It wasn't as crazy as Week 6, but some insane point totals put up by some Saints, Bucs, and Titans players still made this an interesting week in Fantasy Football. As always, here are some of the key names to know, how they performed in comparison to numberFire's expectations, and what to expect from them in the next couple weeks.
Locked on Target, Sir
Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay Packers
Week 7 Final Points: 25 (#3 QB)
numberFire Projected Points: 20.85 (very few in the "likes him more" category.
This particular performance may have as much to do with the Bills' #31 opponent-adjusted defense as it does with Johnson, but I would still trust him based on the past couple of weeks. The Colts' #25 opponent-adjusted defense awaits, although two tough games against strong run defenses in Chicago and Miami await. But as long as the rest of the backs look like Johnson did at the beginning of the season (Jamie Harper had eight yards on seven carries, although two went for TDs), CJnow1K will get his quantity moving forward.
Vincent Jackson - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 7 Final Points: 27 (#1 WR)
numberFire Projected Points: 9.78 (throwing the pass before yesterday's game, Big Ben goes out and throws the ball only 55% of the time in Pittsburgh's win over Cincinnati. That's not a bad percentage for fantasy owners, but his "Reach for the stars!" expectations might have to be tempered a little going forward.
The problem for Roethlisberger was not his completion percentage (73%) or his running game for once (Dwyer had 122 yards on the ground), but rather his inability to throw the ball downfield. Two of his top three receiving targets, Heath Miller and Mike Wallace, had a yards per catch average in single-digits (Miller at 8.8 and Wallace at 6.5). Lead receiver Antonio Brown wasn't much better; he was at 13.7 yards on the day. The longest completion for Roethlisberger total was only 31 yards, and he only had three completions of longer than 20 yards on the game.
Perhaps Big Ben Bandwagoners should be worried. His 7.51 yards per attempt was only his fourth-highest on the season, exactly in line with his season average. But Roethlisberger has still not put up a game over 9.08 yards per attempt so far this season, and his two games against defenses ranked in the top half of the league have resulted in yards per attempt averages of 6.13 (Denver) and 5.79 (Philadelphia). Each of Pittsburgh's next two games (the Redskins and Giants) are against defenses ranked #14 or higher in our opponent-adjusted rankings.
Ray Rice - Baltimore Ravens
Week 7 Final Points: 5 (#29 RB)
numberFire Projected Points: 14.53 (#3 RB)
Don't freak out. Entering Week 6, the Ravens had rushed the ball on roughly 40% of their offensive plays. In Week 7, due to falling behind early, that number plummeted to only 22%. Against teams that don't get up by 26 at halftime, that proportion is not going to stay nearly as high.
Don't freak out. Rice's 54 all-purpose yards is his lowest amount since Week 13, 2010 against the Steelers. Before this game, his lowest combined rushing and receiving total this year had been 96 yards against the Browns. And he has been able to perform against solid defenses (both Philadelphia and Cleveland were in the top ten when Baltimore played them).
Don't freak out. After their bye, the Ravens face three straight defenses currently in the bottom half of the league in Cleveland, Oakland, and Pittsburgh. They do not face another top-ten defense until Week 15 against Denver. The schedule looks good for Ray Rice to get back on track quickly.