Do you start a player because he’s facing his former team? That is, are those players fired up, champing at the bit and more likely to put up big numbers? Or maybe the cast around them – the coaches and quarterback – make a bigger effort to get them the ball? Such a strategy seemed to make sense when Andre Johnson caught a pair of touchdowns at Houston.
But at the same time, Darren Sproles played against New Orleans last week with little fanfare, and Golden Tate didn’t step up and shine in his first trip back to Seattle.
I raise the question because there are a few of these guys on the docket this week. Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith play against the team they won a Super Bowl with. Boldin in particular has had some big games against his original team (Arizona) in the past, so he seems like a guy who might step up and deliver on Sunday.
There’s also Cecil Shorts III. He’s playing in Jacksonville for the first time, and I think he’s a sneaky plug-and-play guy, given that the Texans have thrown the ball surprisingly well this year.
Do you start these kind of guys.
I just skimmed over the last eight years, pulling out relevant guys (some more relevant than others). I got 54 such players since 2007. Of those 54, 23 either scored or went over 100 yards.
So it’s my feeling that it is logical to give these kind of a players a little bump when putting together your weekly board.
On this chart, if a player switched to a new team inside the division (like DeSean Jackson going from Philadelphia to Washington last year) I listed both of his games in that first season.
PAYBACK RECEIVERS | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Opp | No | Yds | TD |
2007 | Wes Welker, N.E. | Mia. | 9 | 138 | 2 |
2007 | Wes Welker, N.E. | Mia. | 5 | 49 | 0 |
2007 | Santana Moss, Was. | NYJ | 4 | 49 | 0 |
2008 | Bernard Berrian, Min. | Chi. | 6 | 81 | 1 |
2008 | Bryant Johnson, S.F. | Ariz. | 3 | 48 | 0 |
2008 | Bernard Berrian, Min. | Chi. | 4 | 122 | 1 |
2008 | Bryant Johnson, S.F. | Ariz. | 3 | 17 | 0 |
2008 | Deion Branch, Sea. | N.E. | 4 | 88 | 2 |
2008 | Kevin Walter, Hou. | Cin. | 5 | 70 | 2 |
2008 | Randy Moss, N.E. | Oak. | 5 | 67 | 2 |
2008 | Justin Gage, Ten. | Chi. | 4 | 47 | 1 |
2008 | Chris Chambers, S.D. | Mia. | 3 | 30 | 1 |
2008 | Plaxico Burress, NYG | Pitt. | 3 | 15 | 0 |
2009 | Nate Burleson, Sea. | Minn. | 6 | 100 | 0 |
2009 | Chris Chambers, K.C. | S.D. | 7 | 70 | 1 |
2009 | Jabar Gaffney, Den. | N.E. | 6 | 61 | 0 |
2009 | Bryant Johnson, Det. | S.F. | 2 | 11 | 0 |
2009 | Nate Washington, Ten. | Pitt. | 1 | 8 | 0 |
2010 | Santonio Holmes, NYJ | Pitt. | 6 | 60 | 0 |
2010 | T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Balt. | Cin. | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2010 | Santonio Holmes, NYJ | Pitt. | 2 | 61 | 1 |
2010 | T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Balt. | Cin. | 2 | 17 | 0 |
2010 | Braylon Edwards, NYJ | Clev. | 4 | 59 | 0 |
2010 | Laurent Robinson, St.L. | Atl. | 5 | 55 | 0 |
2010 | Roy Williams, Dall. | Det. | 2 | 20 | 0 |
2011 | Anquan Boldin, Balt. | Ariz. | 7 | 145 | 0 |
2011 | Jabar Gaffney, Was. | N.E. | 6 | 92 | 1 |
2011 | Brandon Marshall, Mia. | Den. | 6 | 61 | 0 |
2011 | Plaxico Burress, NYJ | NYG | 3 | 34 | 0 |
2011 | Laurent Robinson, Dall. | St.L. | 2 | 25 | 0 |
2011 | Steve Smith, Phil. | NYG | 1 | 14 | 1 |
2012 | Mario Manningham, S.F. | NYG | 5 | 72 | 0 |
2012 | Robert Meachem, S.D. | N.O. | 3 | 67 | 2 |
2012 | Vincent Jackson, T.B. | S.D. | 5 | 59 | 0 |
2012 | Nate Washington, Tenn. | Pitt. | 3 | 57 | 0 |
2012 | Sidney Rice, Sea. | Minn. | 4 | 54 | 1 |
2012 | Brandon Lloyd, N.E. | St.L. | 2 | 28 | 2 |
2013 | Greg Jennings, Minn. | G.B. | 1 | 9 | 0 |
2013 | Greg Jennings, Minn. | G.B. | 2 | 29 | 0 |
2013 | Davone Bess, Clev. | Mia. | 5 | 47 | 0 |
2013 | Darrius Heyward-Bey, Ind. | Oak. | 3 | 33 | 0 |
2013 | Wes Welker, Den. | N.E. | 4 | 31 | 0 |
2013 | Mike Wallace, Mia. | Pitt. | 2 | 19 | 0 |
2013 | Percy Harvin, Sea. | Minn. | 1 | 17 | 0 |
2014 | DeSean Jackson, Wash. | Phil. | 5 | 117 | 1 |
2014 | DeSean Jackson, Wash. | Phil. | 4 | 126 | 0 |
2014 | Steve Smith, Balt. | Car. | 7 | 139 | 2 |
2014 | Percy Harvin, NYJ | Minn. | 6 | 124 | 1 |
2014 | Eric Decker, NYJ | Den. | 6 | 54 | 1 |
2014 | Hakeem Nicks, Ind. | NYG | 3 | 44 | 0 |
2014 | Devin Hester, Atl. | Chi. | 1 | 23 | 0 |
2014 | Andrew Hawkins, Clev. | Cin. | 2 | 7 | 0 |
2015 | Andre Johnson, Ind. | Hou. | 6 | 77 | 2 |
2015 | Golden Tate, Det. | Sea. | 3 | 29 | 0 |
—Ian Allan