There were plenty of huge performances that could have potentially rescued your entire team, despite the countless eggs laid by supposedly “stud” fantasy options.
A few of my week one picks made the latter list, so if you haven’t already, hit up my Start and Sit Week 1 Review to get some explanations, as well as a review on the other hits from week one’s predictions.
And before we dive into another week of hopeful wishing and guessing, let’s take a look at the facts:
The Houston Texans (all of them) were awful offensively, and despite their unfriendly match-up with the Tennessee Titans in week two, you should expect a solid rebound from almost all of the star players.
Also, like every single week before you set your line-up, monitor the injury wire and be sure that every player in your roster (if possible) is a “complete go” for their game, and if not, e-mail in to get advice as to who to pick-up on the waiver wire or plug into your line-up from your existing roster.
To be on the safe side, it’d probably be wise to sit all Eagles quarterbacks, stay clear of Matt Cassel (still iffy), and avoid most running back committees.
So, without further haste, here are five guys to ride, five to hit the pine, and five to keep on your mind:
Start
Bernard Berrian, WR, Minnesota Vikings
Berrian played 55 snaps on Sunday against the Browns, but only garnered two looks from Brett Favre, and failed to catch a pass.
Okay, but considering he was still recovering from a bad hammy and Favre only totaled 110 yards on 21 passes, that’s not a big surprise.
However, the Lions are going to do all they can to stop Adrian Peterson (even though they can’t), which will leave some deep balls for Favre and Berrian to connect on.
I’m not putting Favre back in the Start column again yet, but you might as well throw him in here too. It’s still a risky play, but Berrian could prove to be a fine WR3 in week two.
Prediction: 4 rec, 88 Yds, 1 TD
Santana Moss, WR, Washington Redskins
Hey, I’m just like the next guy. My confidence in Jason Campbell is at an all-time low, but when he gets a week two match-up with the inept St. Louis Rams, you have to like his chances.
That means Moss should be active and extremely productive. He’s way too good and too proud of a receiver to have two performances in a row as bad as his one reception week one showing was.
Prediction: 6 rec, 77 Yds, 1 TD
Greg Olsen, TE, Chicago Bears
While the entire Chicago offense was more than just a “little” disappointing against Green Bay on Sunday night, Olsen’s one catch for eight yards may have taken the cake.
But he’s going against a Steelers team that will shut the run down, forcing Jay Cutler to look for his safety blanket. Oh, and Pittsburgh doesn’t do a fantastic job at covering tight ends. Look for a big rebound game for Olsen.
Prediction: 6 rec, 67 Yds, 1 TD
Larry Johnson, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
There’s a good reason why you shouldn’t have started LJ last week, and it has little to do with his ability as a runner. He was going up against the formidable Baltimore Ravens run defense.
The Oakland Raiders? Well, a bit less than formidable.
Regardless of who is under center for KC, there should be a solid dose of running plays to keep Oakland’s solid secondary guessing. Look for LJ to bounce back a reclaim a spot among the “almost elite” running backs.
Prediction: 22 att, 112 Yds, 2 TD
Brandon Marshall/Eddie Royal, WR, Denver Broncos and Knowshon Moreno, RB
It’s unlikely you have both of them, but both make potentially great plays against the Cleveland Browns.
You may be scared off by Brett Favre’s paltry 110 yards passing in week one against Cleveland, but that’s merely because of the success Adrian Peterson had.
It’s likely that Knowshon Moreno and co. can will success much the same against the league’s worst rush defense, but it’s even more likely that a more comfortable and confident Kyle Orton will improve and have a field day against an average Cleveland pass defense.
Prediction (Marshall): 8 rec, 111 Yds, 1 TD
Prediction: (Royal): 7 rec, 79 Yds, 1 TD
Prediction: (Moreno): 15 att, 80 Yds, 1 TD
How can you say no two a three-fold Denver start promotion? Come on, it’s the Browns.
Sit
Kevin Smith, RB, Detroit Lions
Smith is usually good for some checkdown passes and a short touchdown run, but you can’t like his chances against the Vikings and the Williams Wall.
Quite frankly, all Detroit offensive options outside of Calvin Johnson should be off limits.
Prediction: 16 att, 43 Yds, 0 TD, 4 rec, 18 Yds, 0 TD
Darren Sproles/LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, San Diego Chargers
Sproles is San Diego’s new alternative to LT on third downs and most passing situations, which gives him the slight edge here if you have to start a Chargers back against the Ravens.
Still, here’s to hoping you learned from Larry Johnson’s 11 carry and 20-yard effort against Baltimore in week one. You will only be disappointed.
Prediction (Sproles): 14 att, 46 Yds, 0 TD, 6 rec, 45 Yds, 1 TD
Prediction (LT): 12 att, 39 Yds, 1 TD, 4 rec, 33 Yds, 0 TD
Joe Flacco, QB, Baltimore Ravens
Call me crazy, but I just don’t see Flacco (as improved as he may be) tossing another three touchdowns and over 300 yards, at least not in back-to-back games this early in the season.
Besides, it’s not like the Chargers are a push-over defense.
Prediction: 21-33, 239 Yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
DeAngelo Williams, RB, Carolina Panthers
He did find a way to score in week one, but a mere 39 rushing yards and a still active Jake Delhomme should work against him for the second week in a row.
He’s a sensational player, as is Steve Smith, but until things get corrected under center, they are extremely risky plays.
Prediction: 16 att, 57 Yds, 0 TD, 3 rec, 29 Yds, 0 TD
Cedric Benson, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
If you don’t have a better alternative than Benson heading into week two, we already know your fantasy fortunes for 2009.
However, Green Bay’s defense swarms the passer and swallows up runners, and if Chicago’s offense is better than Cincy’s (sadly, it is), then you’ll want to find anyone you can to pick up the pieces instead of Benson.
Solid fillers are Ricky Williams, Felix Jones, and a possible rebound from Willie Parker.
Prediction: 17 att, 61 Yds, 0 TD, 2 rec, 11 Yds, 0 TD
Sleepers
Austin Collie/Pierre Garcon, WR, Indianapolis Colts
With Anthony Gonzalez out for an indefinite amount of time, rookie Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon see their value go up, making them decent roster additions if you’re hurting at receiver.
Fed up with Braylon Edwards, Chad Ochocinco, or Torry Holt after just one week? Ponder plugging one of the Colts receivers in as a WR3 and see if they can work any magic in front of the nation on Monday night.
Prediction (Collie): 6 rec, 59 Yds, 0 TD
Prediction (Garcon): 5 rec, 81 Yds, 1 TD
Kyle Orton, QB, Denver Broncos
A lot of people are down on Kyle Orton, but it takes time to master a Josh McDaniels offense, and once he has Brandon Marshall’s head and focus completely in the game, the sky is the limit.
With Marshall, Royal, and the Denver running game facing a beatable match-up in Cleveland, you could see Orton rise to the type of hype Joe Flacco saw in week one.
Still not comfortable? Add to him your roster and wait a week to see if he comes around.
Prediction: 25-36, 311 Yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Chris “Beanie” Wells, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Tim Hightower may be the man in the backfield Kurt Warner checks down to during passing plays, but Wells is clearly the more effective Cardinals runner.
Look for his carries and overall involvement (as well as at the goal-line) in the offense improve going forward.
Prediction: 14 att, 57 Yds, 1 TD, 2 rec, 15 Yds, 0 TD
Todd Heap, TE, Baltimore Ravens
It was only one game, but the growth of Joe Flacco and the rest of the offense suggest this truly could be the return of a dominant Todd Heap.
He’s fully healthy (for now) and is clearly a big part of the passing attack, giving him decent value going forward.
Prediction: 6 rec, 63 Yds, 0 TD
Louis Murphy, WR, Oakland Raiders
I had a gut feeling about Murphy last week but felt he was too much of a reach to make the call. He is clearly the best play-maker on Oakland’s receiving corps right now, and considering Darrius Heyward-Bey is the only other healthy receiver worth talking about in Oakland, Murphy has good value.
Take advantage while you can in deep leagues.
Prediction: 5 rec, 72 Yds, 0 TD
the browns are better than you think on defense. moreno ain’t all day AP and orton had trouble against cleveland when he was in chicago. Cleveland will win big on Sunday.
[...] 3-3 on the “sits”, and a collective 2-4 in the “sleepers”, bringing my week two picks record to a sorry [...]