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Antone Smith Hype Train (1 Viewer)

rickyg said:
I've already added mike James and plugged him into my flex spot for this week.  Could be a doughnut but I have a sneaking suspicion henwill be the back to own in Tb until Martin comes back.  He knows the system.   He has proven he can carry the load before when called upon.  
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You're starting a guy that hasn't had an NFL carry since 2014 (and had 19 carries for 34 yards that season)?

Then again in one dynasty league where D. Johnson and L. Miller are on a bye and Ware may be out I have Daniel Lasco in my lineup right now barring adding some guys on the waiver wire tonight.

 
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Here's the tricky part about injury settlements... and I caught onto this from a Pro Football Talk article I read this morning:

Running back Mike James made the Buccaneers’ initial 53-man roster before being waived/injured before the season opener and eventually released with an injury settlement. He spent time with the Lions practice squad earlier this month, but recently became eligible to return to the Buccaneers and, per multiple reports, that’s exactly what he will do.
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So that got me digging into the Injury Settlement rules for the NFL -- turns out, like you'd expect, it's rather complicated. 

There is a rule in place that the team (agreeing to a settlement) can’t resign that player until a minimum of six weeks passes following the amount of weeks of the initial settlement. So for our MCL example, the team cannot resign that player for the first eleven weeks. For a player who did a three week/3 game settlement, his team can’t sign him back until after week nine. However, the player is free to sign with another team.
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So... let's review James' situation.  He made the team as the 3rd RB behind Martin and Sims (Barber was cut; Quizz was with Chicago) despite missing the last couple of weeks of camp due to injury.  On September 7th, James was "Waived/Injured" meaning he would revert to IR if he cleared waivers. On September 8th, he was placed on IR.  On September 14th, he was released with an injury settlement.  Per the rules, he couldn't resign with Tampa until 6 weeks after that injury settlement.  September 14th was just ahead of Week 2, which even if we assumed their settlement only covered through Week 2, he couldn't return to Tampa until after Week 8, which just so happened to be Sunday's game.  So, when first able to bring him back, Tampa resigned James, who originally made their team as the 3rd RB, despite missing the last couple of weeks of camp.

Weirdly enough --

Greg AumanVerified account ‏@gregauman Nov 1

A little post-Halloween spooky for you: New Bucs RB Mike James had career day in 2013 with 158 yards vs. Seattle. The date? Nov. 3.
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JFS171 said:
Here's the tricky part about injury settlements... and I caught onto this from a Pro Football Talk article I read this morning:

So that got me digging into the Injury Settlement rules for the NFL -- turns out, like you'd expect, it's rather complicated. 

So... let's review James' situation.  He made the team as the 3rd RB behind Martin and Sims (Barber was cut; Quizz was with Chicago) despite missing the last couple of weeks of camp due to injury.  On September 7th, James was "Waived/Injured" meaning he would revert to IR if he cleared waivers. On September 8th, he was placed on IR.  On September 14th, he was released with an injury settlement.  Per the rules, he couldn't resign with Tampa until 6 weeks after that injury settlement.  September 14th was just ahead of Week 2, which even if we assumed their settlement only covered through Week 2, he couldn't return to Tampa until after Week 8, which just so happened to be Sunday's game.  So, when first able to bring him back, Tampa resigned James, who originally made their team as the 3rd RB, despite missing the last couple of weeks of camp.

Weirdly enough --
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Damn

 
JFS171 said:
Here's the tricky part about injury settlements... and I caught onto this from a Pro Football Talk article I read this morning:

So that got me digging into the Injury Settlement rules for the NFL -- turns out, like you'd expect, it's rather complicated. 

So... let's review James' situation.  He made the team as the 3rd RB behind Martin and Sims (Barber was cut; Quizz was with Chicago) despite missing the last couple of weeks of camp due to injury.  On September 7th, James was "Waived/Injured" meaning he would revert to IR if he cleared waivers. On September 8th, he was placed on IR.  On September 14th, he was released with an injury settlement.  Per the rules, he couldn't resign with Tampa until 6 weeks after that injury settlement.  September 14th was just ahead of Week 2, which even if we assumed their settlement only covered through Week 2, he couldn't return to Tampa until after Week 8, which just so happened to be Sunday's game.  So, when first able to bring him back, Tampa resigned James, who originally made their team as the 3rd RB, despite missing the last couple of weeks of camp.

Weirdly enough --
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I think moving forward he could be the guy.  remember Quizz rodgers got picked up and immediately became a RB1 because of volume and Mike james could do something similar given the chance 

 
I am currently the owner of the KC rbs and the TB rbs in my 10 man league. The drain that these 2 backfields are on my roster spots is painful. They currently make up 1/3 of my rost with 5 spots (Ware/West and Martin/Rodgers/Smith). Also, having to start Antone Smith this week is giving me heart palpitations.

 
A Tampa Bay beat writer is reporting Smith gets the lead look this week.  Not sure if it's true, but not surprising.  I don't think Smith has the ability to hold on after this week though.  And still will likely be a heavy RBBC. 

 
btemp said:
A Tampa Bay beat writer is reporting Smith gets the lead look this week.  Not sure if it's true, but not surprising.  I don't think Smith has the ability to hold on after this week though.  And still will likely be a heavy RBBC. 
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Seems like a situation to avoid this week but james is the play after 

 
Will be interesting to see if James is active this week.  If he is, I'm thinking I might just dump Smith and grab a guy like Prosise as my desperation bye week filler.

No James, and I'll start Smith with mild confidence.

 
Smith seems like a solid flex play in PPR this week, regardless as to how many actual carries he recieves

Every single team that has played ATL has heavily featured their RBs in the passing game. 

Week 1 - Sims and Martin turned 8 targets into a  8/66/1 receiving line

Week 2 - Murray, Washington and Richard turned 10 targets into a 10/82/0 receiving line

Week 3 - Ingram and Cadet turned 12 targets into a 10/62/1 receiving line

Week 4 - Whittaker and Tolbert turned 10 targets into a 10/84/0 receiving line

Week 5 - Anderson and Booker turned 11 targets into a 7/57/0 receiving line

Week 6 - Michael and Spiller turned 10 targets into a 7/66/0 receiving line

Week 7 - Gordon and technically McCluster turned 9 targets into a 6/53/1 receiving line

Week 8 - GB's backfield turned 3 targets into no one cares because they don't have a functional RB

The O/U on this game is a healthy 51 points with ATL favored by 4 (opened at ATL -2). I feel pretty confident saying that Smith's PPR floor is 10 points. His ceiling isn't too shabby either seeing as how he has the ability to break off a 20+ yard play on any given touch. He's only been utilized 10 times in two games and already has a 30 yard gain under his belt.

I can easily see a 8/35/0 rushing and 6/60/0 receiving stat line, good for ~15 points in PPR. Seriously, who the hell else is going to be catching those passes? 

 
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Exactly! He's in my lineup for ware and feeling pretty comfortable about it. It sucks the game is on Thursday but if ware plays I'll just start him over my other rb (T West)

 
SameSongNDance said:
Smith seems like a solid flex play in PPR this week, regardless as to how many actual carries he recieves

Every single team that has played ATL has heavily featured their RBs in the passing game. 

Week 1 - Sims and Martin turned 8 targets into a  8/66/1 receiving line

Week 2 - Murray, Washington and Richard turned 10 targets into a 10/82/0 receiving line

Week 3 - Ingram and Cadet turned 12 targets into a 10/62/1 receiving line

Week 4 - Whittaker and Tolbert turned 10 targets into a 10/84/0 receiving line

Week 5 - Anderson and Booker turned 11 targets into a 7/57/0 receiving line

Week 6 - Michael and Spiller turned 10 targets into a 7/66/0 receiving line

Week 7 - Gordon and technically McCluster turned 9 targets into a 6/53/1 receiving line

Week 8 - GB's backfield turned 3 targets into no one cares because they don't have a functional RB

The O/U on this game is a healthy 51 points with ATL favored by 4 (opened at ATL -2). I feel pretty confident saying that Smith's PPR floor is 10 points. His ceiling isn't too shabby either seeing as how he has the ability to break off a 20+ yard play on any given touch. He's only been utilized 10 times in two games and already has a 30 yard gain under his belt.

I can easily see a 8/35/0 rushing and 6/60/0 receiving stat line, good for ~15 points in PPR. Seriously, who the hell else is going to be catching those passes? 
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Thanks for restoring some confidence to the guys who picked him up and plan to use him this week.

I really need this guy to come through for me PLEASE.

 
SameSongNDance said:
Smith seems like a solid flex play in PPR this week, regardless as to how many actual carries he recieves

Every single team that has played ATL has heavily featured their RBs in the passing game. 

Week 1 - Sims and Martin turned 8 targets into a  8/66/1 receiving line

Week 2 - Murray, Washington and Richard turned 10 targets into a 10/82/0 receiving line

Week 3 - Ingram and Cadet turned 12 targets into a 10/62/1 receiving line

Week 4 - Whittaker and Tolbert turned 10 targets into a 10/84/0 receiving line

Week 5 - Anderson and Booker turned 11 targets into a 7/57/0 receiving line

Week 6 - Michael and Spiller turned 10 targets into a 7/66/0 receiving line

Week 7 - Gordon and technically McCluster turned 9 targets into a 6/53/1 receiving line

Week 8 - GB's backfield turned 3 targets into no one cares because they don't have a functional RB

The O/U on this game is a healthy 51 points with ATL favored by 4 (opened at ATL -2). I feel pretty confident saying that Smith's PPR floor is 10 points. His ceiling isn't too shabby either seeing as how he has the ability to break off a 20+ yard play on any given touch. He's only been utilized 10 times in two games and already has a 30 yard gain under his belt.

I can easily see a 8/35/0 rushing and 6/60/0 receiving stat line, good for ~15 points in PPR. Seriously, who the hell else is going to be catching those passes? 
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Indeed Sheppard is out

 
Maybe I missed something but in the last 2 pages nobody has mentioned any concern for Barber? Why?

Waldman and Bloom are very high on him and it seems about 50/50 depending on who you ask if it's going to be Barber or Smith. I don't see how James is a factor this week regardless.

My concern with Smith is that he's a limited carry home run hitter. Obviously if he breaks off a 60 yard TD then you're fine with 7 carries. But that's no guarantee.

 
steveski said:
Maybe I missed something but in the last 2 pages nobody has mentioned any concern for Barber? Why?

Waldman and Bloom are very high on him and it seems about 50/50 depending on who you ask if it's going to be Barber or Smith. I don't see how James is a factor this week regardless.

My concern with Smith is that he's a limited carry home run hitter. Obviously if he breaks off a 60 yard TD then you're fine with 7 carries. But that's no guarantee.
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He also looked shaky last week with a fumble.  he should do ok, but with all the uncertainty i would stay away.  esp if Mike james is active 

 
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Somebody's gonna be wrong on this

From the Bucs website -

"The Buccaneers expect to be short-handed when they host the Falcons on Thursday, with Doug Martin and Jacquizz Rodgers both missing Tuesday's practice due to injuries. If neither player is available, Barber will be the next man up. Barber has 16 carries for 91 yards this season, averaging 5.7 yards per rush, and also has a touchdown. He was nominated for the NFL's Rookie of the Week award for his performance against the 49ers in Week 7. "

 
Snap counts 22 - 3 last week and Smith got a run and a couple of targets early. That would indicate to me he would at least see more looks. The thought is he is too small so maybe Barber sees more 1st, 2nd and goal lines. Not an insider just reading the tea leaves.

LickityBlitz

 
need2know said:
Somebody's gonna be wrong on this

From the Bucs website -

"The Buccaneers expect to be short-handed when they host the Falcons on Thursday, with Doug Martin and Jacquizz Rodgers both missing Tuesday's practice due to injuries. If neither player is available, Barber will be the next man up. Barber has 16 carries for 91 yards this season, averaging 5.7 yards per rush, and also has a touchdown. He was nominated for the NFL's Rookie of the Week award for his performance against the 49ers in Week 7. "
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Pretty misleading.

 
Can Barber catch? run Routes? pass protect?

I do not know.

All signs are pointing to a lot of points again and more passing like their 1st match up. There is room for both to do well but if Smith gets all the passing work i would be leaning that way

 
I have no choice but to start him in one league due to injuries and byes.

In another I'm considering over the torture that is M. Ingram vs. T. Hightower. Not sure which of the three are a bigger role of the dice.

 
steveski said:
Maybe I missed something but in the last 2 pages nobody has mentioned any concern for Barber? Why?

Waldman and Bloom are very high on him and it seems about 50/50 depending on who you ask if it's going to be Barber or Smith. I don't see how James is a factor this week regardless.

My concern with Smith is that he's a limited carry home run hitter. Obviously if he breaks off a 60 yard TD then you're fine with 7 carries. But that's no guarantee.
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It's not going to be Barber or Smith, it's going to be both Barber and Smith. 

My expectations for how this plays out are being dictated solely by the match-up and the skillsets of RBs in question.

Every single team has targeted their RBs, save GB, ~10 times in the passing game vs. ATL this year. This would be the most in the league but SD has a slight edge on them. If ATL played a team with actual RBs last week, they'd be about even.

Everything I've read says that Winston and Smith have been working on short passes all week. Barber isn't a pass catcher.

I'll eat a shoe if Smith doesn't catch at least 5 passes tonight.

 
SameSongNDance said:
It's not going to be Barber or Smith, it's going to be both Barber and Smith. 

My expectations for how this plays out are being dictated solely by the match-up and the skillsets of RBs in question.

Every single team has targeted their RBs, save GB, ~10 times in the passing game vs. ATL this year. This would be the most in the league but SD has a slight edge on them. If ATL played a team with actual RBs last week, they'd be about even.

Everything I've read says that Winston and Smith have been working on short passes all week. Barber isn't a pass catcher.

I'll eat a shoe if Smith doesn't catch at least 5 passes tonight.
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So you are anticipating James will be inactive? He knows the system, was 3rd in camp behind Martin/Sims, etc. 

 
I heard beat reporter Greg Auman on SiriusXM radio this morning saying that all three backs will be active -- Tampa always activates three backs. He also reported that Mike James shouldn't be discounted in the long run because the Bucs like him. Despite an injury at the end of camp, they kept him on their roster OVER PEYTON BARBER. Since then, we've seen two guys come off the street and play ahead of Barber (Rodgers, Smith).  Barber may have talent and it may manifest itself down the road, but the actions of the Bucs coaching staff tells me they don't like or don't trust him very much. 

Auman said to expect all three backs to get touches early with Tampa riding the hot hand. As @SameSongNDance has said, Auman seemed to express that Smith's role was the safest catching balls in space and getting a handful of touches. Crazy enough (haven't validated this myself) Auman said Smith has never had more than 4 carries in a game in his NFL career, but that will very likely change tonight. 

Agree with SSND -- Smith is a solid Flex, pushing RB2 in PPR. I wouldn't play the other two, but I have James on a couple benches as I could see him as the 1st and 2nd down thunder to Smith's lightening by next week. They like Mike James, and he's performed when given opportunities. 

 
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Jed said:
So you are anticipating James will be inactive? He knows the system, was 3rd in camp behind Martin/Sims, etc.
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No he'll be active, I just know TB is gearing up to legitimately utilize Smith in the pass game against a team that is specifically susceptible to it. That is what I'm chiefly concerned with.

JFS171 said:
Auman said to expect all three backs to get touches early with Tampa riding the hot hand. As @SameSongNDance has said, Auman seemed to express that Smith's role was the safest catching balls in space and getting a handful of touches. Crazy enough (haven't validated this myself) Auman said Smith has never had more than 4 carries in a game in his NFL career, but that will very likely change tonight.

Agree with SSND -- Smith is a solid Flex, pushing RB2 in PPR. I wouldn't play the other two, but I have James on a couple benches as I could see him as the 1st and 2nd down thunder to Smith's lightening by next week. They like Mike James, and he's performed when given opportunities.
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Correct although Koetter stated "That doesn't mean he can't handle more." We saw something similar with Quizz, where an ex-Falcon who was previously in Koetters system handled the largest workload of his career. I won't pretend that they are the same back though, as Quizz can actually work in between the tackles and is built to handle a larger workload. I don't even view Smith as a RB to be honest.

What is most important to me is that Smith still has that break away speed. I rewatched his six 38+ yards TDs (still insane) from 2014 to use as a baseline to compare to his 30 yard run vs. SF two weeks ago.

He's still just as fast. He's crazy fast really. 

 
SameSongNDance said:
No he'll be active, I just know TB is gearing up to legitimately utilize Smith in the pass game against a team that is specifically susceptible to it. That is what I'm chiefly concerned with.

Correct although Koetter stated "That doesn't mean he can't handle more." We saw something similar with Quizz, where an ex-Falcon who was previously in Koetters system handled the largest workload of his career. I won't pretend that they are the same back though, as Quizz can actually work in between the tackles and is built to handle a larger workload. I don't even view Smith as a RB to be honest.

What is most important to me is that Smith still has that break away speed. I rewatched his six 38+ yards TDs (still insane) from 2014 to use as a baseline to compare to his 30 yard run vs. SF two weeks ago.

He's still just as fast. He's crazy fast really. 
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Yes -- I forgot to mention that, but you're exactly right... Koetter explicitly stated that just because Smith hadn't received the workload didn't mean he couldn't handle it.

Per his Wikipedia page (I just quickly googled this cause I've heard tales of his ridiculous speed):
 

Smith was ranked as the number 25 player overall by Rivals.com. He was a Parade All-American, the Palm Beach County Player of the Year, the Old Spice National Player of the Year, and was voted as Mr. Football for the state of Florida. Smith was voted the MVP of the Nike Camp and while there recorded an extremely fast 40-yard dash time of 4.25. He played in the CaliFlorida Bowl and was named the offensive MVP.

Smith was also on the school's track team, where he competed as a sprinter. At the 2003 FHSAA 2A Region 4 Championships, he won both the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash with career-best times of 10.63 seconds and 21.71 seconds.[1] He also spent a part of the spring with Florida State's track team. He finished fifth in the 60-meter dash at the 2006 ACC Championships, with a personal-best time of 6.83 seconds.[2]
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ETA - ran a 4.33 at the combine...

 
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I'm starting -- in one league I missed almost all the other options on the wire, have to start 2 RBs, and my options are a concussed Spencer Ware, Ripkowski, or a handcuff prayer (Dwayne Washington, Kenneth Farrow, Kapri Bibbs).  I actually may end up playing both Ripkowski and Smith if Ware is ruled out.

Yay bye weeks and injuries!

 
Due to bye week and injuries I'm starting A. Smith and A. Hooper tonight.

On draft day you couldn't even imagine who you may be starting come week 9.

 
Does this scare anybody else off? I don't feel like I can start any of these guys right now. Barber being the starter means he will have most of the running work. Smith will probably have the passing stuff

 
gabes1919 said:
Does this scare anybody else off? I don't feel like I can start any of these guys right now. Barber being the starter means he will have most of the running work. Smith will probably have the passing stuff
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I really have no choice with 2 rbs on bye and ware hurt. It's either him or dujuan Harris. I just can't believe I'm playing the backup rb of the bucs

 
gabes1919 said:
Does this scare anybody else off? I don't feel like I can start any of these guys right now. Barber being the starter means he will have most of the running work. Smith will probably have the passing stuff
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I'm assuming anyone who is considering him is desperate. So given my other options, I still think he gives me the best chance to win. 

 
All gives up a lot of passes to RBs. TB down another WR and i don't think Barber can, is trusted in, catch/passpro

Sims had a decent enough game the 1st time against Falcons 

 
gabes1919 said:
Does this scare anybody else off? I don't feel like I can start any of these guys right now. Barber being the starter means he will have most of the running work. Smith will probably have the passing stuff
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I think I'm still playing him.  It's either him or Gillislee vs. Seattle.  I actually like the potential for him to break a long td on pass play.  ATL is #1 in yards and points and 25th in total defense and 27th against the pass.  This game, besides the fact it is on Thursday, has shootout written all over it.  

 
Sarlakticacid said:
All gives up a lot of passes to RBs. TB down another WR and i don't think Barber can, is trusted in, catch/passpro

Sims had a decent enough game the 1st time against Falcons 
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Jaquizz barely caught any passes in his starts with the Bucs and produced. If they lean on Barber, this could be a big night.

 
shadyridr said:
I really have no choice with 2 rbs on bye and ware hurt. It's either him or dujuan Harris. I just can't believe I'm playing the backup rb of the bucs
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Same situation,  I guess I could pick up Barber and play him.  Sticking with Smith for now, ppr 

 
tricky92 said:
Jaquizz barely caught any passes in his starts with the Bucs and produced. If they lean on Barber, this could be a big night.
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OAK has allowed the 21st fewest receptions to RBs this year, SF the fewest.

It's gameflow based. ATL puts up points and has a relatively strong interior, teams usually choose/are forced to utilize their RBs in the passing game vs. them.

It's hard to glean too much information from Quizz's two starts.

 
 If i didn't have the luxury of flexing whichever KC back goes, i would so be targeting this guy. 

 There will be passing. A ten point night ( standard) seems about right.

 
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