Cincinnati Bengals Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 5

Week 5 – vs Seattle – W 27-24

QB: Dalton a huge game and continues to play incredible.  Still a must-start if his targets are healthy.  Practically match-up-proof.

RB: Hill held to nearly zero and didn’t look great against tough D.  Bernard’s speed played better and he had good game.  A little worried about Hill but they were playing from behind in this one.  Will be different when they have a lead.

WR: Green and Jones decent games.  Both look great and Jones is still a strong match up start.  Keep riding them.

TE: Eifert a monster game and looked awesome again.  Just a dominant player when he gets the targets.  Almost uncoverable at times.

OL: Pretty nice game against tough D.  Did get QB hit a little but not terrible.  Was solid in run blocking.  One of the better units around.

Def: Got trucked on the ground.  Just couldn’t contain speedy runner.  Strong against weak passing game.  Pass rush was solid against bad line.  Gave up huge game to RB.  Decent games to WRs.

Cincinnati Bengals Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 4

Week 4 – vs KC – W 36-21

QB: Dalton a decent game as they didn’t have to do a ton and lost TOP bad.  Still good numbers and looked great.  not slowing down at all with his targets playing well.

RB: Hill a monster game getting 3 red zone TDs.  Didn’t do much else.  Did look great on all the TD runs.  Bernard a good game and continues to look great.  This isn’t going to stop being a committee.

WR: Green and Sanu nice games and could have been better if not for big lead.  Jones dropped a long TD pass and did nearly nothing.  Had D beat easily on the play.  Should be fine in closer games.

TE: Eifert a decent game and continues to play extremely well.  No slowing down in sight.

OL: Really strong game against tough match up.  Did great everywhere and a great sign of potential things to come.  Should keep this offense rolling.

Def: Was on the field a ton and gave up the yards to go with it but no TDs.  Pass rush was great and made plays when it mattered most.  Gave up big games to receiving RB and #1 WR.  Held stud TE to average game.

Cincinnati Bengals Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 3

Week 3 – @ Baltimore – W 28-24

QB: Dalton a huge game and looks fantastic with his weapons healthy.  Is making great throws and allowing his guys to make plays.  Could easily finish as a top 5 QB if his targets stay on the field.

RB: Hill did little despite looking very good early against a tough D.  He should be okay.  Bernard a decent game and continues to be far better than people think as a runner.  Just great vision, speed, and elusiveness.

WR: Green a monster game and made some really great plays.  The other pass-catchers being healthy takes a lot of pressure off of him.  Jones another big game.  Don’t know why he isn’t considered as a better fantasy option.  A mid-to-low end #2 at the very least, in my opinion.

TE: Eifert held to zero but will be fine.  It will happen as other players have huge games.  He’ll get his numbers more weeks than not.

OL: Looking pretty good.  Pass protection was very strong.  Run blocking was hit and miss but the match up wasn’t easy.  They weren’t terrible.

Def: Run D was crazy good and held runners to almost zero.  Torched through the air.  Wasn’t covering as well as they have been.  Gave up monster game to #1 WR, nothing else.

Cincinnati Bengals Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 2

Week 2 – vs SD – W 24-19

QB: Dalton very good in this game and will continue to be good if targets stay healthy.  Making great decisions so far this season.

RB: Hill fumbled twice and was benched for most of second half.  Bernard took over and was a stud.  Probably the most talented combo of runners in the league.  Both are elite backs.

WR: Green and Jones both got TDs but not much else.  Can’t double team both and TE all the time so they should be pretty consistent.  Both should have double-digit TD totals by the end of the season.

TE: Eifert another TD and made great play on it.  Just keeps beating coverage and doing it with ease.  Starting to look like top 5 TE.

OL: Looking extremely good right now.  Run blocking is very strong and pass protection is good.  Might be one of the top 5 units in the league at the moment.

Def: Couldn’t stop the run. Covered WRs well but still got burned once.  Just wasn’t great up front.  Gave up good games to RBs and #2 and #3 WRs.  Decent game to TE.

2015 Fantasy Football WR Rankings

Here are my WR rankings and, yes, I’m on the Odell Beckham Jr. train and fully believe he’ll be the #1 this season.  If he stays healthy, 2nd place might not be close to him, standard or PPR.

Again, the ADP was pulled from Fantasy Pros and they will change over time.  Here are some notes on a few.

UPDATE: I obviously liked Michael Floyd but the injury is quite a concern now.  Until something more definite comes along about the timeline, I’ll just say he’s a #4 for now and this could bump the exciting John Brown to around 33-37 range.

Why I’m much higher on…

A.J. Green: I’m not crazy higher on him but it should be worth noting he played a lot of games banged up last season and had guys around him injured as well so more attention went to him.  He could easily finish top 5 this season and be back to where everyone thought he was last year.

Martavis Bryant: A star in the making in my opinion.  Would be the #1 on a lot of other teams but he’s not Antonio Brown so his production will be hindered a bit by that.  However, you have to believe most defenses will be focused on Brown and Bell and Bryant will get plenty of open looks and there’s no question he has a QB that can find him.

Jarvis Landry: Love him in PPR but worth rostering in all leagues.  Just gets wide open and catches everything everywhere on the field.  Don’t think he’ll lose much and his numbers will progress even with all the new additions at WR in Miami.

Breshad Perriman: Two words: Marc Trestman.  Take a look back at the Bears’ box scores under Trestman and you’ll notice quite a few where only the starters/studs touched the ball.  Translate that to Baltimore with a lesser RB than Matt Forte, less talent at WR across from Perriman, and currently a rookie TE who’s not an elite pass catcher.  Could easily be the most productive rookie WR this season and might be a top 15 target.  Will be my sleeper of the year almost assuredly.

Marvin Jones: The injuries have mounted up and he’s scary because of them.  But the talent is undeniable and that is the reason the Bengals didn’t just hand the job to Sanu and move on.  For as late as you’ll be taking him on draft day, he could be a huge steal.  A WR deep on your bench that might be a top 25 producer.

Why I’m much lower on…

Emmanuel Sanders: I’ve gone back and forth a bit on him mostly due to the loss of Julius Thomas at TE.  He should still get plenty of targets because of that but I can’t help but think with the hiring of Kubiak at OC and the emergence of Anderson at RB, this team is going to be a bit more balanced this season.  That probably means Sanders’ numbers take a hit from last season.  And there is the much-hyped Cody Latimer breathing down his neck…

Sammy Watkins: Ugly QB situation and a new coach that likes to ground and pound spells bad news for this guy.  I also don’t think he showed a ton last season as well.  Didn’t look head and shoulders above the other rookie WR as he was touted to be.  This is a guy that will have to prove he can produce in his situation before I’m buying in.

Mike Wallace: I’m probably being unfair to him considering his numbers but this ranking has more to do with my belief in Charles Johnson’s potential.  I can see Johnson having a strong season that takes a chunk of production away from Wallace.  And what if Cordarrelle Patterson emerges in year three or Kyle Rudolph stay healthy and breaks out?  Just a few too many red flags for me for Wallace to be a #3 in a 10 team league.

Victor Cruz: The bad knee injury along with the best WR in the league taking most of the balls from you?  No, thanks.  Honestly, I wouldn’t be overly shocked if Rueben Randle finishes the season with equal or better numbers.  My guess is Cruz will only be starting out of desperation in fantasy by week 6.

Cincinnati Bengals Week 17 Fantasy Analysis

Week 17 – @ Pittsburgh – L 17-27

QB: Dalton a decent game but couldn’t connect on anything long.  Needs a 2nd WR to stretch the field a little more.

RB: Hill a good game and looked great running hard and through some tackles.  Is the workhorse now but Bernard still getting plenty of touches.  Bernard a good game with a receiving TD.  Too talented to be forgotten in this O.

WR: Green a good game despite being blanketed all game.  Could be better than expected next season if he starts healthy.  Sanu did nearly nothing.  Hugely overrated and strongly doubt he’ll be relevant next season.

TE: Gresham a decent game getting a TD but little else.  Played hurt but still converted and looked fine.

OL: Strong game for the most part.  Looked very good run blocking and was decent in pass protection.  Was a weaker D, however.

Def: Team didn’t run much.  Thrown on for plenty and it could have been even worse.  Coverage just wasn’t that good.  Gave up good games to QB, receiving RB, and #1 WR.

Cincinnati Bengals Week 16 Fantasy Analysis

Week 16 – vs Denver – W 37-28

QB: Dalton an okay game as running game dominated.  Also didn’t have best WR to throw to.  About as good as can be expected along with the wet conditions.

RB: Hill a big game although most of it came on one play.  Bernard also a big game with most of it coming as a receiver.  A complimentary combo and no reason they can’t produce together for a full season.

WR: Green hurt early and played through it but did zero.  Sanu did little and was not targeted much.  Run game dominated and gave no reason to throw.

TE: Gresham a good game, especially PPR.  Shows what he’s capable of but still not one of the top 3 options on the team.

OL: Decent game.  Run blocking was okay against tough D.  Pass protection was strong.

Def: Not great but helped by bad QB throws for 4 picks.  Was average against the run.  Couldn’t cover WRs.  Gave up big games to QB, receiving RB, and WRs.  Held TE to little.

Cincinnati Bengals Week 15 Fantasy Analysis

Week 15 – @ Cleveland – W 30-0

QB: Dalton didn’t do much as running game dominated.  Didn’t look great when he did throw but it didn’t matter.

RB: Hill a monster game and looked really good against a D that wasn’t tackling.  Hill was jawing a lot and is looking like a possible headache.  Bernard a good game as well and still doing plenty to keep splitting time.

WR: Receivers suffered because of game flow.  Green average and was beating Haden early.  Sanu did little and was barely looked at.

TE: Nothing for Gresham.  Same story as WRs.

OL: Really strong game run blocking.  Average pass protection on limited throws.

Def: Helped by bad QB play and terrible scheme.  Shut down everything.  Looked great but more bad O than great D.

Cincinnati Bengals Week 14 Fantasy Analysis

Week 14 – vs Pittsburgh – L 21-42

QB: Dalton strong this game and beat a bad D.  Looks good for now.

RB: Hill better than Bernard in this one but neither was great.  Still think Bernard is the more talented for now.

WR: Green a monster game.  Just abused the D at will.  Sanu did little as Green was so good.  Sanu is more trustworthy when they have a better DB on Green.

TE: Gresham a TD but little else.  Same story as Sanu.

OL: Played well against bad D.  Wasn’t spectacular run blocking.

Def: Obliterated.  Couldn’t begin to stop the run and thrown on at will.  Gave up monster to RB and huge games everywhere else.  Just terrible despite the home game.

Cincinnati Bengals Week 13 Fantasy Analysis

Week 13 – @ TB – W 14-13

QB: Dalton made some awful decisions and reads in the first half but recovered and played okay in the second half.  An okay fantasy game because of rushing TD.

RB: Bernard and Hill similar touches and numbers.  Both looked good but blocking wasn’t there enough.  Bernard still looks a little more explosive.

WR: Green a good game making great TD grab.  Sanu did little as drops came back.  Wright emerged and made some great catches.  Need to see it again before consideration.

TE: Gresham a decent game but all short stuff and no room to run after catch.  Still a big risk.

OL: A little trouble with pass rush but played okay.  Not dominant but good enough for O to run plays.

Def: Helped by bad QB play.  Pass rush was great.  Run D was good against terrible run game.  Gave up good game to RB.  Held everything else in check.