“Where am I?”
He’s confused and groggy as he asks this.
Bruce Wayne is trying to make sense of why he is still alive.
It’s the 2012 movie “The Dark Knight Rises,” and Bruce is told where he is by the movie’s main villain, Bane.
“Home, where I learned the truth about despair, as will you,” says Bane. “There’s a reason why this prison is the worst hell on earth…. hope.”
As Bane speaks, we get a sense of exactly where Bruce is being kept. It’s a prison, yes, but one that has a way to escape. A high above the ground opening where the sun clearly shines in. To get there and escape, you have to climb up a very long, entirely circular wall with just some bricks and one or two ledges to help as you climb. And as the camera pans this seemingly impossible path to escape, Bane continues.
“Every man who has rotted here over the centuries has looked up to the light and imagined climbing to freedom. So easy… So simple… And like shipwrecked men turning to sea water from uncontrollable thirst, many have died trying.”
Bane looks directly at Bruce and continues.
“I learned here that there can be no true despair without hope.”
I thought about that scene a lot yesterday when my beloved Washington Commanders released a statement:
“Ashburn, VA., November 2nd, 2022 – Dan and Tanya Snyder and the Washington Commanders announced today that they have hired BofA Securities to consider potential transactions.
The Snyders remain committed to the team, all of its employees and its countless fans to putting the best product on the field and continuing the work to set the gold standard for workplaces in the NFL.”
I first saw the statement from a tweet by Adam Schefter, who quote tweeted a graphic of the statement and Adam added “Commanders announced that Tanya and Dan Snyder have hired Bank of America Securities to explore the sale of their franchise.”
Sale of their franchise?!!? Really?
I excitedly started texting my friends who I know are Washington fans. “HOLY. $#*%!,” I said and we went back and forth talking about who could potentially buy the team.
Texted one friend of mine, “This is our Independence Day!”
But then I started to hear from others. More sober, more objective, smart and connected football friends who weren’t wearing Burgundy colored glasses. And I started to realize that we -- and by we I mean the millions of diehard Washington fans, myself included -- might actually be entering an era of true despair.
Not just a continuation of the hopeless depression we’ve had for over two decades. No, this could potentially be an era of actual TRUE DESPAIR.
Because while Bane may be evil he is also smart. And he knows there can be no true despair without hope. In the scene above, Bane continues his speech to Wayne. “So, as I terrorize Gotham, I will feed its people hope to poison their souls.”
As I talked to a bunch of insiders, sources and fellow Washington fans, one thing became clear. Almost everyone thinks Snyder is pulling a Bane. Feeding us hope to poison our souls.
Hope that they might actually sell the team. Or be forced to by their fellow owners.
Hope that will eventually be dashed and push us all further into true despair. That the “potential transaction” the statement references is merely a minority owner to help infuse some cash into the team to help finance a new stadium.
The team has attempted to get government funds to build a new stadium in both Maryland and Virginia but has not been able to get that going. From the outside it appears no politician wants to be seen as publicly supporting the Snyders given the controversies and many ongoing investigations around the team. Moving back to the District of Columbia and their former home of RFK Stadium is also not currently in the cards as the land is currently owned by the federal government.
Or maybe this is just about trying to deflect some of the current heat about removing the Snyders as owners (an idea Colts owner and new Washington folk hero Jim Irsay said should be considered at the recent NFL Owners meetings), and ultimately the Snyders will announce they’ve decided to keep the team after all.
If those things happen, that would be cruel. Crushing. True despair.
For the fans at FedEx Field during the Commanders’ home game on October 23 against the Packers who, when Tanya Snyder appeared on the video board during a PSA for breast cancer, chanted, “Sell the team!”
For the 77% of the thousands of fans who voted in my Twitter poll who, when asked what they would prefer this year, chose the Commanders going 4-13 and Snyder selling the team over Snyder staying but the team winning a Super Bowl.
For me. And the millions of fans like me who live, eat and breathe the Burgundy and Gold.
We need this to be true. We need the Snyders to sell the team. All of the team.
I was five years old and living in Charlottesville, Virginia. My father was a professor at the University of Virginia, and someone bought me a toy Washington helmet. Man, I loved that thing. Wore it all over the house, running around with a nerf football tucked under my arm, the world’s fiercest five-year-old running back.
And as I grew up Joe Gibbs became the coach of the team, taking them to four Super Bowls in 12 years, winning three of them. They were one of the greatest and most popular franchises in the NFL -- respected on and off the field -- and they won my heart forever.
FOR-EVER.
Then in 1999, Dan Snyder bought the team, and over the last 23 years or so, that pure love has been tested. Multiple times, multiple ways.
It’s a 23-year span that has seen a 160-214-1 overall record, 10 different head coaches and 26 different starting QBs.
In 23 seasons, the team has never made it past the Divisional Round in the playoffs and has just four division titles. No team in the NFC East has fewer in that time frame.
It’s an era that saw Albert Haynesworth signed to a $100 million contract and two years later traded for a fifth-round pick. And 32-year-old Deion Sanders signed to a seven-year, $56 million contract. And 36-year-old Bruce Smith signed to a five-year $25 million deal (A huge deal in the year 2000). Jeff George was signed to a four-year, $14.8 million deal in 2000 (a decent-sized deal in 2000). George would last only a season and a half. Mark Brunell was 34 years old when he was signed to a seven-year, $43 million deal. He lost his job multiple times over the four years he was with the team. He gave up two draft picks for Donovan McNabb who was signed for five years and $78 million. McNabb would be benched midway through his first and only season with the team. Whether it was inexperienced Vinny Cerrato or clueless and ineffectual Bruce Allen, the “yes man” general managers under Snyder continually failed to produce results but were kept many many years longer than other GMs would have been with similar records of failure.
But it wasn’t just the failed on-field exploits. It was off the field as well. Under Snyder, Washington became the first NFL team to charge fans to watch camp practice. There was the Washington City Paper expose which accused the team of selling year old peanuts originally meant for distribution on a (now defunct) regional airline. This is a team that, in 2008, sued 125 of its season ticket holders. It went against the NFL’s desires and took advantage of the 2010 uncapped year which ultimately saw them get slapped with a $36 million cap hit in 2012 and 2013.
There were the embarrassing sewage issues at the stadium, the unsafe railing that had fans falling out of the stands and almost hurting visiting Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, the botched Sean Taylor celebration, the Tom Brady quote about how playing at FedEx field “felt like a home game” because so many fans were rooting for the visiting team (in that case the Patriots), a familiar weekly sight.
Because I am so public about my love of the team I would get asked why I still supported them. And I would explain it’s my childhood and you can’t reverse that or turn it off. It is what it is. They have my heart, forever. And so, through it all, I stood by them. I tried to give Snyder and the team the benefit of the doubt, refusing to go over the top in trashing him the way so many others did. I finally lost it when Bruce Allen cluelessly declared the team had “a damn good culture” while Trent Williams was willingly losing half a million dollars a week to NOT play for the team with such great culture. But then Bruce was fired and I was sucked right back in.
Only to discover, as bad as Bruce Allen was, it wasn’t just him.
I remember talking about Bruce Allen on air at ESPN once with Field Yates and Field had a great point. Every NFL fan base wants two things out of their franchise. Trust and hope. Trust that the team knows what it is doing and hope that it will work out. And year after year, the Snyders gave us neither of those.
Every week, every day it seemed there was another awful story about the team. Not just the ineptitude on the field or the seeming anti-fan policies continually put in place. No, over the last few years it has gotten really ugly.
There was the 2018 NY Times investigation about the harassment of the team’s cheerleaders by team management. There was the July 2020 Washington Post investigation where 15 different women accused former Washington employees of sexual harassment. There was the August 2020 follow-up by the Washington Post where another 25 women came forward, making the total number 42. There was the third Washington Post report from December 2020 that reported court records showed the team paid $1.6 million to a former female employee who accused Snyder directly of sexual harassment. And, of course, the Bruce Allen emails.
Then there was the Beth Wilkinson investigation into workplace culture. First as an “internal team investigation” and then taken over by the NFL, the findings were never released publicly. But the end result of the investigation was that, well, there was definitely something to the allegations. The NFL ruled the team had to pay a $10 million fine and that Dan Snyder would relinquish day-to-day control of the team, something that doesn’t happen if you’re 100% innocent.
Then there were the accusations the team used the Wilkinson report as a “tip sheet” on the accusers to compile an “enemies list.” (A claim denied by the team).
At the moment, I believe there are now six, count ‘em, SIX separate investigations, inquiries or government bodies that have publicly acknowledged at least “looking into the allegations.” Think about how insane that is. SIX separate investigations. A new, second investigation from the NFL is being conducted by Mary Jo White around alleged sexual misconduct. The Congressional House Committee on Oversight and Reform not only Investigated but sent a letter of its findings to the attorneys general of Virginia, Washington D.C., Maryland and the FTC, all of whom are, at some level, looking into the allegations, some on a very formal and announced level. And then a few hours after the Snyders made their announcement on Tuesday, it was reported by ESPN that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia had also opened a criminal investigation on the team over alleged financial improprieties.
Honestly, it’s hard to keep track of them all. Took me a long time to track it all down, and if I got any of it wrong I apologize. This is not meant to be a fully comprehensive list, and I am writing this as a fan, not a journalist. Just know that a lot of different government entities are curious about what the Commanders are up to and the team has denied every single claim.
It’s a truly breathtaking amount of accusations, from workplace culture to financial impropriety to sexual misconduct by many people over many years. Combined with the on-field product and disdain for fans, is it any wonder the team has become the sports equivalent of Blockbuster? Of AOL? A once mighty company that stood atop the competition and is now a barely existent shell of its former self, used only as a punchline in current conversation.
That’s what this team has become.
A team I, through it all, still love.
A team that, it should be noted, has absolutely taken a lot of steps in the right direction. I am a huge fan of President Jason Wright. Of Head Coach Ron Rivera. Of offensive coordinator Scott Turner. Of the marketing, PR and broadcast folks. Honestly, I am impressed with everyone I’ve met recently who works for the team.
There are a lot of smart, well-meaning and hard-working people on the team.
That all just have an awful boss.
Which is why I want, desperately, the Snyders to sell the team. And why I am worried it will be true despair if they don’t.
Because, you see, the announcement yesterday was actual hope.
Snyder has repeatedly and emphatically insisted he will never sell the team. NEVER. Throughout every accusation and controversy and Jim Irsay suggestion, he has been steadfast in his insistence that he will NEVER, EVER SELL.
Of course, he said that about the name as well. “We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple. NEVER – you can use all caps.”
Well, they changed the name.
Twice.
So, yeah, shocker, but I guess sometimes Dan Snyder lies.
Which means, hopefully, he might have lied about never selling the team.
Forget football. I don’t believe there ever has been an owner of a professional sports franchise that is more hated by an entire fan base the way Daniel Snyder is. For years, we have hoped one scandal after another would be enough to force him to sell. And time after time that wasn’t the case.
Until an unlikely hero emerged when Jim Irsay floated the idea at the recent NFL owners’ meetings. That felt like, for the first time, either with Irsay as a lone wolf or with the tacit approval of at least some of his fellow owners, that the other owners realized what was happening in Washington was not only awful for the Commanders and their fans but bad for their teams as well. Bad for the NFL and bad for the overall product.
Pressure since then has continued to mount including more bad news for the team in the form of devastating investigative pieces by ESPN (all of which was denied by the Commanders). And maybe Taylor Swift?
You see, Taylor Swift recently announced a US Stadium tour and Washington D.C. just isn’t on it. No one actually knows why Swift decided to skip D.C. but, as the theory goes, it’s because of all the allegations against Snyder. And the fact that Swift wouldn’t play here got to Snyder’s daughters who got to him. It’s one thing to destroy a beloved NFL franchise, but to be the force that denies a metro area of Taylor Swift? That’s just a bridge too far.
I don’t believe that theory at all but how great would it be if it were actually true?
Either way, on Tuesday, out of nowhere, a beautiful gift was delivered in the form of the announcement.
We are not there yet. He still owns the team. But finally, for the first time, we have actual HOPE.
I just hope it doesn’t turn into true despair.
Let’s get to it. A reminder that if you’d like to have some action on the games (and support this column being free!) please use promo code: BERRY when you go to BetMGM.com… You get a risk-free first bet of up to $1,000.
Thanks to NBC Sports Researcher Blake Friedman and NBC Sports producer Damian Dabrowski for their help at various points in the column. Let’s get to it.
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Quarterbacks I Love in Week 9
Joe Burrow vs Carolina:
Say what you want about Joe Burrow but he really got into the Halloween spirit last Monday night, constantly looking frightened and scared, dressed up as the ghost of Ryan Finley. Or Akili Smith. Pick whatever crappy Bengals QB you want. Joke works either way. It’s the opposite of the Bengals offensive line, which has struggled mightily this year. As luck would have it though, this week Burrow gets the Panthers, who are 30th in sack rate. QBs have plenty of time to throw against Carolina, which is why the last four QBs to face them have all thrown for 250 yards and the Panthers have given up the seventh-most passing yards per game. Burrow is an easy top-10 play for me this week.
Justin Herbert at Atlanta
I get it. Mike Williams is out. Keenan Allen might still be out. But do you know who is definitely playing in this game? The Atlanta Falcons defense. Over the last four weeks, Atlanta is allowing a league-high 353.8 passing yards. And over the same stretch, opposing quarterbacks are averaging 23.2 PPG. Now Atlanta faces Justin Herbert, the guy averaging a league-high 44 pass attempts this season. Herbert is also coming off his bye week, so that arm will be rested and ready. Herbert is my QB5 for Week 9.
Justin Fields vs. Miami
Believe it or not, Justin Fields has been a top-12 fantasy quarterback for four straight weeks. He also has 60-plus rushing yards and at least 18 fantasy points in each of his last three games. Most impressive: Fields leads all quarterbacks in deep ball rate on the season. That sets up well against Miami, who has allowed the fourth-most yards on deep passes this season. I have Fields a few spots behind Herbert this week at QB9.
So, yes, if you’re in a two-quarterback league and centered your draft strategy on selecting players named “Justin,” this is the week it all pays off. Congrats!
Others receiving votes: So Green Bay is 3-5, just got crushed by the Bills and then decided not to add any weapons at the trade deadline. But I decided to add Aaron Rodgers to the Others Receiving Votes section of the Week 9 Love list. So who says this is the worst season of Packers football in a generation? Anyway, there’s nothing that ails the Packers organization that can’t be fixed by playing the Detroit Lions. Outside of games quarterbacked by Bailey Zappe, the Lions are allowing 24.0 PPG to quarterbacks on the season and are 25th against the pass the last four weeks ... Trevor Lawrence got a big weapon for next season at the deadline in Calvin Ridley. But let’s talk about now, Week 9, and the fact that the Raiders have allowed every quarterback they’ve faced this season to put up at least 17 fantasy points. I think you can bet on Trevor Lawrence this week. (Note: That is for everyone but Calvin Ridley. Calvin, you should NOT literally bet on Trevor Lawrence this week or any week if you are Calvin Ridley.) ... I also like Taylor Heinicke this week. As far as I know, no one is investigating him! On this team, that’s a win! It’s not always pretty, but Heinicke has averaged 18.3 PPG in his two starts his season and now is at home against a Vikings defense that, over the past four weeks, is allowing over 290 passing yards per game.
Quarterbacks I Hate in Week 9
Derek Carr at Jacksonville:
I always make it clear that a Hate list mention isn’t personal. It’s just analysis. But last week Davante Adams, fantasy royalty, was saddled with a 1-catch, 3-yard performance. And it is Derek Carr‘s job to throw Davante Adams the ball. It is Derek Carr‘s job to help Davante Adams produce those sweet, sweet fantasy points we drafted him in the first round to get us. Yet 1 catch … 3 yards. I HATE YOU Derek Carr!!! Personally! Also, professionally. Because Derek Carr now has four straight games with fewer than 250 passing yards and fewer than 35 attempts. Over the same stretch, he has a total of three passing touchdowns. This week he faces a Jaguars defense that has allowed multiple touchdown passes only twice on the season. Jacksonville is also top 12 in yards per attempt and touchdown rate allowed. I don’t see things getting better for Carr in Week 9. He’s outside my top 15.
Matthew Stafford at Tampa Bay
When Ben Roethlisberger retired after last season, we lost Road Ben vs. Home Ben. But in its place, we now have Road Matt vs. Home Matt. In his two road games this season, Matthew Stafford is averaging just 8.5 PPG. He also has yet to throw a touchdown pass outside of SoFi Stadium. And really, he’s not been great in any location this season. Through Week 8, Stafford only has one game with multiple touchdown passes and that came way back in Week 2. This week he faces a Tampa defense that is top six in both passing yards per game and yards allowed per attempt. The Bucs have allowed just three quarterbacks to put up 17-plus points on them this season, but they all ran for at least 30 yards. That’s not Stafford’s game. I’m running away from him in Week 9. He’s outside my top 20.
Running Backs I Love in Week 9
Travis Etienne vs. Las Vegas
If Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke had any second thoughts about trading James Robinson, Etienne’s performance on Sunday put those to rest. Etienne went for 156 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, his fourth consecutive game with at least 100 scrimmage yards. I think he’ll make it five in a row this week against a Raiders team that has allowed an opposing back to break 115 scrimmage yards in each of its last two games. Las Vegas has allowed the second-most receiving yards to running backs this season, too, and with Etienne’s snap rate over 80% post-Robinson, he’ll see plenty of usage in the passing game. Travis Etienne is now Jacksonville’s RB1 and -- more importantly for those of us living the fake football life -- a clear fantasy RB1, as well.
Aaron Jones at Detroit
Hey, do you like Aaron? Then you’re going to love the Detroit Lions defense because they’re ERRIN’ all the time! Eh? Yeah? Anybody? Is this on? Look, in fairness, that joke works a lot better spoken as opposed to written. Ah, who am I kidding? That joke doesn’t work at all … just like the Detroit Lions defense! Hey-oh! But seriously though, folks, over the past four weeks the Lions defense is allowing 131 rushing per game to running backs. Detroit has also allowed multiple rushing scores to backs four different times this season. Meanwhile, Aaron Jones has emerged as the clear lead back again in Green Bay, averaging over 17.1 touches per game since Week 2. Speaking of Week 2, the Lions defense is weak, too! BOOM! Aaron Jones is my RB6 this week. Please tip your servers. And please stop booing.
Miles Sanders at Houston
Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson got a lot of attention last week for dressing up for Halloween as teammate Jason Kelce. But that wasn’t the best football costume I’ve seen this year. My favorite is the Fantasy RB1 costume every back gets to wear when they play the Houston Texans. Get this: over the past four weeks, Houston is allowing a league-high 183.7 rushing yards per game and 6.7 YPC to running backs. Those aren’t even video game numbers. Those are Tecmo Bo numbers. The Texans have allowed 100-plus rushing yards to backs in six of seven games this season and multiple rushing touchdowns to running backs in four of five. Get Miles Sanders in your lineups this week. He’ll be even better than eating your kid’s leftover Halloween candy.
Rhamondre Stevenson vs. Indianapolis
There may be elements of a Patriots quarterback controversy still bubbling out there, but there’s no longer a debate about New England’s top back. Stevenson has six consecutive games with at least 16 touches and 89 scrimmage yards. He’s also averaging 20.5 PPG over that span. And even in the two games since Damien Harris returned to the lineup, Stevenson is still getting a 26.7% target share with 15 receptions for 131 yards. Now Stevenson gets a Colts defense that, over the past four weeks, is allowing the sixth-most rushing yards per game to running backs. Stevenson is my RB9 this week, unless Bill Belichick decides to start Bailey Zappe at running back.
Others receiving votes: Carolina doesn’t have Christian McCaffrey anymore, but they’re still getting CMC-esque production from D’Onta Foreman. Over the last two weeks, he has 43 touches, 263 scrimmage yards, three touchdowns and is averaging 24.2 PPG. Even if Chuba Hubbard is active, I like Foreman to have another productive day against a Bengals team allowing 113.5 rushing yards per game to running backs over the past four weeks … It’s hard to know from week to week if D’Andre Swift is going to play. It’s not hard to know who Detroit’s preferred back is even when Swift suits up. It’s Jamaal Williams. Williams has averaged 15 touches in games Swift has been active this season and 17.6 PPG. He also has a full 100% of Detroit’s goal-to-go carries on the season … Khalil Herbert is slowly but surely cutting into David Montgomery‘s workload. Over the past two weeks, Herbert has 43% of the running back touches to Montgomery’s 49%. And there’s every reason to believe Herbert’s work should increase, as he averages 6.4 yards per touch on the season to Montgomery’s 4.7 … Dontrell Hilliard is Tennessee’s pass catching back and the Chiefs allow the most receptions and receiving yards to running backs this season. Derrick Henry is also banged up, so Hilliard may get additional usage on Sunday night … Speaking of banged-up RB1s, Jonathan Taylor is still not healthy but Deon Jackson is doing a pretty good Taylor impression. He had at least 17 touches and 90 total yards in each of the two games Taylor missed … The Chargers allow a league-high 6.1 YPC to backs, which means Cordarrelle Patterson could be in line for a nice return. Patterson has 18-plus touches in two of the three games he’s played this season.
Running Backs I Hate in Week 9
David Montgomery vs. Miami
If you’re playing the Love-Hate Column: Home Edition Game, this is the part where you can pick up bonus points by correctly figuring out why David Montgomery is on the Hate list while his backfield mate earned an Others Receiving Votes mention up above. That’s right! It’s because Montgomery’s usage is consistently falling while Khalil Herbert‘s is rising! Well done. Now to win the game: David Montgomery‘s Week 9 opponent is the Miami Dolphins ... over the past four weeks, what are they ranked in rushing yards allowed per game to running backs? Oh, I’m so sorry. The answer we were looking for was eighth. Too bad. Your parting gift is this fantasy running back ranked RB23 this week. Thanks for playing.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire vs. Tennessee
Jerick McKinnon, not Clyde Edwards-Helaire, has actually led the KC backfield in snaps for three straight games. In fact, over the last two games, CEH has just 15 total touches and ZERO receptions. Over his last four games, his target share is just 4.8%! Meanwhile, over the past four weeks, Tennessee is allowing only 42 rushing yards per game and 2.9 YPC to backs. Edwards-Helaire is outside my top 25 running backs. Again. It’s probably long past time to rename this column Love-(CE)Hate.
Brian Robinson vs. Minnesota
Last week, Brian Robinson had a season-low 25% snap rate and he’s only being used in the running game. In three of his four games, he has zero targets. Running production will be hard to come by this week against a Vikings defense that, over the past four weeks is allowing 38.3 rushing yards per game and 2.5 YPC to backs, both league lows. So if the scale of fantasy production by Alabama running backs in the NFL ranges from Najee Harris at the low end to Derrick Henry at full max, look for Robinson to be deep into Najee range this week. He’s outside my top 35 at the position.
Pass Catchers I Love in Week 9
Terry McLaurin vs. Minnesota
I’m not saying Taylor Heinicke is the long-term answer at quarterback for my Washington Commanders. I’m just saying he has some positive attributes, such as being able to recognize that Terry McLaurin is good at football and therefore making it a point to get him the ball. McLaurin has a 25.8% target share since Heinicke took over the job compared to 16.4% with Carson Wentz under center. That’s a huge reason McLaurin has put up 16-plus fantasy points in each game with Heinicke — far better than his 11.1 PPG average with Wentz. That increased usage is why I love McLaurin this week against a Vikings team that, over the past four weeks, is allowing the third-most yards per game to wide receivers.
D.J. Moore at Cincinnati
If CEH is upset about being on the Hate list every week — and I’m sure he reads this column religiously — he can find hope from the tale of D.J. Moore. Moore spent most of the first half of the season taking my stats-based scorn, but now the Panthers receiver makes a triumphant return to the Love list — a location befitting someone of his talents. Why is Moore back? Because in P.J. Walker‘s three starts, Moore has a 36% target share. He also has back-to-back games with 19-plus fantasy points. There’s every reason to believe he can keep it going this week against a banged-up Bengals secondary. I have Moore inside my top 16 wide receivers in Week 9.
JuJu Smith-Schuster vs. Tennessee
I love this matchup for JuJu Smith-Schuster. Tennessee ranks bottom-eight in catches and yards allowed to wide receivers. They’re also tied for the fourth-most touchdowns allowed to the position. But it’s not just matchup-based love. Smith-Schuster has back-to-back games with 110-plus yards and a touchdown and at least eight targets in four of his past five. JuJu hasn’t produced like this since back when he was running with Antonio Brown. Huh, I wonder what that guy is up to these days. I’m sure it’s good. No need to Google him. Smith-Schuster is inside my top 20 wide receivers in Week 9.
Evan Engram vs. Las Vegas
D.J. Moore and JuJu Smith-Schuster haven’t received a ton of Love list love in a while. But here’s a deeper cut: Evan Engram. Over his past four games, Engram has 40-plus yards in each and a 20% target share in three of those four. He’s also TE7 over that stretch, averaging 12.0 PPG. I also like Engram’s chances of getting into the end zone this week. The Raiders have allowed six touchdowns to the position so far this season, tied for third-most. Engram is my TE7.
Others receiving votes: Mike Williams’ absence opens up a 20% target share and, if Keenan Allen doesn’t play again, there is even more upside for Josh Palmer against a Falcons defense that, over the past four weeks, has allowed the most catches and yards to receivers. By the way, Palmer has put up 13-plus fantasy points in six of the seven games in his career in which he’s received at least six targets … Even after Monday night’s debacle, Tyler Boyd still has three straight games with at least 12.5 fantasy points. Unless something bizarre happens, he should make it four in a row against a Panthers team that allows the sixth-most catches to the slot this season. And when does anything bizarre ever happen in a Carolina Panthers game? … Aaron Rodgers probably isn’t inviting Romeo Doubs over for Panchakarma cleanses just yet, but he’s definitely developing trust with the rookie. Doubs has a 20% target share in four of his last six games, including a season-high four deep targets last week. Detroit allows a league-high 4.1 deep completions per game, so look for Doubs to hit on a few splash plays this week … Devin Duvernay has a 17.5% target share over his past five games, the clear beneficiary of Rashod Bateman‘s absence. Duvernay is also part of that Baltimore run game with multiple rushing attempts in three games so far … Isaiah Likely showed how good he is last Thursday night, putting up a 6-77-1 line on eight targets against the Bucs. More than 43% of Baltimore’s targets this season have gone to tight ends, so it’s likely that Likely produces usable TE2 numbers even if Mark Andrews is active.
Pass Catchers I Hate in Week 9
Brandin Cooks was originally on this list, but since this was written, he was ruled out.
Michael Pittman at New England
I don’t want to get too far into the analytical weeds here, thereby losing the common layperson in the process. But at risk of doing that, let me say this: I think it’s likely a sign that a wide receiver’s fantasy production is waning if his quarterback gets benched and his offensive coordinator fired in the span of a week. Hashtag: analysis. And the numbers say I’m right. Michael Pittman has fewer than 60 receiving yards in four of his last five games and just two end zone targets total over that span. He also has a mere four targets on the season of greater than 15 yards. Now he gets a Patriots defense that has allowed only four touchdowns to wide receivers all season -- tied for third-fewest. And you know Bill Belichick has spent all week putting together a scheme that will make Sam Ehlinger wish he never got the job. I have Pittman outside my top 20 wide receivers in Week 9.
Dawson Knox at New York Jets
Dawson Knox only has one game this season with a target share greater than 13% and zero games in which he’s had more than 41 yards. And on the season, Knox is averaging just 5.8 PPG in games in which he doesn’t score a touchdown. He’s a touchdown dependent tight end. I mean, sure, there are worse offenses to be in if you’re touchdown dependent. But I think Knox’s chances are limited by the fact that the Jets have yet to allow a touchdown to a tight end this season. I have Knox outside my top 14 tight ends and I don’t like him as a streamer either.
Matthew Berry, the Talented Mr. Roto, is willing to join any ownership group that will have him.
