Cl11234566 le Mar Déc 24, 2019 8:44
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Each week, TSN.ca Fantasy Editor Scott Cullen, NFL Editor Ben Fisher, and Isaac Owusu discuss three hot fantasy football topics. What was your best answer to a Three and Out question all year? Scott Cullen: 1. With a number of rookie receivers breaking out lately, which one will finish the year with the most fantasy points? Four rookie receivers -- DeAndre Hopkins, Keenan Allen, Kenbrell Thompkins and Terrance Williams -- have more than 300 yards receiving, so those are the leading contenders (Robert Woods at 274 yards could be in the mix, too) and, from that group, I like Allen the best. He has a prolific quarterback, Philip Rivers, whose game appears to have been resurrected this season and Allen is the best wide receiver option on his team, thanks to Malcom Floyd and Danario Alexander suffering season-ending injuries. Hopkins might be the most gifted of the group, but hes still behind Andre Johnson in the Texans pecking order and the quarterback play in Houston has been shaky to say the least. Thompkins is turning into a big-play threat for Tom Brady, but is competing with Danny Amendola, Julian Edelman and fellow rookie Aaron Dobson for targets. Williams has been a big-play threat for the Cowboys, particularly when Miles Austin was out of the lineup, but it remains to be seen how much he will get the ball now that Austin is healthy. For a team that already has Dez Bryant and Jason Witten commanding a lot of attention in the passing game, Williams may need another Austin injury if hes going to finish among the rookie leaders. Ben Fisher: I nailed one early; it was all downhill from there. In predicting pre-season sleepers for big seasons I went all in on Green Bay Packers RB Eddie Lacy. I was a fan of Lacys work at Alabama, blamed the pre-season “fat photo” on the angle of the camera, and loved the opportunity the starting running back in Green Bay was getting this season. Lacy is a Top 10 RB that could have been had as late as the fifth-round. My good advice wasnt just restricted to the pre-season, I was high on a couple San Diego Chargers in Ryan Mathews and Keenan Allen early on and gave up on Stevan Ridley before too much fantasy heartache, but grabbing Lacy early was the best I did in this column all year. Isaac Owusu: I havent done too many “Three and Out” questions, but last weeks decision between Dennis Pitta and Jacob Tamme would undoubtedly be my best answer. Pitta didnt have the big day as a follow up to his week 14 debut, with only 2 catches for 24 yards on 4 targets especially compared to Tammes 1 catch for 9 yards on 2 targets.The numbers clearly arent as far apart, but the glaring number was their snap counts. Tamme was on the field for just 9 of 54 snaps while Pitta saw the field for 30 of 66 snaps. Tamme frankly just isnt a viable fantasy option at tight end at this moment and the Denver Broncos have made their accommodations with other players ahead of him. Pitta is still very much apart of the Baltimore Ravens offence and should continue to see growth in his production as one of Joe Flaccos top two favourite targets next to Torrey Smith. What was your worst answer to a Three and Out question all year? Cullen: 2. What do you expect out of Steven Jackson in Atlanta this season? For a 30-year-old running back -- a time when production generally starts to fade -- this is a really good situation for Jackson. Hes been cranking out 1,000-yard seasons in each of the last eight years for St. Louis, but has scored six touchdowns or fewer in each of the last four seasons because the Rams havent had much of a team supporting him. In Atlanta, Jackson is the supporting cast for one of the leagues best passing offences and a past-his-prime Michael Turner rushed for 11 touchdowns with the Falcons last year, so its not unreasonable to think that Jackson could roll to 1,000 rushing yards and maybe push double digit touchdowns this year. Fisher: There were a few doozies. I was high on Terrelle Pryors fast start – QB1 high – while at the same time only lukewarm on Philip Rivers. But my biggest blunders of 2013 were suggesting to owners that Knowshon Moreno was too inconsistent to spend a lot of their waiver budget on, and to drop Cam Newton, right before the Panthers turned things around and ripped off eight wins in a row. Moreno and Newton will each finish the year as Top 5 scorers at their position. The lessons learned? After struggling in his sophomore season, Newton found his form again as all great QBs do and deserves owners patience in riding out any slumps in the future. And as for Moreno, all Denver Broncos starter must be owned for the foreseeable future. Owusu: My worst answer had to have been regarding Michael Crabtree. When I told fantasy owners to treat him as a no more than flex option and to just expect him to play on limited snaps, I didnt expect him to be this productive. He has seen his workload increase each of the three weeks since his return. His involvement in the offence has been just what fantasy owners who took a chance on him wanted. He has seen no less than 4 targets in any of his appearances (eight in week 14 and six in week 15). Its clear that going in to this weeks matchup which should be the Super Bowl for most fantasy leagues, that Crabtree can be relied on to be involved in the 49ers offence like a WR2 should. Give me one sleeper keeper to keep an eye on for next season? Cullen: Since my one sleeper keeper would probably be Allen, and I mentioned him in the first answer, Ill look elsewhere. How about Arizona Cardinals WR Michael Floyd, who has 196 more receiving yards than Larry Fitzgerald, but has six fewer touchdowns? Floyd has had some ups and downs in his second season, but enough ups that hes very likely to go over 1,000 yards and its reasonable to expect strong numbers from him for the next few seasons. Fisher: There are a few receivers I had in the running for this. Alshon Jeffery and Antonio Brown had too good of seasons overall to really be considered sleepers so my pick heading into the fantasy off-season will be Keenan Allen. I mentioned above I was high on the rookie early and he only got better from there. Allen will finish the year as a middling WR2 but he performed closer to a middling WR1 down the stretch. In first-year head coach Mike McCoys offence, San Diego players were fantasy juggernauts. That shouldnt change for next season; the only thing that might are Allens opportunities. Rivers knows he can trust the third-round receiver, his targets over the course of a full 16 games could see an uptick. Owusu: Arizona Cardinals RB Andre Ellington could be a major sleeper keeper for next season. He came into the year with modest expectations of his production but if you look at the numbers the potential is there for him to be a major fantasy factor for next year. Right now he is the only player in the league who is averaging more than 5 yards per carry and more than 10 yards per catch, that is Marshall Faulk territory! His big play ability makes him somebody to look out for, even though he hasnt been a every week starter for the Cardinals. He is very much a dual threat at running back, and eventually head coach Bruce Arians should grow tiresome of the lack of production from Rashard Mendenhall (3.1 yards per carry) and Ellington should be able to feast as a dangerous PPR fantasy option. Vans Shoes Wholesale .J. -- After getting permission from his 7-year-old daughter, New York Giants offensive lineman David Diehl has retired after an 11-year career that included two Super Bowl championships. Vans Old Skool White . -- The Minnesota Vikings have signed Jerome Simpson, the former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver recently convicted on a felony drug charge. http://www.vansshoesclearancesale.com/vans-old-skool-sale/white.html.500. The Jets have now won nine of their last 11, and five of their last six road games. With the win they moved to within two points of Vancouver in the west, the Canucks holding down the eighth spot. Vancouver lost in Boston, while the other big game saw Dallas win in Phoenix. Vans Old Skool Wholesale . For the Blue Jays the time was Wednesday and the ace was R.A. Dickey. He stepped up. "I feel some responsibility as a stopper from time to time," said Dickey. Cheap Vans Sk8 Hi Shoes .Tatjana Haenni, FIFAs head of womens competitions, told a FIFA Live Your Goals Tour news conference Friday that the artificial turf is being tested to make sure it meets standards. ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Bills centre Eric Wood was not at all surprised hearing team president Russ Brandon raise concerns whether Buffalo loses a competitive edge playing annual home games in Toronto. Brandon first questioned the benefits of the "Bills In Toronto" series during a meeting with Wood and fellow team captains about a month ago. "He knew that a lot of players have expressed some harsh feelings toward Toronto," Wood said Wednesday. "And he basically told us as captains that he was going to do whatever it takes around here to win. And thats something he wanted to address." Brandon went public with his concerns during his weekly show on Buffalos WGR-AM earlier in the day. While noting the Bills games north of the border have boosted the small-market franchises revenues, Brandon added that they havent paid off in wins. Following a 34-31 overtime loss to Atlanta on Sunday, Buffalo dropped to 1-5 in Toronto since the series was established in 2008. "It has been a challenged market there, and certainly has not translated into enough wins for us there," Brandon said. "Nothing comes above winning. When I took over the reins on Jan. 1, I said that was the No. 1 focus, and that will be the No. 1 focus. Thats one of the reasons that this will be reviewed in a grand manner." Brandon stopped short of saying the Bills would consider or be allowed to opt out of the four remaining years of the deal, which they renewed in January with Toronto-based Rogers Communications. "Im going to look at everything. Ill just leave it at that," Brandon said, before being asked a second time whether the Bills can opt out. "My focus in this organization is simple, to put ourselves in the position to win championships and sustain success. Period. Nothing comes above that." Wood has been among several players who have criticized the series. He called the games in Toronto "a joke" last year following a 50-17 loss to Seattle. Last week, receiver Stevie Johnson questioned whether the warm-weather Falcons "fixed" the schedule in getting to play indoors at the domed Rogers Centre, and avoid the wintry conditions -- and traditionally more raucous environment -- at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchardd Park, N.ddddddddddddY. The loss put a big dent in the Bills chances of staying in the AFC playoff race. At 4-8, Buffalo plays three of its final four on the road, beginning with a trip to Tampa Bay (3-9) on Sunday. Buffalo is in jeopardy of extending the NFLs longest active post-season drought to 14 seasons. And the Bills will go a ninth straight year without a winning record. The Bills are 0-4 at Toronto during December. Their lone win came on Oct. 30, 2011, when they defeated Washington 23-0. Rogers officials declined to comment on Brandons statements. So did NFL vice-president Christopher Parsons, who heads the leagues international offices. The Bills made the decision to play games in Toronto, about a 2-hour drive from Buffalo, in a bid to expand their fan base and generate additional revenue from Canadas largest city and financial capital. A lack of home-team support and poor attendance remain issues since the series started. The announced crowd of 38,969 on Sunday was by far the smallest of the series, and well short of the stadiums NFL capacity of 46,470, not including suites. Rogers did announce the first four regular-season games had been sellouts before later acknowledging the totals included thousands of free tickets. The games also attract a larger than usual contingent of visiting team supporters. Several Atlanta players were pleasantly surprised to see a notable number of fans wearing Falcons jerseys in the stands on Sunday. "The crazy part is we had a lot of support here," Falcons safety William Moore said. "It didnt feel like we were in Canada." The series has generated revenue and lured more southern Ontario fans back to Buffalo. The Bills estimate Canadians now make up about 15 per cent of their season ticket base. That rivals the number of season ticket holders the Bills get from nearby Rochester. As part of the initial five-year deal, Rogers agreed to pay $78 million to essentially lease eight Bills home games: five regular season and three preseason. The final preseason game was eventually dropped because of scheduling difficulties. In exchange, the Bills earned more than double what they usually generated from hosting games in Buffalo. The value of the most recent deal has not been revealed. ' ' ' |
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