Week 9 had quite a lot of players going off, though rest assured there were still plenty of disappointments to go around. There were also some stat lines that are deceptively strong, but shroud the truth that the game could have been much better. There were also the injuries to Ben Roethlisberger (foot) Teddy Bridgewater (concussion), Dion Lewis (torn ACL), Latavius Murray (concussion), Eddie Lacy (groin/stinking), and LeSean McCoy (shoulder). Lewis is the only season ending injury to see here, it was fun to watch while it lasted. The others take a hit as they possibly miss Week 10 action or more. Keep tabs.
Let's stroll on past the infirmary a bit and take a gander at some other falling situations around the league.
Week 10 Fantasy Football Fallers
Eli Manning – QB, NYG
The weather was poor in Tampa Bay, so poor that Odell Beckham had to remove his gloves because the rain was making them useless. Is that why Mike Evans dropped so many balls? I digress. In a favorable matchup Eli Manning underwhelmed against a Tampa Bay secondary that really isn't good. He only outscored Blaine Gabbert by 0.1 points by Fleaflicker's default scoring, throwing for 213 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. While he has improved his consistency and upped his floor a bit this year, this spot still had many people expecting more. The game started off poorly with an interception, though it was barely Manning's fault, as it bounced off Beckham's hand. The second pick was just a perfect read by Alterraun Verner. Manning missed several other throws on the day, and it just was all around a mediocre effort to follow up an amazing one in New Orleans. The Giants now get the Patriots at home in a game that very well might profile like the one against the Saints. Look for Manning to bounce back in that, if for no other reason than the Giants absolutely need him to.
Chris Ivory - RB, NYJ
Okay, last week I had him here because I figured most of his struggles were due to Nick Mangold's absence and a different defensive look with Geno Smith under center for most of the game against the Raiders (who have a decent front seven anyway). A consecutive week of averaging 1.1 yards per carry is troubling. Week 8 saw Ivory post a terrible 17 yards on 15 carries, and this week he gained 29 yards on 23 carries. This can't all be on Nick Mangold not being there for the offensive line (though his re-aggravation of the neck injury is a ding to the running game for sure). Ivory only registered one broken tackle on the whole day, which is very unlike him. He also put the ball on the ground to boot. If it weren't for those two touchdowns floating his numbers, owners would be freaking out right now. Is he injured? Who knows. The Jets get the Bills, Texans, and Dolphins next, so nothing daunting is on the horizon. All three of those teams are in the bottom half of the NFL in terms of run defense according to FootballOutsiders DVOA metric. I'd be looking to buy Ivory off of someone who is panicking still, but I don't feel as confidently about it as I did last week.
Ronnie Hillman – RB, DEN
It's unfortunate that the Broncos struggled as much as they did against the Indianapolis Colts for Hillman owners, as the running game had very few chances to show much of anything. Hillman and C.J. Anderson both had seven carries, but Hillman only got one yard whereas Anderson got 34. Hillman shouldn't all of a sudden lose his "starter" label, but Anderson has run well these past two weeks especially, and while Hillman kept pace in Week 8, this past game was pretty discouraging. Both should continue to get looks, but if Hillman continues to underwhelm the roughly 50/50 split might start to tip towards the hot hand. The Broncos face the Chiefs, Bears, Patriots, and Chargers in their next four games. Those teams can all be run on, with the Chiefs being the toughest of the bunch. Buy if you can on Hillman, and don't panic if you have him.
Travis Benjamin – WR, CLE
Johnny Manziel was under center, yes, but Travis Benjamin has been trending downwards the past few weeks. Weeks 3-6 saw him average about 11 targets a game, and Weeks 7-9 have seen that number fall to about six targets per game. That's a significant drop, and as such his production has dropped. He hasn't scored more than three points in standard leagues in any of his past three games. Benjamin and the Browns get the Steelers and Ravens with a bye week sandwiched in. Pretty good matchups for Benjamin, but he might not be worthy of starting right now until those targets trend back upwards.
Jordan Cameron - TE, MIA
I hope you have other options at the ready, because Jordan Cameron is still 62% owned on Fleaflicker and his production doesn't even warrant half of that. I know that most of that is because of his past and the potential that he holds, but it's Week 10 now and he has yet to post a game of 10 points or more. Move on with your life. While he was at least getting a decent amount of targets earlier in the year, averaging around eight per game, he only has eight targets in the past three games combined now and he has scored less than four points in five of eight games this year. Gross.
Other Fallers to Note: Doug Martin (RB, TB), Donte Moncrief (WR, IND), Julius Thomas (TE, JAC).
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