NFL Week 2: Late Game Wrapup

Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals


Matt Hasselbeck - 22/36, 281 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 2/6. Another solid outing from Hasselbeck, but like I said in my preseason QB review, there continues to be little upside here. He's still a solid fantasy QB regardless, though.


Matt Leinart - 23/37, 299 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1/-4. Much better outing from Leinart. Wisenhunt will continue to learn the strengths and weaknesses of Leinart as the season progresses, and Leinart will continue to improve. He makes a better QB2 than a QB1, but he definitely still has upside.


Shaun Alexander - 18/70, 2/5, 1 TD. Another unimpressive outing from Alexander, but he scored again for a solid afternoon. I remain highly skeptical about his value this season, but if he stays healthy, he's going to score. His upside as an elite RB is definitely gone, and he's an injury risk thanks to his career workload and advanced age.


Edgerrin James - 24/128, 2/22, 1 TD. The Edge looked much better in week 2 as he consistently churned out yardage, but since his TD came from 17 yards out (another positive about his afternoon), we're not sure what the goal line RB situation is in Arizona yet. The blocking looks better so far this year.


Deion Branch - 7/122. Much better. I promised that he'd be a bigger part of the gameplan, and the Seahawks made me look smart. Branch should continue to emerge as the go-to guy for Hasselbeck as he's a smart route runner and quick. I like him as a solid WR2.


Bobby Engram - 5/71. He might play the slot, but he's far more consistent than anyone they line up opposite Branch. He's not a bad guy to have as a WR5 as a non-exciting but reliable backup.

Larry Fitzgerald - 7/87. Much better. They did a much better job getting Fitz the ball downfield a bit as well as underneath. I don't like him as a WR1, but he's a very good WR2 with upside.

Anquan Boldin - 4/83. See above.



Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings


Tavaris Jackson - 17/33, 166 yards, 0 TD, 4 INT, 5/16, 1 TD. Leave him on the waiver wire, obviously.


Jon Kitna - 22/33, 245 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 3/13, 1/9. Yes, he caught his own pass and ran 9 yards with it. Could you imagine what fantasy nation would be saying had he scored with it? He was knocked out of the game with a concussion, but later returned to lead the Lions to victory. He appears to be fine for week 2, and would have had enormous numbers had he not gotten hurt.


Adrian Peterson - 20/66, 4/52. Another example of why the surrounding offense is almost as important as the talent level of a player. He started off with several great runs, but Detroit eventually crept up to the line to stop the only thing Minnesota was doing well on offense. His talent is undeniable and he'll post solid RB2 numbers when starting, but his surrounding offensive situation will hold him back from being elite.


Tatum Bell - 9/14, 4/25. So much for starting. Minnesota stuffed him, and the Lions don't like running anyways. KJ looks ready to play next week on a limited basis, so don't think about starting Tatum again. He's still worth stashing deep on your bench though.


Roy Williams - 7/111, 1/9, 1 TD. Big game from Williams, and it might have been bigger had Kitna not gotten hurt. Roy should maintain his status as a WR1 this season. Calvin Johnson might seem like a threat thanks to his incredible talent, but experience is important at the WR position, and Roy will remain the go-to target this year.


Calvin Johnson - 4/61, 1 TD. He was utilized on a jump ball in the redzone by backup O'Sullivan and hauled it in. Get used to it...there's no corner that will outjump or outmuscle Johnson for those. He remains solid WR3 with upside as he learns the NFL game.


Shaun McDonald - 7/71. Is it possible for the Lions to have 3 fantasy-worth WRs? With as much as they want to throw, it's becoming possible. Stash him as your WR5.



Dallas Cowboys at Miami Dolphins


Tony Romo - 14/29, 186 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 4/36. He didn't have to throw much, but made use of his targets and tossed 2 TDs. He remains a solid QB1.


Trent Green - 23/40, 287 yards, 2 TD, 4 INT, 5/9. He had to throw often, and the results were rather ugly. He still looks like an unexciting QB2, however.


Julius Jones - 15/32, 1/24. Outproduced by Barber again. One has to wonder that with Parcells gone how long the new coaching staff will continue splitting carries if Jones keeps running like this.


Marion Barber - 14/89, 2/6, 1 TD. He just won't stop scoring, but this TD was a 40 yarder. He does a lot of damage against tired defenses in the 4th quarter, but it'd be interesting to see what he could do given the majority of the carries.


Ronnie Brown - 11/33, 2/36. I don't understand how he wastes all this talent. His line doesn't help, but he should be making more of what he's given. He remains a very risky RB2 thanks to the present of Chatman in the gameplan.


Terrell Owens - 5/97, 1 TD. Romo continues throwing to him as much as he can, and Owens remains one of the best WR1s in the game.


Jason Witten - 2/27. He slowed down a bit, but that's the nature of the TE position. He remains a solid TE1.


Chris Chambers - 9/109, 1/-5. He continues piling up the yardage as Green looks his way often. Fantasy nation was down on him this year, but he's emerging as a WR2 if he continues seeing all these targets. The TDs should came given that trend as well.


Marty Booker - 4/79, 1 TD. Unless you're really hurting at WR, I'd leave him out there. I'm not confident the Dolphins can produce 2 fantasy wideouts.



Baltimore Ravens at New York Jets


Kellen Clemens - 19/37, 260 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 3/2. He looked like a first year starter, but he definitely didn't crumble like many though he would against the elite Ravens defense. Pennington looks likely to start next week.


Kyle Boller - 23/35, 185 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 3/7. He looked solid in this start, but his yards per completion was low as he played it safe. Baltimore won't have a problem if McNair misses more time, and a deep threat like Clayton would benefit from Boller's presence.


Thomas Jones - 24/67, 2/20. Poor YPC, but a solid effort against the Ravens. His carries show that he's healthy, so he's not a bad buy-low candidate as a RB2. Things look to get easier from here on out.


Willis McGahee - 26/97, 2/6, 1 TD. McGahee still looks like he's running in quicksand. He has not regained the explosiveness he had prior to the knee injury in college. With his projected workload and the decent Baltimore offense, he can't help but put up solid numbers, though.


Jerricho Cotchery - 7/165. Clemens definitely paid benefits for Cotchery's owners as he put up a massive yardage total. He'll go back to being solid with Pennington, but Clemens' stronger arm would allow Cotchery more chances for bigger plays. He's very similar to Boldin after the catch.


Laveraneous Coles - 6/57. Another solid outing from Coles, but no 2 TDs this time. He'll benefit from Pennington's return.


Derrick Mason - 8/54. Another solid effort from Mason who remains far more valuable in PPR leagues. He's not a bad WR4/5 to have on the bench, however.


Todd Heap - 7/76, 1 TD. Heap made a terrific one-handed catch while dragging his feet inbounds to score his TD. He remains a great TE1.


Kansas City Chiefs at Chicago Bears


Damon Huard - 19/28, 175 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1/1. It's hard to do much of anything against the suffocating Bears defense, and Huard wasn't that bad considering how undermanned this Chiefs team is at the WR position. Huard has decreasing job security on a bad offense, so he's not worth touching in 12 team leagues.

Rex Grossman - 20/34, 160 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 3/-3. I expected more against the KC defense. He isn't being allowed to throw down the field very often which explains his dismal yards per completion. He had a tendency to light up weak defenses last year, so if you have him as your backup, I'd hang on a bit longer. Make sure he faces a weak defense the week your starter has a bye, though.

Larry Johnson - 16/55, 3/32. LJ looks fine, but the Bears defense looks as tough as ever against opposing RBs this season, and his surrounding offense is pathetic. The Chiefs are going to have to feed LJ a lot in order to have a chance this season, but it looks like he may struggle against tough opposing defenses this year.

Cedric Benson - 24/101, 1/9. That's better, although he still looks sluggish and seems to lack acceleration. I saw him run much better in college, so I'm not sure what's changed. The Bears offensive line isn't as good as it was last year, so perhaps that's the issue. It was nice to see him get 24/26 carries that the team generated yesterday. He remains a solid RB2 that will get a lot of carries this year.

Dwayne Bowe - 2/22, 1 TD. He should have had a 2nd TD, but it was called back due to an illegal shift on the offense. He's going to be inconsistent thanks to the poor offense and the fact he's a rookie, so leave him on the waiver wire for now.

Bernard Berrian - 5/65, 1 FL. Berrian is suffering a bit from the fact the Bears are so conservative on offense right now, but he's rounding out his game well by making more short and intermediate catches to become a more consistent fantasy option. He should remain a solid WR3.

Muhsin Muhammad - 1/7. Dump him. He was likely drafted late in your draft, but he's not rosterable at the current time.


Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders


Josh McCown - 8/16, 73 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT, 2/28. The Raiders must have really felt uncomfortable starting Culpepper this week, although that's not a bad idea. If they're still questioning his knowledge of the offense at the moment, throwing him to the wolves against a great Denver secondary wouldn't have been a smart move. It's only a matter of time til Culpepper does take over for good, however.

Jay Cutler - 23/33, 269 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 2/-2. Not a great game from Cutler, but Oakland's secondary is pretty solid as long as they don't get spread out too thin. Cutler has great weapons around him and will continue to improve, plus Shanahan has a great track record and is working with his most talented QB since Elway. Cutler remains a lower tier QB1.

LaMont Jordan - 25/159. Jordan is back as a great RB2 option. He was my favorite value pick at RB this year, and all he needed was a non-inept coach and offensive coordinator to bring his talent back out. Plus it helps that he's 100% as well. I'm surprised the Raiders didn't look to get him more involved in the passing game given how great Bailey and Bly are in the Denver secondary.

Travis Henry - 26/128, 2/8. Henry put up another big yardage day, but Cecil Sapp punched it in from 4 yards out. There's been some rumors that Sapp is the goal line back for Denver, but I'm not buying it right now given the fact that Sapp lined up as the FB and it was a nice misdirection play. Don't read too much into that yet, but keep an eye on who's scoring next time out.

Selvin Young - 3/43, 1/1. He's a must-have for all Henry owners. He busted out a very nice 40 yard run and has defintely passed Mike Bell as Denver's backup. I'm not sure he'd be a 25 carry guy if Henry got hurt, but he's worth owning to find out.

Ronald Curry - 2/12. The Champ Bailey factor. Do not worry about this, and get him in your lineup next week.

Jerry Porter - 1/46, 1 TD. Yes, he burned Bly down the sideline for a long score, but he's not doing a damn thing in games other than this. Don't pick him up.

Javon Walker - 8/101. Not even a talented corner like Asomugha could slow Walker down. Walker remains a borderline WR1 in 12 team leagues, and it's only a matter of time until he start catching a few bombs from Cutler. His speed and Cutler's arm are a perfect match.


San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots


Phillip Rivers - 19/30, 179 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 1/6. Another mediocre effort from Rivers, but his first two games have come against 2 of the 3 best defenses in the NFL (CHI, NE). Don't read too much into this, but Rivers just doesn't have the talent at the WR position to post big numbers against great defenses. Keep that in mind given his matchups, but SD's schedule gets a lot easier after this.

Tom Brady - 25/31, 279 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, 1/2. He just makes it look so easy. SD stiffled him in the playoffs last year despite NE"s best attempt to spread them out, but the added talent at the WR position made all the difference. Brady is an elite QB1.

LaDainian Tomlinson - 18/43, 4/15. Tomlinson is not a stranger to slow starts, and much like I mentioned with Rivers above, his schedule so far has done him no favors. He will get going, there's still no one I'd rather own in fantasy football. See what his potentially frustrated owner thinks of him right now, just for kicks.

Laurence Maroney - 15/77. It'd be interesting to see what Maroney's stat line would look like if NE wasn't blowing their opponent out. Given their love to spread the field and pass the ball, it was really hard to see why Maroney was going in the first round despite his talent. Sammy Morris took the goal line carry later in the game, but don't read too much into that yet as it was alreayd 31-14 at that point. If he replaces Maroney in a closer game, then I'd worry.

Antonio Gates - 7/77, 1 TD. This is why he was being drafted so high this year. He started slow last year as Rivers adjusted to the NFL game, but he's off to an outstanding start this season with almost 200 yards and 2 TDs. He's the best TE in football.

Vincent Jackson - 4/53. He'll make some plays downfield and score some TDs, but this overrated sleeper will probably put up more games like this than he will big ones. He's still a solid WR3.

Randy Moss - 8/105, 2 TD. Did I mention he's back? This is for those who didn't get the memo.

Wes Welker - 8/91. He's a solid option as a WR3 who will consistent rack up targets and catches, but he's going to have to break a big one by himself since Brady is rightfully using Moss to stretch the field.

Donte Stallworth - 2/19. Another overrated WR heading into the year. He's clearly the 3rd (or arguably the 4th) option, and nobody would fault you for dropping him if you prefer someone on your waiver wire instead. He's a WR5.

Ben Watson - 5/49, 1 TD. Another TD. He's going to be inconsistent with yardage thanks to the other options on the team, but he's not a bad TE1 as he'll score several TDs this year. He's a great redzone target.