Well, if anyone thought week one was mind boggling, then week two must have looked like a disco room filled with dancing clowns; confusing and difficult to watch.
The vaunted Eagles defense was ripped for 421 yards by the Saints despite out gaining them with 463 yards of their own, and suffered the heavy loss. The Cowboys rushed for over 250 yards against the G-men, but failed to give Tony Romo any protection as he coughed up 3 INTs that basically won the game for New York, and the most misunderstood game of last week was the Redskins posting 362 total yards, yet failing to convert 5 times in the red zone despite the win.
These details and more can be found in your friendly Week Three NFC Preview, so let’s see what’s in store shall we?
Philadelphia vs. Kansas City: Yes, you read right, the Eagles did out gain the Saints in total offense.
Primed for big day vs. K.C.
This is a good thing since Kolb was at the helm, but what I didn’t tell you was that Kolb also out dueled Brees in total passing yards…despite throwing 3 INT’s.
Why is this important?
Kolb and the Birds face Kansas City this week and Kolb, among some other starters, are a must in this game regardless of last week. Let’s face it, a raccoon in daylight can have success throwing the ball against the Chief’s dismal defense and you can bet the Eagles and Kolb will have a much better time this week.
Look for Philadelphia to tone things down a bit for Kolb early, allowing him to find a rhythm rather than be forced to find one. The Eagles will also look to run more since K.C. can seem to do anything right on D which boads well for Westbrook and McCoy.
Projected Outcome: Philadelphia 27 Kansas City 7
Fantasy Must:Kevin Kolb, Brian Westbrook, DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy
Fantasy Risk: Everyone on the Kansas City Chiefs except for Brandon Flowers for those of you in IDP leagues.
New York Giants @ Tampa Bay: Manning to Manningham has a nice ring to it doesn’t it? Well, apparently it also has a significant Fantasy relevance too, as Manningham yoked in 150 yards last week’s against the boys and you can expect more of the same this week.
Both the Giants and Bucs are interesting plays this week since both are capable of scoring points, and
Count on Jacobs redeeming his week 2 play
providing players with some Fantasy value. The Giants were even worse against the run this week and if the Bucs finally use their RBBC trio it could spell more trouble for the G-men— I don’t think it will though.
Jacobs and Bradshaw should both have a bounce back game against the Bucs since they (Tampa) are still trying to figure out how to play 4 quarters of defense. But what is more intriguing is the WR/TE play in this game.
I like Maurice Stovall as a plug and play guy if you absolutely have none, but could still be a risk as the Bucs are being hush about Bryant’s injury status. Winslow seems to be the guy the Bucs thought he was going to be and has produced some pretty good numbers so far, but the real deal is Manningham and Smith of the Giants.
In the end, the Giants may have the Fantasy edge.
Projected Outcome: New York 24 Tampa Bay 14
Fantasy Must:Mario Manningham, Brandon Jacobs, Eli Manning
Fantasy Risk:Maurice Stovall, Kellen Winslow, but don’t necessarily count these guys out, if you don’t have a better option they are pretty good considerations.
Dallas vs. Carolina: The Cowboys will get another chance to redeem themselves at home this week when they face a Carolina team that has most people wondering if there are more problems with Fox and his crew than previously thought.
Big time sleeper at home this week?
Compounding this problem for Carolina is the fact that they face an 0-3 start for the first time under coach John Fox’s tenure and the first 0-3 start for the team since 1998.
Dallas does one thing very well, they stop the run so don’t expect much out of Williams and Stewart in PPR leagues , but keep in mind that Williams has two straight games with a TD. Dallas also does one thing very poorly; they can’t stop the long ball.
Steve Smith should have a reasonable day for Carolina, while I would look for Witten and Jones to chime in for some Fantasy points for Dallas.
One side note to this game, Felix Jones could be a sleeper in this game since the Cowboys aren’t exactly saying much about Barber’s strained quadriceps; keep an eye out.
Projected Outcome: Carolina 21 Dallas 19
Fantasy Must:Steve Smith, Jake Delhomme, Jason Witten
Fantasy Risk:Patrick Crayton, Miles Austin, Jonathan Stewart
Washington vs. Detroit: Could this be the week the Lions get their first win since the dawn of mankind? Well, I am marking my pick sheet because I say YES!
Ernie Simms out=Big day from Portis
The Redskins are apparently licking the embarrassment of their skin from last week’s lucky win.
If Kevin Smith can get 83 yards against the Minnesota defense imagine what he could do against Washington and their unpredictable D-Line; he’s due. In addition, Calvin Johnson is due for a huge game and I don’t like the mis-match opportunities on Washington’s secondary, and finally Stafford has had a little bit of time to put things together and could have himself his first really good game.
But don’t count out the Redskins’ players in regard to Fantasy.
Clinton Portis should have a much better day against Detroit than Peterson did. Detroit’s Ernie Simms is out at WLB leaving only two rookies to take over, so off-tackle runs, and passes out of the backfield should come at a high rate since Detroit will focus on the passing game.
In the end, Detroit is primed for a big shoot out and a win vs. Washington.
Projected Outcome: Detroit 28 Washington 24
Fantasy Must:Calvin Johnson, Clinton Portis, Kevin Smith, Santana Moss
Fantasy Risk:Dennis Northcutt, Brandon Pettigrew
Fantasy Side Note:This week offers some grand opportunities for managers looking to become a bit more competitive in their leagues. But with the amount of injuries that aren’t being talked about it is hard to figure out what’s what, so keep your eyes peeled and ears open all the way to kickoff. if you want gain a weekly edge over your league you might want to try our Dominator service.
Good Luck Everyone!
