Daily Dr. Roto — October 7, 2019
Week 5 Prescription Notes
— Finally!! The Vikings finally aired out the football, and Kirk Cousins threw for 300+ passing yards and two TDs. This win was needed as the Vikings were breaking apart at the seams. Week 6 is a big step for the Vikings as they play the Eagles. It’s one thing to throw the football against a bad Giants defense; it’s another to throw it against a tough Eagles defense. It will be fascinating to see if the Vikings revert to old ways and run the football 30 times next week.
— It was a little shocking to see the Patriots only leading by 5 points at halftime, but they gave the ball to RB Sony Michel in the second half and totally dominated the line of scrimmage. With Rex Burkhead out, many experts wondered if Michel would be able to step up—he certainly did, which was a relief to his fantasy owners who were getting tired of watching him unable to break tackles.
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— I will never sit D.J. Chark again! Ugh, Chark was so good this week that he certainly rivals Dede Westbrook as the WR1 on the Jaguars. I sat him all over the place thinking the Panthers’ pass defense was too good, and he would underperform. Note to self: ALWAYS PLAY YOUR BEST PLAYERS!
— Going into the fourth quarter it was comical to see that the game with two of the worst defenses in the NFL was 13-9. The Cardinals and Bengals exploded for 27 points in the fourth, but it shows how bad these teams are. The only glimmer that I saw was that Cards QB Kyler Murray is now running like we thought he would when he was drafted. If he can run for 50-60 yards per week, he could be a mini-Lamar Jackson.
— Congratulations to all of you (including me) who played Texans WR Will Fuller in DFS this week. As my friend Willie Walls likes to say, “Fuller was ready to burst!” Now, fantasy owners need to see the same from DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins has not had that colossal game yet, but it feels like it’s coming sometime soon.
— The Tampa Bay Bucs are really bad against the opposing tight ends. Jared Cook and Josh Hill caught seven passes for 80 yards and a TD this week on ten targets. We can certainly take advantage of this weakness. Greg Olsen is a must-start in Week 6 when the Bucs take on the Panthers.
— I am as shocked as anyone that the Bears lost to the Raiders, but there was one ray of hope: WR Anthony Miller finally played well and was targeted seven times. The Bears are going to need someone to step up and help Allen Robinson. If not, Robinson is going to see continued double coverage from opposing defenses.
— If you drafted Jets WRs Jamison Crowder or Robby Anderson and you are ready to scream due to their ineptitude, your wait is almost over. QB Sam Darnold should be back in Week 6, which will make both receivers relevant again for fantasy purposes. Also, TE Chris Herndon is expected back next week from his suspension, so the Jets offense will be intact for the first time all season.
— I feel so badly for Steelers QB Mason Rudolph. He was playing relatively well against the Ravens before he took that brutal hit. The Steelers receivers are going to continue to fall further down the fantasy ranks if Rudolph cannot return anytime soon. At this point, JuJu Smith-Schuster is looking like a WR3.
— Titans K Cairo Santos was so horrible on Sunday that he cost the Titans any chance they had of winning against the Bills. However, kudos to the Bills for continuing to play hard and for QB Josh Allen to come back as well as he did after last week’s brutal concussion. The Bills look more and more like a playoff team, and they are getting RB Devin Singletary back after their Bye week in Week 6.
— I think the issues for the Los Angeles Chargers were about play-calling this week. The Broncos have one of the worst run defenses in the NFL, yet the Chargers only ran the ball 12 times with Melvin Gordon and three times with Austin Ekeler. I know they were losing, but if they followed the Jaguars game script from a week ago, they would have given themselves a much better chance to win.
— The Cowboys got beat badly against the Packers, but there is a silver lining: WR Michael Gallup returned much sooner than expected from his knee injury and had seven receptions for 113 yards and a TD. If Dallas is going to make it deep into the playoffs this season, they are going to need Gallup to complement Amari Cooper to keep defenses on their toes.
— The Colts provided a blueprint for any team that wants to beat the Kansas City Chiefs. Firstly, you need to run the football as the Colts did with Marlon Mack. Secondly, you need to control the clock and pass only when necessary, and thirdly, you must have a pass rush to make Patrick Mahomes uncomfortable in the pocket. I am not sure the Colts would win this game if Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins were both playing, but if they continue to play like they did, they will make another deep run into the AFC playoffs.
