New Orleans Saints Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 2

Week 2 – vs Tampa Bay – L 19-26

QB: Brees dinged a little in first half.  Protection still having issues.  Was throwing pretty well until the injury.  Didn’t look good on deep balls.

RB: Ingram still looks like the main guy.  Had good game getting a goal line TD and more receptions.  Spiller did look fast as usual on his touches.  Robinson still runs extremely well.  I’m believing in Ingram for now.  Need better blocking.

WR: Cooks and Colston decent games while Snead got TD.  Cooks still looks like the most talented right now and I see no reason to think he won’t be a strong #2 and possible #1 WR.  Coleman starting to look more enticing.  Would be a stud if he started getting regular targets.

TE: Watson did little and this might continue as TE is needed more for blocking than receiving.  Kind of thinking no TE on this team will be fantasy relevant rest of season.

OL: Got dominated by defensive front.  Couldn’t open up anything for running game.  Pass protection was iffy.  So far, the off season acquisitions are not panning out.

Def: Was getting run on for plenty and coverage was not great.  Start everyone against until things change.  Gave up good games to RB and #2 WR (#1 WR was decoy in this one).

Last Minute Fantasy Football Pickups of Week 2 – Titans D and Douglas

Not a lot I’m overly excited about in week 2 but a few match ups worth considering.  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 – Tennessee Titans Defense – Owned: 35%

The Titans looked good last week against the Bucs and now get the Browns with Johnny Football looking like he gets the start.  From what I’ve seen of Manziel in the NFL to this point, I’d start any fantasy defense against him and take my chances.  He’s shown nothing and the Titans should duplicate their top 10 finish among defenses from last week.  Pick ’em up and roll!  (Projection: 12 fantasy points)

Honorable Mentions

QB Nick Foles – St. Louis Rams – Owned: 45%

Foles gets the terrible pass defense of Washington this week.  Their run defense is good enough to force the throw so Foles should end up with a rather nice fantasy game.  (275-3)

WR Cole Beasley – Dallas Cowboys – Owned: 28%

I think Beasley benefits the most from the Bryant injury and I view him as a Jarvis Landry-type of PPR monster.  I would guess you can pencil him in for 6-8 catches per week until Dez returns.  The match up at Philly makes him particularly enticing this week. (7-75-1)

TE Larry Donnell – New York Giants – Owned: 32%

Fells will not play this week so Donnell should be a solid play at home against an Atlanta team that isn’t great on the road.  Game should be a shootout and Donnell should grab a TD.  (5-70-1)

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Owned 20% or Less

Pickup of the Week – WR Harry Douglas – Tennessee Titans – Owned: 10%

Nothing overly exotic with logic behind this pick.  I’m assuming CB Joe Haden will be on Kendall Wright for most of the time, freeing up Douglas to have a nice fantasy game.  Picking the guy Haden wasn’t covering typically worked well last season and I would assume that hasn’t changed.  And with TE Delanie Walker banged up, someone has to get hit in the chest with Mariota’s passes this week.  (6-90-1)

Honorable Mentions

RB Khiry Robinson – New Orleans Saints – Owned: 11%

Second week in a row for him on this list as it looks like Spiller will at least be limited this week.  And if the game against the Bucs gets out of hand as fast as the Titans game with Tampa did, Spiller might not see much action and get more time to heal.  Robinson should benefit and have a nice week, probably more so in PPR. (90 total yards-1)

WR Jermaine Kearse – Seattle Seahawks – Owned: 7%

It pains me to put him on this list considering how many times he burned me last season but he, once again, looked great last week.  Kearse is a tough player to figure out but he’s very good when he’s on.  I think the Hawks will have to throw a little more against the Packers this week and he should be good.  Then again, I’ve been wrong about him quite a bit… (5-75-1)

TE Benjamin Watson – New Orleans Saints – Owned: 8%

Last week against Tampa, Mariota found his veteran TE Walker for a TD.  I’m guessing Brees does the same with Watson this week against the Bucs.  (4-55-1)

Grading My Week 1 Last Minute Fantasy Football Pickups

Nailed a few of these in the difficult-to-judge first week of the NFL fantasy season.  Not a bad start at all.  As with last season, I’ll be using the standard projections and scoring found at espn.com for these ratings.  Let’s see how I did!

20-50% owned tier

Pickup of the Week – QB Marcus Mariota – Projected: 16th among QB – Finished: 3rd – Grade: A++

Didn’t need many throws to put up monster numbers against the terrible Bucs D.  Not completely sold on him yet since this came against Tampa and a lot of work was done after the catch for him.  But there’s no doubt about his accuracy and his arm.  He looks great and I get the feeling he will be able to play well against tougher match ups.

Honorable Mentions

WR Marvin Jones – Projected 72nd among WR – Finished: T64th – Grade: D

Close but not quite on him.  He had a TD catch but the D made a great play and knocked it out of his hands.  He still made good runs after the catch on his receptions and I’m a big believer in Jones.  He’ll be on this list again almost assuredly.

TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins – Projected 22nd among TE – Finished: 2nd – Grade: A++

Wow!  This guy looked legit.  Granted, it came against one of the weaker defenses from last season but he still made some great plays in this one.  Deserves to be owned on all leagues and should be on his way to a top 10 TE season.

Minnesota Vikings Defense – Projected: 12th among Def – Finished: 17th – Grade: F

Well, Carlos Hyde is an absurdly good football player and now the world knows it.  Minnesota’s O did the D no favors but, when you can’t stop the run, you’re going to have a pretty bad fantasy game.  They did come close to returning the blocked FG for a TD that would have saved their fantasy stats.  But this team laid an egg and I would expect better things in the coming weeks.

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20% or less tier

Pickup of the Week – WR Corey Brown – Projected 75th among WR – Finished: T64th – Grade: D

Never got the deep throw I expected.  Did get one target around the end zone but was well covered and was overthrown.  He’s going to hit some deep plays but it will be a gamble when it happens.

Honorable Mentions

RB Benny Cunningham – Projected: 18th among RB – Finished: 19th – Grade: B+

Surprised at the projection by ESPN considering the match up but Cunningham looked great all-around in this one.  Was a really nice grab in PPR.  Such a talented player and hard to believe he’s a third stringer when everyone is healthy.

RB Khiry Robinson – Projected: 52nd among RB – Finished: 26th – Grade: A

Continues to look great when he gets touches and is making a lot of people wonder where Spiller will fit in this offense once he returns.  It will be a committee in New Orleans until someone else gets injured so enjoy these match ups when you get them.

WR Allen Hurns – Projected: 58th among WR – Finished: 41st – Grade: C+

Looked good even though the numbers weren’t great.  Came about a foot away from a TD but couldn’t stay in bounds after the catch.  If he gets that, he’d have been a top 20 play.  Close does not count for much in fantasy football…

New Orleans Saints Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 1

Week 1 – @ Arizona – L 19-31

QB: Brees looked pretty good behind a better line.  A little out of sync with receivers at times but should be very good as the season progresses.  Wasn’t getting every other pass knocked down at the LOS like last season.

RB: Ingram and Robinson looked good running when space was there.  Excellent receiving games for both.  They’re so good it’s hard to imagine where Spiller fits in when he returns.  He really isn’t needed at the moment.

WR: Cooks an okay game but just didn’t convert any of the big plays.  He will in the weeks to come and is still a stud.  Coleman a good game and looks good enough to at least get as many targets as Colston, if not more.  Colston looked rough in this one.

TE:  Watson okay but will be a gamble every week.  Until there is some consistency, stay away.  I just don’t see a whole lot here fantasy-wise.

OL: Vastly improved from last season.  Just a night and day difference, especially in pass protection.  Tough match up in run game in this one but the talent here makes this offense really dangerous every game.

Def: Just as bad as they were early last season.  Wasn’t stopping the run.  Torched through the air.  Amazing Ryan is still the DC.  Gave up good games to virtually every position.  Start everyone against until they stop a few teams.

Last Minute Fantasy Football Pickups of Week 1 – Mariota and Brown

Good to be back to fantasy football and making crazy picks again.  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.  Also, I’ll be doing two groups of four players each this season.  One group will be players owned in 20-50% of leagues.  The second group will be the same as last season with players that are owned in less than 20% of leagues.  Week 1 is tough for these picks but still some good ones to go after.  Let’s pick ’em!

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20-50% owned tier

Pickup of the Week – QB Marcus Mariota – Owned: 42%

Gambling with the rookie but the match up against the Bucs is too good to pass up.  Remember the 5 TDs in the first half by Flacco against them last season?  Yeah, their passing D isn’t great and, while Mariota is not Flacco at this point, you have to believe the opportunity is there for a big game.  And add in the potential rushing numbers Mariota might tack on and you could be looking at a top 10 finish for him this week.  The only question will be can his line protect him from the strong defensive front sported by the Bucs.  I think they’ll do enough for him to have a solid start to his promising career.  (Projection: 240-2, 45-1)

Honorable Mentions

WR Marvin Jones – Owned: 32% – Probably a little too much of a forgotten man at this point but shouldn’t be for long.  If he’s fully healthy, he’s got top 20 potential, easily, and should get off to a good start at Oakland as they might focus too much on stopping Hill and Green.  I have a feeling I won’t be able to put him on this list much longer.  (85-1)

TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins – Owned: 43% – Just loved the talent he showed in his very short time on the field last season.  Now, he gets a clean bill of health, another season wiser, an improvement at QB (hopefully), and a layup for a defense to play against in Week 1 in Tennessee.  Add in a banged up Mike Evans and Seferian-Jenkins looks primed for a visit to the end zone this week.  (65-1)

Minnesota Vikings Defense – Owned: 29% – A lot of young and hungry lions on this D and they get the team that, personnel-wise, went through the most disastrous off-season in recent memory in the 49ers.  Unless Kaepernick took a major step forward in his development since last year, the Vikings D could be feasting in week 1.  (12 points)

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20% or less tier

Pickup of the Week – WR Corey Brown – Owned: 7%

Swinging for the fences with this home run hitter in week 1.  I liked his ability to get downfield last season and I think he catches at least one bomb this week against the Jags.  I wouldn’t except him to get much more as Ginn and Olsen will likely get the volume.  But don’t be surprised to see a 50+ yard TD out of this guy as he’s very capable of that.  The Jags defense is scarier than most people give them credit for but more so against the run than the pass.  Newton should find Brown and start his fantasy season off with a bang. (4-80-1)

Honorable Mentions

RB Benny Cunningham – Owned: 19% – Tough match up against the Seahawks but I don’t mind Cunningham in PPR this week.  He’s compact and elusive and has really nice hands.  Probably won’t do a ton on the ground but should be good as a receiver and might sneak one in.  (90 total yards-1)

RB Khiry Robinson – Owned: 11% – Pretty much the same story as Cunningham except he’ll not get the carries with Ingram around.  And who knows?  Maybe Brees will look his way on a short one in the red zone as he tries to replace his favorite target in Jimmy Graham.  Not confident of that but it’s not impossible… (60 total yards-1)

WR Allen Hurns – Owned: 18% – I like the ability of Marquise Lee more but he’s doubtful so Hurns gets a chance to repeat his week 1 magic from last season against the Panthers.  Certainly not expecting the same numbers but I’m hoping Bortles proves he’s better than I think and gets plenty of throws to Hurns.  He has good size and I think the defense might focus a little more on Robinson when red zone time comes letting Hurns snag one.  (5-70-1)

New Orleans Saints Week 5 Fantasy Analysis

Week 5 – vs TB – W 37-31

QB: Good fantasy game for Brees (except 3 picks) but some concern.  Pass rush got to him and hit him a ton despite zero sacks.  Surprised he didn’t come away a little injured.  Getting concerned about his protection.

RB: Thomas had huge game, mostly receiving as they played from behind in the second half.  Robinson a big game as they led in first half.  Both looked good but still hard to use as Ingram gets closer to returning.

WR: Cooks a big PPR game but not much yardage.  Colston made some good catches but not enough.  They are just too inconsistent to trust in fantasy.  I’d trade/dump both for better options if possible.

TE: Graham got hurt and did little.  Watson looked okay but, obviously, the drop-off is massive.  Possibly a good PPR play if Graham misses time.

OL: Getting QB killed at the moment and not against particularly great competition.  Run blocking looks quite a bit stronger at this point.

Def: Pretty good job stopping the run and clogging holes.  Burn by Jackson for a ton and gave up good game to Murphy.  Held rest of O in check.

New Orleans Saints Week 4 Fantasy Analysis

Week 4 – @ Dallas – L 17-38

QB: Brees strong again.  Running game didn’t get going behind him and fumbles killed.

RB: Robinson busted one long run but that was it for all.  Very few carries here because of deficit.  Cadet did look good in passing game (6-59).  Thomas starting to lose his touches??

WR: Colston and Cooks very average.  Erratic production as usual from this team’s WRs.  Good luck winning this gamble…

TE: Graham a big game.  Other than an injury, I’m not sure how any team will really stop him.  Unless NO game-plans for it…

OL: Shaky here.  Wasn’t getting much open on the ground and wasn’t handling pass rush well.  Brees doesn’t get sacked much but that is more his doing than line’s.

Def: Obliterated.  Nothing to be afraid of here, especially on the road.  Gave up good games to basically all 5 important skill players.

New Orleans Saints Week 3 Fantasy Analysis

Week 3 – vs Minnesota – W 20-9

QB: Brees was Brees again.  Pass rush has some effect at times.

RB: Robinson got most touches with Ingram out.  Didn’t do very good as blocking failed him a lot.  Thomas got goal line TD but production was low otherwise.

WR: Cooks another good game.  Starting to look like most consistent option here.  Colston had a bad drop early then didn’t see another target for a while.  Late TD looked good and saved his day.  Stills was quietly solid.

TE: Graham an okay game.  Just didn’t get as many looks as usual.  Backup TE Hill had nice long TD catch with bad coverage.

OL: Looked very average here and maybe below that.  Didn’t get much going on the ground and was getting QB rushed a lot.  Has regressed a bit.

Def: Pretty solid game all-around but playing against some key backups.  Speed looks there but thinking they can struggle against physical O.

New Orleans Saints Week 2 Fantasy Analysis

Week 2 – @ Cleveland – L 24-26

QB: Brees looked fine despite a little low on the yardage total.  Did get hit more than usual this game.

RB: Ingram looked amazing.  Just great speed and showed really good vision this game.  Thomas and Robinson got fewer touches but looked okay when they got it.  Ingram looks like the best RB here by a ton right now.

WR: Colston didn’t get a throw despite Haden not being on him plenty.  Cooks, Stills, and Meachem had 3 catches each.  Impossible to predict Saints game-plan with WRs.

TE: Graham was awesome again.  Couldn’t be covered.  Even drew Haden at times and still caught balls.

OL: Looked great run blocking against a good D.  Pass blocking was a little shaky at times, getting QB hit more than normal.

Def: Should have been better considering opponent.  Run D was below average for sure.  Pass rush was getting to QB.  Coverage was average at best.  6 catches each for Hawkins and Austin.

New Orleans Saints Week 1 Fantasy Analysis

Week 1 – @ Atlanta – L 34-37

QB: Brees continues to be elite.  Nothing needs to be said about him.

RB: All three are interchangeable when it comes to running the ball.  Thomas the obvious PPR guy.  Lots of talent but hard to trust any for fantasy purposes.  Ingram got 2 TDs and will likely be the goal line back.

WR: Colston looks healthy and likely back to his old self.  Cooks looked incredible.  Looks like a DeSean Jackson-type but stronger.  Might already be a must-start.

TE: Graham solid.  No TD but still plenty of catches and got some space.

OL: No one touches Brees, as usual.  Run blocking also strong.  Probably an elite unit because of Brees’ game management ability.

Def: Torched on the road by a healthy Falcons’ offense.  Will be better against lesser teams.  Pressured fairly well but O was better.  Run defense decent but RBs were better.