Fantasy Football Friday Week 2
By micflo
Quarterback
Start’em
Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
Last week, Harvard grad Ryan Fitzpatrick threw four touchdowns against the Chiefs defense, and he doesn’t have nearly the same kind of weapons as Stafford. Plus, the loss of safety Eric Berry means the Chiefs will be a bit slower on defense, leaving more room for Detroit’s receivers to run wild.
Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
The Jaguars’ lack of air support last week wasn’t because the Titans have a stellar pass defense. Sure, Cortland Finnegan is still in town, but if that’s your biggest concern, then you should do fine against Tennessee. Flacco, against the Steelers, threw for three touchdowns, and Pittsburgh is a much better defense than Tennessee, so have no fear in starting the Flaccster.
Rex Grossman, Washington Redskins
Sexy Rexy is back! Earlier in training camp, Grossman said the Redskins were going to win the East, and after beating the Giants in Week 1, Washington is certainly on their way. Chapman put up some good numbers against an injured Giants defense, and now he gets a chance to feed on the Arizona Cardinals. Last week Cam Newton threw for over 400 yards against Arizona, so, yeah, Grossman should definitely be able to get over 300 yeards again and possibly even throw a few touchdowns.
Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears
The Saints can’t tackle! Yes, I believe that will be the theme of this year’s New Orleans Saints and one of the immediate beneficiaries will be Jay Cutler and the Bears offense. However, I don’t think that the Saints’ defensive woes will be all to blame for a poor showing in this game, because Cutler played fairly well against a solid Falcons defense.
Sit’em
Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos
Week 1 was very underwhelming for Orton, and fans were chanting for Tim Tebow to jump in and replace him. I don’t think this week will be any different as Denver faces a Bengals team that could be a bit better than advertised. The biggest problem is that Brandon Lloyd and Knowshon Moreno could miss significant time this week, and the less weapons around Orton, the less effective he will be for your lineup.
Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
Listen, the Cardinals are a bad team with a bad defense, and they made that pretty obvious by letting the rookie QB run crazy. Enter the Green Bay Packers: the Packers defense will not be nearly as forgiving, and the talent they have is incredible. Cam could be a starter against some opponents, just not the defending champs.
Running Backs
Start’em
Matt Forte, Chicago Bears
Forte gets the ball a lot, and like I mentioned earlier, the Saints can’t tackle. I get the feeling that Forte is in for another big game against this defense. Especially if this turns into a shootout, Forte could be used as a way to control the tempo of a game.
Felix Jones, Dallas Cowboys
It’s the 49ers, and they may be too focused on the Cowboys’ receivers to be able to stop Jones. Last week, the Cowboys and Jones ran the ball fairly well against the best defense (New York Jets) in the league.
Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals
Darren McFadden has run for over 100 yards against the Broncos in three straight games going back to last year. Benson ran for 121 yards against the Browns in Week 1, and Benson is all the offense the Bengals have. Expect them to have the ball in his hands all game long.
Sit’em
DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
Last week against the Cardinals, with a rookie quarterback at the helm, Williams was nonexistent, and I don’t see any of that changing against the Packers.
Pierre Thomas, New Orleans Saints
I have a feeling the Saints will be playing from behind, just like last week. Thomas is good enough to make a difference in the game, but I just don’t see it happening against a Bears defense that may be playing inspired defense following the death of Brian Urlacher’s mother.
Beanie Wells, Arizona Cardinals
I’m going to say that the Redskins have a much underrated defense and the Cardinals could be playing from behind for most of the game. Last week, the Redskins kept the Giants’ running game under check, and New York is a lot better on the ground than the Cardinals are.
Wide Receivers
Start’em
Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts
Wayne is going to get his targets, whether it’s in garbage time or clutch time. He proved that last week when he grabbed a touchdown en route to seven catches and 100 yards receiving. Even with Kerry Collins at quarterback, the star receiver was able to have a solid game.
Brandon Marshall, Miami Dolphins
Apparently, Chad Henne is going to play like a quality quarterback this year, which is great for Marshall, who has been looking for a quality quarterback since the Jay Cutler era. Marshall is a big, physical receiver who should be able to carve up the Texans defense.
Sit’em
Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers
See Cam Newton. No, seriously there is no chance that Cam Newton can get the ball to Steve Smith on a consistent basis against a team as good as the Packers. Green Bay has a much better secondary and just of an overall better defense than what the Panthers saw in Arizona.
Santonio Holmes, New York Jets
One thing I noticed last week was that Mark Sanchez wasn’t afraid to throw to Plaxico Burress, and that took away from Holmes’ targets especially, near the endzone. Plus, I would say that the Jets throw more to Burress and tight end Dustin Keller this week against the Jaguars. I am in no way doubting the skill set of Holmes, just the amount of targets he’ll receive.