Saturday, September 13, 2014

2014-2015 Start 'Em Sit 'Em (Week 2)

Start 'Em:

Knowshon Moreno, RB, Miami Dolphins - Coming into the season, it would have been advised to stay away from the Dolphins' running backs, considering both Moreno and Lamar Miller are fairly talented players and seemed destined to share the running burden equally. However, against the Patriots, Moreno received 23 carries to Miller's 11 and the Dolphins in general seemed extremely dedicated to the run game. This situation may turn into the sort of situation that we have in Detroit, where Joique Bell and Reggie Bush have managed to coexist as good valuable options by taking up different roles. Similarly, while Knowshon will dominate total carries and probably red zone carries, Miller may manage to make enough of a fantasy impact on third downs and passes to warrant consideration. Against a mediocre Bills defense this week expect Moreno (and Miller) to put up an impressive performance.

Andy Dalton, QB, Cincinnati Bengals - Dalton had an up-and-down week one, but one big play to A.J. Green completely redeemed him. You can expect that big play to rear its head again, as Dalton to Green may be the best deep ball combo in the league after Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson. Cincinnati's game against the Falcons this week should be a shootout, which plays directly into the hands of Dalton's fantasy owners as Dalton is likely to be airing the ball out early and often. Dalton may be your number one QB or he may be your number two, but either way you should seriously considering starting him this week.

Michael Floyd, WR, Arizona Cardinals - Week 1 saw Michael Floyd gain nearly six times as many yards as fellow wideout Larry Fitzgerald, which is huge in that it shows the Cardinals' dedication to feeding Floyd the ball. Of course, this lopsided production is not to be expected most weeks, but Floyd should expect to be fairly equal to Fitzgerald in terms of targets by the end of the year. Some weeks, it would be wise to let Floyd stay on the bench for your fantasy team, but going up against the Giants' horrible pass defense will allow for both Floyd and Fitzgerald to prosper, and maybe even get in the end zone.

Sit 'Em:

Zac Stacy, RB, St. Louis Rams - I actually liked Stacy a lot coming into the season, but his performance in week 1 will have owners remarkably worried. Stacy actually didn't play poorly, but he was only granted with 11 rushes, while Benjamin Cunningham, the team's other running back, was somehow on the field for more plays than Stacy. The Rams' stunning desire to play an undrafted free agent over an established player has to have fantasy owners extremely confused. While I still think that Stacy will put together a half-decent campaign this year, his production is now much more questionable than it was a week ago and owners should proceed with caution. A tough matchup against the Buccaneers defense isn't going to aid Stacy in his return to stardom, so I'd suggest letting him stay on your bench this week and reconsidering his status the following week.

Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers - It should be a given that any quarterback going up against the Seahawks defense needs to be out of your starting lineup, and Philip Rivers is no different. Rivers didn't look great against Arizona in week 1 and that probably won't improve much in week 2. The amount of viable fantasy football options at quarterback right now is incredible, so I'd scour the waiver wires for a better option because you can surely find one.

Sammy Watkins, WR, Buffalo Bills - Watkins' ribs are now healthy and he remains the Bills only legitimate receiving option, but I am still not ready to call him a legitimate fantasy receiving option. I do expect him to break out at some point, but until he does, I'd recommend keeping him on your bench. The Bills go up against the Dolphins this week, who managed to swallow up the Patriots' potent passing game last week, so don't expect big things out of Watkins just yet.

No comments:

Post a Comment