On any given NFL weekend, many different players score touchdowns. Most of them are frequently started on fantasy football rosters. But others come out of nowhere to vulture touchdowns or beat a third-string cornerback repeatedly for a career-day. In fantasy, these are our That Helps No One champions. The players whose success leads to the imminent demise of countless fantasy teams. All season long, we'll be tracking and crowning a That Helps No One winner each week on NFL Fantasy LIVE. Below are the top candidates for Week 10.
I saw a lot of chatter on the interwebs this week about how great of a matchup Justin Hunter had, and how Zach Mettenberger had been targeting him a ton, especially in garbage time. So I'm sure plenty of people bought back into this offseason "hype bunny" and slotted him into their lineup with so many teams on byes. Well, it was bad enough that the Titans only managed seven points in a game where the Ravens struggled to do anything in the first half. To make matters worse, those seven points came as a result of a Mettenberger shovel pass to Leon Washington. I'm not going to lie, I thought the announcers made a mistake when I heard that, but nope, he is in fact still in the league, helping no one as usual.
Chris Hogan, WR, Buffalo Bills
Sammy Watkins was dinged up for this pivotal AFC battle (crazy to think that this game could have playoff implications, no?) between the Bills and Chiefs, but he started and played through his injury, forcing his owners to do the same and pray to the fantasy gods for some points. Seeing as two of the league's top defenses were squaring off, this was a low-scoring affair. Adding to the pain though, was Kyle Orton delivering a 25-yard strike to ... Chris Hogan. Not Watkins. Not Robert Woods. Not Fred Jackson (who was also playing through an injury). And not Scott Chandler, whom some owners were forced to stream with all of the tight ends on bye weeks. He threw it to Chris Hogan.
T.J. Graham, WR, New York Jets
Michael Vick was starting under center once again for the Jets, and one week after Eric Decker caught a touchdown and Percy Harvin racked up a ton of yardage, their owners had to be feeling decent about this tilt against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After all, the Steelers had been lighting up scoreboards like Christmas trees in recent weeks, so there could be plenty of garbage time to go around. That was not the case at all on Sunday as the Jets defense smothered the Steelers and Vick found T.J. Graham on a deep bomb. Decker and Harvin owners likely got a little excited when they saw Vick unleash that pass, but their dreams were quickly dashed when it fell into the hands of Graham.
*WINNER-- The grass at Wembley Stadium (with an assist from Joseph Randle)*
This one is a little more complicated, so let me break it down for you. DeMarco Murray had been churning and burning the Jaguars defense, but had to come out for a play so the equipment team could remove a massive clump of the Wembley turf from his facemask. That led to a handoff to his backup Joseph Randle. Harmless, right? WRONG. Randle took that hand off through a gaping hole and galloped 40 yards for the score. So this "That Helps No One" nominee is a double whammy in that we can point fingers at both the turf at Wembley and Randle as co-conspirators in a plot to vulture an all important touchdown from Murray. Great shame, you two.
I know the Buccaneers are 1-8 right now and their fans (and quarterback) are quite sad, but the saddest part is that this touchdown didn't go to Mike Evans or even Vincent Jackson. No, it had to go to ASJ instead. At least he had a good celebration at the end.
Normally defensive players don't make it into our weekly "That Helps No One" column (especially if they don't even score), but this week we make an exception for Cox and his antics in the end zone against the Saints. While it does look like Jimmy Graham made contact with Cox and extended his arms, Cox certainly helps sell it with wild arm motions of his own and a theatrical dive. I don't care if he was fouled or not, I just care that he took away like 11 more fantasy points from Graham. That is why he is a "That Helps No One" nominee for Week 10.
Preston Parker? Really Eli? Come on, man. I'm done with reliving these harsh memories. Time to look ahead to Week 11.
So who do you think should take home the Week 10 #ThatHelpsNoOne crown? Weigh in on Twitter with #ThatHelpsNoOne and be sure to tune in to NFL Fantasy LIVE (weekdays at 5 p.m. ET on NFL Network) to see who is crowned the Week 10 winner!
-- Follow Alex on Twitter @AlexGelhar.
