Oct 30, 2014
Three and Out: How good could Bradshaw be?
Each week, TSN.ca Fantasy Editor Scott Cullen and NFL Editors Ben Fisher and Mike Hetherington discuss three hot fantasy football topics. This week they debate if Matt Ryan should be benched on your fantasy team, how good Ahmad Bradshaw would be if he wasn’t splitting carries with Trent Richardson, and if Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are Peyton Manning’s best receiver tandem ever.
TSN.ca Staff
Each week, TSN.ca Fantasy Editor Scott Cullen and NFL Editors Ben Fisher and Mike Hetherington discuss three hot fantasy football topics.
Should Matt Ryan be benched?
Cullen: I'm inclined to give Ryan a little more rope, especially with Tampa Bay the Falcons' first opponent coming out of this week's bye, but Ryan's mediocre play over the past three weeks has made it feasible to look at other options for your starting QB slot. Really, as long as he has Julio Jones and Roddy White healthy, I'd be reluctant to take Ryan out of my lineup, but I have him hovering around the 11-13 range for quarterbacks which leaves him as a low-end starter.
Fisher: It’s been a major theme for the Falcons the past couple years and while there is definitely a discrepancy in Ryan’s home and away splits (21.38 points per week to 15.66), the more concerning trend is his play of late. The seventh-year quarterback hasn’t surpassed 17 points in any of the last four weeks, and if you remove his monster Week 1 performance (when there was still hope in Atlanta) Ryan’s weekly average drops from 18.52 to 16.67, very much in the QB2 range. We’re in the thick of bye weeks (Ryan himself gets a rest this week) so he may be worth a start in the short term, but I’d be leery of starting Ryan in a playoff game.
Hetherington: Absolutely not. Ryan is the franchise quarterback for the Falcons and no matter how much of a clearing house the team undergoes after the season, Ryan will remain under centre. When you look at the problems of the Falcons, Ryan is pretty low on the list. Despite the bad interception on Sunday, Ryan’s QB rating is still 93.1 on the season. The only justifiable reason I can see to bench Ryan would be to save his health instead of playing him behind the makeshift offensive line the team has been forced to assemble due to injuries. Ryan is still the future in Atlanta, TJ Yates and Sean Renfree are not.
How good could Ahmad Bradshaw be if the Colts ever give up on Trent Richardson?
Cullen: Bradshaw is a productive and versatile back, who can gain yards on the ground or in the passing game. While it comes as no surprise that he's more productive than Richardson, Bradshaw doesn't have a great record as a workhorse back -- only once in his career has he had more than 250 touches in a season, and that was 2010. That doesn't mean Bradshaw isn't a valuable fantasy commodity as is, because the Colts' offence is giving him opportunities to score, but he's also coming off a season in which he played just three games, so I'd have some concerns about whether Bradshaw could handle (ie. stay healthy with) a substantially heavier workload.
Fisher: While it’s frustrating to see Bradshaw split opportunity with the far inferior Richardson – and to think what could be if he was the Colts’ workhorse in the backfield – Indianapolis’ handling of the 28-year-old back is the best case scenario for both Bradshaw and his fantasy owners. The Colts are keeping injury-prone Bradshaw fresh; there is as good a chance the answer is “on the IR” as it is “leading his position in scoring.” Should should prefer a year of Bradshaw putting up RB1 numbers over a couple weeks of league-leading numbers.
Hetherington: Bradshaw could likely be a high-RB1 as a feature back on the Colts, especially given his pass catching ability. However, I think the Colts are best left using Bradshaw in tandem with Richardson and not overworking the injury-prone back. Bradshaw has only played all 16 games in a season once in his career, and is coming off a severe neck injury last season. If he could stay healthy, I believe Bradshaw would likely be putting up Matt Forte numbers as a lead back, however the risk may not be worth the reward.
Will Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders finish as Peyton Manning’s best WR duo ever?
Cullen: I don't think so. The 2004 Indianapolis Colts had a really productive pair -- Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne -- that combined for 2,323 yards and 27 touchdowns (and since we're talking duos, Brandon Stokley's 1077 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2004 are merely a footnote) and last year's Broncos had Thomas and Eric Decker putting up 2,718 yards and 25 touchdowns. Even if Thomas and Sanders can match or surpass the yardage totals, they'll need to find the end zone a whole lot in the second half of the season to rank as the most productive pair of wideouts in Manning's illustrious career.
Fisher: I’m not going that far. Thomas is an absolute stud and holds up his end of the bargain as the top guy. My hesitance is with Sanders, whose 2014 stat line is heavily boosted by a huge Week 8 performance. Prior to last week Sanders was having a very Eric Decker-like year; still a great achievement, but not quite one half of Manning’s best tandem ever. With Julius Thomas still very much around to steal touchdowns away from the receivers, I can’t see Sanders doing enough to make history alongside DeMaryius.
Hetherington: Thomas and Sanders have been two of the best wide receivers in the league this season working with Peyton, but best ever? I’m not sure. I believe the combination of Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne in 2006 with the Colts will go down as Peyton’s best ever duo. The two both had over 1300 receiving yards that season and at least nine touchdowns. I also see an argument being made for Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker in 2013, who both had at least 1288 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Nonetheless, I’ll stick with Harrison and Wayne.
Should Matt Ryan be benched?
Cullen: I'm inclined to give Ryan a little more rope, especially with Tampa Bay the Falcons' first opponent coming out of this week's bye, but Ryan's mediocre play over the past three weeks has made it feasible to look at other options for your starting QB slot. Really, as long as he has Julio Jones and Roddy White healthy, I'd be reluctant to take Ryan out of my lineup, but I have him hovering around the 11-13 range for quarterbacks which leaves him as a low-end starter.
Fisher: It’s been a major theme for the Falcons the past couple years and while there is definitely a discrepancy in Ryan’s home and away splits (21.38 points per week to 15.66), the more concerning trend is his play of late. The seventh-year quarterback hasn’t surpassed 17 points in any of the last four weeks, and if you remove his monster Week 1 performance (when there was still hope in Atlanta) Ryan’s weekly average drops from 18.52 to 16.67, very much in the QB2 range. We’re in the thick of bye weeks (Ryan himself gets a rest this week) so he may be worth a start in the short term, but I’d be leery of starting Ryan in a playoff game.
Hetherington: Absolutely not. Ryan is the franchise quarterback for the Falcons and no matter how much of a clearing house the team undergoes after the season, Ryan will remain under centre. When you look at the problems of the Falcons, Ryan is pretty low on the list. Despite the bad interception on Sunday, Ryan’s QB rating is still 93.1 on the season. The only justifiable reason I can see to bench Ryan would be to save his health instead of playing him behind the makeshift offensive line the team has been forced to assemble due to injuries. Ryan is still the future in Atlanta, TJ Yates and Sean Renfree are not.
How good could Ahmad Bradshaw be if the Colts ever give up on Trent Richardson?
Cullen: Bradshaw is a productive and versatile back, who can gain yards on the ground or in the passing game. While it comes as no surprise that he's more productive than Richardson, Bradshaw doesn't have a great record as a workhorse back -- only once in his career has he had more than 250 touches in a season, and that was 2010. That doesn't mean Bradshaw isn't a valuable fantasy commodity as is, because the Colts' offence is giving him opportunities to score, but he's also coming off a season in which he played just three games, so I'd have some concerns about whether Bradshaw could handle (ie. stay healthy with) a substantially heavier workload.
Fisher: While it’s frustrating to see Bradshaw split opportunity with the far inferior Richardson – and to think what could be if he was the Colts’ workhorse in the backfield – Indianapolis’ handling of the 28-year-old back is the best case scenario for both Bradshaw and his fantasy owners. The Colts are keeping injury-prone Bradshaw fresh; there is as good a chance the answer is “on the IR” as it is “leading his position in scoring.” Should should prefer a year of Bradshaw putting up RB1 numbers over a couple weeks of league-leading numbers.
Hetherington: Bradshaw could likely be a high-RB1 as a feature back on the Colts, especially given his pass catching ability. However, I think the Colts are best left using Bradshaw in tandem with Richardson and not overworking the injury-prone back. Bradshaw has only played all 16 games in a season once in his career, and is coming off a severe neck injury last season. If he could stay healthy, I believe Bradshaw would likely be putting up Matt Forte numbers as a lead back, however the risk may not be worth the reward.
Will Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders finish as Peyton Manning’s best WR duo ever?
Cullen: I don't think so. The 2004 Indianapolis Colts had a really productive pair -- Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne -- that combined for 2,323 yards and 27 touchdowns (and since we're talking duos, Brandon Stokley's 1077 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2004 are merely a footnote) and last year's Broncos had Thomas and Eric Decker putting up 2,718 yards and 25 touchdowns. Even if Thomas and Sanders can match or surpass the yardage totals, they'll need to find the end zone a whole lot in the second half of the season to rank as the most productive pair of wideouts in Manning's illustrious career.
Fisher: I’m not going that far. Thomas is an absolute stud and holds up his end of the bargain as the top guy. My hesitance is with Sanders, whose 2014 stat line is heavily boosted by a huge Week 8 performance. Prior to last week Sanders was having a very Eric Decker-like year; still a great achievement, but not quite one half of Manning’s best tandem ever. With Julius Thomas still very much around to steal touchdowns away from the receivers, I can’t see Sanders doing enough to make history alongside DeMaryius.
Hetherington: Thomas and Sanders have been two of the best wide receivers in the league this season working with Peyton, but best ever? I’m not sure. I believe the combination of Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne in 2006 with the Colts will go down as Peyton’s best ever duo. The two both had over 1300 receiving yards that season and at least nine touchdowns. I also see an argument being made for Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker in 2013, who both had at least 1288 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Nonetheless, I’ll stick with Harrison and Wayne.