Saints vs. Ravens
Saints
This one of the best matchups heading into the week and it lived up to expectations. Mike Vrabel, the head coach of the Tennessee Titans, will be getting his fair share of complaints for going for the win (and failing) but the Ravens proved why going for the tie is not that safe. Justin Tucker’s face was priceless as that ball sailed past the uprights but I guess that happens when you have done something 222 times without messing up. Anyway, the Saints leave Baltimore with a HUGE victory against a solid team and have cemented themselves as Super Bowl contenders yet again. Below I will recap all the fantasy relevant performances from this week.
The Drive
The Saints had an incredible 20 play, 10: 00-minute drive which also had 3 successful fourth down conversions. Of course, it ended with zero points because the universe is cruel. After that drive, I thought the Saints were doomed in a game that I knew would be decided by just a few points. They showed some serious resilience and although it was a dogfight the whole way, they managed to pull it out. It is obvious why this Ravens defense creates massive problems for inexperienced quarterbacks as even Drew Brees seemed like he was not sure what they were up to. Every yard this offense gained was hard to come by and this drive showed that. One pass to tight end Benjamin Watson went for 15 yards but every other play was eight yards or less. In my preview, I wondered whether the elite offense would win or if the defense would come through. The end result was something in the middle but it was a joy to watch a defense challenge Drew Brees and to see him succeed nonetheless
Michael Thomas showed up
The box score might not show it but Michael Thomas showed his worth as an elite receiver. Despite two uncharacteristic drops, he made big catch after big catch. Often, they were congested and came on third down when Brees had nowhere else to go. His ability to run after the catch was on display but more importantly, his incredible awareness and body positioning allowed him to get open even amongst tight coverage. While many teams favor the fade to their big receiver, Thomas’s ability as a route runner enables them to be more creative and less predictable. His touchdown on a slant route on the goal line was a perfect example of this. While the slant concept is nothing revolutionary, most teams shy away from using their best receivers in this way near the goal line. But the Saints and Thomas do not care about the conventional and he converted a huge touchdown for this team. Thomas remains a WR1 that should be a staple in your lineup every week
The Running Back Committee
Alvin Kamara owners were terrified with the return of Mark Ingram after his strong performance against the Redskins. This game was very enlightening because it showed us what head coach Sean Payton thinks of these two backs. Kamara got 5 more touches in this game, out carrying Ingram 17 to 12. Why is this so interesting? Because when the game was close and the stakes were high (even on the goal line) Kamara was in the game. When push comes to shove Kamara is much more talented than Ingram and the Saints definitely acknowledged that. My concern for Kamara actually has nothing to do with Ingram but rather his play in the passing game. For the second consecutive week, Kamara was extremely quiet, only catching two passes for 10 yards. Early in the season, and last year, Kamara was heavily used as a receiver and a lot of his fantasy scoring came through the air. I am not entirely sure what has caused this downtick in receptions but it is something that I will monitor closely. My hypothesis is that teams have been paying more attention than they should to Kamara. It has created a lot of space for Thomas and the rest of the Saints receivers and I would bet on reverting moving forward as teams over adjust, eventually giving Kamara more opportunities.
Tre’Quan is Good at Football
Tre’Quan Smith just might be the number two wideout on this team. With Ted Ginn Jr. out again this week, I expected to see more of Cameron Meredith and Tre’Quan. Meredith went the entire game without a target. Tre’Quan, however, saw five targets on the day and caught three passes for 48 yards. One of those catches was an unbelievable toe tap on the left sideline that left me speechless. This could be two fluky games with Ginn out, or we could be seeing the rookie begin to blossom in this offense. I am optimistic that it is the latter and that Smith can have an even bigger role in this offense. While he remains a risky play in redraft leagues, he is a great stash in dynasty and keeper leagues. If Smith remains in this role, he could have a very productive second half of the season.
Drew Brees gets 500
Drew Brees is really easy to write about. First of all, he is amazing and continues to play exceptional football. Second, it seems he breaks a huge milestone nearly every week. Here we are again. Brees reached 500 touchdown passes against the Ravens and still has not thrown an interception on the season. Brees only managed 212 yards on the day but he earned every one. Watching the mind battle between Brees and Eric Weddle was amazing as they went back and forth all game. While this was not Brees’s best game, he was smart with the ball and put his team in a position to win salvaging a decent fantasy total against the league’s best defense.
Taysom Hill is a Monster
Before I end this recap I have to give my Taysom Hill update. Teams literally know he is coming into the game to run the read-option, yet somehow, he still manages to gain important yards with every carry. He adds yet another dynamic weapon to this incredible team and I give Sean Payton a ton of credit for his ability to get the most out of his team.
-Stephen Dudas
Ravens
Flacco was, once again, okay
I had thought Joe Flacco would have himself a nice game given how bad the Saints’ secondary has been so far this year, but he was yet again serviceable but unspectacular, finishing the game with 279 yards with two touchdowns for 19.6 fantasy points. Now, from an NFL perspective, he played fairly well, driving the Ravens down for a touchdown at the end of the game to put them in a position to tie, but from a fantasy standpoint, he’s fairly consistently been a fine QB2. I will say though, there were so many throws that I saw that had me thinking “Man, a better quarterback makes that throw.” They were small things, like not leading a receiver enough so a corner could come in and swat down a ball, throwing it to the wrong side, things like that. Flacco’s accuracy really hurts his fantasy potential, and that’s not going to get better.
John Brown was amazing, the rest of the receivers were fine
I liked John Brown‘s matchup this week against the Saints (to be honest, I liked all three receivers’ matchups), and Brown did not disappoint, with seven catches for 134 yards and a touchdown. Week in and week out he’s going to be in the WR2 conversation depending on the matchup, he’s absurdly talented. As for the other receivers, Michael Crabtree was fine, with five catches for 66 yards, and Willie Snead had a down game, with just three catches for 23 yards. I had hoped for a bit more from Snead, but his usage in this offense is pretty volatile.
Alex Collins struggled against a solid Saints run defense
Coming into the game, I was worried about Alex Collins simply because the Saints run defense has been pretty solid so far this season while their secondary has been bad, and as a result, I was expecting a pass-heavy game. That’s almost exactly what happened, with Flacco throwing the ball 39 times and Collins carrying the ball just 11 times for 38 yards. Lamar Jackson vultured a goal line touchdown from Collins, but I had a feeling regardless that Collins was going to be a rough play this week. I do still believe in his talent, and the fact that Javorius Allen had just three carries while Gus Edwards had two is encouraging for Collins’ usage going forward, but I think he was a victim of gameflow here.
Once more, no clarity at the tight end position
Hayden Hurst was out there for a bit but didn’t have any catches, Mark Andrew and Nick Boyle each had one catch for eight yards, there’s just nothing here right now at the tight end position for fantasy purposes.
Justin Tucker…..
So this game ended with Justin Tucker missing an extra point, after having made 222 consecutive extra point kicks. I feel awful for the guy, and this game doesn’t change the fact that he’s one of the best kickers in football. It was crazy windy Sunday, and I think it was just some bad luck at the wrong time that led to Tucker missing what would’ve been the game-tying extra point. As a Ravens fan, that was tough to say the least.
-Ben Palmer