RADIO
It is time to face the hard facts. There are teams that we need to break up with as soon as possible for fantasy football. Name recognition is nice but relying on fantasy-winning past performances is futile. Now is the time.
Okay, maybe there are a few teams we can hold out hope for. So, let's say there are a few teams we are entirely ghosting and a couple of teams we will let hang around.
But this is fantasy football crunch time. Time and decisive decisions need to be made. Let us look at the football teams we need to break up with, and those that may be worth letting hang around for a bit.
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Let Them Hang On Just a Bit More for Fantasy Football
There are a couple of teams that we might want to take a cautious wait-and-see attitude. You know, keep their numbers but don't answer their calls.
CHICAGO BEARS
This is contingent on the health of Justin Fields. If he's healthy, then it's a yes. We will never lose Fields' number. Unfortunately, wide receiver Darnell Mooney is on IR. Fortunately, a healthy Fields is all we need.
Since Week 3, Fields has not had an outing under double-digit fantasy points. He scored 42.7, 40.4, and 23.6 fantasy points in the last three weeks before his injury. In Week 9 against the Miami Dolphins, Fields had 28 passing and 15 rushing attempts. He finished with four touchdowns on 123 passing yards and 178 rushing yards.
In Week 10 against the Detroit Lions, he had 13 rushing attempts for 147 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. He also attempted 20 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns. In Week 11, he had 153 passing yards on 21 attempts and 85 rushing yards on 18 rushing attempts. Fields finished with two touchdowns and one interception.
Fields is currently suffering from a shoulder injury. In Week 13, the Chicago Bears are set to host the Green Bay Packers. The Bears have a bye week in Week 14. In Weeks 15-16, Fields will have to go against the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills. You are keeping him on speed dial because in a pivotal Week 17, he meets the Detroit Lions again.
ATLANTA FALCONS
This is a quandary. There is talent there. Hello Drake London, and hi Marcus Mariota, but the output is so unnervingly erratic and low. In his last three games, Mariota scored 18.7, 17.7, and 14.9 fantasy points while he attempted 30, 20, and 25 passing attempts.
London is currently WR42. He has a 26.1% target share and a 27.9% target rate. The problem is that the Falcons are 31st in passing percentage per game. The Falcons pass the ball on 43.72% of their offensive plays (only Chicago passes less). They average 23 pass attempts per game (31st), and they are currently in second in the NFC South (5-7) behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6). So, there is no reason for them to change it.
Shouldn't that make their running back fantasy-valuable, you ask? If you could pick one definitively, yes. Last week, Tyler Allgeier had 11 rushing attempts for 54 yards. Cordarrelle Patterson had 11 rushing attempts for 52 yards, and Mariota had six rushing attempts for 49 yards.
Ghost Them in Fantasy Football
DENVER BRONCOS
Let's not ride, at least not with quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson is QB22. He has 336 passing attempts (17th) and averages 7.1 yards per attempt. He has a 32.2 QBR and a 58.9% completion percentage. If he was just dragging himself down, that's one thing, but unfortunately, the receiving corps is dragged down with him.
Courtland Sutton is WR30 in fantasy land. He has one receiving touchdown for the season. Tight end Greg Dulcich is TE34. He has one receiving touchdown for the season. Let's cut to the chase, the Broncos are averaging 14.3 points per game. That is dead last in the NFL. They are averaging 2.2 red zone scoring attempts, dead last, and have scored in the red zone on 37.50%, also dead last.
This offense is less than ideal, and don't even try to figure out who will emerge from the revolving door of running backs.
LOS ANGELES RAMS
How the mighty have fallen along with our fantasy hopes. There isn't much to say here. Cooper Kupp was the one bright shining star, and he is on IR. Matthew Stafford is injured but was inept before the injury, averaging 12 fantasy points per game. Allen Robinson is on IR, but before that was averaging 8.5 fantasy points per game.
Cam Akers is out, and then he is in, and now he is "the starter"? Last week, he had fewer rushing yards and carries than their third-string quarterback Bryce Perkins. Aaron Donald is out Week 13, and Jalen Ramsey has allowed the second-most receiving touchdowns (six) in his coverage this season. There is no one to trust here.
HOUSTON TEXANS
Not much to see here. There was Dameon Pierce (emphasis on was). Depending on who you believe, Pierce is either hitting the rookie wall or about to emerge from playing good running defenses. Pierce had 3.7 fantasy points and 4.6 fantasy points in his last two games.
Here is the reality, the Texans aren't very good. Going from Davis Mills to Kyle Allen wasn't it. The team averages 21.6 rushing plays per game (32nd). Pierce has 180 carries (fifth) and 29 red zone touches (10th). He has four touchdowns on a team that averages 15.8 points per game.
You can't trust the Texans; after this week, you might want to forget about Pierce.
Teams vs. Players
There are players trapped inside bad teams. You absolutely cannot trust last year's Super Bowl Champion Los Angeles Rams. Without Cooper Kupp, there is nothing there.
The Texans are working their way out of the circle of trust with leaps and bounds. The Texans' only reliable weapon is trending down, but with a soft matchup against the Cleveland Browns this week, he might work his way back into the trust circle. His team is forever out.
The Broncos are ruining Greg Dulcich, Courtland Sutton, and Jerry Jeudy with the subpar play of Wilson. Trust the matchup. Unless it is the Rams, then abandon all hope.
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