Week two has left many a fantasy owner hung over this morning. Big day’s from Gore and Chris Johnson, lousy production from the Pats and unexpected returns from quarterbacks Schaub, Rivers, Palmer and Kolb have everyone scurrying to see how their fantasy squads fared this week. Read MoreThe Giants and Bears capped the two biggest wins of the week. No disrespect to the Jets or Texans, who posted quality wins themselves, but the Bears took out the defending champs and the Giants played spoiler in a hostile environment. However, it was the fantasy production that I found most interesting.
Take a look back at my Jacobs vs. Barber article and compare it to what we saw last night. Dallas is a running football team and if they want to win games they will favor the run more as the season progresses. Romo is an average fantasy quarterback, best used in a platoon with another average option. Brandon Jacobs’ ability to run the ball inside the 10 and score touchdowns is what made him so great a year ago. But their not getting it down close and I’m not sure they will. With modest yardage, Jacobs is on the verge of becoming a RB2. The Giants don’t want to count on Eli’s arm every week, but fantasy owners in PPR leagues should feel good about Steve Smith and Mario Manningham as flex options in 12+ team leagues. In PPR leagues, Smith is the better choice, while Manningham is likely the better red zone target in other formats.
Heading to Chicago it seems apparent that the Bears will air it out against stout run defenses. With average receivers, Cutler is not likely to post huge fantasy totals this year and I’d recommend shopping him. Forte will be fine, chalk this game up to a tough matchup and don’t ever take him out of your lineup. The rain helped, but Pittsburgh is not a great source of fantasy production. Holmes remains a nice WR2 but the RBBC will make Pittsburgh’s running backs below average plays moving forward. I still like Mendenhall as a buy low option and believe he will eventually earn 15 touches a game this season.
In other action…
Count me in as someone who is hopping on the Joe Flacco bandwagon. McGahee is flourishing in a new limited role that keeps him fresh and the passing game is moving the chains resulting in more red zone appearances. I want their kicker and Flacco is a nice QB2. Fantasy managers hoping Ray Rice would breakout are left with some bad bait.
McFadden owners were saved by a late TD. Chilens is at least another week away but it won’t matter if Russell is wallowing away under center.
The Eagles will get plenty of headlines this week but my conclusions following week two are: Westy isn’t an elite back anymore, DeSean Jackson is a quality WR2 and Brent Celek is a top 10 TE capable of finishing ahead of Tony Gonzalez this year.
Carson Palmer and Cedric Benson are becoming reliable fantasy options.
Kyle Orton throws for over 250 yards and Brandon Marshall nets only 34 receiving yards. Orton needed to toss up 37 passes, completing only 51 percent of them, to achieve these totals. Not good for Marshall owners.
Along with Steve Smith and Vincent Jackson, I recommended Greg Camarillo in my pre-season Targeting Sleeper WRs post. The Dolphins are playing in front of a national audience tonight and everyone will see Camarillo. He’s not the next Jerry Rice but a serviceable WR3 in 12+ team leagues. If you didn’t get Laurent Robinson or Mario Manningham, Camarillo isn’t a bad option.
Tonight’s game is big for Joseph Addai owners. Already losing some playing time to Donald Brown, his value could take a huge hit with a lackluster performance in MNF.
Bears Corner
This game was a measuring test to see if the Bears were a good club still able to contend or one staring 8-8 in the face. They played well enough to win and needed some help from Jeff Reed, but in the end Cutler made enough plays. Although Forte ran tough, Pittsburgh was tough against the run. The receivers are hardly elite. However, they showed progress this week.
The Bears don’t win this game without Cutler. It’s as simple as that. I was hoping for 1-1 after these tough opening games and that’s where they are. Continued improvement is a priority, but with a weaker schedule than most NFL teams, the Bears have a realistic shot at the playoffs.
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