Bye Weeks: Arizona, Houston, Kansas City, Detroit, Seattle, Baltimore
Back in the Saddle: DeAngelo Williams racked
up 100-plus total yards in relief of Le'Veon Bell in Wk 8.
Grab a Helmet
DeAngelo
Williams v OAK: Because Bell missed the first two games
due to suspension, many owners already had Williams rostered…or
at least they should have. Williams excelled in the fill-in role
during the weeks 1 and 2, and better yet, Pittsburgh seems to
use Williams just as much as they did Bell. Williams had over
100 total yards in just over two quarters against the Bengals
last week, and displayed some speed and wiggle on a 55-yard run
in the 3rd quarter. He won’t be as efficient or explosive as Bell,
but the volume will be there to make Williams a solid RB2 going
forward, even against a solid Raiders front seven. Chris
Ivory vs JAX: The dreaded game flow monster conspired
with the Raiders defense and the loss of center Nick Mangold,
to render Ivory a mere afterthought in last week’s game. The 17
rushing yards was the second lowest total he’s had as a Jet, but
there were a few positive take-aways. Ivory pulled in multiple
receptions for the third straight game, and has nearly matched
his career high of 18 receptions, as he has 11 in just six games.
He was also healthy, playing deep into the blow-out loss. With
Jets quarterbacks banged up, and an unimposing Jaguars defense
coming to town, look for Ivory to get back on track and put up
borderline RB1 numbers this week.
Jeremy
Hill/Giovani
Bernard vs CLE (THU): Until they can prove otherwise,
the Cleveland defense should be a weekly RB stream target. After
giving up a sixth-straight 100-yard game to a rusher, Cleveland
has given up a league worst 147 yards per game on the ground.
The high flying Cardinals paid attention as they gave 30-year-old
Chris Johnson 30 carries in Week 8. I expect heavy doses of Hill
and Bernard in this one, as they combined for 227 yards on 40
carries in a week 15 drubbing last season. Hill’s touchdown potential
make him a better option, but both Hill and Bernard have places
in your starting line-up.
Grab Some Pine
Frank
Gore v. DEN: Despite their offensive struggles, Gore
has shown he still has something left, as he’s averaged 4.6 yards
per carry this season. Unfortunately at this point in his career
his game isn’t suited for the aggressive gap splitting style the
Denver defense employs. Gore is a downhill runner, but struggles
to make guys miss. He lacks the elite speed to get to the edge,
and his strengths, (vision, anticipation) are somewhat nullified
by a swarming front, and sure tackling second and third level.
The match-up downgrade leaves Gore more of a FLEX play than an
RB2.
DeMarco
Murray @ DAL: The revenge factor was a dud and so was
Murray in their Week 2 match-up. In that game Murray gained a
total of 6 feet on 13 carries. No, not 6 yards, 6 feet! Although
he’s been better since that disaster, his running style isn’t
ideal for a defense that gets into the backfield like Dallas can.
Look for the more shifty, explosive Ryan Mathews to out produce
Murray in this one, as Dallas plays essentially a “must win” game.
What’s Left of the 49ers Backfield
vs ATL: With bye weeks and injuries likely ravaging your
RB position you might consider picking up Kendall
Gaskins, or recently signed Shaun
Draughn; neither of these guys, or anyone else the Niners
might add before Sunday are worth a look. The 49ers are the most
dysfunctional offense in the league, and they face the 3rd best
run defense in the NFL as they welcome the Falcons to town. Maybe
Carlos
Hyde guts it out on a bad wheel, but if that’s the best you
can do, you have my condolences.
