Fantasy Football Week 2 Questions
September 9, 2008 at 7:33 am | Article by Paul Hickey |
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Heading into Week 2 of the fantasy season, there are already tons of questions running rampant in the minds of owners. People are trying to figure out what to do with the bizarre Tom Brady-less world that they now live in, after Chiefs strong safety Bernard Pollard rolled into number 12’s knee on the Patriots’ opening drive of the 2008 season. Rookie running backs shined, no name WRs produced and IDPs stepped up to the plate – but there are still certain questions regarding what owners should take from Week 1 and apply to Week 2.
What will happen without Tom Brady calling signals in New England?
You knew this had to be the first question. With the man who many were counting on to be their fantasy savior in 2008 now sidelined with a torn ACL, we can all expect to see a completely different Patriots offense, one way or another. Back-up Matt Cassel stepped in and threw for 152 yards and a TD, with six balls, 116 yards and that lone score going to Randy Moss. While he led them to victory, Cassel may not be the answer. The Patriots are expected to bring in former Buccaneers signal caller Chris Simms for a workout, and potentially even look at free agent Daunte Culpepper, who has a history with Moss. If a stronger, more experienced QB is brought in, then fantasy owners of Moss, Wes Welker and TE Benjamin Watson may retain a little hope that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels can continue to run his high powered spread offense.
However, the most likely scenario is that Bill Belichick will go back to the drawing board and completely re-tool his scheme without Brady in the line-up. What will this scheme now look like? We venture to guess it will feature a lot of Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, LaMont Jordan and Kevin Faulk. That’s right – we could see a grind it out Pats attack on the ground the rest of the way, with some dink and dunk passes mixed in.
If things get too complicated for Cassel, the Patriots may not even have playoff hopes, but if Belichick – the master of reinventing his team – can do it again, we’ll see a very conservative Pats attack, focused on taking time off the clock via the run and making plays on defense, make it back to the second season.
That said, Moss and Welker owners may want to look at selling high right now, knowing that extremely conservative play is coming.
Which rookie RBs will continue to play at a high level?
As we expected, Week 1 was characterized by strong play from rookie running backs. While Baltimore’s Ray Rice rushed for a modest 64 yards on 22 carries, and hauled in three passes for 19 yards, Tennessee’s Chris Johnson started in front of LenDale White, and saw most of the load, rushing for 93 yards on 15 carries and catching three balls for 34 yards and a score. Dallas’ Felix Jones got into the end zone on an impressive 22 yard TD run, finishing with 62 yards on nine carries, and Detroit’s Kevin Smith gained 80 total yards from scrimmage, with a rushing score. But Chicago’s Matt Forte took the cake, rushing 23 times for 123 yards, including a 50 yard score, while catching three balls for 18 yards against Indy’s defense.
Which of them will keep up the solid work and not drop off the radar? Well, Forte and the Bears visit Carolina, who also likes to pound the rock, which should make for an exciting ground game battle against fellow rookie Jonathan Stewart – who rushed for a solid 53 yards on 10 carries in his NFL debut. Johnson, like Forte, should be considered a must start, as he and the Titans visit the lowly Cincinnati Bengals. As for Smith, he and the Lions will host Green Bay, which will be a bit of a tough match-up. We’re not as high on Smith in Week 2, and recommend leaving him on the bench if you have better options against a tough Green Bay run defense. Basically, they’ll be licking their chops coming into Detroit in Week 2, after facing perhaps the league’s best rushing offense during their Week 1 match-up with the Vikings.
Which stud RBs will bounce back from a poor start?
Cleveland’s Jamal Lewis, Washington’s Clinton Portis, St. Louis’ Steven Jackson, Kansas City’s Larry Johnson, Indy’s Joseph Addai and San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson are all big name running backs who definitely disappointed their fantasy owners in Week 1.
Expect Portis, SJax, LJ and LT to bounce back in Week 2 with solid performances, while Lewis and Addai scare us due to very tough match-ups. Cleveland faces Pittsburgh, who only allowed 75 total rushing yards to the Texans in Week 1, while Indy visits Minnesota, who features the league’s top run defense from a year ago.
Which TE is more legit – Anthony Fasano, Bo Scaife or Dante Rosario?
Three tight ends became unlikely fantasy heroes in Week 1, as Miami’s Anthony Fasano hauled in eight passes for 84 yards and a score, Tennessee’s Bo Scaife caught six passes for 105 yards, and Carolina’s Dante Rosario led the team with seven catches for 96 yards and the game winning score.
Expect Fasano to be the only one of these three TEs who continues to perform at a high level. He was acquired in a draft day trade from Dallas, and has a lot of Jason Witten-esque qualities. It’s clear that he fits well in Tony Sparano’s offense, and with Chad Pennington’s lack of arm strength, Miami’s signal caller has developed a solid chemistry with the big possession target already.
Rosario, on the other hand, will likely just be used as a key target until the return of Steve Smith in Week 3, and Scaife will have to continue to fight off Alge Crumpler for playing time, which won’t be easy.
Which WR is most likely to bounce back from a poor Week 1 – Chad Ocho Cinco, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Santonio Holmes, Marques Colston, Torry Holt, Laveranues Coles or Braylon Edwards?
Many big name pass catchers simply disappeared in Week 1. We like Colston, Edwards, Holmes and Holt to bounce back in Week 2 with solid performances, while Ocho Cinco, Housh and Coles could continue to struggle a bit.
Who “studded out” in Week 1 that will “dud out” in Week 2?
Rosario for one, and don’t expect another 220 yard, two TD day from Michael Turner either. Not that he shouldn’t be in line-ups, but don’t expect him to repeat his Week 1 performance against a much more formidable Tampa Bay defense.
Who are the top IDP sleepers in Week 2?
In tackle-only leagues, keep an eye on Philly MLB Stewart Bradley, Indy WLB Freddie Keiaho and Giants CB Aaron Ross. In big play formats, we like Kansas City DE Turk McBride, Tennessee CB Cortland Finnegan and rookie DL Jason Jones to continue to play at a high level.
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