NFC Team-by-Team: Notes, Targets, and Looks

Each week I will be looking over each team and pointing out noticeable trends that can help you dominate your fantasy league.

Links to both the full article and remaining NFC teams can be found below.

Philadelphia Eagles

Donovan McNabb is likely out this week, which means the job belongs to Kevin Kolb…for now. Jeff Garcia was signed to be the backup and Michael Vick is due back from suspension in Week Three.

It's hard to get a true idea of what the split in carries will be between Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy, because McCoy got a ton of carries once the Eagles pulled away from Carolina on Sunday. The split was 13:9 (4:3 in targets) in favor of Westbrook, but expect that gap to be wider this weekend.

DeSean Jackson (seven) and Brent Celek (seven) both saw a bunch of targets, well more than third place Kevin Curtis (four). Hank Baskett was cut, which means Reggie Brown or Brandon Gibson will be active in Week Two.

New York Giants

The split in carries was 16-12 in favor of Brandon Jacobs over Ahmad Bradshaw. Jacobs surprisingly was more involved in the passing game, hauling in two balls, while Bradshaw caught three.

The receiving situation is slightly clearer. Steve Smith was the main man with eight targets/six catches. Kevin Boss, Mario Manningham, Domenik Hixon, and Hakeem Nicks each had three or four targets. With Nicks out for a few weeks, Ramses Barden or Sinorice Moss will see work.

Dallas Cowboys

The running back split showed Marion Barber leading the way with two-thirds of the carries. He had 14, while Felix Jones (six) and Tashard Choice (two) did the rest. No targets for Barber or Jones.

Roy Williams (seven), Jason Witten (seven), and Patrick Crayton (six) were not surprises at the top of the target list.

Washington Redskins

Ladell Betts didn’t steal much of the spotlight from Clinton Portis. The carry split favored Portis 16:2.

Antwaan Randle El was demoted to the slot role this season, but led the team in targets with nine. He caught seven of them for 98 yards. Still, Santana Moss should be the top fantasy option here despite only two catches on five targets. Malcolm Kelly, the new No. 2 WR, caught his only target for a short gain.

Chris Cooley caught seven of his eight targets. That production will continue all year.

Chicago Bears

It was a rough outing for Matt Forte, who failed to record a catch on just one target. Owners, especially those in PPR leagues, should be concerned about that as a lot of Forte’s value in 2008 came from the fact that he caught 63 balls. Forte did carry the ball 25 times, compared to just three for backup Garrett Wolfe.

Earl Bennett had a whopping 13 targets and caught seven of them. He is certainly a player to target right now. Devin Hester caught all four of his targets. Cutler looked to the tight end 10 times: Greg Olsen (six times), Desmond Clark (four times).

Could rookie Johnny Knox make an impact this year? He was also targeted four times and was the team’s third option at WR.

Detroit Lions

Kevin Smith struggled to 20 rush yards on 15 carries, but scored on the ground and recorded 52 receiving yards on seven catches (nine targets). If the rookie Matt Stafford continues to play it safe and dump the ball off to Smith, he will be fantasy gold.

Andre Brown (one) and Terrelle Smith (two) had the team’s only other RB carries.

Calvin Johnson was targeted 13 times, but caught just three for 90 yards. Bryant Johnson had eight thrown his way.

There was not much love for the tight end, as Casey Fitzsimmons (one) and Will Heller (two) accounted for the only three targets.

Green Bay Packers

Ryan Grant is the man for the carries (16:3), but DeShawn Wynn was targeted four times, compared to just once for Grant.

Greg Jennings (eight) and Donald Driver (seven) saw the most targets as expected. Jordy Nelson (two targets) and James Jones (one) failed to catch a ball. Donald Lee caught all three of his targets, but for only eight yards.

Sleeper candidate Jermichael Finley caught just one ball.

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