Fantasy Football Start’em:

Watcha’ Benchin’ Willis?! (Week 2)

BEAST DOME NATION.

It is now Week 2 of the Fantasy Football season.  Some of you were Tate Raped in Week 1, while others enjoyed watching hidden gems like Stevan Ridley and Kevin Smith take your team to victory.  This article is for those people who are making those tough start decisions you do not want to make, or challenge me in the BEAT THE EXPERT OF THE WEEK ON FANTASYPROS.

Feel free to leave questions on the bottom.

Reminder: Live Sunday (8:00am-10:00am Pacific) START/SIT CHAT with Muntradamus.

Week 2 Rankings W/ Analysis

Week 2 IDP Rankings

Fantasy Football Trade Market

Week 2 Waiver Wire

 

PEYTON MANNING – QB – DEN

The Falcons pass defense is very soft.  After losing Brent Grimes, it got a lot softer.  Look for Peyton to be surgical as he picks apart this defense with his talented WR duo of Eric Decker and Demariyus Thomas.  This game should be a shootout on Monday Night Football as the Falcon can put up points with the best of them.  300+ Yards should be guaranteed for Manning, what is not is Willis McGahee stealing a majority of the TDs.

 

ANDREW LUCK – QB – IND

Let’s get two things straight.  The Vikings have a great run defense.  Donald Brown is as average as it gets at the starting RB spot.  That means we should see Andrew Luck drop back to pass all game long.  We could see upwards of 40+ Attempts this week.  Worth the start if you are struggling at QB.

 

STEVAN RIDLEY – RB – NE

This is the last week I can put Ridley as a sleeper, and I will accept this honor since I was one of the few experts that ranked him in the top 20 at his position.  With the Patriots likely to murder the helpless Cardinals in New England, we can expect Ridley to easily get over 18 carries.  More importantly than that, Brady will tear apart this defense to set up plenty of red zone opportunities.  Look for Ridley to reach the end zone while rushing for over 100 Yards as well.

 

WILLIS MCGAHEE – RB – DEN

While McGahe is truly one of the most underrated RBs in the game, this week he gets a great matchup against a Falcons team that will be too busy slowing down Peyton Manning.  Willis ran very hard last week against the tough Steelers front, unfortunately he had Moreno vulture his TD, even though Willis was the one who set it up.  Look for McGahee to make up for lost time and find the end zone twice this week as Peyton will have the Broncos in the Red Zone all Monday Night in the shootout.

 

BENJARVUS GREEN-ELLIS – RB – CIN

The Bengals are going to run over the Browns.  Especially with the game being in Cincinnati.  The Law Firm proved to everyone that he can be an effective RB with his new team after rushing for nearly 100 Yards and a TD against the Ray Lewis Ravens defense in Baltimore, on Monday Night Football.  This matchup should be a walk in the park compared to that.  With the Bengals also leading in a majority of this game, we can expect Green-Ellis to be effective all 4 quarters, as opposed to last week when this game was over by the 3rd quarter.

 

ALFRED MORRIS – RB – WAS

This is a big game for Morris and his fantasy owners.  There is obviously no such thing as a lock at the RB position in the Shanahan offense.  But Morris is setting himself up with a good matchup on paper to be that much closer to having fantasy value.  Obviously whoever is the Redskins RB is a good start as Shanahan is the king of getting no-name RBs 1,000+ Yard seasons.  Just ask Olandis Gary, and Mike Anderson.  Keep in mind, one fumble and Morris is back on the end of the bench.

 

REGGIE WAYNE – WR – IND

The fact that Wayne is not treated like a top 10 option in every league by now has me surprised.  The Colts will never be a team that runs the ball 20 times with Donald Brown.  If they do, it is because Andrew Luck is injured or the Colts blew out a team with the pass early.  Wayne is the #1, #2, and #3 option in this passing game.  After seeing 18 Targets with Chris Tillman guarding him, there is no reason to think he can’t be a BEAST all season.  It would not surprise me at all to see Wayne end up with better numbers than Larry Ftizgerald this season.  Expect over double digit targets this week as the Vikings run defense is so good that Luck drops back to pass over 40 times.  This should lead to that 100 Yard/1 TD game, and the last chance you have to trade for him at his value this low.

 

VICTOR CRUZ/HAKEEM NICKS- WR – NYG

Everyone remember that Victor Cruz of last season who would have 180 Yards/1 TD games?  Well this week we see a matchup where he can just take over.  Look for Eli Manning to light up the sky with fireworks as we saw Cam Newton was able to throw for 300 Yards against them in Tampa Bay.  Nicks could end up with the better game than Cruz, but Cruz is the more explosive option who should see the most targets.

 

ERIC DECKER/DEMARYIUS THOMAS – WR – DEN

In the preseason we saw Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker rotate as the best WR for Manning.  Obviously it is never a good idea to think twice about trends like that, but Decker and Thomas both have a great matchup against a shorthanded Falcons secondary.  Decker and Thomas should see plenty of targets, and Peyton should have over 300 Yards.  Those two things should result in good games for both players.

 

DESEAN JACKSON – WR – PHI

The Ravens secondary is very overrated.  They looked good on Monday night because the Bengals passing game is essentially all or nothing on AJ Green.  Now with the Ravens traveling to Philly, it is a different story as Ed Reed cannot camp to either side, and he cannot forget about Vick taking off.  This should allow Desean Jackson (bad hamstring and all) to break deep into single coverage situations.  With Jimmy Smith likely to be guarding Jackson, we can expect one of those bomb 60 Yard TDs.

 

BRANDON LAFELL – WR – CAR

LaFell is the sleeper of the Week at his position.  The Saints defense/secondary is as bad as Paris Hiltons acting in House of Wax.  With Roman Harper likely to keep an eye on Greg Olsen and Steve Smith, LaFell can create huge mismatches and easily find himself in the end zone again with over 80 Yards.  Brandon should remain busy in this one as the Saints are sure to make this one a shootut with Drew Brees, which only means a lot of points will be on the board.  It also helps that Steve Smith is not 100%, which means more plays could be ran for LaFell.

 

DANNY AMENDOLA – WR – STL

Count your Amendola’s if you were able to snatch this guy late.  He is clearly the #1 WR on the Rams, and that should always be good for 6 Receptions and 60 Yards.  While he is not the greatest start this week, he is one of the safest options at his position.  You can use him over an Antonio Brown or Mike Wallace this week with confidence, and a bit of luck one of them does not catch a long TD.

 

MARTELLUS BENNETT – TE – NYG

You have no excuse now.  There is a TE every season who breaks out into the next level.  That man is Martellus who in the perfect offense to succeed.  Not only is he one of the most physically gifted TEs in the game, he is on a pass first team that is missing it’s #3 and #4 options from last season, Mario Manningham. and Jake Ballard.  Nobody on that Giants Roster is there to take those two spots, which only leaves Bennett as the man to see over 7 Targets a game at least moving forward.  As defenses worry about Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks taking over games, Bennett can kill them with 12 yard catches over the middle.  He is a very dangerous threat in the red zone standing at 6’6/270.  Look for him to have over 70 Yards and possibly that TD this week, and then being the name on the waiver wire you were all too late to add.

 

COBY FLEENER – TE – IND

You have read so much about me raving on Reggie Wayne and Andrew Luck, that I did not even mention the #2 option in this passing game Coby Fleener. Fleener was not only the TE with Andrew Luck in Stanford, but he was his 2nd favorite option in the Colts passing game last week.  Expect the Colts to go heavy pass against the Vikings, which should result in another fine performance that leaves you more than satisfied.

 

MIKE NUGENT – K – CIN

The Bengals are going ot beat the Browns.   They are also going to be in the Red Zone often.  With the Browns having D’Qwell Jackson, and Andy Dalton not being that good.  We could see Nugent come in often to kick short FGs.  Worth going with if you want a sleeper with a lot of points potential.

 

BENGALS – D/ST – CIN

The Bengals defense has the easiest matchup of the week.  Playing at home is one advantage.  Playing against the Browns makes them must-start.  Add the two together, and he possibly have the #1 Defense of the Week.

 

RAIDERS – D/ST – OAK

Ryan Tannehill is not an offense where he is going to put up numbers.  This offense is all about Reggie Bush, and the Raiders front 7 is not too bad at stopping the run with how aggressive they are.  Reggie is going to have a tough time breaking out in this one, and Tannehill is good for at least three rookie mistakes which should turn into huge plays for your fantasy defense.

 

Muntradamus is a Fantasy Sports Expert who specializes in Fantasy Football/Baseball/Basketball. He is currently in his first season as a Pro on FantasyPros where he is the only expert to have Adam Dunn, Mike Aviles, Mark Trumbo, Ian Desmond, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Wilin Rosario in his top 20 at each position. Muntradamus not only leads many to championships with his great advice, and outlooks into the future. He is also consistently on the top of leaderboards in DraftStreet. To check his Preseason Fantasy Football Rankings Click Here.