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Kirk Hollis | Archive | Email |  
Staff Writer


Tuesday Morning Buzz
Week 2 Fantasy Football Recap
9/16/14


Let me start out this week by saying that the Buzz is not a weekly injury update. There are other places you can go for that and read about the implications for your fantasy team. That being said, it is simply impossible to ignore one of the worst days for injuries in recent memory. It feels to some this morning that the fantasy world is upside down right now. The Buzz has the fix for that. We’ll try to make some sense of it all on a game-by-game basis. Ready. Set. Go!

Pittsburgh @ Baltimore
There was plenty of grumbling going on in the world of fantasy football after this game as Owen Daniels vultured two touchdowns from Dennis Pitta and Torrey Smith was nearly invisible for a second week in a row. Still, Baltimore won thanks to a running game that seems to be re-born after a forgettable 2013. Bernard Pierce now looks like the running back to own if Baltimore is playing from the lead, but Forsett will get plenty of work too, when the Ravens are trying to chase someone down. Consider both RB3s/flex options for the time being. The Steelers, meanwhile, just had a bad game. Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown remain two of the best play-makers in the NFL at their respective positions- they just didn’t find the end zone in this game, keeping their point totals modest.

Miami @ Buffalo
Impact injury No.1: Knowshon Moreno gone in the first quarter. In his absence, the Dolphins struggled to put points on the board, but another solid game from Mike Wallace is very encouraging given that his scoring in past years was marked by significant inconsistency from week to week. The buzz coming out of this game was the production of rookie WR Sammy Watkins (8 rec, 117 yds, 1 TD). The concern all along with Watkins was whether or not EJ Manuel could get him the ball consistently. If Sunday was a taste of things to come, Watkins could end up being one of your draft day’s biggest steals. The Buzz will be watching his progress closely in the weeks to come.

A.J. Green

A.J. Green (toe) was one of many significant injuries across the league in Week 2.

Atlanta @ Cincinnati
Impact injury No.2: A.J. Green gone in the first quarter. The Falcons came crashing back to Earth in Week Two…which is what happens when you don’t play the Saints every week. Still, Julio Jones is showing no ill effects of his season-ending injury last season and will continue to be one of the top 3-5 wide receivers for the foreseeable future. What’s not good for Atlanta is their run defense through two weeks. The Falcons have surrendered an average of 155 yards on the ground along with 2.5 rushing TDs. Yes, Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill are an elite tandem, but the Falcons are going to make every running back group look good. By the way, the Buzz suggested lament last week for Hill owners. We’re eating that crow this morning.

New Orleans @ Cleveland
Impact injury No.3: Mark Ingram injured late in this game. Another week, another impressive offensive effort from the Browns as Terrance West is finding room to run behind Cleveland’s above average offensive line. As for the Saints, that hair you see pulled out all over the room belongs to those counting on Marques Colston on Sunday (zero catches, zero targets). The Browns sold out to stop the Saints’ wideouts, because while Colston and Cooks were neutralized, Jimmy Graham enjoyed one of those Jimmy Graham-type days. Of the three tight ends that blew up in Week Two, Graham was the only non-surprise. With Ingram out a month, Khiry Robinson should benefit most. Go get him this morning if he’s available.

Dallas @ Tennessee
We mentioned the less-than-surprising nature of Graham’s breakout in Week Two above. Another tight end that broke out this week was a bit of a shock - Delanie Walker. Walker enjoyed a career day (10 rec, 142 yds, 1 TD) at the Cowboys’ expense, but aside from his production, the ‘Boys defense held up admirably. And, I’ll tell you this, nobody in the world of fantasy football should be more excited right now than DeMarco Murray owners. After Week One, I thought the 49ers run defense must be soft this season the way Murray carved them up. Then, I watched them shut down Matt Forte last night and realized the truth… this Cowboys team is going to run all over everybody. Romo’s numbers will suffer as a result, but Dallas has the best rushing team in the league right now bar none.

Arizona @ NY Giants
No Carson Palmer in Week Two spelled curtains for Michael Floyd. I just hope you got him out of your lineup in time. With Drew Stanton at the helm, the Cardinals’ offensive numbers were modest at best with Andre Ellington improving a little on last week’s totals with 101 yards from scrimmage. He had a TD vultured by Jonathan Dwyer, though, and that is likely to continue moving forward. Eli Manning, meanwhile, did a much better job in Week Two of getting the ball to his wideouts. He is still checking down to Rashad Jennings a lot, so in PPR leagues, keep Jennings in your lineup every week for now. Larry Donnell also proved that Week One was no fluke. He’s marginally talented, but should continue to see tons of targets.

Jacksonville @ Washington
Impact injury No.4: Robert Griffin III gone in the first quarter. The story of the game, however, was not just Griffin’s injury but Kirk Cousins’s emergence. Sure, it was the Jaguars and we need to see Cousins vs. stiffer competition before getting excited about his longer term fantasy prospects, but 250 yards and 2 TDs in less than a full day of work is encouraging. Aside from the quarterback story was the tale of two running backs. It was feared one running back would lose his role in Jay Gruden’s offense and become an afterthought by the middle of this season. That would be Alfred Morris (88 YPG, 5.0 YPC). The other running back got more and more hyped as the preseason wore on. He is none other than Toby Gerhart (25 YPG, 2.0 YPC). Gerhart should improve, but his start has his owners more than a bit panicked.

New England @ Minnesota
Is Mike Shanahan now coaching the New England Patriots? The switch from Shane Vereen to Stevan Ridley as New England’s lead back on Sunday was very Shanahan-esque to say the least as Ridley went from an afterthought in fantasy circles last week to legit No.2 RB status this week. Much like the Cowboys, the Patriots win more games when they’re passing less, so look for Ridley and Vereen to continue to produce, but who will do what, when, is anybody’s guess. Minnesota missed Adrian Peterson. And, if you’re a Cordarrelle Patterson owner, you missed Peterson too, as his absence means teams can load up to stop Patterson as he becomes the team’s only impact player sans AD. New England’s defense got embarrassed in Week One. In Week Two, they got even.

Detroit @ Carolina
What a difference six days can make. A week ago, the Lions and Calvin Johnson were running circles around the hapless Giants. This week, they managed seven points versus a great Panthers defense. Reggie Bush’s usage and production has been fairly suspect thus far, leaving many to wonder if his days of being a fantasy starter are just about over. I say give it one more game before doing anything drastic. In Carolina, Cam Newton proved this week that even with a below average receiving corps, he can produce fantasy numbers. It’ll be a different guy (Avant, Benjamin, Cotchery) producing from week to week, but the constant will be Newton. Avoid Carolina’s defense in terms of matchups if at all possible moving forward.

Seattle @ San Diego
Speaking of avoiding defenses, conventional wisdom said to avoid all San Diego players in this game vs. Seattle. But then, a funny thing happened. Philip Rivers carved up the Seahawks all afternoon to the tune of 284 yards and 3 TDs. Moreover, San Diego ran 74 offensive plays to Seattle’s 38. Rivers did it by not being intimidated by Seattle’s-D and Antonio Gates had a day reminiscent of his glorious yesteryear (7 rec, 96 yds., 3 TDs) as a by-product. Gates got off to a fast start in 2013 as well, so don’t be overly excited about what he’s done thus far. And, don’t be overly concerned about Seattle’s offense. 38 total plays makes it hard to get into a rhythm. Oh, and did I mention that Ryan Mathews was/is impact injury number five?

St. Louis @ Tampa Bay
And, the star of the game…Greg Zuerlein? Zuerlein’s 13 fantasy points were as good as any other Ram in this game, but at least Zac Stacy showed signs of life with 71 rushing yards and a TD. The best running back on the field, however, was the diminutive Bobby Rainey who had the best rushing day (22 carries, 144 yds) in the NFL aside from DeMarco Murray. Rainey is a tough runner, but his smallish frame leads me to believe that he’s better suited long-term for a change-of-pace role. Josh McCown and Vincent Jackson have yet to really get on the same page and Jackson may be best suited for your bench until something changes. Overall, these two offenses are not fantasy-attractive at the moment.

Kansas City @ Denver
Impact injury No.6: Jamaal Charles out for the game in the first quarter. For the second straight week, Peyton Manning played outstanding football, but threw for less than 300 yards. Last year, Manning totaled less than 300 yards just four times and never in successive weeks. He seems to be finding all of his weapons in the passing game on a regular basis, but has 62 attempts through two games vs. 85 at the same point last year. Is this the new Denver? More running and a little less gun-slinging? Time will tell. The Chiefs put up a good fight and Knile Davis proved a worthy replacement for Charles, but he had to work hard for his yards given that Denver didn’t respect the deep ball. Davis is a solid RB2 for the time being.

Houston @ Oakland
Arian Foster is on pace to carry the ball 42,129 times this season. O.K., not really, but you get the point. Houston has found its formula for success through two games, which is eliminate mistakes and run the ball until your running back’s legs fall off. When they face a better opponent, they may be forced into more passing situations, which would benefit Andre Johnson. For the Raiders, we’ve got a new nickname for James Jones- “The Garbage Man”. Through two weeks, Jones is one of the best wide receivers in fantasy football- but all the production is coming against prevent defenses in the latter stages of the game. In fantasy football, a guy can make a living that way and for this year so far, Jones is that guy.

N.Y. Jets @ Green Bay
Simple rule of thumb: Aaron Rodgers never follows up a bad fantasy game with another. In fact, if he’s coming off a game of lesser output the week before, start him with confidence. Rodgers lit into the Jets secondary to become the only quarterback to eclipse the 300-yard mark on Sunday and he took Jordy Nelson along for the ride to the tune of 200+ yards. Eddie Lacy was quiet again, but he’s gone up against two the league’s best run defenses over the first two weeks, so keep that in perspective. Chris Ivory continues to run better than Chris Johnson between the tackles which is a surprise to….well…no one. If Ivory can stay healthy, he looks like a better fit for what the Jets like to do. Oh, and impact injury number seven is Eric Decker… in case you were wondering.

Chicago @ San Francisco
Jay Cutler is one streaky fantasy quarterback. And, I don’t mean from week to week. Cutler can look overwhelmed for a whole half and then suddenly find rhythm and go nuts the other half. Of course, having a receiver like Brandon Marshall helps and Marshall’s gutty performance (3 TDs) while hurting likely made him a few friends out there in fantasy circles. The Niners got Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore on track last night after they struggled to be relevant in Week One while Carlos Hyde was nowhere to be found. With Kaepernick throwing picks right and left, San Francisco would be wise to use Hyde (and Gore) more and quit airing it out so much. With Vernon Davis now hurt (impact injury number eight), maybe that will be the case.

Philadelphia @ Indianapolis
The starting running backs for the Eagles and Colts are LeSean McCoy and Trent Richardson. The running backs who stole the show on Monday night were Darren Sproles and Ahmad Bradshaw. Sproles and Chip Kelly look like a match made in heaven as Sproles now has 263 yards from scrimmage and 2 TDs through two weeks and his ability to take a screen pass and turn it into a huge gain is also making Nick Foles a fantasy star. There’s plenty of food at the table with the Eagles as McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, and Zach Ertz all had good games Monday night as well. For the Colts, Bradshaw was the story and he’s gone from a late-round flier in August drafts to a legitimate fantasy starter in no time flat. Big night for the Eagles. Big night for Darren Sproles.

That’s the Buzz for Week Two. It was a wild week, but aren’t most weeks pretty wild in this hobby that we love? Let’s just hope for fewer injuries moving forward. See you next week with another Tuesday morning recap. Until then, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the Pepto Bismol. God Bless!