Two weeks into the 2009 NFL season one division has clearly separated itself from all the rest; the AFC West is officially the worst division in the league. With just one proven NFL quarterback and a bunch of inexperienced or injury-prone running backs, the AFC West provides very little fantasy fire-power, with the vast majority coming from the Chargers. Week three will be a big one as San Diego looks to rebound from a tough home loss to Baltimore, Denver tries to continue taking advantage of soft opponents, Oakland will get a chance to build on last week’s divisional win, and the Chiefs, well lets just say if you own a Chief other than Dwayne Bowe you should drop them immediately.
Will Brandon Marshall get back to his playmaking ways?
Week Three Fantasy Football Projections
Denver @ Oakland – The Broncos cruise into this game undefeated, that being said both wins came against Ohio teams so take their 2-0 record for what its worth – not much. Kyle Orton has been surprisingly efficient, as he has yet to throw in interception, but his numbers are still severely skewed by the 87 yards game-winner in week one. Without that freak play Orton’s yards-per-attempt drops from a healthy 7.8 down to a meager 6.5. Correll Buckhalter has looked like the better back over the first two weeks, but Knowshon Moreno has the talent to create a bigger role for himself as the season progresses. Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall have under-produced thus far. Royal could break out of his funk this week, but if Oakland shadows Marshall with Nnamdi Asomugha it will be a long day for anyone with Marshall in their starting lineup.
At what point is the Raiders coaching staff going to look at each other and say “why did we cut Jeff Garcia?”? JaMarcus Russell has only thrown 2 interceptions in two games, but his 5.9 YPA and 35% completions make him easily the worst starting QB in the NFL. Talented receivers Zach Miller and Louis Murphy are virtually unplayable in fantasy leagues because Russell cannot be relied upon to deliver them the ball. Because of their ineptitude through the air, opposing defense have been able to lock in on the Raiders running game, holding Darren McFadden to just 3.6 yards per carry. Denver’s defense has held its first two opponents to a combined 13 points. Playing at home, Oakland will be doing well if they can match last week’s points total of 13.
Kyle Orton – 230 passing yards, 1 TD
Correll Buckhalter – 80 total yards, 1 TD
Knowshon Moreno – 80 total yards
Eddie Royal – 8 receptions 100 yards, 1 TD
Brandon Marshall – 3 receptions 35 yards
JaMarcus Russell – 150 passing yards
Darren McFadden – 80 total yards
Michael Bush – 60 total yards
Louis Murphy – 4 receptions 70 yards
Zach Miller – 6 receptions 80 yards
Final Score – Denver 17, Oakland 6
Miami @ San Diego – The Dolphins did everything right on Monday night against the Colts. They dominated the running game on offense and defense, they controlled the clock, and they didn’t turn the ball over. So how did they lose? Similar to the Chargers week two loss, Miami played very well on offense, but just couldn’t put the ball in the end zone. Both San Diego and Miami were forced to attempt four field goals in week two instead of scoring TDs, and for both team that was the difference between winning and losing. Recent trends suggest the Chargers will have trouble running the ball but Philip Rivers should be in for another big game. Miami is just so imbalance on offense and defense they will continue to give up passing yards and without any explosiveness in their passing game Chad Pennington will be under a lot of pressure to step up his game and make some plays down-field. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, that plays into the Chargers strengths.
Philip Rivers- 300 passing yards, 2 TDs
LaDainian Tomlinson – 75 total yards, 1 TD
Darren Sproles – 100 total yards
Vincent Jackson- 5 receptions 100 yards 2 TDs
Antonio Gates – 5 receptions 75 yards
Final Score – San Diego 31, Miami 23
If Matt Cassel doesn't improve soon he could find himself back in a familiar place - the bench
Kansas City @ Philadelphia – Will Donovan McNabb play this week, or will it be Kevin Kolb? If its Kolb, who’s number two, Vick or Garcia? Well, quite simply, even if DeSean Jackson took every snap from the wildcat the Eagles would have no problem beating the Chiefs. With all the money and draft picks KC gave up for Matt Cassel, he is the second best QB on the team. Whether or not management will allow their big offseason pickup to be benched, perennial ER visitor Brodie Croyle outplayed Cassel throughout the preseason and looked much better in the opener versus the Ravens than Cassel did against the Raiders. You can argue all day whether Larry Johnson is washed up or if KC’s O-line just isn’t opening holes, either way the Chiefs running game will not be taking any pressure off of the passing game any time soon. Dwayne Bowe is easily the best offensive player for the Chiefs so he will be targeted constantly, but I just don’t think KC sniffs the end zone this week.
Matt Cassel – 225 passing yards, 0 TD 3 INTs
Larry Johnson – 50 total yards
Dwayne Bowe – 5 receptions 70 yards
Final Score – Philadelphia 35, Kansas City 3
