Category: NFL

Fantasy Football Doctors NFL Week 3: Who to Start & Sit this week!

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

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Your hosts: Dr. Vasu Vaddiparty & Dr. Charlie O

  • Should you start Carson Wentz in his first week back?

  • Is Ryan Fitzpatrick worth gambling on again this week?

  • What about Aaron Rodgers – is it time to sit him on the bench?

  • Will Giovani Bernard save the Bengals?

  • Why isn’t Matt Breida in your starting lineup?

  • Is this the week Marshawn comes alive for the Raiders?

  • Beware of LeSean McCoy

  • Remember the three G’s: Golladay, Garcon & Godwin

  • Josh Gordon – REALLY?

  • Charlie O hates Travis Kelce — find out why!

The answers to these questions and many more on this week’s edition of the Fantasy Football Doctors.

Questions or comments? Twitter: @VPSports

NFL Week 3 Thursday night Fantasy Football written prescription

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

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By Dr. Vasu Vaddiparty

Week 3 of the NFL Season has either let some fantasy football players down or pumped them up. It was an interesting week 2 between the juggernaut Kansas City Chiefs to the almost in need of an early season blood transfusion of the Buffalo Bills. One quick note for both fantasy football players and football fans;

In the last 20 years or so if a team starts their season at 0-2, the chances of them making the playoffs is right around the 30% mark. So hopefully your favorite has at least gone 1-1 to give you a shot at the playoffs.

Those numbers don’t apply to fantasy football as most leagues go head to head. One good week and you’re extending your lead, or getting your team right back in the mix. One bad week and you either fall in with the rest of the herd or are already looking up at everyone looking for the rope to be sent down to pull you up.

With that being said let’s hit a written prescription for the Week 3 matchup in Cleveland between the New York Jets and the Cleveland Browns.

Jets
Jets, Jets, Jets are what all were screaming on the opening Monday night in Detroit where the savior Sam Darnold put up unreal numbers against a bad Detroit defense in a rout and last week at their home opener did not get the same production out Darnold or the running game in a loss to the suddenly hot Miami Dolphins who are in 1st place in the AFC East.

QB
Darnold may not be a good play here. He is still learning the nuances of the game and while the Detroit game has everyone salivating at potential he’s still learning and there is tape now. Cleveland’s defense is pretty good so far in the two weeks played. 6 TO’s and a plus 5 rating against Pittsburgh that only resulted in a tie (broke their losing street), and in week 2 that defense shutting down the Saints with Drew Brees and his arsenal. The Browns would be 2-0 if they had a kicker. Defense is really good, and I would stay away from Darnold this week.

RB
The Jets running game has been pretty effective but again the hot play in week 1 did not translate in week 2. Bilal Powell is a good running back and could be effective but I don’t see him as #1 or #2 back this week. Isiah Crowell is the lead back for the Jets and he is playing against his old team in Cleveland. He has two weeks of decent play but I can’t see Cleveland giving up too many yards on the ground. The lineman and LB’s are playing better than most thought and should be able to contain and maybe bottle up the running game. Unless you have no one else to use, I would stay away from the RB’s for the Jets

WR / TE
Here it gets interesting because the wideouts are pretty solid. The secondary of the Browns has been ok but then again they’ve faced Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees in the first two weeks; future HOF’ers. While everyone is jumping on the Darnold bandwagon he’s not close and won’t be for awhile. The law firm of Enunwa, Pryor, and Anderson don’t strike a lot of fear and will have a tough time esp on the road to get Darnold the help he needs tonight.

Browns
QB
Tyrod Taylor is an enigma. He is the only QB on the Browns that has experience. Everyone wants to see Baker Mayfield the overall number 1 pick. Through no fault of his own, the Browns should be 2-0 and in 1st in the AFC North (what is this unicorn I speak of?) Kickers will win you games and will lose you games as well as coaches and players getting fired. Taylor has played well but he doesn’t have the big time numbers that Fantasy Football players like. He will be effective and may have a TD or two but they don’t score a lot of points. They got 21 v Pittsburgh. They scored 18 vs. the Saints. For 2.5 to 3 quarters they played well and Taylor played well. Like we say every week on the podcast, if you have other options that you believe could get you more points I would suggest going that route. Or this could be the week they are so close and at home on Thursday night to have a breakout and finally end their streak of not have a 0 in the win column. Taylor for my money gets a 1.5 rating tonight as starter. Not everyone has Brady, Brees, Rodgers so you have to pick and choose where to go. But I like Taylor more than I would Darnold tonight.

RB
Carlos Hyde has been the most effective running back in the Browns’ system this season. He has found new life with the Browns. They also have the likes of Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson. But this is Hyde’s show. I would use him if no other options are available because I believe that the Browns can run on the Jets defense. The Jets have given up some yards to both Miami and Detroit in the first two weeks so I think the Browns can get their yards and Hyde is the stalwart for it.

WR / TE
The spot to take a receiver with the Browns lies with the TE David Njoku. He is a big, fast, great hands TE that showed off his skills during the preseason and was very effective against Pittsburgh. He was a little lacking vs the Saints mostly because they had the lead going to the 4th quarter and were running effectively. Antonio Callaway is the team’s best WR with Jarvis Landry hurting a little. Callaway with 3 catches for 81 yards last week could have a big game vs. the Jets secondary. He is another option for a fantasy player to get some yards’ vs a Jets team who is still a little suspect on defense and primarily in the secondary.

Special Teams/ Defense
Both teams defenses have played pretty well but based on the fact that the Browns have had the propensity to get TO’s and make a rookie QB get frazzled the Browns defense may not be a bad play tonight for your Special Teams / Defense tonight.

Overall Matchup
The game itself is a matchup of the top two QB’s drafted in Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. There is no doubt that since every team has to be on Thursday night that NFL powers to be wanted the potential of a Darnold/ Mayfield matchup in primetime. It’s not going to happen unless something happens to Taylor where he gets injured and cannot continue.

With all being said about the Browns defense and no one on offense that scares you plus Darnold still learning on the job one would assume that I would lean the Browns way.

The line is Browns -3 with a total of 41 points. I am slightly leaning towards the Jets in a small upset and a low scoring game. I just don’t see both offenses doing great vs. the other defenses so I believe it will be a low scoring game.

16-14 Jets in a small upset.

Don’t forget to listen to our Fantasy Football Doctors podcast with Dr. Charlie O. Mallonee and myself Dr. Vasu Vaddiparty on SportsServiceRadio.com for the rest of the NFL as it relates to Fantasy Football.

Any correspondence you may have can be sent to my Twitter account @VPartySports or directly to Sports Radio Service.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony Renteria: Raiders couldn’t seal the deal in Denver Sunday; look to Miami for first road win

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Photo credit: @Raiders

On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony:

#1 For the last six seconds of Sunday’s game in Oakland, the Oakland Raiders looked as if they had game in hand with a 19-17 lead, but Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus kicked a 36-yard field goal for the 20-19 win at Sports Authority Field.

#2 The Broncos led by quarterback Casey Kennum led the Broncos down the field with just 1:58 left in the game, Kennum threw to Tom Patrick for 26 yards in the closing moments of the game to get the ball and McManus into field goal range for the winning score.

#3 Tony talks about some of the numbers starting for Raiders quarterback Derek Carr going 29-32 for 288 yards, one touchdown and one sack. Impressive outing for Carr who did all he could do to win in the Raiders’ first road game.

#4 Wide receiver Amari Cooper tallied up some yards with 10 receptions for 116 yards. Although Cooper didn’t get a touchdown, he averaged 11 yards and topped the team for total yards.

#5 The Raiders get set for their next meeting against the Miami Dolphins, the Dolphins are 2-0 and have Ryan Tannehill, who’s averaging 199 yards with four touchdowns on the year. Tannehill and the Dolphins have been fierce. Will the Raiders defense have their hands full this Sunday? Tony takes a look.

Tony does the Oakland Raiders podcasts each Thursday and is a beat writer for the Sacramento Kings at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

49ers welcome Foster back, but face an uphill battle

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Photo credit: @247Sports

By Jeremy Harness

The 49ers got their first win of the year last Sunday, getting past the Detroit Lions, who made a hard charge in the fourth quarter to make things mighty interesting, to say the very least. But now, they have a completely different challenge on their hands.

The Lions have a potent offense – particularly with a guy like Matthew Stafford pulling the trigger – but the Kansas City Chiefs have an offense that has just exploded onto the scene in this young season.

Patrick Mahomes, who has taken over the reins as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback after the team traded away Alex Smith, is off to a blistering start to this season. Mahomes has thrown for a whopping 10 touchdown passes over the first two games and has not thrown a single interception, and he brings a dimension to the Kansas City offense that has not been there for a very long time.

The second-year signal-caller specializes in throwing the deep ball, which allows big-play receivers such as Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins, as well as tight end Travis Kelce, to rack up big yards and get upfield.

That is something that was not prevalent when Smith, who was much more proficient in the short-to-intermediate throws, was at the controls. He is now the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins.

The 49ers will get some help on the defensive side. However, the team welcomed back linebacker Reuben Foster, who was suspended by the NFL for the first two games due to disciplinary issues stemming from his domestic assault case in the offseason.

He practiced on Wednesday and is expected to start on Sunday against the Chiefs. Also making his way to the practice field for the first time was fellow linebacker Malcolm Smith, who had been recovering from a hamstring injury.

Smith has yet to play in a game for the 49ers, as he missed the first two games of the year with the hamstring issue. Smith also missed the entire 2017 season with a pectoral injury.

Raiders will head to Miami for Week 3 tilt with Dolphins

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Photo credit: nj.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND, Calif — If one road game wasn’t enough, how about a double-dip?

The Raiders are hitting the road once again this time, they are heading to South Beach where they will take on a surprisingly undefeated Dolphins team in a key Week 3 matchup for Oakland this Sunday.

Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. ET, which means 10:00 a.m. PT for West Coasters.

Last season, the two teams faced each other in Week 9 with the Raiders defeating the Dolphins, 27-24, behind a three-yard touchdown run by running back Marshawn Lynch late in the fourth quarter.

Oakland (0-2) lost a heart-breaker last week in Denver, 20-19, wasting an awesome performance by starting quarterback Derek Carr.

Carr was sharp all game, completing 29-of-32 passes for 288 yards and one touchdown. He’s the only quarterback in NFL history to complete 90 percent of his passes with more than 30 attempts, per ESPN. It was nice to see Carr bounce back from an ugly game in Week 1, where he threw three interceptions in Oakland’s 33-13 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Rams.

Out of those 29 completions, 10 were to wide receiver Amari Cooper, who also rebounded from a bad first game of the season where he posted just one catch for nine yards on three targets.

Against the Broncos, Cooper was targeted 10 times (catching each one) for 116 yards. It was a welcoming sign for Oakland, albeit in a loss.

Oakland held a 19-7 lead into the third quarter before the Broncos rallied with 13 unanswered points, including kicker Brandon McManus’s game-winning 36-yard field goal with six seconds remaining in the game.

Without stud defensive end/outside linebacker Khalil Mack, who was traded to Chicago prior to the start of the regular season because the Silver and Black were hesitant to reward Mack with a new contract extension, Oakland’s defense has been a no show through the first two games of the season.

The Raiders have had a tough time generating any kind of pass rush this season. Only linebacker Bruce Irvin and rookie defensive tackle Maurice Hurst have recorded a quarterback sack, but that could change against Miami. Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been sacked five times this season, which ranks 13th in the NFL. Tannehill has also been hit nine times in the pocket.

Miami (2-0) defeated the Jets, 20-12, in New York at MetLife Stadium behind Tannehill and the NFL’s fourth-ranked scoring defense.

Tannehill completed 17-of-23 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Dolphins a 20-0 lead before halftime. Through two games this season, Tannehill has completed 31-of-57 passes for 398 yards with four touchdowns, two interceptions and a 104.9 passer rating.

Running back Kenyan Drake had 11 carries for 53 yards and one touchdown against the Jets. Drake leads the Dolphins with 25 carries for 101 yards this season.

Backup running back Frank Gore finished with just nine carries for 25 yards, but those yards were all he needed to pass Hall of Famer Curtis Martin (14,101) for fourth place on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 14,103 yards. Gore, who is in his 14th season, signed a 1-year deal with his hometown Dolphins in the offseason.

Electric wide receiver Jarvis Landry was traded to Cleveland in the offseason, leaving the Dolphins with question marks at the position. Holdover Kenny Stills leads the Dolphins in receiving yards (123) and touchdowns (2) through two games, while free agent addition Danny Amendola leads the team in catches (8).

Amendola, who won two Super Bowl rings in four seasons with the New England Patriots, signed with the Dolphins this past offseason to give Tannehill another reliable target.

Middle linebacker Kiko Alonso and safety Reshad Jones are two of Miami’s prime defenders that Oakland must be aware at all times.

Jones is arguably the Dolphins most reliable playmaker, as he leads Miami with two interceptions this season. Last season, Jones led Miami in tackles with 122.

The two-time Pro Bowler will likely be following Raiders tight end Jared Cook, who has been explosive the first two weeks of the season. In 2017, Cook led all Raiders receivers with 688 yards and this season, he leads Oakland with 229 yards, which includes his franchise record-setting 180-yard performance in Week 1.

After posting back-to-back seasons of 115 tackles, Alonso is a major focal point for the Dolphins defense. Last week against the Jets, Alonso recorded a 13 tackles and two forced fumbles, coming up huge for Miami many times in that contest.

Sunday’s game in Miami is a must-win for Oakland. There’s no way to sugarcoat it.

Falling to 0-3 with a loss before coming home to take on a puzzling Cleveland Browns team in Week 4 at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum would be catastrophic.

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: How prepared are the 49ers?; Penalty provides big break in first win of season

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Photo credit: @MattBreida

On the 49ers podcast with David Zizmor:

The San Francisco 49ers nearly threw away last Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions literally when 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo passed a ball that was intercepted by a Lions defender. With the turnover it nearly derailed a faltering lead that once was 17 points in the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium.

The 49ers caught a break when a penalty flag was thrown against the Lions for a holding call on offensive back Quandre Diggs. That called back a return on Garoppolo’s pass from the Lions safety Tracy Walker who ran the interception for 37 yards and ironically was tackled by Garoppolo which would have spotted the ball on the seven yard line and the 49ers barely holding onto a three-point lead 30-27.

David Zizmor does the 49ers podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Raiders lose late to Broncos 20-19; fall to 0-2

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Photo credit: @Raiders

By Jeremy Kahn

Things were looking fantastic for the first 59:54, but it was the last six seconds of the game that cost the Oakland Raiders the game.

Brandon McManus kicked a 36-yard field goal with six seconds remaining in the game, as the Denver Broncos came back from a 12-point second half deficit to defeat the Raiders 20-19 at Broncos Stadium at Sports Authority Field on Sunday.

Case Keenum, who is in his first year with the Broncos already knows too well about miracle finishes, as he led the “Minnesota Miracle,” where the Vikings defeated the New Orleans Saints in the waning seconds of the NFC Divisional Playoff Game.

Keenum and the Broncos got the ball on their 20-yard line with no timeouts remaining and 1:58 remaining in the game, and led down the field.

After a holding penalty pushed them back, Keenum got going on that final drive, as he found Emmanuel Sanders for 21 yards and then Jake Butt for an additional 14 yards.

Keenum then found out Jon Heuerman for four yards, and then the big play came when Keenum found Tim Patrick for 26 yards to get them down to the Raiders 18-yard line, setting up McManus for the eventual game-winning field goal.

Derek Carr got the ball back, and he completed a pass to Amari Cooper, but Cooper was unable to get away and stepped out of bounds; however, the clock ran out and the game was over.

Carr bounced back from an off night in the opener, as he went 29-for32 for 281 yards and a touchdown on the afternoon.

Amari Cooper, who was held to just four catches in the season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, caught 10 passes for 116 yards.

Marshawn Lynch was the leading ground gainer for the Raiders, as he carried the ball 18 times for 65 yards and a touchdown.

Lynch’s touchdown gave the Raiders an early 12-0 lead, but Mike Nugent’s extra point was blocked and that ended up being huge in the end of the game for the Raiders.

Nugent gave the Raiders on the board on their first series, as he kicked a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter He then kicked a 46-yard field goal in the second quarter, and then Lynch scored on a one-yard run.

The Broncos finally got on the board in the third quarter, as Royce Freeman scored on a one-yard run and after Carr found Seth Roberts for a 20-yard touchdown pass, the Broncos defense never allowed the Raiders to score again.

McManus got the Broncos within nine, as he kicked a 39-yard field goal and then Keenum narrowed the Raiders lead down to just two, when scored on a one-yard run with under six minutes remaining in the game.

Unfortunately, the Raiders were not able to run out the clock and the Broncos got the ball back and McManus kicked the game-winning field goal that sent the Raiders to an 0-2 record on the season.

NOTES: When the game began in Denver, the temperature was 92 degrees, the highest temperature at the start of a game since the Broncos were founded in 1960. It beat the old record by one degree from a game against the Seattle Seahawks on September 19, 2010.

Former Raiders offensive lineman Jared Veldheer was forced to leave the game for the Broncos in the second half after suffering a concussion.

UP NEXT: Still looking for their first win of the season, the Raiders stay on the road, as they will head to Miami to face the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on September 23 at 10:10 am PDT.

49ers Hang On in Home Opener vs. Lions for First Win of the Year 30-27

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Photo credit: @49ers

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It came down to the wire and with a little help from the officials, but the San Francisco 49ers have their first win of the 2018 season as they beat the Detroit Lions 30-27 in the home opener at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

After going into halftime with a 13-10 lead, San Francisco started the second half with a bang. D.J. Reed Jr. got the half started by bringing the kick back to the house, only to be penalized for grabbing a defender’s face mask along the way. Despite the penalty, the 49ers were set up with excellent field position at the Lions’ 25-yard line to start the third quarter.

“Everyone held their blocks. For me, it was easy, and anybody could have done what I did. My whole special teams unit did a good job blocking. [Special team’s] coach Hightower did a good job setting it up,” added Reed.

Jimmy Garoppolo capped off the drive with his second touchdown pass of the day, finding Garrett Celek underneath. The 30-year-old tight end carried three defenders with him across the goal line to make the score 20-10.

The 49ers extended their lead in the third with a 66-yard Matt Breida rushing score to cap a three-play, 97-yard drive. The longest rush for the 49ers since 2014 made the score 27-13, but they then allowed the Lions to get back in it.

Breida had his coming out party for the 49ers, lighting up the Lions’ defense, carrying the ball 11 times for 138 yards and the score.

Led by Matthew Stafford, the Lions crawled their way back into the game bringing the score within three with 3:33 remaining, putting all the pressure on the 49ers offense to move the ball.

When the pressure came San Francisco’s way, Garoppolo made a mistake with 2:24 left and threw a pick that the Lions returned down to seven-yard-line. However, a crucial defensive holding call saved the day for San Francisco giving an automatic first down. The 49ers ended up punting with 1:08 remaining, but the defense stepped up and shut the door, not letting Lions get past midfield to secure the win.

In the win, Garoppolo improved from last week, throwing 18-of-26 for 206 yards and two touchdowns. However, Garoppolo was sacked five times in the process, with most of them being coverage sacks. The wide receivers didn’t do their job in man coverage as they struggled to get open, which allowed the pass rush to get to Garoppolo.

More importantly, three of the five sacks came within the red zone, which continues to be a pain point in the 49ers’ offense. San Francisco is reportedly exploring the possibility of acquiring wide receiver, Josh Gordon to come in and help in the red zone after the Browns came out and said he would be available come Monday.

The 49ers once again leaned heavily on kicker, Robbie Gould, who was perfect in knocking down all three of his field goals from 45, 42, and 36-yards, respectively. In doing so, he set a new franchise record for consecutive field goals made, passing Phil Dawson with 29 straight.

San Francisco did escape Sunday with a win, but there was no reason for the game to be even close. The 49ers got comfortable with the lead and let the Lions back in the game. Let it be a lesson for a young team learning how to win and don’t let it happen again, or it will cost them against stronger opponents in the future.

“I feel like the energy kind of fell off a little bit, and we needed to build it back up that last defensive stand that we had. I feel like guys kind of woke up during that last drive on defense. We’ve got to keep the pedal down all four quarters,” said defensive lineman DeForest Buckner.

The 49ers will attempt to keep the pedal down all four quarters next week, as they travel to Kansas City to try and stop Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs next Sunday at 10:00 am PDT.

Fantasy Football Doctors Podcast for NFL Week 2: Let’s win your matchup!

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

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Fantasy Football Doctors Vasu Vaddiparty & Charlie O have the advice you need to win your Week 2 fantasy matchup.

  • Ben Roethlisberger may be a QB1 this Sunday vs. the Chiefs

  • Veteran Alex Smith is finding new life in D.C.

  • Sleeper? Patrick Mahomes

  • What about Matt Ryan this week?

  • You may want to keep Jared Goff on the bench!

  • The doctors review the roster of tight ends who might impact your lineup

  • Did Marshawn Lynch just go from the penthouse to the outhouse?

  • The Dolphins WR Kenny Stills could be a strong starter for you this week

Push Play and get ready to win!

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Martavis Bryant is back once again after being waived for 11 days; Bryant very quick and difficult to cover says Derek Carr

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Photo credit: @NBCSRaiders

On the Oakland Raiders podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 Raiders receiver Martavis Bryant is back after being waived by the team 11 days ago. Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Reggie McKenzie brought Bryant back on Tuesday.

#2 This move was made because Bryant had out-performed the other receivers and the Raiders had waived receiver Keon Hatcher, which was also a surprise move.

#3 Bryant’s return was based on some of the things that took place on offense receiving on Monday night and after weighing what they saw Bryant cut mustard and Gruden and McKenzie was glad that he was not signed by anybody else.

#4 On September 1st, Bryant was under consideration by the NFL to be suspended a third time by the league for substance abuse and he would have been banned for one year or the rest of this season. The league did not decide to discipline Bryant and allowed him to play and the Raiders got him back.

#5 Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said that other teams try to contain Bryant on defense, but have trouble covering him because he’s so quick off the line. Carr and Gruden are anxious to see what he can do in Denver this Sunday.

Joe Hawkes Beamon does the Raiders previews each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com