The saying goes the more things change the more they stay the same. If by "the same" they meant crazy then they could have been talking about the 2014 football season. Many of the things we thought we knew no longer mean much of anything. Beyond the phenomenal number of impact injuries, the bad press for bad behavior, and poor play from expected playoff contenders, we had some more surprising performances in Week 3. A rookie that no one expected to get a chance this early was the RB11 in Week 3. A receiver that we'd all written off was WR10, and leads his team in targets. A quarterback that we thought proved last year was a career backup finished the week as QB2...and that's just some of the madness. Let's find out which performances matter in this week's Believe It Or Not.
Lorenzo Taliaferro isn't just a dynasty stash but a borderline RB2 in 2014. Taliaferro was a 4th round pick out of Coastal Carolina and entered the year as a deep dynasty stash. The Ray Rice situation and an injury to Bernard Pierce opened a window and he ran through it in Week 3. He exhibited a hard-nosed running style that's been missing from the Ravens rushing attack. Taliaferro has the highest ceiling of any Ravens back and should be owned in all leagues.
Verdict: Don't believe it. The Browns are giving up 5.2 yards per carry this season so Taliaferro's performance isn't quite as impressive as it looked. Justin Forsett and Bernard Pierce are both going to get a piece of the pie this year so it's difficult to see a situation where you can rely on him on a regular basis. He should be rostered as a RB4 or RB5, but don't plan on counting on him as a starter.
Eddie Royal is fantasy relevant again in San Diego. Unbelievably, Royal is leading the Chargers in targets through three weeks and it isn't all that close. Royal leads Keenan Allen by nearly two targets per game and has more touchdowns than any other receiver. Royal has had an up and down career but he looks like a big part of the Chargers offense right now.
Verdict: Don't believe it. Royal's production is almost entirely volume dependent and we don't really have any reason to believe that volume will hold up. Last year he averaged just over 4 targets per game and he's nearly doubling that right now. Expect Royal's targets to drop and with it his production. He can be owned in the deepest of leagues and may be a what-the-heck flex in the bye weeks, but you won't be able to count on this kind of production.
Kirk Cousins is the quarterback of the present and the future in Washington. After a very suspect finish to 2013 Cousins has seen his career revived in two games this season. Another injury to Robert Griffin III opened the door and Cousins walked right through it with 677 yards and 5 touchdowns in his first two games. Griffin will be out for a while but when he returns it may be Cousins' team if he keeps playing like this.
Verdict: Believe it. The job is Cousins' to win over the next 4-6 weeks while Griffin recovers from another major injury. Jay Gruden has no attachment to the former first round pick and will go with whoever is doing the best job of running his offense. To this point, Cousins looks very adept and could make Griffin expendable if he leads this team to a few victories. Washington has winnable games against the Giants, Titans, Cowboys, and Vikings before their Week 9 bye. If they win three of them it will be hard to take the job away from Cousins.
Ryan Tannehill is running out of rope in Miami and no longer a hope to be a borderline QB1. Tannehill has been mediocre through Week 3 and now there's talk that he may no longer have a firm hold on the starting job. Joe Philbin would be crazy to take it away from him at this point, but crazier things have happened and Tannehill hasn't done much to fight for his job.
Verdict: Don't believe it. It's never easy for young quarterbacks to learn new offenses, just ask Alex Smith. Matt Moore is not the short or long term answer for this team and Philbin would risk losing the locker room if he were to make a change now. This is an ill-advised scheme to get more out of his young quarterback. Like Philbin, you should give Tannehill a little more time in the new offense before writing him off.
Eddie Lacy is succumbing to the sophomore slump. Lacy is off to a dreadful start and currently ranks 49th amongst running backs in PPR scoring. Lacy and the Packers offense have looked sluggish in their 1-2 start. He wouldn't be the first star rookie back to see a significant downturn in season two and that's exactly what this looks like.
Verdict: Don't believe it. Lacy's faced three of the best run defenses in the league and had Week 1 shortened by a concussion. Nearly all of his match ups this year will be easier than the last three have been and he will feast once again. This offense is way too talented to produce this little for the entire year and when the passing game gets going Lacy will see more scoring opportunities. Now is the time to try and buy low on this sophomore running back.