7 Fantasy Football Lessons We Learned In Week 8

Eric StashinNov 2, 2010

There certainly were a lot of story lines coming out of NFL's Week 8, so let’s take a look at seven things we learned:

Miles Austin owners who pushed the panic button were a bit premature. It was easy to assume that Austin was going to struggle once Tony Romo went down with injury, but Jon Kitna certainly can throw the ball. Are the Cowboys going to be as dynamic? No, they aren’t, but Austin should continue to get plenty of looks and make more then enough plays. Austin had seven receptions for 117 yards in Week 8 and should continue to produce.
Jacob Tamme could quickly emerge as a usable tight end. Fantasy owners were distraught when Dallas Clark went down with an injury, buy it didn’t take long for Tamme to ease their concerns. He caught a touchdown from Peyton Manning on the Colts second drive of the game and finished with six catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. He may not be a TE1 yet, but he certainly could be before long. If you need depth, he’s worth stashing. On a side note, for those wondering who the third receiver would be, Anthony Gonzalez finished with four catches for 55 yards on six targets. Blair White was not targeted once. Things will be fluid, but it’s safe to say that Gonzalez is the better receiver to have on fantasy benches right now.
Terrell Owens is clearly the top wide receiver in Cincinnati. Entering the year no one was sure exactly how the Cincinnati Bengals receiving corps was going to play itself out. Chad Ochocinco was the long-time leader of the team, but he has consistently played second fiddle to Owens in 2010. Entering the week, Owens had 40 receptions for 564 yards and 3 TD while Ochocinco had 36 receptions for 424 yards and 2 TD. In Week 8, Owens had another big day, picking up five receptions for 65 yards and two touchdowns (Ochocinco had three receptions for 34 yards). He’s now scored in four straight games, with two or three days of at least 100 yards. Ochocinco, meanwhile, has been inconsistent and has frustrated fantasy owners.
LeGarrette Blount has emerged as a usable running back in all formats. We mentioned last week that it appeared that he had overtaken Carnell Williams and would be taking over as the Buccaneers lead back. Not only did he get the bulk of the carries in Week 8 (22 vs. four for Williams), he exploded for 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He has size and speed (he broke an impressive 48 yard run late in the game) and it appears that he is now entrenched as the starter. If he’s still unowned in your league, he shouldn’t be.
Mark Sanchez and the Jets offense took a major step backwards. Early on in the season all we heard about was how Sanchez had taken the next step in his progression. After a terrible Week 1, he threw for eight TDs in his next three games and didn’t have an INT over the first five weeks. Well, he’s now thrown four interceptions in his last two games as the Jets were shutout by the Green Bay Packers. I wouldn’t say Sanchez is a terrible option, but he clearly should be left for those in two-quarterback formats. A similar statement can be said regarding Dustin Keller, who has not had more then three receptions in the past three games. Hopefully you sold high on him while you could. How about the rest of the Jets receiving corps? Is there anyone you actually trust?
Darren McFadden is a RB1 regardless of the matchup. Week 8 was going to be the true test for McFadden, as he squared off with a Seahawks rushing defense that had looked good this season. Instead of being slowed down, he torched them for 111 yards on 21 carries (and added 24 yards on two receptions). At this point, he clearly has emerged as one of the best running back options in the league. There’s just no reason to have him on your bench at this point.
The combination of Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson is among the best in the game. How long was Stafford out? It appeared like he didn’t miss a minute as the two didn’t miss a beat. Johnson had nine receptions for 101 yards and three touchdowns in Stafford’s first game since Week 1. While the two may not put up quite as good numbers against the Jets in Week 9, they clearly are a deadly combination.