Dolphins’ counterpunch reveals himself as a fantasy football must-start

The chaos of a football Sunday can make it hard for fantasy football managers to focus on the truth behind the stat lines, whether a player delivered an amazing performance — or a big fat goose egg. It can be difficult to figure out what to care for, and what not to care about. But don’t worry — Matt Harmon is here to help us sift through it all and determine what is true signal — and what is simply noise.

Five things I care about

The Dolphins have a counterpunch

I thought the goal for the Dolphins this season was to find a counterpunch to good defenses and smart coaches who could take away their first pitch. Turned out that wasn’t necessary in Week 1, thanks to a Chargers team that doesn’t fit that bill in the slightest.

However, the importance of it couldn’t have been more clear than in Week 2 on Sunday night.

It’s a cliché but nevertheless a truth of the sport that Bill Belichick will try to take away what you do best. So it’s no surprise that Tyreek Hill was limited to 40 yards on nine targets (he did score a TD). Tua Tagovailoa’s time to throw and air yards per target both came down from the impressive standards he set in Week 1. Jaylen Waddle averaged 21.5 yards per catch but caught only four passes. It wasn’t like he took over the game either.

Instead, it was a clamp-down defense and running game that ruled the day for Miami. As I always say about Raheem Mostert: He’s here for a good time, he’s not here for a long time … and man, was it good on Sunday night.

Mostert added 0.30 EPA per play on his 18 carries. Any running back adding that much EPA per tote is extremely noteworthy. To put it into context, Tua added 0.37 on his dropbacks — we know passing lends itself to adding far more value and is more efficient than rushing in these metrics — and he ranked eighth among all quarterbacks in Week 2. That’s how much value Mostert was bringing with his rushes. He was sustaining drives and keeping Miami in positive down and distance…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/caredont-care-dolphins-counterpunch-reveals-himself-as-a-fantasy-football-must-start-042013124.html?src=rss

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2023-09-18 04:20:13

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.