Check back next week for the Annual Huddle Awards

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

RB Mark Ingram – Calf
RB James Conner – Thigh
QB Mason Rudolph – Shoulder
QB Dwayne Haskins – Ankle
RB Myles Gaskin – Ankle
WR D.J. Moore – Concussion
TE Zach Ertz – Ribs
RB Chris Carson – Hip
QB Kyler Murray – Hamstring
RB Spencer Ware – Shoulder
RB C.J. Prosise – Broken arm

Chasing Ambulances

It is possible that a few leagues use Week 17 and could have these players in question. Even better – use Week 17 to go play a daily game or two. And replacement players are always cheap to use.

RB Mark Ingram – Suffered a calf injury and left the game. He’ll rest in Week 17 regardless and allow Gus Edwards and Justice Hill to replace him. Edwards always gets more carries and would be the better option when they host the Steelers this week.

RB James Conner – Left with a calf injury in the loss to the Jets.  The Steelers used a committee of Benny Snell, Jaylen Samuels, and Kerrith Whyte to replace him. They play in Baltimore so there would be marginal fantasy value with just one back. And none with three or even four running backs.

TE Zach Ertz – Left with a rib injury and Dallas Goedert led all receivers with nine catches for 91 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Cowboys. The Eagles have to win this week to take the NFC East and Ertz will play if there is any chance. He could be limited though depending on how bad the rib injury is. Goedert is a worthy consideration anyway since the Eagles are almost out of receivers.

RB Chris Carson – Injured his hip and early reports have him likely to miss the rest of the year. But Rashaad Penny already beat him to the injured reserve and C.J. Prosise just broke his arm. Travis Homer is the top of the depth chart at last for now. He is a sixth-round rookie with eight rushing attempts and six receptions over the last four games.  He’s an obvious step down from Carson and the Seahawks face the 49ers this week. They will promote a practice squad guy or find a free agent or both. Limited if any real value this week, though.

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

WR Michael Thomas – He set the new NFL record with 145 catches in a season and he still has one more game against the Panthers. In their last meeting during Week 12, Thomas caught 11 passes for 101 yards and a score on the Panthers. 150 is not out of reach and 155 sounds like an average game.

WR DeAndre Hopkins – Faced the No. 32 ranked defense against wide receivers and only caught five passes for 23 yards. And yes, as mind-bending as that seems, it was his worst performance all year – right when you needed him most.

WR Breshad Perriman – For the last four games, he’s gained at least 70 yards and topped 100 yards in the last two. Perriman blew up with 113 yards and three touchdowns in Week 15 after Mike Evans was gone and he laid down seven receptions for 102 yards this week. What will the Bucs do with three viable receivers? Hard to say since Perriman was only signed for one year and will be a free agent in 2020.

TE Tyler Higbee – In his three previous seasons, Higbee never gained 100 yards and averaged just around 17 yards per game. He rarely caught more than two passes and even went seven different weeks without a catch despite playing. When Gerald Everett went out injured in Week 12, there were no expectations on what Higbee might do other than play like he had for three and a half years. But he turned in at least seven catches for 100 yards in each of the last four games. He is the highest-scoring tight end for the last month. He is the third-highest scoring receiver, period.

RB Devonta Freeman – Yet another head-scratcher. Freeman does little all year and yet in Week 16, he ran for 53 yards and a touchdown, plus caught nine passes for 74 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Jaguars. It was his best game of the year and double the fantasy points from ten other of his games this season.

QB Will Grier – The Panthers’ third-round pick finally took his debut start in the loss to the Colts. He only completed 27 of 44 passes for 224 yards and three interceptions. But – he connected 15 times with Christian McCaffrey and his other 13 completions were spread over eight players. At least he was kind to the McCaffrey owners in their championships – because he was in a lot of them.

WR Tyler Boyd – There were a lot of players that saved their best games for the fantasy championships, even if they sunk their owner’s chances long ago. Boyd only scored three times this season and just once in his first ten games. At Miami this week, he ended with nine catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns.  He turned in just three receptions for 26 yards the previous week.

TE Mike Gesicki – The second-round pick by the Dolphins in 2018, Gesicki did little and never scored until Week 12 of this year. He followed that with a score this next week with 79 yards against the Eagles. In Week 16, he ended with six receptions for 82 yards and two more touchdowns. Worth noting for next year.

RB Alvin Kamara – Ran for 80 yards and two touchdowns at Tennessee and added six catches for 30 yards. That’s a better game than his previous four combined. He only had one rushing touchdown in his first 14 games.

RB Miles Sanders – The Eagles have always employed a committee backfield under HC Doug Pederson. But Jordan Howard remains out and Sanders comes off a big game with 79 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries plus five receptions for 77 yards in the win over the Cowboys. Jordan Howard was only signed for 2019, so could it be? I bet not. Shame though.

RB Kenyan Drake – Where was this when he was in Miami? Drake ran for 166 yards and two scores plus caught three passes for 18 yards. After his first touchdown, he celebrated by pretending to open a safe, load money in a bag and then throw it over his shoulder and walk away. He had 146 total yards and a score last week. And yes, he’s going to be carrying a big bag of money when he becomes a free agent next year.

4,000-yard passers – These quarterbacks have a shot at 4,000 yards on the season (Name and need) – Russell Wilson (123), Patrick Mahomes (143), Deshaun Watson (148), Tom Brady (164), Carson Wentz (250). That would make ten this year and there were 12 in 2018.

1,000-yard rushers – These running backs are close to the mark – Joe Mixon (25), Phillip Lindsay (42), Saquon Barkley (89).

1,000-yard receivers – It’s not just for wideouts anymore – Austin Ekeler (50), Christian McCaffrey (67), Tyler Boyd (13), DJ Chark (26), Mike Williams (37), Odell Beckham (46), A.J. Brown (73), Terry McLaurin (81), George Kittle (33), and Zach Ertz (84).

Huddle player of the week

RB Saquon Barkley  –  This is ironic. The first pick in most fantasy drafts has been a bust against all expectations. He missed three games and never ran for 100 yards since Week 2. There are not a lot of teams that weathered such a bad flop from their No. 1 pick. But those that did were rewarded with 22 carries for 189 yards and one touchdown, plus four receptions for 90 more yards and a second score. It was everything you expected and never got. Until Week 16.

Salute!

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Now get back to work… and Merry Christmas!