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Ryan Mathews....Peaking at the Best TIme? (1 Viewer)

Varmint

Footballguy
Had a decent game in Week 6 against the Colts and is looking at the upcoming games.

Week 7: Jax

Week 8: Bye

Week 9: Was

Week 10 Den

Week 11: Mia

Other than Denver's run defense...it looks like a few good match ups for Mr. Mathews....

...or am I just looking through desperate colored glasses?

 
Looking okay, but without the receptions that he used to get he'll never have RB1 production.

Mathews owners should be cursing the name Woodhead right about now.

 
Disagree somewhat with the naysayers. The guys looks good, and has 23 and 22 touches the last two weeks, not counting the concussion week. The lack of TDs is an outlier -- they'll come if he keeps getting 20+ touches / week.

He won't be a RB1 at year's end, but a RB2 finish doesn't seem unrealistic, Woodhead or no.

 
Looking okay, but without the receptions that he used to get he'll never have RB1 production.

Mathews owners should be cursing the name Woodhead right about now.
Can't speak for everybody...but I sure am.

 
Looking okay, but without the receptions that he used to get he'll never have RB1 production.

Mathews owners should be cursing the name Woodhead right about now.
No one drafted Mathews as a RB1, if he preforms at RB2 levels he's going to outperform his ADP.

 
Disagree somewhat with the naysayers. The guys looks good, and has 23 and 22 touches the last two weeks, not counting the concussion week. The lack of TDs is an outlier -- they'll come if he keeps getting 20+ touches / week.

He won't be a RB1 at year's end, but a RB2 finish doesn't seem unrealistic, Woodhead or no.
Lack of TDs isn't really an outlier. He hasn't gotten red zone carries and he doesn't break off long runs.

 
He started for me last week and he's in my lineup in place of McFadden this week. Im starting to become bullish on him. He looked REALLY good on Monday night, running hard, punishing defenders and displaying great vision.

 
Disagree somewhat with the naysayers. The guys looks good, and has 23 and 22 touches the last two weeks, not counting the concussion week. The lack of TDs is an outlier -- they'll come if he keeps getting 20+ touches / week.

He won't be a RB1 at year's end, but a RB2 finish doesn't seem unrealistic, Woodhead or no.
Lack of TDs isn't really an outlier. He hasn't gotten red zone carries and he doesn't break off long runs.
I'm not expecting a ton, just more than 1 / 6 games, which should almost happen by default. SD has 1 rushing TD, total this year -- that has to be an outlier, doesn't it?

 
Disagree somewhat with the naysayers. The guys looks good, and has 23 and 22 touches the last two weeks, not counting the concussion week. The lack of TDs is an outlier -- they'll come if he keeps getting 20+ touches / week.

He won't be a RB1 at year's end, but a RB2 finish doesn't seem unrealistic, Woodhead or no.
Lack of TDs isn't really an outlier. He hasn't gotten red zone carries and he doesn't break off long runs.
I'm not expecting a ton, just more than 1 / 6 games, which should almost happen by default. SD has 1 rushing TD, total this year -- that has to be an outlier, doesn't it?
I don't even think he's the goal line back - they like Brown or Woodhead more in that role when they get close . . .

 
Disagree somewhat with the naysayers. The guys looks good, and has 23 and 22 touches the last two weeks, not counting the concussion week. The lack of TDs is an outlier -- they'll come if he keeps getting 20+ touches / week.

He won't be a RB1 at year's end, but a RB2 finish doesn't seem unrealistic, Woodhead or no.
Lack of TDs isn't really an outlier. He hasn't gotten red zone carries and he doesn't break off long runs.
I'm not expecting a ton, just more than 1 / 6 games, which should almost happen by default. SD has 1 rushing TD, total this year -- that has to be an outlier, doesn't it?
I don't even think he's the goal line back - they like Brown or Woodhead more in that role when they get close . . .
and he doesn't get any catches.

 
Coeur de Lion said:
Beerguzzler said:
Coeur de Lion said:
Disagree somewhat with the naysayers. The guys looks good, and has 23 and 22 touches the last two weeks, not counting the concussion week. The lack of TDs is an outlier -- they'll come if he keeps getting 20+ touches / week.

He won't be a RB1 at year's end, but a RB2 finish doesn't seem unrealistic, Woodhead or no.
Lack of TDs isn't really an outlier. He hasn't gotten red zone carries and he doesn't break off long runs.
I'm not expecting a ton, just more than 1 / 6 games, which should almost happen by default. SD has 1 rushing TD, total this year -- that has to be an outlier, doesn't it?
It's Rivers show. He audibles in and out of running plays. So far they throw it in the red zone. We may run it a bit more going forward, but I don't see a drastic change happening.

 
Coeur de Lion said:
Beerguzzler said:
Coeur de Lion said:
Disagree somewhat with the naysayers. The guys looks good, and has 23 and 22 touches the last two weeks, not counting the concussion week. The lack of TDs is an outlier -- they'll come if he keeps getting 20+ touches / week.

He won't be a RB1 at year's end, but a RB2 finish doesn't seem unrealistic, Woodhead or no.
Lack of TDs isn't really an outlier. He hasn't gotten red zone carries and he doesn't break off long runs.
I'm not expecting a ton, just more than 1 / 6 games, which should almost happen by default. SD has 1 rushing TD, total this year -- that has to be an outlier, doesn't it?
It's Rivers show. He audibles in and out of running plays. So far they throw it in the red zone. We may run it a bit more going forward, but I don't see a drastic change happening.
Well they're currently on pace for < 3 rushing TDs as a team on the year, which seems ridiculous to me, particularly considering how well the offense is moving as a whole. I'll defer to the homer view as the Indy game is the only time I've watched the team this year, but will say it seems pretty unlikely that a good offense breaks the all-time record for fewest rushing TDs for a season.

Again, not expecting 10 TDs out of Matthews or anything, but less than 3-5 seems impossible if the guy gets close to 300 touches.

 
Coeur de Lion said:
Beerguzzler said:
Coeur de Lion said:
Disagree somewhat with the naysayers. The guys looks good, and has 23 and 22 touches the last two weeks, not counting the concussion week. The lack of TDs is an outlier -- they'll come if he keeps getting 20+ touches / week.

He won't be a RB1 at year's end, but a RB2 finish doesn't seem unrealistic, Woodhead or no.
Lack of TDs isn't really an outlier. He hasn't gotten red zone carries and he doesn't break off long runs.
I'm not expecting a ton, just more than 1 / 6 games, which should almost happen by default. SD has 1 rushing TD, total this year -- that has to be an outlier, doesn't it?
It's Rivers show. He audibles in and out of running plays. So far they throw it in the red zone. We may run it a bit more going forward, but I don't see a drastic change happening.
Well they're currently on pace for < 3 rushing TDs as a team on the year, which seems ridiculous to me, particularly considering how well the offense is moving as a whole. I'll defer to the homer view as the Indy game is the only time I've watched the team this year, but will say it seems pretty unlikely that a good offense breaks the all-time record for fewest rushing TDs for a season.

Again, not expecting 10 TDs out of Matthews or anything, but less than 3-5 seems impossible if the guy gets close to 300 touches.
That reminds me of that one season Thomas Jones had on the Jets where he touched the ball 300+ times, ran for 1,000+ yards and finished with a two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving). It was an outlier for sure; I wonder how many times that's happened in the history of the league.

Anyway, Mathews has always looked good when given the opportunity. It's not a matter of talent, it never will be. However when you have Woodhead sapping most of his PPR value and Brown getting random RZ looks (Mathews did fumble twice in the RZ this year but also I believe Browns snaps have been on the decline for weeks) his upside will remain drastically capped.

All that said, I'm flexing him this week for the first time all season. Yay?

 
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There's a good chance Mike McCoy will run the crap out of Mathews in the 2nd half if the Chargers are in the lead.

It's obvious he wants to minimize Philip Rivers from throwing stupid picks in the redzone...

This weekend, SD will probably have the lead vs Jacksonville and Mathews will have more than 20 carries for the game.

Another 100 yard rushing day's not out of the question but then again, we are talking about Mathews and the Chargers.

 
The Chargers offense isn't suddenly going to emphasize the run. It's a passing offense reliant on Rivers. There will be times they run the ball, but don't suddenly think Matthews will be a bellcow back. They have 3 RB's they like and rotate all of them.

Don't forget Matthews injury history, it's in their best interest to rotate him significantly to keep him healthy. They seem intent on doing that.

 
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The Chargers offense isn't suddenly going to emphasize the run. It's a passing offense reliant on Rivers. There will be times they run the ball, but don't suddenly think Matthews will be a bellcow back. They have 3 RB's they like and rotate all of them.

Don't forget Matthews injury history, it's in their best interest to rotate him significantly to keep him healthy. They seem intent on doing that.
Maybe not a bellcow back in the typical sense, but he's averaging about 19 touches a game which is pretty solid.

Beerguzzler said:
Coeur de Lion said:
Disagree somewhat with the naysayers. The guys looks good, and has 23 and 22 touches the last two weeks, not counting the concussion week. The lack of TDs is an outlier -- they'll come if he keeps getting 20+ touches / week.

He won't be a RB1 at year's end, but a RB2 finish doesn't seem unrealistic, Woodhead or no.
Lack of TDs isn't really an outlier. He hasn't gotten red zone carries and he doesn't break off long runs.
He's very capable of long runs, but when they run the ball on 65% of his snaps and 75% of his runs are on 1st and 10, the odds are definitely stacked against him. If they ever get tired of Woodhead giving up sacks then maybe Mathews will start getting more snaps and his usage won't be so obvious to opposing defenses. That would certainly increase his chances of breaking a long one.

 
Removing the injury game, Matthews is pacing at 275 carries and 0 rushing TDs. It's hard to see that happening IMO.

Adding even 1 extra TD to his totals this year makes him RB25, even in PPR, and with a lost week d/t the concussion. I don't think a low end RB2 projection (12 teamers) is unreasonable ROS. I'm feeling good about him where I have him as a RB3 / bye week / matchup / flex guy.

 
The Chargers offense isn't suddenly going to emphasize the run. It's a passing offense reliant on Rivers. There will be times they run the ball, but don't suddenly think Matthews will be a bellcow back. They have 3 RB's they like and rotate all of them.

Don't forget Matthews injury history, it's in their best interest to rotate him significantly to keep him healthy. They seem intent on doing that.
Maybe not a bellcow back in the typical sense, but he's averaging about 19 touches a game which is pretty solid.

Beerguzzler said:
Coeur de Lion said:
Disagree somewhat with the naysayers. The guys looks good, and has 23 and 22 touches the last two weeks, not counting the concussion week. The lack of TDs is an outlier -- they'll come if he keeps getting 20+ touches / week.

He won't be a RB1 at year's end, but a RB2 finish doesn't seem unrealistic, Woodhead or no.
Lack of TDs isn't really an outlier. He hasn't gotten red zone carries and he doesn't break off long runs.
He's very capable of long runs, but when they run the ball on 65% of his snaps and 75% of his runs are on 1st and 10, the odds are definitely stacked against him. If they ever get tired of Woodhead giving up sacks then maybe Mathews will start getting more snaps and his usage won't be so obvious to opposing defenses. That would certainly increase his chances of breaking a long one.
:goodposting:

 
I LOVE Mathews going forward.

They win with balance and the throw all the time was yeilding losses. Mathews first 100 yard game in 2 years is exciting and I believe they will continue to expand his role.

He looks really good running the ball as well.

 
He looks good as an NFL RB but it likely won't compute to fantasy stats. Here is a case where talent is losing out to opportunity.

I was mulling over starting him this week so checked out some things in depth and came away convinced he'd remain on my bench:

In the passing game he had half his catches in one game.

In any league he's a non-factor in the red zone. He's had exactly one carry inside the 15 yard line this year. Not a single carry inside the 5.

This all adds up to the kind of game we saw last week where he you have a RB who can run for 100 yards and get you measly 10 points.

 
He looks good as an NFL RB but it likely won't compute to fantasy stats. Here is a case where talent is losing out to opportunity.

I was mulling over starting him this week so checked out some things in depth and came away convinced he'd remain on my bench:

In the passing game he had half his catches in one game.

In any league he's a non-factor in the red zone. He's had exactly one carry inside the 15 yard line this year. Not a single carry inside the 5.

This all adds up to the kind of game we saw last week where he you have a RB who can run for 100 yards and get you measly 10 points.
FWIW, he's had 6 carries in the red zone and 2 receptions. Obviously 0 carries inside the 5. He is their best short yardage back with 4 carries for 9 yards on 3rd and 2 or less.

Ronnie Brown has 3 carries for -2 yards inside the 5 and 4 carries for 5 yards between the 6 and 20 yard lines, as well as 2 receptions.

Woodhead has 2 rushes for 3 yards inside the 5 and 1 rec. He's also had 6 rushes and 9 receptions from the 6 to 20 yard lines. He's had 2 carries for 4 yards on 3rd and 2 or less. I guess they were trying to catch the defense offguard on those and it seems it worked.

Woodhead has also allowed 2 sacks and a pressure whereas Mathews has allowed zero of either (stats courtesy of JWB). At some point SD is going to realize that Mathews has more utility than just a 1st down battering ram and they'll realize that if he's their 1st down battering ram and 3rd and short battering ram then maybe he should be used at the goal line... but I guess it'll take some time for him to gain his coach's trust after fumbling earlier this year.

 
Ive tried to buy him low. No luck so far. Definitely think he's worth a shot if you are hurting at RB and deep at wr.

 
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Mathews is a less talented Darren McFadden and Demarco Murray. He'll have his moments during the upcoming Chargers run, but at some point he'll get dinged and/or seriously hurt due to his running style. His situation is fantastic though, so there could be some fairly big games coming. Ride him while he lasts and/or ship him if a solid deal comes along. He was on waivers in both my leagues last week and while I glanced at him and thought, huh, surprised to see him there, I didn't pick him up. Mistake.

 
He looks good as an NFL RB but it likely won't compute to fantasy stats. Here is a case where talent is losing out to opportunity.

I was mulling over starting him this week so checked out some things in depth and came away convinced he'd remain on my bench:

In the passing game he had half his catches in one game.

In any league he's a non-factor in the red zone. He's had exactly one carry inside the 15 yard line this year. Not a single carry inside the 5.

This all adds up to the kind of game we saw last week where he you have a RB who can run for 100 yards and get you measly 10 points.
FWIW, he's had 6 carries in the red zone and 2 receptions. Obviously 0 carries inside the 5. He is their best short yardage back with 4 carries for 9 yards on 3rd and 2 or less.

Ronnie Brown has 3 carries for -2 yards inside the 5 and 4 carries for 5 yards between the 6 and 20 yard lines, as well as 2 receptions.

Woodhead has 2 rushes for 3 yards inside the 5 and 1 rec. He's also had 6 rushes and 9 receptions from the 6 to 20 yard lines. He's had 2 carries for 4 yards on 3rd and 2 or less. I guess they were trying to catch the defense offguard on those and it seems it worked.

Woodhead has also allowed 2 sacks and a pressure whereas Mathews has allowed zero of either (stats courtesy of JWB). At some point SD is going to realize that Mathews has more utility than just a 1st down battering ram and they'll realize that if he's their 1st down battering ram and 3rd and short battering ram then maybe he should be used at the goal line... but I guess it'll take some time for him to gain his coach's trust after fumbling earlier this year.
I'm guessing because he was in on more passing plays ? Don't know, just wondering. Mathews did look tough running.

 
Mathews is a less talented Darren McFadden and Demarco Murray. He'll have his moments during the upcoming Chargers run, but at some point he'll get dinged and/or seriously hurt due to his running style. His situation is fantastic though, so there could be some fairly big games coming. Ride him while he lasts and/or ship him if a solid deal comes along. He was on waivers in both my leagues last week and while I glanced at him and thought, huh, surprised to see him there, I didn't pick him up. Mistake.
Please explain his running style and why it will cause him to get hurt again. Are you predicting another broken collarbone?

 
He looks good as an NFL RB but it likely won't compute to fantasy stats. Here is a case where talent is losing out to opportunity.

I was mulling over starting him this week so checked out some things in depth and came away convinced he'd remain on my bench:

In the passing game he had half his catches in one game.

In any league he's a non-factor in the red zone. He's had exactly one carry inside the 15 yard line this year. Not a single carry inside the 5.

This all adds up to the kind of game we saw last week where he you have a RB who can run for 100 yards and get you measly 10 points.
FWIW, he's had 6 carries in the red zone and 2 receptions. Obviously 0 carries inside the 5. He is their best short yardage back with 4 carries for 9 yards on 3rd and 2 or less.

Ronnie Brown has 3 carries for -2 yards inside the 5 and 4 carries for 5 yards between the 6 and 20 yard lines, as well as 2 receptions.

Woodhead has 2 rushes for 3 yards inside the 5 and 1 rec. He's also had 6 rushes and 9 receptions from the 6 to 20 yard lines. He's had 2 carries for 4 yards on 3rd and 2 or less. I guess they were trying to catch the defense offguard on those and it seems it worked.

Woodhead has also allowed 2 sacks and a pressure whereas Mathews has allowed zero of either (stats courtesy of JWB). At some point SD is going to realize that Mathews has more utility than just a 1st down battering ram and they'll realize that if he's their 1st down battering ram and 3rd and short battering ram then maybe he should be used at the goal line... but I guess it'll take some time for him to gain his coach's trust after fumbling earlier this year.
I'm guessing because he was in on more passing plays ? Don't know, just wondering. Mathews did look tough running.
I posted the data previously. Off the top of my head, Mathews had allowed 0 pressures in 7 snaps in pass protection and Woodhead had allowed 2 sacks and 1 hurry in 19 snaps in PP.

 
Mathews is a less talented Darren McFadden and Demarco Murray. He'll have his moments during the upcoming Chargers run, but at some point he'll get dinged and/or seriously hurt due to his running style. His situation is fantastic though, so there could be some fairly big games coming. Ride him while he lasts and/or ship him if a solid deal comes along. He was on waivers in both my leagues last week and while I glanced at him and thought, huh, surprised to see him there, I didn't pick him up. Mistake.
Please explain his running style and why it will cause him to get hurt again. Are you predicting another broken collarbone?
Reckless abandon

 
In Dynasty i have the chance to swap him whit Darren McFadden. I find both of them very hard to rank.
McFadden has a higher ceiling and a lower floor IMO. But he hits UFA after this year, and leaving the Raiders really can't hurt, if that happens.
So you'll go for DMC, that's great because it's three days since i received this offer and I still don't know what to do. You are one of the best in the Pool and i think now i'm leaning towards accepting it.

 
Ryan Mathews is a risk IMHO...McCoy is not happy with that bonehead run out of bounds and has as of this date NOT stopped talking about it to the press and anyone else who's in ear shot. I agree he is the most talented back they have but seems to be an afterthought when it counts...IE: Endzone.

 
Mathews is a less talented Darren McFadden and Demarco Murray. He'll have his moments during the upcoming Chargers run, but at some point he'll get dinged and/or seriously hurt due to his running style. His situation is fantastic though, so there could be some fairly big games coming. Ride him while he lasts and/or ship him if a solid deal comes along. He was on waivers in both my leagues last week and while I glanced at him and thought, huh, surprised to see him there, I didn't pick him up. Mistake.
Please explain his running style and why it will cause him to get hurt again. Are you predicting another broken collarbone?
Reckless abandon
Define reckless abandon and how it is different from how other RBs run.

 
In Dynasty i have the chance to swap him whit Darren McFadden. I find both of them very hard to rank.
McFadden has a higher ceiling and a lower floor IMO. But he hits UFA after this year, and leaving the Raiders really can't hurt, if that happens.
So you'll go for DMC, that's great because it's three days since i received this offer and I still don't know what to do. You are one of the best in the Pool and i think now i'm leaning towards accepting it.
Depends -- if I was strong at RB I'd take DMC's upside as a UFA next year. If I was weak at RB I'd take Matthews to mix in and play in good matchups. They're close.

 
In Dynasty i have the chance to swap him whit Darren McFadden. I find both of them very hard to rank.
McFadden has a higher ceiling and a lower floor IMO. But he hits UFA after this year, and leaving the Raiders really can't hurt, if that happens.
So you'll go for DMC, that's great because it's three days since i received this offer and I still don't know what to do. You are one of the best in the Pool and i think now i'm leaning towards accepting it.
Depends -- if I was strong at RB I'd take DMC's upside as a UFA next year. If I was weak at RB I'd take Matthews to mix in and play in good matchups. They're close.
I don't even see how this is close. DMC is a better fantasy player this year than Mathews based simply on fact he gets to play in goal line and third down situations.

Next year DMC gets a new lease on life and Mathews is stuck back in this same usage pattern with Woodhead.

 
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In Dynasty i have the chance to swap him whit Darren McFadden. I find both of them very hard to rank.
McFadden has a higher ceiling and a lower floor IMO. But he hits UFA after this year, and leaving the Raiders really can't hurt, if that happens.
So you'll go for DMC, that's great because it's three days since i received this offer and I still don't know what to do. You are one of the best in the Pool and i think now i'm leaning towards accepting it.
Depends -- if I was strong at RB I'd take DMC's upside as a UFA next year. If I was weak at RB I'd take Matthews to mix in and play in good matchups. They're close.
I don't even see how this is close. DMC is a better fantasy player this year than Mathews based simply on fact he gets to play in goal line and third down situations.

Next year DMC gets a new lease on life and Mathews is stuck back in this same usage pattern with Woodhead.
I mean this assumes that DMC goes to a team that gives him goal line tackles and has a system he benefits in. We saw how much a ZBS crippled his value last year. How many FA RB's walk right into a situation where the team tailors their offense to the RB and gives them the bulk of the carries immediately?

I'm not saying that Mathews is a better dynasty fantasy play than DMC, I think the opposite, but they are both very close, mostly because I would consider their futures to be so murky.

 
He looks good as an NFL RB but it likely won't compute to fantasy stats. Here is a case where talent is losing out to opportunity.

I was mulling over starting him this week so checked out some things in depth and came away convinced he'd remain on my bench:

In the passing game he had half his catches in one game.

In any league he's a non-factor in the red zone. He's had exactly one carry inside the 15 yard line this year. Not a single carry inside the 5.

This all adds up to the kind of game we saw last week where he you have a RB who can run for 100 yards and get you measly 10 points.
FWIW, he's had 6 carries in the red zone and 2 receptions. Obviously 0 carries inside the 5. He is their best short yardage back with 4 carries for 9 yards on 3rd and 2 or less.

Ronnie Brown has 3 carries for -2 yards inside the 5 and 4 carries for 5 yards between the 6 and 20 yard lines, as well as 2 receptions.

Woodhead has 2 rushes for 3 yards inside the 5 and 1 rec. He's also had 6 rushes and 9 receptions from the 6 to 20 yard lines. He's had 2 carries for 4 yards on 3rd and 2 or less. I guess they were trying to catch the defense offguard on those and it seems it worked.

Woodhead has also allowed 2 sacks and a pressure whereas Mathews has allowed zero of either (stats courtesy of JWB). At some point SD is going to realize that Mathews has more utility than just a 1st down battering ram and they'll realize that if he's their 1st down battering ram and 3rd and short battering ram then maybe he should be used at the goal line... but I guess it'll take some time for him to gain his coach's trust after fumbling earlier this year.
I'm guessing because he was in on more passing plays ? Don't know, just wondering. Mathews did look tough running.
great point. They barely pass the ball when Ryan is in, so you can't compare apples to oranges.

 
In Dynasty i have the chance to swap him whit Darren McFadden. I find both of them very hard to rank.
McFadden has a higher ceiling and a lower floor IMO. But he hits UFA after this year, and leaving the Raiders really can't hurt, if that happens.
So you'll go for DMC, that's great because it's three days since i received this offer and I still don't know what to do. You are one of the best in the Pool and i think now i'm leaning towards accepting it.
Depends -- if I was strong at RB I'd take DMC's upside as a UFA next year. If I was weak at RB I'd take Matthews to mix in and play in good matchups. They're close.
I don't even see how this is close. DMC is a better fantasy player this year than Mathews based simply on fact he gets to play in goal line and third down situations.

Next year DMC gets a new lease on life and Mathews is stuck back in this same usage pattern with Woodhead.
I mean this assumes that DMC goes to a team that gives him goal line tackles and has a system he benefits in. We saw how much a ZBS crippled his value last year. How many FA RB's walk right into a situation where the team tailors their offense to the RB and gives them the bulk of the carries immediately?

I'm not saying that Mathews is a better dynasty fantasy play than DMC, I think the opposite, but they are both very close, mostly because I would consider their futures to be so murky.
Yes, but all teams out there have seen how much the offense matters to McFadden. Do you think the team that makes him the best offer in free agency is going to do that and stick him in a scheme that doesn't fit him, having already seen what happened when Oakland did that? It seems unlikely.

 
He looks good as an NFL RB but it likely won't compute to fantasy stats. Here is a case where talent is losing out to opportunity.

I was mulling over starting him this week so checked out some things in depth and came away convinced he'd remain on my bench:

In the passing game he had half his catches in one game.

In any league he's a non-factor in the red zone. He's had exactly one carry inside the 15 yard line this year. Not a single carry inside the 5.

This all adds up to the kind of game we saw last week where he you have a RB who can run for 100 yards and get you measly 10 points.
FWIW, he's had 6 carries in the red zone and 2 receptions. Obviously 0 carries inside the 5. He is their best short yardage back with 4 carries for 9 yards on 3rd and 2 or less.

Ronnie Brown has 3 carries for -2 yards inside the 5 and 4 carries for 5 yards between the 6 and 20 yard lines, as well as 2 receptions.

Woodhead has 2 rushes for 3 yards inside the 5 and 1 rec. He's also had 6 rushes and 9 receptions from the 6 to 20 yard lines. He's had 2 carries for 4 yards on 3rd and 2 or less. I guess they were trying to catch the defense offguard on those and it seems it worked.

Woodhead has also allowed 2 sacks and a pressure whereas Mathews has allowed zero of either (stats courtesy of JWB). At some point SD is going to realize that Mathews has more utility than just a 1st down battering ram and they'll realize that if he's their 1st down battering ram and 3rd and short battering ram then maybe he should be used at the goal line... but I guess it'll take some time for him to gain his coach's trust after fumbling earlier this year.
I'm guessing because he was in on more passing plays ? Don't know, just wondering. Mathews did look tough running.
great point. They barely pass the ball when Ryan is in, so you can't compare apples to oranges.
Per PFF, here are how the SD RBs have performed this year on pass blocking snaps:

Brown - 0 pressures on 22 snaps

Woodhead - 3 pressures (2 sacks, 1 hurry) on 19 snaps

Mathews - 0 pressures on 7 snaps

McClain - 0 pressures on 4 snaps

Regardless of what you think of Mathews, Woodhead has performed poorly as a pass blocker. It's not surprising, given how small he is. He just isn't good at it. But they are already asking him to do it on the lowest percentage (14.2%) of pass plays of any of the RBs, it's just that Woodhead has been in for a lot more pass plays than the other RBs:

Woodhead - 133

Brown - 56

Mathews - 46

McClain - 12

It's at least possible this will eventually result in Woodhead seeing fewer pass plays and Mathews seeing more. That is what should happen. Woodhead is a good receiver, but so is Mathews. Mathews has proven that the previous 2 seasons, when he combined for 89 receptions in 26 games and averaged 7.9 ypc, which is higher than Woodhead is averaging this season.

There is a big sample size discrepancy, but here is how they have performed as receivers this year:

Woodhead 36 catches, 7.4 ypc, 2 drops, 5.6 YAC/rec

Mathews 7 catches, 9.4 ypc, 0 drops, 8.7 YAC/rec

Looking at that, Mathews merits more looks. And here's another thing. People talk about Mathews having a fumbling problem. He has 1 fumble in 96 touches this season. Meanwhile, Woodhead has 2 fumbles in 73 touches.

Bottom line, the coaches are underusing Mathews. And I think it's fair to believe that if he continues playing well with the opportunities he is given, they will start to give him more touches going forward.

 
First of all, good post with good stats.

Second of all, we now have two OCs that have used Mathews (basically) the same way.

I think it has more to do with Ryan's limitations.

 
I had Mathews and thought he was looking great.

I was real encouraged when he had a TD reception in the first game and he was getting touches that were going up almost weekly 13, 17, 16 , 23

The problem was his production sucked for the amount of touches he was getting and Brown and Woodhead were getting all of the important snaps.

When I looked back @ his numbers I realized he had only 2 tds (1 Rushing and 1 Receiving ) over has last 18 games (~340 touches) and only avg 3,8 per carry ... it was time to cut bait.

There are 15-20 waiver wire WRs that are putting up similar numbers

 

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