A wild week 1
The first week of the Fantasy Season can be summed up with one word, surprising! Fantasy studs failed to show up, and a number of Players that weren’t even drafted had a major Fantasy impact. You’ve got to feel bad for anyone who started Eli Manning, Andy Dalton, Carson Palmer, or Tom Brady at Quarterback. How many of you started Tarik Cohen? Anyone, anybody, Bueller? How lucky were the Jameis Winston owners who picked up Sam Bradford or Alex Smith as a Free Agent to fill in for Week 1. Consensus number 1 pick David Johnson goes down with a wrist injury. That’s going to seriously change the power rankings in everyone’s League. The heart and soul of the Kansas City Defence, Eric Berry is out for the Season. Jacksonville looked like a Playoff ready Team against the Houston Texans. Shit even the Browns looked like they could be competitive.
Waiver Wire insanity
You can expect things to get crazy on the waiver wire this week. Tarik Cohen, Andre Ellington, Kenny Golloday, Corey Davis, Jesse James, Kerwynn Williams, Nelson Agholor, and Allen Hurns will all get picked up. I believe that a few of these Players can significantly help your Fantasy Team, but not all of them. Temper your expectations with Andre Ellington, Kerwynn Williams, Nelson Agholor, and Jesse James. Every year I watch for Team Managers who get caught up in the Week 1 hype, and drop perfectly good Players for a flash in the pan. Pay attention to who is being dropped. You may land a steal. If you do need a Wide Receiver. I’d grab Kenny Golloday for sure. Stafford loves throwing the ball to Players that can go up, and get it. Golloday is that kind of Player.
Bad Bench calls
In the two featured Leagues I’m hosting. Managers made a few costly Bench mistakes that cost them the win. In the True Fanatics League Ball Breakerz, Raider in the North, and Cobe Life all lost their games due to poor lineup decisions. That’s right, I’m guilty of it myself. I went with Pierre Garcon over Stefon Diggs. If that wasn’t bad enough. I started the Falcons D over the Jaguars who had 10 friggin sacks! In the Gridiron Pros League Just Win Baby, Pixie’s Pirates, and RuinRevelation all made Game winning mistakes with their lineup. Although it wouldn’t have been enough to beat my League leading 160.13 points. Swaggy B left 44.2 points on the bench. Decisions like that can not only cost you wins, but could be the difference between making the playoffs or just missing it.
Looking ahead to Week 2
Now that we know what to expect from some of the Teams. My Week 2 projections are based on what we have already seen.
Top QBs: Tom Brady – yes he had a very pedestrian showing against the Kansas City Chiefs. This week he faces the New Orleans Saints Defence that showed me nothing against the Vikings. Expect Brady to finish with over 300 yards passing, and 2 Touchdowns.
Carson Palmer – sure Palmer was Mr. Interception this weekend. Next week he faces the Indianapolis Colts that gave up 46 points to the L.A. Rams. Also without David Johnson in the lineup I expect the Cardinals to throw a lot more. Palmer should go over 300 yards, and score at least 2 Touchdowns.
David Carr – the Raiders face the lowly Jets. Nuff said! Carr will have a huge opportunity to showcase the Raiders high powered Offence. I expect him to get 3 Touchdowns in this game.
Russell Wilson – the Seahawks are going to be feeling a lot of frustration after poor officiating cost them the win in Green Bay. I expect the San Francisco Defence is going to find out what a frustrated Russell Wilson feels like on the scoreboard. Instead of settling for Field Goals. Wilson will be throwing Touchdowns. Expect 300 yards, and 3 Touchdowns this week.
Top RBs: Dalvin Cook – this rookie is for real. Whether it’s running between the tackles, turning the corner, or catching balls out of the backfield. Cook can do it all. Expecting him to find the End zone should be expected. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he went over 100 yards rushing again.
Marshawn Lynch – it’s going to feel great to be an Oakland Raider this week. I can assure you that the Jets aren’t ready for Marshawn Lynch. He will dominate this game on the ground. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets over 20 Fantasy points.
Devonta Freeman – his numbers weren’t the greatest this weekend but he managed a respectable Fantasy score because of the Touchdown. Green Bay was limited by a stalwart Seattle Defence this week so scores were low. I expect the Falcons/Packers game to be more of a shoot out. Although the Green Bay Defence looked strong against the run. They did appear weak against swing passes to Running Backs. Expect Devonta Freeman to have more yards through the air than on the ground. I expect him to find the End zone again.
Top WRs: Michael Crabtree – have you noticed a trend happening here. Another Raider makes the list against the New York Jets. Crabtree might be one of the most underrated Wide Receivers in the NFL. He’s total money. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.
Amari Cooper – both of Oakland’s Top Wide Receivers are going to have great days this week. I expect both of them to find the End zone. If you have Raiders on your roster just start them.
Larry Fitzgerald – he’s still the number 1 Wide Receiver in Arizona for good reason. Look for Fitzgerald to go over 100 yards receiving. I expect Carson Palmer to lean on his most trusted Receiver in David Johnson’s absence.
Mike Evans – by the time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play their first game. Mike Evans will be chomping at the bit. The Chicago Bears played a pretty good game this weekend, and almost beat the Atlanta Falcons. Don’t read too much into that. I think the Falcons took them too lightly, and are still adjusting to a new guy calling the plays. The Bucs will come out firing, and Evans is a total mismatch. He could very well be the top scoring Wide Receiver this week.
Top TEs: Rob Gronkowski – he was hardly a factor in last week’s loss to the Chiefs. You can bet that the Patriots won’t make that mistake twice. Gronkowski is going to do what he does best. He’s going to catch balls in traffic, in the End zone.
Jimmy Graham – the Seahawks were forced to keep Graham back in protection for most of the game. That won’t be the case this week. I expect the Seahawks to protect Russell Wilson by increasing the number of short to intermediate passes. Jimmy Graham matches up well against any linebacker. He will be the go to Receiver on third down.
Zack Ertz – if the Philadelphia Eagles hope to keep pace with the Kansas Chiefs. They will need to excel against all levels of their Defence. Ertz will be the key to keeping the Kansas City Linebackers from blitzing at will, or dropping back into robber positions. A great possession Tight End. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets the highest percentage of targets, and a touchdown in this contest.
