2015
Week 1 – vs KC – L 20-27
QB: Hoyer just awful. Way off target. Didn’t handle pressure. Baffling stupid throws. Was benched late. Mallett looked decent. Stay away for now.
RB: Blue, Grimes, and Polk all okay but none great. Good backups but not very appealing as starters for now.
WR: Hopkins a monster game despite the bad QB play. Just so good right now. Washington also strong. Definitely earned the #2 spot over Shorts. No controversy there for now. Could be decent play considering team doesn’t really utilize TE.
TE: Same story as last season in this one. Just not being used to catch the ball.
OL: Had some trouble with great pass rush. Bad QB play made them look worse than they deserve but they definitely are not elite. Run blocking was solid and means good things for Foster’s return.
Def: Elite pass rush with Watt continuing to be unstoppable. Run D was strong against tough opponent. Torched by TE. Gave up decent games to #1 WR and receiving RB.
Week 2 – @ Carolina – L 17-24
QB: Mallett was shaky at times but had a lot of passes dropped. Also, a few miscommunications as well. Should get better as he gets more playing time.
RB: Committee wasn’t great. Blue, Grimes, and Polk all ran but none did much as blocking was awful. Talent between them is roughly the same. I’d like to see more of Grimes until Foster returns. He had nice receiving game.
WR: Hopkins and Washington decent. Hopkins just wasn’t getting great throws but did show guts by catching quite a few slants over the middle. No fear in him and should have no problem being consistent this season.
TE: Continue ignoring. Graham did make a great TD grab on his one reception. Still not a big enough part of the offense to consider.
OL: Couldn’t open up anything for run game. Pass protection wasn’t bad but still shaky at times. Certainly far from elite.
Def: Not great considering opponent. Got killed by running QB. Couldn’t contain. Hit with a few big plays. Held RB to average game. Gave up good games everywhere else.
Week 3 – vs TB – W 19-9
QB: Mallett an average game as run game dominated. A few drops hurt but not devastating. Looked pretty good throwing it. Accuracy was pretty good most of the way.
RB: Blue a huge game and showed great vision and good patience. Ran his best in this one. Grimes the better PPR game again.
WR: Hopkins a big game and continues to look phenomenal. Will undoubtedly be drafted as a #1 WR next season. He’s just too good. Shorts the better game than Washington. Appears to be the #2 at this point and could be usable in right match ups.
TE: Nada. Forget it.
OL: Strong game, especially for run game. Protection was solid as well. Starting to look like a pretty good unit.
Def: Fairly strong game. Helped by some key drops and a little luck. Looked decent against the run. Pass rush was not as good as expected. Gave up good game to #1 WR. Held rest mostly in check.
Week 4 – @ Atlanta – L 21-48
QB: Mallett was awful and benched. Hoyer came in and played well but it largely came against prevent D and backups. Fantasy headache for now.
RB: Foster a few touches but was mostly shutdown. Was pulled once game was out-of-hand. Will be fine. Polk a nice game in relief time. Still think he could be the best behind Foster.
WR: Hopkins was blanketed early but exploded later. Edging into top 10 and maybe top 5 conversation in terms of talent. Continues making incredible plays rather quietly. Shorts a good game burning the D on a long TD. Worth considering with the right match up.
TE: Continue ignoring.
OL: Didn’t do much for run game. Decent in pass protection but not great. Tough match up and hopefully they’ll be better for run game later.
Def: Didn’t stop or do much. Run on almost at will, even by third stringer. Did shutdown elite #1 WR but game flow helped with that. Burned by #2 and receiving RB. Pass rush wasn’t doing enough early on.
Week 5 – vs Indy – L 20-27
QB: Mallett benched after bad start. Hoyer played extremely well until final inexplicable throw that was a reminder he isn’t that good. Just a mess.
RB: Foster looked like he was moving really well but line did him no favors. Had good game as a receiver. Back to being a must-start now.
WR: Hopkins a big game and is a stud, especially considering the QB situation. Continues to look like one of the top 5 most talented WRs in the league right now. Rookie Strong nabbed 2 TDs but both were fluky in their own way (hail mary, blown coverage). Have to see more.
TE: Ignore.
OL: Did nothing for run game. Has to be a bit of a concern right now. Protected fairly well but QBs helped mask it a bit. Doesn’t look good as a unit at the moment.
Def: Got run on easily. Just looks like a terrible run D at times. Coverag on WRs was bad. Pass rush held in check in this one. Gave up good games to RB and #1 and #3 WRs. Good job on TEs.
Week 6 – @ Jacksonville – W 31-20
QB: Hoyer a big game and played well enough to hold the job for at least a few weeks. Few hid studs and it paid off. Wasn’t afraid to allow his stars to make plays for him.
RB: Foster a good game doing equal damage as a runner and receiver. Looks fully healthy and is a #1 option right now. Line needs to help him a little more but the receiving makes up the difference.
WR: Hopkins a monster game and is just phenomenal. Solidifying his place as a top 5 WR pick next season. Plays he is making are simply ridiculous. Shorts an okay game and will have his moments if he stays on the field.
TE: Continue ignoring. The team sure is.
OL: Protected well but wasn’t great run blocking. Couldn’t get RB to second and third level much in this one.
Def: Ugly game but did make a few good plays to salvage themselves. Pass rush just hasn’t been great yet. Run D continues to look bad but benefited from terrible opponent here. Coverage was shoddy. Gave up good games to WRs and TE.
Week 7 – @ Miami – L 26-44
QB: Hoyer a good game despite some drops and not throwing it overly well. Has good enough weapons to make it continue.
RB: Foster a huge game but injured and on IR. Not sure who I would trust now. Polk could easily beat out Blue. Grimes could be good PPR option. Would like Grimes the most if he won the job.
WR: Hopkins held in check by good coverage. Average numbers for him. Wasn’t able to make plays. Washington returned and had monster game. Looked very good and could be good option when elite CB is on Hopkins.
TE: Dropped everything thrown their way. Ignore.
OL: Had trouble with D line, especially in protection. Run blocking not good either. Just a bad game overall.
Def: Annihilated. Just trounced by the run game. Can’t stop the run at all. Torched by a bunch of big plays in passing game. Can’t cover anybody or tackle once they make the catch and run. Gave up monster to RB and #1 WR. Good game to #2 WR.
2014
Week 1 – vs Washington – W 17-6
QB: Fitzpatrick was solid as expected. The team had the lead and ran a ton so numbers weren’t spectacular. Throws were good and on target.
RB: Leaned on Foster with the lead. Looks like a top 5 back when he’s healthy. Moving and cutting really well.
WR: Johnson and Hopkins both good games. Doesn’t appear as if other receivers are going to matter much. Could make these guys studs this season.
TE: Graham DNP. Ryan Griffin caught 1 ball. Nothing to see here. Move along folks.
OL: Looked pretty good all game. Was handling everything well. Have to see them against a better D. Better pass blocking than run blocking.
Def: Made big plays but gave up a lot of yards doing it. Brings a lot of pressure with blitzes. Looked weak against the run. Couldn’t stop Morris and Helu.
Week 2 – @ Oakland – W 30-14
QB: Fitzpatrick didn’t have to do much because of running game. Only 19 attempts but 2 TDs. A decent play when the match up is right.
RB: Foster looked amazing. Just glided through the line and defense at times. Looks back to his dominant self. Blue was okay but nothing to get excited about. Looks like a slower and less athletic Foster.
WR: Johnson and Hopkins good games despite limited throws with Hopkins getting a TD. Solid choices and not seeing much else on the field right now.
TE: Graham caught one ball early then nothing else. Should be fine in games that aren’t blowouts.
OL: Dominated all-around. Was even getting far down field on some of Foster’s runs. Made it looks easy.
Def: No sacks shockingly. Did get 4 TOs (2 INTs, 2 fumbles by WR/TE). Coverage was very good. Wouldn’t expect the zero sacks to happen very often, especially against this type of competition. Front is better than this.
Week 3 – @ NYG – L 17-30
QB: Fitzpatrick looked mostly good. 3 picks but one was batted at the line and another was great play by safety. Ran pretty well and needed to because of constant pass rush. Deep balls were very good.
RB: Blue looked good but didn’t get to carry much late because of deficit. Doesn’t look as big as Foster but good speed and decent vision.
WR: Hopkins a very good game that could have been better if not for penalties. Johnson disappointed. Throws to him were not great. Damaris Johnson is small but has explosive speed. Showed it on his long TD grab. Worth watching.
TE: Graham solid but not great. QB is just looking WRs first before Graham. Looks good when given the chance.
OL: Couldn’t handle pass rush. QB was running a ton. Run blocking was good but deficit forced them to throw.
Def: Shredded by the run game. Looked awful against the run again. Front line isn’t doing enough there. Gave up a lot through the air to WRs and TEs. Pass rush was decent but not consistent enough.
Week 4 – vs Buffalo – W 23-17
QB: Fitzpatrick was okay but no running game put the pressure on. Made some good throws and got the win. Good for fantasy that he had to throw but will turn it over like this when it’s on him.
RB: Nothing got going. Line killed them. Foster didn’t look 100% but was great receiving. Blue didn’t look great. Couldn’t make guys miss but had little time to do so.
WR: Johnson solid but Hopkins is taking over and turning into a stud. Making some great catches even when the coverage is there. Fortunately, has a gutsy enough QB to keep throwing to him.
TE: Graham did little. Emergence of Hopkins is hurting everyone else.
OL: Couldn’t do anything for run game. Average pass blocking, at best. Had QB scrambling a lot.
Def: Pass rush was phenomenal led by Watt. Run D wasn’t that good. Could have been run on a lot more in this one.
Week 5 – @ Dallas – L 17-20
QB: Fitzpatrick not great but they ran a ton in this one. Wasn’t getting anything as far as runs after the catch.
RB: Foster a monster game. Got good blocking and ran through the D. Looks phenomenal when healthy.
WR: Johnson and Hopkins both solid with Hopkins slightly better. Continues to look like he has taken over here.
TE: Graham was a huge disappointment. Only one target. Kind of baffling considering opponent.
OL: Was really good on the ground and a little shaky pass blocking. Have to give QB time to make down field throws to the talented WRs. Need to step-up.
Def: Bad everywhere except maybe pass rush and even that was off and on. Gave up big games to all five key skill position starters. Clearly, can’t stop the run right now.
Week 6 – vs Indy – L 28-33
QB: Fitzpatrick made some really good throws to Johnson and looks like he’s built a nice rapport with him. Got sacked a bunch this game and had trouble with the pass rush.
RB: Foster a monster game. Busted some really nice runs even when the blocking was shaky. Just have to hope the health holds.
WR: Johnson had a big game making some great catches. Looked like he was in his prime in this one. Hopkins disappeared. Can’t explain that other than Fitz was hitting Johnson all game.
TE: They aren’t involved in this passing offense. Ignore until they do something.
OL: Run blocking was pretty strong. Pass blocking was rough. Gave up a bunch of sacks and got QB hit far too much.
Def: Run D wasn’t too bad despite giving up a TD. Torched for a ton by Luck to Hilton. Some of it came on blown coverages and DBs falling down but still terrible coverage. Also gave up decent total game to TEs.
Week 7 – @ Pittsburgh – L 23-30
QB: Fitzpatrick a strong game and played pretty well on the road. Seems to need one more option in the passing game at times and just doesn’t have it right now.
RB: Foster another big game. Continues to look great and shouldn’t be benched against anyone at this point. Blue had TD grab but little else. Still one of the better handcuffs.
WR: Hopkins and Johnson both good games but no TDs. Both are no-brainers against weaker Ds, especially since TE is used so little.
TE: Continue ignoring for this team.
OL: Solid game. Had a few lapses but still pretty strong game.
Def: Run D was fairly strong against good runner but not great. Pass rush was good again. Gave up huge game to RB (mostly receiving) and big games to WRs. Held everything else in check.
Week 8 – @ Tennessee – W 30-16
QB: Fitzpatrick had a lot of balls batted at or close to the line. Kind of sloppy on his part. Needs to be smarter.
RB: Foster a monster game and had his way here. Line helped RBs a ton. Blue was okay getting a lot of touches because of lead.
WR: Hopkins and Johnson both solid games, especially PPR. Will have some bad games but hard to sit either right now. Other WRs just aren’t mattering.
TE: Zero catches for any TE. Again, not part of game plan. Ignore.
OL: Great game. Was opening huge holes for runners. Pass blocking was a little shaky but QB was hurting there.
Def: Gave up little on ground because of lead. Gave up big game to rookie QB. Passing was spread across a ton of receivers. Gave up TDs to #2 WR and TE.
Week 9 – vs Philly – L 21-31
QB: Fitzpatrick a decent game but wasn’t making enough good throws. Was pressured a bit but this should have been a better game for him.
RB: Foster a big game with rushing and receiving combined but got injured. Blue looked rough on his touches.
WR: Hopkins a big game and still looking like the clear #1 on this team. Continues to make great plays even with good coverage. Johnson did little. Would chalk it up to bad QB play but still harder to trust than Hopkins.
TE: Zero. Continue ignoring.
OL: Played pretty well all-around but not dominating. Did get QB hit a few times but was mostly good.
Def: Obliterated. Got some TOs and that kept score close. Could have given up 50+ points. Pass rush continues to be elite but nothing else very good. Gave up huge games to #1 WR and total QBs and RBs and good game to #2 WR. Held TEs to nearly nothing.
Week 10 – Bye
Week 11 – @ Cleveland – W 23-7
QB: Mallett okay in his debut but missed some throws kind of badly. Has a cannon for an arm but accuracy was shaky. Hopefully, just nerves.
RB: Blue a huge game running as O-line dominated. Showed extremely good vision and patience and took what was given. Looked great all-around.
WR: Hopkins and Johnson both decent games. Hopkins should have had a TD but bad deep throw went for INT. Good to see they were both on same page with new QB.
TE: Graham finally showed up and had good game but both his catches and the TD came on one drive. Still not believing they are using the TE in this offense.
OL: Dominated, especially on the ground. Was blowing D off the ball at the snap and giving RBs a ton of room. Excellent game.
Def: Bad QB play helped. Average against a struggling run game. Had trouble covering small, fast WRs. Gave up big games to WRs and decent game to QB but held everything else in check.
Week 12 – vs Cincinnati – L 13-22
QB: Mallett not great in this one as accuracy just wasn’t there. Should have had at least 1 TD, if not 2. Played the whole game but is hurt. May have been the reason for some of his play.
RB: Foster DNP. Blue held in check as blocking wasn’t as good as previous week. Just not much room to run but still looks fine.
WR: Hopkins and Johnson held to average games. Suffered because of QB play. Still made good plays and will be fine if QB improves.
TE: Graham another decent game and starting to look like a usable option with Mallett at QB. Have to wonder if game-planning has changed a little.
OL: Run blocking average in this one against struggling D. Expected better. Pass blocking was strong.
Def: Run on for a ton and lost TOP badly because of it. Not much of a pass rush. Did get TD but didn’t play that well otherwise. Gave up big games to RBs and WRs. Average games by QB and average TE.
Week 13 – vs Tennessee – W 45-21
QB: Fitzpatrick a monster game as receivers made some great plays for him. Great game against a weak D.
RB: Foster a big game and looked great when he got space. Looks healthy again. Blue danced behind the line too much.
WR: Hopkins a monster game and looked like a top 5 talent in this one. Could be an underrated value on draft day next season. Johnson a good game making a nice TD grab. Still clear that the torch is being passed.
TE: With QB change, it appears this is back to being a non-factor. Ignore.
OL: Solid game against struggling D. Should have been better with the run blocking but still okay.
Def: Helped by terrible QB play. Not great against the run but lead hid it. Held TE to very little. Gave up big games to WRs.
Week 14 – @ Jacksonville – W 27-13
QB: Fitzpatrick did little as running game got most of the work. Wasn’t accurate anyway.
RB: Foster a huge game and looked incredible as vision and patience were excellent this game. Looked so smooth running it and made it look easy.
WR: Johnson injured. Hopkins an average game as game flow didn’t allow him many chances. Still looks like he has really put it together.
TE: Nothing. Ignore.
OL: Good game against weak D. Good pass protection and great run blocking.
Def: Pass rush outstanding again. Helped by erratic QB. Run D looked good as well. Gave up decent games to #2 and #3 WRs and TE. Held everything else in check.
Week 15 – @ Indianapolis – L 10-17
QB: Fitzpatrick injured and done. Savage didn’t look great. Have to hope he is better with some practice as the starter.
RB: Foster a good game despite being the focal point once QB went down. Line really gave him just enough room to produce.
WR: Johnson injured. Hopkins a decent game and continues to show some big time talent. Will probably be undervalued next season depending on QB situation.
TE: Nothing…again…
OL: Pretty strong game despite situation. Is really doing a good job run blocking although opponent wasn’t too scary.
Def: Contained elite O. Was getting run on for chunks but rushed the QB and covered the pass well. Gave up decent games to TE, QB, and #4 WR. Held everything else in check.
Week 16 – vs Baltimore – L 13-25
QB: Keenum not good as accuracy was really shaky. Nothing to trust here despite the weapons.
RB: Foster a big game with a passing TD. A lot of Wildcat as well. Shows how little they trusted QB coming in.
WR: Johnson decent and Hopkins little. Both suffered because of QB play. Not usable in week 17.
TE: Nothing. Again.
OL: Decent game pass protecting but better run blocking. Really good despite stacked line much of the time.
Def: Pass rush was phenomenal and run D was lights out. Watt was just abusing linemen. Gave up big game to #1 WR. Nothing else.
Week 17 – vs Jacksonville – W 23-17
QB: Keenum a nice fantasy game but the inaccuracy was painfully apparent throughout. Receivers had to make some plays on a lot of completions.
RB: Foster looked good but injured early despite getting a TD. Blue looked okay and had good fantasy game. Grimes looked really impressive and ran hard. Tough to tell which was better in this one.
WR: Johnson a monster game and looked vintage doing quite a bit after the catch on some plays. Hopkins did little and wasn’t targeted much. Wasn’t getting good throws when he was targeted.
TE: Nothing. Continue ignoring.
OL: Run blocking was really strong all game. Was helping RBs get chunks on majority of carries. Pass protection was very good as well.
Def: TOP was dominated. Got ran on for plenty but O chose not to run much. Pass rush elite again. Only really hurt by a trick play. Gave up good games to RB and #1 WR. Shutout TE.
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