Did You Know?
Short-ranged accuracy - All nine of Kirk Cousin's touchdown passes this year have come inside the 10 yard line. He has 13 completions inside the 10 yard line, which means only four passes were not touchdowns. His 65.7% completion rate in the red zone is the third best in the NFL behind Tyrod Taylor and Drew Brees.
Controlling the goal line carries - Only two players have taken every rushing attempt for their team inside the 10 yard line. Marshawn Lynch and Latavius Murray.
Start your running backs against Atlanta - Not only has Atlanta allowed 11 rushing touchdowns, but they allow an average of 8.5 receptions per game to opposing team's running backs. This week's opponent is San Francisco.
Saints beware this week - Tennessee has allowed the fewest receptions to wide receivers this year with 70 and running backs with 22. Kansas City has allowed the most wide receiver receptions at 122.
More on KC - The Chiefs have allowed the fewest receptions to tight ends this year with 22. The Giants have allowed the most at 58.
Efficient inside the 10 yard line - Six of Larry Fitzgerald's seven touchdowns have come inside the 10 yard line. Every pass he has caught inside the ten was a touchdown.
Predicting DeAngelo - DeAngelo Williams has two games of 20+ carries and two games of 4 receptions in his brief time with the Steelers this year. The last time he had 4 or more receptions in a game was October 2013 with Carolina against Minnesota.
Dominating the ball in the red zone - Devonta Freeman has 9 rushing touchdowns this year. Seven of those came inside the ten yard line. Red zone distribution (carry or target) by player for Atlanta is the following:
- 41 Devonta Freeman
- 13 Julio Jones
- 7 Leonard Hankerson
- 5 Jacob Tamme, Tevin Coleman, Terron Ward
- 4 Roddy White
- 1 (three with)
Filling the void of Keenan Allen - Target distribution after Allen left the game with 0:14 left in the second quarter
- 3 Steve Johnson
- 3 Melvin Gordon
- 3 Antonio Gates
- 2 Brandon Oliver
- 2 Malcom Floyd (TD)
- 1 Dontrelle Inman
- 1 Danny Woodhead
Better at home - Greg Olsen averages 3.3 receptions per game on the road and 5.7 at home. He also has 3 of his 4 touchdowns at home. This week Carolina is home vs. Green Bay who allows 14.3 PPR fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends.
Week 9 Sleeper quarterback - Marcus Mariota.
Reasons why I like him this week
- He's healthy again - he was a full participant in Wednesday's (Nov 4) practice. Mariota has 9 touchdowns in five games and has reached 20+ completions in four of his five games.
- New head coach in Mike Mularkey will have interest in making an impact
- This week's opponent is New Orleans, who have given up the most passing touchdowns this year (20) including six to Eli Manning last week.
- Saints are allowing a QB rating against of 108.7, third worst in the league.
- The Titans have allowed the fewest plays of any team (409) or 58 per game, which means fewer opportunities for the Saints and potentially more for Tennessee.
Leading Receiver in Targets Inside the 10 Yard Line - By Team
- ARI - Larry Fitzgerald 8
- ATL - Julio Jones 10
- BAL - Jeremy Ross & Kyle Juszczyk 4
- BUF - Robert Woods 2
- CAR - Greg Olsen, Corey Brown, Devin Funchess 2
- CHI - Eddie Royal 7
- CIN - A.J. Green 6
- CLE - Gary Barnidge 5
- DAL - Terrance Williams 5
- DEN - Owen Daniels 3
- DET - Calvin Johnson 5
- GB - Randall Cobb 6
- HOU - DeAndre Hopkins 6
- IND - Andre Johnson 5
- JAC - Allen Robinson 7
- KC - Travis Kelce, Jamaal Charles 4
- MIA - Jarvis Landry 9
- MIN - Kyle Rudolph 6
- NE - Rob Gronkowski 9
- NO - Willie Snead 4
- NYG - Odell Beckham, Larry Donnell 4
- NYJ - Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker 6
- OAK - Michael Crabtree 4
- PHI - DeMarco Murray, Jordan Matthews 3
- PIT - Heath Miller 6
- SD - Danny Woodhead 4
- SF - Anquan Boldin 6
- SEA - Jimmy Graham 4
- STL - Tavon Austin 3
- TB - Vincent Jackson 5
- TEN - Kendall Wright 4
- WAS - Pierre Garcon, Jordan Reed 5
Highest percentage of each team's rushing attempts in the red zone (20 yard line)
- 85.7% Latavius Murray, OAK
- 72.0% Marshawn Lynch, SEA
- 71.1% Devonta Freeman, ATL
- 70.8% Matt Forte, CHI
- 70.6% Adrian Peterson, MIN
- 68.8% Danny Woodhead, SD
- 65.4% Carlos Hyde, SF
- 64.9% Chris Johnson, ARI
- 64.1% Mark Ingram, NO
- 64.0% DeMarco Murray, PHI
- 62.5% Chris Ivory, NYJ
- 59.4% Doug Martin, TB
- 58.6% Frank Gore, IND
- 53.8% T.J. Yeldon, JAC
- 52.9% Darren McFadden, DAL
- 50.0% Justin Forsett, BAL
- 47.8% Ronnie Hillman, DEN
- 47.8% C.J. Anderson, DEN
- 47.6% Eddie Lacy, GB
- 47.1% Joseph Randle, DAL
- 46.9% DeAngelo Williams, PIT
- 45.5% Giovani Bernard, CIN
- 44.8% Alfred Morris, WAS
- 44.0% LeSean McCoy, BUF
- 43.8% LeGarrette Blount, NE
- 43.8% LeVeon Bell, PIT
- 43.3% Charcandrick West, KC
- 42.9% Jonathan Stewart, CAR
- 41.2% Todd Gurley, STL
HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF EACH TEAM'S RUSHING ATTEMPTS INside the 10 YARD LINE
- 100% Latavius Murray, OAK
- 100% Marshawn Lynch, SEA
- 75% Chris Ivory, NYJ
- 73.9% Devonta Freeman, ATL
- 71.4% Adrian Peterson, MIN
- 71.4% Frank Gore, IND
- 69.2% Doug Martin, TB
- 68.8% Matt Forte, CHI
- 66.7% Danny Woodhead, SD
- 66.7% Ronnie Hillman, DEN
- 66.7% Lamar Miller, MIA
- 63.2% Chris Johnson, ARI
- 57.1% DeMarco Murray, DAL
- 57.1% Isaiah Crowell, CLE
- 55.6% Mark Ingram, NO
- 50% Darren McFadden, DAL
- 50% Eddie Lacy, GB
HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF EACH TEAM'S RUSHING ATTEMPTS INSIDE THE 5 YARD LINE
- 100% Latavius Murray, OAK
- 100% Marshawn Lynch, SEA
- 100% Lamar Miller, MIA
- 83.3% Chris Ivory, NYJ
- 77.8% Frank Gore, IND
- 75.0% Danny Woodhead, SD
- 72.7% Devonta Freeman, ATL
- 71.4% Toby Gerhart, JAC
- 70.0% Matt Forte, CHI
- 70.0% Chris Johnson, ARI
- 69.2% Adrian Peterson, MIN
- 66.7% Isaiah Crowell, CLE
- 66.7% Charcandrick West, KC
- 66.7% Jeremy Hill, CIN
- 62.5% Ronnie Hillman, DEN
- 60.0% Eddie Lacy, GB
- 57.1% Joseph Randle, DAL
- 55.6% Doug Martin, TB
- 55.6% Matt Jones, WAS
- 54.5% Andre Williams, NYG
- 53.8% Mark Ingram, NO
HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF EACH TEAM'S receiving targets IN THE RED ZONE (20 YARD LINE)
- 40.5% Anquan Boldin, SF
- 37.5% Tavon Austin, STL
- 37.1% Jarvis Landry, MIA
- 36.8% Kyle Rudolph, MIN
- 36.0% Greg Olsen, CAR
- 32.1% Randall Cobb, GB
- 31.6% Julio Jones, ATL
- 30.4% Jimmy Graham, SEA
- 29.3% DeAndre Hopkins, HOU
- 29.0% Heath Miller, PIT
- 28.9% A.J. Green, CIN
- 28.6% Julian Edelman, NE
- 28.6% Rob Gronkowski, NE
- 27.8% Odell Beckham, NYG
- 27.3% Eric Decker, NYJ
- 27.3% Calvin Johnson, DET
- 27.3% Brandon Marshall, NYJ
- 25.8% Antonio Brown, PIT
- 25.8% Terrance Williams, DAL
- 25.0% T.Y. Hilton, IND
- 25.0% Jordan Matthews, PHI
- 25.0% Jared Cook, STL
HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF EACH TEAM'S receiving targets INSIDE THE 10 YARD LINE
- 56.3% Julio Jones, ATL
- 50.0% Tavon Austin, STL
- 50.0% Kyle Rudolph, MIN
- 41.2% Jarvis Landry, MIA
- 40.9% Rob Gronkowski, NE
- 40.0% Allen Robinson, JAC
- 40.0% Danny Woodhead, SD
- 38.5% A.J. Green, CIN
- 37.5% Anquan Boldin, SF
- 36.4% Gary Barnidge, CLE
- 36.4% Larry Fitzgerald, ARI
- 35.7% Heath Miller, PIT
- 35.3% Eddie Royal, CHI
- 33.3% Vincent Jackson, TB
- 31.3% Randall Cobb, GB
- 31.3% DeAndre Hopkins, HOU
- 30.8% Calvin Johnson, DET
- 30.8% Tyler Eifert, CIN
- 30.0% Jimmy Graham, SEA
- 30.0% Jordan Matthews, PHI
- 30.0% Michael Crabtree, OAK
- 30.0% Mike Wallace, MIN
- 30.0% Marcel Reece, OAK
- 30.0% Owen Daniels, DEN
- 30.0% DeMarco Murray, PHI
Questions, suggestions and comments are always welcome to haseley@footballguys.com