Fantasy Football Week 7: Complete Thursday Night Preview
One of the league’s more interesting series is renewed on Thursday night when the New England Patriots welcome the New York Jets to Foxborough.
Three of the last four meetings between the clubs have been decided by a field goal. But make no mistake: The Pats have had the advantage for more than a few years.
But that’s on the field. How do the players on each roster affect your fantasy football fortunes?
As of late, it looks like the Patriots have the advantage once again. Bill Belichick’s club has suddenly scored a combined 80 points in their last two games. The Jets have totaled just 96 points in six outings in 2014.
Starting Quarterbacks
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New York Jets: Geno Smith
We all know of the second-year quarterback’s penchant for mistakes. To date, he hasn’t made the improvement some were expecting with a season under his belt.
In 2014, Smith has thrown six touchdown passes and rushed for another score but has also committed nine of the team’s 12 turnovers. Two of his seven interceptions have been returned for touchdowns.
When he was a rookie last season, the Jets committed 29 turnovers, and he accounted for 25 of them.
Fantasy Prediction: 22-of-32, 245 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT. 7 carries, 47 yards, 0 TD.
New England Patriots: Tom Brady
Since his one-touchdown, two-interception performance against the Chiefs on Monday night in Week 4, the veteran signal-caller has thrown for six scores and has not been picked off in back-to-back wins over the Bengals and Bills.
Including the playoffs, Brady has played in 26 games versus the Jets (25 starts) and has thrown three times as many touchdown passes (36) as interceptions (12).
Fantasy Prediction: 28-of-35, 347 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT. 3 carries, 7 yards, 0 TD.
Running Backs
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New York Jets Starter: Chris Ivory
After averaging 151.3 yards per game on the ground in their first four games this season, the Jets have totaled only 122 yards rushing in their last two games.
Ivory still leads the club with 325 yards rushing. But after running for 102 yards in the season-opening win over the Oakland Raiders, he’s been held to less than 50 yards on the ground four of the last five weeks.
Fantasy Prediction: 19 carries, 81 yards, 0 TD. 3 receptions, 27 yards, 0 TD.
New York Jets Backup: Chris Johnson
Is he simply out of gas? After six straight seasons of 1,000-plus yards rushing with the Tennessee Titans, Johnson was let go by the franchise and scooped up by the Jets this offseason.
There hasn’t been much to talk about. Johnson has run for a mere 200 yards and a touchdown in six contests and left last week’s loss to the Denver Broncos with an ankle injury. He’s also not been much of a factor in the passing game, totaling 40 yards and a score on 10 receptions.
Fantasy Prediction: 7 carries, 44 yards, 0 TD. 2 receptions, 20 yards, 0 TD.
New England Patriots Starter: Shane Vereen
With Stevan Ridley out, Vereen now takes over as the main ball-carrier in the Patriots’ improving attack.
At least we think so. In his brief career, the four-year performer has never totaled at least 15 rushing attempts in a game.
Still, you never know until you try, and while the Patriots running game was shackled last week at Buffalo, Vereen ran for 90 yards on nine carries in the Week 5 Sunday night win over the Cincinnati Bengals. This season, he’s totaled 216 yards rushing and a touchdown on 42 carries and ranks third on the club with 18 receptions.
Fantasy Prediction: 18 carries, 76 yards, 0 TD. 4 receptions, 41 yards, 0 TD.
New England Patriots Backup: Brandon Bolden
Bolden has totaled just 25 yards rushing on 15 carries this season. His busiest day this season came last week when he ran for 10 yards on six attempts.
That figures to change on Thursday night, unless the Pats activate rookie running back James White for only the second time this season.
Fantasy Prediction: 10 carries, 36 yards, 0 TD. 0 receptions.
Wide Receivers
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New York Jets: Jeremy Kerley
This season, the four-year pro has totaled 20 receptions, tied for second on the team. But Kerley has scored only one touchdown and is averaging a paltry 8.6 yards per grab.
Last season, he led the club with just 43 receptions for 523 yards. The fifth-round pick in 2011 finished second on the team with a mere three touchdown catches. Over the last three weeks, Kerley has been targeted 16 times and caught just five passes for 31 yards.
Fantasy Prediction: 5 receptions, 63 yards, 0 TD.
New York Jets: Eric Decker
Quarterback Geno Smith has thrown just six touchdown passes in as many games, and three of those scoring strikes have wound up in the hands of Decker. The one-time Denver Broncos wideout caught six passes for 54 yards and a score last week against his former team after sitting out in Week 5.
Decker is tied for second on the club with 20 catches and leads the Jets with 258 receiving yards.
Fantasy Prediction: 2 receptions, 45 yards, 1 TD.
New York Jets: David Nelson
Last season, the five-year pro finished second on the Jets with 36 catches for 423 yards and two touchdowns.
Last week, Nelson missed the game against the Broncos but hasn’t been much of a factor this season, totaling just seven receptions for 54 yards in five games this season.
Fantasy Prediction: 1 reception, 9 yards, 0 TD.
New York Jets: T.J. Graham
The one-time Buffalo Bills wide receiver caught his first pass last Sunday as a member of the Jets.
Is he ready to become a bigger factor on this offense? Last season, Graham totaled 23 receptions for 361 yards and two scores. Obviously, he has familiarity with the New England Patriots defense.
Fantasy Prediction: 2 receptions, 23 yards, 0 TD.
New England Patriots: Julian Edelman
For the second straight year, Edelman continues to pile up catches but not necessarily a lot of yards or scores.
The former seventh-round pick leads the Patriots with 40 catches for 409 yards and a score this season. Only four players in the NFL have totaled more receptions this season.
Edelman has caught five or more passes in five of the team’s six games in 2014. But his lone touchdown this year came back in Week 2.
Fantasy Prediction: 7 receptions, 81 yards, 1 TD.
New England Patriots: Danny Amendola
In the season-opening loss to the Miami Dolphins, the 2013 free-agent pickup totaled three catches for 16 yards.
In five games since, Amendola has been targeted a total of three times and caught one pass for seven yards. Against the Jets’ struggling secondary, he may get a few more opportunities.
Fantasy Prediction: 3 receptions, 22 yards, 0 TD.
New England Patriots: Aaron Dobson
Last year, the second-year performer totaled 37 receptions for 519 yards and four touchdowns in a dozen outings.
Over the last two weeks, Dobson has caught one pass in each contest. At least it’s a start of some sort considering he was inactive the previous two contests and has played in just three games in 2014.
Fantasy Prediction: 1 receptions, 21 yards, 0 TD.
New England Patriots: Brandon LaFell
Talk about the hot hand? After not catching a pass the first two weeks of the season, the 2014 free-agent addition suddenly ranks fourth on the club with 15 grabs, good for 282 yards and three scores.
LaFell found the end zone twice in last week’s win at Buffalo, and his three touchdowns over the last three weeks have covered 44, 18 and 56 yards.
Fantasy Prediction: 5 receptions, 87 yards, 0 TD.
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Tight Ends
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New York Jets Starter: Jeff Cumberland
Last season, Cumberland led the team in touchdown receptions. Of course, he scored only four times in 2013, which is hardly cause for excitement.
In six games in 2014, the big target is averaging a mere 8.7 yards per grab on a dozen catches and has yet to score this season. He’s taken a big-time back seat to rookie Jace Amaro when it comes to the passing attack these days.
Fantasy Prediction: 1 reception, 6 yards, 0 TD.
New York Jets Backup: Jace Amaro
The Jets added Amaro in the second round in May, and he has had his ups and downs this offseason in terms of catching the football. But as of late, he has finally found his groove.
Amaro leads the club with 24 receptions, good for 212 yards and a touchdown. A big part of that came in last week’s loss to the Denver Broncos, when he was targeted 12 times and caught 10 passes for 68 yards and a score.
After catching a combined three passes in his first two games, the rookie tight end has totaled at least three receptions in four straight games.
Fantasy Prediction: 6 receptions, 52 yards, 1 TD.
New England Patriots Starter: Rob Gronkowski
A penalty wiped out a touchdown last week for the two-time Pro Bowler. It’s safe to say he’ll make up for that.
Gronkowski is second on the team with 26 receptions, good for 341 yards and a team-high four scores.
The two-time Pro Bowler has played in 56 regular-season games in just over four seasons and has caught 46 touchdown passes, plus he has been credited with one rushing touchdown.
Fantasy Prediction: 6 receptions, 74 yards, 2 TD.
New England Patriots Backup: Michael Hoomanawanui
Reliable?
Hoomanawanui has been targeted just twice in six games and caught two passes for 21 yards. He got most of that last week at Orchard Park when he totaled one reception for 15 yards.
We don’t anticipate a repeat performance this week.
Fantasy Prediction: 0 receptions.
New England Patriots Backup: Tim Wright
Over the last two weeks, the one-time Tampa Bay Buccaneer has made his presence felt. Wright has been targeted six times over that span and totaled a half-dozen catches for 86 yards and two scores.
Last Sunday at Buffalo, the second-year pro had just one pass thrown his way, but it was good for a touchdown. It was the second straight game that Wright reached the end zone.
Fantasy Prediction: 2 receptions, 21 yards, 1 TD.
Defense/Special Teams
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New York Jets Defense/Special Teams
Despite the fact that the Jets’ potent pass rush has made its share of noise this season, it hasn’t helped a very undermanned secondary that can’t seem to prevent anyone from reaching the end zone. In six games this season, Rex Ryan’s club has already allowed 15 touchdown passes while totaling only one interception.
Still, we’ll say that defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson and company get to Tom Brady a few times, including once for a safety.
Fantasy Prediction: 28 points allowed, 3 sacks, 1 INT, 1 FF.
New England Patriots Defense/Special Teams
The Jets have scored at least 20 points just once in six games this season. And given quarterback Geno Smith’s penchant for turnovers, it’s easy to want to start this unit in this matchup.
The Patriots are tied for the NFL lead with 14 takeaways, with their seven interceptions all coming from different players. Bill Belichick’s club has also totaled 15 sacks, with five of those coming in last week’s win over the Bills.
Fantasy Prediction: 16 points allowed, 5 sacks, 1 INT, 0 FF.
Best Sleeper Adds
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A couple of these performers may not be on your team and could be worth adding Thursday morning or afternoon. Sometimes a little last-minute shopping can be beneficial.
1. Jace Amaro, Tight End, New York Jets (Owned in 1.6 percent of ESPN leagues)
He’s become much more of a factor in the passing game in recent weeks. For those who drafted Jeff Cumberland earlier this season, you may have already moved Amaro into his place.
2. Brandon LaFell, Wide Receiver, New England Patriots (Owned in 5.0 percent of ESPN leagues)
All 15 of LaFell’s receptions this season have come in the last four weeks. Last Sunday at Buffalo, the former Carolina Panthers wideout scored on catches of 18 and 56 yards.
3. Tim Wright, Tight End, New England Patriots (Owned in 3.8 percent of ESPN leagues)
If you haven’t added him to your roster, now may be a good time. Rob Gronkowski remains the main touchdown threat on this team, but Wright has found the end zone two straight weeks.
Injury Report
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Here is a look at the latest injury report regarding the Jets and Patriots, focusing on key performers, courtesy of NFL.com.
New York Jets | ||
Player | Status | |
Greg Salas | WR | Out |
Chris Johnson | RB | Probable |
Eric Decker | WR | Probable |
David Nelson | WR | Probable |
Jace Amaro | TE | Probable |
David Harris | LB | Probable |
A number of quarterback Geno Smith’s targets are on this list, but all are expected to be ready for this contest. While Harris was limited on Wednesday, three-fifths of the starting offensive line—right guard Willie Colon, center Nick Mangold and right tackle Breno Giacomini—went through a full practice.
New England Patriots | ||
Player | Status | |
Stevan Ridley | RB | Out |
Jerod Mayo | LB | Out |
Matt Slater | WR | Questionable |
Dan Connolly | G | Questionable |
Bryan Stork | C | Questionable |
Dominique Easley | DT | Questionable |
Dont’a Hightower | LB | Questionable |
Jamie Collins | LB | Questionable |
Tom Brady | QB | Probable |
Chandler Jones | DE | Probable |
Devin McCourty | FS | Probable |
Ridley and Mayo were both lost in last week’s win over the Buffalo Bills. It will be interesting to see who is available on this short week. Both Connolly and Stork, who are both dealing with concussion issues, did not practice on Wednesday.
Sit or Start
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We know who the stars are when it comes to this contest. But is there a pivotal player or two who may be on your roster that you can’t decide whether to start or not? Here’s a little help.
RB Chris Johnson (Jets): More was expected from the three-time Pro Bowler, who has totaled just 240 total yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in six games this season. He left last week’s game versus the Denver Broncos with an ankle injury after gaining only nine yards on three carries.
Verdict: Sit
TE Jace Amaro (Jets): The second-round pick in May suddenly leads the team with 24 receptions, with 10 of those coming in last week’s loss to the Broncos.
Verdict: Start
RB Brandon Bolden (Patriots): With Stevan Ridley out, some expect Bolden to get more carries, while Shane Vereen once again settles into more of a pass-catching role. Don’t count on it.
Verdict: Sit
TE Tim Wright (Patriots): New England’s offense is much more efficient with two productive tight ends. Wright has scored a touchdown in two straight games.
Verdict: Start
Some statistical support provided by Pro-Football-Reference, NFL.com and ESPN.com. Depth chart info provided by Ourlads.
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