I have to start this column with an apology. I’m sorry. I told you all to play Carson Palmer and avoid Dak Prescott last week, yet Prescott significantly outscored Palmer on Sunday. I told you to play Bilal Powell and he finished as the #33 running back, and I said no to Tyreek Hill (who ended up as the #3 WR) and yes to Jamison Crowder (who underpeformed). It was an abysmal performance.
Luckily, my boss isn’t as impatient as Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien, so I haven’t been benched for the promising rookie yet. But I know it’s just a matter of time if I continue making dog crap predictions like I did last week. Anyways, here’s are my start/sit picks for week 2:
Quarterbacks
START: Philip Rivers, LAC – I just realized the Los Angeles Chargers have the same acronym as the LA Clippers, which is reason #5,231 why their move from San Diego was a bad idea. Regardless, Rivers held his own against a Denver defense that allowed the least amount of fantasy points to QBs last year and now gets a Miami defense that allowed the fourth most. This is the perfect week to trot out Rivers if you didn’t reach for for one of the elite players at this position.
SIT: Marcus Mariota, Tennessee – Mariota enjoyed a solid day against an Oakland defense that allowed the third most yards per attempt last season. But this weekend’s opponent, Jacksonville, gave up the third least yards per attempt in 2016, added a couple of stalwarts in defensive end Calais Campbell and cornerback A.J. Bouye, and completely suffocated the Texans on Sunday to the tune of a league-low 110 passing yards and league-high 10 sacks.
Running Backs
START: Mark Ingram, New Orleans – This just feels wrong. New England was one of the toughest defenses to run on last year, and Ingram won’t be going up the seam for 78-yard touchdown catches like Kareem Hunt, but New England did lose Rob Ninkovich to retirement and Donta Hightower to a knee injury. Though Bill Belichick is considered a defensive mastermind, New England did field a bottom-10 defense from 2010-13. This unit could surprisingly slip back to the pack, and Ingram has the best chance of New Orlean’s running backs to take advantage of that.
SIT: C.J. Anderson, Denver – Anderson plays a Dallas Cowboys defense that gave up the least amount of fantasy points to running backs last year and allowed a league-low 30 rushing yards to the New York Giants last week.
Wide Receivers
START: Chris Hogan, New England – Danny Amendola is still missing practice due to the after-effects of a concussion sustained last week against Kansas City. This means Hogan, who had a strong preseason but was limited to just one catch in the season-opener, could be due for a big game against a perennially bad Saints secondary that was torched by Minnesota’s Sam Bradford, Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen last week.
SIT: Corey Coleman, Cleveland – Toss Coleman on the list of guys who had strong season-openers that I’m not buying into. Coleman had five catches for 53 yards and a touchdown against Pittsburgh, but the touchdowns won’t come often in the Browns woeful offense, and after seeing what Baltimore did to Andy Dalton last week, I don’t have much hope for DeShone Kizer.
Tight Ends
START: Martellus Bennett, Green Bay – If you were disappointed in Bennett’s week one performance, don’t fret, the former Texas A&M and Alief Taylor product is due to bounce back in week two. Bennett opened with a defense that allowed the fifth-least fantasy points to tight ends last year (Seattle), but this week gets a unit that allowed the fifth-most (Atlanta).
SIT: Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati – Eifert was nonexistent in last week’s loss to Baltimore with just one catch for four yards. It won’t get any easier against a Texans defense that gave up the fourth-least fantasy points to TEs last year and allowed just one catch for 18 yards to Jaguar tight ends in week one.
Defense/Special Teams
START: Cincinnati Bengals/ Houston Texans – The Bengals and Texans play each other on Thursday Night Football, and if you like offense, this is not your kind of game. These two teams gave up 15 sacks, threw five interceptions and scored just nine points combined last week. This one will not be pretty unless own one of these defenses in fantasy. In that case, however, it will actually be super fun!
SIT: Philadelphia Eagles – I actually own the Eagles defense, and I’m probably still going to start them because I’m stubborn. but they likely won’t perform nearly as well as they did against Washington. Philadelphia plays the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium this week, and with the way Kansas City blitzed New England, I’m a little scared of their offense.
