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Fantasy Football 2014: Marshawn Lynch produces for Seahawks, Russell Wilson with a dud

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Steve Dykes

I imagine this game was as exhausting to play as it was to watch. The winless (0-7) Oakland Raiders walked into Century Link Field Sunday in what most considered a "gimme" of a game. Welp, for those of you who said that, you fellas were wrong.

This is how the fantasy nightmare started...

[QB]

Russell Wilson - I don't want to beat a dead horse, but, this lack of offensive sync with the Seattle Seahawks is absolutely killing Russell Wilson's fantasy production. His legs are a factor, but, not like we've seen on other occasions this season. Wilson has now thrown 32 or more times for three straight weeks, which is something he had never done previously in his career.

With all that said, on Sunday, none of it translated to anything but broken fantasy english. Russell had a pedestrian passing effort as he mustered 179 yards on the day. He looked erratic at times, and that could be be for a ton of different reasons, but his fantasy final score validated it. Rushing for only 31 yards, it was Russell's 3rd lowest ground production of the season.

(31 Rush Yards, 179 Pass Yards = Total Points 10.26)

[RB]

Marshawn Lynch - The only startable piece of the Seattle offense was right here. Lynch, though not extremely efficient on a YPC basis (3.2), saved his owners' bacon on Sunday. He cashed in two scores on the day as he shouldered the load for Seattle, rushing 21 times for 67 yards. Where he really paid dividends though was in the pass game, where he absolutely ate Oakland's lunch on a couple big screen passes. Beast Mode closed out the day with an absurd receiving line of: 5-76 on 5 targets. Going forward he is a weekly RB1 as the Seahawks function their offense around Lynch every Sunday.

(67 Rush Yards, 2 Rush TDs, 5 Catches, 76 Rec Yards = Standard 26.3/PPR 31.3 Points)

Robert Turbin -  Plain and simple, you'd still rather have Christine Michael in most every format if we are debating upside. Turbin rushed 5 times for 35 yards Sunday and hauled in 1 pass that went for 14 yards. This was the usual suspect sort of game for Turbin. He is a desperation start in only the deepest PPR formats.

(35 Rush Yards, 1 Catches, 14 Rec Yards = Standard 4.9/PPR 5.9 Point)

Christine Michael - Owners for Michael in dynasty are clearly licking their chops after seeing Lynch tote the rock 21 times today. This workload by all accounts may belong to Michael in 2015. On Sunday Christine Michael was only gifted 4 rushing attempts in which he converted to 16 yards (4.0 YPC). RB2 upside if Lynch goes down, but, for now just a very high-end stash and wait.

(16 Rush Yards = Standard1.6/PPR Points 1.6)

[WR]

Doug Baldwin - Not a WR1 effort, and again I think expectations have to be tempered a bit here. There is a serious disconnect on a lot of levels with this offense, but, I can definitely see a world where Baldwin is a safe low-end WR2 and upside WR3. As it stands now, he is still floating inside that WR3/WR4 PPR status. Tying for second on the team with 6 targets, Baldwin racked up 5 catches for 38 yards Sunday afternoon.

(5 Catches, 38 Rec Yards = Standard 3.8/PPR Points 8.8 Points)

Jermaine Kearse - Just typing this next part makes me nauseous. Kearse finished the day with a single catch for just 4 yards on a team-high 7 targets. Volume wasn't the issue tonight as he tied for a team high in looks from his quarterback, Russell Wilson. Kearse, as we've preached before, is extremely hit or miss on a weekly basis with his role in this offense. Only the most desperate need apply here.

(1 Catch, 4 Rec Yards = Standard 1.5/PPR Points 3.5 Points)

Paul Richardson - Seeing his increase in looks (6 targets), Paul Richardson played the speed/vertical threat on occasion today. A suitable replacement for Percy Harvin in so many aspects, Richardson has become not only a quality passing option but a kick returning threat as well.

Paul returned 2 kicks for 64 yards Sunday with a long of 36 yards. As a receiver he was able to turn his 6 targets into 3 catches for 12 yards. Richardson offers more long term upside than redraft value. This is a team with tons of young options trying to find the right combination, and, I feel confident that he is a part of the final product. A definite dynasty hold, but, very much off the fantasy radar with Seattle's current offensive woes.

(3 Catches, 12 Yards, 64 Kick Return Yards = Standard 1.2/PPR 4.2 Points [Kick Return = 1.6 )

Kevin Norwood - Norwood is doing what any rookie would do on a team that has a run first style and has him buried on the depth chart. He did make solid use of his one target on the day as he hauled it in for a 19 yard reception. A better dynasty product than redraft without question.

(1 Catches,  19 Rec Yards = Standard 1.9/PPR 2.9 Points)

[TE]

Luke Willson - An absolutely miserable day for Willson, who looked completely out of sorts as his hands morphed into cinderblocks and batted away half the balls that came his direction. On 5 targets, he had 1 catch for 16 yards, and, if we were scoring drops he would have had 3 of those as well. A gifted athlete, but, a super inconsistent producer of late. Start at your own risk. He will be a middling TE2 going into next weeks game with the Giants.

(1 Catch, 17 Rec Yards = Standard 1.7/PPR 2.7 Points)

[DST]

Seattle Seahawks - At home, against Oakland, it was raucous. Making early drives difficult for Derek Carr, with no time left in the first quarter, Bruce Irvin deflected and then intercepted a pass heading over the middle of the field in which he turned into a Seattle pick-6 touchdown.

On the very next Oakland offensive drive, Derek Carr chucked a back shoulder pass intended for Andre Holmes right into the arms of Richard Sherman for Seattle's second interception in the day. In what should have been a lower scoring game the Seahawks DST gave up 24 points to the rookie QB Derek Carr at home. It was the first time this year that the Seattle DST has had back to back double digit scoring games.

All in all a solid outing for Seattle despite allowing more points than any of us expected to see at home vs the Raiders.

(24 Points Allowed, 1 Sacks, 2 INT, 1 Fum Rec, 1TD, 101 Return Yards = Standard/PPR = 15.53 Points)

[K]

Steven Hauschka - Missing one field goal on the day is just par for the course as he posted a respectable outing for his fantasy owners. He's a weekly top-10 option playing for a team that can drive the field, but, not always convert the effort.

(3 FG's, 3 XP = 13 Total Points)\

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Editor's Note: FanDuel is hosting a $300,000 one-week fantasy football league this weekend. It's $5 to join and first place wins $25,000. League starts Sunday 1 PM ET and ends on Monday night. Here's the link.