NFL Weekly Grind Down: Week Two - Page 2

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2013-09-11 22:32:15

Tennessee at Houston

Tennessee Titans						Houston Texans
Sun – 1:00PM ET						Reliant Stadium
Vegas Odds		Sprd	Total	Proj.Pts		Vegas Odds		Sprd	Total	Proj.Pts
		9.5	43	16.75				-9.5	43	26.25
Tm Stats	PPG	Scoring	Pass	Rush		Tm Stats	PPG	Scoring	Pass	Rush
Off.	16.0	27	31	10		Off.	31.0	6	7	7
Def.	9.0	3	6	2		Def.	28.0	23	9	15
Top Players	FP-S	FP-3	DvP	FP-A		Top Players	FP-S	FP-3	DvP	FP-A
Locker	5.30	5.30	25	24.60		Schaub	24.84	24.84	4	10.64
Johnson	7.00	7.00	25	21.40		Foster	12.00	12.00	1	4.60
Britt	2.00	2.00	18	29.40		Johnson	20.60	20.60	20	30.60
Walker	5.50	5.50	11	5.90		Daniels	21.20	21.20	3	1.60

Houston

• Still can’t believe Houston came back and won that game Monday night. They are typically on the other end of those kind of losses. Matt Schaub played well with 25 fantasy points, most of those in the 4th quarter. I like the matchup against the Titans this week, but could see the Texans getting up big early and then cruising the rest of the way. Rating = 6
• Arian Foster and Ben Tate both hurt each other’s fantasy value when they are healthy. Foster got the bulk of the carries last week, but Kubiak said that he wants to get Tate more touches. I like the matchup, but not the timeshare. Rating = 6
• Andre Johnson had a huge fantasy performance Week 1. He finished with 12 grabs for 146 yards. While he didn’t find the endzone, the important thing is that he looks fully healthy. He’s a top 5 WR option this week. Check out DeAndre Hopkins as a sleeper pick as well.
• Owen Daniels caught 2 TD’s against the Chargers and had himself a nice game. Lot of good matchups for the Texans, but there are only so many plays they can run. Rating = 6

Tennessee

• The Titans picked up a big win in Pittsburgh last week. While their defense looked good, I think it had more to do with the Steelers bad play than anything. As far as the Titans offense, it looked very lackluster. Locker, Johnson, Britt, and Walker combined for less fantasy points than Schaub had last week. I don’t like Jake Locker against this tough defense. Rating = 3
• If you are taking Chris Johnson, then you are taking him for the HR threat. He can roll off ten 1-yard runs in a row and then break one for 75 yards. I don’t see that happening this week, but it’s Chris Johnson we are talking about, so he is always a decent GPP play. Rating = 4
• The Titans receivers hardly did anything last week and the Texans held the Chargers to only 195 passing yards last week. I see all things Texans in this game.
• Delanie Walker is a nice TE, but there are better TE’s with better matchups this week. Rating = 3

Miami at Indianapolis

Miami Dolphins						Indianapolis Colts
Sun – 1:00PM ET						Lucas Oil Stadium
Vegas Odds		Sprd	Total	Proj.Pts		Vegas Odds		Sprd	Total	Proj.Pts
		2.5	42.5	20				-2.5	42.5	22.5
Tm Stats	PPG	Scoring	Pass	Rush		Tm Stats	PPG	Scoring	Pass	Rush
Off.	23.0	17	16	32		Off.	21.0	20	29	6
Def.	10.0	4	15	3		Def.	17.0	7	11	31
Top Players	FP-S	FP-3	DvP	FP-A		Top Players	FP-S	FP-3	DvP	FP-A
Tannehill	14.18	14.18	24	21.88		Luck	24.92	24.92	6	12.56
Miller	1.50	1.50	17	15.70		Bradshaw	3.80	3.80	5	10.20
Wallace	2.00	2.00	12	25.20		Wayne	19.60	19.60	7	19.70
Clay	7.90	7.90	14	8.20		Fleener	1.20	1.20	27	22.70

Indianapolis

• The Colts didn’t play great on offense, but they didn’t get that many opportunities last week. Andrew Luck finished with 178 yards through the air with 2 TD’s and added another 38 yards rushing with a TD. Not a bad start to Luck’s season. The Dolphins have a pretty good defense, but the Colts get that offense rolling at home. Rating = 7
• From a fantasy perspective, I hate what is going on with the Colts RB’s. Vick Ballard got the most carries last week, but eventually Ahmad Bradshaw will be the starter. This makes for a long few weeks of splitting carries. Rating = 4
• A lot of people were saying that Reggie Wayne was going to have a down year and that he was getting too old, but as long as he has Luck throwing it to him, he will be just fine. He had a good week and is playable again this week. I would stay away from T.Y. Hilton and Darrius Heyward-Bey this week and they are both fighting for that number 2 WR spot.
• Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen both hurt each other’s value. Rating = 4

Miami

• Ryan Tannehill played well last week and didn’t even utilize his new receiver Mike Wallace all that much. The Colts do not have a great defense as Terrelle Pryor even manage to put up 21 fantasy points against them. I think Tannehill offers great value if you want to spend elsewhere. Rating = 5
• Lamar Miller was another big disappointment last week. There were quite a few weren’t there? Until he and Daniel Thomas stop splitting carries, they are both unplayable. Rating = 3
• Brian Hartline really outshined Mike Wallace Week 1. He had 9 catches for 114 yards and a TD. I like the matchup even better this week. I think Wallace gets more involved as well.
• Charles Clay is my sleeper TE pick this week. Since Dustin Keller is out for the season, he is really their only TE that catches the ball. He had 5 catches for 54 yards last week. Rating = 6

Carolina at Buffalo

Carolina Panthers						Buffalo Bills
Sun – 1:00PM ET						Ralph Wilson Stadium
Vegas Odds		Sprd	Total	Proj.Pts		Vegas Odds		Sprd	Total	Proj.Pts
		-2.5	44	23.25				2.5	44	20.75
Tm Stats	PPG	Scoring	Pass	Rush		Tm Stats	PPG	Scoring	Pass	Rush
Off.	7.0	31	30	5		Off.	21.0	20	28	4
Def.	12.0	5	22	11		Def.	23.0	14	18	30
Top Players	FP-S	FP-3	DvP	FP-A		Top Players	FP-S	FP-3	DvP	FP-A
Newton	12.80	12.80	11	16.12		Manuel	16.30	16.30	9	15.50
Williams	8.50	8.50	27	23.50		Spiller	6.00	6.00	14	14.70
Smith	14.10	14.10	28	45.00		Johnson	11.40	11.40	24	36.40
Olsen	8.10	8.10	2	1.00		Chandler	5.80	5.80	9	5.70

Buffalo

• EJ Manuel played well in his debut and almost led his team to a victory over the Patriots. He was put in some great spots with field position though and I don’t think he can count on that each week. The Panthers did a good job of bottling up the Seahawks offense and I think they will do the same with the Bills. Rating = 3
• All we heard in the offseason was how C.J. Spiller was going to get a ton of touches and then in the first game Fred Jackson got almost as many touches and outplayed him. I’m not too worried about his touches yet, but the Panthers played well against Lynch last week. He’s a decent GPP play. Rating = 5
• The Bills receivers didn’t do much other than that TD catch by Stevie Johnson. I don’t like any of them enough to play them.
• Scott Chandler makes a decent play just because he is so cheap, but don’t expect anything too big from him. Rating = 4

Carolina

• Cam Newton is one of my favorite plays this week at any position. I think he is a top 2 QB play this week against the Bills. This whole offense revolves around Newton and the Patriots should have scored a lot more points against this Bills defense last week. Rating = 10
• DeAngelo Williams was a nice surprise last week. We knew he was going to be the main back, but racking up 100 yards from scrimmage against a tough Seahawks run defense was impressive. Having Cam back there really opens some big holes for him. Rating = 6
• Steve Smith is Newton’s top WR, he can still make big plays. I think I like Olsen a bit better though.
• Greg Olsen is one of the few TE’s that can go for 100 yards and a TD any week. The Bills defense is below average. Rating = 6

Cleveland at Baltimore

Cleveland Browns						Baltimore Ravens
Sun – 1:00PM ET						M&T Bank Stadium
Vegas Odds		Sprd	Total	Proj.Pts		Vegas Odds		Sprd	Total	Proj.Pts
		6.5	43.5	18.5				-6.5	43.5	25
Tm Stats	PPG	Scoring	Pass	Rush		Tm Stats	PPG	Scoring	Pass	Rush
Off.	10.0	29	17	30		Off.	27.0	11	6	28
Def.	23.0	14	17	1		Def.	49.0	32	32	8
Top Players	FP-S	FP-3	DvP	FP-A		Top Players	FP-S	FP-3	DvP	FP-A
Weeden	12.56	12.56	32	46.28		Flacco	20.48	20.48	8	14.18
Richardson	8.70	8.70	16	15.60		Rice	17.10	17.10	3	9.90
Little	4.60	4.60	32	65.30		Smith	11.20	11.20	23	35.10
Cameron	21.30	21.30	29	25.50		Dickson	1.80	1.80	12	7.90

Baltimore

• Super Bowl winning QB Joe Flacco wasn’t quite as impressive in his debut as the QB he was facing. Flacco still finished with 20 fantasy points though and has a more favorable matchup against the Browns this week. Rating = 6
• Ray Rice is one of my favorite fantasy players because he can produce even when it seems like he is having a bad game. Rice wasn’t doing much on the ground, but still managed to score 17 fantasy points. I really like his matchup this week against the Browns. Rating = 8
• One of the bright spots for the Ravens last week was rookie Marlon Brown. He filled in nicely for Jacoby Jones and should see some increased playing time while Jones is out. He and Torrey Smith both look like decent plays.
• Dallas Clark had a big game, but he made some huge mistakes. Sounds like he isn’t going to be getting 12 targets again anytime soon. Rating = 4

Cleveland

• Brandon Weeden really has a good thing going with Jordan Cameron. They hooked up for 108 yards and a TD against the Dolphins. While Weeden played well, I think he is catching the Ravens at the wrong time. They will be mad after last week’s performance and this is their home opener. Rating = 3
• Trent Richardson had a pretty quiet first week and I don’t know how much better it will get this week against the Ravens. I really like Richardson, but wait for the right matchup. Rating = 4
• Greg Little and Davone Bess should get an extra target or two with Gordon still suspended, but that’s not enough to make them good plays.
• Of all the Browns, Jordan Cameron is the one that you want on your team. He should receive plenty of targets once again this week. Rating = 7

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