Fantasy Football 2014: LeSean McCoy and 2 Others Turning Their Seasons Around

Sometimes superstars get off to slow starts through no fault of their own. Then when the situations around them get getter, they get better. It is as simple as kicking an extra point.

Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger has had six touchdown passes in back-to-back games, the first time it has been done in NFL history. But during the Steelers’ opening six games of the season he only had eight touchdown passes. So how is he suddenly tossing touchdown passes faster than Papa John’s tosses pizzas?

Because Antonio Brown has become the best receiver in football, newcomer Martavis Bryant has emerged as a red-zone threat as a No. 2 receiver and Big Ben’s O-line is keeping the humongous hits on him to a minimum.

Many fantasy pundits and NFL experts were writing off New England’s Tom Brady about a month ago. But after tight end Rob Gronkowski rounded into shape, Brandon LaFell learned the offense and the offensive line started blocking blitzers, Brady became Brady again.

These two are not the only fantasy studs who have bounced back after so-so starts. Here are three players who have started turning their lackluster seasons around and the reasons why they should continue to benefit fantasy owners from here on out.

LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles (RB)

Shady was probably drafted in the first round in 99 percent of fantasy football leagues that started from scratch this season, yet the only fantasy first-rounder who has probably disappointed more owners has been Adrian Peterson.

McCoy has 622 rushing yards, 94 receiving yards and one touchdown at the halfway point of the season. While some could spin this into saying McCoy has been decent since he is fourth in the NFL in rushing, considering he won the rushing title last year with 1,607 yards and added 539 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns, this has definitely been a down season for him.

McCoy’s main problem early on was that Philadelphia’s offensive line could not manage to stay healthy. At one point Philadelphia was missing four of its five starting linemen. There was no continuity up front and no holes for McCoy to spring through.

But while guard Todd Herremans had season-ending surgery, the rest of the line has returned. When at its best, it is one of the top lines in the league and was instrumental in McCoy winning the rushing crown in 2013.

McCoy has rushed for 349 yards over the past three games as his line has gotten healthy. He only had 273 yards in Philadelphia’s first five games. The tide is turning in McCoy and his fantasy owners’ favor.

Philadelphia will be more committed to the run than ever now that Mark Sanchez will have to run the offense for the immediate future in place of the injured Nick Foles. So watch for McCoy to get plenty of touches here on out as the Eagles battle the Dallas Cowboys for the division lead the next couple months.

Look for McCoy to find more running room and to be counted on for more carries to protect Sanchez from turning the ball over. McCoy will earn his first-round pick standing in the eyes of nervous fantasy owners before season’s end, trust me.

Alfred Morris, Washington Redskins (RB)

Morris has not had a bad year. He just has not had an outstanding year.

Coming into last Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, Morris only scored four touchdowns in eight contests and had no 100-yard games to his credit. Fantasy owners who selected Morris in the first or second round in their drafts were expecting much more.

But Morris came up with his best game of the season last week just when his fantasy owners might have been doubting him. He rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns against Minnesota. So what was the glaring difference?

Robert Griffin III was the quarterback.

Morris runs more effectively when RG3 is the quarterback. Maybe it is because defenses stack the box against him when backups Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy are under center, or maybe Griffin opens up space for him because the QB is a threat to run on option plays. Whatever the case, Morris runs for more yards and scores more touchdowns when Griffin is the one handing off to him.

Morris barreled his way for 1,613 yards and 13 touchdowns during his rookie campaign in 2012 when a healthy Griffin was running the show. Morris’ numbers came down to 1,275 yards and seven touchdowns in 2013, probably partially due to Griffin not being as spry coming off knee surgery and because Griffin missed three games.

As long as Griffin remains upright and off the injured reserve, Morris will continue to be one of the better fantasy backs during the second half of the season.

Eric Decker, New York Jets (WR)

Geno Smith will never elevate the fantasy values of his receivers, except if he stops throwing to them.

With Michael Vick now at the helm of the Jets offense, Decker’s numbers will steadily improve. The early results have been encouraging. In Vick’s first start of the season, Decker caught nine passes for 63 yards and a touchdown and was targeted 11 times. Even though he only averaged a pedestrian seven yards per catch, this was Decker’s best fantasy week of the season.

Decker also has a couple other things going in his favor, namely his hurting hamstring is getting healthier, and he now has Percy Harvin distracting defenses from the other side of the field.

Throw in the fact that the Jets will be trailing in most of their games and passing often late in contests, and Decker is looking like a nice fantasy sleeper down the stretch.

Fantasy owners should have known that Decker was going to have a harder time fantasy-wise this year when he left Peyton Manning’s pinpoint passes for Smith’s scattershot slings. Decker had 2,352 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns with Manning as his quarterback between 2012 and 2013. Those numbers were going to be difficult to duplicate with Smith.

But Decker was also able to catch eight touchdown passes in 2011 when Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow were his signal-callers, so he should be able to give fantasy owners solid stats with Vick as his quarterback. He could be available on waiver wires or via trade in most fantasy leagues, so feel free to take a flier on him.