Oakland Raiders Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 2

Week 2 – vs Baltimore – W 37-33

QB: Carr a big game and was pretty accurate making some great throws both short and long.  Starting to look like he could be a stud with the right match ups like this one.

RB: Murray a good game but really did nothing overly impressive.  Just gets the ball and runs into the pile.  I just don’t understand what people are seeing in him right now.  Really doesn’t do much on his own.

WR: Cooper and Crabtree had huge games with similar numbers.  Cooper is definitely a superstar on his way and Crabtree may have found a nice home.  Really looks maybe his best ever.

TE: Rivera still getting ignored in offense.  Just can’t trust for fantasy.

OL: Looked strong, especially in pass protection.  Wasn’t blowing D away on runs but doing enough for RBs to get a few yards every time.

Def: Far from good.  Wasn’t great against the run and was torched by passing game.  Really can’t cover even remotely well.  Gave up huge games to #1 WR and TE.  Good games to RBs and #2 WR.  Start everyone against until they do something.

Baltimore Ravens Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 2

Week 2 – @ Oakland – L 33-37

QB: Flacco looked great and had big game while playing from behind.  Still has some protection issues but mostly okay there.

RB: Forsett looked solid and moved really well.  Just incredibly shifty in traffic and that allows him to fall forward.  Taliaferro a nice game and looks fairly good but not as talented as Forsett.  I’m not worried about Forsett PT at the moment.

WR: Smith a huge game and looks as good as ever.  Just isn’t slowing down.  Aiken a solid game despite a lost fumble.  Not super talented but can be efficient enough to consider.

TE: Gillmore a monster game out of almost nowhere.  Looked phenomenal running after the catch and has a ton of power.  Is a massive target and could be a great play if he can do this a time or two more.

OL: Numbers weren’t bad but there are certainly some problems here.  Definitely now as good as last season and I might sell high on RBs because of their play.

Def: Wasn’t great against the run and was torched through the air.  Just isn’t great in coverage and you have to start all receivers against right now.  Gave up huge games to both WRs and big game to RB.

Last Minute Fantasy Football Pickups of Week 3 – Jones and Hurns

Been a crazy week away from fantasy football so I’ll be getting my grades for last week’s picks up…eventually.  As for this week, tough to find any RBs I like.  Other than that, loving some of these match ups.  All ownership percentages will be taken from CBS Sports this season as they are typically the highest.  So, if you play on another site, these guys should be more readily available.  Let’s plug and play!

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20%-50% Owned

Pickup of the Week – WR Marvin Jones – Cincinnati Bengals – Owned: 25%

Gets the Ravens this week who haven’t been stopping WRs for quite a while now.  The game is at Baltimore so hopefully the Bengals will not win in a blowout and let their run game do all the work.  Jones had a nice long TD grab last week and I think he gets another TD this week.  If this game turns into a shootout, he could be in for a monster.  I don’t expect that so I’m tempering my projection for him.  (Projection: 5-95-1)

Honorable Mentions

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick – New York Jets – Owned: 23%

Has been playing much better than people who haven’t seen him probably realize.  Obviously, the Jets will want to run against Philly but Fitz will probably find Marshall for plenty.  (280-3)

RB Lance Dunbar – Dallas Cowboys – Owned: 25%

A PPR play here.  Atlanta just got tore up by Vereen’s receiving so the door is open for Dunbar to do his damage this week.  (75 total yards-1)

TE Crockett Gillmore – Baltimore Ravens – Owned: 48%

One of the hot pickups of the week and with good reason.  Flacco needs players to throw to and I think it’s clear he found a good one.  Tough match up with the Bengals but he should still get his share. (4-60-1)

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Owned 20% or less

Pickup of the Week – WR Allen Hurns – Jacksonville Jaguars – Owned: 17%

At New England this week which is probably a dream match up as the Pats have been explosive on offense and atrocious on defense so far.  That should equal the Jags playing from behind and throwing a ton allowing Hurns to have a rather strong game.  And with the youth in Jacksonville, it’s not real likely they pull anyone to save them no matter how ugly the game gets.  They need the experience and Hurns could end up as a top 15 WR this week. (6-110-1)

Honorable Mentions

QB Ryan Mallett – Houston Texans – Owned: 7%

Yes, Tampa did ruin the fantasy dreams of everyone starting Saints players last week but I’m not buying that.  I think Mallett takes advantage of the match up and plays his way into the top 12 QBs this week.  (270-3)

WR Nate Washington – Houston Texans – Owned: 15%

And Mallett will need someone to throw to other than Hopkins every once in a while.  Washington should show his savvy veteran moves this week and snag a TD.  (5-65-1)

TE Gavin Escobar – Dallas Cowboys – Owned: 3%

With Witten banged up but apparently playing, Escobar looks like a really sneaky play this week.  Witten could be playing a bit of a decoy for his talented backup and give him a nice fantasy week against the Falcons. (5-45-1)

Detroit Lions Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 2

Week 2 – @ Minnesota – L 16-26

QB: Stafford rushed and hit quite a bit.  Ended up with pretty good numbers but was lucky to get that.

RB: Shutout because of terrible line play and deficit.  No one could of put up numbers behind that blocking.

WR: Johnson a good game but failed to make any truly big plays.  TD grab was nice but didn’t break tackles and missed some balls he used to get.  Tate a nice game and should be a consistent PPR play.

TE: Ebron a good game making a great play to get his TD.  Starting to look like the real deal.

OL: Atrocious game all-around.  Will kill this team if they continue playing this badly.

Def: Trampled by the best runner in the league.  Passing numbers looked good but only because they got dominated by the run.  Looks like a pretty bad unit so far.  Gave up huge game to RB and good game to TE.

Minnesota Vikings Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 2

Week 2 – vs Detroit – W 26-16

QB: Bridgewater didn’t have to do much as running game dominated.  Looked really good on limited attempts and made some incredible throws into good coverage.  Looks great but might end up with paltry numbers because of run game at season’s end.

RB: Peterson fumbled 3 times but still had huge game and is still the best pure runner in the league.  Makes guys look so silly in the open field.  Unstoppable if he gets even a small amount of blocking.

WR: Limited by game flow.  Wallace an average game while Johnson did little.  After this game, these guys are relegated to good plays ONLY when the match up looks like a shootout.  If they are able to dominate on the ground, the WRs will get nothing.

TE: Rudolph a nice TD grab and a good game.  Is definitely in the upper echelon of TEs as long as he stays on the field.

OL: Looked good and helped run game dominate.  Have to hope this is what they can do instead of the week 1 debacle.

Def: Bottled up the run game and contained the passing game to shorter stuff.  Pass rush looked very good.  Got in QB’s face all game.  Coverage was good but receivers made some plays.  Gave up good games to WRs and TE.

Arizona Cardinals Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 2

Week 2 – @ Chicago – W 48-23

QB: Palmer didn’t have to do much because of bad O on other side but still had huge game.  Accuracy was great and no reason to think it won’t continue.

RB: Ellington DNP.  Chris Johnson an okay game but just not doing anything great right now.  Will probably bust one but too hard to predict.  David Johnson had huge game with KR TD.  Does look fast but is probably getting more lucky than anything right now.  Doesn’t look better than Ellington to me.

WR: Fitz an absolute monster game.  Looked vintage and just made the D look silly.  Brown an average game but still exciting to watch.  Floyd did nothing.  Just don’t think his hands are 100% yet.

TE: Nearly nothing.  Ignore.

OL: Looked solid against terrible D.  Really protected the QB well and that’s most important for this team.

Def: Solid game helped by terrible QB play.  Pass rush was strong and D line kind of dominated.  Okay against the run.  Gave up good game to receiving RB and not much else to key fantasy players.

New York Giants Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 2

Week 2 – vs Atlanta – L 20-24

QB: Manning looked pretty good and made some awesome throws.  Should be strong moving forward if he keeps up that accuracy.

RB: Looked bad except for one big run.  Vereen was a PPR stud in this one.  Jennings had very little opportunity because of blocking.  Could be indicative of how this season will play out for these guys.

WR: Beckham a monster and made a bunch of ridiculous catches again.  Just unstoppable at times.  Not trusting any other WR on this team for now.  Randle just isn’t doing enough.

TE: Donnell nabbed a TD but will continue to be inconsistent like last season.  It just seems to be what he is.

OL: Did no favors for run game.  Was protecting fairly well.  Has to get better for run game to matter at all, especially for Jennings.

Def: Good game stopping the run despite 2 short TDs.  Torched by good passing game.  Gave up good games to everyone.  Coverage just isn’t good coupled with lack of pass rush.

Chicago Bears Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 2

Week 2 – vs Arizona – L 23-48

QB: Cutler looked normal then got hurt.  Clausen was all kinds of awful.  A lot was the line’s fault but he wasn’t good.

RB: Forte a nice game but needs other players to be better or he’ll get all the attention from defenses.  He’s an elite player but he won’t have any monster games if this type of play around him continues.

WR: Jeffery DNP.  Bellamy caught a long TD on a blown coverage.  Nothing to get excited about.  Royal a nice PPR game but he just isn’t capable of being the main guy.  Not talented enough to get open against better coverage.

TE: Bennett an okay game and was a foot away from a TD and overthrown on another.  Should be strong considering lack of talent at receiver any time Jeffery is not playing.

OL: Atrocious.  It takes a lot of terrible to get your QB tackled before he can hand off to a RB on a non-delay running play.  Serious problems and they could run the fantasy players on this team into the ground this season.

Def: Horrid.  Got the ball run down their throats by backups and torched for 4 TDs by passing game despite less than 200 yards passing.  Gave up big games to everyone.  Start everything against for now.

San Francisco 49ers Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 2

Week 2 – @ Pittsburgh – L 24-43

QB: Kaepernick a good fantasy game but was playing from behind most of the game.  Ran and protected himself well again.  Was not protected all that well by his line.

RB: Bush DNP.  Hyde looked good but hurt in this one.  Does not appear to be another back that matters on this team at the moment.  Davis looked terrible.

WR: Smith hit on a big play and had great game.  Boldin a good game as well and is still a PPR stud.  Both could be good plays if they continue getting blown out like this.

TE: Davis a solid game and looks good.  He should be starting in most leagues at this point.  It’s not too early to say that.

OL: Pretty bad game here.  Run blocking was decent against bad team.  Pass protection was all kinds of bad.

Def: Obliterated.  This is probably the defense to expect for this season.  Week 1 was probably the fluke.  Pass coverage was laughable.  Gave up monster games to RB and #1 WR.  Good games everywhere else.

Pittsburgh Steelers Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 2

Week 2 – vs SF – W 43-24

QB: Big Ben was ridiculously good in this one.  Really on target and protected well.  Was an easy one for him.

RB: Williams a monster game and had an easy time behind good blocking.  Definitely worth owning as Bell’s handcuff the rest of season.

WR: Brown a monster game and beat the defense badly all game.  Why he isn’t double teamed from start to finish is beyond me.  Heyward-Bey also a big game and did look rather impressive.  Still think Bryant is the better player but worth noting.

TE: Miller a TD but little else.  Offense is so hot it’s almost hard to sit him at this point.

OL: Looked incredible against what is probably a terrible D.  Did everything well and blew this game away.

Def: Didn’t look great again.  Lost TOP badly because own O was scoring so quick.  Looks weak against the run and got torched through the air.  Gave up good games to running QB and WRs.