Manning's Matchup: Derek Carr got his turn
last week, up next against the Saints-D? Eli Manning.
Grab a Helmet Cam Newton v. SF: Despite nearly coming home without a head
after the opening night beating he took at Denver, Newton gets the
lowly Niners at home on ten days rest. Newton went for 31 standard
fantasy points in last year’s home opener against a much more
stout Texans defense. The Niners have no boundary answers for Newton’s
colossal receivers, and although they have the safeties to at least
pester Olsen, the threat of the run game can open things up in the
pass game. Look for Newton to be a bit quicker to tuck the ball
and run this week after getting smacked around in the pocket last
week, so a big rushing total is a possibility. If I’m going
to be a true shot caller, let’s settle on a deep touchdown
to Ginn off a play action pass in the 3rd quarter to be among Newton’s
highlights.
Eli
Manning v. NO: So with Big Bro now out of the big leagues,
Eli becomes the Manning that gets all the fantasy focus. Manning
ho-hummed his way to a 200-yard three-touchdown afternoon last week
against the Cowboys. He didn’t hit on many big plays, and only had
28 attempts due to the time of possession advantage by Dallas, but
he’s got weapons galore, including Victor Cruz who flashed signs
of life. The Saints defense isn’t going to stop anyone this year,
especially after losing possibly their best defensive player in
Delvin Breaux who broke his leg last week. Look for the Giants to
throw early to build up a lead and lean on the running game late,
Making Manning a good bet for a repeat three-TD performance.
Carson
Palmer v. TB: Palmer and the Cardinals offense looked
out of sync in their opening loss to the Evil Empire last week.
The Pats may have been depleted on offense, but their defense remains
as strong as ever. Palmer and the Cards couldn’t hit their patented
deep ball, and it definitely hurt the offensive flow. Tampa Bay
gave up a boatload of yards to Matt Ryan and the Falcons passing
game last week, so look for the Cardinals to get back on the track
that made them one of the NFLs top offenses in 2015. 300-plus yards
and multiple scores should be a given in a game Arizona has to win.
Grab a Headset
Philip
Rivers v. JAX: In the eight games Philip Rivers played
with Keenan Allen last season, he was an elite weekly QB1 option.
After Allen went down with his kidney injury, Rivers was barely
rosterable. Sure, there were more factors in Rivers’s collapse,
but Allen going down with a torn ACL last week certainly won’t
help the Chargers’ signal caller. Allen moves the chains with
elite route running skills, and now Rivers must rely on mainly
deep threats in Travis Benjamin and Tyrell Williams. Look for
Rivers to take an efficiency hit, especially against an aggressive
Jaguars defense that did a fair job containing Aaron Rodgers last
week. This offense needs some time to adjust, making Rivers a
shaky option in Week 2.
Tyrod
Taylor v. NYJ (Thu): The trendy pick as the poor man’s
Newton, Taylor and the entire Bills offense laid a major egg last
week in Baltimore. Taylor could only scrape together 122 total
yards (111 passing, 11 rushing) against a mediocre Ravens team.
Things don’t get any easier as the Bills host a Jets team that
racked up 7 sacks against the Bengals, and it looks as though
Buffalo’s best weapon, Sammy Watkins, will be playing at well
less than 100%. The lack of big play weapons is going to hamper
Taylor’s upside, especially if Watkins remains hobbled. Look for
a host of designed runs for Taylor to combat the Jets’ rush, but
there are much better upside options.
Ryan
Fitzpatrick @ BUF (Thu): Let’s stay in cozy Buffalo
for the week’s third and final headset grabber. There was
no late-game Fitz-magic last week in the tight loss to the Bengals
as a pick on the final drive killed any chance for a Jets rally.
Fitz did salvage his day with two scores, but looked out of sync
with his top targets, and got little going downfield. Fitzpatrick
will have his share of big fantasy games this season, but Rex
and the Bills defense have his number. In two games last season
Fitz failed to top 200 yards passing and threw 5 interceptions
(against 4 touchdowns). A short week, combined with an angry Bills
defense is not a combination I have faith in. Leave the Ivy League
wonder at home this week.
