As long as you weren't counting on the D/ST units or playing in an IDP league, last night was a fantasy football paradise for most. Both sides had several fantasy relevant players going. The uncertainly of the Broncos seemingly crumbling offense teamed with JD McCoy's debut as a starter made for great theater, and we were not let down. Let's run through the major players and dissect what we saw and what it means moving forward. Brady Quinn
We didn't see many mistakes, did we? He's got weapons, and he used them quite well last night. He especially loved his tight end, Kellen Winslow. Unfortunately, Winslow took away any hope of a miracle comeback when he let a fourth down pass slip right through his hands on the Browns final offensive play. The Browns have to be pleased with the numbers from their rookie. He connected on 23 of 35 attempts for 239 yards and two touchdowns. Most importantly, he didn't turn the ball over.
You have to curb your enthusiasm a bit, because the Broncos have an absolute pathetic defense which has been decimated via injury and futility. On the other hand, Quinn certainly showed he's capable of a big fantasy game. He's going to improve as time moves further, so when you see him facing the Texans (Week 12), get him active. He's a matchup-based start.
Jamal Lewis
I was surprised he didn't find more running room against the atrocious Denver run defense, gaining only 60 yards on 19 carries, but he did find the end-zone. It may be a bad omen for Lewis' owners that the output of Jerome Harrison and Josh Cribbs -- on end-arounds -- was much more efficient. The two gained 96 yards on eight carries. Lewis may be relegated to between-the-tackles work from here on out and the average yards per carry would suffer. The bright side is he'll still be seeing goal-line carries.
Braylon Edwards
He only caught one pass for 15 yards. There was a decent chunk gained by Edwards later, but it was negated by a Winslow penalty. You can't give up on him, but it would appear his bust of a season is continuing.
Donte Stallworth
Pedestrian totals for a pedestrian player. He's never to be trusted in fantasy.
Jay Cutler
Um, yeah. Glad I posted to buy-low on him earlier this week. Wow. Early on, he had thrown the interception and no touchdowns, but a 93 yard touchdown pass to Eddie Royal ignited Cutler to an obscene stat-line. Yes, you are reading those 447 yards correctly, and the three touchdown passes were a cherry on top.
Brandon Marshall
The six catches for 89 yards is about as low a total as I expect to see from Marshall from here on out. He's back.
Eddie Royal
You aren't getting a 93 yard TD every week, obviously, but he'll be their second guy after Marshall and continue developing a rapport with Cutler. He's a very nice fantasy option moving forward.
Tony Scheffler
As long as he can stay healthy enough to stay on the field, he's a definite TE1 in all formats. As much as the Broncos sling it, he'll find the end-zone several more times, and the 92 yards last night won't be uncommon either.
Daniel Graham
That was an aberration, so continue to ignore him.
Ryan Torain
Insert profanity laced tirade. I know I did last night. We've hyped Torain here at Fantasy FanHouse, and it appeared he was arriving as the Broncos every down back. He scored the Broncos first rushing touchdown in five weeks and piled up 68 yards on 12 carries before falling injured.
As it turns out, he tore his ACL and is now out for the season. We'll discuss him again next year. By then I might be sane enough to not flip out.
Selvin Young
He hasn't been trustworthy at all this season, so why would now be any different?
Peyton Hillis
While he only gained 24 yards on eight carries, he ran really hard and gained important yards on second efforts a few times. He's not very talented, relative to his NFL peers, but he'll do the dirty work. For now, I'm guessing he takes the lion's share of carries in the Denver backfield, but he's not good enough to start as anything better than a flex in huge leagues; especially with bye weeks being over.
