Fantasy Football Week 11: Biggest Takeaways from Sunday

You were expecting fireworks between Tom Brady and Andrew Luck on Sunday night. Instead, fantasy football found out about power back Jonas Gray.

We learned once again, the New England Patriots are a power-running team when times get tough, and that's important. We learned about how Gray is the answer for the Pats and fantasy football owners.

Bleacher Report breaks down the "Top 10 Takeaways from Week 11" here, leading with the running back who is going to be the most added player in all leagues this week.

New England Patriots Have Found Their Power Back

Here's a strange stat from Week 11: There were only eight rushing touchdowns by running backs Sunday; half of them came from the underappreciated Jonas Gray (four). No one could have expected that for a player owned in a mere 8.4 percent of ESPN.com leagues.

Gray was dropped more than he was added going into that huge Sunday night performance too. He will be the most added player in all fantasy leagues now, particularly since Shane Vereen rushed just once against the Indianapolis Colts.

Tom Brady told Shalise Manza Young of The Boston Globe:

"

I think there are games that you go in and we're not sure how good we're going to run it, but when it's going well, you want to keep giving it to him. They were creating holes, and Jonas Gray was finding yards, whether it was cutting back or staying with his blocks.

He just had great vision tonight. He ran for almost 200 yards, so it was a pretty sweet night for a running back.

"

Indeed it was. Gray's 199 yards rushing and four touchdowns even outscored all of the quarterbacks in fantasy Week 11 amid a wicked streak of five- or six-TD games from the passers.

We all should have anticipated Gray having a big night with the Pats planning to play keep away from the NFL's No. 1 offense and quarterback Andrew Luck. Gray and his offensive line executed that to perfection.

"It boils down to that for every team," Patriots captain Matthew Slater told The Globe's Young. "Every team has a game plan and it comes down to the execution. When we execute, we have players that give us a great chance to have success."

Gray is a must-have and must-start in all leagues now, rising from the ashes like LeGarrette Blount did a year ago. Gray is the power back, between-the-tackles runner Shane Vereen is not. Vereen has proved to be a mere passing-down back. In an important game for AFC home-field advantage, the Pats pounded Gray at the Colts run defense 38 times; Vereen just once.

Next up for the Pats is the No. 1 run defense in the NFL, the Detroit Lions. That game comes back at home in New England weather, so expect Gray to be a start even in that tough matchup. It is the time of the year for the big back. Cue up that waiver-wire pick right now.

Robert Griffin III Has Gone Jobu

As we wrote in The Ultimate Guide to Sunday's Action at B/R, Week 11 was make or break for Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III and his fantasy owners—like Voodoo doll Jobu from The Major League.

"If you no help me now...I say f$%& you, Jobu, I do it myself."

Count RG3's performance against the lowly Bucs as more break than make.

Despite a slew of weapons against the worst team in fantasy against wide receivers, per FFToday.com, the Redskins quarterback was well below the fantasy average for quarterbacks. With the bulk of the bye weeks gone now, so too is his owners' trust in him as a fantasy starting option.

You would not be out of line cutting the erstwhile quarterback in all one-quarterback formats.

John Gruden wasn't ready to say his future starting for the Redskins is in jeopardy, but we can say that in fantasy. The head coach told Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post:

"

We'll have to look at the film, but there were some concepts there where we should have been on the same page, and the ball should've been out. It wasn't. Maybe he couldn't see, or maybe there were pushing their face, I couldn't tell from the sideline.

Some of these concepts we had against the coverage that we're playing against, we should have had some open receivers, but I'll check out the film.

"

Griffin was sacked a NFL-high six times, threw two interceptions and was limited to 207 yards. He just couldn't get the ball out...much less downfield to DeSean Jackson (35 yards), Pierre Garçon (six) or Andre Roberts (21). Even Jordan Reed was a bust, catching just two passes for 22 yards. Gruden told The Post:

"

After (Sunday's) performance, nobody proved they deserve to start anywhere. ... You hate to pin a struggling performance on one person until you see the film. But I believe this was a total team effort, this horrific game. But he has a lot of improving to do, obviously.

Just based on what I saw from the sideline, it looked like he has some things he's got to improve on for sure. So does everybody else.

"

Griffin told The Post, "All of the sacks were on me" and...

"

It was a travesty. It was a travesty out there (Sunday). We didn't play well. I didn't see the field as well as I would've liked to. We had turnovers. I can't throw interceptions. We had false start penalties and holding penalties.

It was just bad ball out there (Sunday). It's not that we looked past Tampa Bay because we can't afford to look past anybody. The fact of the matter is we're not a very good football team right now.

"

Gruden has no choice but to stick with his struggling quarterback, but fantasy owners are not handcuffed like that. Look away.

Alfred Blue Shows Arian Foster Might Be a Product of the System

David Richard/Associated Press

Alfred Blue's 156-yard performance suggests a few important things about veteran fantasy star Arian Foster (groin):

1. Foster has a great system to thrive under when he returns in Week 12, as ESPN's Bob Holtzman tweeted Sunday.
2. The Houston Texans have a reason to be cautious, because the rookie Blue is a capable stopgap, especially with a bottom-five run defense in the Cincinnati Bengals on deck next week.
3. Blue should get more and more of a look and larger piece of the timeshare going forward.

Foster owners don't have to stress, but they might be sitting a bit more uneasy than his myriad injuries already make them.

"Their offensive line, especially in the run game, is one of the better ones in the league," Cleveland coach Mike Pettine told Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle. "And just proven by that you can substitute the (running) back out and still have success."

Good for the Texans, bad for Foster, perhaps. The Smith quotes from the Texans were even less flattering for the success Foster has had this season, suggesting he might be a product of the system:

• "Whoever's in there, we're going to go out there and block our (butt) off."—offensive lineman Ben Jones.
• "OK, I mean, (Foster's) a great player. But OK. The show must go on, right?"—quarterback Ryan Mallett.

Foster will be a must start when he is active, but Blue deserves to cut into the snaps down the stretch. Blue might be the most important handcuff outside of Knile Davis for fantasy crunch time. With the bye weeks less of an issue going forward, Blue belongs on the bench of any fantasy team.

Giovani Bernard Owners Might Be Left Worrying About Jeremy Hill

Giovani Bernard's fantasy owners have more than hip and shoulder injuries to be worried about in the coming weeks. Rookie Jeremy Hill posted his second 150-plus-yard performance in three weeks in Bernard's absence.

That is two more than Bernard has in his NFL career. Heck, he only has one 100-yard performance in his career, per Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton likes the way Hill has asserted himself, he told Terrance Harris of The Times Picayune:

"

(Hill) has been able to be featured a little bit more since Gio has been out and he's made big plays. Even the play there before the half, that was a big run because it got us points. We've got to keep his progression going, he's doing a very good job.

"

Head coach Marvin Lewis heaps even more praise to Harris of the power back who is a perfect fit for offensive coordinator Hue Jackson's run-heavy system:

"

Jeremy is such a tough runner, I think as he keeps going and just becomes a Bengal and just plays football he will really be even more impressive. But he's got a lot of ability, he's strong, he can cut and run and he's got great speed, great vision and can catch the football.

He's a very complete player. As a young guy he's shouldering a lot right now and we've got to feel good about that.

"

We don't believe Bernard has been Wally Pipp'd, but that is something that could be coming down the road.

Rookie Wide Receiver Mike Evans Is an Unstoppable Force

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might not have their quarterback of the future yet, but whoever becomes that player will like what he has in rookie wide receiver Mike Evans. Fantasy owners do, too.

Evans has made the Bucs passing game of late and is on pace for a great season for a rookie wideout. His 46 catches for 794 yards and seven touchdowns has him on pace for 82-1,412-12 in a 16-game season.

Those numbers are great for veteran fantasy studs. They are off-the-charts for a rookie receiver.

"I've been around the league a while, and I haven't been around one [rookie] that has been able to do the things [Evans] has done," Bucs head coach Lovie Smith told David Daniels of The Washington Times.

Equally impressive, they have come from the NFL's fifth-worst offense. The past three weeks have propelled Evans quickly to the fantasy elite. He has 21 catches for 458 yards and five touchdowns.

Next up is a bottom-quarter pass defense in the Chicago Bears. Evans is a must-start fantasy option against any pass defense right now.

Michael Floyd Comes Alive with Return of Drew Stanton

The Arizona Cardinals might have lost veteran quarterback Carson Palmer (knee) for the season, but fantasy has rediscovered the magic of third-year wideout Michael Floyd.

The third season is supposed to be the fantasy breakthrough year for Floyd. His slow start was suggesting he might have peaked in year two.

Floyd has new life with Drew Stanton back under center, as he told Kyle Odegard of the Cardinals' official website:

"

Being a wide receiver, it's frustrating not getting the ball. I go back to the Philly game when I had chances to make a play and I fell short. Since then, practice is where I want to do it at and make sure I do everything right to feel good on Sundays.

I think this week I made a big emphasis of making sure that Drew (Stanton) is comfortable with me and comfortable with all our wide receivers too. ...

Drew likes to make plays happen. He's going to give you a chance to go up and get the ball. Drew gives us a chance to make a play on the ball and we expect every single time that ball is in the air to come down to us.

"

Floyd had just two receptions and 54 yards, but both wound up being touchdowns. It was his first multiple TD game of his career, doubling his season output to date. He posted his highest yardage total since Week 3 in September.

Next up in Week 12 is a matchup at the Seattle Seahawks, so don't use him there necessarily, but the good news is, you won't have to cut him for the fantasy stretch run.

Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery Show They Still Have Juice

Kicking the Chicago Bears while they were down was probably a bad move. Jay Cutler (330 yards and three touchdowns), Brandon Marshall (seven catches for 90 yards and two TDs) and Alshon Jeffery (11-135-1) looked a like more like their 2013 fantasy selves Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.

Cutler changed his 2014 fate, he told The Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs, by helping his cause by moving around in the pocket, as designed by head coach Marc Trestman:

"

We've got to move the pocket. We've got to help our offensive line. We get some easy throws in the flat and get some stuff on the outside. It is going to negate some of the pass rushes we see, keep teams off balance and make us look less predictable.

"

Amen, say the fantasy owners of this once-again dynamic trio. You have to love how they were able to put the early season disappointments behind them.

You have to be licking your chops with a matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary on tap n Week 12. Start them in all leagues without issue again.

Coby Fleener Capitalizes on Dwayne Allen's Ankle Injury

Tight end Coby Fleener has had his moments in his brief career. Those moments might be more common for fantasy owners going forward after his seven-catch, 144-yard performance Sunday night, especially if Dwayne Allen is out for the Indianapolis Colts.

Allen was seen wearing a walking boot in the locker room, according to Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star, after leaving the game in the second quarter.

Fleener took over from there. Fantasy owners will have to add Fleener in the nearly 75 percent of ESPN.com leagues he is available if Allen's missing any games going forward.

C.J. Anderson Struggles on Ground, but Becomes Important Down Stretch

So much for that Montee Ball (groin) return. With the reports on Ball and Ronnie Hillman (foot) going forward, C.J. Anderson looks like one of the most important fantasy pickups down the stretch.

It wasn't much of Anderson's ground work. He managed just nine carries for 29 yards, but he was vital to the passing game in a rare bad performance for Peyton Manning's Denver Broncos in a loss at the St. Louis Rams. Anderson caught eight passes for 86 yards.

Most important to Anderson's value is the health (actually, the lack thereof) of those two backs ahead of him on the depth chart, Ball and Hillman.

ESPN insider Adam Schefter tweeted Sunday sources said Hillman is out for Week 12, and perhaps six weeks total. The Denver Post's Mike Klis reported Ball looked like the "most serious" of the Broncos' injured fantasy stars and will undergo an MRI on Monday.

It is not without question Anderson and Juwan Thompson could be doing the running in that potent offense through the fantasy football regular season, if not the NFL season. Own them both in all fantasy leagues in the coming weeks.

Isaiah Crowell Draws Start for Cleveland Browns and Doesn't Fumble It Away

David Richard/Associated Press

The Cleveland Browns' three-headed running monster might be finding its head man. It is the running back you might have considered to be third in line for fantasy owners, undrafted rookie Isaiah Crowell.

Browns head coach Mike Pettine not only started Crowell this week, but he started him in the second half after a critical fumble, as The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Tom Reed reported.

Pettine explained his decision to Reed:

"

We weren't going to just not play him because we felt he had lost, I think, one fumble before that. He had dropped a couple pitches, but that wasn't anything, defensively. He was a guy that we felt we wanted to give the start. The fumble was unfortunate.

It was just one of those (plays) the guy was running across and made a heck of a play punching it out, but I thought there were a bunch of runs Isaiah ran pretty hard.

"

That is great news for Crowell owners and those who want to add him off waivers. It is not so good for Terrance West backers or the doghouse'd Ben Tate going forward.

Crowell looks like the best option among the trio for a favorable matchup against the shaky Atlanta Falcons run defense.