NFL Weekly Grind Down: Week Two
Welcome to the RotoGrinders Weekly NFL Grind Down Article. There’s no better place to start your research for NFL action in the week ahead than the Grind Down. Each week, we break down every game in an effort to better prepare you when building your daily fantasy lineups.
The analysis should point you in the right direction, but it is still up to you to decipher the information and make your own selections. Use this article to help you gain a better understanding of the matchups for the coming week and build from there. We have everything you could possibly need on our Daily Research console for you to be a successful daily fantasy player!
NOTE: I did not include rankings for the WR’s since it wouldn’t make sense to rank them as a team.
Note: Any Fantasy Point Average Listed Uses FanDuel Scoring. For more info on FanDuel’s NFL Scoring System, check out the scoring systems section of our FanDuel Review
NY Jets at New England
| New York Jets | New England Patriots | |||||||||
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| Thurs – 8:25PM ET | Gillette Stadium | |||||||||
| Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | |||
| 11.5 | 43.5 | 16 | -11.5 | 43.5 | 27.5 | |||||
| Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | |
| Off. | 18.0 | 23 | 21 | 12 | Off. | 23.0 | 17 | 15 | 3 | |
| Def. | 17.0 | 7 | 10 | 8 | Def. | 21.0 | 11 | 5 | 29 | |
| Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | |
| Smith | 15.94 | 15.94 | 12 | 16.30 | Brady | 16.12 | 16.12 | 5 | 11.40 | |
| Ivory | 1.50 | 1.50 | 21 | 18.80 | Ridley | 2.60 | 2.60 | 9 | 12.30 | |
| Holmes | 1.80 | 1.80 | 6 | 18.70 | Thompkins | 6.20 | 6.20 | 21 | 32.10 | |
| Winslow | 17.40 | 17.40 | 10 | 5.80 | Sudfeld | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1 | 0.60 | |
New England
- Let’s quickly recap the weapons Brady has lost. Over the summer, he lost Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, and Brandon Lloyd. Now add the weapons that will be out this week: Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola, and Shane Vereen. Tom Brady is going to be holding tryouts downtown Boston here soon. I would love to take Brady against the hated Jets, but his lack of options makes it hard to. Rating = 6
- You don’t want to make Belichick mad. We saw what happened with Stevan Ridley last week when he lost that fumble. If the Pats had any other players on offense I would be concerned, but other than Brady, Ridley is their best player on offense. I think he gets back in the mix and is the play to take on the Patrios. Rating = 7
- Even though the lack of weapons hurts Brady’s value this week, it only helps the short handed receiving core’s value. Kenbrell Thompkins and Julian Edelman will both see a ton of targets this week.
- Zach Sudfeld was one of the biggest busts last weekend. He is questionable at the moment, but even if he does play I don’t think anyone will pull the trigger on him. Rating = 3
NY Jets
- Geno Smith looked pretty good in hid debut, but granted it was against the Buccaneers who had one of the worst pass defenses in the league last year. Geno scored 16 fantasy points last week, but may be in trouble this week. Belichick hates the Jets and he will not let his foot off of the gas.
- The RB situation of the Jets is a mess. Bilal Powell and Chris Ivory are basically splitting the carries and neither looked great in Week 1. Until these RB by committees get figured out, I think the best bet is to stay away from them. Rating = 2
- The WR situation for the Jets isn’t much better. Jeremy Kerley, Stephen Hill, and Santonio Holmes all had very mediocre performances last week.
- Kellen Winslow may be the only Jets player on my radar this week. He was Geno’s favorite target and finished with 70 yards and a TD last week. Rating = 6
Dallas at Kansas City
| Dallas Cowboys | Kansas City Chiefs | |||||||||
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| Sun – 1:00PM ET | Arrowhead Stadium | |||||||||
| Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | |||
| 2.5 | 46.5 | 22 | -2.5 | 46.5 | 24.5 | |||||
| Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | |
| Off. | 36.0 | 2 | 17 | 15 | Off. | 28.0 | 8 | 26 | 7 | |
| Def. | 31.0 | 26 | 31 | 4 | Def. | 2.0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |
| Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | |
| Romo | 17.42 | 17.42 | 2 | 5.88 | Smith | 17.42 | 17.42 | 31 | 31.80 | |
| Murray | 16.50 | 16.50 | 15 | 14.70 | Charles | 17.50 | 17.50 | 2 | 7.80 | |
| Bryant | 4.20 | 4.20 | 1 | 10.40 | Bowe | 5.00 | 5.00 | 31 | 58.80 | |
| Witten | 23.00 | 23.00 | 8 | 5.60 | Fasano | 1.80 | 1.80 | 24 | 16.10 | |
Kansas City
- Alex Smith had a very successful Week 1 against the Jaguars. He threw for 174 yards and a couple of TD’s and scrambled for another 25. Even though the defense vs. position rankings show that he has a great matchup this week against the Cowboys, I think you should temper your expectations. The Cowboys were up big last week and the Giants were forced to throw it a lot. Rating = 4
- Jamaal Charles didn’t have the monster week that I thought he might. He ended up with a respectable 17 fantasy points against the Jaguars. His DvP ranking also doesn’t mean much this week because like I just said, the Giants were down so they didn’t run the ball at all against the Cowboys. I think Charles is a good option in large tournaments, but there is better value in H2H’s and 50/50’s this week.
- The Chiefs leading receiver last week was their FB. That doesn’t say much about the Chiefs receivers, at least not anything good. Dwayne Bowe is a big play receiver with decent upside against the Cowboys, but he’s even more of a GPP play than Charles.
- Anthony Fasano should become a bigger part of the offense as the season moves along. Smith likes his TE’s. Rating = 3
Dallas
- Tony Romo started the season off on the right foot with 17 fantasy points. He has a lot of weapons at his disposal and will really benefit from having a run game this year. All of the Chiefs defensive rankings look good, but that has more to do with how bad the Jaguars were last week. I think Romo makes a solid play. Rating = 7
- DeMarco Murray had 125 yards from scrimmage last week and added 8 catches to go with it. He looked good in the opener, but his biggest downfall is that he doesn’t score TD’s. Rating = 5
- Dez Bryant has a sprained foot but as of right now it sounds like he will give it a go this weekend. I think that drops his value a little and bumps up Miles Austin value a little.
- Jason Witten had a big week last week and is probably happy to be playing without a ruptured spleen this season. Of the three big receiving options, Witten is my favorite. Rating = 8
St. Louis at Atlanta
| St. Louis Rams | Atlanta Falcons | |||||||||
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| Sun – 1:00PM ET | Georgia Dome | |||||||||
| Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | |||
| 6.5 | 47.5 | 20.5 | -6.5 | 47.5 | 27 | |||||
| Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | |
| Off. | 27.0 | 11 | 12 | 23 | Off. | 17.0 | 24 | 13 | 14 | |
| Def. | 24.0 | 17 | 23 | 17 | Def. | 23.0 | 14 | 28 | 14 | |
| Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | |
| Bradford | 21.06 | 21.06 | 21 | 21.48 | Ryan | 20.36 | 20.36 | 16 | 18.08 | |
| Richardson | 12.10 | 12.10 | 26 | 23.00 | Jackson | 14.70 | 14.70 | 7 | 11.30 | |
| Austin | 7.00 | 7.00 | 15 | 28.20 | Jones | 15.10 | 15.10 | 30 | 49.80 | |
| Cook | 27.60 | 27.60 | 25 | 17.10 | Gonzalez | 11.10 | 11.10 | 6 | 5.20 | |
Atlanta
- Matt Ryan put up 20 fantasy points against the Saints last week, but many people were expecting more out of him. With Julio Jones, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez, and now Steven Jackson, he should have a huge year. I think the matchup with the Rams is a decent one, but I’m scared that the Falcons will get up big. Rating = 6
- Steven Jackson is one of my favorite RB plays this week. He showed some burst last week against the Saints and now gets to face his old team this week. A little added motivation never hurt anyone’s fantasy appeal. Rating = 8
- Roddy White is still a bit banged up so I would stay away from him until he gets a bit healthier. Julio Jones is always a threat to break one deep and with Roddy limping, I think he’s a good play in smaller leagues as well.
- Tony Gonzalez added another TD to his great career and I’m sure there will be plenty more coming this year. He’s got value, but I think Graham and Witten are a bit higher on my list. Rating = 6
St. Louis
- Sam Bradford looked good against a tough Cardinals defense. He is really going to benefit from having Tavon Austin and Jared Cook to throw the ball to. Atlanta’s defense isn’t scaring anyone away and even if they get down big, that just means more pass attempts for Bradford. Rating = 5
- Daryl Richardson had 96 yards from scrimmage against the Cardinals and showed that he’s a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield as well. If his price is still where it was last week, he is a solid value play. Rating = 5
- Tavon Austin grabbed 6 balls last week while the rest of the receivers were pretty quiet. Austin is really the only one you need to worry about this week anyway. Decent cheap option if you are looking to save.
- Jared Cook had a monster game against the Cardinals with over 140 yards and 2 TD’s. The Falcons struggled to stop Graham so he could be in store for another good week. Rating = 6
San Diego at Philadelphia
| San Diego Chargers | Philadelphia Eagles | |||||||||
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| Sun – 1:00PM ET | Lincoln Financial Field | |||||||||
| Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | |||
| 7 | 54.5 | 23.75 | -7 | 54.5 | 30.75 | |||||
| Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | |
| Off. | 28.0 | 8 | 24 | 18 | Off. | 33.0 | 5 | 25 | 1 | |
| Def. | 31.0 | 26 | 26 | 25 | Def. | 27.0 | 20 | 24 | 13 | |
| Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | |
| Rivers | 24.60 | 24.60 | 23 | 21.56 | Vick | 25.52 | 25.52 | 26 | 24.84 | |
| Mathews | 12.50 | 12.50 | 8 | 12.00 | McCoy | 25.40 | 25.40 | 22 | 19.20 | |
| Brown | 8.30 | 8.30 | 29 | 47.40 | Jackson | 19.90 | 19.90 | 19 | 29.70 | |
| Gates | 5.90 | 5.90 | 15 | 9.50 | Celek | 12.60 | 12.60 | 32 | 31.90 | |
Philadelphia
- Michael Vick had a Peyton Manning like first half and then the Eagles seemed content to just hold and hope for the best. Maybe they were on tired legs after trying out this offense for the first time. Vick fits this offense perfectly and as long as he can stay away from the big shots, he has upside of a top 5 QB. The Chargers fell apart late in that Monday night game and I think the Eagles will win big in this one. Rating = 7
- There aren’t many times when you would have wished you would have taken the QB, RB, WR, and TE off the same team. That was the case with the Eagles last week. Lesean McCoy sure looked good. He piled up over 200 yards from scrimmage and was making tacklers miss. This Chargers defense isn’t scaring off anyone. Rating = 8
- Desean Jackson even got in on the action last week with over 100 yards and a TD. He’s going to be a great deep threat in this offense. The other receivers were pretty quiet and don’t offer much fantasy value.
- Brent Celek had 2 catches for 56 yards and a TD, but all indications are that he is going to be used more as a blocker than a receiving TE. Rating = 3
San Diego
- Phillip Rivers and the Chargers were sure riding high there for a while weren’t they? That’s a tough loss. Now they have to face this fast paced Eagles offense. I’m not that high on Rivers because he doesn’t have the weapons that he used to. Rating = 4
- Ryan Mathews scored a TD last week, but he is losing a lot of snaps to Ronnie Brown because he can’t pass protect. I think Mathews has some value if his price is still extremely low, but that’s about it.
- Vincent Brown, Eddie Royal, and Malcom Floyd all had two catches or less last week. Nothing is pointing to any of them having better success this week.
- Antonio Gates just isn’t the same player that he used to be. He can still make plays though and of all the Chargers wideouts, he’s my favorite this week. Rating = 5