Welcome to Statistically (in)Significant, the place to find great stats that probably only matter at the water cooler (or bar). Each week I'll dig through the stats of the week gone by and deliver you some choice conversation starters.
300 Yards
Julio Jones became the 6th player ever to hit the 300-yard mark in a single game, putting up the monster stat line of 12 rec, 300 rec yds, and 1 TD. Everyone who panicked after week three's 16-yard performance can direct their fears elsewhere (Carson Palmer and Ryan Fitzpatrick come to mind). Jones will be fine going forward, namely because his QB is the best so far in 2016. Matt Ryan currently leads the league in passing yards (1473), passing TD's (11), has only 2 INT's and even has 2-2 pt conversions. His 109.62 fantasy points are 20% higher than the second highest scoring QB, Drew Brees.
0 Points
The Patriots were shut out for the first time at home since 1993, which predates the Belichick era. The last time the team was shut out was in Miami in 2006. Of course, most people would agree that the lack of points comes from a distinct lack of Tom Brady. Brady's suspension is over now and he'll be eager to get going after leading the league in touchdowns last season. It's time for the Tom Brady Middle Finger tour, you almost feel bad for the Cleveland Browns.
152.5 QB Rating
Ben Roethlisberger put up a 152.5 QB rating against the Kansas City Chiefs, who had been giving up the 2nd fewest fantasy points to opposing QB's. Ben's 300 yards, 5 TD performance will certainly put a dent in those numbers. This is the 8th game of his career where he finished with a QB rating over 150 - he has 3 games with a perfect score of 158.3. The Steelers struggled last week, but with the return of Le'Veon Bell, expect full steam ahead with the best QB-RB-WR punch in the league.
19 Points
No kicker has put up 20 points yet this season. Mike Nugent and Dustin Hopkins both share the top spot with 19 points. Why bring this up, you ask? Throwing darts at a wall is as good an option as any when it comes to picking a kicker week to week. Nobody is that consistent - AHEM, Stephen Gostkowski and your zero points. Well, this column is called Statistically Insignificant, after all. This stat is pretty useless. The third best kicker this season is only owned in 11% of leagues - there's a stat you can use. Now go pick him up, or throw a dart at the wall, I don't care - it's a kicker!
77.60 Points
DeMarco Murray has 77.60 points already this season, helped along by his 5 touchdowns. He's first among non-QB's, and 8th overall among all players. He's got the number 2 guy, Melvin Gordon, beat by 10 points. Stand up if you had these two guys leading the league after 4 weeks, even above the stud WR's. Of course, one person did have them - my opponent this week, damn you ReDraft!
Week 14 was the start of the fantasy football playoffs and some big things went down before, during and after all the games. In case you haven’t yet, make sure you check out all the crazy stats that Le’Veon Bell racked up on Sunday.
Another week in the books and more injuries to many promising fantasy players. Although I do not have Dalvin Cook in any leagues, it is tough to see an exciting young rookie hit the deck. It was a rough week but hang on tight and be sure to check Jim Hutchins' suggested pickups for this week to keep the dream alive.
Derek Carr (Back) – Derek Carr has a transverse process fracture in his back and is out 2-6 weeks according to Rotoworld. This is a tough blow to the Raiders and all of those around Carr will suffer from his absence. Keep monitoring the injury reports and his activity. Amari Pooper and Crabtree owners will have to temper expectations until Carr is healthy. To read more about what the hell a transverse process fracture is, check out this article: http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/low-back-pain/transverse-process-fracture
Marcus Mariota (Hamstring) Déjà vu with two young QB’s going down in the same week again. Last year both Carr and Mariota went down to season-ending injuries and it is not as severe this time around. Mariota is considered Day to Day and the Titans are prepping both Matt Cassel and Mariota to start. Same as Carr, temper your Titans in case Mariota is out this week.
Dalvin Cook (ACL) – And just like that one of the most promising rookie backs this year is out for the season. Rough night for a Vikings team that has already been playing without Sam Bradford. Look for Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon to pick up the slack. Murray will be a hot add on the waiver wire this year, but if you are in a PPR league I would be looking to grab McKinnon.
Chris Carson (Leg) – Another promising rookie, another season-ending injury. Carson fractured his leg and has been placed on IR. He was looking to take over that backfield and was a hot add in the weeks leading up to the injury. This backfield just turned ugly with Eddie Lacy, C.J. Prosise, and Thomas Rawls all in the mix. Eddie Lacy is the hungriest of the bunch, but I would proceed with caution.
Ty Montgomery (Ribs) – New broke this morning that TY is dealing with multiple broken ribs. Although this is a painful injury, Montgomery has a shot to play this week and he said he will be fine. If he is starting, it is tough not to play him. This injury makes me nervous though. This could linger throughout the year and he is only one big hit away from leaving the game at any moment. Look for Aaron Jones to pick up the rock if he were to miss time. I like Aaron Jones as an add this week. Not only does he share a name with Rodgers, he has been getting praises from the gun-slinging A-A-Ron stating, “I’ve been a big fan of his since the beginning.”
Ameer Abdullah (Ankle) – Ameer rolled his ankle late in the game after looking rock solid against a stingy Vikings defense. Abdullah should be good to go this week but keep an eye on the injury reports. If he continues to be fed the rock, Abdullah could be a strong RB2 play for weeks to come.
Paul Perkins (Ribs) – I contemplated not even including this injury because the Giants and running backs go together like peanut butter and anchovies. It is worth noting because 4th round rookie Wayne Gallman came in and looked like a competent runner and could see more playing time. He should be worth a look in a backfield I would usually recommend avoiding. The Giants need to shake things up and McAdoo could be coaching for his job. Gallman looked like the best runner on the field and McAdoo would be crazy for not giving the kid a larger role moving forward.
Julio Jones (Hip) – Julio is no stranger to the injury report and left the game in week 4 and did not return. Thankfully the Falcons are on bye this week and it gives Julio some much-needed rest early in the season. He is not expected to miss any time.
Jordan Matthews (Thumb) – Jordan Matthews' thumb injury does require surgery and he is expected to be out at least a month. Matthews developed some great chemistry with Tyrod Taylor and this will be a blow to the “potent” passing attack of the Bills. I expect Charles Clay to get peppered with targets and Zay Jones to take on a bigger role in the passing game.
Mohamed Sanu (Hamstring) – Sanu is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with a hamstring injury. With Sanu out and Julio hobbled, expect Taylor Gabriel and Justin Hardy to pick up more looks.
Welcome to Statistically (in)Significant, the place to find great stats that probably only matter at the water cooler (or bar). Each week I'll dig through the stats of the week gone by and deliver you some choice conversation starters. All fantasy stats are standard Yahoo scoring, unless otherwise noted.
8 Turnovers in 3 Games
Since Ezekiel Elliott took some mid-season R&R about 3 weeks ago, the Cowboys have struggled mightily. Dak Prescott, hailed last year for his ball security, has turned the ball over 8 times in the last 3 games, all of them without Zeke. He has 5 INT and 3 fumbles lost in those games and has thrown zero touchdowns. In fact, the Cowboys have only scored 2 TDs in those three games. With Zeke in, Dak threw 16 TDs with only 4 INTs over 8 games. The rest of Zeke's suspension will see the Cowboys taking on the Redskins, Giants and Raiders. I'm not sure that the Cowboys are going to win any of them. This strangely begs the argument - Is Zeke the most valuable player to his team? It sure would be a hilarious thing for Goodell to have to see the Zeke be given such a big award that was highlighted by the suspension that ruled (and ruined) the news cycle for the first half of the season.
-0.6 Yards per Carry for Bears RBs
Several bad rushing days have found their way into my column this season, but oh boy, the Bears took it to another level yesterday. The three Bears running backs, Jordan Howard, Benny Cunningham and Tarik Cohen combined for 10 carries and -6 yards. It took QB Mitchell Trubisky's monumental 4 carries for 12 yards to make sure that they didn't finish in the negative as a team. But yes, of course, the Bears are bad. I'd rather talk about the team that beat them, the best team in the league right now, the Philadelphia Eagles. Carson Wentz threw another 3 touchdowns, making it his 5th game where he threw 3 or more TDs. He's also got the league lead with 28 for the season. The Eagles have won 9 in a row, and now have two huge tests over the next two weeks, both on the west coast. First to Seattle next Sunday night, and a visit to the Rams the following week.
1.24 Points Per Touch
Step aside Kareem Hunt, Alvin Kamara just took your spot for the favorite to win rookie of the year. He's now third in STANDARD fantasy scoring and he only has 77 carries on the season. His production is off the charts, fantasy wise. At 1.24 points per touch(ppt), he's even crushing Chris Thompson (ended the year at 1.09 ppt), whom we gushed about earlier this season. The next closest player still going is Duke Johnson at 0.94 ppt, but seeing as Duke has only the 17th most fantasy points, there's really no comparison. Look instead to how much he's dominating the guys above him. Todd Gurley is averaging about 0.80 ppt, and high volume guy Le'Veon Bell is getting just 0.52 ppt. This means that somehow, Alvin Kamara is more than twice as efficient with the ball than the guy commonly accepted as the best back of the last couple years. All this talk about Mark Ingram being a first team all-pro might be a bit premature. He's got a teammate doing at least as well as he is!
46:21 TD:INT Ratio
This week, quarterback play was a lot cleaner than last week. With a ratio of 46 touchdowns to only 21 interceptions, this week's games felt a lot less sloppy than last week's 39:31 ratio. An obvious side effect of this better play is improved numbers for wide receivers. This week, 6 guys found themselves north of 20 points, with Julio Jones leading the way with an absurd 38.8 in standard leagues. His 253 receiving yards was the highest total for a player in one game since his 300 yard game last season. Meanwhile, Antonio Brown is the major beneficiary of an improved Ben Roethlisberger and has put up an absurd line of 20 receptions for 313 yards and 5 touchdowns in the last two games. Not to be outdone, the surging Chargers have scored 82 points in the last two games, behind Philip Rivers awesome Thanksgiving performance and Keenan Allen's 331 receiving yards over that same stretch. All of this means that the end of the fantasy football season is sure to be freaking amazing.
7-0 Since Week 5
Congrats to Case Keenum, easily the best performing player in the league whose job is constantly in jeopardy. Since taking over for good in Week 5 - remember Sam Bradford? - Keenum has won 7 straight games and the team has averaged 27.4 points per game. This has the Vikings sitting pretty at 9-2, while every week, Coach Zimmer has to announce Keenum as his starter, and not Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater may be the future of the team, but he has almost nothing to do with their success this season. I think that changing the signal caller at this point in the season would be disastrous, but hey, with Zeke finally suspended, what else do talking heads have to discuss?