Daily League Optimized Lineup: Week Two

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As part of that experience we at DLF felt it might be of particular interest to our readers to provide them with an optimized lineup that they should be able to plug into a Head to Head or 50/50 game and fully expect to win some money.

Now obviously not much went right in the world of daily fantasy football last week. We had Jamaal Charles racking up an underwhelming 19 rushing yards off of seven carries – not your normal performance by any stretch of the imagination and it didn’t stop there. Players I put forth in last week’s column like Brian Hartline, Reggie Bush and Kai Forbath performed well under the normal stat lines one would expect. However, some of the more risky plays I put forth like Carson Palmer, Golden Tate and Anquan Boldin stepped up like I expected to prevent complete wipeouts.

However, that’s all in the past and it’s a new week filled with new opportunities. Let’s take a look at this week’s optimized lineup and try to make some of that lost money back.

Quarterback – Andy Dalton – $7,800

Andy Dalton looked like he took another step forward in his career on Sunday posting a 300+ yard passing yard game. This week he is looking at a defense who is notorious for giving up big passing games in the Falcons. Just last week the Falcons allowed Drew Brees to throw for 333 yards and the only thing that allowed Atlanta to come away with a win was the fact Matt Ryan threw for an insane 448 yards.

Don’t look for that to happen this week against a much stouter Cincinnati secondary, but Ryan will do enough to keep it close and I fully expect Dalton to feast on the Falcons secondary in the most brutal of ways. Now, Dalton isn’t Brees but he is quite capable of getting the ball where it needs to go. I look for Dalton to fall short of his second consecutive 300+ passing yard game but he should do more than enough to justify the comfortable $7,800 price tag attached to him.

Projected Stat Line – 19 completions for 272 yards and two touchdowns

Running Back – Rashad Jennings – $6,700

Rashad Jennings is going to benefit from just how bad Eli Manning can be and has been. Why? Well, they will surely take the ball out of Manning’s hands more as it seems the more he throws the more careless he becomes with the ball. Look for Jennings to get a decent amount of rushes to keep his rushing total high enough to garner a few points from that aspect of his game. However, it’s the receiving side of his game that should help offset any rushing deficiencies.

Look for the Giants to play short ball in order to help secure the passing game against a tough Arizona secondary – this should benefit Jennings significantly as he should see a lot of dump offs in order to move the ball. After last week’s debacle, it’s safe to say it would be suicidal for New York to try to move the ball in any significant way through deep passes. When all is said and done, come Sunday night I fully expect Jennings to be the fantasy points leader among all Giants players, win or lose.

Projected Stat Line – 12 rushes for 62 yards, four receptions for 30 receiving yards and one touchdown

Running Back – Arian Foster – $8,300

Arian Foster looked like his old self last weekend amassing 103 rushing yards off of 27 carries plus another 17 yards through the air from two receptions. It’s the Foster we all wanted and expected to show up for quite a while now. This week he faces an absolutely dismal Oakland defense that should be easy pickings for a running back of his experience.

When you factor in an interesting statement he made this week where he mentioned that his heavy workload isn’t just a one game thing but is, in fact, something he’s going to be experiencing all season. If that’s true, and there are several signs pointing to that being the case, Foster’s value is pretty low even at this price and we should take advantage of that before he gets hurt again due to overuse or FanDuel gets smart and ups his salary even more. Either way, in all likelihood he’s going to have a monster game and it should be an easy decision to slot him into your lineup.

Projected Stat Line – 23 rushes for 104 yards, five receptions for 31 yards

Wide Receiver – Calvin Johnson – $9,200

I feel even silly having to write about the need to get Calvin Johnson in your lineup. The most dominant receiver of our era requires a roster spot if you can afford him. Luckily, in this configuration we can!

Against the hapless Giants defense, Johnson put on a show catching seven passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. While I doubt he has a day like that again this week I think he’ll certainly get in the neighborhood. Carolina’s defense is quite difficult against the rush so expect the Lions to do what they do best – pass the ball. Calvin should see a lot of targets as the Panthers just don’t have a cornerback that can match up with him physically, then again what team really does?

Projected Stat Line – Eight receptions for 112 yards and one touchdown

Wide Receiver – Kendall Wright – $6,100

The great thing about Kendall Wright is that he is just so dependable! You can toss him in your lineup and expect at least five receptions from him with the possibly of getting a touchdown every once in a while. This week he’s going to be involved in a shootout as one of the few secondaries almost as bad as the Cowboys belong to the Titans.

Look for both teams to air it out frequently in an effort to keep up with each other. Wright should have a very similar role to Anquan Boldin last week and that, obviously, was a great fantasy play for the price tag. Meanwhile, the popular fantasy play this week, Justin Hunter, could be religated to a role similar to what Michael Crabtree found himself in. Expect the Titans to follow the game plan that the 49ers rolled out against Dallas last week but to use that strategy all game in an effort to keep themselves in the game.

Projected Stat Line – Seven receptions for 82 yards and one touchdown

Wide Receiver – Malcolm Floyd – $4,500

Well it seems pretty obvious Malcolm Floyd was missed by Philip Rivers last season. Floyd was heavily targeted by the Chargers and posted a similar stat line to Keenan Allen who is being priced at $2,700 more this week. Allen is going to draw Richard Sherman, so expect Floyd to get a few more looks against a tough Seattle defense. Normally I’d avoid any team facing the Seahawks, but since they are so stout against the rush and Floyd showed a high usage, I’ll make an exception and grab him for his price tag.

Now, just to be clear, I’m not expecting a huge game out of Floyd, but he should outperform his price tag and the value we save here can allow us to bulk up in other places. Worst case he performs similar to last Monday Night, best case the Chargers fall behind and he becomes Rivers’ most reliable target against the notoriously tough Seahawks defense.

Projected Stat Line – Four receptions for 48 yards

Tight End – Jimmy Graham – $8,000

Here’s another player I almost feel silly for even having to write much about. If you’ve been living under a rock for the past five years or so then let me introduce you to the most dominant tight end in the NFL and arguably one of the most valuable fantasy players in the game, Jimmy Graham. Graham always puts up his numbers and I don’t expect much different against a Browns team that allowed Ben Roethlisberger to hang 365 passing yards on them. I think we can all agree Drew Brees is a better quarterback than Big Ben and who is Brees’ favorite target? You guessed it – Jimmy Graham.

There just seem to be anyone on the Browns who is fully equipped to stop Graham on the Browns defense and short of some effective new strategy expect Graham to have one of his “normal” days racking up the fantasy points. The one concern here is Graham’s touchdown targets have appeared to decline as of late. Nonetheless, if he can continue to catch the ball like we’re accustomed to then any touchdown he catches will simply be gravy.

Projected Stat Line – Seven receptions for 90 yards and one touchdown

Kicker – Greg Zuerlein – $4,500

I almost went Greg Zuerlein here last week, but switched it up for the egg laying Kai Forbath at the last moment much to my chagrin. Meanwhile, Zuerlein did quite well last week for a low priced kicker, accounting for nine fantasy points. This week the Rams will face a pretty tough Tampa Bay defense which should limit their trips to the end zone. Instead, the Rams should be able to put themselves in field goal distance a few times throughout the game which should make for some nice scoring opportunities for “Greg the Leg.” Look for Zuerlein to probably get some extra points for distance as well, which should be a nice bonus.

Projected Stat Line – Three field goals, one extra points

Defense – New Orleans Saints – $4,800

The Saints defense was absolutely exploited by Matt Ryan last weekend, so their price tumbled significantly. However, Brian Hoyer is no Matt Ryan, the Browns backfield is absolutely in flux at the moment and there is even a question whether one of their biggest weapons in the passing game, Jordan Cameron will even take the field. If you think the Saints aren’t going to be out for revenge and looking to regain some respect this week, you’re kidding yourself.

The Browns will likely become one dimensional fairly quickly as they will fall behind early to the high powered New Orleans offense – this should allow the Saints to safely skew their play calling towards pass protection while calling up several blitz packages.

Projected Stat Line – 13 points against, two interception, four sacks

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