| SUNDAY SALUTES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | Pass-Rush | TD |
| Tua Tagovailoa | 382-19 | 3 |
| Kyler Murray | 326-36 | 3 |
| Jalen Hurts | 285-10 | 4 |
| Dak Prescott | 250-34 | 3 |
| Marcus Mariota | 253-43 | 3 |
| Running Backs | Rush Receive |
TD |
| Derrick Henry | 33-219 1-9 |
2 |
| Alvin Kamara | 18-62 9-96 |
3 |
| Tony Pollard | 14-131 1-16 |
3 |
| Christian McCaffrey | 18-94 8-55 |
3 |
| D’Onta Foreman | 26-118 | 3 |
| Wide Receivers | Yards | TD |
| A.J. Brown | 6-156 | 3 |
| Jaylen Waddle | 8-106 | 2 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 12-159 | 1 |
| D.J. Moore | 6-152 | 1 |
| Tyreek Hill | 12-188 | 0 |
| Tight Ends | Yards | TD |
| Tyler Conklin | 6-79 | 2 |
| Kyle Pitts | 5-80 | 1 |
| Isaiah Likely | 6-77 | 1 |
| Evan Engram | 4-55 | 1 |
| George Kittle | 3-39 | 1 |
| Placekickers | XP | FG |
| Nick Folk | 1 | 5 |
| Younghoe Koo | 4 | 3 |
| Chase McLaughlin | 1 | 3 |
| Jason Meyers | 3 | 2 |
| Mike Badgley | 3 | 2 |
| Defense | Sack – TO | TD |
| Seahawks | 5-2 | 0 |
| Cowboys | 4-1 | 1 |
| Eagles | 6-2 | 0 |
| Vikings | 4-3 | 0 |
| Falcons | 1-1 | 1 |
Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts
RB Mark Ingram (NO) – Knee
WR Christian Watson (GB) – Concussion
WR Cooper Kupp (LAR) – Ankle
WR DeVante Parker (NE) – Knee
WR Richie James (NYG) – Concussion
TE Irv Smith (MIN) – Ankle
TE Tyler Higbee (LAR) – Neck
Chasing Ambulances
After 26 years of writing this article every Monday, I honestly cannot recall a Sunday with so few notable injuries. That’s a wonderful thing to say.
WR Cooper Kupp (LAR) – Twisted his right ankle and left the loss to the 49ers. According to Kupp, the ankle feels “pretty good.” and the hope is that he avoided any serious injury. The next few days will be key with how he responds to treatment. The Rams already had their bye in Week 7, and three of the next four games are on the road. If he misses any time, it increases the targets for Allen Robinson, Van Johnson, and Ben Skowronek.
RB Mark Ingram (NO) – Ingram injured his knee in the win over the Raiders after just one reception. There was no immediate word as to how badly is was hurt, though he was ruled out of the game. Dwayne Washington filled in but Alvin Kamara needed no help on Sunday.
WR DeVante Parker (NE) – Left after the first offensive play with a knee injury that was initially termed “questionable” to return and then he was ruled out. His status will be known when the Patriots have to issue injury reports on Wednesday.
Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables
WR Van Jefferson (LAR) – Was finally taken off injured reserve after he healed his knee. He was active in the loss to the 49ers and listed as a starting wide receiver. Jefferson was slated to have “a normal workload” but was never thrown a pass. With Cooper Kupp banged up, he needs to show up this week in Tampa Bay. If Kupp is injured with any severity, it sparks the chance that the Rams would trade for another receiver like Brandon Cooks.
TE Isaiah Likely (BAL) – Back on Thursday, Mark Andrews left with a shoulder injury and Isiah Likely filled in with six catches for 77 yards and a score to lead the Ravens. HC John Harbaugh said that the shoulder injury for Andrews wasn’t serious but practice this week will confirm it. And Andrews has from last Thursday until this Monday to heal. But Likely is already impressive as a rookie and ends up as a great handcuff for the Andrews owner. And worth stealing if you have a dead roster spot.
Tight Ends are not dead – The position experiences a major difference between Mark Andrews and Travis Kelce, as compared to all other NFL tight ends. This week had six tight ends not named Andrews or Kelce lead their team in receiving – Isaiah Likely, Greg Dulcich, Evan Engram, Kyle Pitts, T.J. Hockenson, and Pat Freiermuth. The position typically gets weaker as receivers as the season progresses. But this may well be yet another way this season is just different.
RB Travis Etienne (JAC) – James Robinson did not play in Week 7 and was traded away. And for two weeks, Etienne is on fire with his larger workload. He rushed for 114 yards and one score on 14 runs versus the Giants and Sunday, he gained 156 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries in London. He added three catches for six yards. Etienne keeps improving as a runner which played into letting Robinson go to the Jets.
RB D’Onta Foreman (CAR) – He ran for 118 yards on 15 carries in Week 7 after Christian McCaffrey left. On Sunday, he again rushed for exactly 118 yards only on 26 carries. And he scored three times. McCaffrey only totaled three scores over his first six games this season. Foreman was a capable replacement for Derrick Henry last year and gained over 100 yards in three games when he took over in the second half of the season in Tennessee.
RB Tyler Allgeier – Caleb Huntley (ATL) – This is a free agent idea for Week 9 with six NFL teams on bye. The Falcons like to run the ball. Maybe it is because they don’t pass that well, but they prefer to run. Against the Panthers, Tyler Allgeier ran for 39 yards on 14 carries and caught three passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. Caleb Huntley gained 91 yards on 16 carries. It will remain a committee approach, but consider their next opponents and where they rank against running backs – Chargers (28), Panthers (23) again, and Bears (31).
RB Tony Pollard (DAL) – With Ezekiel Elliott out, Tony Pollard took over as the primary back with spectacular results. He ran for 131 yards and three scores that included a 54-yard touchdown as the final score in the game. And that was with the Cowboys giving Malik Davis eight carries and two receptions in his NFL debut. Jerry Jones quickly mentioned that Ezekiel Elliott remains the primary rusher when he is healthy. Pollard’s fine performance happened at home against the No. 31 defense versus running backs, but it was still thoroughly impressive.
TE Dalton Schultz (DAL) – Even though he’s been playing injured for the last two weeks, reuniting with Dak Prescott resulted in 11 catches for 123 yards over those two games and he didn’t even finish Week 7. There is at least one fantasy owner in your league who was not a fan of Cooper Rush.
RB D’Andre Swift (DET) – After missing five games, Swift returned against the Dolphins. He only ran for six yards on five carries, and caught five passes for 27 yards and one fantasy-salvaging touchdown. Jamaal Williams gained 53 yards and two scores on his ten runs and added three catches for 23 yards. By this point, Williams is not the handcuff for Swift. It is Swift being just a throw-in for the Williams’ owner.
WR Rondale Moore (ARI) – Marquise Brown has been gone for two games, and Robbie Anderson was acquired but has yet to catch a Kyler Murray pass despite four targets. DeAndre Hopkins has been back for two weeks and topped 100 yards in each as an instant upgrade for the passing attack. But Moore has stepped up too and benefits from the defensive focus on Hopkins. He caught seven passes for 92 yards and a score in the loss to the Vikings and even gained 12 yards on two rushes.
RB Alvin Kamara (NO) – He’s gained around 100 total yards per week, but hadn’t scored for 2021. He fixed that against the Raiders when he rushed in one touchdown (18-62, TD) and scored twice as a receiver (9-96, 2 TD) which is how it was always supposed to be. It’s good to see the Saints turning to Kamara as the primary receiver since Jarvis Landry and Michael Thomas cannot stay healthy.
QB Zach Wilson (NYJ) – This changes everything. At least it did on Sunday. The Jets’ first game without Breece Hall did not go nearly as well as hoped. Instead of a guaranteed 100 yards and a touchdown, the Jets backfield sputtered between Michael Carter (7-26) and James Robinson (5-17) but that forced Wilson to pass for 355 yards and two scores – but three interceptions. And that let Garrett Wilson finally come back to life with six catches for 115 yards. Wilson was held to around 25 yards per game while Wilson was just handing off to Hall. And Tyler Conklin had been held to nearly no catches for the last month. He gained 79 yards and scored twice on his six receptions. The Jets team fell back a step with the loss of Hall, but at least it is perking the fantasy values of Wilson and Conklin back up.
QB Malik Willis (TEN) – Ryan Tannehill is likely to return this week, but Willis had his debut as the guy that gives the ball to Derrick Henry (32-219, 2 TD). Willis only completed 6-of-10 for 55 yards and one interception. He ran for 12 yards on five rushes as well. It was Henry’s day, as it always is when they face the Texans. Willis gets a mulligan on that start.
QB Sam Ehlinger (IND) – His debut included 201 passing yards and no scores. To his credit, the top three receivers were all wideouts so he didn’t just check down to a running back or tight end. He even ran for 15 yards on six rushes. The Colts lost to the Commanders, but only in the final seconds. Ehlinger played far better than a rookie (see above, Malik Willis).
RB Ronnie Rivers (LA) – The Rams backfield ranks No. 32 in the NFL for fantasy points and adding Rivers only mixed up the mediocrity with eight rushes for 21 yards. Darrell Henderson (4-16) and Malcolm Brown (5-10) also spent time not helping. Kyren Williams wasn’t taken off injured reserve, but they still have a couple of weeks to make that decision. He fell in the draft as being too small (5-9, 194 pounds) and slow (4.65) but was highly productive as the two-year starter in Notre Dame. The Rams say that they may welcome Cam Akers back when he discovers that no other team wants him. It’s all a mess and only getting worse.
Huddle player of the week
Alvin Kamara –On a day that saw several monster games – Christian McCaffrey, A.J. Brown, Derrick Henry, etc., Kamara stands on top. He had not scored a touchdown this season, but when he faced the visiting Raiders (or whatever that was in silver and black on the field), Kamara ran for 62 yards and caught nine passes for 96 yards along with three total touchdowns. He looked like the same Kamara that wrecked opponents back when Drew Brees played.
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
| Comedy | Yards | TDs | Tragedy | Yards | TDs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Taylor Heinicke | 308 | 2 | QB | Derek Carr | 100 | 0 |
| RB | D’Onta Foreman | 118 | 3 | RB | Brian Robinson | 20 | 0 |
| RB | Nyheim Hines | 49 | 1 | RB | Josh Jacobs | 53 | 0 |
| WR | Damiere Byrd | 67 | 1 | WR | Davante Adams | 2 | 0 |
| WR | Zach Pascal | 57 | 1 | WR | Courtland Sutton | 13 | 0 |
| WR | Devin Duvernay | 64 | 1 | WR | DeVonta Smith | 23 | 0 |
| TE | Isaiah Likely | 77 | 1 | TE | Mark Andrews | 33 | 0 |
| PK | Nick Folk | 1 XP 5 FG | PK | Daniel Carlson | nope | ||
| Huddle Fantasy Points = 130 | Huddle Fantasy Points = 18 | ||||||
Now get back to work… and keep your helmet on…
