The WESTern Perspective (Week 3 Preview)
Posted 09-17-2008 at 07:07 PM by dannywest
The WESTern Perspective
September 17, 2008
Version 2.9
The first few weeks of football can be difficult to gauge even for the most experienced of fantasy owners, this task, of course, is only made more difficult when key names on your roster go down with an injury or are simply not playing to par.
Tom Brady owners were left scrambling after just one quarter of play, Marques Colston owners were without a high second round pick after one game, and owners of LT, Steven Jackson and Braylon Edwards have endured two weeks with their stud player putting up numbers that are disappointing. To say the least, these events can be frustrating.
And yet, as players of a game in which we have an extremely limited control of the outcome, these are things that we must grow accustomed to and, more importantly, accustomed to working around. After all, this time last year were we not talking of Andre Johnson’s injury, LT and Steven Jackson’s lack of performance, and a couple less than impressive outings by Lee Evans? And it was the owners that suffered through the injury that reaped the benefits when Andre Johnson returned. LT returned to his usually caliber of play not too long into the season to destroy yours, and Lee Evans had more than a few fantastic showings late in the season.
Last week I spoke of this panic mode that fantasy owners are quick to slip into and I will still contest that it is much too early in the season to begin freaking out. Even if you are two games back you can’t reshape your team for a last ditch run at the playoffs before we are even through the first half of the first half of the season. We all put a lot of work into our drafts and, at this point at least, I am not willing to throw all that away due to two weeks that didn’t go as planned. I would advise you to rethink things, if in fact, you are beginning to rethink things.
Perhaps it is that we have the wrong take on fantasy football and instead of playing to win a championship maybe we should play to win one week at a time, week after week.
So, with that in mind, here are a few things you may want to consider going into week three.
Of the top ten performers from week one, only one of them remained in the top ten in week two. That man was Jay Cutler.
Bernard Berrian had 71 receptions and five touchdowns last year…with the Bears. The Vikings have removed Tavaris Jackson from their starting lineup and have instead put in Gus Frerotte and while Berrian has been limited in practice this week with a foot injury, I still expect him to have a huge week against the Carolina secondary. If Berrian has been sitting in the shadows of your depth chart you might consider giving him the green light this week.
Ike Hilliard was seemingly the only receiver in Tampa Bay not affected by Jon Gruden’s quarterback shuffle, hauling in 41 yards via Brian Griese compared to 45 yards via Jeff Garcia the week before. This week add the fact that Joey Galloway is likely to miss Sunday’s game and Hilliard becomes exponentially more valuable. If you’re in need of a number 3 receiver, this third down conversion magnet should not let you down.
The most hyped rookie this season is Darren McFadden, and with good reason. This however, casts a cloud over guys like Matt Forte (whom I spoke of starting last week and I think his performance thus far has deemed him a year long starting job in your lineup) and Jonathan Stewart. Stewart has quietly rushed for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first weeks of the season and with an average of 5.4 yards per carry, I think it is a safe bet that the Panthers will be working Stewart more and more into their weekly game plans. If you’re unsure of one of your starters or are looking for a slot guy, Stewart can easily put up big numbers that can help secure you a win this week.
It would be a greater loss to have Braylon Edwards on your bench when he does finally go off than to have him in your lineup for another less-than-10-points game.
Shop Eddie Royal now while he still has value. We are going to see a quick drop in Royal’s stats here in the near future, don’t believe me? Just ask all last week’s wait-and-see Brandon Marshall owners who the main focus is on in Denver.
Regardless of what your record is, whether it be 2-0 or 0-2, do not ride the same roster all season long. Check player updates regularly, investigate match-ups, and then, when educated on the subject, plug in the guys who are going to get you the most points. That’s how you win fantasy games, no luck needed.
September 17, 2008
Version 2.9
The first few weeks of football can be difficult to gauge even for the most experienced of fantasy owners, this task, of course, is only made more difficult when key names on your roster go down with an injury or are simply not playing to par.
Tom Brady owners were left scrambling after just one quarter of play, Marques Colston owners were without a high second round pick after one game, and owners of LT, Steven Jackson and Braylon Edwards have endured two weeks with their stud player putting up numbers that are disappointing. To say the least, these events can be frustrating.
And yet, as players of a game in which we have an extremely limited control of the outcome, these are things that we must grow accustomed to and, more importantly, accustomed to working around. After all, this time last year were we not talking of Andre Johnson’s injury, LT and Steven Jackson’s lack of performance, and a couple less than impressive outings by Lee Evans? And it was the owners that suffered through the injury that reaped the benefits when Andre Johnson returned. LT returned to his usually caliber of play not too long into the season to destroy yours, and Lee Evans had more than a few fantastic showings late in the season.
Last week I spoke of this panic mode that fantasy owners are quick to slip into and I will still contest that it is much too early in the season to begin freaking out. Even if you are two games back you can’t reshape your team for a last ditch run at the playoffs before we are even through the first half of the first half of the season. We all put a lot of work into our drafts and, at this point at least, I am not willing to throw all that away due to two weeks that didn’t go as planned. I would advise you to rethink things, if in fact, you are beginning to rethink things.
Perhaps it is that we have the wrong take on fantasy football and instead of playing to win a championship maybe we should play to win one week at a time, week after week.
So, with that in mind, here are a few things you may want to consider going into week three.
Of the top ten performers from week one, only one of them remained in the top ten in week two. That man was Jay Cutler.
Bernard Berrian had 71 receptions and five touchdowns last year…with the Bears. The Vikings have removed Tavaris Jackson from their starting lineup and have instead put in Gus Frerotte and while Berrian has been limited in practice this week with a foot injury, I still expect him to have a huge week against the Carolina secondary. If Berrian has been sitting in the shadows of your depth chart you might consider giving him the green light this week.
Ike Hilliard was seemingly the only receiver in Tampa Bay not affected by Jon Gruden’s quarterback shuffle, hauling in 41 yards via Brian Griese compared to 45 yards via Jeff Garcia the week before. This week add the fact that Joey Galloway is likely to miss Sunday’s game and Hilliard becomes exponentially more valuable. If you’re in need of a number 3 receiver, this third down conversion magnet should not let you down.
The most hyped rookie this season is Darren McFadden, and with good reason. This however, casts a cloud over guys like Matt Forte (whom I spoke of starting last week and I think his performance thus far has deemed him a year long starting job in your lineup) and Jonathan Stewart. Stewart has quietly rushed for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first weeks of the season and with an average of 5.4 yards per carry, I think it is a safe bet that the Panthers will be working Stewart more and more into their weekly game plans. If you’re unsure of one of your starters or are looking for a slot guy, Stewart can easily put up big numbers that can help secure you a win this week.
It would be a greater loss to have Braylon Edwards on your bench when he does finally go off than to have him in your lineup for another less-than-10-points game.
Shop Eddie Royal now while he still has value. We are going to see a quick drop in Royal’s stats here in the near future, don’t believe me? Just ask all last week’s wait-and-see Brandon Marshall owners who the main focus is on in Denver.
Regardless of what your record is, whether it be 2-0 or 0-2, do not ride the same roster all season long. Check player updates regularly, investigate match-ups, and then, when educated on the subject, plug in the guys who are going to get you the most points. That’s how you win fantasy games, no luck needed.
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