By The Hudsonian, Joshua Hudson
See? That was the kind of game fantasy owners love! Lots of offense, from both sides, and points aplenty!
Let’s dive in and see what it means for your future.
Falcons at Saints
On the tenth anniversary of the famed blocked punt during the Saints return to the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, the Saints performed about as abysmal as a tropical depression. Their defense couldn’t stop anyone – we’ll touch on that more in a bit – and their offense, while effective, couldn’t keep up with the Falcons. Drew Brees did what Drew Brees does, throwing all the time for a lot of yards and some touchdowns – 376 yards and 3 touchdowns with an interception returned for a touchdown mixed in. But the best news of all? Welcome to the show Coby Fleener and Mark Ingram! It’s about time boys.
The Commish and I have talked throughout the last few weeks that with the Saints offense, when someone has a bad game, someone else has a great game. The 1st two weeks, it was all Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead. Snead unfortunately missed this game with a toe injury, and Brandin Cooks only had 2 catches for 13 yards. And he’s their number one. So while Cooks and Snead lit up the box score in weeks 1 and 2, Ingram and Fleener were nowhere to be found. In week 3 though, with Cooks marginalized by the Falcons defense and Snead out, Ingram and Fleener stepped up. Fleener caught 7 balls for 109 and a touchdown while Ingram rushed for 77 yards and caught 4 passes for 30 yards and a touchdown. The only constant? Drew Brees, and he is really good. It’s the weekly guessing game, but if you own any of those 4 guys, you’re starting them because of what they can do when Brees finds them.
And not to be left out? Michael Thomas caught 7 for 71 yards and a touchdown. And Brandon Coleman got into the action with 7 catches for 78 yards. This team is loaded with weapons. Brees, Cooks, Snead, Ingram and Fleener you’re starting weekly. Thomas is the rotational FLEX/bye week fill-in. And with byes starting this week – talking you Eagles and Packers owners – he’s someone to have on your radar.
On the Falcons side, Devonta Freeman just put to rest all the critics with a performance very reminiscent of last season. He rushed for 152 yards (on 14 carries!) and contributed another 55 yards and a touchdown receiving. Not to be totally outdone though was his backfield mate Tevin Coleman, who has been somewhat surprising in the way he’s been able to keep Freeman’s stats at bay. His 42 rushing yards don’t scream, “Start me!” but his three rushing touchdowns sure do. He’s clearly their short yardage back, as Freeman does most of his work between the 20s. The other plus side to Coleman? 3 catches for 47 yards. They use him a lot as a receiver. It’s hard to say bench Freeman, but if I’m you, I’m looking to trade him while the iron is hot. I doubt this is the start of some huge tear like he had in 2015. Coleman isn’t going anywhere so if you can get one of your league owners to take the bait, pull the trigger if the return is equivalent to his 1st round value because he’s no better than a RB2 going forward. And Coleman should be a weekly start at least as a FLEX with RB2 upside if you own him.
On the receiving end, poor Julio Jones owners. 1 catch. For 16 yards. That’s it. The collective “ughs” are resonating throughout the country. He’ll be fine, no need to panic. And Matt Ryan continues his hot start. But next week turns into October. I wanna see him do it next week when Carolina and their overrated secondary comes to visit. Then I’ll become a firm believer that he’s return to at the very least a streaming option at QB.
Scoring Leaders
RB Devonta Freeman – 33.7
QB Drew Brees – 31.9
RB Tevin Coleman – 29.9
TE Coby Fleener – 23.9
QB Matt Ryan – 23.9
RB Mark Ingram – 22.7
WR Michael Thomas – 20.1
Falcons D/ST – 11
TE Jacob Tamme – 5.8
WR Brandin Cooks – 3.9
WR Julio Jones – 2.6