Okay, we're now officially two months into the NFL season (this column was supposed to come out after Week 8 but like a baseball player accused of steroid use appearing before a grand jury, the incident in question slipped my mind). That's enough time to have seen and spoiled the ending of "Gone Girl" for at least two of your friends, made at least 18 obligatory "Winter is Coming" jokes and consumed a half dozen pumpkin spice lattes in the last few hours because "you're basic." It's also enough time to provide us with a big enough sample size to draw some major conclusions about a few marquee names in the fantasy-verse.
Andrew Luck: Luck was such an enticing prospect that the Indianapolis Colts felts secure enough to move on from Peyton Manning to make room for him. His first two seasons in the NFL proved that they did not make a wrong decision. While Luck's real life playing skills were incredible, his fantasy outputs weren't other worldly. He ranked 10th in scoring during his rookie year and fifth last season, never topping the 300 point mark in either year. Indianapolis offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton's run heavy scheme limited Luck's fantasy ceiling. But this year Luck is lighting the fantasy world on fire. He has 221 points through nine games this season. That is 34 more points than second place Peyton Manning. The third-year QB is averaging 24.6 points per week and is the front runner for MVP at the moment. Luck's fantasy bonanza has also turned receiver T.Y. Hilton and tight end Dwayne Allen into No. 1's at their respective positions. Luck is averaging the most pass attempts per game in his career and is on pace with 61 rushing attemps, which is all good news for fantasy owners. Luck's ascension has put him firmly into the Manning/Rodgers/Brees/Brady fantasy tier going forward.
LeSean McCoy: Shady ranks just 100th in standard fantasy scoring with 69 points. This type of output is like the movie "Man of Steel" in that it is failing to live up to expectations in a big way. Last season he finished in the top 10 while leading the NFL in rushing yards. Most of you fantasy owners out there spent a top-three pick on McCoy and have been largely disappointed this year. The good news is that McCoy looks like he's coming out of his slump. He has two 100-plus yard performances in his last three games and the return of right tackle Lane Johnson has helped. The bad news is that starting quarterback Nick Foles broke his collarbone this weekend and is expected to miss six to eight weeks. That means more bodies near the line of scrimmage. However, that could work in McCoy's favor according to ESPN's Field Yates.
"The upside to running against a heavy box is that if the back can penetrate through the line of scrimmage, there's much more space to operate at the second and third levels," Yates wrote. "Don't be surprised to see McCoy rack up 10-plus yard runs and huge fantasy points going forward."
Antonio Brown: I've been working on my haikus lately. Check it out.
Fantasy Football
Antonio Brown starting
Good things will happen
Not bad, right?
Brown has elevated his game to a whole new level this year. He is unquestionably the best fantasy receiver in the game. Everyone thought he was good, but no one expected him to be this good. Pittsburgh's offense is really rounding into shape lately so owners can expect the elite production to continue.
Zac Stacy: Stacy was a popular second or third round pick in most drafts. But his complete and utter failure of a fantasy season has taught us a few valuable lessons.
1. Second year rushers are tricky. You don't know whether their rookie season was a mirage or if it was legit. Be wary of late round backs that didn't see the field consistently until a month into their first year.
2. Averaging less than 4.0 yards per carry on 250 rushing attempts is not good. Stacy averaged 3.9 during his rookie season. Red flag.
3. If a team spends a third round pick on a running back after a "breakout year" from a rookie rusher, it means that they don't have much confidence that he can sustain that success.
If it sounds like I'm overly bitter about Stacy it probably has nothing to do with the fact that I took him with the 30th pick in one league...
