What We Saw: Week 1 2018

Titans vs. Dolphins

Titans

What do we do with Marcus Mariota?

If you watched the Titans game today, I feel your pain. It was the longest game in NFL history due to a series of lightning delays, and the action wasn’t much better for most of the game. The first half was as dull as football comes. This wasn’t helped by Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota who was 9/16 for 103 yards and 2 interceptions before he left with an injury. Mariota did throw a beautiful would-be touchdown to Taywan Taylor about four and a half minutes into the game that was dropped, but he was unimpressive most of the time. I think Mariota can be better, but I will shy away from him after he couldn’t get it done in a positive matchup against the Dolphins defense.

Some clarity on Dion Lewis and Derrick Henry

I went into this game thinking Derrick Henry would get plenty of carries as the Titans iced away their lead. Little did I know that the Dolphins would not only be competitive, but also come away with the win. Derrick Henry was mostly unimpressive with 10 carries for 26 yards, even though he did have a long touchdown run called back. I worry that Henry won’t get enough carries to make himself worthwhile, and I would be afraid to start him next week as anything more than a flex. He will certainly have some big weeks, but the bad ones are going to be rough. Dion Lewis, on the other hand, looked like a feature back. He had 16 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown along with 5 catches for another 35 yards. I am happy to start Lewis at RB as his pass catching should give him a safer floor than Henry.

The end of Delanie Walker

Let’s all pour one out for Delanie Walker as his season, and maybe his career, came to an abrupt end. Walker had 4 catches for 52 yards before his leg did things a leg isn’t supposed to do. The injury was gruesome, so I don’t recommend looking it up. I wonder if this will be the end of a great career as Walker is already 34, but either way, I recognize Walker for his many great years in the league. Let’s just hope this isn’t how he goes out. I’m not ready to trust Luke Stoecker or any of the other tight ends just yet, so stay away for fantasy right now.

Corey Davis, Rishard Matthews, and who we can trust

Finally some good news everyone: Corey Davis was not just involved, but he saw a ridiculous 13 targets today. He turned this into a modest 6 catches for 62 yards, but this kind of volume would make for a huge ceiling…not to mention a safe floor each week. Behind Davis, everyone else was kind of a no-show. Rishard Matthews wasn’t targeted once, and Taywan Taylor missed the only target he saw…a would-be touchdown. I am happy to start Davis as a WR2, but everyone else is currently a wait-and-see. I think that as familiarity with the offense grows, things will only get better.

-Matt Cava

Dolphins

A World Without Parker

As expected, DeVante Parker missed the start of the 2018 season while letting his middle finger heal. As a result, the Dolphins fielded a WR corp of Kenny Stills, Albert Wilson, and Danny Amendola. Stills took advantage of the opportunity, catching 4 of 5 targets for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns. The first touchdown took place at the end of a very productive drive for the offense that saw Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore help lead the team to the Tennessee 10-yard line. Kenny Stills managed to get himself isolated on the right hand side enough to take the ball to the house. Later in the game (after two long rain delays), Stills also managed a 75-yard touchdown reception on a slick field, capping a productive day. As the preseason progressed, there seemed to be a changing of the guard for the WR1 role in Miami with Parker injured and Stills being productive, Week 1 did nothing to change that. Albert Wilson was interesting in this game. Throughout the first half of the game, Wilson lined up all over the formation, including two carries (for 7 yards). In the end, Wilson was 3 for 4 for 31 yards, but it looks like the Adam Gase offense might treat him in a gadget role. Finally, Danny Amendola was open over the middle while lined up in the slot, exactly what you would expect. If Amendola can stay healthy, he could continue to see targets, though I think the Wilson / Amendola target share needs to be monitored over the next few weeks (especially when DeVante Parker returns)

Some Clarity in the Running Back Stable

Kenyan Drake is the starter, but Frank Gore still saw about 35% of the carries for the Dolphins. Gore was more productive with his 9 carries on Sunday, netting 61 yards, a third of which came on an early carry up the middle through a wide open lane for 21 yards. In small doses, Gore was able to grind out large yardage chunks (several 8-yard runs as well), almost all right into the pile (though he did have one nice run where be turned the corner on the left side of the line and out-ran the Titans D). Kenyan Drake was out there for most of the early downs, and was always out there for third-down work, while implies that the touch breakdown will remain in Drake’s favor going forward. For those who look at yards-per-carry as their measurement of productivity (please don’t look at this in isolation), Drake spent the end of the 4th quarter gaining and losing the same 3 yards over 4 touches. Kenyan Drake was his most effective when getting to the outside of the tackles, but actually managed good chunks of yardage when running towards the interior of the line as well. One note from this game, the conditions were awful for over half of the game and I would not place as much stock in Week 1 running performances (especially for a South Florida team).

-David Fenko