Worried about? Sammy edition...

[Servo]

People are just expecting that Goff lock onto Sammy at every waking moment when he has some really good options around him. McVay's history has already shown that he spreads the ball, the Rams are winning, why should that change overnight?

And FTR, whoever said Perriman has a better chance than Watkins....I'm sorry but you're just really bad fake news.

[btv802]

They don't care about fantasy - they win games with the current game plan. Why should they change that?
If opponents start to focus on the short game instead, see Watkins become a targethog.

Yea that's 100% my point, the fantasy owners don't understand why Watkins isn't getting more work when what the Rams are already doing is working for them

People are just expecting that Goff lock onto Sammy at every waking moment when he has some really good options around him. McVay's history has already shown that he spreads the ball, the Rams are winning, why should that change overnight?

Ummmmm hi

Sammy owner here and I totally 100% understand why Sammy isn't getting more work. Agree with the post above. A big part of the Rams success on offense is due in part to the fact that defenses have to account for Sammy running deep routes down field as a decoy. It's opening up a ton of soft short/intermediate routes for Woods/Kupp/Gurley to catch balls underneath. Sammy is not the primary target, but is still a threat and if you don't pay attention you get burned like 49ers did early in the season and Giants did last week.

All that being said, no I don't think this is a Sammy problem and I have a hard time seeing Sammy sticking around next season if this is how Rams want to use him.

[Plank]

Those that are saying he's being used as a decoy, are you watching the games?

I'm seeing 3 or 4 shots a game no matter who is covering him, that's not decoy usage ..

[btv802]

Those that are saying he's being used as a decoy, are you watching the games?

I'm seeing 3 or 4 shots a game no matter who is covering him, that's not decoy usage ..

It's not quite that simple. He may be averaging 3-4 targets/game...but he's had two or less targets in half of the games this year. Literally had zero targets against Seattle.

[lukkynumber13]

I'm done defending Sammy. Not because I think the haters are right, or that he's somehow gotten bad, but simply because on a forum like this we have to look at evidence and the EVIDENCE doesn't point to Sammy being a great fantasy player anytime soon.

But just because I'm done "defending him", doesn't mean I don't believe in him. Absolutely I do. I would bet money that in the next 5 years, he will have at least one top-10 WR season and probably be a WR2 or better in 4 of those years.

He is exceedingly talented and that talent didn't just disappear. And when I say talent, I don't mean raw skills or metrics or physicality like Justin Hunter, DGB, or even Alshon. I mean truly elite TALENT, that is only possessed by maybe 10 or so guys in the league. OBJ, AB, Julio, Jordy, Hilton, Dez, Hopkins, Evans, AJG. That's the group he is in and he's shown it on the NFL fields.

What is going on in LA is so weird and frankly unsustainable, where we have an offense that is technically elite, yet it supports ZERO every-week starters at any position other RB. I mean Woods is an every week starter at WR3 or 4 in a PPR, but you know what I mean. When do we see that? It's just not normal in the NFL. Great offenses produce great WRs in fantasy.

This isn't IDP. Great offensive players will eventually get utilized and put up great stats (as he's already done for 2 of his career years).

I'm done defending him, but I am still very glad to own him. He will be a star again.

[WhatWouldDitkaDo]

I'm done defending Sammy.

But...your entire post was basically just you defending how you still believe in him lol

[Dynasty DeLorean]

I'm done defending Sammy.

But...your entire post was basically just you defending how you still believe in him lol

lmao

[lukkynumber13]

I'm done defending Sammy.

But...your entire post was basically just you defending how you still believe in him lol

Thats basically my point, haha.

From this point on, it's pointless to defend him as a high-end fantasy asset until he starts getting utilized, but nothing about him has changed, and there's no reason why he shouldn't rebound.

At this time, I'm no more than a character witness, so I'm not gonna be a lawyer.

I know what he is as a talent, and anyone who's consistently watched him and followed his career knows what he is, but the "What-have-you-done-for-me-lately" types won't believe until he starts getting utilized.

[StableOfRBs]

Those that are saying he's being used as a decoy, are you watching the games?

I'm seeing 3 or 4 shots a game no matter who is covering him, that's not decoy usage ..

It's not quite that simple. He may be averaging 3-4 targets/game...but he's had two or less targets in half of the games this year. Literally had zero targets against Seattle.

Actually he had 4 targets against Seattle, he had 0 catches

[Cameron Giles]

Those that are saying he's being used as a decoy, are you watching the games?

I'm seeing 3 or 4 shots a game no matter who is covering him, that's not decoy usage ..

Since the TNF game against the 49ers, Watkins is not in the Top 100 for targets in the league. He is 100% a decoy. He has 17 targets over the last 5 weeks. That is decoy usage.

[Cameron Giles]

Are we sure the problem just isn't Sammy? I believe he's got talent but I don't know if it's the kind of talent that requires a QB to force feed them targets like OBJ or Antonio Brown. As for the WR corps itself it's really not that bad compared to a lot of the other teams in the NFL right now, Woods isn't your typical #1 wideout and certainly hasn't played like it before but he's got as many yards as Crabtree right now and more than guys like Landry and Dez (side note, he has fewer catches and targets than each of those three) so it isn't like he's not putting up numbers and as a slot receiver there are a lot worse options than Kupp out there and the kid is still just a rookie. Not to mention that Goff is playing like a top 8 QB right now, he's 10th in passing yards, tied for 8th in TDs, tied for 8th in QB rating and 3rd in yards per attempt, dude is out there straight dealing right now.

The argument for Watkins has always been filled with asterisks and ifs, *if he could just stay healthy, *if he was on a better offense, *if he had a better QB (although I think Tyrod is much better than people give him credit for, but not the point). This is it. Watkins is healthy, he has a QB who is playing in the top quarter of the position and he's on the best offense in the NFL, all while averaging 4 targets, 2.5 catches, 41.5 yards and .4 TDs per game and there's literally 0 reason for LA to change what they're doing right now. So, what's the "real problem" here?

I don't think anyone is asking for the Rams to force feed Watkins. However, they could do a lot more to use his skillset to get him involved, instead of using his skillset to get others involved.

Watkins is now on pace for 62 targets this season. The Rams shouldn't change their offense to please fantasy football players. However, the reason for his lack of production is blatantly obvious: He has no opportunity.

[Plank]

yeah I'm out too, good luck everyone ..

[pvillebiker]

The argument for Watkins has always been filled with asterisks and ifs, *if he could just stay healthy, *if he was on a better offense, *if he had a better QB (although I think Tyrod is much better than people give him credit for, but not the point). This is it. Watkins is healthy, he has a QB who is playing in the top quarter of the position and he's on the best offense in the NFL, all while averaging 4 targets, 2.5 catches, 41.5 yards and .4 TDs per game and there's literally 0 reason for LA to change what they're doing right now. So, what's the "real problem" here?

So you are seriously concluding that is Sammy's steady-state production "par" in this offense...8 games into his time with the Rams? After having no training camp with a QB who's rebuilding his confidence and taking production anywhere he can get it. That could be the real problem. I've said it all along, Goff has chemistry with Kupp, Woods and Gurley. You can see it every week. He doesn't have it yet with Sammy, but you see flashes of it (just not nearly enough yet). If Sammy somehow makes it back to the Rams next year, I believe it'll be much better production. The Rams have most of the 2nd half of this year to make him believe. So far... nope. We shall see.

[btv802]

Actually he had 4 targets against Seattle, he had 0 catches

I def remember that he had a zero target game at some point and ESPN says Seattle was the one. What am I missing?
http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/gamelog/ ... my-watkins

[nathanq42]

Actually he had 4 targets against Seattle, he had 0 catches

I def remember that he had a zero target game at some point and ESPN says Seattle was the one. What am I missing?
http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/gamelog/ ... my-watkins

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... tkSa00.htm

Allegedly not