NFC East Matchups Week Two: Fantasy Fodder For All!

Posted by Ray Tannock on Sep 15, 2009 in Fantasy Football

 

After several days of being awestruck and bewildered at things such as: The 49ers beating Arizona, the Philadelphia defensive man-handling of the Panthers, and the ex-decoy showing why he could lead all receivers this year, I am once again settled and refreshed.

Week one is always hard to navigate through. Things that are supposed to happen, often do not come to fruition; players get hurt, and the Fantasy landscape all-of-the-sudden get thrown into a tailspin due to the aforementioned.

Week two, is not necessarily any more forgiving, but it does allow all of us to fine tune some things as we widen our perspective.

This week’s NFC East match-ups, feature some interesting games that are accompanied with even more interesting questions:

• Can Philadelphia win with defense alone against Brees’ super-human passing abilities?
• Can Romo and the Boys out-duel the G-Men on D?
• Will Washington take advantage of a St. Louis Rams team that is still in disarray?
• Did anyone see A.J. Feeley suddenly becoming Mr. Popularity?

So let us fine tune our scopes, and see what this week’s Fantasy journey could have in store for us.

Philadelphia vs. New Orleans: I would first and foremost like to extend a warm congrats to the Eagles for putting on a defensive beating that left the Panthers writhing in disgust.

 As my only loss this week, Philly made sure it burned real deep. There was no question in my mind that the defense was going to have trouble, and I now stand corrected—but to think I am always going to be right is just plain ridiculous.

So this week’s Fantasy fodder is all about McNabb and his ribs— for most Eagles fans this is round two with the ribs—but whether or not McNabb decides to play through the pain, I just can’t see him doing a whole lot. He will undoubtedly have some limitations that may hurt his value this week, so if you have another QB you can start, I say do it.

With that said, the Eagles have required Jeff Garcia, and if you remember, he filled in quite nicely the last time around, so if you have no other options grab him off your waiver wire if he is still available.

The Saints did a very good job shutting down the Lions running game, but c’mon, it’s the Lions.

Furthermore, the Lions were able to score 20 offensive points against the Saints, and even more important to mention, Kevin Smith was able to garner 52 yards receiving; so yes, you can score against these guys!

See where I am going with this?

I suspect Philadelphia will try and dink and dunk on New Orleans in an effort to control the clock, and keep the ball away from Bress’ magical super-human throwing hands; a prime situation for Westbrook and possibly McCoy in PPR leagues.

In any event, the Eagles will play with even more intensity this week to try and keep the Saints air game off-balanced; a feat all in its own.

Mike Bell should find it more difficult to run against Philly than Detroit, and is more of a risk than anything.

New Orleans will still have success, but let’s remember there was only one team that passed for over 300 yards against Philly all last year, and they are playing the Giants this week.

Projection Outcome: New Orleans 27 Philadelphia 17 

Fantasy Must: Brian Westbrook, Drew Brees

Fantasy Risk: Brent Celek, Jeremy Maclin, Mike Bell

Washington vs. St. Louis: The Redskins gave New York all they could handle last week, and had it not been for Umeniyora’s fumble recovery, Jim Zorn may not be currently sobbing at his desk.

Enter in the Rams, and if you own Marc Bulger see if you could perhaps trade him for some peanuts and a diet coke.

The Rams were one of four teams  interested in A. J. Feeley, the most popular QB since Jim McMahon graced us with his curious dance moves in the Super Bowl shuffle, but that is now a pipe dream thanks to the Panthers.

 Bulger looks to have simply lost the edge. Against the Seahawks, he just looked flat and uninterested, with very little accuracy which will not go over well against Washington—mind you, the Seahawks were WITHOUT Marcus Trufant.

Steven Jackson had a sub-par day, and I think that will spill over into this week’s matchup. Clinton Portis, on the other hand, had a good day against a stout Giants defense and the Rams are nowhere near as good as the Giants.

Last year, Portis ran for 129 yards on 21 carries and two TDs despite losing to the Rams.

In addition, Antwaan Randle El and Chris Cooley should also have big days making them thumbs up for starting.

Projected Outcome: Washington 20 St. Louis 7

Fantasy Must: Antwaan Randle El, Chris Cooley, Clinton Portis

Fantasy Risk: Marc Bulger, Steven Jackson

New York @ Dallas:  The heavyweight match-up of the week, the two more prominent defenses in the league, and the home opener for Dallas and their new digs; now that’s marketing!

There are two things I don’t like about this game:

• Tampa Bay showed you can run the ball vs. Dallas, and Jacobs is far better than the Caddy.
• The Giants lose Nicks giving the Cowboys a clear edge in overall weapons.

Another big edge for Dallas will be the fact that this is the home opener for their shiny new home, and nobody wants to disappoint Jerry Jones, unless that is, you’re in a Giants uniform.

Manning had a nice balanced game against Washington last week, while Romo, as expected, lit up the Tampa Bay secondary.

Jacobs and Bradshaw showed why they are so dangerous as a tandem, while Barber and Jones followed suit (despite Jones’ bruised thigh)

Dallas has Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton, Miles Austin, Jason Witten, Martellus Bennett, and Tashard Choice.

New York has Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, Domenik Hixon, and Kevin Boss…this week!

Comparing apples to apples, Dallas has an edge in talent, and if Campbell and the Redskins can put up 211 yards against New York, imagine what Dallas is going to do at home.

I like the size of Roy Williams and the miss-match it creates in the secondary as well as the value of Crayton again this week. But I also like the chances of Jacobs and Bradshaw. I would stay away from the TEs since, traditionally; neither team produces great numbers against each other in the TE realm.

Projected Outcome: Dallas 21 New York 17

Fantasy Must: Patrick Crayton, Roy Williams, Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw.

Fantasy Risk: Jason Witten, Martellus Bennett, Kevin Boss.

A Fantasy Side Note:

There is a very peculiar situation brooding in the NFL. One that screams confusion, and has waiver wire guys scratching their heads. It’s a situation that is as perplexing as Ocho Cinco’s fascination with Twitter.

As mentioned above, A.J. Feeley has found himself the most wanted man in the NFL. As of Monday, a fourth team (Carolina) entered into the mix of teams said to be “interested” in him; Philadelphia St. Louis, and New England being the other three. Carolina was the winner of this bid and Feeley will be the No.2 guy behind Delhomme.

Now, just so we all know, Feeley, believe it or not, can throw the ball, but he is not a top QB—lest he would’ve been signed somewhere prior to Monday’s events. But there are managers out there looking for QBs they can take a chance on and he may be worth giving a look if you are one of those managers.

Come time Saturday, check out our Start Sit post for advice.

Good Luck Everyone!