In fantasy football, there is nothing worse than being let down by a player you took with an early pick in your draft. The lack of production hurts, but what’s even worse is how you’ve gone back to the well week after week, believing this will be the game in which he finally breaks out.
The disappointment has been a constant. Though your hurt feelings are certainly justified, sometimes you have to swallow your pride and go back to the well one more time. If you’re on the playoff bubble, you’ve got nothing to lose. It is time to give LeSean McCoy and Jordan Howard one more try.
Putting your faith in McCoy has been treacherous all season. You know the talent is there, but being stuck in Buffalo does nothing to help his game. The offensive line hasn’t been strong in its run-blocking, and the shortcomings at quarterback have allowed defenses to routinely stack the box to stop him. But this week’s matchup against Miami should have fantasy owners salivating.
Through 12 games this season, the Dolphins have allowed the fourth-highest total rushing yards, with averages of 139.8 yards per game and 4.8 yards per carry. They have been soft up the middle and have allowed four rushing touchdowns over the past five games. To beat them, opposing teams simply have focused on rushing between the tackles and winning the battle on the offensive line.
The Dolphins also rank 22nd in the league against running back pass plays, coughing up an average of 54.3 yards per game to them. McCoy, with his 5.7 targets per game and 200 receiving yards, loves to catch passes in the flat and run in space against poor-tackling teams like Miami. Given the Bills’ lack of offensive weapons, a heavy dose of McCoy is coming this week.
Trusting Howard takes a slightly bigger leap of faith. His lack of use is directly related to his square-peg running style trying to fit in with head coach Matt Nagy’s round-hole offensive scheme. But Nagy isn’t stupid, and he knows that in order to win games in the NFL, he needs to mix things up.
He made that mistake in Week 6 when he failed to run it up the gut against Miami and lost. Analysts panned him for overthinking the game plan and refusing to adjust when his original scheme failed. Sunday against the Giants, he gets a shot at redemption, as Big Blue’s weakest area is their run defense up the middle.
Howard and McCoy might sit atop the list of fantasy busts come year-end, but this game operates one week at a time. Matchups need to be studied and adjustments need to be made. That goes for your thinking and lineup construction as well.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 4-6 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy sports advice and NFL player rankings.