Did you see that Alabama-A&M game? Yeah, it was weird for me to root for the Aggies. With the NFL and college football in full swing, it’s hard not to bring the two together. With that in mind, this week’s fantasy starters all have something in common: they’re from the Lone Star State and played their college ball in Texas, too.
Start:
1) Andy Dalton, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
The former TCU Horned Frog has been lighting it up this year, exceeding expectations and stymieing the always dreaded sophomore slump. Dalton looked polished and efficient last Sunday against the Giants, tossing four touchdowns and no interceptions in a 31-13 drubbing. With the Chiefs’ generous defense up next on the schedule, Dalton should have a fine day through the air.
2) Danny Amendola, WR, St. Louis Rams
After missing the last three games with a shoulder injury, the Texas Tech alumnus returned in a big way against the 49ers’ stout defense, snagging 11 catches for 102 yards. Not only is he fully healthy, he is clearly Sam Bradford’s favorite receiver. No other receiver was targeted more than three times last week. Although the Rams face a Jets defense that is stingy against opposing wideouts, Amendola will be looked for early and often by Bradford, which bodes well for fantasy owners.
3) Jamaal Charles, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
The ex-Longhorn has been anything but consistent this year, rushing for a combined 83 yards in his previous three games before breaking out for 100 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers. Although it’s risky to expect Charles to produce two weeks in a row, the Chiefs would be crazy not to keep feeding him the ball this week against a Cincinnati defense that is nowhere near as good as Pittsburgh’s.
Sit:
1) Nick Foles, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
Set to make his first career start against the Washington Redskins on Sunday in place of a concussed Michael Vick, Foles is no doubt a hot commodity on the fantasy waiver wires. However, expecting the local product from Westlake High to produce in his first start might be asking a bit much, even if it is against a bad defense.
2) Anquan Boldin, WR, Baltimore Ravens
Boldin has not earned double-digit fantasy points since Week 4 against the Browns and has not scored a touchdown since Week 1. Even last week in the Ravens’ 55-20 embarrassment of the Raiders, in which Baltimore’s punter scored a touchdown, Boldin was held to 38 yards on four catches. With Pittsburgh’s physical defense up next, Boldin should be in for another quiet game.
3) Danny Woodhead, RB, New England Patriots
Woodhead was everywhere last weekend against the Bills, rushing for a touchdown and catching a touchdown pass. While fantasy owners are understandably happy with his recent production and a favorable matchup against the Colts Sunday, don’t expect lightning to strike twice, especially in a New England offense that loves to spread the ball around.
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Jamaal Charles
Photo Credit: Cody Bubenik | Daily Texan Staff
The NFL’s third batch of games was filled with surprises, from the Saints blowing a lead at home to fall to 0-3 to the Vikings dominating the 49ers. Sunday’s games provided plenty of fantasy football shockers as well, both good and bad:
Studs:
1) Jamaal Charles, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Just when fantasy owners think they have it all figured out, they don’t.
Following back-to-back subpar outings to start the season, many were wondering if Charles had fully recovered from the torn ACL he suffered in 2011. However, the former Longhorn proved all his doubters wrong Sunday, breaking out for 233 yards rushing as well as 55 yards receiving to go along with his two touchdowns. Any fantasy owners who had Charles on the bench Sunday were kicking themselves in frustration.
2) Torrey Smith, WR, Baltimore Ravens
Smith’s performance Sunday against the New England Patriots was one to remember. He took the field less than 24 hours after he lost his brother in a fatal motorcycle accident. Smith played incredible resilience, racking up 127 receiving yards and two touchdowns in what was by far his best game of the season.
3) Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Entering the season, new Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley vowed that Pittsburgh would get back to running the football more. Through their first two games, that was certainly the case, causing Roethlisberger’s fantasy production to suffer. However, all that changed in Oakland on Sunday, when Big Ben aired it out for 384 yards and four touchdowns against the Raiders.
Duds:
1) Tony Romo, QB, Dallas Cowboys
Following Eli Manning’s 500-yard performance against Tampa Bay last week, Romo and the Cowboys were licking their chops when the Buccaneers came to Dallas Sunday. However, Romo flopped against what was thought to be a porous defense, throwing an interception and losing two fumbles while failing to throw a touchdown pass.
2) Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots
With fellow TE Aaron Hernandez sidelined with an ankle injury, many people expected Gronkowski to have a monster game against the Ravens Sunday night. However, Gronkowski was almost invisible, catching only two passes for 21 yards and failing to get into the end zone for the first time this season.
3) Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans
Johnson solidified himself as the biggest bust in fantasy football so far this season, managing a paltry 24 yards rushing against the Lions on Sunday. Sadly, that is the most yards he has totaled this season. Considering Johnson produced such low numbers in a game where the Titans put up 44 points in an overtime victory, he cannot be considered a fantasy starter until he proves otherwise.
Stat Guy: Why Malcolm Brown might bust loose this weekend
As the Texas football team prepares for its trip to Pasadena this weekend, all the commotion is surrounding the new signal callers, Case McCoy and David Ash. Questions about how the duo will follow their coming out party against BYU fill a number of message boards and newspapers alike. With all the hype surrounding the quarterback position, a freshman running back is, rather quietly, preparing to take the reigns of the Texas backfield.
On Monday, Malcolm Brown was listed as the co-starter at running back alongside Fozzy Whittaker after registering 14 carries for 68 yards on Saturday. Brown will be the first true freshman running back to start at Texas since 2005 when Jamaal Charles averaged an astonishing 7.4 yards a carry, ranking third among the top-100 college running backs.
When did Charles get that first start, you may ask? The answer is Texas’ third game of the season against Rice, a night which he rushed for 189 yards and three touchdowns, one of the best performances of his career.
While Brown’s situation differs from Charles’ in that he’s taking the stage in Pasadena against UCLA and not at home against Rice, history shows the third game of the season has been kind to freshmen running backs at Texas and beyond.
Let’s look back at the stats. In 2001, Cedric Benson rushed for 75 yards on a mere 14 carries, tallying one touchdown against Houston. A few years prior, in 1995, Ricky Williams posted 73 yards on 15 carries against Notre Dame.
While the yardage numbers aren’t eye-popping, that’s 5.4 and 4.9 yards per touch, respectively. Williams went on to become the second Texas player to win the Heisman Trophy. Benson went on to become a first-team all-American, rushing for 5,540 yards, winning the Doak Walker Award (for the nation’s top running back) in 2004.
Actually, freshman running backs all over have chosen the third game to break out. Georgia’s Herschel Walker, arguably the greatest running back in college football history, rushed for 121 yards on 23 carries versus Clemson in 1980. Walker went on to set the all-time rushing record at the time, tallying 1,616 yards.
Last season, Marcus Lattimore of South Carolina rushed for 97 yards and a score against Furman. Lattimore, like Brown, was the top running back of his class.
This season, Brown has seen most of his work in the second half of games. Without missing a beat, the freshman has come in and rushed for 154 total yards, averaging 5.1 yards a touch.
With the shake-up at quarterback taking the full notice of Longhorn fans, Brown has a great opportunity to show off his innate talent.
My prediction? Look for Brown to eclipse 100 yards rushing for the first of potentially many times in his career. Come Saturday afternoon, he might be on his way to joining some elite company.
Printed on Wednesday, September 14, 2011 as: Brown next in line? Running back could run wild in Week 3.
The Stat Guy: Joe Bergeron could turn heads
Every football fan loves them — the shiny little stars next to their highly touted recruit. It’s a point of pride for fans to boast about how good their running back or receiver is going to be, based upon their respective rankings in recruiting databases.
While many highly praised high school athletes continue their domination into college, a lot of overlooked players have been stealing the spotlight the past few years. LaMichael James, Oregon’s Heisman-hopeful running back, has amassed 3,277 yards rushing, averaging 6.3 yards per carry during his first two years in Eugene. His ranking coming out of high school? Four stars and the 12th-best running back in his class.
While that’s not terrible, it’s not like he was the most coveted guy in the country. Same for Jamaal Charles, Texas’ best recent running back, who was a four-star recruit coming out of Port Arthur. Charles finished his Longhorn career early averaging 6.3 yards a carry. Now, he’s being selected as the No. 1 pick in many fantasy football leagues.
This season’s recruiting class offers us a similar situation.
While many fans are anticipating the debut of the five-star, 9.9 yards-a-carry running back Malcolm Brown (and they very well should be), another freshman running back is rapidly gaining momentum.
Joe Bergeron, a three-star running back out of Mesquite, could be this class’ diamond in the rough. He averaged 6.5 yards a carry in high school, runs a 4.4 second forty-yard dash and he weighs 215 pounds. Somehow, he was overlooked. Bergeron has already been said to have knocked Kenny Vaccaro on his back in practice and is currently on the two-deep depth chart for the Rice game tomorrow.
“He’s difficult now to bring down,” said co-offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin. “He’s a strong, powerful guy, and from just the knowledge standpoint of protections and all the different things we do with our backs, I thought he did a great job of handling those things.”
Could Bergeron be the next underrated recruit to turn heads on Saturdays? We can only wait and see.
Printed on Friday, September 2, 2011 as: Star rating doesn't predict potential.
Football Notebook
F
Photo Credit: Trent Lesikar | Daily Texan Staff
The days of NFL-caliber tailbacks in the Texas backfield effectively ended with Jamaal Charles’ departure following the
2007 season.
After three years of a lackluster running game, Texas now appears poised to return its once prominent backfield to
national recognition.
The rebuilding effort would not have been possible without Texas’ young, new co-offensive coordinators, Major Applewhite and Bryan Harsin.
This fall, top-rated running back prospect and Brenham native Malcolm Brown, who was heavily recruited by Applewhite, will look to reinvigorate the Texas ground game. Brown will get some help along the way in 2012 with five-star recruit Johnathan Gray — the Longhorns’ top target in the class of 2012 — who announced Friday that he will sign with Texas.
While Applewhite also primarily recruited Gray, the Aledo High School product said the new schemes Harsin is installing from his days conducting the high-scoring Boise State offense enticed him to come to Texas instead of Texas A&M or TCU.
With Brown and Gray in the fold, Applewhite and Harsin should have more weapons at their disposal than ever before — another reason why Harsin left a successful Boise State program to come to the 40 Acres.
Gray ran for eight touchdowns in the school’s Class 4A Division II state title game win over La Marque last year and finished the season with a state-record 59 touchdowns to go with 3,223 yards. He told reporters Friday at a news conference announcing his decision that he’s positive he made the right choice with Texas.
“I feel like that’s where I want to be,” Gray said. “That’s my home.”
Though Gray still has one season left in high school, it isn’t stopping him from looking ahead to donning a Texas uniform alongside Brown in 2012.
“I think we’ll do great,” Gray told the Austin American-Statesman. “He’s a dominant back and I’m a dominant back. You just put two and two together, we’ll make each other better and just try to win a national championship.”
<strong>Big 12 gets new TV deal</strong>
It looks like the Big 12 is here to stay after all.
While there were doubts about the conference’s future after Nebraska and Colorado jumped ship and left the league with only 10 schools, a new television deal with Fox Sports Media Group should preserve the Big 12.
The 13-year deal calls for Fox to televise 40 football games beginning in 2012. The deal’s financial terms were not released, but the Sports Business Journal reported that it could bring in as much as $90 million a year.
“This puts the conference in a great place, not just a good place,” Texas men’s athletic director DeLoss Dodds told the Austin American-Statesman.
“They’re ecstatic.”
Fox, per its current agreement with the conference, already pays $20 million per year to broadcast roughly half as many games as allowed in the new cable rights deal.
The Big 12 also has a network deal with ABC/ESPN that runs through the 2015-16 season worth $480 million. Since that deal is already in place, ABC/ESPN has priority for choosing which games to televise, meaning Fox will choose from second-tier Big 12 matchups — most will be broadcast on Fox Sports Net’s regional networks.