Film Review: Fournette Arrives

I thought the performances of Tre'Davious White were generally overstated prior to this week, but I can't criticize him too much for getting beat by A.J. Green. Still, that botched coverage on Green's long touchdown was something I thought we'd have seen before Sunday. White is the most athletic of the prominent Bills corners, yet he showed there he's liable to get smoked by any top-level receiver. With how much press the Bills play, I would specifically look to throw deep on them if I were an opposing offensive coordinator.

For as bad as its reputation is, the Bengals offensive line showed well in this one. There weren't any hints of dominance or anything, but they limited the meltdowns against a Buffalo front four loaded with talent.

How patronizing is it that the Bengals continue to start Jeremy Hill, only to concede his inferiority by basically benching him after the first drive of every game? What can you conclude about the seriousness of the Bengals coaches when they tell you they think a player is their worst at a given position, then start him weekly? They're using Joe Mixon like a starter in terms of overall usage, but you'd think they'd want to use every advantage they have as early in games as possible.

Charles Clay's injury was catastrophic for an offense that already had a profound lack of viable targets. Nick O'Leary turned six targets into five catches for 54 yards, but I'm very skeptical of him maintaining that sort of efficiency. LeSean McCoy is the team's best pass catcher, which might be a bit reassuring for his fantasy owners since the Buffalo offensive line was overmatched in this one. McCoy still looks great, at least.

Zay Jones and Andre Holmes continue to be amazingly unproductive. He's not worth owning anywhere right now, but I'll be watching to see if Kaelin Clay can do more with his role increasing.

CLE (14) vs. NYJ (17)

DeShone Kizer's benching was necessary. In addition to his accuracy and read struggles, even his pocket presence had rapidly begun to unravel. His red-zone interception in the second quarter was brutal. Kevin Hogan is a good runner who might be a sort of smarter Blake Bortles, but I'm skeptical of his accuracy.

Isaiah Crowell had his best game of the year, but he still didn't average 4.0 yards per carry and only got you 6.7 points in standard scoring. His two best runs were plays where he had enormous openings to run through, including one play where he seemed to freeze for a half second or so because he didn't know what to do with all the space in front of him. Duke Johnson is the better player in real life and fantasy.

Neither Bilal Powell nor Elijah McGuire could get anything going on the ground, but Cleveland's run defense has been among the best in the league to this point. There's only so much you can ask of replacement-level talents, and both players will likely be more efficient against the Patriots.

Jason McCourty has been good, and it looks like Cleveland will try to shadow No. 1 wideouts with him. Cleveland should prove especially vulnerable to secondary targets – indeed, they gave up a touchdown to each of Jermaine Kearse and Austin Seferian-Jenkins in this one while shutting down Robby Anderson.

DET (24) vs. CAR (27)

Well, it sure seems like Cam Newton really is back. I thought the Detroit defensive personnel was unimpressive heading into this year, but they were dominant in the first month. Cam tore right through them. Although, the touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey was actually a shovel pass on a sort of sweeping triple-option play, where Cam had the choice to run himself, lateral left to Jonathan Stewart, or shovel to the right to McCaffrey. A novel play concept, and one that caught the Lions totally off guard.

Kelvin Benjamin dropped what would have been about a three- or four-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. It wasn't an easy play, but one any wide receiver getting targets should make. He also dropped a slant that would have been a first down in the second quarter. Benjamin seemed to either be dropping passes or looking lethargic whenever I took notice of him. Devin Funchess is quickly making the case to be Carolina's WR1. His second quarter touchdown catch was impressive, showing strong hands on a contested play.

As much as Ed Dickson might be a popular pickup this week, I probably wouldn't spend much at all to acquire him. He was a good college pass catcher and tested well enough in pre-draft workouts way back in the day, but seven years of poor pass-catching efficiency seems a more important consideration than two good games. Also, his nine targets over the last two weeks is not nearly enough target volume to sustain reliable top-12 utility while Greg Olsen is out.

I consider Detroit's Darren Fells a better pickup at tight end, actually. Eric Ebron's descent continues, and between his drops and decreased play count, Fells is establishing distance as Detroit's top tight end. If he can maintain such a distinction, Fells has a great bet to get a lot of those 'big target' looks that were in theory supposed to go to Ebron in the red zone this year. For such a hulking figure, Fells really moves better than you'd expect, and his career YPT of 9.3 implies some skill.

Golden Tate and Marvin Jones can both run slants and curls all day, but this receiver rotation could really use a return from Kenny Golladay. Matthew Stafford needs yards after the catch or big pass attempt volume to provide any sizable returns.

I think Zach Zenner is a better running back than Theo Riddick or Dwayne Washington, but there's no reason to chase his goal-line touchdown run from this one. Ameer Abdullah is the first, second, and third running back in this offense. Riddick basically plays a different position entirely, and even that is waning a bit. He did make a nice run after the catch on his 21-yard first quarter reception, though.

IND (26) vs. SF (23) (OT)

Carlos Hyde dropped a toss early in the third quarter, and I have to wonder if that anecdote is what precipitated the extended audition Matt Breida saw at Hyde's expense. Coach Kyle Shanahan characterized the sequence as a simple 'hot hand' approach, but there's no evidence in either player's profile to suspect Breida can get a hot hand at nearly the rate Hyde can. I like Breida enough, but I can't advocate chasing his numbers given that it took a bizarre dismissal of Hyde, who's generally been one of the best running backs, for Breida to get any volume. Even if Shanahan or/and John Lynch have something against Hyde, which is seems like they do, Breida's output in this game seems like a flicker.

Pierre Garcon beat Rashaad Melvin like a drum on the first drive. Averaging just under nine targets per game at 8.6 yards per target in a Brian Hoyer offense is awfully impressive. The touchdown total figures to be modest, but Garcon should be a top-25 wideout in PPR at least.

I think George Kittle is the real deal, so while I worry about his opportunities in a Hoyer offense, I'm inclined to buy his box score from this game as reflective of his talent. His fourth quarter catch on 4th and 1 was big time. Kittle very nearly had another touchdown catch in the first quarter when he got open against Malik Hooker out of the slot, but he couldn't quite get control of Hoyer's underthrown pass.

Jacoby Brissett generates such easy velocity that it's almost impossible to defend T.Y. Hilton when he runs a long curl route on the sideline. You can give him a cushion and let him get open that way, or try to play physical and watch him run past. Hilton almost had a five-yard touchdown in the second quarter, but couldn't quite reel it in through heavy traffic.

Frank Gore keeps showing just enough to convince the Colts coaches to stick with him, but it feels like Marlon Mack has to steadily gain ground on him over the next month or so. His fourth quarter touchdown run was awfully sloppy, running into his blocker initially and looking confused, but at least he's explosive and shows the balance to slip past contact.

MIA (16) vs. TEN (10)

DeVante Parker's ankle injury was frustrating enough at a glance – it's even worse to know that he might have hurt himself doing a dumb play. Instead of cutting upfield for a probable first down on his six-yard catch, he tried to reverse field and fell well short of the first as a result. Jarvis Landry is averaging an abysmal 4.9 yards per target, but double-digit looks seems probable most weeks. Jakeem Grant should have had a touchdown catch in the first quarter, but he couldn't hold on while running a post route in traffic. You would of course like to see better play from Jay Cutler against a bad Tennessee secondary, but the Miami pass blocking has been a problem.

Aside from a fumble fairly deep in his own territory, Jay Ajayi ran well in this one. The problems that plagued him in the previous weeks did in this one as well, however, with the offensive line especially undermining his effectiveness. A competent passing game would also be nice. It's hard to see much relief on either front for the foreseeable future, though.

Matt Cassel could barely throw a spiral in this one, let alone move the ball downfield. If Mariota is out, this offense is basically a forfeit. At least Jonnu Smith will be a fantasy star some day.

NYG (22) vs. LAC (27)

Orleans Darkwa had the better fantasy day, but Wayne Gallman is clearly more explosive, and he generally ran harder in this game. Darkwa also dropped two passes in the second quarter that likely would have gone for first downs. Both of them, of course, were better than Paul Perkins.

It's hard to see things going particularly well for Eli Manning with both Odell Beckham and Brandon Marshall out the rest of the year, but all of Sterling Shepard, Roger Lewis, and Evan Engram should see boosted usage. That Lewis scored his long touchdown against Casey Hayward bodes well for him going forward. I think I saw Engram pass blocking on a play in this game. That should never happen. Unfortunately, they get Denver and Seattle before their bye week.

Melvin Gordon backed up his talk from earlier in the week, putting forth a fine effort after publicly expressing the desire for a bigger workload. His knee appeared to be in better shape than it was last week, and he otherwise showed a good combination of balance, vision, and motor. As long as he's healthy, Gordon should normally be a strong bet to finish in the top five at his position in any given week. The Giants run defense might be among the league's worst, though. The Austin Ekeler threat was overblown, in any case.

Philip Rivers will probably remain a solid fantasy quarterback this year, even if he looks a bit rough on tape. You'd prefer to see more downfield passing ability, but in addition to the dink-and-dunk game plan with Gordon and Keenan Allen, Rivers confirmed his ability to make the occasionally great play, like his touchdown throw to Hunter Henry in the third quarter. He moved to his left to avoid the pass rush, then heaved the ball over three defenders as Henry got past the safeties.

Despite a modest box score from Sunday, Allen is permanently locked into a high-volume role, and he was a couple tough drops away from a touchdown and about 25 more yards on the day. I don't know why Tyrell Williams doesn't see more usage. He's playing almost every snap, but has seen just 26 targets despite averaging 10 yards per target.

PHI (34) vs. ARI (7)

The Arizona offensive line hasn't played well this year, but its failures don't seem proportionate to the level of poor decision making on Carson Palmer's part. There will always be the opportunity for volume in this offense and his receivers are generally good, but it's really hard to trust Palmer in any given matchup. Thus, it's difficult to feel confident in most of his pass catchers. Andre Ellington is a notable exception in PPR scoring, though – Palmer's dysfunction as a passer is largely to Ellington's benefit as the top checkdown options.

Carson Wentz had himself a fine first four weeks, and that was with his top two receivers, Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, lacking familiarity with the offense. Both players were a step out of tune with Wentz for much of that time, but appear to be settling in now. In other words, there's no reason to think Wentz can't keep this going since his targets to Jeffery and Smith are likely to yield only improved returns going forward. Smith's strong showing raised his YPT from 7.1 to 8.9, and that's with a handful of just-missed big plays in the preceding games.

As much as Smith reminded of his abilities in this game, Nelson Agholor continued to make a convincing case for more targets. His lethal speed from the slot was crucial in his long touchdown catch, as the safety took up single coverage when Tyrann Mathieu blitzed from nickel corner. At that point, it was a wrap – the torch was on almost immediately, and Wentz saw it right away. The nifty running after the catch only heightened the obviousness of his skill.

There's not much to add about Zach Ertz at this point. He's locked in as the TE3 behind Gronk and Kelce, and it doesn't look like there is a challenger.

As a Wendell Smallwood owner, I'm a bit nervous about how well Kenjon Barner played in this game. He made a fair enough case for more work, especially during passing situations. LeGarrette Blount is significantly better than Corey Clement, so I wouldn't worry about the latter hurting Blount's value too much.

PIT (9) vs. JAC (30)

I found some encouragement in Ben Roethlisberger's showing against Baltimore, but he of course undid that with his performance in this game. His meager output was heavily dependent on screens and similar scripted concepts, and while you can only blame him so much for struggling against Jacksonville's great corners, even his long pass to Antonio Brown in the first quarter was a mistimed throw where Brown cleverly stuttered his route to get away with what was basically a push off, buying extra space for a pass that otherwise might have resulted in an interception.

It's confusing that the Steelers don't use Martavis Bryant more often downfield. Fast as he is after the catch, Bryant's speed and length are better used on vertical routes than crossing routes or screens. Juju Smith-Schuster has pushed aside Eli Rogers as Pittsburgh's slot receiver. In an offense that doesn't project for much tight end production, we should see the rookie provide a consistent, if low-ceiling return going forward. Not even 21 until Nov. 22, JSS has averaged five targets per game over the last month. He doesn't have standout athleticism, but his skill set is highly advanced for his age, and his physicality should prove useful over the middle.

Le'Veon Bell's 10 receptions certainly helped his bottom line, but that usage was more generally reflective of the offense's dysfunction in what was mostly a missed opportunity for Bell against a defense that all but laid down for Bilal Powell and Elijah McGuire a week earlier. After a fine start, Bell's rushing output mostly halted from the second quarter onward after the game flow turned against him.

Leonard Fournette looked much better than his numbers in the first four weeks, so consider his breakout performance in this game more indicative of his actual skill level. The Steelers defended his goal-line touchdown well, but he just launched over the gap-less trench. Apparently perfect gap defense isn't enough against Fournette – you also need the football equivalent of when those volleyball players jump around to block attempted spikes. Good luck with all that.

Blake Bortles is still bad. He knows his limitations at least and is still a good runner, but it's remarkable how poor his accuracy has been the last two weeks.

LAR (10) vs. SEA (16)

An initially promising open sequence for Todd Gurley turned to disaster when a play initially ruled a touchdown run was switched to a fumbled touchback on review. It wasn't the greatest look for Gurley, who might have been able to secure the touchdown if he had dove rather than reach while going out of bounds. Of course, anyone who conflates the poor judgment on this particular play to a lack of effort on Gurley's part is being unfair. He should emphatically bounce back against Jacksonville.

Jared Goff may be a good quarterback, but he just isn't a downfield passer. So long as Sammy Watkins is primarily used on intermediate and deep routes, Goff isn't going to get it to him. For the second week in a row, Goff overlooked an apparently open Watkins for a potential red-zone touchdown and instead threw to a covered Cooper Kupp. Watkins' remarkable run-after-the-catch skills probably merit some short routes, but it appears Sean McVay would prefer to use Watkins as a decoy to the benefit of Robert Woods and Kupp rather than see what Watkins himself could do with those targets. I'm skeptical, obviously. In the meantime, Kupp and Woods should set up for steady usage, and both have been convincing in their respective roles.

Tyler Higbee's breakout game is probably more than a mirage, I would guess. He was a great pass-catching tight end in college and probably has standout athleticism for the position. His off-field history is disturbing, but he's probably pretty good at playing tight end.

For Seattle, Eddie Lacy and Thomas Rawls showed nothing. Bad scouting. Like C.J. Prosise before his injury, Seattle has shown a willingness to throw far downfield to J.D. McKissic. Also like Prosise, McKissic is a former receiver. While McKissic isn't as big or fast as Prosise, he does have good quickness and hands.

Russell Wilson had a rough game, and his bad red-zone interception wasn't even thrown under pressure. But he was under plenty of pressure, too. After Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett is clearly Seattle's second-best receiver. Paul Richardson is skinny but doesn't play particularly fast. I think Seattle should give Tanner McEvoy and Amara Darboh snaps at his expense. Although he hasn't been particularly efficient in the stretch, totaling just 170 yards and a touchdown, Jimmy Graham has 25 targets over the last three weeks.

OAK (16) vs. BAL (30)

As much as Alex Collins might look like the superior pure runner, the Ravens gave Javorius Allen three straight shots at the goal line to get him his rushing touchdown, which would seem to be a strong insight on which running back they trust most. Terrance West started, but it's hard to see why Baltimore would bother with that much longer.

Perhaps Joe Flacco turned a corner in his recovery from his back issue? He launched two nicely-timed deep passes to Mike Wallace in this one, and generally showed spryness that he hadn't in his miserable first month of the year. Even in a season where Alex Smith of all people made a late-career ascent to elite status, I think it'd be dubious to chase Flacco's production going forward, but the form he showed Sunday bodes well for all the other players in the Baltimore offense.

Jared Cook has always been clumsy and an underachiever generally, so it wasn't the most surprising thing when he dropped a fumble that Jimmy Smith returned for a touchdown in the first quarter. What was perhaps surprising was how Oakland went right back to Cook on the next drive. Whatever Cook's limitations, it seems like the Raiders are willing to live with them for now. After a game where Michael Crabtree turned eight targets into six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown (and would have had a second touchdown in the third quarter if not for an EJ Manuel overthrow), it's getting increasingly difficult to rationalize the struggles of Amari Cooper. He's still an obvious buy low, though, I think.

What should have been a fine matchup for Marshawn Lynch was diminished by the Cook fumble and the struggles of the Oakland defense. Perhaps his speed is lacking these days, but Lynch still has amazing balance and might be second to none when it comes to shedding tacklers. Jalen Richard also ran well. This Baltimore run defense might be one to target so long as Brandon Williams is out, especially with Brent Urban also unavailable.

DAL (31) vs. GB (35)

It sure sounded like there were as many Packers fans as Cowboys fans at this game

Dak Prescott is just awesome. That 3rd and 14 conversion to Brice Butler in the opening drive was filthy. His second quarter throw on third down to Rod Smith was even more absurd. It's too bad he doesn't play in a more pass-heavy offense with better receivers. At this point I'm convinced he's the third-best quarterback in the league. I wouldn't go chasing Cole Beasley's two touchdowns. Dez Bryant should have had one of them on a first quarter drop.

How does Mike McCarthy lament how he wishes he could give Ty Montgomery fewer snaps throughout the first month when Aaron Jones was there all the while? Guy is just goofy. I liked Jones more as a prospect than fourth-round pick Jamaal Williams, and I think by now it's pretty clear that Jones was the better player all along. I still think Montgomery is a very good running back and likely better than Jones, but Jones should be able to push for a 65/35 sort of split with Montgomery when he returns from injury.

Davante Adams is so tough to jam at the line. His first touchdown was a brilliant catch and throw. He's probably not explosive enough to post big yardage totals in the NFL, but he's surprisingly effective in the red zone despite his modest build. He already has 10 red-zone targets. With his YPT now lower than it was last year, I'm now a bit worried about Randall Cobb again.

HOU (34) vs. KC (42)

You get the feeling that we might see a rematch between these two in the playoffs.

Another week, another remarkable performance by Alex Smith. I can't explain it, but I'm mostly a believer at this point. He's shown not only guts this year, but top-notch skill on tough, downfield throws he never used to make. It seems like it's all on him, too – it's not as if Kansas City is bailing him out with a great group of receivers. He did miss Travis Kelce for what would have been a touchdown pass on his first drive, but he's a QB1 for me going forward. What a world.

Tyreek Hill needed a punt return touchdown and busted coverage to find the end zone this year, but Smith also overthrew him on a downfield end zone shot in the second quarter. I was skeptical of Hill before this year, largely because I was skeptical of Smith, but Smith's strong play makes me think Hill should find the end zone more often as a receiver going forward.

When the worst-case scenario for Kareem Hunt is 116 yards from scrimmage, you know you have a matchup-proof player. Despite getting hit behind the line multiple times in his first drive, he eventually wore the Texans down.

Even if one of the two games were garbage time, it's incredible that Deshaun Watson has back-to-back five-touchdown games, especially with one of them going against the Chiefs. Now he gets a weak Cleveland pass defense before heading into the bye. With Watson's arrival, DeAndre Hopkins is a top-five fantasy receiver again. With four touchdowns in two games, Will Fuller might push for top-20 status at the position going forward. This offense has many more big plays in it as long as Watson is on the field.

What a tandem of runners Lamar Miller and D'Onta Foreman is. While Miller shows better pass-catching and reliability generally, Foreman's combination of power and speed is intoxicating. He should have some truly dominant performances before his career is over.