Vernon Davis Goes Off
Davis tallied over 170 yards and two scores against the Arizona Cardinals in the first half alone. His No. 1 fantasy performance for a tight end this weeks now has Davis as the third-ranked fantasy tight end through six weeks. He's now on pace for career highs in touchdowns (16) and yards (1,177). With Mario Manningham still a week or two away from returning and Michael Crabtree at least a month away from seeing the field, Davis should continue to excel as a top-ranked fantasy tight end for the next few weeks. If Kaepernick continues to improve passing the ball, much like we have seen over the past three weeks, Davis will make plays.
Justin Blackmon Continues Ridiculous Play
After serving a four-game suspension to start the season Blackmon has been on a tear in his first two weeks since returning. The second-year receiver has tallied 19 receptions for 326 yards and one score in those two games. That's utterly ridiculous. Whether it is Blaine Gabbert or Chad Henne under center, Blackmon should still make an impact. His 14-reception, 190-yard performance against the Denver Broncos details this pretty clearly.
Nick Foles Excels in Replacement of the Injured Michael Vick
Going up against one of the better pass defenses in the NFL, Foles had himself quite the game. He recorded nearly 300 passing yards with four total touchdowns and zero interceptions in route to the second-best fantasy performance for a quarterback this week. It remains to be seen who Chip Kelly will call on against the Dallas Cowboys next week (my bet is on Vick), but the Eagles may have themselves that quarterback of the future. As it is, both Vick and Foles are solid QB1 options in this fast-pace, high-octate offense moving forward.
Joseph Fauria Catches Three Passes, Scores Three Touchdowns
This undrafted rookie now has seven receptions for 68 yards this season. Not exactly a representation of someone that is an impact player. Then we come to the conclusion that five of Fauria's seven receptions have now gone for touchdowns this season. He scored on passes of 1, 23 and 10 against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. While I am too lazy to do the research, this has to be some type of record start to a career. Does this mean Fauria is a fantasy option moving forward? That remains to be seen. But at 6'7" and 255, he provides Matthew Stafford a massive target in the red zone. That's for sure.
Chris Johnson's Struggles Continue
Not that we didn't expect this, but Johnson put up another substandard performance on Sunday. Going up against the Seattle Seahawks, the artist formely known as CJ2K talllied just 33 yards on 12 rushes. He's now averaging 3.1 yards per rush this season and is on pace for just 872 rushing yards. At some point, the blame needs to be placed on Johnson. Tennessee did everything in its power to upgrade blocking, including adding guards Andy Levitre and Chance Warmack to the mix. It hasn't helped, as Johnson is in the midst of the worst season of his career. Maybe it's time to bench the 20th-ranked fantasy running back. At least, don't depend on him for RB1 production.
Peyton Manning's Pedestrian Performance
We were looking for Manning and Co. to absolutely destroy the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The Denver Broncos were four-touchdown favorites and seemed to be taking on a JV team. Then something funny happened, they played the game. While Denver ended up pulling away for a 16-point victory, were within once score halfway through the third quarter. For his part, Manning is the 19th-ranked fantasy quarterback this week with Monday Night Football still left to be played. To put that into perspective, Carson Palmer, Ben Roethlisberger and Brandon Weeden all had better fantasy days than Manning. In total, Manning tallied two touchdowns with three total turnovers (two fumbles and an interception).