Through five games of the NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs are 5-0 while the Atlanta Falcons are 1-4. The Chiefs went 2-14 last season and the Falcons fell just yards short of a Super Bowl berth after finishing the regular season with a 13-3 record.
What a difference a year makes.
The Chiefs brought in head coach Andy Reid and traded for quarterback Alex Smith in the offseason to revamp a team that already had talent, but lacked direction. The results speak for themselves as Kansas City is tied for the AFC West lead with the Denver Broncos.
Smith has been steady so far and with just over 1,200 yards passing and seven touchdowns. He has dinked and dunked the ball underneath while managing the game to give the Chiefs a chance to win. It has been nothing spectacular, but that is to be expected from him. Sometimes boring is good.
Atlanta’s season has been anything but boring. The Falcons are reeling right now after losing to the New York Jets on Monday night and have now dropped three straight. To make matters worse, wideout Julio Jones is done for the season with a foot injury. Jones leads the league in receptions (41) and is second in receiving yards (580). Fantasy owners who drafted Jones in the second or third round are potentially losing a player who consistently produces and has “sky-high potential.” That is also how I described myself to my last girlfriend right before she dumped me.
The injury bug has already bit the Falcons with running back Steven Jackson still on the shelf with a bum hamstring and receiver Roddy White has had issues with his ankle. White also strained his hamstring on Monday night and will most likely sit out next week. The team’s starting middle linebacker Sean Weatherspoon sprained his foot three weeks ago and has been placed on the short-term injured reserve.
The Dirty Birds aren’t flying high right now and are looking more like turkeys at the moment.
Coincidently, there have been rumors that the Chiefs could trade for Falcons’ tight end Tony Gonzalez to end his career where it started in Kansas City. Even though Gonzalez and Falcons’ head coach Mike Smith deny the trade rumors, the trade makes sense as the veteran tight end would be a huge upgrade at the position and Atlanta could get something like a fourth or fifth-round pick in return.
There is cause for concern on the return on investment fantasy owners haven’t received on drafting Tom Brady as their starting quarterback. Brady ranks 17th in the league in passing yards (1,211) and has only seven touchdown passes through five games. These numbers are extremely modest for the future Hall of Famer who has still led his team to a 4-1 record.
We have already documented the Patriots’ inexperienced receiving corps in a past article and they are going to continue to develop. Help may be on the way though as Rob Gronkowski could be returning to the lineup this weekend. Brady’s favorite target and fist-pumper may be spiking balls in the end zone once again this Sunday and that is great news for fantasy owners of both players.
There are a couple of other notable quarterbacks who have been struggling in Colin Kaepernick and Matt Schaub.
The 49ers’ signal caller threw for over 400 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1, but hasn’t topped 200 yards in any of the four games since. He has thrown three touchdowns and four interceptions in that time and had a 51 percent completion rate. San Francisco’s running attack has been a lot more effective lately than it had been to start the season, but Kaep’s numbers are worrisome.
The third-year pro needs to be better to earn a spot in your starting lineup and hopefully you have a respectable backup. It seems like opposing defenses are confusing Kaepernick with their schemes and he hasn’t been as accurate as he was last season. He is still young and learning, so expect him to get better as the season gets older. The return of Michael Crabtree and Mario Manningham should help out quite a bit.
Some fans just take the game of football too far.
Schaub was reportedly harassed at his home by fans that were irate with his poor play as of late. The police were called, but the fans left on their own accord and no arrests were made.
Football is huge in Texas, from Pop Warner to high school and all the way to the pros, but that is just ridiculous. Schaub has been a bit colorblind in throwing passes to opposing defenders who have returned them for touchdowns in each of the past four games. The veteran has thrown nine picks in the Texans’ first five games and has a passer rating of 76.9, yet head coach Gary Kubiak is sticking with him as the starter. You should not have him in your starting lineup for the time being even if your top quarterback is on a bye week.
Houston is also struggling on the defensive side of the ball and Schaub’s pick sixes haven’t helped in the slightest. The unit was widely perceived as a top-5 defense before the season started. The Texans team defense has allowed a whopping 27.8 points per game and created only three turnovers. The encouraging news is that they lead the league in yards allowed per contest with a little over 260, so fantasy owners should stick with them.
There are also a couple notable wide receivers who have struggled with Larry Fitzgerald and Mike Wallace failing to live up to expectations.
It seems as though that every year Fitzgerald owners are disappointed and the blame gets directed mostly on the quarterback throwing him the rock. This year it has been the somewhat capable Carson Palmer under center and the duo connected on five passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1. Since then, it has been crapshoot for his owners with lackluster performances outside of a touchdown in Week 4.
I have to believe that Palmer and Fitzgerald will continue to build rapport and connect more often going forward than the 24 grabs on 40 targets so far this year. They are both veterans and are well-seasoned, so results are not far away. But if it means anything to you, I blame Palmer.
The Dolphins went out and courted Wallace from the Steelers in free agency with a five-year, $60 million contract this offseason. He has had two games with over 100 yards receiving, but hasn’t eclipsed 24 yards in any of the other three contests. The speedy Wallace can make a major impact on a game downfield and that is what Miami was hoping to get when they signed him.
Wallace’s track record in Pittsburgh was as a ‘boom or bust’ type guy. Fantasy owners would love to see more consistency or at least more ‘boom’ games, but it’s just not in the cards at this point. Miami has a bye this week so maybe he and quarterback Ryan Tannehill will get extra reps in before they play Buffalo in Week 7. But don’t hold your breath unless you have a blowhole like Flipper.
If you are feeling the pain from Fantasy Woes, hopefully you start to turn it around like the Chiefs. Hit is up on Twitter @FantasyCouch or myself directly @AndrewEggers with topics you would like to see in next week’s Fantasy Woes.
Photo Credits: Mark Runyon | Pro Football Schedules
