Week Two Aftermath

Week two featured a wild game between the Bills and Raiders, another masterful performance by Tom Brady, a breakout performance from Denarius Moore and a reminder that Tony Gonzalez still has a pulse. Unfortunately, this week will be most remembered for a torn ACL suffered by Jamaal Charles of the Kansas City Chiefs – an injury that could already extinguish the hopes of some dynasty teams.

Week Two Fantasy MVP

It seems this award may go to Tom Brady every week, but let’s give it to Miles Austin, who had nine catches for 143 yards and three touchdowns to lead Dallas to a big win at San Francisco. All wasn’t great for Austin, as he left the game late with a hamstring injury, but his performance was huge for the Cowboys.

Week Two Fantasy LVP

As always, there were a lot of candidates, but let’s focus on Mike Williams of the Tampa Bay Bucs. Williams has been known as one of the sure things at wide receiver over the past year, posting a touchdown in all but six of his seventeen career starts. Unfortunately, Williams was only able to post one catch for -4 yards on Sunday.

Lineup Fun

You probably won if your lineup looked like this…

QB  Tom Brady NE = 423 passing yards, three touchdown passes, 0 INTs
RB Adrian Peterson MIN = 120 rushing yards, 21 receiving yards, two touchdowns
RB Fred Jackson BUF  = 117 rushing yards, 23 receiving yards, two touchdowns
RB Jahvid Best DET  = 57 rushing yards, 66 receiving yards, two touchdowns
WR Miles Austin DAL = 9 catches, 143 receiving yards, three touchdowns
WR Vincent Jackson SD = 10 catches, 172 receiving yards, two touchdowns
WR Denarius Moore OAK = 5 catches, 146 receiving yards, 25 rushing yards, one touchdown
TE Rob Gronkowski NE  = 4 catches, 86 receiving yards, two touchdowns

You probably lost if your lineup looked like this…

QB Matt Cassel KC = 133 passing yards, three INTs
RB Arian Foster HOU = 33 rushing yards, seven receiving yards
RB DeAngelo Williams CAR = 13 rushing yards, 23 receiving yards
RB Jamaal Charles KC = 27 rushing yards, torn left ACL
WR Mike Williams SEA = One catch, nine yards
WR Mike Williams TB = One catch, -4 yards
WR Plaxico Burress NYJ = No catches
TE Vernon Davis SF = Two catches, 18 yards

Gut Checks

I’d be worried if…

I own CJ Spiller in a dynasty league. The Bills can talk all they want to about wanting to get him involved, but it’s become apparent that Fred Jackson is simply a better player.

I’m relying on Chris Johnson to carry my team the first part of this season. While he’s most certainly just a little rusty, he’s been pretty ineffective the first two weeks.

I have Arian Foster as my bellcow. It’s becoming apparent that the Texans are going to need to shut him down for an extended period of time or risk him being in and out of the lineup all season.

I was hoping Reggie Bush would somehow become something he’s not. A week after being anointed as the featured back in Miami, Bush took a backseat to Daniel Thomas. It looks like the Dolphins have finally joined the rest of the world in realizing Bush is best utilized as a third down back.

I own any Jaguars player. Their offense looks one dimensional and is likely going to be given to rookie Blaine Gabbert here shortly. Every Jags player is going to have some growing pains, incuding Mike Thomas and Maurice Jones-Drew.

I’m holding out hope that David Garrard is going to re-emerge. Yes, Luke McCown is likely making the Jags re-think their decision, but nobody has pounced on Garrard as of yet. By now, it would take a long time for him to learn an offense and his creaky back is obviously a problem.

I own any Colts player other than Delone Carter. It’s getting worse, not better for everyone else.

I have Tim Hightower penciled in as my RB2.  Hightower had a fine game, but Roy Helu showed more explosion this week. We all know how patient Mike Shanahan is at that position and Helu is laying in the weeds.

I’m hoping for big things from Chad Ochocinco. It ain’t happening any time soon.

I have Ryan Grant in my dynasty league. He’s been officially passed by James Starks.

I own Matt Cassel in my dynasty league. We’ve long been critics of Cassel and he’s looked awful so far this season. The leash is starting to get very short for him and the Chiefs are suddenly looking like a candidate for Andrew Luck. We’re not going to say “I told you so” for a while, though.

We told you about Matt Cassel.

I have Jamaal Charles in my dynasty league. A torn ACL is never good for a running back, especially one who relies so much on his explosion. Let’s hope Charles has a nice recovery.

I’m relying on Peyton Hillis too much in my dynasty league. Hillis is the undisputed starter in Cleveland and they’re going to ride him until the wheels come off. The concern with Hillis is the fact he’s had 44 carries so far and posted only 151 rushing yards, good for a ypc of less than 3.5.

I want anything from Braylon Edwards this season. In two games, he has three catches for 48 yards.

I expect Felix Jones to stay healthy all season. He’s already dealing with a separated shoulder and has never been one to stay off the trainer’s table. Let’s hope he can play this week.

I expect any type of consistency from DeSean Jackson. He is what is. He’s going to have monster games (see week one) and some clunkers (see week two).

I own DeAngelo Williams. What are the Panthers doing? If they wanted to unleash Cam Newton this season and throw 90% of the time, why did they pay Williams so much money this offseason? For the second straight week, Williams took a back seat to Newton and played less than Jonathan Stewart.

I have Sidney Rice in my dynasty league. We thought he was dealing with a relatively minor shoulder injury, but now it looks like a torn labrum could be the issue? Rice was already looking risky playing with the hapless Seahawks, but he’s not doing much to shake the label of being injury prone.

I own Charlie Whitehurst in my dynasty league. Did he do something to Pete Carroll? What does Tarvaris Jackson have to do (or not do) to get replaced. The Seahawks look like the most likely team to be laying down in an effort to land Andrew Luck or Matt Barkley.

A Look Ahead to Hot Names on the Week Three Waiver Wire
Remember, we only post names on the wire of players most likely not owned in deep dynasty leagues and those we haven’t mentioned before. If you followed us, you would have Denarius Moore a month ago. Will one of these players blossom soon?

1. Jackie Battle, RB KC
You have to figure Thomas Jones is already rostered, but Battle has shown has some ability the past couple of years. With Charles out for the year, he could get in the mix with LeRon McClain and Jones.

2. Mike Kafka, QB PHI
Michael Vick is going to need to pass some tests to play next week and Kafka may just get the nod over Vince Young if Vick can’t go.

3. Jon Kitna, QB DAL
Well, here we go again with Tony Romo. Chances are Romo plays this week with his fractured ribs, but we’ll see.

4. Tyler Palko, QB KC
With Eric Berry and Jamaal Charles both out for the season, Palko may end up getting a look. After all, Matt Cassel is struggling and the Chiefs have virtually no chance to make any noise this season.

5. Dane Sanzenbacher, WR CHI
We can’t ignore the Ohio State product any longer with Roy Williams fading into obscurity.