2012 Fantasy Football, Week 12 Target Practice: He’s a Brick Housler
He was targeted how many times?
Calvin Johnson (WR | Detroit Lions | 17 targets) Calvin Johnson is officially back to his Megatron self, rewarding those who “bought low” on him prior to the trade deadline. Mega displayed his thanks for the 17 targets from Matthew Stafford by catching eight of them for 140 yards and a touchdown.
Cole Beasley (WR | Dallas Cowboys | 13 targets) The rookie out of Southern Methodist led the Cowboys with 13 targets on Turkey Day and gobbled up seven of those looks for 68 yards. Beasley dropped two passes and Romo threw two interceptions attempting to get the ball to Beasley, so with Miles Austin hobbled with a hamstring issue, Beasley could be the third best pass catching option in Dallas behind Dez Bryant and Jason Witten.
Ryan Broyles (WR | Detroit Lions | 11 targets) Just prior to the start of the Lions’ game on Thanksgiving, news broke that Broyles would take over the WR2 duties with Titus Young riding the pine. Broyles took advantage of the 11 looks from Matthew Stafford, catching six passes for 126 yards for 21.0 average yards per reception. If Young remains on the bench, Broyles will continue to be a more-than-serviceable start, especially in leagues that start three wide receivers.
Mohamed Sanu (WR | Cincinnati Bengals | 10 targets) The former Scarlet Knight reeled in six passes on 10 targets from signal caller Andy Dalton. Sanu hit pay dirt twice in week 12 and now has four scores in the last three weeks. Mind you, this all could change when Andrew Hawkins returns.
Rob Housler (TE | Arizona Cardinals | 11 targets) Housler had 11 targets in week 12 to piggyback on the 9 looks he earned in week 11. Over those two weeks, and 20 targets, Housler hauled in 13 passes for 137 yards. For those scrambling for a tight end in PPR leagues, you may want to take a look at Housler.
Wait, did I read that right? That’s all?
Jordy Nelson (WR | Green Bay Packers | three targets) Nelson didn’t see many targets because Aaron Rodgers didn’t have much time to look for him — the Giants defense manhandled the Packers’ offensive line on Sunday night. However, Nelson caught two of the three passes that went his way for 71 yards and managed to sneak into the end zone once. No worries going forward
T.Y. Hilton (WR | Indianapolis Colts | three targets) Despite getting the fewest looks among Colts’ receivers in week 12, Hilton caught all three of his targets — albeit just for 31 yards — and hit pay dirt once. Hilton has 2-100 yard receiving games and four touchdowns in his last four games.
Denarius Moore (WR | Oakland Raiders | four targets) Moore found the end zone on the only pass he caught (20 yards) against the Bengals on Sunday. His four targets in week 12 were his lowest total of the season. The Raiders are terrible, but knowing that they will keep airing the ball out — especially in garbage time — Moore remains a low-end WR2 in 12-team leagues.
Vernon Davis (TE | San Francisco 49ers | one target) Wow, didn’t see this one coming. Following a week in which Colin Kaepernick looked for his tight end eight times, and connected with him on six occasions — one of which for a score — Davis failed to collect a pass from his new quarterback on just one target.
Thanks to our friends at ProFootballFocus.com for some of the advanced statistics.
Written by Alan Harrison for TheFantasyFix.com. Follow Alan’s rants on Twitter @TheFantasyFix .
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