I've been doing my best to get my rankings out on Wednesday mornings before Yahoo, ESPN, and other big name websites. So far, I think I'm 3 for 3 in beating them to the punch. I'm hoping this will give my rankings a little more legitimacy, showing that I'm not just copying and pasting someone else's rankings and making them my own. I doubt anyone really cares, but I want people to know that these are
my rankings. The only downside to getting my weekly list out before the experts is that I don't have anything to write about in comparison to their rankings, but I thought I'd change that with my Friday updates.
In addition to a bit of a recap of the Thursday night game and some additions to my rankings (with removal of that game's players), I'm going to start mentioning a couple of guys at each position who I've ranked very differently than the experts at the four-letter. It's going to be a lot easier for me to use just one website as a basis for comparison, and I'm going to use both of our Wednesday rankings (so you'll notice the Friday update numbers will be a little different). There may not be a ton of variation from mine to theirs, but there will surely be enough to discuss here on Fridays. I'll have to exclude the Thursday night players from this exercise, but that still leaves plenty of other guys to talk about. Let's get to it!
QBs
1.Peyton Manning
2.Drew Brees
3.Matthew Stafford
4.Colin Kaepernick
5.Aaron Rodgers
6.Matt Ryan
7.RGIII
8.Tony Romo
9.Cam Newton
10.Tom Brady
11.Eli Manning
12.Russell Wilson
13.Andy Dalton
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14.Sam Bradford
15.Matt Schaub
16.Philip Rivers
17.Carson Palmer
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18.Andrew Luck
19.Ryan Tannehill
20.Joe Flacco
Michael Vick had a couple of nice long runs last night, but he also had more INTs than TDs, which is never good for a fantasy line. Needless to say, he most likely won't be a top-10 QB once Week 3 is in the books. Maybe teams are starting to figure out the Eagle offense a little more. Maybe Kansas City's defense is legit. Whatever the case, I'll be reconsidering Vick as a top play when he travels to Denver next week. As for the other side of the ball, Alex Smith put up some pretty boring numbers, most likely leaving him out of the top-20.
With two empty spots in my rankings, I added Ryan Tannehill and Joe Flacco. Tannehill gets a nice matchup in Miami's home opener against the Falcons. The Dolphins are actually favored in this one, and I think the second year QB will put up some decent numbers on the Dirty Birds. As for Flacco, it was either him or Cutler at #20 for me. Both are playing tough defenses, but Flacco is playing at home and Cutler is playing away. That was the determining factor for me, not that it matters much. You probably won't be starting them in any leagues.
Now to the ranking comparison...
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| Get ready for a post game fantasy celebration...with this guy! |
I'm high on: Andy Dalton (ESPN #20, ME #14)
This feels like last year all over again. I continued to rank Dalton highly down the stretch in 2012, and the ESPN experts kept him well out of the "startable" range. We're talking about someone who put up around 17 fantasy points on both the Bears and the Steelers to start this season. Now he gets Green Bay, who has allowed huge numbers to Kaepernick and RGIII in their first two games. I think the Red Rocket is a strong play this week, and I think he'll get over 300 yards and a pair of TDs.
I'm down on: Andrew Luck (ESPN #14, ME #19)
Don't get me wrong, I love me some Andrew Luck. But against the 49ers...in San Francisco...after they just got embarrassed on national television?!? No thank you. I think Luck is in line for a rough day, but he'll be back well into my top-10 next week when he travels to Jacksonville...
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RBs
1.Marshawn Lynch
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2.Doug Martin
3.Adrian Peterson
4.Matt Forte
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5.Alfred Morris
6.Arian Foster
7.Frank Gore
8.CJ Spiller
9.Chris Johnson
10.Reggie Bush
11.Knowshon Moreno
12.DeMarco Murray
13.Lamar Miller
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14.Darren McFadden
15.Rashard Mendenhall
16.Darren Sproles
17.Daryl Richardson
18.DeAngelo Williams
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19.Stevan Ridley
20.Trent Richardson
21.Joique Bell
22.Ryan Mathews
23.Giovanni Bernard
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24.Ray Rice
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25.James Starks
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26.David Wilson
27.Jacquizz Rodgers
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28.Chris Ivory
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29.Benjarvis Green-Ellis
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30.Maurice Jones-Drew
31.Ben Tate
32.Bilal Powell
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33.Bernard Pierce
34.Jason Snelling
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35.Fred Jackson
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36.Montee Ball
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37.Ahmad Bradshaw
38.Danny Woodhead
39.Willis McGahee
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40.Robert Turbin
Well, well, well. Jamaal Charles and LeSean McCoy sure played the part of first round fantasy draft picks on Thursday night. For the record, I did have Charles two spots ahead of McCoy in my rankings, and he finished ahead of him (just sayin). For one more record, I didn't even rank Bryce Brown. Some people continue to have him ranked around 40 or so, but so far he's done nothing, and it appears that he'll continue to ride the pine as long as McCoy is healthy. Speaking of which, Shady gave me a scare when he went down at the end of the first half and appeared to be in a lot of pain. That commercial break felt like an eternity. Luckily for fantasy owners (and Eagles fans...yuck!), he appears to be OK. He got back in there in the 2nd half and even got that TD after the apparent injury. I'm just happy that I got plenty of fantasy production out of him AND the Eagles lost. Win-Win!
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| Is that Edgerrin James...? |
Of course the big running back news this week was Trent Richardson to the Colts and the Browns signing Willis McGahee. This has me moving Richardson down considerably (since Indy is playing San Fran this week), but this should only help his fantasy value for the rest of the season. Ahmad Bradshaw also moves way down the list obviously. With Charles and McCoy now off this week's list, I've added McGahee (apparently he's going to play Sunday, I guess we'll see just how much) and Turbin. I look for Seattle's backup to get some extra work in garbage time on Sunday against the Jags. It's a desperation play and hopefully one you don't have to make, but I think he could get some good 2nd half stats if the Seahawks are up as big as they're expected to be.
I'm high on: Rashard Mendenhall (ESPN #24, ME #18)
After two games, the Saints are ranked near the bottom of the league in rush defense (and they were dead last in 2012). Meanwhile, Mendenhall has quietly had a good start to this season (at least it's quiet to me...maybe that's the east coast bias). I like him more than a guy like DeAngelo Williams or even TRich with his new team against one of the best rush defenses in the league!
I'm down on: Stevan Ridley (ESPN #16, ME #22)
Yes, the Patriots have WR issues and will probably try to run the ball a lot this weekend. But what has Ridley done thusfar in 2013 to make you think he's a top-20 running back? Not to mention the Patriots are hosting Tampa Bay, who had the best run defense in the league last year (and is looking like a top-10 squad this season). I'm still concerned here and have him lowered in my rankings accordingly.
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WRs
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1.Calvin Johnson
2.AJ Green
3.Dez Bryant
4.Brandon Marshall
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5.Demaryius Thomas
6.Julio Jones
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7.Vincent Jackson
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8.Wes Welker
9.Pierre Garcon
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10.Victor Cruz
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11.Randall Cobb
12.Anquan Boldin
13.Larry Fitzgerald
14.Andre Johnson
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15.Jordy Nelson
16.Julian Edelman
17.Marques Colston
18.Hakeem Nicks
19.Mike Wallace
20.Steve Smith
21.Eric Decker
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22.Steve Johnson
23.Torrey Smith
24.Tavon Austin
25.Eddie Royal
26.James Jones
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27.Reggie Wayne
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28.Antonio Brown
29.T.Y. Hilton
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30.DeAndre Hopkins
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31.Miles Austin
34.Kenbrell Thompkins
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36.Marlon Brown
37.Stephen Hill
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38.Cecil Shorts
39.Kendall Wright
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40.Emmanuel Sanders
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DeSean Jackson and Dwayne Bowe weren't the best fantasy WRs on their squads last night. It was Jason Avant and Donnie Avery getting all of the points, which of course we all saw coming. I wouldn't worry too much about DeSean getting his points in that offense, but I'm growing concerned with Bowe. I'm not so sure "game manager" Alex Smith is a QB who can get it to his top WR on a consistent basis. You'll now find toward the bottom of the list Stephen Hill and Kendall Wright, both apparent "#1 receivers" albeit in horrible passing offenses. I thought of adding Aaron Dobson to the list, but it's still too early to tell if it'll be him or Kenbrell Thompkins who has the chemistry with Brady. I'm hoping it's the latter because I'm planning to waive Dobson to pick up Chris Ivory in my money league. The only reason I'm even writing this is because I have the #1 waiver priority right now. I hope Ivory is worth it...
 I'm high on: Anquan Boldin (ESPN #23, ME #13)
Sure, he was basically shut down against Seattle last week, but so was the rest of his team! He was targeted 17 times in Week 1 against Green Bay and caught 13 of those balls for 208 yards and a TD. I'm sure this week will be somewhere in between the results from his first two games, but I'm leaning strongly toward the good numbers.
I'm down on: Reggie Wayne (ESPN #22, ME #29)
In that same game, I've already discussed how I think Luck will struggle, so why would I have his WRs ranked too highly? For this week, I don't. If anyone has a big day, I think it could be T.Y. Hilton again. But I think they'll shut down Reggie.
One more I have to mention: Josh Gordon (ESPN #36, ME not ranked!)
I realize this guy is talented, but is he a magician? I don't think he can suddenly turn Brian Hoyer into a good quarterback who can get the ball to him. Although, maybe that's what he's been working on the last two weeks while he's been suspended. I wouldn't trust him this week.
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TEs
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1.Jimmy Graham
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2.Vernon Davis
3.Julius Thomas
4.Tony Gonzalez
5.Jason Witten
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6.Jordan Cameron
7.Jermichael Finley
8.Martellus Bennett
9.Jared Cook
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10.Brandon Myers
11.Owen Daniels
12.Greg Olsen
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I'm excluding Gronk from this conversation, though maybe I shouldn't. I just looked at the updated ESPN rankings, and all four guys are ranking him for Week 3. I realize he's been doing light drills in practice this week, but everything I've read has said that the party boy is unlikely to play this Sunday against Tampa Bay. Maybe they all know something I don't (or maybe they were all asked to rank him just in case), but I'm leaving him off my list for another week.
I'm high on: Jermichael Finley (ESPN #13, ME #7)
Two games. Two touchdowns.
He's a big part of a high powered offense. I'm not sure why he's not at least a TE1 in ESPN's rankings, but he's not. I have him and Martellus Bennett in my money league, and I'm finding myself sticking with Finley. I just don't see a reason not to at this point.
I'm down on: Owen Daniels (ESPN #5, ME #11)
Two games. Three touchdowns. Wait a minute...
Ray Lewis is getting inducted into the Ring of Honor in Baltimore this Sunday. I honestly think that with him there, this Ravens defense will play inspired. Daniels has had a strong start to the season, but my gut is just telling me he doesn't find the endzone this week.
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DEF
1.Seahawks
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2.Broncos
3.Bears
4.49ers
5.Vikings
6.Texans
7.Patriots
8.Cowboys
9.Jets
10.Bills
11.Titans
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12.Panthers
The Kansas City Chiefs strike again! I'm glad their defense played well for a 3rd week in a row, but I wish I had at least put them in my top-12 and looked smart in the process. Oh well. At least a non-Redskin NFC East team lost in the process. It's obviously impossible to predict defensive touchdowns, but KC got their second of the season last night. Even without it, they would've had a 20 point night, which is awesome for a team defense. I'll be sure to rank them next week against the G-Men at home.
As for the comparison with ESPN's rankings, there are several in their top-12 that I didn't rank (namely the entire AFC North), but I'm going to keep this one personal.
I'm high on: Vikings (ESPN #19, ME #5)
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| Jared Allen is going to wreak havoc on the Brownies. |
Oh sure, sure. Everyone jump on the team playing the Browns now that Trent Richardson is gone! In today's update, ESPN now has the Vikings ranked as their #7 defense for Week 3....but I had them ranked top-5 on Wednesday. I guess I'm just ahead of the curve. Or maybe I realized that Brian Hoyer alone is reason to pick up whatever fantasy defense is playing against him. I just had to include this to make a point that ESPN had Minnesota ranked 19th overall on Wednesday.
I'm down on: Bengals (ESPN #10, ME not ranked)
So I picked up the Vikings in my money league to replace Cincy this week. They played well against the Steelers on Monday night, but the Packers are a different animal. I just don't trust the Bengal defense to still get me fantasy points when they're likely to give up 30 points. I'd rather roll the dice on a weaker D who's playing an even weaker O. Granted, if I ranked more than 12 defenses, I'd probably have Cincinnati somewhere around 15, so we're not too far off here. But I don't get having the entire AFC North in the top-12 defenses for Week 3.
It's just not going to happen...
That's all for my Week 3 update. Good luck out there, internet friends!
Cheers,
Bart
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