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14 - Tampa Bay at Atlanta Falcons – 56
This game was over quickly as the Falcons stormed out to a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back.
Bobby Rainey isn't a feature RB at the NFL level. He is effective as a third down RB but is to slight of frame to endure the constant beating a primary RB must take.
Rainey fumbled the ball twice and was benched for most of this game as a result. He picked up nearly all of his yards late in the fourth quarter when he was allowed back in the game.
Josh McCown is terrible. He was saved by Marc Trestman in Chicago last year but does not resemble the same player here in Tampa. McCown hit his thumb on a helmet and was taken for X-rays. He did not return.
Please do not get sucked into the Steven Jackson vortex. He is so done it isn't even funny. The problem here in Atlanta is that Jacquizz Rogers, Devonta Freeman and even Antone Smith are all highly effective players. This is a situation to completely avoid in fantasy football altogether.
Devin Hester's punt return was the 20th of his career and sets the new record for most kickoff/punt returns for TD in NFL history.
As much as Hester is being used in the Falcons offense he is just not involved enough to constitute fantasy value as a WR. He would be far, and I mean F A R too inconsistent to be an impact fantasy player. So DO NOT add him on waivers this week.
Injuries: WR Harry Douglas (Foot), WR/KR Devin Hester (Thigh), QB Josh McCown (Thumb)
9 – Oakland at New England – 16
This was Oakland's 15th straight loss in the Eastern time zone.
The Patriots offense is awful right now. The passing game outside of Julian Edelman is non-existent. Patriots receivers are dropping nearly 12% of passes over 10 yards which is 28th in the league right now.
Danny Amendola is a non-factor. He had just one target in the game today and that was an end zone throw away pass by Tom Brady.
Shane Vereen has another poor fantasy performance. If you are not in a PPR league, he should basically be waiver wire fodder.
The Raiders defense is better than expected early on but they are not nearly this good. They will still give up 30+ points to the Broncos and other potent offenses this season.
Darren McFadden scored what would have been the game tying TD late in this game on a 6 yard run but the play was called back due to offensive holding.
Injuries: WR Rod Streater (Broken Foot), S Tyvon Branch (Broken Foot)
34 – Dallas at St. Louis – 31
The Cowboys were down 21-0 in this ballgame which is their biggest comeback victory since 1999.
The Cowboys are going to continue to run the football. They ran 28 running plays and just 24 passing plays despite the early defecit. Under Jason Garrett Dallas is 8-1 when they call more running plays than passing.
So much for Lance Dunbar's fantasy value. Dunbar had zero touches today and was playing behind Joseph Randle at times as well.
Austin Davis is getting better but please don't get fooled by his numbers this afternoon. The Cowboys defense allowed many opportunities for the Rams today and as well as Davis played, he left a lot of points out on the field today.
Zac Stacy is starting to get hot. In week one he was running straight ahead but this week he started to resemble the runner he was in his rookie season in 2013. Stacy was patient and ran with great balance en route to his 5.6 YPC this afternoon.
Shaun Hill was active today but did not start. It will be very interesting to see how the Rams move forward with their QB situation in the coming weeks.
Jared Cook had a solid game but also took a slap at his QB Austin Davis while Davis was trying to console him after a dropped TD pass. This lead to several Rams players pusing and shoving Cook on the sidelines. I wouldn't touch Jared Cook in leagues under 16 teams.
Injuries: No injuries reported
34 – Washington at Philadelphia – 37
Both of these offenses are strong, but both defenses are quite poor as well. The NFC East is the division to target in fantasy football this year.
Nick Foles took two real big hits in this game one of which resulted in an all out brawl between the two teams. Foles was lit up on an interception return by Redskins DE Chris Baker. The hit is clean but is one of those obviously unnecessary "he could have made the tackle" excuses. I am quite shocked that Foles stayed in the game to be honest with you. I wouldn't doubt if he misses some practice this week.
This game from Jordan Matthews furthers my constant preaching on believing in the system. I had Matthews incredibly high going into this season because his skills in this system with this type of opportunities were destined for success. After two weeks though, many of you wanted to cut Matthew from your team. Now you'll have to pay top dollar to get him back.
Lesean McCoy was out of the game temporarily while checked out for a concussion. He still was very ineffective today.
I know that everybody wants to love Darren Sproles but five touches today is just not enough to be a fantasy producer. Unless he takes one of these touches to the house every single week, which is incredibly unrealistic, he is just not a factor in fantasy football.
I said it last week and will restate it once again: Kirk Cousins is a better fit for this Redskins offense than Robert Griffin III. This kid is a top 12 fantasy QB as well going forward.
Alfred Morris got screwed out of the goal line carry late in this game. Roy Helu took in the 1 yard TD for the Redskins last TD of the game.
Injuries: CB DeAngelo Hall (Achilles), OG Shawn Lauvao (Knee), DL Jason Hatcher (Hamstring), S Duke Ihenacho (Foot), C Jason Kelce (Abdomen)
9 – Minnesota at New Orleans – 20
started out this game like gangbusters. Over the first 17 plays the Saints gained nearly 25% of their yardage for the game.
It appears as though Khiry Robinson is the Saints most trusted RB right now. He was the one who got the carries to run out the clock late in the game which is always telling.
Brandin Cooks is a very valuable fantasy WR in PPR leagues but he loses quite a bit of value in standard scoring formats.
Marques Colston didn't have a catch until late in this game which was creating a lot of Twitter debate on whether he was even deserving of a roster spot. All of that talk simmered after his fourth quarter TD reception.
Vikings QB Matt Cassel was lost with a fractured foot early on in this game. Teddy Bridgewater was decent in his first NFL game but he is still really raw overall. The Vikings are in a lot of trouble offensively this season.
Look for Jerick McKinnon to start getting more carries going forward for the Vikings. He was supposed to play a bigger role in this game but just wasn't on the field. Matt Asiata is absolutely mediocre at best as a feature RB and the Vikings need more help especially for a rookie QB.
Kyle Rudolph left this game after aggravating his groin injury. He is scheduled for an MRI on Monday.
Injuries: QB Matt Cassel (Broken foot), Kyle Rudolph (Groin), OG Brandon Fusco (Shoulder), C Jonathan Goodwin (Leg)
44 – Indianapolis at Jacksonville – 17
was so good today it was simply ridiculous. Not only did he ring up 370 yards & 4 TD's but was an incredible 6-6 of passes over 20 yards in distance. That just doesn't happen in the NFL folks. This was a masterful performance against a defense that isn't nearly as bad as they looked today.
I still don't trust Hakeem Nicks but it appears as though his role with the Colts is extrememly red zone heavy.
It should not be surprising to see the Colts utilizing the TE position so much this season. Assistant coach Rob Chudzinski is the TE whisperer and has worked with Luck, Coby Fleener and Dwayen Allen about ways to add the TE dimension to this offense.
Reggie Wayne will be better in the coming weeks but is still mostly useful in PPR formats.
The Blake Bortles era has officially begun in Jacksonville. Head coach Gus Bradley announced after this game that Bortles would be the Jaguars starting QB moving forward. He played quite well after replacing Chad Henne in the second half today.
It was great to see Bortles be comfortable with both Allen Robinson and Cecil Shorts since those will be the Jaguars starting WR's going forward. I really like Robinson and would consider him a must add if he wasn't already scooped up in your league.
Toby Gerhart appeared healthy today but is simply not an effective runner full time. My money is on Storm Johnson to be the Jaguars leading RB later on this season.
Injuries: WR T.Y. Hilton (Ankle), LB Andy Studebaker (Hamstring)
17 – Houston at N.Y. Giants – 30
This was an impressive win by the Giants. Eli Manning was sharp and anytime he involves Victor Cruz it is a good day for the Giants offense. The Texans defense is no joke so maybe, just maybe there is some hope in New York this season.
Rashad Jennings is simply the most underrated RB in fantasy football right now. There are so few three down RB's in the NFL and Jennings is the one that seems to produce every single time out.
Larry Donnell coughed up a fumble on the four yard line that gave the Texans new life in the second half.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is an absolute turnover machine. He is also a TD vulture. Anytime his teams are inside the 10 yard line, he is looking to run it in himself.
DeAndre Hopkins is Fitzpatrick's favorite receiver. He made an absolutely amazing one handed catch over the middle that went for 37 yards but was nullified due to a penalty.
Andre Johnson is losing fantasy value quickly. He'll have some big games eventually but he could wind up being a reserve player by the time the bye weeks end.
Injuries: No injuries reported
22 – San Diego at Buffalo – 10
The Chargers are a team that just isn't scared of anyone or any situation right now. It's unusual because that is exactly Phillip River's reputation but they have the eye of the tiger right now.
This was a tough matchup for Antonio Gates and he completely wet the bed this afternoon. From a fantasy perspective, Gates isn't as good as he was last week yet not nearly as bad as he was today.
Ladarius Green was finally a facor today hauling in 4-64 yards.
Danny Woodhead was carted off early on in this game leaving only Donald Brown and rookie RB Branden Oliver as the healthy RB's for the Chargers. Brown carried the ball 31 times while also hauling in five catches on the day.
The Bills need to play from a lead in order to win. They cannot play catchup up because their passing offense just isn't productive enough.
Too much dancing for C.J. Spiller. He gets into problems when he hesisates upon taking the ball. He is trying to find a lane to take the ball to the house but needs to just charge forward instead to pick up positive yardage.
Injuries: LG Chris Williams (Back), WR Marcus Easley (Knee), S Da'Norris Searcy (Ankle)
23 – Baltimore at Cleveland - 21
As the whole Ray Rice situation was unfolding, I told everybody to go out and get RB Lorenzo Taliaferro as a "stash play" for later in the year. Well it only took a week for Taliaferro to make his presence felt. Taliafero ran 18-91 yards and his first career TD. Every fantasy analyst who was hyping Justin Forsett the past couple of weeks has exposed themselves as simply not understanding the game of football.
Owen Daniels is a must add this week after Dennis Pitta dislocated his hip early in this game. Pitta is out for the season leaving just Daniels and rookie Crockett Gillmore as the Ravens TE's.
You can have Steve Smith. I am not touching that guy for all the tea in China.
This was a bad game for Terrance West and yet he still made a fantasy impact. But before you get all excited about Isaiah Crowell remember that the Browns have a bye next week. Then Ben Tate is expected back from his knee injury suffered in week one.
When I told you before the season that Jordan Cameron was in another system that wasn't good for his fantasy outlook, you all lauged at me. At this point I would rather have about 15 TE's over Cameron going forward.
Miles Austin had a TD nullified for an illegal forward pass penalty.
Injuries: TE Dennis Pitta (Dislocated Hip)
7 – Tennessee at Cincinnati – 33
Not only did Andy Dalton catch an 18 yard TD pass from Mohamed Sanu but he also took a pretty big hit in securing the catch.
Everyone wants to rank rookie RB Jeremy Hill highly each week but let me ask you this. If Hill isn't getting goal line carries, what good is he fantasy wise? He got a garbage time red zone carry from the four yard line today but Giovani Bernard took in two 1 yard TD runs this afternoon.
A.J. Green was impressive this week after almost missing the game due to his foot injury. He went 6-102 yards and also drew two big pass interference penalties which set up Bengals scores each time.
I woke up Sunday morning to the news of Rob Bironas' fatal one car accident Saturday Night in Nashville. The story is so incredibly sad on so many levels. Bironas was way too good of a kicker to not have been travling with a team somewhere instead of taking a curve too sharply and ending his life. My deepest condolenses to the Bironas family and the Tennessee Titans organization.
Jake Locker is going to play himself out of a job by midseason. His red zone interception just before halftime was an absolute killer for this Titans team today.
Injuries: No injuries reported
7 – Green Bay at Detroit – 19
I was totally wrong about this game. I had the Packers and Lions putting up some major offense this week but they sure disappointed.
You have to wonder if Aaron Rodgers magic dust has run out. Watch this game and tell me that he wasn't absolutely awful throwing the football. He missed a lot of passes where the receiver was open and the only obstacle in his way was himself.
Eddie Lacy continues to struggle and the comparisons to Trent Richardson are going to start coming fast and furious. I still believe in Lacy but only because I believe in this Packers offense as a whole and not necessarily his set of skills. His lost fumble that was returned for a TD is going to magnify his early season struggles even more now.
Fantasy Alarm is the only news service that reported on Calvin Johnson leaving this game with an ankle injury late in the fourth quarter. Check his status during the week.
If Nate Freese doesn't lose his job this week after yet another missed FG I just don't know what it would take.
Injuries: LB Stephen Tulloch (Knee), S Don Carey (Hamstring), Calvin Johnson (Ankle), LB Clay Matthews (Groin)
14 – San Francisco at Arizona – 23
The 49ers are completely lost on offense. Eventually they will realize that they need to be running the football a lot more and doing so with Carlos Hyde but until then avoid this team like the plague.
Stevie Johnson's breakout game should not be that big of a surprise considering the type of player he has been in Buffalo the past few seasons. Even though I really like Stevie Johnson I simply cannot add him to my fantasy rosters as long as he is in San Francisco.
When Carson Palmer returns so will some regularity to the Cardinals passing game. Trying to guess on whether Michael Floyd or Larry Fitzgerald will be the go to WR on a game by game basis is nearly impossible.
Neither Stepfan Taylor or Jalen Parmalee made any sort of impact out of the backfield for the Cardinals today. Andre Ellington is actually running a lot better now and could wind up picking up goal line carries with Jonathan Dwyer out indefinitely.
Injuries: CB Antonio Cromartie (Knee)
34 – Kansas City at Miami – 15
I don't think that the Chiefs will be able to put Knile Davis completely on the bench once Jamaal Charles comes back. Not that Davis is a threat to Charles' job full time but I think he is going to have a role moving forward with the primary offense.
The negative about Knile Davis today though was that he did fumble the ball twice, though only one was lost. Jamaal Charles has similar fumbling issues so this is not a big deal to the Chiefs overall.
We will be able to identify all of the stupid fantasy players by who rushes out to pick up Joe McKnight this week. There is simply no way in hell that he ever has this kind of game again. Ever.
I am so excited about the game Lamar Miller had today. He really looked the part of a franchise type RB both running and catching the football. He is a low end RB2 now with RB1 status certainly a possibility in the next couple of weeks.
Ryan Tannehill is not progressing as I had hoped to start this season. He holds the ball too long in the pocket and allows pressure to come to him.
Injuries: WR Brian Hartline (Leg)
20 – Denver at Seattle – 26
This is what last years Super Bowl should have been. Two heavyweight teams slugging it out in front of the entire world. Too bad we had to wait until week three of the regular season to get it.
Peyton Manning is so mentally focused that he absolutely must have some sort of stigma against certain teams. It just doesn't make any logical sense that he can struggle so bad against one team. It isn't like the Seahawks do anything that drastically different on defense (other than hold every WR) that anyone else.
The Broncos desperately need Wes Welker. He is really their only clutch pass catcher as Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders seem to choke under pressure.
Marshawn Lynch just continues to produce at a high level despite ultra heavy workloads each week. His pass catching ability was on display today and adds a whole other element to his fantasy value.
What Russell Wilson did late in this game is what I would like to see from both Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick. Wilson simply wouldn't let anything get in his way of advancing his team upfield.
Injuries: TE Virgil Green (Concussion, OT Russell Okung (Knee)
37 – Pittsburgh at Carolina – 19
Whatever halftime adjustments the Steelers offense made they had better keep that same mentality going into next week. The Steelers absolutely destroyed this tough Panthers defense in the second half and did so with their primary WR in Antonio Brown.
I was wrong on Le'Veon Bell coming into this season. I was super high on him last year but he shed some weight and is faster and more determined suddenly this season. I wish that I had saw this side of him before passing on him in every league this year.
If I was a Bell owner though I would sure as heck have LeGarrette Blount on my roster as well. The Steelers are back to being a run first team and this duo is going to produce at a high level this year.
I blame Ted Schuster for selling me on Cam Newton this offseason. Newton is crazy talented but when he is not motivated it is downright frustrating. He must run the football for the Panthers offense to be successful and for his fantasy value to go from good to great.
The Panthers WR corps is so much better this year than it has been in a long, long time. They were without Jerricho Cotchery tonight and still produced with Kelvin Benjamin and Jason Avant.
Injuries: LB Ryan Shazier (Foot), Ike Taylor (Broken Arm), LB Jarvis Jones (Wrist), RB Jonathan Stewart (Knee)