FFB Week 10 - TWELVE TAKEAWAYS

Is it already week 10? What the heck?

Happy Tuesdee and welcome on back to your favorite weekly column: Week 10 twelve takeaways. Gird up your loins and let's get down to business, it's Fantasy Football Boy time.

1. Arthur Smith heard the cries for help from Bijan owners. He was finally heavily featured in the offense turning 24 touches, his most since week 2, into 106 all-purpose yards and a touchdown. It was a satisfying performance for Bijan, but the Falcons still managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against the Cardinals. The rest of the offense was unadulterated garbage and the quarterback play is still very much a hindrance as Heinecke and Ridder combined for a whole 94 yards through the air on Sunday. At least Bijan looked good! In his first 10 games as a pro, Robinson is RB9 in half-PPR leagues, averaging 4.9 yards per carry (the same as Christian McCaffrey), and has only one real blemish on his fantasy record not counting the game where he "had a headache". There's still some distrust out there between the fantasy community and Arthur Smith, but if he values his job moving forward he'll have the best offensive player on the roster on the field as the focal point. As such, I believe there's plenty of volume upcoming for Bijan and I predict he blows all the way up (RB5 or better) down the stretch.     

2. This is ground control to Major Josh, you've really made the grade. That grade is an A+ for me so far and I love watching the Passtronaut infiltrate opposing planets, specifically Ur anus.  

Shitty space puns aside, Joshua Dobbs gave owners another elite fantasy output with 25.1 points, QB3 on the week and now up to QB8 for the season. 23/34 for 268 yards and a TD to go with 44 more yards on the ground and another rushing TD. He's been nothing short of incredible this year and he could very well get Justin Jefferson back in week 11 as an added weapon to his arsenal. 🚀🚀🚀  

3a. CeeDee Lamb is on one hell of a heater. Sunday was his third straight game with 10+ catches/150+ yards (a new record). In his last 3 games, he has 34 catches for 500 yards and 4 total touchdowns and from Week 5 onward, he's been the standalone WR1. He's one of several top wide receivers that's made good on the preseason promise of top-tier production and he's nipping at the heels of only Tyreek Hill, AJ Brown, and Keenan Allen at WR4 overall on the year.

3b. For as good as CeeDee and Dak have been together, Tony Pollard has been a big, fat, stinky disappointment. Scoring twice in Week 1 against the Giants, early signs pointed to a big season for the RB1 in Dallas. He hasn't scored since. Pollard owners everywhere:
In his defense, he was very, very close to scoring this week but got stopped on the 1-yard line twice. YIKES. Check the waivers section for more...

4. After 11 months, Kyler Murray has made his triumphant return. The Cardinals social team welcomed him back by making him take a picture with a XXXL football. There's no possible way this is a regulation size football and it looks gargantuan in his hands. 

He wasted no time scurrying and scampering around the field and actually... looking like his old self. Trey McBride had a monstrous day (8/131) and the Cardinals pulled off a nice comeback in Kyler's first game back from injury. This was all the more impressive when you factor in the Call of Duty release just 2 days before the game so Kyler was probably grinding weapon camos all weekend. Kyler's surgically repaired knee looked great! 19/32 for 249 and a TD with 33 added rushing yards and a TD on the ground. This camera angle is the best:

5. If you're a Commanders fan, you gotta be excited about Sam Howell. I believe you've found your guy. If they can move some things around and get the offensive line patched up (Howell has been sacked 47 times, the most in the league by a longshot), there's a lot to be excited about in that offense. Howell is currently QB3 on the year and Brian Robinson Jr. is RB4 so there's something to work with there. They should've gone for two, but this throw to tie the game late was absolute insanity.

6. I might've been wrong about the Jaguars offense. Sunday against the 49ers was alarmingly bad and I'm now questioning everything. Perhaps I spoke too soon on Trevor Lawrence who seems to have taken a small step back from his promising 2022 QB8 season. He was nightmarish on Sunday with no TDs and 2 INTs and a lost fumble. So far, he has just two games with >1 TD pass through 9 games this season. He's eclipsed 300 passing yards just once this year and the Jags were held to 185 yards through the air on Sunday - not a terribly encouraging game coming out of a bye and an underwhelming first half of the season. 

7. Things are going well in Foxborough. We got Bill Belichick blasting nips on doorbell cams, Bob Kraft visibly pissed off, and Bill O'Brien cooking his quarterback's shrimp on the sideline.

Not for nothing - Mike Gesicki was away clean, and Mac legitimately underthrew him by a full 15 yards in what would've been a TD to take the lead. Mac was benched and Bailey Zappe came in for an epic fake spike only to underthrow another receiver and throw the game-ending INT directly to the Colts secondary. Mac Jones stinks and the Patriots are in big, big trouble at quarterback and potentially at head coach. Throw Malik Cunningham in there at this point, it can't get much worse. 

8. The Bills may not be Super Bowl contenders after all and that Monday night game was stupid and hilarious. Josh Allen looked rather subpar and the threw two more interceptions, putting him in the league lead for that unsavory statistic. He also lost a fumble and the turnover trend is a bit concerning at this point. Stefon Diggs had just 3 catches for 34 yards and baby bro has seen enough!

Update: he's doubled down.  

Double update: Ken Dorsey, the Bills offensive coordinator, has been shitcanned. That ought to fix the turnover issues. 


9. Invest in Josh Jacobs for the rest of the season. 29 touches this week, 127 total yards (he also lost a fumble but we're ignoring that on account of him running angry, per Bo's advice).

10. I'm happy he's alive but Damar Hamlin winning Comeback Player of the Year as a healthy scratch for 99% of the season is a scam. 

11. All the talk is about Tyreek, AJ Brown and the rest of the elite... but Amon-Ra St. Brown is still doing elite things. He's been exactly what we thought he was through 8 games. He missed a game due to injury back in week 5 and the Lions have already had their bye, but he sits at WR7 and has topped 100 yards in all but two games this season. He's scored just 4 TDs so owners would surely like to see that number go up, but his volume is too high for that to stay on the lower end for much longer. The Lions as a whole are a lot of fun, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are coexisting nicely, and Dan Campbell has them boys playing with some serious dickheat. 

12. You thought we'd get outta here without addressing Kyle Pitts? If you don't know by now, you're past the point of me helping you. I've been clamoring for the guy to be dropped since Week 2. On Sunday it was yet another stinker, 3 measly catches for 30 yards. He's barely holding on inside the top-20, currently at TE16. I've never been more right about something. 

#DropKylePitts 

We're actually gonna take a look at numbers today so you people don't think I have a personal vendetta. He's 6th among tight ends in targets, with a 19% team target share to boot. We all know the Falcons offense isn't exactly pass-happy, but these are fairly respectable numbers considering. He's 7th in routes run and 1st in unrealized air yards (complete + incomplete targets) so he's getting plenty of looks, that's hardly the issue. For context, he has one less target on the season than Mark Andrews and he's TE3. Sadly, the aforementioned targets are of questionable quality at times and he's painfully inefficient when he does get opportunities, not a great combo. He's converted on just 32 of his 52 chances, he's not breaking any tackles (not an exaggeration, he hasn't broken a single tackle in 2023), he's abysmal after the catch (91 YAC, 24th among TEs), and he's 36th in target separation (he can't get open despite being an athletic freak). All of these things combined with inconsistent QB play make for a wildly unproductive player. If you're bullishly holding, praying that he suddenly animorphs into a top-5 guy, I say good luck with that, and bless your heart.

Week 10 Win The Waiver Wire sponsored by Applebees:

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    (These are in no particular order, pick who you like/need/is available and go WIN THE WAIVER WIRE!) 

    • Ty Chandler - All the way back in Week 7 I listed Cam Akers as a name on waivers. He'd just been acquired and Alexander Mattison wasn't getting the job done. Fast forward to this past week, Alexander Mattison (still not getting the job done) goes down with an injury and Cam Akers is out for the year with a ruptured Achilles. Who will save the day? Ty Chandler, that's who. He came in and went for 15 carries/45 yards and a TD. Mattison is still in concussion protocol so keep an eye on that, but Chandler has looked good in the limited sample size we've seen. 
    • Devin Singletary - Dameon Pierce was out this week, but it's not like he's been very good this year anyway. Singletary stepped in and handled 31 (!!!) touches for 161 total yards and a TD in his absence. It'll probably be a split backfield once Pierce does come back, but maybe skewed a bit in Singletary's favor if he's able to produce like that. 
    • Rico Dowdle - Tony Pollard has gone 151 consecutive touches without scoring. Coming into the season, his grasp on the backfield was airtight and he was projected to have a huge year. He was just able to run 15 times for 55 yards against the Giants. To say he's been a fantasy bust as an expected high-end RB1 heading into this year is an understatement. Meanwhile, Rico Dowdle snuck in 12 carries for 79 yards and a TD this week. Pollard's best career work has been on the back end of a committee, maybe that's the direction the Cowboys take this.   
    • Keaton Mitchell - The volume may not be there yet, but the explosiveness sure is. Again, just 4 touches, but he's capitalizing on his chances and he scored from 39 yards out again this week. He out-touched Justice Hill (just 2 carries) and Gus Edwards only ran 11 times for 24 yards, so he's worth adding if he's still out there for the taking. He has the best burst and the Ravens backfield is still working some things out, it wouldn't surprise me to see his role continue to increase. If nothing else, his big plays have earned him additional touches should Hill/Edwards hit a snag. 
    • Michael Wilson/Trey McBride - Whatever position you're in need at, target one of these guys. Kyler Murray automatically elevates them and gives them a boost. I doubt McBride is available but check anyway. 
    • Noah Brown - Everyone was scraping and clawing for Tank Dell but Noah Brown is out there balling with his bros as well. In his last two games he's totaled 13 catches for 325 yards and a TD. CJ Stroud is on a tear and the Texans are generating some serious steamheat, it's a good time to invest in Texans pass-catchers. 
    • Matthew Stafford - Bear with me here... normally you wouldn't see his name on here, but he's been injured and maybe your league got impatient/desperate. Just check and see, he could be the type of guy to come back and have a big second half of the season to help you win your bloody league. 
    • Quentin Johnston - AGAIN, check on QJ. I said it a few weeks back, but we've seen his role grow more and more every week. Finally, at long last, he caught his first TD this week and bigger things are coming as he continues to grow in his route-running and learn to get separation. 

    Good luck out there and as always, win the waiver wire. If you have any questions/compliments hit my line at @Clax_TN on Twitter/X. Thanks for reading!


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