Wednesday, September 16, 2015

2015 Fantasy Football Week 2 Rankings

Can I hit the reset button on Week 1?  Yikes!

Not only did I lose to my wife in my ESPN league, but I would have won in my money league had I started pretty much anyone other than Steve Smith at my FLEX position.  Danny Woodhead and Ryan Mathews both had plenty of points on my bench to get me the W, but it was not to be in Week 1.  The thing is, I should have played someone other than the Browns D and I could have won that way too.  No matter how you slice it, I'm trying to get back on track in Week 2.

But enough about my squad.  Let's get to the rankings!

QBs
1.Drew Brees 
2.Aaron Rodgers 
3.Andrew Luck
4.Matt Ryan 
5.Russell Wilson 
6.Ben Roethlisberger 
7.Tom Brady 
8.Sam Bradford
9.Carson Palmer 
10.Tony Romo   
11.Eli Manning 
12.Ryan Tannehill
13.Peyton Manning 
14.Philip Rivers
15.Cam Newton    
16.Teddy Bridgewater
17.Marcus Mariota
18.Matthew Stafford  
19.Andy Dalton
20.Nick Foles 

Last week I was high on Eli Manning versus the ESPN experts (ESPN #12, ME #8), but he was terrible on Sunday night and didn't even crack the top-25.  But I was right to be down on Drew Brees (ESPN #8, ME #12), who only threw one TD pass and finished outside of the top-15 fantasy QBs.  You'll notice I moved him up just a bit for this week in his home opener against the Bucs though...
I'm high on: Andy Dalton (ESPN #27, ME #19) 
This week I have the Red Rifle in my top-20, but ESPN is showing him no love for his home opener against the Chargers.  He had 269 yards and a pair of TDs in a blowout win in Oakland, and I think he'll do just fine this week in Cincy.  I like AJ Green and Tyler Eifert a lot this week, so I feel the need to rank Dalton up there too.

Without Dez, is Romo still a no-brainer QB1?
I'm down on: Tony Romo (ESPN #6, ME #10) 
Here's a guy who just lost his best wide receiver and is playing a division road game, but the experts have no problem ranking him way up there.  Well I do.  I think it's very possible the Cowboys go run heavy in this one to try to control the time of possession a bit, and I think Romo's numbers could suffer just from the fact that his best WRs are now Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley.  

RBs
1.Jeremy Hill 
2.DeMarco Murray
3.Adrian Peterson
4.Marshawn Lynch 
5.Jamaal Charles 
6.Matt Forte
7.Eddie Lacy
8.Carlos Hyde     
9.CJ Anderson
10.Mark Ingram  
11.Justin Forsett  
12.Chris Ivory
13.LeSean McCoy
14.Lamar Miller
15.Jonathan Stewart 
16.Rashad Jennings  
17.Joseph Randle 
18.Ameer Abdullah 
19.Alfred Morris
20.DeAngelo Williams
21.Frank Gore
22.Tevin Coleman   
23.Latavius Murray 
24.Doug Martin  
25.Bishop Sankey 
26.Danny Woodhead 
27.LeGarrette Blount
28.TJ Yeldon
29.Tre Mason 
30.Chris Johnson
31.Isaiah Crowell
32.CJ Spiller 
33.Melvin Gordon 
34.Joique Bell    
35.Giovani Bernard 
36.Darren Sproles 
37.Alfred Blue 
38.Ryan Mathews  
39.Dion Lewis 
40.Shane Vereen

The top RB for Week 1 was Carlos Hyde, and it wasn't even close.  I was high on Jonathan Stewart (ESPN #14, ME #8), but he actually finished outside of the top-25.  But he wasn't alone among underwhelming top RBs in seemingly good matchups.  Others with bad days included the likes of Adrian Peterson, LeSean McCoy and Lamar Miller.  I was down on Giovani Bernard (ESPN #29, ME #36), but he actually got plenty of touches as the Bengals destroyed the Raiders, and he finished just inside the top-25 RBs in the opening week.  BUT...I will say that my reasoning for being down on him was twofold:

1. I said Jeremy Hill would get fed, and that surely happened.  He finished as a top-5 RB.
2. I also said that I'd rather try my luck with Bishop Sankey, who I thought would end up with twice as many touches as Bernard.  And while they got the same amount of touches, Sankey was actually a top-5 fantasy RB last week. 

Maybe I should have kept him over Latavius Murray in my money league.  Time will tell on that one...

I'm high on: Rashad Jennings (ESPN #22, ME #16) 
None of the ESPN experts have Jennings higher than 20th, and one even has him ranked 28th!  Well Jennings had a solid game in Week 1, and he might have been even better if his coach didn't tell him NOT to score late in the game.  Either way, he's now going up against an Atlanta defense that gave up the most fantasy points to RBs in the opening contest.  All of the Eagle running backs did well in that one, and I like Jennings to have a solid game in Week 2.

I'm down on: Melvin Gordon (ESPN #26, ME #33) 
I'm rolling with Little Danny Woodhead this week, so I hope I'm right on this one.  The veteran seems to be the preferred back in San Diego, but the ESPN guys are ranking Gordon well ahead of him.  Here's to hoping the Chargers stick with the little guy!


WRs
1.Antonio Brown
2.Julio Jones
3.Odell Beckham, Jr. 
4.DeMaryius Thomas 
5.Brandin Cooks
6.AJ Green 
7.Randall Cobb
8.Calvin Johnson  
9.Jordan Matthews
10.DeAndre Hopkins 
11.Alshon Jeffery   
12.Keenan Allen 
13.Emmanuel Sanders 
14.Julian Edelman 
15.Jarvis Landry 
16.John Brown 
17.Brandon Marshall  
18.Terrance Williams
19.Vincent Jackson
20.Steve Smith 
21.Larry Fitzgerald 
22.Davante Adams 
23.Allen Robinson  
24.Jeremy Maclin
25.Golden Tate 
26.Andre Johnson 
27.Charles Johnson 
28.Donte Moncrief  
29.Mike Wallace 
30.Amari Cooper 
31.Steve Johnson 
32.James Jones 
33.Roddy White  
34.Pierre Garcon
35.Kendall Wright 
36.Brandon Coleman
37.Eric Decker   
38.Sammy Watkins 
39.Nelson Agholor
40.Cole Beasley 

There were some big injuries at the WR position in Week 1 including guys like Dez Bryant, TY Hilton, and DeSean Jackson. So you'll notice Terrance Williams way up the WR rankings, and I had a tough time figuring out where to rank Andre Johnson and Donte Moncrief.  I could see either one being a top-10 WR this week, but they'll have a tough matchup with the Jets secondary on Monday night.  

Back to Week 1...Julio Jones and Antonio Brown both showed why they were first round fantasy draft picks this year, as they finished as top-3 WRs.  The guy I was high on was Larry Fitzgerald (ESPN #40, ME #26), and he finished right where I predicted (26th)!  How about them apples?  Not so fast though because the guy I was down on was Brandon Marshall (ESPN #20, ME #28), and he had 62 yards and a TD.  He should have every opportunity to keep that production going in Indy, as I expect New York to be passing a lot and playing from behind.

I'm high on: John Brown (ESPN #24, ME #16) 
Everyone seems to like Carson Palmer this week, so why not John Brown?  All this guy seems to do is make big plays, and I think he'll have at least one in Chicago this week.

I'm down on: Amari Cooper (ESPN #17, ME #30) 
I'm also way low on Sammy Watkins this week (ESPN #25, ME #38), but I'd rather talk about the Raider rookie.  As of right now, I don't even know if Derek Carr will suit up against the Ravens this week.  Add to that the fact that Baltimore completely shut down Peyton Manning (IN Denver) last week, and I just don't feel great about Amari just yet.


TEs
1.Rob Gronkowski
2.Jason Witten
3.Travis Kelce
4.Jimmy Graham
5.Greg Olsen
6.Martellus Bennett 
7.Tyler Eifert
8.Jordan Reed
9.Jordan Cameron 
10.Austin Sefarian-Jenkins
11.Zach Ertz
12.Ladarius Green

Why couldn't you have waited a week to break out, dude?!?
Last week I was high on Tyler Eifert (ESPN #13, ME #9), who had over 100 yards and scored twice.  I was also down on Heath Miller (ESPN #9, ME not ranked), who actually finished as a top-15 TE.  But I suggested trying a younger guy rather than start Heath, and you were surely rewarded if you went with Jordan Reed, Ladarius Green...or Austin Sefarian-Jenkins (like the guy who beat me in Week 1...still bitter about that one!).  This week I'm not going to highlight a guy I'm high/down on because my rankings are just so close to ESPN's.  But I will say that I didn't rank Heath Miller again in my top-12, but ESPN did.  If I were faced with the choice between him or Ladarius Green (or ASJ), obviously I'd take youth before experience yet again.

DEF
1.Dolphins 
2.Rams 
3.Panthers 
4.Ravens
5.Texans  
6.Cardinals 
7.Broncos
8.Seahawks 
9.Chiefs 
10.Titans  
11.Bills  
12.Jets

I totally whiffed here last week.  I was high on the Browns (ESPN #17, ME #10), and they did nothing to help me get a W as I started them in Week 1 in my money league.  I also was down on the Bills (ESPN #5, ME not ranked), thinking Andrew Luck would light them up.  He did not.  I hope they can do it two weeks in a row as Tom Brady rolls into town because I'll also be facing him in Week 2...

I'm high on: Kansas City Chiefs (ESPN #20, ME #9) 
I'm betting against science here (aka Peyton Manning), but he hasn't looked much like Peyton Manning in his last few games.  He did virtually nothing against Baltimore last week, and now he has a short week and travels to one of the most hostile environments in the league (Arrowhead).  I like the Chiefs to put plenty of pressure on the old signal caller and actually pull off the W tomorrow night.

I'm down on: New England Patriots (ESPN #11, ME not ranked)  
I struggled with who to put in at my 12 spot this week (Bengals/Saints), but ultimately I settled on the Jets.  But I wasn't even thinking about the Patriots, yet none of the ESPN experts have them ranked lower than 15th.    I'm just not sure they're still the same kind of consistent fantasy D they've been in the past.  I guess time will tell, but I don't see them as a top-12 fantasy defense this week.

Good luck to everyone in Week 2!  
(Except you, Brandon...)

Cheers,
Bart

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