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Thursday Observations

It's so rare nearly everything goes your way in a game, and when it's a standalone one, it's even better because there's nothing negative to counterbalance it. I have Devonta Freeman on three teams, Julio Jones on none, and I picked the Saints +3.5 as my best bet and also used them in the LVS SuperContest. I'm so used to being enraged at the end of an NFL game, I hardly know what to do with myself.

Freeman went from being an undersized timeshare player on a team that couldn't run block to perhaps the league's No. 1 overall fantasy player in four weeks. I'd still probably take Le'Veon Bell ahead of him, but Freeman has 801 YFS and 10 TDs in six weeks and wasn't even a starter at the beginning of the year.

It was amazing how much damage Freeman did in garbage time. On the team's final scoring drive, he caught five passes for 42 yards and a touchdown. That's 15.2 PPR points on one possession, all after the outcome of the game had long been settled.

Jones looked like Andre Johnson out there tonight. He made some plays, and his large frame still makes him easy to find, but he did not look especially quick or explosive, and you'd expect a lot more against the Saints with that kind of game flow. Maybe Jones isn't the most graceful looking receiver even when he's healthy, but I have to think he's playing at significantly less than full capacity right now. Maybe the 10 days off will do him good.

Mark Ingram is a top-10 back. Even in a game where he averaged only 2.3 YPC, he had 56 YFS, three catches and two TDs. C.J. Spiller is probably worth less than Khiry Robinson at this point because the latter would likely start if Ingram were to get hurt.

Where did this Saints defense come from? Five sacks, three turnovers and a blocked punt while holding Matt Ryan to 6.7 YPA.

Equally surprising was 34-year old Ben Watson's 10-127-1 line which could have been bigger had he not dropped a 25-or-so-yard target at the end of the first half. Watson also scored last week, and I'm starting to think Jimmy Graham might have benefited from the system more than it benefited from him.

While Roddy White got the TD, Leonard Hankerson saw more targets (6 to 4), though Hankerson dropped two of them.

Brandin Cooks but the portions are too small.

Betting on Zach Hocker will put you into hock.