Week 3 Rankings

This past Friday, my friends and I took part in our annual Shrimpfest at Red Lobster.  I think they call it Endless Shrimp, but whatever (we used to call it Shrimptober, but now they end it a month early...Shrimpfest it is).  This year we had 10 guys participating, and we pounded as many prawns as we could handle.  The only problem was, we couldn't get served as fast as we could eat them.  This never seemed to be a problem in the past, but this year we had to wait 10, 15, sometimes 20 minutes in between plates of shrimp.

I was keeping track of the numbers, and I realized that 2 hours into this, no one had even eclipsed the century mark.  We started to get pretty restless.  The waitress noticed us squirming in our chairs and moving around the dining room, our loud comments, and our disappointed faces.  Finally management came out, and shortly thereafter the shrimp were flowing faster than we could get them down our throats.  It was great.  We could have sulked, cried, or even given up.  But we didn't.  We pressed on, and the result was a group of men athletes who put away 1500 shrimp.  Patience, my friends.  Patience paid off in the end.

The waiting game can be tough.  Whether it's waiting on an order of soy wasabi grilled shrimp or waiting on that fantasy player to finally start producing...it's not easy.  If you drafted rookies DeAndre Hopkins, Tavon Austin, or Giovani Bernard, you were probably getting a little worried after Week 1.  But all three youngsters had big games in Week 2, and they look like they could be solid fantasy producers this season.  For people who drafted second year players like Lamar Miller and T.Y. Hilton, you only needed to wait a week for those guys to look the part of a fantasy starter in 2013.  

But the season is still very young.  We're still waiting on guys like Russell Wilson and Cam Newton to display their fantasy worth.  Running backs Steven Ridley and Maurice Jones-Drew don't look much like 2nd round fantasy draft picks at this point.  And while rookies Montee Ball and Kenbrell Thompkins seem to have big potential, they probably have you considering putting them on the waiver wire.

Be patient...

You never know what can happen in the NFL, and don't jump the gun on waiving just anyone right now.  I mean, feel free to cut bait on a guy Cordarrelle Patterson.  He's a great talent, but I don't think he'll have the opportunity to flash it on a consistent basis in Minnesota just yet.  But don't get rid of a player like Le'Veon Bell or Lance Moore.  It's only Week 3.  The bye weeks hit in Week 4, and at that point, you might have to start making some decisions.  Until then, try to be patient.

Let's all keep calm and check out my Week 3 Rankings.  Oh, and also check out my wife's blog for some delicious recipes for your own Sunday Fundays... 

The final shrimp count, as posted on my fridge (for 5 minutes)

QBs

1.Peyton Manning

2.Drew Brees

3.Matthew Stafford

4.Colin Kaepernick

5.Aaron Rodgers

6.Michael Vick

7.Matt Ryan

8.RGIII 9.Tony Romo 10.Cam Newton 11.Tom Brady 12.Eli Manning 13.Russell Wilson

14.Andy Dalton 15.Sam Bradford 16.Matt Schaub     17.Philip Rivers 18.Carson Palmer   19.Andrew Luck  20.Alex Smith I ranked Rodgers at the top spot last week (not Peyton), and he lived up to the #1 ranking against the Redskins.  I also had Vick in my top-5 and recommended starting him over a "top tier" fantasy QB if you had him on your bench.  If you had the guts to do it, I'm sure you were happy with that decision.  While he's healthy, I say keep rolling with Vick if you have him.  This week, Manning is back to the head of the class, but there are a couple of different names up there with him.  Matthew Stafford has had a solid start to the season, and what defense would you rather see than the Redskins right now?  (sigh)  I'll be at this game on Sunday, and I think there will be plenty of scoring.  I also look for Colin Kaepernick to bounce back after that horrible loss in Seattle (I moved him down in my rankings last week to adjust for that Seahawk defense, but I didn't think he'd play that poorly).  I think a home game against Indy's secondary is just what the doctor ordered.  Terrelle Pryor made the Colts look like a college team (Michigan maybe?), so I'm sure Kaepernick can make them look like high schoolers. Apparently only digital Colin will have one eyebrow... Speaking of Terrelle Pryor, it looks like I got a little too knee-jerky with him.  He didn't do much against the Jags, and if you can't do it against them, I'm not sure who you can put up good fantasy numbers on.  He's fallen off the rankings this week, and I've kept Philip Rivers on there, as he continued to light up the scoreboard in a Week 2 win in Philly.  He gets a tougher matchup @TEN this week, but I can't take him off while he's this hot... I still left Cutler off in Week 2, but he did finish in the top-10.  He's playing at Pittsburgh this week, so that tough matchup is my excuse for once again omitting him from my top-20.  Just missing the list this week is Ryan Tannehill, who has a favorable matchup at home against the Falcons.  As for my fantasy QB, Cam Newton bounced back slightly against Buffalo.  But he still found himself outside of the top-10 QBs in Week 2.  I'm a little concerned that he has only 53 yards and zero rushing touchdowns in his first two games combined, but he got off to a slow start last year too, so I'm not too worried just yet.   Be patient, right...?

RBs

1.Marshawn Lynch

2.Doug Martin 3.Jamaal Charles 4.Adrian Peterson

5.LeSean McCoy 6.Matt Forte 7.Alfred Morris 8.Arian Foster 9.Frank Gore 10.CJ Spiller 11.Trent Richardson  12.Chris Johnson 13.Reggie Bush 14.Knowshon Moreno 15.DeMarco Murray 16.Lamar Miller 17.Darren McFadden 18.Rashard Mendenhall 19.Darren Sproles 20.Daryl Richardson 21.DeAngelo Williams 22.Stevan Ridley 23.Joique Bell 24.Ryan Mathews 25.Giovanni Bernard 26.Ahmad Bradshaw 27.Ray Rice 28.James Starks 29.David Wilson 30.Jacquizz Rodgers 31.Maurice Jones-Drew 32.Chris Ivory 33.Benjarvis Green-Ellis 34.Ben Tate 35.Bilal Powell 36.Bernard Pierce 37.Fred Jackson 38.Montee Ball 39.Jason Snelling 40.Danny Woodhead Marshawn Lynch was the top fantasy RB in Week 2, and he destroyed me in my money league (along with Seattle DEF).  He rises in the rankings this week all the way to the top spot as the Seahawks get another home game, this time against the lowly Jaguars.  LeSean McCoy continued to impress last week, but he might have his work cut out for him against KC's rush defense, which has been really good in the first 2 weeks of the season.  Of course only having three days to prepare for that Chip Kelly offense should only help the Eagles, and I have a hard time lowering LeSean too much in the rankings anyway.  He's staying in my top 5. There were several injuries to running backs in Week 2, and you'll notice some big names not in my rankings as of right now, namely Steven Jackson and Eddie Lacy.  It sounds like Jackson could be out 2-4 weeks with a leg injury that he's dealt with in the past, and Lacy might be held out until after the Packers' bye week due to a concussion (possible Week 5 return).  As of this writing, I'm assuming Ray Rice and Reggie Bush will be good to go on Sunday, but that could easily change between now and then.  As you can tell, I'm also ranking Reggie a lot higher than Ray.  Even if Rice is close to 100%, I don't think he (or Pierce) will be too productive against Houston's defense.   I don't like the biker shorts look, but I do like Gore at home this week. With the news that Vick Ballard was lost for the season, Ahmad Bradshaw got a big bump in my Friday rankings update.  He played well against the Dolphins, but I'm not sure he'll be able to keep that momentum going in San Fran.  On the other side of the ball in that game, I do like Frank Gore a lot this week, as he cracks my top-10.  I still ranked David Wilson last week, but Jacobs and Scott got plenty of work.  That looks like a serious timeshare situation at this point in time.  As for the Steeler RBs, take your pick: Redman (concussion symptoms), Felix Jones (good luck getting any production out of him), and Jonathan Dwyer (headcase who probably has the most talent but won't get any touches).  Yeah, I'm staying away from that backfield and not ranking any of them this week against the Bears.  You'll notice I have Chris Ivory ranked higher than Bilal Powell.  I have a feeling he'll finally show he's the better back against that weak Bills rush defense. WRs

1.Calvin Johnson 2.AJ Green 3.Dez Bryant 4.Brandon Marshall 5.Demaryius Thomas 6.Julio Jones 7.Vincent Jackson 8.DeSean Jackson 9.Wes Welker 10.Pierre Garcon 11.Victor Cruz 12.Randall Cobb 13.Anquan Boldin 14.Larry Fitzgerald 15.Andre Johnson 16.Jordy Nelson 17.Julian Edelman 18.Marques Colston 19.Hakeem Nicks 20.Mike Wallace 21.Steve Smith 22.Dwayne Bowe 23.Eric Decker 24.Torrey Smith 25.Steve Johnson 26.Tavon Austin 27.Eddie Royal 28.James Jones 29.Reggie Wayne 30.Antonio Brown 31.Miles Austin  32.DeAndre Hopkins 33.T.Y. Hilton 34.Mike Williams 35.Kenbrell Thompkins 36.Chris Givens 37.Cecil Shorts 38.Brian Hartline 39.Marlon Brown 40.Emmanuel Sanders Calvin Johnson had a couple of near touchdowns in Week 1, and he had a pair of actual touchdowns in Week 2.  He wasn't the top WR for the week, but he was close.  It's hard to move him from the #1 spot in the WR rankings, especially going up against the Redskins this Sunday.  I put Dez back in the top-15 in my Friday update (and he easily was a top-10 play), but I kept Roddy way down due to his high ankle sprain.  He only played about half of Atlanta's snaps, and he had very little production.  For now I've removed him from my rankings, as I'm sure he's still dealing with that injury.   Two guys I moved down my list in the Friday update were Marques Colston and Torrey Smith (due to macthups with good corners). Neither had a touchdown, and both had pretty average games.  Considering my worry over Torrey, I added Marlon Brown to the bottom of my Week 2 rankings.  He got one of the 2 TDs in that game, which ended up about as I expected (low scoring and with Baltimore getting the W).  I also added Emmanuel Sanders to my rankings for similar reasons, and he had 78 yards on a team-high 10 targets (and nearly hauled in a TD in the endzone).  Both stay in my Week 3 rankings, though once again at the bottom. I didn't move Boldin too high after his stellar Week 1 performance, mostly because he was going up against that Seahawk defense in Week 2.  That proved to be a good move for last week, but he has moved back up considerably this week.   It's time to start thinking about sitting certain players against Seattle, especially if the game is played there with that 12th man.  This week I'm lowering Cecil Shorts quite a bit, and I might be benching him in my money league.  Speaking of Seattle, I mentioned not feeling confident in starting any Seahawk WR just yet, and Russell Wilson still hasn't found his groove offensively.  You won't find anyone in the navy and neon on my WR list yet again in Week 3. Guys who are rising on my list include DeSean Jackson, Julian Edelmen, and Mike Wallace.  They all are fairly small in stature, but they're producing like big boys for fantasy squads.  A few names you don't see on the list right now are Michael Floyd & The Moores (Denarius and Lance).  As I said earlier though, I wouldn't give up on a guy like Lance Moore just yet.  I think it's possible the Saints just haven't hit their stride offensively, and they might do it this week against Arizona at home.  It's just too early to see if Jimmy Graham will be getting all the love or if Brees is going to spread it around more like the good ole days.  I'll leave Left Eye Lance off the rankings at least until Week 4. TEs

1.Jimmy Graham

2.Vernon Davis 3.Julius Thomas 4.Tony Gonzalez  5.Jason Witten 6.Jordan Cameron 7.Jermichael Finley 8.Martellus Bennett 9.Jared Cook 10.Brandon Myers 11.Owen Daniels 12.Greg Olsen Oh, would you rather have Jason Campbell throwing it to Cameron? Again, there's no changing the top spot at this position, but I'll shuffle the other 11 around a bit.  In last week's update, I added Brandon Myers to the bottom of my rankings, and he continues to be a consistent producer for the Giants.  I'll be moving him up along with Martellus Bennett, who had 2 TDs against the Vikings.  Jared Cook came back to earth in Week 2, and I'll lower him a bit for Week 3 (even though I do like his matchup against Dallas).  Jermichael Finley's toe turned out to be just fine, and once again he got several targets and converted on a touchdown.  Jordan Cameron had another impressive game, and he would continue to rise up my list, but it sounds like Brian Hoyer will be the starting QB for the Browns this week.  No thanks.   As of right now, it sounds like Gronk is around 50/50 to play this Sunday (which could mean anything with how the Patriots release injury information).  I won't be ranking him here, and I most likely won't have enough information to rank him in my Friday update.  If you have him (like my friend who I'll be playing against this week in my money league...and who I'll be going to the Redskins game with), you're just going to have to make that decision at 12:45 on gameday...

DEF 1.Seahawks

2.Broncos 3.Bears 4.49ers 5.Vikings 6.Texans 7.Patriots 8.Cowboys 9.Jets 10.Bills 11.Titans

12.Panthers It turns out I was wrong about the Raiders as a bad matchup play against Jacksonville.  Apparently the Jags are horrible no matter which quarterback is behind center.  Soooooo look for that Seattle defense to be the top scorer on your fantasy team in Week 3 if you have them.  The Patriots almost got the top defense award in Week 2, but it was those Seahawks that blew up at home against Kaepernick and company.  It was impressive.  The Bucs also had a good defensive day, and surprisingly I think (considering it was against the Saints).  They might be a solid fantasy play moving forward...just maybe not this week at New England.  If they can put up double digit fantasy points in Foxboro after getting around 20 against Brees and company, I'd say they need to be owned in all leagues.  We'll see what happens though (I'm not ranking them this week). I wanted to add the Chiefs again last week, but I went with Cleveland instead in my Friday update.  Kansas City actually had a solid day for the second week in a row, but I won't be ranking them against the Eagles this week.  As for the Browns/Ravens game, I said it would have about 27 total points scored (it was actually only 20), and the Ravens ended up as a top-5 defense.  The Browns didn't quite get double digit fantasy points, at least based on my league's scoring system.  I stuck with Cincy's D on my team, and they put up a top-10 performance against the Steelers on Monday Night Football.  I won't be rolling with the Bengals this week though, not against the Packers (even at home).  I picked up the Vikings as a matchup play this week, as they host the Browns in Minnesota.  That's all I have for Week 3.  I'll leave you with this shot of my favorite baseball player of all time getting that 12th man fired up back in 2009.  Not sure who will be doing the honors this week, but I have a feeling that place will be rocking and the Jags will be shaking in their horrible little uniforms. Cheers, Bart