Hightower’s High Touch Total

After the shocking placement of Mark Ingram on the Saints injured reserve, there suddenly became a gaping hole in one of the premier high-powered NFL offenses. Without hearing much from him all season long, in stepped Tim Hightower for the Saints backfield in Week 14, as he received a surprising 28 carries against the Buccaneers. Many were of the belief that C.J. Spiller would step in and receive more touches for the Saints through their aerial attack, while ultimately assuming that New Orleans might just abandon the run all together. Instead, Hightower was given every opportunity to carry the offense in a more traditional fashion to the tune of the aforementioned 28 carries, while totaling 85 yards and one rushing touchdown.

Going forward Hightower should continue to see the majority of touches out of this Saints backfield, and has a good chance in Week 15 to finish as a top 10 fantasy back against a struggling Lions rush defense. After that, however, it would be surprising to see another 28-carry game, as the final two teams on the Saints schedule feature top notch rushing defenses in the Jaguars and Falcons, who allow a mere 3.6 and 3.9 yards per carry, respectively.

Having said all of this, any Ingram owners should be confident in Hightower as the injured back’s true handcuff. If Week 14 is any indication then Hightower is slated to see plenty touches going forward, without much competition from the enigmatic C.J. Spiller. How well he will produce is tough to tell, but carries are king in fantasy football and it’s good to know that Hightower is in line to see plenty of them.

Two Backs Are Better Than One

Week 14 presented interesting situations where not just singular runners, but team efforts, ruled Sunday in terms of dominating the game on the ground. Two teams in particular pounded the rock so effectively that they were able to cruise to victory in games they were not necessarily expected to.

Cleveland Browns

Cleveland – for the first time all season long – found their groove on the ground, gashing an underrated 49ers defense for 230 rushing yards. Both Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson did their part, but for the most part, Crowell was the star, rushing for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Many fanboys will be quick to thank Johnny “Football” Manziel for the Browns' newfound offensive success, however, Browns head coach Mike Pettine explained it in much simpler terms, “I see our run game evolving. … Earlier in the year we tried to be more outside zone.”

Pettine went on to explain how on Sunday against the Niners, he felt they had their best rushing game plan of the season, where they created a lot more double-teams at the point of attack and developed big-on-big mismatches at the line of scrimmage with plenty of hedge blocks getting to the second and third levels. For now this seems to simply be a singular week of success, but if the Browns identity has evolved into this new downhill running scheme, then both Johnson and Crowell will be backs to give a look in daily formats going forward.

Green Bay Packers

Headed into Week 14, many didn’t know what to expect for the Packers taking on Dallas at home. Well, they were expected to win, but “how” was a point of contention. Much of the first half went how negative pundits anticipated, as the Packers struggled to capitalize on the Cowboys offensive mistakes, while the underrated Dallas defense once again stepped up for their virtually non-existent offense. As the game wore on, however, newly “self-appointed” Packers play-caller, Mike McCarthy’s offensive scheme began to shine through. In stark contrast from the Packers' teams of years past, they decided to pound the rock, for once taking the pressure off the right arm and happy feet of Aaron Rodgers.

Ultimately, Green Bay finished with 230 combined rushing yards between both James Starks and a surprise breakout game from “Fat” Eddie Lacy. While Starks was good both on the ground and in the PPR realm, his effectiveness came on the explosion plays. Fat Eddie, on the other hand, rocked Dallas to sleep, as he totaled much of his 124 rushing yards in the second half, including a final drive where he picked up 34 of the Packers' 38 yards and the proverbial knockout punch touchdown run. This was a nice win for Green Bay, one that should get them back on track. Consider this a turning point for the Packers offense, especially now with coach McCarthy calling the plays.

Nostra-DOM-us

Well, I’ll just say it… I’m in a slump. My daily fantasy lineups have been doing fine, but when trying to select just one matchup each week to prophesize for readers, my visions are becoming overwhelmed.

All joking aside, my sleeper picks have been pretty off over these past few weeks based upon data that typically rings true for fantasy success. This week two matchups appear to be good ones that are worthy of my Nostra-DOM-us notation, but lets hope that the jinx doesn’t carry over into Week 15.

Adrian Peterson vs. Bears Defense

AP is having an excellent bounce-back season, as he appears to be well on his way to another 1,500-yard campaign with teenage touchdown potential. On Sunday, a slumping Vikings squad will be hosting the hit-or-miss Chicago Bears team in a matchup that couldn’t be more of a must win for Minnesota. Coming off back-to-back losses to NFC powerhouses in the Seahawks and the Cardinals, the Vikes are desperate to prove they are not pretenders from their 8-3 start.

The Bears pose a very favorable matchup for Peterson and the Vikings offense, as they have struggled against the run all season long, allowing 4.7 yards per carry and 1,634 yards on the ground. In their Week 8 meeting, Peterson had no trouble racking up 103 yards on 20 carries, as he and the run game led the Vikings to a 23-20 road victory.

Playing at home in the two teams’ second meeting this season, in a must-win situation, I fully expect the future Hall of Famer to come up huge when his team needs him the most with a strong Vikings victory over the Bears on Sunday afternoon.

Jeremy Hill vs. 49ers Defense

Last Sunday, in arguably one of the Bengals' biggest games of the season, everything seemingly came crashing down, as they not only lost to a surging division rival in the Steelers, but they also lost their franchise signal-caller in Andy Dalton.

In relief of the injured Dalton, A.J. McCarron did some nice things for this Bengals offense, moving the ball adequately, while not having to shrink the playbook down too much. Ultimately Cincinnati still lost to Pittsburgh, leaving many to believe the dream season might be over.

In this loss to the Steelers, Giovani Bernard played a majority of the snaps out of the backfield for the Bengals, as he typically does in comeback attempts, serving as the passing down back. This likely threw many fantasy players off the scent of Jeremy Hill headed into Week 15, which makes him the perfect play.

It is abundantly clear that when the Bengals are in games in which they control, Hill is the back they ride. Considering this, why not give him a go in daily formats against a defense that just allowed 230 combined rushing yards to the lowly Browns?

The 49ers just were throttled by Isaiah Crowell for 145 yards and two touchdowns, and by Duke Johnson for 78 yards on a mere 13 carries. They also previously this season allowed 209 yards to Thomas Rawls and 131 to Todd Gurley.

In what now feels like a statement game for Cincinnati, expect their defense and ground game to control the tempo, forcing plenty of havoc for the inept 49ers offense, while taking pressure off the Bengals green quarterback. Consider both Bernard and Hill good fantasy options, but if this game is the blowout that I foresee, Hill should be the bell cow for head coach Marvin Lewis.