in five of six games and has been held below 40 three times. And he won’t even be on the team next year (free agent).

Davante Adams versus Cobb rest of season will at least be close. And the most gifted Packers receiver isn’t even playing yet — Jeff Janis. You’ll hear about him a lot in 2015 though.

I think this is Lamar Miller’s show now and I doubt many will make you pay retail for believing that. Yeah, the fumbles are a risk, for sure.

Clay Harbor is on the tight end radar now with a 4-for-91 day and a score.

I was shocked by the performance of Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh offense against a very beatable Cleveland defense. There are major problems there now.

Cam Newton decided he’s going to be the Panthers’ running game, too. And that makes him an elite fantasy quarterback. Jerricho Cotchery is playable and should have hauled in a game-winning TD in overtime, but just misplayed it. Cam’s running will open things up for the Panthers’ craftiest veteran receiver.

So much for Tom Brady being finished. That talk was just so reactionary but it had a plausible “he’s old now” backdrop. I expect Brady, still clearly near the top of his game, to be a top five or six quarterback the rest of the way with Stevan Ridley out. There is now little possibility of a powerful, grinding running game in New England.