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 (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!
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