Week 2 of the NFL season was one of the most injury-riddled couple
of days I can remember in my 20-plus years of playing fantasy football.
Danny Woodhead, Doug Martin, Arian Foster, and Adrian Peterson are
just a few of the many running backs to leave their respective games
early, leaving fantasy owners in both DFS and season-long leagues
hurting for points.
Luckily my season-long league of record was unaffected by the
slew of walking wounded. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same
for all of my losing DFS squads, as I failed to cash in the three
lineups I played this week on DraftKings.
Although I was unable to cash in my double-ups and multipliers,
I did make a few fortuitous picks that got me close to the running
in some games, and hopefully I can use the lessons learned from
my mistakes this week to get back in the black for Week 3.
For this week’s lineup review, I decided to use a losing DraftKings.com
lineup that included what I thought was the safest cash play quarterback
in Eli
Manning.
Quarterback: Eli
Manning Fantasy Points 16.32
Grade: D
Manning was my cash game play of the week due to the fact that
nearly every single variable that I use to identify fantasy plays
seemed to be working in his favor. The Giants and Saints combined
for 101 points when the two teams played last season, leading
me to believe Manning would do well because I assumed this would
be a high scoring game again.
The defense of the Saints was decimated by injuries in an already
poor secondary, and the Giants passing game appeared on paper
to be much better than last season with the addition of Sterling
Shepard and the return of Victor Cruz.
And lastly, the opposing offense of the Saints appeared to be
unstoppable at home against the Raiders, opening the door for
another shootout against a rebuilt, but not dominant Giants defense.
Of course the game turned out to be a low scoring affair with
both Brees and Manning struggling to move the ball. The Giants
defense turned out to be much better than I anticipated, and Brees
was worse than I thought on the road.
Brees’ road splits have always been worse than at the Superdome,
but I figured he would at least throw for 250 yards and three
scores.
Going forward I will make a point to not rely on opposing offenses
to run up the score on the Giants, as the remade G-men defensive
secondary and d-line is stout.
Anderson was my top cash game running back of the week after
his two-touchdown performance Week 1 against the Panthers, and
a choice matchup at home Week 2 against the Colts. With 18.3 points
on 93 total yards and a score, Anderson delivered a nice game
and lived up to his projected points.
In a PPR format Danny Woodhead seemed like a great play against
a Jacksonville defense that struggled Week 1 against Green Bay.
Add in the fact that Phillip Rivers was leaning on his safety
net in Woodhead after Keenan Allen went down last week, and it
appeared as though little Woodhead was primed for a big game.
Of course he left early with a season-ending ACL tear after posting
just 4.1 fantasy points. It was a tough end to the season for
one of my favorite non-49er players, and effectively an end to
my chances of cashing with this lineup.
Like many unfortunate souls in the DFS universe, I chose a Giants
stack against the Saints on Sunday. Top Saints DB Delvin Breaux
is out for the season with a broken leg and the remainder of the
New Orleans secondary is untested.
Cruz had a nice day in terms of yardage with 91 yards on eight
targets. However, he failed to reach the end zone and his four
catches did not help much in the PPR format.
Landry on the other hand proved once again to be PPR gold, with
10 catches for 137 yards and zero TD’s. The game script
against the Patriots seemed logical to have the Dolphins down
early and passing heavily in the second half to get back in the
game. This proved to be correct and Landry and his $6,400 price
tag paid dividends.
Shapre did not pay dividends, with just 33 yards on four receptions.
After 11 targets in Week 1 and a decent matchup against the Lions,
I was hoping for a nice PPR game from Sharpe and perhaps his first
NFL regular season TD. Neither things happened.
Tight End: Dennis
Pitta Fantasy Points: 22.2
Grade: A
Pitta is one of the feel good stories of the year after coming
back from two serious hip injuries that appeared to be career-threatening.
For fantasy purposes, his $2,800 salary was a steal considering
the fact that he and best-friend Joe Flacco have a strong rapport
and connection on the field.
That rapport proved to be valuable on Sunday against the Browns,
with nine catches for 102 yards. As one of the cheapest tight
end plays of the week, Pitta was a nice GPP play for owners looking
for a home run and a nice cash play in DK due to his high volume.
I will continue to look for Pitta in my lineups until his salary
adjusts to the proper value.
After an impressive 12/180/1 line Week 1 against the Jets, I
was excited to have enough money left in my budget for Green.
When you also consider Green’s recent success against the
Steelers, with 17 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns in
2015, he seemed like a no-brainer play.
What I didn’t think about were the poor weather conditions
in Pittsburgh and a nice defensive game by the Steelers against
Green and the Bengals. His $8,900 was a waste of money and he
was one of the main reasons why I stunk last week.
Defense: Carolina Fantasy Points: 14
Grade: B
The Panthers at home on a short week against a 49ers team that
traveled cross country appeared to be the best defensive play
of Week 2. The Panthers did manage a defensive score, but they
disappointed by allowing 27 points to Blaine Gabbert and the Niners.
Arizona and Denver proved to be better plays after posting two
defensive scores apiece. Carolina was tied for third with 14,
so I can’t complain too much.
