Fantasy Football 2015: Week 2 Tips
By Matt Hellens
Hopefully your fantasy football league got off to a good start in week 1, but whether it did or didn’t, here are some tips for week 2.
"“You don’t have to be faster than the bear, you just have to be faster than your friend”– anyone who has ever been camping"
In the three leagues that are most important to me, I’ve had to deal with top players either under performing (Adrian Peterson and C.J. Anderson) or suffering injuries (Dez Bryant). Yet to my surprise, I still won each of my games. Even though I wasn’t close to beating the bear… I mean the top scoring team, I just happened to be playing people that had even worse weeks than I had. So yes I was a bit frustrated, but I still am happy with the results of the week, and I didn’t lose like my buddies did.
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The reason I bring this up is because I probably look at the full season big picture a bit too much, when I should still place an equal amount of focus on setting my weekly lineup to just make sure I get the win that week. Looking at your opponents most likely lineup should actually help you decide some of your harder lineup choices. You’re still going to want to start your big guns in Week 2 (though CJ, you’re on my watch list for week 3, pal), but you can start going to your bench for the middle and lower positions to hopefully gain some advantage over who the other team is playing.
If their QB, RB1, WR1 don’t really scare you that much, then I’d play it safe and fill your RB2, WR2, and Flex spots with guys that are safer plays and have projected low floors. If they do, then go ahead and start guys in your lower slots that have the potential to hit big (like Kendall Wright) but also could possible score lower. A good way to see how the players match up is to look at who people are starting or avoiding in Daily Fantasy, as they don’t care who may be good next week. That should help you get a sense of the team you plan to start and how it stacks up against the team you’re facing in Week 2.
Top Guys Who Should Be Fine
Most players don’t have great weeks every week, and many bounce back after a lackluster scoring game with a monster one that reinforces your opinions of them. So I’m not going to worry about Adrian Peterson, as I truly feel it was a combination of game situation and field rust that led to him not getting into a rhythm last week. Andrew Luck and Odell Beckham Jr. are also players I’m still very high on, as their games just felt like the random “can’t do much about what’s going on” games that happen to teams. In fact, go ahead and try to trade for them if you can, and even add A.J. Green to your shopping list as well.
Top Guys Who Worry Me
I mentioned Denver’s Anderson above, but now we’ve seen two games where even if his weak O-Line does open a hole for him, he doesn’t hit it very hard. You probably can’t sell him for much right now, so hold on to him, get Ronnie Hillman, and hope for the best going forward. Calvin Johnson seems healthy, and he still is a freak of nature. However, right now I don’t trust how Jim Caldwell and Joe Lombardi are using him (and Stafford for that matter). If he doesn’t have a monster game soon, I’ll start to question the play calling in Detroit very loudly.
My Teams
I’m not going to talk too much about my teams, as like when you start showing pictures of your pets, most people just glaze over when your start talking about your teams. So I’m just going to list their records, and if something weird or notable comes during their games, I’ll mention it as well.
Molson Canadians 1-0
A league where we have to name our teams after alcohol, the Canadians were lucky to go against down weeks for Beckham and Randall Cobb.
The Horny Monks 1-0
Yet another league based on alcohol (I swear I don’t have a problem), Dez Bryant‘s injury didn’t get me down thanks to big games for Julio Jones and Carlos Hyde.
1.21 Giga Watt 1-0
Since we have IDPs in the league, and I have the most valuable one in JJ Watt, the name had to be around him of course. I had Odell, Peterson, CJ with poor games, and even started Brian Quick and his last minute no-start. Yet somehow I got the win. My opponent was just that bad I guess, and the bear ate him instead.
Next: Daily Fantasy Picks: Week 2