Fantasy Football Week 2: Start 'em and Sit 'em

Last week, I started the first of the weekly feature on who to sit and who to start.  You can read the previous post here.  Before I start the start 'em and sit 'em for this week, I will recap the good and ugly in last week's predictions.

The Good:

Kevin Kolb finished with 309 passing yards and 2 TDs for 24 points.

Mark Sanchez finished with 335 yards, 2 TDs, and an offer for a spread in the magazine Seventeen.  24 points, earning him the Rex Ryan game toe on Sunday Night.

I advised people to sit Donovan McNabb and he definitely made my prediction a solid hit.  His39 passing yards, 1 TD, and an INT was poor by any QB's standards.  Only 9 points for this aging QB.

Sam Bradford faced a tough defense as I predicted and finished with 188 yards and 0 TDs.  4 points.

Kerry Collins finished with 197 and 1 TD, but lost 2 fumbles.  I expected him to have breakdowns with WRs, but not with the center as well.  A poor 9 points.

I predicted Felix Jones to have a solid game running and receiving out of the backfield.  His 66 total yards is decent, but the TD makes it a solid start.  12 points.

I said I believed Reggie Bush would pick up yards, even if his YPC were low, because Miami would make sure he had the ball in his hands and he'd be a factor in the passing game.  That prediction was nailed.  Bush finished with 9 receptions and 94 yards later, I was right.  Bush added a cherry on top with a TD.  20 points.

I didn't think Reshard Mendenhall would have a good game and that ended up true as well.  Mendenhall finished with 45 yards, which isn't bad against Baltimore, but a lost fumble brought his fantasy score to 2.

I thought Mike Williams of TB would have a solid day.  The 4 receptions were ok and his 45 receiving yards was merely average, but his TD made him a good start.  13 points.

I cautioned to sit Steve Smith of the Eagles and thankfully not the one in Carolina.  This Eagle finished with 0 catches or yards.

I won't really count Sidney Rice, but I did caution people to leave him out until the Seahawks would announce he would play.  He was expected to be a gametime decision, but come Saturday, I think we knew he wasn't playing.

I picked the trio of Anthony Gonzalez, Austin Collie, and Pierre Garcon to struggle in Indy.  Gonzalez and Collie finished without a catch and Garcon finished with 3 receptions for 39 yards.  Hat trick! 3 points total for this group.

I believed Ben Watson would have a big day and while his 45 yards on 3 receptions were only average, the TD made him a good start.  12 points.

I said Dustin Keller would be targeted more, especially early in the season, and Sanchez looked to him often.  Keller finished with 5 receptions for 61 yards and a TD.  Solid start with 14 points.

Push Picks:

I cautioned to sit Shockey because I thought Greg Olsen was the better start.  Shockey finished with 3 receptions for 51 points.  It was an average game and he finished with 6 points.

Mario Manningham finished with 4 receptions for 49 yards.  Not a solid outing and less than what I expected from a WR accustomed to making big yards out of his receptions.  7 points still isn't bad for a WR depending on your depth.

The bad:

Todd Heap finished with 2 receptions for 40 yards.  I expected Kolb to use his TE a lot, but plenty of yards and the TD went to Arizona's other TE, Jeff King.  Oops!

I warned people to sit Colt McCoy because I thought the Browns would handle the Bengals quite easily and run the ball often.  Well, the Browns lost and McCoy passed for 213 yards with 2 TDs.  Fail.

I believed Joseph Addai would be a good start as I figured Indy would run more often.  Addai finished with 52 total yards and 2 receptions.  He ran well, but he only ran 8 times.  Maybe next week the Colts will realize Kerry Collins is not Peyton Manning and will turn to Addai more often...

I thought Shonn Greene would be more productive and be a quality start, but Tomlinson finished with more yards.  Green had a low YPC and finished with only 33 yards rushing.

I thought BenJarvus Green-Ellis was a risky play because he is a short yardage back in a crowded backfield.  The 34 rushing yards made him a below average start.  His TD made him a quality start.  In other news, Benny Sapp was just burned in the air when John Moynahan, Tom Brady's son, crawled by him on a Tuesday morning warmup.

I didn't expect Cedric Benson to have a good game as the Bengals passing offense was unimpressive and Cleveland would focus on him.  Oops.  Benson finished with 121 rushing yards and a TD.  There's life in the Bengal offense after all.

As with every Bengal offensive player, I thought Jermaine Gresham was risky because of Andy Dalton.  Gresham only finished with 58 yards and a TD.  His 14 points was only beneficial if you started someone not named Tom Brady or Wes Welkeron your team.  If you did, you didn' need Gresham.

I also expected Jerheme Urban to have a good game for Kansas City over Buffalo.  Nobody had a good game for KC.  Urban didn't even show up, being limited to 0 yards on 0 catches.

So 16 picks I believe were solid and 7 that betrayed me.  Not too bad I suppose.  Better luck to me this week!  So who do I suggest you start and sit?

Start 'em:

QBs:

Any QB facing Benny Sapp.

Chad Henne:  It definitely looks like Miami will pass more often and Henne was always capable of getting yards through the air.  He looked very good last week and is worth a start.  Besides, you know how much crap we gave to Benny Sapp on Monday Night until his release?  Well, we gave that much crap to Jason Allen for several years and he's still employed by the very team Chad Henne is facing.  That is worth a start right there.

Kyle Orton:  Denver can't run the ball and will have to rely on Orton, even if he doesn't look very good or the Broncos fail to win.  That means Orton should be able to put up over 200 yards through the air and should pick up at least 1 TD.

Rex Grossman: He managed a good game against the Giants and I expect a repeat performance against an average Arizone defense.  If close to 200 yards and a TD is good for you, he's worth a start.

Sit 'Em:

Tarvaris Jackson:  He's going against Pittsburgh this week.  Consider it a gift if he gives you a full game this week.

Luke McCown:  He was efficient last week, but did not throw for a TD.  He's going against a tough Jet secondary this week and don't expect many yards or TDs.  150 yards and a TD may end up being the result, but he may have a turnover or 2 as well.

RBs:

Start 'em:

Ryan Grant:  The Packers should be in control of the game, allowing them to run the ball more than they did last week in their shootout with New Orleans.  Grant should see more yards and carries.  He should have close to 70 total yards.  He may also get a TD as well unless James Starks takes the opportunity from him.

Reggie Bush:  Like last week, he'll see the ball often, even if his YPC still aren't very high.  He should have over 60 total yards if you are looking for a 3rd RB to start or your short on depth.

Sit 'em:

Marshawn Lynch:  He generally has a low YPC and don't expect that number or his carries to increase against Pittsburgh.  If you can play Chad Henne as your RB, that may be a better option.

Ryan Mathews: The Patriots DL is tough to run against and when the Chargers are inside the 5, the short yard TD will go to Mike Tolbert.  That makes Matthews a risky play.

WRs:

Start 'em:

Jacoby Jones:  Kevin Walter is injured and Jones is a big play threat who Houston may try to match up against Will Allen and Nolan Carroll.  He can easily rack up over 60 yards in Houston's high octane offense and may score a big TD.

Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem:  With Marques Colston out for up to a month, Henderson and Meachem will already see more targets than they already do.  In a high octane offense with playmakers such as these two, that means good things for the owners of these players.  The Bears are a tough defense, but it's hard to sit players on such a great offense.

Mohamed Massaquoi:  He looks to be healthy and is McCoy's go-to target.  The Colts CBs aren't very good and Massaquoi should have his share of catches and yards, even if he doesn't score a TD.

Davone Bess:  Remember Jason Allen?  He will match up with Bess.  That should be enough to start him.  Bess is Henne's favorite target and should see at least 4 receptions for 50+ yards.

Sit 'em

Mike Thomas (Jac):  I'm not going to name every WR going against Revis, but he also has an underwhelming QB throwing to him.  This makes it a less than ideal situation.

Doug Baldwin:  It's easy to overreact to a strong week 1 performance, and Baldwin may be the biggest stud-to-dud of the week 1 to week 2 performers.  Sidney Rice is likely to return for Seattle and once again, you have a very mediocre QB and a good defense, despite what you may have seen during the Steelers-Ravens game.  Don't be fooled by Baldwin's week one numbers.

Anthony Gonzalez:  He makes an appearance on the sit list for his second straight week.  He may be in his final year for the Colts as he's been surpassed by other WRs and the ball won't be spread around quite like it was with Peyton Manning.  Gonzalez's numbers are likely to be less than average for the entire season.  His only hope is Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon suffers injuries before he does.

TEs:

Start 'em:

Greg Olsen:  He definitely looks like the go-to TE in Carolina and with Shockey as a very good underneath TE option, Olsen may end up being a big play TE that can be a threat in the deep middle, especially since safeties will roll toward the sideline for Steve Smith.  With the great CB tandem in Green Bay, Newton will have to start looking inside to gain yards.

Jake Ballard:  Eli Manning has always loved using his TEs and Ballard is separating himself as the #1 TE with the Giants.  He had 59 yards on 3 receptions last week and I expect his numbers to be similar this week.

Owen Daniels:  It's not just a TE vs Miami thing, but he is a very good TE with a very good QB in an offense that can put up points.  Remember, Houston was #2 in the NFL in my Total Offensive Production stats.  This is a very good offense and he's a very good weapon.

Kellen Winslow: The Vikings have a pretty good CB duo and Freeman often looks to Winslow.  The Chargers chose to attack Minnesota with TE Antonio Gates, being targeted 14 times last week.  Expect the Bucs to follow a similar spproach.

Sit 'em:

Jared Cook and Craig Stevens:  With Ed Reed and Ray Lewis in the middle of the field, Stevens is going to have a hard time getting yards in the middle of the field.  He can be a good start in some weeks because Kenny Britt will draw attention, but don't bank on him this week.

Leonard Pope:  He's not going to be the same type of TE as Tony Moeaki for Kansas City.  He may get receptions, but he won't make big yards out of those receptions.  His value may be higher in PPR leagues.