Week 2 Preview & Predictions

Week two is here with seven intra-division matchups on the schedule, as well as several potential shootouts in store.

Carolina +6 at Atlanta

A tale of two teams that seem to be going in opposite directions.  Jake Delhomme may be playing for his starting job in this one, as one more poor outing with multiple interceptions could lead to AJ Feeley getting the job.  TE Tony Gonzalez made an impressive debut for the Falcons.  So much for him needing time to get in sync with Matt Ryan.

Fantasy Impact: Don’t judge the Carolina defense too harshly for last week’s performance against Philadelphia, as multiple turnovers led to a short field for Philly.

Prediction:  Atlanta

Minnesota -10 at Detroit

The Vikings proved last week versus Cleveland that they could win without much of a passing game as they kept the ball on the ground and let RB Adrian Peterson do all the work.  That being said, I would still expect QB Brett Favre to do a little damage this week against a pathetic Lions defense.  If and when the Vikings get up early, it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise if Peterson sits most of the second half and RB Chester Taylor gets a chance to shine.

Fantasy Impact: No one runs on the Vikings; sit RB Kevin Smith this week.

Prediction:  Minnesota

Cincinnati +9 at Green Bay

The Bengals once again found a way to lose a game they should have won.  Yes it was a fluke play, but it does show that the Bengals don’t know how to close out a game.  QB Carson Palmer had some good moments, but couldn’t lead the team into the end zone except for once.  That will not do this week.  QB Aaron Rodgers proved to the Packer faithful that he could lead the team to a fourth quarter victory, prying that monkey off of his back.  This one could be a shootout as both teams will look to throw the ball against the opposing team’s secondary.

Fantasy Impact: The Bengals will score more than one TD this week, but Green Bay scores more than three.

Prediction:  Green Bay

Houston +7 at Tennessee

Houston will look to redeem themselves after a pathetic week one offensive performance against the Jets.  Look for Houston to try and get the passing game going with the return of WR Kevin Walter.  The running game can’t do much worse than it did last week.  Tennessee will look to shut down the Texans rushing attack just as they did the Steelers attack in week one.  The loser of this game goes to 0-2 and faces an uphill climb the remainder of the season.

Fantasy Impact: Slaton does better than week one, but not much.  The return of Walter helps WR Andre Johnson and the Texans passing game.

Prediction:  Houston

Oakland +3 at Kansas City

Both teams played surprisingly well in week one, yet both lost.  The Raiders will continue to run the ball as QB JaMarcus Russell still can’t hit the broadside of a barn.  The only reliable receiver for Oakland is TE Zach Miller who constantly got open in the middle of the field versus San Diego, however rookieLouis Murphy hasd a nice debut.  The big news for KC will be the return of QB Matt Cassel, who is looking more and more like he will play for the Chiefs after missing week one with an ankle injury.

Fantasy Impact: Assuming Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha is matched up against Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe, you can safely sit Bowe.  Raiders RB Darren MacFadden is certainly a solid start this week.

Prediction:  Oakland

New England -4 at Jets

QB Tom Brady was successful in leading the Patriots to victory in his return from a lost season with a torn ACL.  Sure the Bills handed the game away, but Brady still had to throw those late TDs to TE Ben Watson.  As expected, none of the Patriot running backs stood out.  One has to wonder if the best way of beating the Pats is through a war of words in the press, but that is exactly what has gone on this week as Jets S Kerry Rhodes stated that not only do the Jets want to “beat the Patriots, but we want to embarrass them”.  He’ll have a chance to back up his words as Brady is sure to drop back and pass the ball 30+ times.  The recipe for victory for the Jets will be the same once again - run the ball successfully and play tough defense.  It worked against the Texans; can they make it two weeks in a row?

Fantasy Impact: The Jets surely were watching how Bills RB Fred Jackson tore up the Patriots by running the ball up the middle and catching short passes out of the backfield.  This may not work quite as well for the Jets, as the Patriots won’t respect their deep passing game as they did the Bills

Prediction:  New England

New Orleans even at Philadelphia

The big news in this game is of course the status of QB Donovan McNabb.  If he doesn’t play, and I expect he won’t, than you have to downgrade each and every Philadelphia offensive player.  The Saints defense may not be great, or even good, but they will still give a QB making his second career start fits.  I would still start RB Brian Westbrook, but the New Orleans game plan is sure to be to take him out of the game and make Kevin Kolb beat them through the air. 

Fantasy Impact: The Saints won’t score 40+ points this week, but if McNabb can’t play, they are going to have the ball an awful lot and will still make their fantasy owners happy.

Prediction:  New Orleans

 St. Louis +10 at Washington

What can you say about the Rams?  Hmmm, not much.  Steven Jackson owners could be in for another disappointing game here as the Redskins can be next to impossible to run against with their massive defensive line.  If you’re ever going to start QB Jason Campbell, this might be the game.  The Redskins are actually a decent team, but they just get lost playing in the NFC East.

Fantasy Impact: If you have Jackson, you’re probably starting him, but the first big game he has this season, I would look to deal him

Prediction:  St. Louis

 Arizona +3 at Jacksonville

Could this be the week that the Arizona offense wakes up?  They haven’t looked good all preseason and week one did nothing to erase those doubts.  The Colts offense didn’t manage to score that many points against the Jags at home, so the Cardinals could be in for a long day here as well.  Jags QB David Garrard needs to step up his play after being called out for missing plays in week one by his head coach this past week.

Fantasy Impact: RB Tim Hightower may have caught 10+ passes last week for over 100 yards, but if he can’t run the ball more efficiently, than first round draft pick Chris Wells will start to take more and more of his playing time.

Prediction:  Arizona

 Seattle -2 at San Francisco

The winner of this game takes an early lead in the NFC West.  You may think it’s too early to be talking about division leads, but remember, not only will the winner be 2-0, but they will also be 2-0 inside the division.  This game could come down to defense and whichever team doesn’t turn the ball over. 

Fantasy Impact: TE John Carlson is quickly becoming a favorite target of QB Matt Hasselbeck.

Prediction:  Seattle

 Tampa Bay + 5 at Buffalo

Good and bad news for the Buccaneers here.  Good news is, their running game looked great last week in the loss to Dallas.  RBs Cadillac Williams and Derrick Ward sliced up the Cowboys defense regularly, making it look easy.  The bad news is, their secondary is a work in progress, allowing the Cowboys three passing touchdowns of more than 40 yards.  Think Bills WRs Terrell Owens and Lee Evans weren’t watching the tape of that game this week and licking their lips.  If TO isn’t able to have a big game, the powder keg may be lit and it just may be a matter of time until it explodes.

Fantasy Impact: WR Antonio Bryant is iffy to play for Tampa.  If you’re a Marshawn Lynch owner, you had better start to hope that Fred Jackson slows down or he will at least be in a time share him.

Prediction:  Buffalo

 Pittsburgh -3 at Chicago

If the Steelers don’t improve along the Offensive Line, not only will Willie Parker not be able to get anything going again, but QB Ben Roethlisberger won’t last the season.  Ben took a bunch of hits in week one, and sure he’s a big guy who can withstand such punishment, but you don’t want your QB getting pounded like that week in and week out.  Sooner or later it will take its toll and that will be it for Ben.  The Bears suffered not one but two losses last week.  First, they lost the game when Green Bay scored a winning touchdown with under a minute left in the game, then they learned that All-Pro Linebacker Brian Uhrlacher will be lost for the season with a dislocated wrist.  QB Jay Cutler has taken a truck load of abuse from the media this week for throwing four picks against the Pack, not a good way to justify the big trade that sent a number one pick and QB Kyle Orton to Denver.

Fantasy Impact:  WR Santonio Holmes is quickly becoming a top flight player.

Prediction:  Pittsburgh

 Baltimore +3 at San Diego

How many Joe Flacco owners are praying that last week was no fluke when he was able to throw the ball all over the field?  However, that was against a terrible Chiefs defense.  San Diego will be a tougher challenge this week.  Oakland had a few plays on Monday where their receivers got behind the Chargers secondary, but they couldn’t complete the pass.  RB Ray Rice owners had their worst nightmare come true in week one where Rice got all the carries except when close to the goal line.  That’s when Willis Magahee was given the ball, and the glory.  The Chargers may have won their first game but they got beat up in the process as they lost two starters on the offensive line and RB LaDainian Tomlinson sprained his ankle.  They are all questionable for this week’s contest.

Fantasy Impact: Even if Tomlinson is deemed healthy enough to play this week, I’m sitting him.

Prediction:  Baltimore

 Cleveland +3 at Denver

Denver pulled out a miracle victory against the Bengals in week one.  Don’t think they will need one here.  QB Brady Quinn and WR Braylon Edwards have no chemistry and with Edwards sure to see a bunch of CB Champ Bailey it’s hard to see them gaining it here.  This will be the game where you will find out how much RB Jamal Lewis has left as the Broncos are questionable against the run.  QB Kyle Orton was terrible in week one, forget about that last play, he needs to step up his play or he will start to hear Chris Simms’ footsteps before long.

Fantasy Impact:   Sit Edwards, hard to see him breaking out this week.

Prediction:  Denver

 Giants +3 at Dallas

Here’s your biggest game of the week and also the first game that counts, in Jerry Jones’ new funhouse that is Cowboys Stadium.  The Giants are sure to use RBs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw to control the clock and move the ball,  seeing the success Tampa Bay had against the Cowboys front seven in week one.  Defensively the Giants need to pressure QB Tony Romo and not give him those extra seconds to move outside the pocket, which seems to be when he is at his most dangerous.  If the Giants are successful in pressuring Romo, look for the Cowboys to use RB Felix Jones on screens and dump-offs to offset the their fierce pass rushers.

Fantasy Impact: Jason Witten always seems to score against the Giants, and with the Giants secondary beat up, Romo is sure to find his favorite receiver open over the middle.

Prediction:  Dallas

 Indianapolis -3 at Miami

Both teams are having issues at the WR position.  For the Colts, Anthony Gonzalez is lost for 4-8 weeks with a sprained knee.  This was supposed to be a breakout season for Gonzalez, but that will have to wait.  The Colts only had three healthy receivers on their roster (Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie) so they signed Hank Baskett, late of the Philadelphia Eagles.  The Dolphins have five on their roster, but none are performing all that well.  Ted Ginn is expected to be the number one, but he has this nasty tendency to disappear come game day.  No one has stepped up to be that solid ball catcher that QB Chad Pennington needs.  The running game was a bust in week one and what has to concern fantasy owners is that Ricky Williams was handed the ball almost as much as Ronnie Brown.

Fantasy Impact: Once again the Dolphins will try a ball control offense to keep Manning and company on the sideline.

Prediction:  Indianapolis

Last week: 8-8

This post was written by George Kurtz