When Things Go Silent

You ever have one of those weeks when you have the perfect lineup set going against an inferior opponent and all seems right with the world only to have your week flipped upside down and victory snatched from your fingers?!

Cool.

Me too.

Sucks.

Yes, I was projected to outscore one of my opponents this week 147-92. All week I was breathing sighs of fresh air knowing that the last thing I had to worry about leading up to Thursday Night Football and the rest of week 9 was any roster decisions. THEN things went silent. First, both of my defensive ends tallied a combined 2.5 fantasy points on TNF. THEN, during the rest of week 9, my three starting running backs accumulated a total of 26.6 fantasy points. My two starting wide receivers and tight end produced 21.7 fantasy points. My two linebackers and two defensive backs performed respectably and my quarterback got me over 20pts, so I was satisfied there. And my kicker…well he did the best he could. I was projected to win, 147-92.

I lost 114.6-135.

So, normally I always start each article talking about game theory and how you can work every situation, good or bad, to your advantage somehow. Yeah, ummm…..what I have forgotten to mention, so far this season is that sometimes football can be stupid in that you could have all the best matchups in your favor yet sometimes the football gods can just look down upon you and just say, “NOPE”. It sucks. I’m sorry. More than likely you’ve heard the expression “process over results”. That means more often than not making logic-based/analytically sounds roster decisions will help guide your team to victory. More often than not.

As a result of this massive letdown, I’m going to do things differently in my 4-EYED OBSERVATIONS this week. THIS WEEK, I’m going to discuss the 3 most popular players on that team at the running back position that let me down in that league because chances are you have some or all of those players on YOUR rosters as well. I chose the running backs to discuss this week because that position is fantasy gold the closer we get to fantasy playoff time, and if that position with these players is giving you cause for concern then we’re all in trouble. I’ll also tell you what I think in terms of whether the disappointment they provided in week 9 is temporary or long-lasting.

**DISCLAIMER**

As always when discussing fantasy point production we’re referring to 0.5 PPR scoring

Here are my 4-EYED OBSERVATIONS from Week 9..aka….Jorge’s venting session!

You would think Leonard Fournette, Aaron Jones, and Saquon Barkley were as matchup-proof as it could get. NOPE.

Leonard Fournette: 72 total yards, 5 receptions, 9.7 fantasy points.

For the first time since week 3, Fournette failed to have over 19 rushing attempts in a game, which is not a good thing. Look, he’s not a touchdown producing monster (1 TD this season so far). He’s a high volume runner who is also able to catch passes with ZERO competition behind him. When he doesn’t get a lot of volume in terms of rushing attempts you REALLY shouldn’t be expecting much out of him. For some reason, the Texans defense, sans J.J. Watt, decided to play super inspired and well….9.7 fantasy points were the result. Now with the potential return of Nick Foles as the starting quarterback, one has to wonder if the Jaguars will still employ such a run-heavy offensive scheme like they have had with Gardner Minshew at the helm. The one thing he DOES have going for him is that in week 11 the Jaguars face the Colts who are one of the worst teams in terms of defending against opposing running backs this season. I’m slightly concerned in terms of what to expect from Fournette going forward this season with the return of Foles but not to the point where I’d entertaining trading him for another high-value fantasy player. His rest of season schedule is one of the most favorable for running backs.

Aaron Jones: 34 total yards, 3.4 fantasy points.

I mean…..WTF. That entire Packers team was completely outclassed on Sunday as nothing went right for any aspect of the Green Bay’s offense. Over the next few weeks Jones will face the following teams:

Panther: 14th best run defense

49ers: 29th best run defense

Giants: 12th best run defense

Redskins: 17th best run defense

Bears: 16th best run defense

Aside from the 49ers, which is kind of shocking considering how good they are, he’ll be facing the middle of the pack when it comes to run defenses. That being said if Green Bay can’t get this passing game on track to take defenders away from playing against the run, Aaron Jones might not be as much of lock ROS (rest of season) as we would expect.

Saquon Barkley: 95 total yards, 6 receptions, 12.5 fantasy points

Run after run on Monday Night Football, Barkley was ran up the gut behind an offensive line that failed to get any sort of movement going in their favor. As a result, he was left averaging 2 yards per carry. TWO YARDS PER CARRY.

The Giants have the 17th best run-blocking unit, but against a superior defensive opponent, they could not do a darn thing. If it wasn’t for that long catch and run in last night’s game Barkley could have been looking at the worst offensive performance of his career. While the schedule lightens up somewhat for him in terms of run defenses, nothing is guaranteed for Barkley as long as this offense fails to find creative ways to get him involved from week-to-week.

……and yeah….that’s pretty, pretty much all I got for you this week.

I’m sorry I don’t have more positivity from this past weekend, #4EYEDfans. I woefully acknowledge this week’s 4-EYED OBSERVATIONS from Week 9 has been a letdown much like my fantasy team this past week.

The GOOD NEWS is that come Wednesday we’ll be well on our way to a brand new EXCITING week of the fantasy football season with plenty of players to discuss to help right the ship!

Be sure to read our 4-EYED PREVIEW for WEEK 10 on Wednesday, our 4-EYED ASSESSMENT on Thursday, and our HEROES & VILLAINS from the previous week’s action on Friday!

ALSO, our Week 10 Fantasy Preview podcast will be dropping this Friday morning as well!

Make sure to follow us Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram as well as reach out to us to get your personalized fantasy football questions answered!

Thanks for visiting Fantasy In Frames!

*Stats provided by FantasyData.com and ProFootballFocus.com