Fantasy Football Picks for Week 2

It is week 2 and I am pretty sure we are all ready for another week of fantasy football.  Was there a game on Thursday as I don't think it was worthy of any real starts besides Julian Edelman in PPR leagues.  Chris Ivory did look pretty good running the ball, but as Mike Mayock stated about 50 times during the game, Marty Mornhinweg does not like to run the ball.  If you need a running back, which I did and still do, I would go and pick up Ivory as Geno Smith throwing 3 picks will have to make Marty change his mind on his balance of running and throwing, worth a look for the next couple of weeks if you are desperate.

On to my picks, for those that have not read the blog, I don't tend to say start AP as he pretty much should be an every week start regardless of match up.  That being said if Christian Ponder does not help him out, that could change in the future.  I would mention if I think a top guy should be sat though, which I might have done with Brady this past Thursday if you are in a one quarterback league and there are good options on the wire. 

Quarterbacks

I love Eli this week, enough said!

Eli Manning, this is a Manning that is not an every week start in most 1 quarterback leagues, but if you have him and your other quarterback is not Peyton Manning, give him the start.  The Giants are having some real issues running the ball and I don't think bringing Brandon Jacobs in is going to be the answer.  Expect the Giants to throw the ball plenty in this game as will the Broncos, which will lead to a longer game due to incompletions, which will lead to a lot more plays.  I would not be surprised to see 40-50 passes out of both quarterbacks in this one. 

Phillip Rivers, don't love him like Eli, but he will be forced to pass a lot.  They will try running the ball to keep Vick and company off the field but in the end, he will throw the ball and he might get you 3 touchdowns.  So if you have a couple of questionable starts in a 2 qb league, Rivers could be a good option.

Carson Palmer,  pretty similar to Rivers except they will not be able to run the ball against the best defensive line in the league, which Detroit definitely has.  Palmer will throw the ball a ton and against a pretty bad pass defense, this should work out pretty well.  I like Palmer more than Rivers.

Stay Away

Andrew Luck,  Miami is coming to town and they have a good all around defense.  I don't think Luck is going to have a sophomore slump, I just think that they are going to run more as they are changing their identity.  You would be lucky to get 2 touchdowns out of him this week.  In today's NFL, that is a pretty bad week. 

I don't really like Andy Dalton much, but with AJ Green being virtually unstoppable it might not matter much.  Full disclosure, I have Kaepernick and I am hesitant to start him in my 1 qb league.  I am not going to overthink the room, but I have thought about picking up Bradford or Palmer to start, I just don't have anybody I am willing to drop for this one week pickup.

Running Backs

Matt Forte, with Minnesota coming to town, Marc Trestman probably saw a lot that he liked with the way Detroit used Reggie Bush last week.  Expect Forte to get a lot of touches and he should be great for PPR owners.  Got some goal line touches, which is always one of my concerns regarding Forte with Michael Bush in Chicago.

Eddie Lacy, time to give this guy a look.  Despite not having a great opener, averaging less than 3 yards a carry, I think this is the week for him to get into a groove.  Don't expect McCoy like numbers against this Washington defense, but he should be able to give you close to 100 and hopefully a score if they don't bring Kuhn in.

Stay Away

Chris Johnson,  going against a pretty good defense in Houston, this might be a tough start as Houston may be up and the Titans may have to pass fairly often.  You could do worse than this but if you have Eddie Lacy, Daryl Richardson or similar options you should go with them.

Even though I like Ahmad Bradshaw and Mendenhall and thought they were good values, this might not be the week to start them as they have some tough matchups.

Wide Receivers

Desean Jackson, if you are in a PPR league, Jackson may be an every week start as they try to give him the ball a lot.  He had 9 targets and the majority were in the first half. 

Guys to get back in the mix this week, a lot of people are down on James Jones and Eric Decker, but they should be back in the mix.  Decker had 7 targets and had a very bad game, but expect that to change as Julius Thomas will not be as open this week and Peyton will try to work him in to the game plan.  James Jones is a big physical receiver that can run a good route, expect him to get to the end zone this weekend.

Stay Away

Torrey Smith,  Joe Haden will be covering him and he tends to eat people up.  Just ask Mike Wallace.  Enough said.

Anquan Boldin, I love this guy and I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised this year, but if you have better options, go with them.  Boldin will most likely have Sherman draped on him with a linebacker underneath. He is big and physical and will catch a few, but don't expect last week to happen again in Seattle.

Tight End

Tony Gonzales, I know he is obvious, but I just wanted to mention as Roddy and Julio may both be out and then there will be nobody else to throw to. Could be a monster game as you saw with Brady and Edelman, you have to throw to somebody.

Jared Cook, love this guy so I just wanted to mention him again. 

Sleepers

Most of the time I go with receivers here as quarterbacks and running backs are far and few.  Each team only starts one quarterback, which makes it tough to find a sleeper.  Although Josh Freeman, who I don't like a lot should get some consideration this week as going against New Orleans, he will be throwing a lot and could put up some big fantasy points in a likely loss.  There were a few guys that had big games last week that I don't think will become a trend.  Simpson from Minnesota is the third option, so I would wait and see if he does it for a couple of weeks before wasting a spot on him.  Hartline in Miami has had those types of games before, but realize Haden took Wallace out of the game which forced more targets his way.  Speaking of Haden, that brings me to my first guys.

Marlon Brown and Dallas Clark,  these guys should benefit from Haden covering Mr. Smith.  Expect a lot of targets as Cleveland will probably do a good job against the run and with Jim Caldwell loving Flacco passing the ball as he threw 62 times last week, expect some big numbers from these 2 guys.  Big PPR guys this week.

Leonard Hankerson, if you have some room on deep benches go pick this guy up as he will either have a huge year or an awful year.  Hold on to him for a couple of weeks because you should know by then and it will be no harm no foul. He is a big and fast target that RGIII seems to like.  You will be pleasantly surprised by this guy.  They are also playing against Green Bay and could be down a good amount.

Michael Floyd and Andre Roberts, not really sleepers as they are fairly well known, but they are not every week starters either.  If Fitzgerald does not go, Michael Floyd gets moved into my wide receiver start section over Desean Jackson.  Andre Roberts is a PPR guy that gets a lot of targets, still hesitant to start in a regular league with these 2 guys in front of him.

Harry Douglas, possibly no Julio or Roddy against a pass happy team in St. Louis.  If these guys don't go, get Douglas and start because not every throw can go to Tony Gonzales.

Defense

Baltimore,  I expect these guys to be ready to go as they looked beyond pathetic last week.  Home opener for them and they have Cleveland coming up who is not an offensive juggernaut.