DENVER (vs Arizona):
The Broncos haven’t really busted loose yet. They’ve scored 31, 24 and 20 points in their first three games. The Cardinals have allowed only 17, 14 and 14, and those opponents have gone 7-2 in their other games. But with the kind of firepower Denver has, it’s tough to keep that offense down -- especially playing at home. We’re putting Denver down for about 30 points, and that might be a little conservative. ... Peyton Manning has passed for only 269, 242 and 303 yards in his three games, with 8 TDs. For him, those are modest numbers. But he’ll get it cranked up. They’ve been working in some new guys, and Wes Welker was sidelined. They’ve also played Kansas City (which has a good defense and knows their system) and at Seattle. Manning should start picking it up now, with far more of the 300-yard type games. Arizona’s defense impressively held Philip Rivers to 238 yards back on opening day, but that game was in Glendale. Manning struggled for most of the game at Seattle, but when he started moving the ball against them late -- on the road against the best defense in the league -- that’s when we got an indication that Manning could be ready to hit a hot streak. ... Demaryius Thomas has been a big disappointment thus far, with only 13 catches for 141 yards and one touchdown. But no need to panic. He’s an elite receiver -- for fantasy purposes, as good as any of them -- and he’ll right the ship. Here he’ll probably see more individual attention than usual (with Patrick Peterson on him), which is an invitation for a big game. Peterson is about as good as any cornerback in the league, but it’s simply tough covering the elite receivers one on one. Rueben Randle burned Peterson for a touchdown a few weeks back. ... Emmanuel Sanders and Julius Thomas are off to ...
This report is taken from today's Week 5 edition of Fantasy Index Weekly. The newsletter includes our player rankings, 19 pages of camp reports, stat projections, and custom rankings for the games being played this weekend.
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... mind-blowing starts. No reason not to start either of those guys. But they should cool off to some degree. Demaryius Thomas is going to come on, and Wes Welker also should be more involved after missing the first two games with a concussion and league suspension. Welker should be ready to start fitting into his regular role now. He averaged 5.6 catches last year, with 10 touchdowns in 13 games. ... We’re leery of Montee Ball. He’s averaging 3.4 yards per carry, and he seems pretty ordinary. He’s going against a defense that’s been awfully stout up front, averaging only 2.9 yards per attempt. On the plus side, with the pace and style of offense the Broncos run, this isn’t a regular running game. As well as Denver passes the ball, that will pull guys out of the box and create opportunities on draws and delays. It’s a below-average situation for Ball, but if he’s on your roster, chances are slim that you have another candidate to start in front of him. ... Roster stash: Ronnie Hillman could start seeing more time as a change-of-pace guy if Ball continues to struggle. Hillman’s a lot faster, and he would have been the team’s starter last year if he hadn’t started putting the ball on the ground in the preseason games. When Denver had its game-tying touchdown drive late against Seattle, it was with Hillman rather than Ball on the field. ... The Cardinals have allowed a league-low one field goal, while Denver has kicked a league-low 3, which makes for a cute, outlier-type stat recommendation. But the Broncos scored 150 kicking points last year (2nd-most in the league) and we’ll ride with that. Brandon McManus should be a top-10 kicker. Matt Prater returns from his league suspension next week, so it could be a good time to grab him if he’s still sitting available in your league. ... The Broncos Defense is for real. It’s got 8 sacks and 3 interceptions in three games, even though it’s been going against tough quarterbacks. Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson are now elite quarterbacks; Alex Smith takes sacks but doesn’t throw interceptions. The Cardinals have allowed only 6 sacks and haven’t thrown an interception, but Denver could/should create some mayhem, especially with Carson Palmer nursing a shoulder problem.
