Week 3 Fantasy Football Review: David Wilson Flops Again, Josh Gordon Crushes and More 

As Dennis Green famously said in one of the more brilliant post-game rants off all time, “They are who we thought they were.” Vikings WR Jerome Simpson opened the season with 7 catches for 140 yards, but has fallen back to earth with just 5 catches and 0TD over his next two games. Redskins WR Leonard Hankerson broke out with 5-80, 2TD in Week 1, but has added just 6-56, 0TD in the following two games.

On the flip side, New Orleans TE Jimmy Graham had a few owners rankled by his 4-45, 1TD Week 1 performance, but his 19-318, 3TD breakout over the next two weeks has reminded us all why he was the clear cut #1 TE.

The lesson: Stick with your studs and try to steal someone else’s. Try to grab yet-to-fully-emerge studs like Larry Fitzgerald (just 5-64 this week), Doug Martin (only 88 yards) or Frank Gore (only 82 yards rushing this week, but on just 11 carries) from trigger-happy owners.

Onward with a look back at the week that was in week three of fantasy football action:

You crafty owner you: Recognizing that Cleveland would be without its starting quarterback and its stud running back, you plucked the Vikings defense off the waiver wire for the ultimate plug and play opportunity. Ummm, no. The Browns roll up 409 yards and 31 points.

Sell, Sell, Sell: Of course it’s crazy to say on a day when DeMarco Murray torches the Rams for nearly 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns, but if I’m a Murray owner I’m selling as fast as I can. Does anyone go down more easily upon contact? And he just doesn’t look fast. And of course, is there any doubt he’s getting injured soon? Tough to pull the trigger after such a splendid outburst, but he’ll never have more value. You might be able to scoop up under-performing RB’s like Doug Martin or Marshawn Lynch.

Pain Alert (Hall of Fame edition) – David Wilson owners finally had the joy of watching him race around left end and high-step it into the end-zone Sunday, confirming – finally – that all was right with the world. And then it was called back. That would be the end of his highlight reel as he finished the day with 39 yards on 11 rushes. Sadly his 39 yards represented his highest output this year. As always, he added 0 catches.

Pain Alert #1 – Darryl Richardson: 1 snap, 0 points.

Pain Alert #2 – You were comforted by his mid-week tweets about his health and even more comforted by your knowledge that he hadn’t missed a game since 2007. Admittedly his “We’ll see” comment about his status on Friday made you a bit queasy. Ladies and gentlemen: Vernon Davis, inactive. Also inactive was Jermichael Finley (basically), who staggered to the sidelines early on with a concussion and never returned.

Pain Alert #3 – Twice (on different drives) he was stopped at the one foot-line, only to see his QB lob TD passes elsewhere. And on a day when his team overwhelmed its opponent with 45 points, he put up just six fantasy points. Fantasy owners are not pleased with you, Marshawn Lynch.

Pain Alert #4 – Stevan Ridley entered the game on shaky ground and turned it into a full-blown earthquake. His 35 yards rushing on 11 carries placed him third among Patriots rushers for the day. LeGarrette Blount rumbled for 65 yards against his former team, while Brandon Bolden (yup) ran for 51 yards (and added 49 receiving yards). The good news is that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will undoubtedly clear up all the RB confusion in New England at his next press conference.

Thanks for Stopping By: So it appears we can no longer blame the demise of Ryan Mathews on Norv Turner. Past owners of Mathews lamented the Norvelous One’s butchering of his career, but now with Norv in Cleveland, Mathews would have his chance to remerge. Or not. Mathews has been supplanted by Danny Woodhead and Ronnie Brown from all significant football activities. Mathews is still the starter, but once it matters, he’s holding his helmet and watching Woodhead and Brown.

Well That Was Fun: Top free agent acquisition Eddie Royal, 2 catches for 34 yards.

Not So Fast, Eddie: Owners of Packers running back Eddie Lacy can’t be pleased about the developments following his concussion last week. First James Starks takes over for the injured Lacy and becomes the first Packer running back in nearly three seasons (45 games) to rush for over 100 yards. Then this week, rookie Jonathan Franklin becomes the second (103 yards) after Starks went down early. With Lacy likely to return in Week 5 after next week’s bye, who knows what to expect.

Put Down the Pipe: After two weeks on the sideline due to a drug suspension, Browns WR Josh Gordon is a full-blown party. Many snickered when the Browns used a 2013 second-round pick to grab him in the 2012 supplemental draft, but no one’s laughing now after he kicked off his 2013 season with 10 catches for 146 yards and 1 TD. He’ll likely find it rougher going next week against the Cincinnati Bengals, but his was an impressive 2013 debut.