Colts Beat: Defense struggles against tight ends with speed

Sep 12, 2014

Colts beat writer Mike Wells: Tight ends with speed, like Julius Thomas and Jimmy Graham, give the Colts problems because they don’t have linebackers capable of lining up out wide to defend them. D’Qwell Jackson doesn’t have the speed to keep up with fast tight ends and fellow middle linebacker Jerrell Freeman is dealing with a hamstring issue. If Nick Foles is smart, he'll take a page out of Peyton Manning's book from last week and find a favorable matchup and keep going to that player.

Fantasy Impact:

The player that springs to mind is Zach Ertz, who can stretch the field with solid speed in the seam. Ertz turned five targets into a 3-77-1 line in Week 1 and we're expecting the Eagles to use him again in Week 2.

yesterday

Jets place WR Allen Lazard on IR

Ian Rapoport

yesterday · 3:42 PM EDT

The Jets are placing WR Allen Lazard on Injured Reserve because of a chest injury, sources say. Aaron Rodgers’ good friend and trusted target is out at least four games.

Fantasy Impact:

The long-awaited Mike Williams trade feels very unlikely to happen now, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's a fantasy target, either. Lazard is an easy drop anywhere he's dangling on the roster bubble, and we should see some heightened red-zone usage out of Wilson, Adams, and Tyler Conklin moving forward.

Browns TE David Njoku (ankle) misses practice with recurring injury

Mary Kay Cabot

yesterday · 3:37 PM EDT

Browns TE David Njoku missed practice today with his ankle injury. He missed 3 games with it earlier this season.

Related Players: Cedric Tillman, Jerry Jeudy, Jordan Akins

Fantasy Impact:

It would be a huge bummer if Njoku were forced to miss time after putting up great back-to-back performances sans Watson at quarterback. Jordan Akins would be interesting for deep leagues in this scenario, though he only crested 9.0 half-PPR points in one game during Njoku's absence.

Eagles TE Dallas Goedert still absent from practice

Jeff McLane

yesterday · 2:25 PM EDT

DT Jalen Carter (shoulder) and G Landon Dickerson (knee) are at Eagles practice. Neither practiced on Wednesday.

TE Dallas Goedert (hamstring) and CB Darius Slay (groin) are still absent.

Related Players: Grant Calcaterra

Fantasy Impact:

It's looking like another Calcaterra week, which can be ignored in nearly all fantasy formats. Calcaterra crested 50 yards last week but delivered a 1-5-0 line back in Week 7. If Goedert is cleared before Week 9, he is very startable against a soft Jaguars defense.