Fantasy Football ~ Week 2: "Sit'em"

From here forward, I will invest a day for each of the following topics, "Sit'em" and "Start'em" based upon my experience with each player (and fantasy football in general). In the decision-making process, I consider injuries, historical analysis of performances against particular teams, and the defense/special teams play of the teams they face.This week is fairly easy to determine based upon the schedule and the apparent injuries that have occurred.


QB J.P. Losman ~ For that matter, you can say the whole offense. The Bills face a revamped, yet exciting defense in Pittsburgh's (Mike Tomlin's) 4-3 defensive approach. There secondary consists of ball-hawk's and big-body blows. I do not foresee this being a good game for Buffalo. Their RB corp. was abysmal against the average defensive line of the Denver (partly to do with the great depth in the defensive backfield: Bly, Bailey, Lynch). Lee Evans will get his fair share of attempts, but don't expect too much from any of them. If anything, go with Roscoe Parrish, who is not only their third WR, but more importantly if you are in a league that rewards return yards. If this is the case, play'em as he should have a huge day.

QB Joey Harrington ~ Can you say "pain in your future"? Joey and his boys are heading into a "storm of hurt" as they approach Sunday's game against the hard-hitting Jaguars defense. The JagsARE injury prone but at present are healthy and looking to deal some pain. The WR corp. of Horn, Jenkins, White, and Crumpler has their work cut out for them as the running game didn't produce much last week. If you have him, even if you have a 2 QB starter league, you find an alternative. This should be ugly.

QB Phillip Rivers ~ I predict a tough week for this second year starter who faces yet another defensive giant. Have faith those who selected him as your no. 1 QB. Once he gets through these first two games, it will become obvious why you selected him. Don't jump the gun and trade him OR be silly enough to start him against the NE defense, with or without their cameraman on the sidelines. The D/ST of the Patriots ARE the real-deal...which leads me to my next pick.

QB Tom Brady ~ Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, Laurence Maroney, Ben Watson, and the mass-protect offensive line will have more than their hands full this Sunday. Expect to see grass stains and dirt marks covering up that pretty no. 12 this week against the monster front seven of the Chargers defense. This will be a game of field goals with both Phillips and Brady each attaining low passer ratings... say....in the mid 70's at best.

QB Duante Culpepper ~ It seems that he is the "heir-apparent" for the start against Denver, but if you are Duante, that is not a welcome opportunity. For the very same reason that Buffalo was a "field goal kicking squad" last week, will be the same reason that Culpepper's return to the field should be a bumpy one at best. LaMont Jordan had a fairly productive Sunday and Curry looks like he is fulfilling his promise at the WR position (if healthy), however, the Bronco's backfield is a daunting group to overcome. He will put up fairly reasonable numbers but it may be a disapointment to those who start him.
Side Note: Don't expect Curry to show big numbers because of the secondary of the Broncos.

RB Larry Johnson ~ Yes, he is on an awful team. Yes, he could carry the ball a zillion times and produce something. No, it isn't going to happen for him this week either. Essentially, he started training camp Sunday, showing that he is not the Larry Johnson that wore an "S" on his shirt the last two seasons. Give it time and he will be though. Huard will get this team down the field with efficiency (not as much as KC fans would like, but it will occur) and L.J. will play the biggest role. Kennison going down shouldn't be much considering his age and ineffectiveness to break away from defenders, however, he was their best bet (OUCH!). With that, T.Gonz will see plenty of double coverage when running routes and investing more time at the line blocking than most fantasy GMs would like. K.C. legs (kicker/punter) should see the most action this coming Sunday.

RB Laurence Maroney ~ Is he injured? It's the Patriots, so you will never really know until the game is over. I can say this, Sammy Morris took more touches than he should, and leading me to believe that Maroney has some aches and pains to deal with. That doesn't even count the fact that they are playing San Diego's D/ST. Expect Merriman and staff to keep the RBs in check, leaving it to the o-line to protect Brady and the tandem of Moss & Welker (I have no idea why Stallworth or Watson didn't get "their touches" last week) to get the job done. If anything, put Sammy Morris in, he is a tough bruiser who will sacrifice his body (Heath Evans, too!) Both will have better stats than L.M. this weekend.

RB DeShaun Foster / DeAngelo Williams ~ This may come as a shock to you, but the Texans defense will surprise some people this year... especially their run-defense. I fully expect Carolina to be on the receiving end of this. The team MAY eclipse a 100 yards, but don't see it being done by one player. If you have a league that awards receiving yard bonuses for over 50 yards, you may consider Foster, but it is more than likely that these guys SHOULD be benched, fantasy-wise. However, some GMs will not AND pay for it, point-wise, this coming fantasy week.

RB Edgerrin James ~ Fantasy owners gave a huge sigh of relief when they saw the line of a poor offensive performance by the Cardinals...92 YDS, 1 TD for Edgerrin James. Well... get your lungs ready, because they will be excercized again. James faces a better, younger, run-defense in Seattle that will focus on him as the Leinart connection looked particularly week, regardless of the quality of the WR corp. I was not impressed with Larry Fitzgerald, who appears soooo arrogant, he waits for the ball to come to him. "Larry....you do NOT have THAT much speed!!!" When all is said and done, expect 70-75 YDS and potentially a TD, although it may come as a swing pass, rather than a goal-line sprint on the ground.

WR Laveranues Coles / Jerricho Cotchery ~ I had to include both as Kellen Clemens will answer the call, based on expectations of Pennington's injury. Even if Chad starts, they WR corp. are going to have a difficult day. The face Ray Lewis' defense (even if he doesn't play, they are monsters of the AFC, defensively. They turned the ball over 6 times against a potent Bengals' offense. Could the Jets win? It's possible. (Unless the Patriots' cameramen has been hired by the Ravens!!!) I believe the Jets offense will be stumped early and often.

WR Braylon Edwards ~ Sorry, those of you who drafted him as your no. 1 or 2 WR... it just isn't going to happen. Derek Anderson is not the answer, nor is it Quinn...YET... He is still learning the offense, mind you, not from Frye (traded to Seattle) or Anderson, but from watching film, mid-week practices, and study. Edwards will not have the year you want him to... but he will have it next year.

WR Antwaan Randle El ~ 162 yards!!! I hear ya. But the significant factor is this statistic... NO TDS. The Eagles have made a career out of crushing the 'Skins (or at least the past 5+ years). I do not foresee a very high scoring adventure for Jason Campbell, which all but guarantees that Randle El and Moss for that matter, will see many fantasy points coming their way this week. Cooley and the RBs are probably going to be your best bet to score points using WAS players. Randle El has had some significant fantasy weeks, approximately 3 over the past 4 years... consistency wins fantasy leagues, not monster weeks with a "touch and go" approach.

WR Plaxico Burress ~ Man!!! Did he look good last week. With the news of Manning and his shoulder, even if he does play, it will be tough for Burress this week. GB's backfield showed they could keep up with the PHI WR corp. which is one of the fastest in the league and the more slim, more trim, defensive line of GB wants to "play" with Eli and his ailing shoulder. Sorry Giants fans, but this is going to be another tough loss. If you got Tynes, play'em !!!!

TE Alge Crumpler ~ He has no shot against the Jags to have a fantasy impact. Their o-line is not getting it done, leaving Harrington vulnerable and forcing the offensive coordinator to leave Crumpler on the line for protection. This will be another disappointing loss for Falcons' fans.

TE Jason Witten ~ I realize the "starry-eyed way" people are looking at the Dallas offense. Please keep in mind, they were playing the Giants injury depleted, less than talented defense. I fully expect Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor, and their front seven to remove all the trickery that Wade Phillips pulled off against the hapless Giants D. I am hard pressed to believe that Witten will have the same fantasy impact that he had for some GMs, week 1.


Those are my "Sit'em" picks for Week 2. I hope that this will at least lead you to question what is in your fantasy team's best interest when deciding who to start and who to sit.

Statistocrat