Fantasy football: Cowboys' Elliott a game-changer

WHEN ALL-TIME leading rusher Emmitt Smith came into the league, he was like a toddler jumping into a swimming pool. He tested the water with his toes, held his nose when he jumped in and shot right up out of the water as if he was never going to do that again.
Ezekiel Elliott is the complete opposite. He ran head-first into the deep end, did a somersault in the air and tried to touch the bottom.
More to the point from a fantasy perspective, Smith had three 100-yard games his first season. Elliott has had three this month.
"Everybody on defense has to do (their) job," Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. "If one guy is out of place or one guy misses a tackle, he can make a big play."
The Eagles were third in the league against the run until the Redskins ripped them up for 263 yards on the ground. The disaster dropped them to 18th. After a good performance against Minnesota last week (93 yards), the Birds are 14th against the run.
Elliott is seeking to become the first player since Chris Johnson in 2009 to run for at least 130 yards in five consecutive games. He's the only rookie to hit 130 in four straight games.
It was 26 years ago Friday (Oct. 28) that Emmitt Smith played his first game against the Eagles. He had 52 yards rushing and a touchdown, but the Eagles pulled out the win when Randall Cunningham hit Calvin Williams with a late touchdown pass.
If the Eagles hold Elliott to 52 yards, they'll not only give themselves a heckuva chance to win, but they'll give Elliott his lowest total of the season.
This kid is for real.

List of the week

The best four-game stretch of rushing yards during the rookie seasons of some notable running backs:
Player, Year.....................Rush. yards/top 4 games...... Total
Eric Dickerson, 1983.......75.....192.....199....142.......608
Ezekiel Elliott, 2016.......140 ....138.....134.....157.....569
Jim Brown, 1957.............109.....76.......68.......237.....490
Barry Sanders, 1989......72.......120.....104.....158.....454
L. Tomlinson, 2001.......113.......90.....107......102......412
Emmitt Smith, 1990.....132......85.....103........61...,,..381
Walter Payton, 1975......40........65.......58......134.....297

Contest result

A hearty congratulations to Ronald King, of Northeast Philadelphia, who picked up a Daily News fantasy football T-shirt thanks to some poor outings last week at Lincoln Financial Field.
We asked readers to project the combined passing yardage for Sam Bradford and Carson Wentz. King's guess of 385 came closest to the actual total of 362. Bradford had 224, Wentz 138.

The Montgomery dilemma

One of the biggest developments of the week was the decision by some fantasy hosting sites to make Packers wide receiver Ty Montgomery eligible at running back; ESPN being the most notable.
This is quite significant given the dearth of running backs, especially this week with six teams on bye and a few other starters facing bad matchups or fighting injuries. Anyone else thinking about starting Mike Gillislee?
NFL.com is not changing its designation for Montgomery. They cite the small sample size (two weeks) in which Montgomery has played running back. He had nine carries last Thursday and three the week before. But he has lined up in the backfield on 72 of 98 snaps over those two weeks.
CBS Sports also is not calling Montgomery a running back, saying that individual commissioners may change his designation if they'd like.
I run a league through CBS and wanted to pick up Montgomery this week. Because I would have had to change his designation myself, I enlisted feedback from the other owners. Most had no problem, but one balked by saying if he thought he could have had Montgomery as a running back, he would have picked him up a week ago. Fair point.
The recommendation here is that unless the Packers or someone else more official changes a player's designation, a commissioner should not. It could open up too slippery of a slope. What if Tom Brady catches a halfback option two weeks in a row? Does that make him a wide receiver?
Would love to hear from anyone who has come across this issue and how it was resolved. Email us at FantasyFootball@phillynews.com.

Position watch

Quarterbacks: Russell Wilson has failed to throw a touchdown pass in two straight games for just the second time in his career. However, the Saints - Wilson's opponent Sunday - are 30th in passing defense and have given up an average of 294 passing yards in three home games. That ' s good enough to rank Wilson as a top-5 QB option this week . . . Andy Dalton has had a 100-plus passer rating in each of the last four games, but has just six TD passes and one 300-yard game . . . Tom Brady is 25-3 against Buffalo and has 62 TD passes. That's downright humorous.

Running backs: With Denver's C.J. Anderson out indefinitely with a meniscus tear, teammate Devontae Booker is an RB1 until further notice. The Broncos have a number of tasty matchups on the remaining schedule, including this week against San Diego, a visit to New Orleans and two games against Oakland . . . Keep your Bills RBs inactive against the Patriots. Mike Gillislee is listed as the backup, but the measly five carries he got last week was a boot in the groin for those who expected more with LeSean McCoy hobbled. New England is 11th against the run and hasn't given up a rushing touchdown to an opposing RB since Week 2 . . .

Detroit's Theo Riddick (ankle) is on track to play for the first time since Week 5. His value is mostly in PPR leagues.

Wide receiver: Indy's Donte Moncrief was only a limited participant at Thursday's practice. He might not be worth a start, but Moncrief is worth a stash . . . Randall Cobb is still fighting a hamstring injury. Davante Adams, who came out of nowhere with 13-132-2 last week, is the better Packers option alongside Jordy Nelson . . . Dez Bryant played just one game against the Eagles last season, posting 5-104-1. He has eight TD catches in nine games against the Birds.

WEEK 8 RANKINGS

Quarterbacks............Opp.

1. Tom Brady, NE ..........at Buf.

2. Matt Ryan, Atl. ..........vs. GB

3. Aaron Rodgers, GB ..........at Atl.

4. Andrew Luck, Ind. ..........vs. KC

5. Russell Wilson, Sea. ..........at NO

6. Derek Carr, Oak. ..........at TB

7. Cam Newton, Car. ..........vs. Ari.

8. Marcus Mariota, Ten. ..........vs. Jac.

9. Matthew Stafford, Det...........at Hou.

10. Drew Brees, NO ..........vs. Sea.

11. Jameis Winston, TB ..........vs. Oak.

12. Andy Dalton, Cin. ..........vs. Was.

Running backs............Opp.

1. Ezekiel Elliott, Dal. ..........vs. Phi.

2. David Johnson, Ari. ..........at Car.

3. DeMarco Murray, Ten. ..........vs. Jac.

4. Spencer Ware, KC ..........at Ind.

5. Devontae Booker, Den. ..........vs. SD

6. Jacquizz Rodgers, TB ..........vs. Oak.

7. Devonta Freeman, Atl. ..........vs. GB

8. Christine Michael, Sea...........at NO

9. LeGarrette Blount, NE ..........at Buf.

10. Lamar Miller, Hou. ..........vs. Det.

11. Latavius Murray, Oak. ..........at TB

12. Ty Montgomery, GB ..........at Atl.

13. Jonathan Stewart, Car. ..........vs. Ari.

14. Melvin Gordon, SD ..........at Den.

15. Matt Forte, NYJ ..........at Cle.

16. Frank Gore, Ind. ..........vs. KC

17. Isaiah Crowell, Cle. ..........vs. NYJ

18. Mark Ingram, NO ..........vs. Sea.

19. Giovani Bernard, Cin. ..........vs. Was.

20. James White, NE.......... at Buf.

21. Rob Kelley, Was. ..........at Cin.

22. Mike Gillislee. Buf. ..........vs. NE

23. Jeremy Hill, Cin. ..........vs. Was.

24. Theo Riddick, Det...........at Hou.

25. Ryan Mathews, Phi. ..........at Dal.

Wide receivers....................Opp.

1. Julio Jones, Atl. ..........vs. GB

2. A.J. Green, Cin. ..........vs. Was.

3. Mike Evans, TB ..........vs. Oak.

4. Amari Cooper, Oak. ..........at TB

5. Brandon Marshall, NYJ ..........at Cle.

6. Marvin Jones, Det. ..........at Hou.

7. Demaryius Thomas, Den. ..........vs. SD

8. Doug Baldwin, Sea. ..........at NO

9. T.Y. Hilton, Ind. ..........vs. KC

10. Larry Fitzgerald, Ari. ..........at Car.

11. Jordy Nelson, GB ..........at Atl.

12. DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. ..........vs. Det.

13. Stefon Diggs, Min. ..........at Chi.

14. Travis Benjamin, SD ..........at Den.

15. Julian Edelman, NE ..........at Buf.

16. Alshon Jeffery, Chi. ..........vs. Min.

17. Emmanuel Sanders, Den. ..........vs. SD

18. Michael Crabtree, Oak. ..........at TB

19. Brandin Cooks, NO ..........vs. Sea.

20. Davante Adams, GB ..........at Atl.

21. Golden Tate, Det. ..........at Hou.

22. Kelvin Benjamin, Car. ..........vs. Ari.

23. Dez Bryant, Dal. ..........vs. Phi.

24. Will Fuller, Hou...........vs. Det.

25. Terrelle Pryor, Cle. ..........vs. NYJ

Tight ends........................Opp.

1. Rob Gronkowski, NE ..........at Buf.

2. Jimmy Graham, Sea. ..........at NO

3. Greg Olsen, Car. ..........vs. Ari.

4. Delanie Walker, Ten. ..........vs. Jac.

5. Antonio Gates, SD ..........at Den.

6. Travis Kelce, KC ..........at Ind.

7. Jordan Reed, Was. ..........at Cin.

8. Kyle Rudolph, Min...........at Chi.

9. Jack Doyle, Ind. ..........vs. KC

10. Martellus Bennett, NE ..........at Buf.

11. Jason Witten, Dal...........vs. Phi.

12. Tyler Eifert, Cin. ..........vs. Was.

DFS Sleepers

Quarterbacks: Derek Carr, Dak Prescott

Running backs: Frank Gore, James White

Wide receivers: Jordy Nelson, Michael Crabtree

Tight ends: Kyle Rudolph, Jason Witten

Ed Barkowitz, whose running backs are about as stable as a Union League staircase, has been writing about fantasy football since 2001.

@EdBarkowitz