FantasyLion.com: All Day

Welcome to the first Come-Ups article here at the Lion’s Den. Each week I’ll cover who came up big and who came up small and who just.. well, came. Before we get into that we have to look at what I’m basing this off of. I said in my first blog that I don’t like projections because they’re so unpredictable, but what I do take into consideration is expectations. Before we can get into what to expect from certain positions, we first need to look at the scoring system I’ll be referring to in this post and every post hereafter. Let’s start with the QBs.

QB

1 point for every 20 yards passing

1 point for every 10 yards rushing

4 points for every TD

-1 point for every INT

So based on this scoring, when I project a QB as a QB1 for the week, I expect them to score 20 points. I based this expectation on the points per game currently being averaged by the top 10 at the position. For a a QB2, I expect them to score at least 15 points. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how last night’s QBs faired.

Jay Cutler was recommended as a QB1, setting the expectation that he would score at least 20 points. His 302 yards passing, 2 rushing yards, and 5 INTs were good for a pedestrian 10.3 points, thus rendering Cutler as coming up small. By the way Cutler now leads the NFL with 9 Red Zone INTs..ouch.

Alex Smith (QB2) could not take advantage of a defense giving up over 20 points a game to opposing QBs. His 118 yards passing, 2 yards rushing, and INT were good for a meager 5.1 points and putting him in the small category as well. I feel bad if you had to start Alex Smith this week because he did not help you at all.

RB

1 point for every 10 yards rushing/receiving

6 points for every TD

1 point for every reception

The RBs did much better than the QBs for their fantasy owners. Frank Gore (RB1) came up big with his 125 total yards, 4 receptions, and a TD for a nice total of 22.5 points. Matt Forte (RB2) has disappointed most of his owners this year because he was drafted in the first round and hasn’t been putting up first round type of numbers. A big reason why is because his involvment in the passing game is down from last year. Well, last night Forte stepped up in a major way leading all receivers with 8 catches for 120 yards. Tack on another 40 yards in the rushing game and Forte finished the night with 8 catches and 160 yards for a total of 24 points. Nice work Forte.

WR

The scoring for the WRs is the same as the RBs. The expectations for the WRs is as follows; WR1- 15 points, WR2- 12 points, WR3- 10 points, & WR4- 8 points.

I didn’t see any WRs from last night’s game worthy of a WR1 ranking and good thing, because none of them were able to achieve at least 15 points. I thought there were 2 WRs good enough to be considered as WR2s; Hester and Crabtree. Hester just came with 7 catches for 48 yards for 12.8 points. Crabtree was off to a hot start, but only finished the night with 4 catches for 48 yards and came up a little small with 8.8 points. The WR3 and WR4s all came up small as well (see below). Now it’s no surprise that the WR3s and WR4s came up small. These type of players should only be started if you really need them. Sometimes they will come through for you, but don’t try to be a hero and start them if you don’t have to.

TE

The TEs have the same scoring as the WRs and RBs, but their expectations are a little lower. A TE1 is expected to score 12 points and a TE2 at least 8. Both TEs were designated TE1s and only 1 came through. Greg Olson had a nice night with 7 catches for 75 yards totaling 14.5 points. Vernon Davis on the other hand came up small with a rare quiet night with 3 catches for only 16 yards and 4.6 points.

Recap

This morning I was listening to Colin Cowherd on ESPN radio and he compared last night’s game to watching 2 unattractive people make out in public. I think that’s pretty accurate. Both Ks had decent games, but who cares they are Ks. I said I would avoid playing both defenses last night, but I was wrong as both Ds had solid nights (49ers D- 13 points, Bears D- 9 points). Oh well, defenses are dime a dozen and there’s about a dozen other matchups I like more. Check back later today when I break out the rest of my week 10 expectations and recommendations.

CAME UP BIG

• MATT FORTE (RB2) - 24 points
• FRANK GORE (RB1) - 22.5 points
• GREG OLSON (TE1) - 14.5 points
• 49ERS D (NR) - 13 points

Just Came

• Devin Hester (WR2) - 12.8 points
• Bears D (NR) - 9 points

came up small

• jay cutler (QB1) - 10.8 points
• michael crabtree(WR2)  - 8.8 points
• earl bennett (WR3) - 5.7 points
• josh morgan (WR4) - 5.4 points
• alex smith (QB2) - 5.1 points
• vernon davis (TE1) - 4.6 points
• johnny knox (WR3) - 4 points
• jason hill (WR4) - 1.5 points