With seven weeks in the books so far, some of us already feel like our league entry fee was a donation with no tax write-off.
Speaking of being written off, Zac Stacy is officially on the back burner in the Rams’ backfield. The second-year pro and former fifth-round pick didn’t get a single carry or reception and this year’s third-round pick Tre Mason looked really good in St. Louis’ division win over Seattle.
The defending Super Bowl champs have now lost back-to-back games to fall to 3-3 on the campaign. It is no coincidence that Marshawn Lynch struggled for the second game in a row averaging 2.9 yards a carry (18 rushes for 53 yards) as the running game is so important to the team’s success. The man they call ‘Skittles’ is looking more like a bag of ‘Gummy Bears’ at the moment, but good news is on the way as the Hawks visit Carolina’s terrible run defense.
And while we are talking about defense, both Seattle and Carolina have been lousy after being highly touted in the preseason. The Hawks and Panthers have scored just 25 and 24 points ranking 20th and tied for 21st in standard leagues, respectively. They play each other Week 8, so it would seem as though something has to give. But then again, both teams have been giving up too many points already this season.
Cam Newton fell back to earth with a stinker of a performance in a 38-14 whooping by the Packers, but we told you he would in last weeks’ Start ’em Sit ’em. The former Auburn Tiger had thrown for 284 and ran for 107 while accounting for three total touchdowns the week prior. It is pretty sad when the quarterback is the team’s leading rusher with 190 yards through the first half of the season.
The Bears’ Jay Cutler also sputtered on Sunday as the gunslinger threw a pick and lost a fumble in a loss to the Dolphins. Cutler had just 190 yards passing and a lone touchdown pass to running back Matt Forte, who was the team’s leading receiver with 60 yards. Wideouts Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery combined for six catches and 57 yards through the air.
Marshall made it clear in a post-game interview that Cutler doesn’t seem confident right now and that he has great weapons at his disposal. It was certainly Cutler’s worst performance of 2014 and it doesn’t help when your star receiver calls you out in the media.
It was reported that emotions were running high in the locker room and that Marshall even yelled at kicker Robbie Gould saying, “You just kick the ball!” You know it’s bad when the kicker who didn’t attempt a field goal in the game is getting berated.
Did someone say field goals?
The Cleveland Browns only managed a pair of field goals in a miserable loss to the Jacksonville Jaguers, 24-6. We are talking about the up-and-down Browns here as their offense looked stagnant and the defense was a hot waiver wire pickup that hardly panned out. Tight end Jordan Cameron has been one of this year’s biggest busts with just one notable game coming Week 6 against the Steelers. As a matter of fact, Lynch, Newton and Cameron in that order were named the Biggest Busts of 2014 almost two months ago.
Staying in the NFC, the Bengals only mustered 135 total yards as the Colts blanked them, 27-0. Quarterback Andy Dalton completed 10 passes to tight end Jermaine Gresham for a grand total of 48 yards while running back Giovani Bernard had only seven carries for 17 yards. The offense was a flat-out mess and getting A.J. Green back this Sunday will be imperative.
If your team is littered with some of the names listed above, you may be ‘dead money’ already this fantasy season. But that shouldn’t stop you from trying to win this week as we have lots of great content coming your way!
Seattle Seahawks top banner photo credit: Scott Iwata
