Fantasy Madness: Week 1 Recap and Week 2 Preview

Rob Dunning

The roller coaster that was Week One of fantasy football came to a close on Monday night. Over the course of Sunday afternoon and Monday evening, tons of headlines came about regarding several teams. To start, the matchup between the first two picks of the 2015 draft certainly caught a lot of people’s attention. Marcus Mariota looked like a world-beater in his first game in the NFL, greeting the Buccaneers defense with a big hello, while Winston’s first pass, and the game in general, didn’t go according to plan. Out in Denver, we saw the Ravens and Broncos competing to see who had the better defense, because both offenses decided not to show up. This ultimately leads to the question, is the Peyton Manning reign dwindling in Denver? Let us know what you think!

In other news, Aaron Rodgers proved that he can make any receiver look great *cough cough* James Jones, and the Raiders…well…they still look awful. Speaking of awful, the Giants decision to not run the clock down on the goal line against the Cowboys ultimately bit them in the rear end. This begs the question, who is to blame for the sequence of plays? Eli? Coach Coughlin? Bob McAdoo? Again, let us know! Speaking of “rear end”, the Eagles certainly looked like they could have used Mark Sanchez on Monday Night as Sam Bradford was inconsistent in his debut, and Julio Jones was busy torching their secondary. With the hotbed that is Philadelphia sports and media, Chip Kelly came under fire, and it raised the discussion of the Eagles being overrated. Agree/disagree? You know what comes after that.

The good news is that it is only Week 1, and there is plenty of football left to be played for every team. However, it is time to look back on some fantasy booms, busts, and injuries as well as expectations for Week Two in the world of Fantasy Football.

Week 1 Top Performers:

Tom Brady: New England Patriots; QB
With Tom Brady, we’re getting off to a good start in what was a league filled with really good stat lines. Fresh off his release from the Roger Goodell stranglehold, Brady proceeded to return with a vengeance on the Steelers defense, racking up an impressive 288 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns, and completed a staggering 78% of his passes (25/32). He showed no signs of slowing down at all, and hell, he even rushed for a yard on a colossal 3 attempts. Look for Brady to continue his success in the upcoming weeks, but don’t expect him to put up the exact numbers against a Bills defense that looked awfully good in Week 1.

Carlos Hyde: San Francisco 49ers; RB
In a game that featured one of the premiere RB’s in the NFL, Adrian Peterson, it was “the other guy” that stole the spotlight on Monday Night Football. The Ohio State product and dynamo put up a massive 168 rushing yards on 26 rushing attempts, while finding the end zone twice. He was also able to reel in 2 catches for 14 yards. Expect another impressive game from Hyde in Week 2 as they travel to Pittsburgh, where the Steelers struggled to contain Dion Lewis of the Patriots in Week 1.

Julio Jones: Atlanta Falcons; WR
Julio Jones was simply dominant against the Eagles and their revamped secondary on Monday Night Football. It seemed as though whenever Matt Ryan threw at Julio Jones, he was going to make a play. Julio hauled in 9 passes for 141 yards and two scores, further solidifying him as the No. 1 receiver in the Falcons’ offense. His stellar performance in Week 1 won’t stop there; expect him to go off against a Giants secondary that was inconsistent in Week 1.

Rob Gronkowski: New England Patriots; TE
One of the reasons that Tom Brady was so good in Week 1 was that he was throwing to a spectacular tight end on what seemed like almost every play. Truly the best player at his respective position, Gronk backed it up with an outstanding performance against the Steelers. He finished with 5 receptions for 94 yards and 3 touchdowns to go along with a whopping 8 targets. The Brady-Gronk connection has never been better, and it should continue to grow if they can overcome a tough test in Buffalo.

Top D/ST’s
Broncos: 2 INTs, 1 TD, 2 Sacks- 15 pts
Panthers: 2 INTS, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 TD, 5 Sacks- 20 pts
Seahawks: 3 FF, 3 FR, 3 TDs, 2 Sacks- 19 pts

Week 1 Busts:

Peyton Manning: Denver Broncos; QB
Coming into the season as one of the top rated quarterbacks in Fantasy Football, Peyton Manning certainly delivered a dud in Week One against the Ravens. Peyton compiled a total of 175 yards passing on 24/40, threw no touchdowns and got picked off once. Peyton was originally projected for around 17 points in Week 1 and wound up with a measly 5. You could say that the offensive line was partially to blame for this because Peyton was sacked 4 times and the RB’s averaged 2.8 yds/carry, but still, Peyton has to be better if Denver is going to be elite this season.

Adrian Peterson: Minnesota Vikings; RB
Maybe it was rust, maybe it was a lost step, or maybe it was the 49ers defense (probably not). But regardless, Adrian Peterson did not have a good performance on Monday night. Projected to be the top running back in fantasy this week with 16 points, Peterson finished with just 5 points. His numbers (10 carries, 31 yards, 0 touchdowns) show that he was contained by the 49ers defense even in his limited amount of carries. If you’re a Vikings fan, hope and pray that the old Peterson returns next week against Detroit.

Calvin Johnson: Detroit Lions; WR
Here we find another player from the infamous 2007 draft that has grown into the standard for NFL wide receivers, except in Week 1, he was anything but “the standard”. Projected to net around 14 points, Johnson was just plain pitiful as he garnered only 3 points against the Chargers. His stat line is as follows: 2 catches for 39 yards. Yeah, Megatron had only 2 catches. What happened to the Lions offense? It used to be as simple as lob it up to Megatron and watch him come down with it, but not anymore. With the emergence of Ameer Abdullah and good secondary receiver options like Golden Tate, Eric Ebron, and Brandon Pettigrew, Johnson’s production could take a steady hit.

Greg Olsen: Carolina Panthers; TE
The Carolina Panthers still can’t find a way to get a receiver or a tight end decent fantasy points. It was expected with the loss of Kelvin Benjamin that there would be a spike in production for Greg Olsen, but his week one performance proved otherwise. Against what might be considered the weakest defense in the NFL, Jacksonville, Olsen posted one reception for 11 yards, racking up 1 point when he was originally projected to get 7 points. It’s not a terrible drop off, but when you consider the Panthers lost their best receiver and are going up against a not-so-good defense, Olsen should have gotten some more points. Hopefully, for Carolina’s sake, they can re-establish the passing game with Olsen leading the way.

Add/Drops for Week 2:

Add:
James Jones (GB): (4 REC, 51 yards, 2 TD) He and Aaron Rodgers have excellent chemistry dating back to the Super Bowl team. Plus, it’s Aaron Rodgers, the guy who makes everyone look better. No brainer.
Ladarius Green (SD): (5 REC, 74 YDS, 1 TD) With the absence of Antonio Gates and Rivers’ love for big-bodied receivers, Green could see a nice spike. If you’re in need of a TE, look no further.

Dion Lewis (NE): (15 ATT, 69 YDS, 4 REC/51 YDS) We know what Brady can do with RB’s in the flat, and Lewis is the latest example. He could be a poor man’s Darren Sproles, so he is worthy of a pick up

Drop:
Fred Jackson (SEA): With Marshawn Lynch as the every down back for the Seahawks, Jackson should see limited action, except maybe on third down. His numbers will not wow you in a backup role.
Larry Donnell (NYG): With Odell Beckham, Victor Cruz, Shane Vereen, Reuben Randle, and Eli’s fascination with throwing towards Daniel Fells, Donnell will see less and less targets as weeks progress
Jameis Winston (TB): With a limited number of options at the skill position and a lackluster team in general, Winston should not be worth a roster spot. Plus, he heads to New Orleans in Week 2.

Favorable Week 2 Matchups:

Drew Brees (NO) vs. TB; My Projection: 23 (ESPN: 18)
Justin Forsett (BAL) vs. OAK; My Projection: 15 (ESPN: 11)
Brandin Cooks (NO) vs. TB; My Projection: 13 (ESPN: 9)

Sleeper for Week 2:

Bishop Sankey (TEN), RB: With Marcus Mariota receiving most of the praise for the decimation of the Bucs, it was Sankey who provided the solid running game to balance the Titans’ attack. Sankey received 12 carries for 74 yards and a touchdown to gain 20 fantasy points. With Sankey coming off a career day, granted it was against the Bucs, he will have a matchup against the Browns, who were absolutely destroyed on the ground by Chris Ivory of the Jets. Look for Sankey to have another big day in the backfield and fly under the radar again.

Injury Report for Week 2:

Dez Bryant (DAL): Broken bone in foot (6-7 weeks); Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley move up
Andre Ellington (ARI): Knee injury, carted off field (1-3 weeks); Chris & David Johnson move up
Derek Carr (OAK): Bruised thumb, X-ray’s negative, Probable for Sunday vs. Baltimore
T.Y Hilton (IND): Knee bruise (possible 1-2 weeks); Andre Johnson, Dorsett, and Moncrief move up
Josh McCown (CLE): Concussion protocol (possible 1-2 weeks); Johnny Manziel moves up
DeSean Jackson (WSH): Hamstring strain (3-4 weeks); Ryan Grant and Andre Roberts move up

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