Postseason Shootout | RealTime Fantasy Sports

The Weekly Bender: Bizarro Football

Mon Sep 23 6:25pm ET
By HOWARD BENDER
Fantasy Writer

Well, would you look at that. It only took three weeks of the NFL season to get all the way under my skin and send me into a spiraling mental breakdown. Usually at this time, I spend most of my day calming down the panicky owners who are ready to take a whiz on their draft plans and blow up their fantasy football teams, but after everything we just saw here in Week 3, I’m ready to join the masses on the ledge and might start begging some of you to give me a push.

You would think it would start with the Carolina Panthers, right? Nope. Not at all. I was relieved to see Dave Canales bench Bryce Young for veteran Andy Dalton as he was able to unlock everything I thought we would see from Diontae Johnson and Chuba Hubbard. I’m not saying we’re going to see these types of performances from them every week, but having someone like Dalton under center means defenses can’t sell out to stop the run and force a hapless, overmatched rookie to make mistakes through the air. Canales is a run-first guy as we saw from him in Tampa Bay last year and that offensive scheme is not ready to blossom in Carolina.

I am tilting from the other side of that game, however. I don’t want to say Zamir White is cooked, but after three weeks, it’s more than just reading the handwriting on the wall. Not only has White been disappointing through the first three weeks, but usage shows us that Alexander Mattison is not just a backup here. He’s scored a touchdown in each of the first three games, is clearly a favored passing option and he’s the one getting the goal-line carries. I’m not ready to give up on White, but depending on match-ups and further expectations, he’s being parked on my bench and I’m adding Mattison for some running back depth.

The guy I’m ready to give up on is Javonte Williams. What the fudge is going on here? OK, so I’m not dropping him, but what in the world did he do to piss off Sean Payton so much? Last, we heard during the preseason was Payton singing his praises, telling us he looks like a completely different player than he did the year before working his way back from the ACL injury. But after the first three games with some inefficient running and a fumble, it looks like he’s on his way out.

The Broncos were sitting on the Tampa Bay two-yard line and Williams couldn’t punch it in. Payton yanked him off the field and put in Jaleel McLaughlin who found the end zone on the very next play. Then, to make matters worse, Payton used third-stringer Tyler Badie to close out the game. Williams barely saw the field and I don’t think he even touched the ball after his fumble. If McLaughlin is available, he’s probably worth an add even if it’s just for a wait-and-see approach to the Denver backfield.

One running back item that did go my way, though still needs a little massaging is the Buccaneers situation. I was not shy with my criticisms of Rachaad White this offseason and for the third-straight game, I am being proven right. White is not a good running back and it’s just a matter of time before he loses his job to Bucky Irving. His yards-per-carry average stunk again and before you start making excuses for him with the groin issue, he was pulled off the injury report which means he was supposed to be fine. Far from it, right? I’ve got Irving stashed all over the place and you should too.

Who else can I lose my mind over? Is it Jauan Jennings? Only in the leagues in which I played against him. I can be mad at myself for not adding him via waivers, but I didn’t have a clear-cut drop. Until I saw how Demarcus Robinson fared in Sunday’s come-from-behind win against San Francisco. Tutu Atwell? Really? That’s the savior of Los Angeles? Come on. We spent all week trying to decide between Robinson, Tyler Johnson and Jordan Whittington only to be kicked in the huevos rancheros by Atwell getting the love from Matthew Stafford. Sorry. I just can’t. And I won’t. Maybe. I don’t know. Gross.

Where else did it all go wrong? Oh yeah, the tight end position. Sure, we all got that glimmer of hope when Kyle Pitts killed the under on his receiving yards prop with one long pass from Kirk Cousins, but the rest of the top tier? Trash. Hot, stinking trash. Mark Andrews was ghosted by Lamar Jackson, Travis Kelce was barely an afterthought for Patrick Mahomes and Sam LaPorta was carted off to the locker room, only to return for like three plays and was seen limping off to the sidelines. Oh, and for the record, Pitts didn’t do squat after that 50-yard catch. One grab for nine yards? Horrible. If Dalton Kincaid doesn’t go ham on the Jaguars Monday night, you might need to do a wellness check on me.

Anyone else? The 49ers defense? CJ Stroud and Nico Collins? Derek Carr and Rashid Shaheed? Anthony Richardson? Kyler Murray? Wow. Just wow. Somebody should get me a sedative before I start my research for Week 4. I’m gonna need it.

Bender out.

The Weekly Bender: Bizarro Football

The Paur Report