Patriots Beat: Players 'impressed' with Shane Vereen in early-down and short-yardage situations

Sep 12, 2014

Patriots players tell me they weren't happy with the way they ran the ball in the season opener and there will be a concerted effort to improve in that area Sunday in Minnesota. Shane Vereen (61 snaps) was the primary running back in the opener over Stevan Ridley (22 snaps) and Brandon Bolden (nine snaps). The team wants to feed that group a bit more, starting with Vereen. Players were impressed with how Vereen performed in early-down and short-yardage situations in the opener. Look for him to get more opportunities in those situations this week.

Fantasy Impact:

Vereen saw seven carries compared to Ridley's eight, which is more even than we were expecting heading into the season. This is great news for longtime 4for4 favorite Vereen, who is already a high-end RB2 in PPR formats without the extra carries. If he starts to get consistent looks in the running game (including red zone work, like he did in Week 1), watch out.

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Bears RB D'Andre Swift, WR Keenan Allen both Questionable for Week 12

Scott Bair

33 minutes ago

D'Andre Swift is questionable to play Vikings with a groin injury, though he was limited Thursday and a full participant on Friday.

Keenan Allen is questionable with an ankle injury. He was limited on Friday, his first day on the participation report.

Related Players: Roschon Johnson, Travis Homer, D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze

Fantasy Impact:

Separate reports called Swift "very likely" to play, but this is seemingly a new issue for Allen.

If Keenan were to miss Week 12, it would boost the floor of all pass-catchers, namely Moore, Oduzne, and Cole Kmet. Moore + Odunze would sneak closer to WR2 territory than their low-end WR3 designations they have with a healthy Allen.

Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco officially Out for Week 12

Matt McMullen

42 minutes ago

Charles Omenihu (knee) and Isiah Pacheco (ankle) won’t play on Sunday, per Coach Reid.

“Just taking it day-by-day,” Reid added.

Related Players: Samaje Perine

Fantasy Impact:

It was later reported that Pacheco was "healthy enough" but they're hoping to hold him back one more game with a short week coming up. This makes Hunt a volume-based RB2 in Week 12.

Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb returns to Friday practice

Joseph Hoyt

1 hour ago

CeeDee Lamb practiced today, per Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy. That’s a good sign.

Lamb (back/foot) was limited in a walkthrough on Wednesday and missed practice on Thursday.

Related Players: Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin, Jalen Brooks, Ryan Flournoy

Fantasy Impact:

Obviously good news for the Cowboys' potential in rolling out an NFL offense in Week 12. The floor is capped for Lamb but we should expect a ton of action funneling his way against the Commanders, which puts him on the WR1/2 fringe.