Takeaways from Week 3 as told by the tweets of the Fantasy Stronghold.
Fantasy football is an unpredictable endeavor. If we honestly knew for sure what was going to happen, this really wouldn't be much fun. (For the record, there's a reason the Three-Eyed Raven doesn't get invited into any fantasy leagues.) But for all of the uncertainty, there was nothing that prepared us for Week 3. A handful of no-name quarterbacks finished in the top 10 at the position. Running backs that we weren't even sure were going to play balled out and had huge games. Seemingly sure things figuratively vomited on their shoes (looking at you, Ravens defense). MARCEDES LEWIS CAUGHT THREE TOUCHDOWNS!!! This was just one of those weeks where we all have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and try all over again next week.
One thing we were reminded of this week is the need to #JustThrowItToYourGoodPlayers. That was reassuring for anyone who had spent the past two weeks in an emotional spiral over A.J. Green's lack of production. Thank goodness new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor had the presence of mind to get the ball to his playmakers and let them do what they do. We can't be 100 percent assured of what the Bengals offense will do going forward but it seems safe to think that we'll see a lot more work for Green, Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard. Who dey, indeed.
Did I mention that sometimes fantasy football is unpredictable? Everything in the matchups and respective usage rates of all the players involved suggested that Rashard Higgins was going to light it up against the Colts and that all the Dolphins who ever wore the teal were going to find their way into the end zone against the Jets. But a funny thing happened on the way to all of those fantasy points ... real life. Higgins tallied just two catches for 10 yards while the Dolphins were unified as a team in their offensive nothingness. This was a case of the process being correct but not producing the intended results. Eh, it happens.
This was supposed to be the week that the Panthers offense caught a dose of Get Right against a woeful Saints defense. That didn't really happen. At least not in any meaningful way. It was nice to see Christian McCaffrey post 101 receiving yards, but that's pretty much all there was to talk about. Right now, this offense is beat up with a lot of key pieces missing. Hopefully Benjamin's injury isn't too serious, still there isn't a lot that's encouraging about what Carolina is putting o the field. In theory, next week's game against a struggling Patriots defense would be reason for optimism but that's pretty hard to find in Charlotte at the moment.
The thought in the preseason was that Isaiah Crowell would be the Browns running back of record while Johnson would be the gadget guy who would make occasional hay in the passing game. Instead, Johnson is playing nearly as many snaps as Crowell -- with most of them coming lined up in the backfield. Not only is Johnson getting carries as a running back but he's among the most targeted players in the Cleveland offense and has straight up outplayed Crowell through the first three weeks of the season. Johnson will also have elevated usage rates as long as the Browns are playing catch-up every week.
I don't have a lot of analysis here. I'm just pleading with offensive coordinators around the league to read this tweet and make the appropriate adjustments. Do it for us. Do it for America.
Wait...what?"
- Tyreek Hill had 84.12 percent of Alex Smith's targeted air yards on Sunday. That's ... a lot. When you factor in that Hill's average air yards per target this week was 12.3 yards, it speaks to the evolving nature of the Chiefs passing game. Namely ... ALEX SMITH IS GOIN' DEEP!
- Joe Flacco threw for 28 yards. For the whole game.
- LeSean McCoy has 112 scrimmage yards in the past two games combined. Kareem Hunt's worst outing this season was 109 scrimmage yards in Week 2.
- TE Watch: Some of the luminaries who were in the top 10 entering Sunday night -- Marcedes Lewis, Ryan Griffin, Luke Willson, Lance Kendricks, Jonnu Smith. Neat. (Not really.)
And one for the road...
Marcas Grant is a fantasy editor for NFL.com. He's fretting over how to save the rosemary bush on his balcony that got dried out during a major heat wave in L.A. this summer. He once read somewhere that rabbit poop works as fertilizer, so he's been feeding his bunny a little bit extra to try and reap the rewards. Tweet him your horticultural tips on Twitter @MarcasG. If you read all of that, congrats. He also dishes out fantasy advice -- and life shenanigans -- on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (marcasg9)