shadyridr
Footballguy
oh look whos here again to #### on mathews. You realize he was a rop ten back in the second half of last season? He played two games, arizona and seattle and did decent against them.
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums
This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Why no Ryan Mathews love...? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter TheDirtyWord
- Start date
josefrees
Footballguy
I've been holding him and am hoping for some value he has come back at the right time where I can move him up to usable and put guys like adp and Gordon into my long term slot. I have really good depth right now so if he can just produce in some of the games he should be able to exploit I will be happy (and have potentially 3 studs to ride to my titles)
flapgreen
Footballguy
Oh look another Mathews owner. I'll swing back by after this turd continues to be a turd.
How far are you going back? To the beginning of the year? So, he didn't do much against two of the top 5 run defenses in the league? Is that what you're saying? Or, are you going back to last year, when he finished the second half of the year in the top ten? Just curious.
Obvious troll is obvious.
I haven't kept tabs on this troll, but he's definitely doing the same thing in the Wallace thread whenever he gets a chance. I guess he had a bad year and needs to occupy his time somehow. Might be time for a new hobby.
blake
Footballguy
Yup, I have absolutely no love for this guy, just because he was an RB1 for barely half a season last year. I am very skeptical about him for the rest of the season but am hoping for the best with little confidence. He is firmly stashed on my bench until I see something from him. I can't think of too many other players more brittle than this delicate flower.
Raiderfan32904
Footballguy
One thing Mathews brings to the table this weekend, coming off a full participation practice, is he's got fresh legs. A full 8 weeks of R&R and none of the bone jarring hits other RB's have by this point in the season. Defenses are banged up too. Not nearly as fresh as they were opening weekend. A healthy Mathews is going to be shot out of a cannon past weakened, tired defenses torn up by attrition. And maybe he does get hurt down the line. Start him now while you can. Don't wait for him to blow up on your bench.
mquinnjr
Footballguy
Jerry Curl
Footballguy
He had over 300 touches last season. Most guys are too "brittle" to hold up to a 300 touch season. Hell, Donald Brown has missed more games in his career than Mathews. So you need not look any farther than his own teammate to find one guy to make your list...Is there a group of people more butt hurt than most Mathews owners? People draft him and then b**** about him non-stop. He finished in the top 12 at his position last year and you got him at a discount due to injury concerns. If you drafted a decent RB3, you are probably doing better than people who drafted guys above him such as Peterson, Ball, Martin, Stacy, Bush, or Spiller. McCoy and Lacy haven't exactly been lighting it up, either. Bernard is about to miss his 3rd straight game.
Personally, I'm excited about his prospects for the rest of the year (he should be getting plenty of targets and goal line carries) and I'm looking forward to seeing where he goes in free agency in the offseason.
For those considering putting him in their lineup, I think it is a no brainer. The Chargers are playing a bad defense... at home... after a bye... in a must win situation. The only way they don't lean on Mathews is if they get up huge and have the luxury of resting key players. If this game is close, he won't be on a pitch count. They have to win. He's also a better blocker than Brown and Oliver. He'll be on the field a lot so long as the game isn't out of hand.
Stompin' Tom Connors
Footballguy
Disagree. Easy to make throw-away comments like this, but in my opinion, facts are there that Ryan can be a huge boost for teams in the stretch.
The guy was coming off last year of a near-300 carry season with over 1250 yards, 4.4 YPC and 6 TDs. Not elite but far from average. Solid, dependable RB2. And far from previous years where he's really been a crapshoot thanks to injuries and the like.
Coming into this season, he definitely passed the eye test, too, and the stats don't tell the full story -- WK 1 against ARI, who is Top 3 against the rush this year, Mathews had 12/40/1 with another 2/20 in the air. No other back came close to having near the same carries or success on the team in a game where the gameplan was definitely geared towards Gates, Floyd, and Allen moving the chains. WK 2 was against SEA who ranks 4th in the NFL against the rush this year. Mathews had a TD called back in that game and looked very good on his one-cut moves, then got injured in the 4th quarter.
I'm far from a homer -- I'm a Raider fan after all. Just a fan at looking a little deeper into the situations around the numbers, and trusting my own eyes.
Where you are right, I think, is that we should be careful with expectations for a back not having seen game=speed play since Week 2.
Dondante
Footballguy
Trying desperately to get this cat from his 3-7 owner (who also has Lacy and AP) in my redraft league. It's not going well.
Stompin' Tom Connors
Footballguy
Will be hard as they hold the same feeling you do -- the updside could be huge. The time to have gotten Mathews was either at the draft, or starting two or weeks more ago when people weren't exactly thinking too hard about him.
Dondante
Footballguy
Yep. This is the biggest problem with redraft only leagues, IMO. Once a team is out of it, there's no motivation to trade whatsoever.
Yes, but that can't all be attributed to an aging center getting hurt can it? Hopefully, they fixed whatever was wrong over the bye week.
Rimez
Footballguy
yup, the screen game is horrible with the OL failing to disengage blocks and get downfield, but they have been adequate enough to put oliver in 1v1s with a LB, against the jets and oakland he would stiff arm or run through that tackler but in the past few games he has looked beaten up and hasnt won that 1v1. there wont be huge open lanes to the end zone for the san diego backfield like you have in dallas or seattle, but i have faith that mathews can make the first guy miss.
LawFitz
Footballguy
Well in terms of the running game, it could be argued that center is the most important OL position. I guess time will tell, but I'd take a wait and see approach here unless my other RB options were equally or more questionable. SD offense has been in a funk lately, and I'm not convinced that Mathews' return and a bye week is going to cure them.
A demoralized Oakland D might, but the Raiders have several health issues in the secondary, while rookies Mack and Jelly Ellis are looking better and better each week against the run. That said, I'd still consider this a plus matchup for all Chargers.
blake
Footballguy
You have very good points in your post. Solid, dependable RB2 - that is what I'm expecting from Mathews. Partly because of that significant crapshoot factor of injuries and just not being all that good. That is still very fresh in my memory.
That's definitely one reason why I can't get excited about him. I listed another above. He was a handy stash on my injured reserve and didn't take up a spot on my roster but now that he's ready to play, I'm cautiously optimistic at best.
thekidd2009
Footballguy
Yea I've held Mathews all year but just dealt him because I'm worried about the o-line
The Jerk
Footballguy
I don't expect much from Mathews. It's not just the O line, it's the schedule. After this week, the only plus matchup is New England, and that might not even pan out if the Chargers get behind by double digits.
Still, value is relative, and the running back position is scarce, so a 15+ touch RB is still an asset. San Diego has had a tendency to finish strong in most of Rivers' tenure, and that could indeed continue.
For me, Mathews is best suited to a flex role, with a floor around RB 25 or so and a ceiling around RB 15 on a per game basis for the rest of the season.
Still, value is relative, and the running back position is scarce, so a 15+ touch RB is still an asset. San Diego has had a tendency to finish strong in most of Rivers' tenure, and that could indeed continue.
For me, Mathews is best suited to a flex role, with a floor around RB 25 or so and a ceiling around RB 15 on a per game basis for the rest of the season.
flapgreen
Footballguy
Much more reasonable
No way...a MATHEWS Owner in a MATHEWS thread?!?! What the...
Please, tell us more stories about how you just hang out in threads of players you have no ownership in just to tell others who do own them how bad you think the player is!
Jerry Curl
Footballguy
Stompin' Tom Connors
Footballguy
So far, so good....
Mathews returned with a respectable 16 for 70 / 1 for 5 showing that definitely exceeded my expectations in terms of carries, even against a soft opponent. Over 8 points in my league's PPR format.
He followed with a 12 for 105 / 2 for 8 against a nominally better D -- still not as many touches as I'd like to see, but looking quick and effective, especially on draws and breaking tackles. Over 21 points.
BAL is up this week, and is very stout against the run. They stopped the surging Ingram and kept the entire NO rush offense in check. Not a great outlook for SD in general, and Mathews in particular.
Would desperately like to use Mathews in the flex. He showed he could be successful against a D that shut down both Denver and Arizona to 56 rush yards combined total over the last two weeks, and while I don't think he gets 30 touches, I can see him getting between 16-20 if the game remains close and balanced.
But in a must-win game, can't afford a no-show against a Top 5 D like BAL. May be better to start a receiver in PPR like Baldwin or Reuben Randle.
I'm leaning towards sitting and playing the PPR points. What are others considering doing with Mathews this weekend?
Mathews returned with a respectable 16 for 70 / 1 for 5 showing that definitely exceeded my expectations in terms of carries, even against a soft opponent. Over 8 points in my league's PPR format.
He followed with a 12 for 105 / 2 for 8 against a nominally better D -- still not as many touches as I'd like to see, but looking quick and effective, especially on draws and breaking tackles. Over 21 points.
BAL is up this week, and is very stout against the run. They stopped the surging Ingram and kept the entire NO rush offense in check. Not a great outlook for SD in general, and Mathews in particular.
Would desperately like to use Mathews in the flex. He showed he could be successful against a D that shut down both Denver and Arizona to 56 rush yards combined total over the last two weeks, and while I don't think he gets 30 touches, I can see him getting between 16-20 if the game remains close and balanced.
But in a must-win game, can't afford a no-show against a Top 5 D like BAL. May be better to start a receiver in PPR like Baldwin or Reuben Randle.
I'm leaning towards sitting and playing the PPR points. What are others considering doing with Mathews this weekend?
shadyridr
Footballguy
mathews looked awesome especially on that 40 yd td run but the reason he only got 12 touches is cuz he left the game cuz of some type of shoulder injury. He came back in towards the end of the game but he missed about 20 minutes of gametime.
TartanLion
Footballguy
Would love to use him as I drafted him and then re picked him up twice this season but his schedule is fairly brutal in the run in. I did play him in his first week back actually but an upturn in fortunes of my other RBs ( CJ, Crow and Denard ) means he will likely ride the pine.
Very happy to see him do well though
Very happy to see him do well though
Last edited by a moderator:
Stompin' Tom Connors
Footballguy
Terrible matchup, but I would almost lean Mathews way, just given that you never know how the NE backfield will split those carries b/t Gray, Blount, and Vereen.
Jerry Curl
Footballguy
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
The Murray injury could be a gamechanger.... if the Eagles could generate 1.0 ypc.
Raiderfan32904
Footballguy
The Philly O-line is a wreck. No way Murray fell that far that fast off a cliff, just by changing teams. I like Mathews talent as a runner but he's so damn fragile. Who's the third string RB in Philly? Better get to know him fast.
