Things you're on the lookout for- Week 2 (1 Viewer)

[JuniorNB]

In a non-fantasy team specific way, what are some things you're looking forward to finding out in week two?

A few for me......

1. Washington Redskins. I'm curious if there will be a trend of teams doing poorly defensively, the week after playing the Eagles and Chip Kelly's crazy, full speed offense. Defending 80-100 plays has to be harder to recover from than defending 60. It may not make a difference, but I'm curious to see.

2. Tight End Production. I heard on the radio that there were 17 touchdowns last week by running backs, and 16 by tight ends. That's amazing. Pre-draft, all we heard about was the huge drop off between Jimmy Graham and all other tight ends. Well, judging by week one, stud tight ends are going to be plentiful. Or was it a fluke?

3. Amount of Passing. Week one broke the NFL record for most yards passed for in a single week. Which explains the large amount of disappointing running back performances. I'm very curious to see if this trend continues and if running backs will start to become the tight ends of fantasy football from a relevancy standpoint.

What are you looking forward to finding out this weekend?

Also, thoughts on any of the things I've listed?

 

[JHuber77]

Wondering how David Wilson and Lamar Miller will be used this week. Also wondering what the Steelers will do with a lack of running game and passing game looking like

 

[Spaces Lines and Laces]

Eager to see how many touchdowns the Manning brothers combine for in a faceoff.

 

[Amused to Death]

In a non-fantasy team specific way, what are some things you're looking forward to finding out in week two?

A few for me......

1. Washington Redskins. I'm curious if there will be a trend of teams doing poorly defensively, the week after playing the Eagles and Chip Kelly's crazy, full speed offense. Defending 80-100 plays has to be harder to recover from than defending 60. It may not make a difference, but I'm curious to see.

2. Tight End Production. I heard on the radio that there were 17 touchdowns last week by running backs, and 16 by tight ends. That's amazing. Pre-draft, all we heard about was the huge drop off between Jimmy Graham and all other tight ends. Well, judging by week one, stud tight ends are going to be plentiful. Or was it a fluke?

3. Amount of Passing. Week one broke the NFL record for most yards passed for in a single week. Which explains the large amount of disappointing running back performances. I'm very curious to see if this trend continues and if running backs will start to become the tight ends of fantasy football from a relevancy standpoint.

What are you looking forward to finding out this weekend?

Also, thoughts on any of the things I've listed?

Specific to #2, I'm watching Julius Thomas this week. Still the undisputed starter in Den with Dreessen out again (correct?) but I want to see him put up respectable numbers again. If he goes 3-40 with a couple of drops and no TDs the uncertainty around him is multiplied. 70+ yards and another TD would solidify his status as a top 10 TE with upside.

And as an Eagles homer I'm obviously watching to see their offense repeat week 1's production. Does it become even more efficient and higher tempo? Or does a week of game film make a big difference on how the Chargers are able to prepare.

 

[meyerj31]

Eager to see how many touchdowns the Manning brothers combine for in a faceoff.

Speaking of this game.... I'm starting Reuben Randle over Antonio Brown (non-PPR). Randle is a beast and can do a lot of damage if they are using single coverage on him (which is what happened last week) ... and everyone expects this game to be a shoot-out. It's going to be high-scoring unless JPP gets back to his old self. Without him, the Giants have no pass rush.

I would start Brown in PPR because he's going to get a lot of short passes this week.

 

[Judge Smails]

Eager to see if Big Ben has any time to pass. I was extremely high on Antonio Brown and have him in 2 leagues. I know they can't run. And I know that there will be lots of sacks. But Ben has found a way to get the ball downfield in the past. But if he can't I'm going to adjust quickly.

 

[bostonfred]

The Denver running back situation could become a little more clear this week, especially if Moreno or Ball has a huge game (or any of the guys makes a horrendous mistake).

DeAngelo had a solid week one and faces a Buffalo team that gave up about 150 on the ground last week.

Very interested in how Reggie Bush's three minor injuries and Joique Bell's double digit touches fare against a decent D in Arizona.

A stoppable force meets a movable object as Jacksonville meets Oakland. The game may look awful, but it has fantasy implications for MJD, McFadden, Pryor and the possible reemergence of Henne (and therefore Shorts). Will be good to hear about what happened from someone else who was forced to watch it.

Sunday night football with San Francisco/Seattle is just a fun game. No two ways about it. Monday night football with Pittsburgh/Cinci? Maybe not as fun. But it will be good to see if Pittsburgh can rebound from their terrible week one, or if Cinci can beat a long time nemesis in the (currently winless) AFC North. Same thing for Cleveland/Baltimore on Sunday at 1.

St Louis at Atlanta, I think everyone is interested in how Steven Jackson, Daryl Richardson, Tavon Austin, and Chris Givens fare.

San Diego at Philly - is McCoy's offense for real? Can the Eagles blow up like they did in the first half of last week's game? Can either team finish out a game?

 

[Khy]

1. Philadelphia Eagles - I haven't seen a single writer, analyst or even person posting on a random board with the same thoughts on this as me. But what did we "really" see from the Eagles last week that was so damn impressive? The first quarter they got 3 turnovers in their favor... the defense didn't make those turnovers the offense of the Redskins did so it's not even like there is hope there. Alf's fumble was all on him, nobody from the Eagles touched the ball it slipped into his back and fell out on it's own. RG3's pick was just an awful awful pass. Then the safety was Alf just not looked at the ball. So no hope for the defense really. Now for the offense... what people really care about. LeSean McCoy was a complete beast as he always is... he won't survive 16 weeks with that many carries (he even said it in a presser today). Vick was getting WHACKED all game, he won't make it a whole season either.

In the first half the Eagles had... 24 points (mostly off turnovers), 53 plays (turnovers again), 20:20 Time of Possession (turnovers again).

In the second half the Eagles had... 7 points, 27 plays, 11:45 time of possession

I feel like the second half Eagles were much more telling of what we may actually see from them. A lot of quick fast drives that result in 3 and outs or at the least small amounts of plays and punting. They didn't get conservative in their play calling by any means. The Skins just adjusted.

My big point here is people are FREAKING about how amazing Chip Kelly's Eagles looked and completely ignoring the fact that they took less offensive snaps than both the Pats and the Ravens. They also came in 10th on plays per second at 24.80seconds in between each play. Albeit they probably purposely slowed the pace slightly in the second half trying to run the game down. Still though, they were third in the first half behind Buffalo (20.65/play) and Green Bay (22.03/play) coming in at 22.59/play.

Regardless, I'm not that impressed until I see more.

2. David Wilson - This week will say a lot of this kids season and possibly his career. There's a lot of questions right now here. Can he keep the ball off the ground? If so, just how effective can he be against a brutal Denver run defense? If he can come out and have a good game this week (even something like 18/90/1 would be amazing) then people are going to be kicking themselves for not buying low on him.

3. DeAngelo Williams - Is this finally the season he comes back to form? He looked REALLY REALLY good against what most people consider the best run defense in football last week. What can he do against a defense that couldn't stop a fat dude chasing a cheesesteak last season in Buffalo? It's possible he breaks off a monster game. I'm looking forward to watching this situation as I was buying him low all offseason.

4. Giants Defense - I'm interested in how the Giants defense can hold up. I came into this season thinking they'd be bottom of the barrel in almost every defensive stat line. I thought they were actually surprisingly good against Dallas even if the box score doesn't show it. Romo was hurried a lot more than people realize and the sacks eventually came. They didn't allow any big plays, everything was quick underneath passes. They seemed pretty solid against the run as well. The Dallas game was ugly and high scoring almost solely because of the offensive mistakes. They 'let up' 36 points... 24 of which were from turnovers. All of the turnovers resulting in points came more or less in the redzone or were returned directly for TDs. If the Giants had say... 1 or 2 turnovers instead of 6? This may have easily been a 40-7 route by the Giants. I think the Broncos game is going to be a little closer than people realize. The Broncos should still pull out the win but I think it should be a much better game than a lot of people think.

5. Tight End Production - As someone above said... I don't see how this keeps up.

6. Doug Martin - I was low on him all offseason and that was without Tampa Bay looking like they were about to implode. Can the team get on track? Looking back at his stats last year... when Josh Freeman had a bad game, Martin was almost invisible on the stat lines. If the Bucs can't improve Martin will slip out of the Top 5 and may even slip out of the Top 10 if it goes all season.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Cam Newton & CJ spiller in the same game - time for them to put up some numbers

 

[Khy]

Cam Newton & CJ spiller in the same game - time for them to put up some numbers

I doubt either of them puts up good numbers this week to be honest... Shula's offense seems more traditional in the sense that he wants to actually use his running backs to run unlike Chud. And have you seen that Carolina front seven? It's friggin Beastly with a capital B. If Spiller couldn't get it going against the Pats he's not likely to fair any better against Carolina.

 

[JuniorNB]

1. Philadelphia Eagles - I haven't seen a single writer, analyst or even person posting on a random board with the same thoughts on this as me. But what did we "really" see from the Eagles last week that was so damn impressive? The first quarter they got 3 turnovers in their favor... the defense didn't make those turnovers the offense of the Redskins did so it's not even like there is hope there. Alf's fumble was all on him, nobody from the Eagles touched the ball it slipped into his back and fell out on it's own. RG3's pick was just an awful awful pass. Then the safety was Alf just not looked at the ball. So no hope for the defense really. Now for the offense... what people really care about. LeSean McCoy was a complete beast as he always is... he won't survive 16 weeks with that many carries (he even said it in a presser today). Vick was getting WHACKED all game, he won't make it a whole season either.

In the first half the Eagles had... 24 points (mostly off turnovers), 53 plays (turnovers again), 20:20 Time of Possession (turnovers again).

In the second half the Eagles had... 7 points, 27 plays, 11:45 time of possession

I feel like the second half Eagles were much more telling of what we may actually see from them. A lot of quick fast drives that result in 3 and outs or at the least small amounts of plays and punting. They didn't get conservative in their play calling by any means. The Skins just adjusted.

My big point here is people are FREAKING about how amazing Chip Kelly's Eagles looked and completely ignoring the fact that they took less offensive snaps than both the Pats and the Ravens. They also came in 10th on plays per second at 24.80seconds in between each play. Albeit they probably purposely slowed the pace slightly in the second half trying to run the game down. Still though, they were third in the first half behind Buffalo (20.65/play) and Green Bay (22.03/play) coming in at 22.59/play.

Regardless, I'm not that impressed until I see more.

I'm curious to find this out, as well. Perhaps Kelly thought that with a 26-7 lead, it was not to the benefit of the team to see how quickly they could line up and reel off plays. They didn't seem to be in the same up tempo offense. I'd find it hard to believe that it took only one half of football for a defensive coordinator to figure out how to stop the offense, when colleges haven't been able to figure it out with years worth of film.

But, if San Diego suddenly makes the offense seem pedestrian, then maybe the naysayers were right and this won't work on the professional level.

 

[bostonfred]

1. Philadelphia Eagles - I haven't seen a single writer, analyst or even person posting on a random board with the same thoughts on this as me.

I feel like the second half Eagles were much more telling of what we may actually see from them. A lot of quick fast drives that result in 3 and outs or at the least small amounts of plays and punting. They didn't get conservative in their play calling by any means. The Skins just adjusted.

This isn't true at all. The Eagles led by 19 at the half and scored on the second play of the second half. They absolutely ran the clock out. Here is every offensive play the Eagles ran in the second half. The bolded plays are third downs, all third and five or longer. The time before each play is the amount of clock they let run out, if it was still running.

Vick sacked

:025 McCoy 34 yard TD run

McCoy 6 yard run

0:28 McCoy 8 yard run

0:29 Brown -5 yard run

False Start penalty

0:17 Brown 0 yard gun

0:31 Vick pass incomplete

McCoy 8 yard run

McCoy 3 yard run

0:37 McCoy -3 yard run

0:28 Vick pass to Avant, fumbled by Avant

---

The above were all no-huddle. After this, they did not run the no huddle for the rest of the game

---

Vick 7 yard run

0:36 Vick 36 yard run

0:50 McCoy 2 yard run

0:43 McCoy 3 yard run

0:38 Vick incomplete pass, nullified by penalty

Vick incomplete pass

McCoy 4 yard run

0:44 Brown 4 yard run

0:46 Delay of game penalty

Vick pass to Avant for 7 yards, first down

WAS TO McCoy 2 yard run

WAS TO McCoy 2 yard run

WAS TO Vick 2 yard run

0:44 PUNT

 

[JAMES!]

1. Philadelphia Eagles - I haven't seen a single writer, analyst or even person posting on a random board with the same thoughts on this as me.

I feel like the second half Eagles were much more telling of what we may actually see from them. A lot of quick fast drives that result in 3 and outs or at the least small amounts of plays and punting. They didn't get conservative in their play calling by any means. The Skins just adjusted.

This isn't true at all. The Eagles led by 19 at the half and scored on the second play of the second half. They absolutely ran the clock out.

I agree. The Eagles took their foot off the gas and were outscored 20-0 at the end of the game. That begs the question, why did the Eagles take their foot off the gas?? You see this in every sport, one team is completely dominant then goes into hang on and run the clock out mode. Once you change the tempo it's almost impossible to get momentum back.

 

[cubbie5150]

Even though I face the Peyton owner this week, I'm still looking forward to the video game numbers that the Manning brothers will put up

I'm curious to see if Romo can have a YPA not reminiscent of Pop Warner football. Gotta believe he'll take some shots to Dez this week

 

[JuniorNB]

1. Philadelphia Eagles - I haven't seen a single writer, analyst or even person posting on a random board with the same thoughts on this as me.

I feel like the second half Eagles were much more telling of what we may actually see from them. A lot of quick fast drives that result in 3 and outs or at the least small amounts of plays and punting. They didn't get conservative in their play calling by any means. The Skins just adjusted.

This isn't true at all. The Eagles led by 19 at the half and scored on the second play of the second half. They absolutely ran the clock out.

I agree. The Eagles took their foot off the gas and were outscored 20-0 at the end of the game. That begs the question, why did the Eagles take their foot off the gas?? You see this in every sport, one team is completely dominant then goes into hang on and run the clock out mode. Once you change the tempo it's almost impossible to get momentum back.

Maybe Chip Kelly found out that there are no Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in the NFL and you can't take your foot off the throttle against anyone. This week should be interesting.

 

[Khy]

1. Philadelphia Eagles - I haven't seen a single writer, analyst or even person posting on a random board with the same thoughts on this as me. But what did we "really" see from the Eagles last week that was so damn impressive? The first quarter they got 3 turnovers in their favor... the defense didn't make those turnovers the offense of the Redskins did so it's not even like there is hope there. Alf's fumble was all on him, nobody from the Eagles touched the ball it slipped into his back and fell out on it's own. RG3's pick was just an awful awful pass. Then the safety was Alf just not looked at the ball. So no hope for the defense really. Now for the offense... what people really care about. LeSean McCoy was a complete beast as he always is... he won't survive 16 weeks with that many carries (he even said it in a presser today). Vick was getting WHACKED all game, he won't make it a whole season either.

In the first half the Eagles had... 24 points (mostly off turnovers), 53 plays (turnovers again), 20:20 Time of Possession (turnovers again).

In the second half the Eagles had... 7 points, 27 plays, 11:45 time of possession

I feel like the second half Eagles were much more telling of what we may actually see from them. A lot of quick fast drives that result in 3 and outs or at the least small amounts of plays and punting. They didn't get conservative in their play calling by any means. The Skins just adjusted.

My big point here is people are FREAKING about how amazing Chip Kelly's Eagles looked and completely ignoring the fact that they took less offensive snaps than both the Pats and the Ravens. They also came in 10th on plays per second at 24.80seconds in between each play. Albeit they probably purposely slowed the pace slightly in the second half trying to run the game down. Still though, they were third in the first half behind Buffalo (20.65/play) and Green Bay (22.03/play) coming in at 22.59/play.

Regardless, I'm not that impressed until I see more.

I'm curious to find this out, as well. Perhaps Kelly thought that with a 26-7 lead, it was not to the benefit of the team to see how quickly they could line up and reel off plays. They didn't seem to be in the same up tempo offense. I'd find it hard to believe that it took only one half of football for a defensive coordinator to figure out how to stop the offense, when colleges haven't been able to figure it out with years worth of film.

But, if San Diego suddenly makes the offense seem pedestrian, then maybe the naysayers were right and this won't work on the professional level.

I suppose... although the NFL has the greatest minds in the game scheming against this type of stuff. And the talent gap is significantly smaller than the NCAA. Yes... Chip Kelly did amazing things at Oregon but he was playing what.. like 2-4 ranked teams year to year out of 13 games (season + bowl)? All I'm saying is a lot of people are blowing their load about Kelly and the Eagles. I'd just like to see a game where they aren't gifted 3 first half turnovers that place them on their opponents side of the field. I'd like to see them put together nice real 80 yard drives using this offense and consistently before I go crowning them the next Greatest Show on Turf. Which seems to already be happening after Week 1 and it's boggling my mind.

They had 14 drives in that game... 9 of them resulted in turnovers and punts... 5 of them were scoring drives... only 2 of the scoring drives started in their own territory. And on one of them they gained 30 yards on one play thanks to a Horse Collar on Hall. My point here being... when they started a drive on their own end of the field they didn't look all that impressive to me. I'd like to see them in a game with more realistic field positions and see how they fair.

 

[Amused to Death]

1. Philadelphia Eagles - I haven't seen a single writer, analyst or even person posting on a random board with the same thoughts on this as me.

I feel like the second half Eagles were much more telling of what we may actually see from them. A lot of quick fast drives that result in 3 and outs or at the least small amounts of plays and punting. They didn't get conservative in their play calling by any means. The Skins just adjusted.

This isn't true at all. The Eagles led by 19 at the half and scored on the second play of the second half. They absolutely ran the clock out.

I agree. The Eagles took their foot off the gas and were outscored 20-0 at the end of the game. That begs the question, why did the Eagles take their foot off the gas?? You see this in every sport, one team is completely dominant then goes into hang on and run the clock out mode. Once you change the tempo it's almost impossible to get momentum back.

It was Kelly's first NFL game and he acknowledged he has some learning to do. He addressed the fact that he needs to learn his players and what not to do in the NFL. For a first game, he did pretty well but almost let it slip away. Certainly curious as to how it plays out in week 2.

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

1. Josh Freeman and the Bucs' passing game - It's put up or shut up time for Free and he's got the not-exactly-fearsome Saints' pass D to work with this week. It's a real feast-or-famine question - will he throw for 300/4, lead his team to a big home W, and shut up the doubters, or post a duplicate of his Week 1 performance and give Schiano an excuse to go to Glennon sooner rather than later? I honestly have no idea.

2. QB2 production - A lot of erstwhile QB2s put up QB1-type performances in Week 1: obviously Vick, but also Schaub, Rivers, Bradford, even Pryor. How many of those can keep up the pace this week (and justify a lot of FBGers' decisions to wait on QB this year)?

3. Denver skill positions - There's still only one ball to go around and Peyton ain't gonna throw for 7 TD's again. Who will get the carries out of the backfield and at the goal line? Will Orange Julius continue to get red-zone looks or was he a one-week wonder? Is Decker in line to bounce back or will he be the odd man out this year?

 

[boots11234]

Hartline performance and more importantly his targets. After last week's numbers and how angry that wr1 was after the game it will be interesting to see if he targeted more and Hartline less.

I'm sitting him this weekend but will start with confidence if he has a good performance.

 

[chinawildman]

Rams - Cook experiment was a success, Austin not so much. Wondering if they're still going to force the ball to him knowing that they have a better playmaker in Givens across the way.

Eagles/Bills - The Bills were in week one what the Eagles would've been had they not converted 3rd downs or couldn't get the other offense off the field. Part of the reason the redskins were so gassed on D is because their offense kept giving the ball back in a hurry. FJax looked like a viable Flex/rb3, will the same be true of Bryce Brown after McCoy's comments regarding the RB rotation?

49ers - Is the new run n' shoot Harbaugh offense here to stay? An argument could be made that the entire reason Harbaugh maintained a clock control run heavy offense was to cater to the limitations of Alex Smith. It's presumptuous to think that the same offense will be employed with Kaepernick behind center.

Colts - With Ballard done for the year, will this be the AB show or will Brown get one last chance to prove himself? Brown has always looked like an above average RB to me, seems like injuries have been his main obstacle in this league, but you could say the same thing about Bradshaw.

Ravens - Can Marlon Brown step up and avoid pulling a Kenbrell? The opportunity cannot present itself any better. He's got a burner/field stretcher lined up across that will get safety attention, and a reliable underneath guy in Rice. As much as Flacco wants to be captain checkdown every play, the Ravens aren't at their best (see playoff run) unless he's going downfield.

 

[urbanhack]

watching to see if my players or any free agents score a lot of points.

 

[bostonfred]

1. Philadelphia Eagles - I haven't seen a single writer, analyst or even person posting on a random board with the same thoughts on this as me.

I feel like the second half Eagles were much more telling of what we may actually see from them. A lot of quick fast drives that result in 3 and outs or at the least small amounts of plays and punting. They didn't get conservative in their play calling by any means. The Skins just adjusted.

This isn't true at all. The Eagles led by 19 at the half and scored on the second play of the second half. They absolutely ran the clock out.

I agree. The Eagles took their foot off the gas and were outscored 20-0 at the end of the game. That begs the question, why did the Eagles take their foot off the gas?? You see this in every sport, one team is completely dominant then goes into hang on and run the clock out mode. Once you change the tempo it's almost impossible to get momentum back.

Maybe Chip Kelly found out that there are no Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in the NFL and you can't take your foot off the throttle against anyone. This week should be interesting.

You guys are talking as if the eagles lost the game. Sure, the final score was closer than it needed to be, but the redskins had to make long drives to get there, and even with the best second half turnaround the redskins could reasonably have hoped for, they came up short. That's what almost every nfl coach wants when they have a big lead. Its not sexy and it opens the coach up for questions at the end, but they got the w and the redskins got the garbage time fantasy points. I think this is the formula kelly would like every game to follow.

 

[MattFancy]

Lamar Miller - I have him as an RB3 on my team right now. I'd love for him to step up and have a big game or at least show some life. I have Gore ahead of him but not sure if Gore is the same player anymore. So getting some confidence in Miller would be nice.

Trent Richardson - I was high on him coming into the season. The Browns underutilized him big time last week. Now Norv says he's getting 20+ carries. Can the Browns keep him invloved enough to live up to the high expectations?

CJ Spiller - Another guy with big expectations coming in. Didn't look very good last week and has a tough test in the Panthers Run D this week. Buffalo needs to find ways to get the ball in his hands.

Dwayne Bowe - Seemed primed for a breakout year, but didn't do much last week against the lowly Jags. A bit tougher test in Dallas this week. If he and Alex Smith can click, he should be fine.

RG3 - Can he prove he's more like the player in the 2nd half of the MNF game? I think he can against a tad overrated Packers D.

 

[Khy]

Rams - Cook experiment was a success, Austin not so much. Wondering if they're still going to force the ball to him knowing that they have a better playmaker in Givens across the way.

Eagles/Bills - The Bills were in week one what the Eagles would've been had they not converted 3rd downs or couldn't get the other offense off the field. Part of the reason the redskins were so gassed on D is because their offense kept giving the ball back in a hurry. FJax looked like a viable Flex/rb3, will the same be true of Bryce Brown after McCoy's comments regarding the RB rotation?

49ers - Is the new run n' shoot Harbaugh offense here to stay? An argument could be made that the entire reason Harbaugh maintained a clock control run heavy offense was to cater to the limitations of Alex Smith. It's presumptuous to think that the same offense will be employed with Kaepernick behind center.

Colts - With Ballard done for the year, will this be the AB show or will Brown get one last chance to prove himself? Brown has always looked like an above average RB to me, seems like injuries have been his main obstacle in this league, but you could say the same thing about Bradshaw.

Ravens - Can Marlon Brown step up and avoid pulling a Kenbrell? The opportunity cannot present itself any better. He's got a burner/field stretcher lined up across that will get safety attention, and a reliable underneath guy in Rice. As much as Flacco wants to be captain checkdown every play, the Ravens aren't at their best (see playoff run) unless he's going downfield.

I like all of these except for the Rams one... I actually came away from that game mildly impressed with Austin's situation at the very least. They really didn't do anything to creative with him but against a brutal passing defense in Arizona he managed to put up a good amount of receptions and some yardage. I wasn't buying into the Givens hype all-offseason and I'm still not buying into it. I think Austin and Cook are the #1 and 2 targets here and I don't see it really changing as the season goes on.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Givens: Patrick Peterson factor. He'll bounce back. If he isn't already, Peterson's gonna be regarded as the best corner in the game. Closest thing we've seen to Deion IMO. Givens and Cook will really open the underneath stuff for Austin & Richardson.

 

[unckeyherb]

Steven Jackson scoring his first TD in Atlanta. Poetically enough, against St. Louis. Bold prediction #1-SJax has a pair of touches, over 100 on the ground and finishes as the top RB this week as a kiss off to the Rams.

The shootout in the Meadowlands..I think its gonna be high scoring affair. Bold prediction #2-Eli outscores his big bro in Fantasy this week.

As a birds fan, I'm interested to see if they go faster (as Chip Kelly thought they could) and if they keep it up all game. Bold prediction #3-Lesean and Bryce both get 100+ and a touch.

 

[BroadwayG]

Same as week 1: Joik Bell usage

 

[Pigskin Fanatic]

1. Is Pitt as bad as they looked? My guess is yes, playing Cincy won't help.

2. Will Eagles keep going at that pace and if so will that offensive line survive a season let alone two-three games? Vick was noticeably limping parts of second half, I'm sure that had a lot to do with Kelly taking his foot off the gas.

3. David Wilson.

4. Will the Raiders be 1-3 when they face San Diego in week 5 or 0-4? They are not winning next two games against Denver and Washington barring a whole lot of injuries and maybe the return of replacement refs.

5. Will Eric Decker remember how to catch the ball?

6. Who steps up in the Denver backfield? This may never be answered this season.

7. CJ2K or CJ-WTF for 2013? He ran hard last week, let's see what he can do against a softer defense.

That's about it I think.

 

[chinawildman]

Rams - Cook experiment was a success, Austin not so much. Wondering if they're still going to force the ball to him knowing that they have a better playmaker in Givens across the way.

Eagles/Bills - The Bills were in week one what the Eagles would've been had they not converted 3rd downs or couldn't get the other offense off the field. Part of the reason the redskins were so gassed on D is because their offense kept giving the ball back in a hurry. FJax looked like a viable Flex/rb3, will the same be true of Bryce Brown after McCoy's comments regarding the RB rotation?

49ers - Is the new run n' shoot Harbaugh offense here to stay? An argument could be made that the entire reason Harbaugh maintained a clock control run heavy offense was to cater to the limitations of Alex Smith. It's presumptuous to think that the same offense will be employed with Kaepernick behind center.

Colts - With Ballard done for the year, will this be the AB show or will Brown get one last chance to prove himself? Brown has always looked like an above average RB to me, seems like injuries have been his main obstacle in this league, but you could say the same thing about Bradshaw.

Ravens - Can Marlon Brown step up and avoid pulling a Kenbrell? The opportunity cannot present itself any better. He's got a burner/field stretcher lined up across that will get safety attention, and a reliable underneath guy in Rice. As much as Flacco wants to be captain checkdown every play, the Ravens aren't at their best (see playoff run) unless he's going downfield.

I like all of these except for the Rams one... I actually came away from that game mildly impressed with Austin's situation at the very least. They really didn't do anything to creative with him but against a brutal passing defense in Arizona he managed to put up a good amount of receptions and some yardage. I wasn't buying into the Givens hype all-offseason and I'm still not buying into it. I think Austin and Cook are the #1 and 2 targets here and I don't see it really changing as the season goes on.

They obviously invested alot in Austin and want to make him a priority, but if the Rams were expecting Percy Harvin, they have to be underwhelmed. A sub 7 YPC for a receiver is NOT impressive at all. Last time Givens saw the cards he hung 6 for 115 and a touch on them. It's no surprise that they keyed in on him. I would venture to guess that teams are going to concentrate more on defending Cook going forward as well. I'm not comparing the 2 players, but I would say game-wise the Cards played the Rams alot like how the Giants played the Cowboys in week 1.

 

[TheDirtyWord]

Megatron vs. Peterson...

Fun match-up.

 

[SYMPHONY X]

2. Tight End Production. I heard on the radio that there were 17 touchdowns last week by running backs, and 16 by tight ends. That's amazing. Pre-draft, all we heard about was the huge drop off between Jimmy Graham and all other tight ends. Well, judging by week one, stud tight ends are going to be plentiful. Or was it a fluke?

I don't think it was a fluke. The NFL is a copycat league, and the other 31 teams have taken notice of the Patriots dominance with two good tight ends on the field. Of course, there are no teams right now with 2 dominant tight ends, including the Patriots, but on the whole, I think offensive coordinators are on the look out for ways to exploit coverages with athletically gifted tight ends.

I am on the lookout for a couple of things:

Will Gio Bernard start to get more involved in the offense? Not sure what he will do against the Steelers' D if given the chance. Will they let BJGE plod away for 2.5 yds per carry all game because of his value in pass pro against the Steelers blitzes? If Whitworth is still out for the Bungles, I could see this being the case, which means the Gio breakout watch is on hold for another week.

Can Lynch bounce back this week and chalk up a 4th 100-yd game in a row the SF defense? Gonna be fun watching Wilson and Kapernick go at it head to head for the next decade.

Can Reggie Bush put together back to back huge games with a bad thumb and other minor dings?

Will Victor Cruz continue to hog all of the WR TD's in the Manning bowl?

 

[ponchsox]

Players I'm curious about are David Wilson, Dwayne Bowe, Daryl Richardson, and Decker/JT.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Studs or semi-studs who underperform once again.

I also hope I have some people overachieve so I can trade for Josh Gordon before he blows up

 

[Tanner9919]

Moreno vs. soft Giants run D, Dolphins defense, are they for real ? Ben Tate, will he put the squeeze on Foster and take that job this week ? who does Indy trade for at RB? Reuben Randle, does he go for 100 again?

 

[Grigs Allmoon]

Megatron vs. Peterson...

Fun match-up.

 

[LionOfGosforth]

Megatron vs. Peterson...

Fun match-up.

Patrick Peterson...

 

[ericttspikes]

1. Philadelphia Eagles - I haven't seen a single writer, analyst or even person posting on a random board with the same thoughts on this as me. But what did we "really" see from the Eagles last week that was so damn impressive? The first quarter they got 3 turnovers in their favor... the defense didn't make those turnovers the offense of the Redskins did so it's not even like there is hope there. Alf's fumble was all on him, nobody from the Eagles touched the ball it slipped into his back and fell out on it's own. RG3's pick was just an awful awful pass. Then the safety was Alf just not looked at the ball. So no hope for the defense really. Now for the offense... what people really care about. LeSean McCoy was a complete beast as he always is... he won't survive 16 weeks with that many carries (he even said it in a presser today). Vick was getting WHACKED all game, he won't make it a whole season either.

What I saw was "fun". Not a lot of "fun" in the NFL these days, so to me it was a breath of fresh air. I don't think it has anything to do with how many plays per se, but more about overall speed in general. McCoy/Jackson/Vick are some of the fastest guys in the NFL and they are in an O that plays fast. I also think the offense is radical. Some of those formations have never been used in the NFL, as a fan, I think that's kind of cool. I was excited to see last weeks game and I'm excited to see this weeks game too. I'm still very skeptical that it works for a full 16, but I'm enjoying it now.

 

[devouredbychaos]

Studs or semi-studs who underperform once again.

I also hope I have some people overachieve so I can trade for Josh Gordon before he smokes up

Fixed. I love how so many are expecting Weeden to make this guy a fantasy megastar.

 

[Grigs Allmoon]

Megatron vs. Peterson...

Fun match-up.

Patrick Peterson...

Oh, my bad.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

General interest:

Chip Kelly's offense, Week 2

Marlon Brown as full-time starter

Robert Griffin -- rusty or not 100%

Seattle vs 49ers (so tasty)

Personal interest:

Felix Jones running with the ones

Lance Dunbar's role

Charles Clay, Week 2