Week 2 Recap!

When I finished watching football this week, I remember there was about 6 games without a score.  I harkened back to last year and my abysmal 0-4 start, how even though some of my team was doing well, there was no one consistently scoring TDs. I waited and waited and waited and then finally when it clicked, it was too late.   We are still but young in this season, and time definitely hasn't ran out for everyone, but don't forget that a hole can easily form that you can't get out of.

Before I get any further, I want to give huge props to Cone!  Looked good dude.

Top 5 by position:

QB

1. Alex Smith: 
• This guy holds out as number one for the season so far with a solid week 2.  Against a pretty damn good Philly defense he puts up 1 TD and no interceptions and 250 yards.  This is what I'd expect as an actual good game for Alex Smith, dude not taking chances, and as such not blowing doors off.  This dude will probably be in the top 5 for a bit.
2. Trevor Siemian:
• This dude, this guy is upsetting me.  The Broncos are garbage tier franchise but somehow Siemian is looking like a damn savant against the Cowboys.  He looks better than he has any right to, and CJ Anderson is keeping the defenses honest.  I'm surprised he's putting up such large numbers with such a good defense, I would guess that he'll regress but only because the rest of his team starts keeping the other team down.
3. Matt Stafford:
• Well that didn't really look great did it?  122 yards and 2 TDs?  What is that?    He had a stat line that looks like a good WR game.  I don't know if Giants D is that good, but Stafford still managed 16 points out of this game.  I think Stafford will regularly have games like this until they can get a running game going or get a new LT.
4. Carson Wentz:
• This dude does look pretty good, and scored 28 points against what is supposedly a good defense in the Chiefs.  I remember last year he got off to a good start and kind of petered out, but until that happens the dude can keep you more than just afloat, ahead of most other teams.  
5. Derek Carr:
• The truth.  That passing game looks good, although as always good luck guessing which of Julio/Roddy White will go off.  I mean Cooper or Crabtree.  The Jets are bad, but the Raiders are clicking (😎) and that could keep up.  Also, what I find most interesting is that 3 of the top 5 QBs are in the AFC West.  The one missing is the great Phil Rivers.  

Could there be a changing of the guard happening or is it just early in the season?  Notable names missing:  Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Phil Rivers.

RB

1. Kareem Hunt:
• Maybe I was wrong about him, he put up a hell of a game week 2 as well with 2 more TDs.  But before I fully admit to that, he's due a regression, unless you think he can score 40 TDs this year, in which case Jared can take home the trophy now.  He did have over 100 all purpose yards, which is pretty respectable.  I can't truly hate on him though, he is #1 through the first two weeks.
2. Ty Montgomery
• If I told you that 10 rushes and 6 catches would be good for RB2, would you believe me?  TyMo looks good, and it's unsurprising to me, he's had this potential.  What does surprise me is that the Packers coach is actually using him, maybe McCarthy has finally figured shit out.  The RB2 through two weeks, and now Jordy might be out and Cobb might be out, he could continue to get absolute huge usage.
3. Todd Gurley:
• I was a year too early with TyMo and Todd.  Dammit.  Anyhow, the Rams look like an actual team and this helps out Todd Gurley.  He still doesn't have a good YPC but if they are going to just force feed him the points will be there.  That hurdle I put up top looked good, but I didn't watch the game, because both teams sound damn boring.
4. Chris Thompson:
• This dude.... the catching back in Washington is apparently working.  Somehow the guy has sneaked up to RB4 after the first two weeks and he's been sitting in Matts bench.  Thanks for that Matt.  I don't really see this sticking but Rob Kelly is out too.   Idk.
5. Melvin Gordon:
• The only back taken in the first round to be here after two weeks.  9 rushing attempts for 13 yards and this dude still scores 20.  The Dolphins defense doesn't scare me, but Gordon is putting up.  Yura chose correctly in the first round, and so far so good.

One day soon I imagine Bell and Shady and Ajayi and Demarco might make it here, but so far that first round looks sad.

WR

1. Michael Crabtree:
• Grabtree grabs, get used to it.  Seriously though, he caught 3 TDs in a huge blowout and he looked good.  I don't think that's something you can expect but he can be solid and every once and a while blow up.  Number 1 right now is cool though.
2. Antonio Brown:
• Even in the bad matchup that is Minnesota, he can still score points.  I won't pretend that 11 this week makes me ecstatic, but also it isn't bad and if this is what he does against top tier defenses then he should stick around here all season.
3. JJ Nelson:
• Us this the guy of the future on the Cardinals?  They've played the Colts and the Lions, two defenses that definitely are not scary.  But uh, just think about this one guys, two weeks in JJ Nelson is the number 3 receiver.  
4. Tyreek Hill/Jermaine Kearse:
• This game by Hill doesn't surprise me, he's probably a boom or bust player the whole way through.  Kearse though, a WR on the Jets that almost got cut by the Seahawks, is tied for WR4.  He has a solid game week 1 and then did even better in week 2.  Mind you I know first hand that the Oakland defense is not good.
5. Keenan Allen:
• What's there to say about Keenan?  He isn't injured yet so he's doing well.  I expect that to continue until he ruptures his Gallbladder. Also I wonder if his beard will get pulled at some point...

Beckham and Evans have only each played once thus far, but we will see.

TE

1. Jason Witten:
• Yuriy thus far is kinda making a killing in these top 5.   Witten is the ancient question of how does a man so slow beat so many fast people in coverage?  I dunno, but Dak is using the hell out of him, and if Zeke struggles anymore this could keep up.
2. Travis Kelce:
• He dominated, and there's a chance that he could just keep going as the KC WR position might not exist all the time.  Dude looked good, and if the run game keeps going he can keep scoring.  Kelce is a top 5 whiny asshole though.  He's an idiot.
3. Zach Ertz:
• Consistency so far throughout 2 weeks.  Carson Wentz has looked pretty good.  Zach still did good even with Alshon going off, that bodes well for the offense, what doesn't is that their RB situation is just absolute garbage.  Teams might start figuring it out.
4. Delanie Walker:
• He scored a rushing TD, and that's weird.  That game was boring as all hell through the first half, but apparently something started happening after that and Delanie ran for a TD.  TE rushing TDs are probably something we can rely on.
5. Rob Gronkowski:
• That TD drop made me angry, but the 69th receiving TD certainly did not.  He is good, this we know.  With all the WRs around him dying as long as his groin ain't too hurt he can do damage.

RIP Greg Olsen :(.

D/ST

1. Ravens D:
• Easy matchups so far, but 4 ints in both the first two games.  They look real good.
2. Lions D:
• Carson Palmer and Eli both looked like garbage, maybe it is the D, but I'm not betting on it.
3. Rams D:
• Only scored 1 against Washington, riding high off that Colts game.
4. Jags D:
• They looked good until Mariota awoke and the Titans did something good.  Is their offense even okay enough to make these guys viable?
5. Steelers D:
• Cleveland and then Minnesota without Bradford.  They don't look bad, but they've gotten an easy start.

Seahawks? Broncos? Panthers?

GAME WRITE UPS:

The most real game of fantasy football, you pick up a card and it tells you what play you run and then you roll two dice and that tells you how many yards you've gained.  More skill required than fantasy football for sure.  

Daniel Smith versus Chris Cone

Maybe we were wrong, maybe Cone has a fantastic team.  

D-Smith:  there were things you could have done better, but I'm not going to sugar coat it, you got stomped by the second highest score in your game. Forte looked better than he has in a while, and Peterson doesn't seem like he's going to break out.  Carlos Hyde looks good, and Landry literally caught 13 passes, so that's the good.  The bad is that your top two WRs don't look fantastic and those situations they are in don't scream a huge chance to change.  Be worried about the Dalton, be scared.  

Cone:  oh boy man, you blew the doors off.  Crabtree and Brady were elite plays.  The rest of your team leaves something to be desired.  Leo Four and Gore scored TDs but without that their days would have been awful.  Lafell is not someone I would personally feel comfortable starting, and Thielen could be worse if Bradford sits out for a while.  You should definitely fill your last two bench spots, or maybe try and trade for more consistent starter depth.

Cone wins 144-108.

Jake Yorke versus Yuriy Yedinak

Yuriy scores the highest points for the week and his whole damn bench goes off too.... 

Jake:  I think your RB depth is pretty good, but also worrisome.  You can't play all those guys and you can't really bench Shady, what do you do?  Brandin Cooks isn't looking amazing, but he also keeps staying healthy while everyone else around him is dying.  Dez did good on like 20 targets, but Jimmy Graham and Seattle do not look good.  You had a pretty good week though, all things considered, just Yuriy had a better week.

Yuriy:  I don't know what to tell you, your starters did great and your bench did great.  Your weakest spot is QB, and it's not the absolute worst.  I do like that your team is named after objectively your worst player, so that's something.  Now I do have a prediction:  you refuse to trad all season, someone gets hurt, you make the playoffs and lose.  I've seen this before somewhere...

Yuriy wins 146 - 124.

Jared Grube versus Oscar Meyer

Dad, that whole week did not work for you.  

Dad:  Thomas Rawls and Jordan Howard situations are terrifying.  0s from both, and other starters on those teams that looked better. Brees did fine and Trevor Siemian is hot fire, so your QB position is set.  Your WRs did not look good, and Beckham is back but the Giants look like serious garbage.  Good news, Funchess played TE once or twice in college, so maybe he takes over for Olsen. Hunter Henry actually looked good and seemed like he was playing.  Pryor isn't looking great, Watkins is looking inconsistent, but he was covered by Josh Norman, Ginn may just not be great.  Gilislee is a good look, but there are some serious holes there.  I wouldn't expect weeks this bad often though.

Jared:  how bout that Zeke?  Maybe he should have started his suspension.  Kareem Hunt is still killing it, so your RBs probably don't need to be worried about.  Julio looked like he was in for a big game, but immediately stopped making catches, fun fact Sanu has more targets than Julio.  Amari Cooper had one of those weeks where Crabtree scored every TD, as a Cooper owner in the past, get ready for that.  Coby and Delanie looked good.  I wonder if you can figure out which if Wentz and Mariota to play each week, you may have gotten a coin that can cost you games.

Jared wins 112-70

Alex Gomez versus Orest Yaslinskiy

This game was pretty close, at least closer than it looked.

Ory:  you might want to start playing Kearse.  If you had played him over J Stew, Tate, Cobb, or McCaffrey you would have won.  Some of your players definitely underperformed and you have some solid production on your bench.  This wasn't a terrible showing and you would have beat Grube if you played this week, but that's fantasy. A cruel mistress. I don't know if you'll feel comfortable starting Wilson this year, and Rob Kelley getting destroyed might hurt.  

Alex:  a win without DJ is still a win.  Ebron looked good and Stafford had points despite awful awful stats.  Crowell is a scary guy to own isn't he?  He could bust something out, but if he doesn't then you get what you have here, 3 points.  Chris Carson looks good at least, but Seattle doesn't have a good o-line.  Your RBs now leave something to be desired, but you tell me if you're panicking (spoilers: you will say you aren't). Burkhead and Henry provide some upside too, but are they trust worthy?  Will you okay them over the Crow and then watch him score 20 on your bench only for the other to receive no carries?  

Alex wins 122-113

Andrew Gomez versus Valeriy Shishkin

Andrew and Matt would have tied this week.

Andrew:  Palmer gave you points but man does he look bad.  Jordy leaving the game with 0 points is brutal for you, and really not much went well for you.  CJ was a nice showing against Dallas, and 29 points should hopefully win you weeks, but unfortunately Cook looked pedestrian Eifert is eh, Fitz was actually not force fed.  You made mostly the right start sit choices, Engram looks to be headed in the right direction.  

Val:  well thankfully we didn't play this week.  Murray is not looking good at all, and Henry is looking pretty good behind him.  Your WRs blew up, Sanders and Jeffery looked pretty damn good.  Pierre Garçon and Crowder both are okay, but on offenses that don't appear to have much fantasy value behind them.  Ertz can be consistent it seems, and Ajayi busted 100 yards.  I'm curious on whether or not your team can continue to put it together at the same time.

Val beats Andrew 126-100

Matt Burke versus Nic Meyer

Matt:  I have to be honest I was worried about a potential Brandon Marshall comeback win, but after watching the game last night I'm more surprised he even got you 2 points.  Somehow, someway he looks bad.  TyMo is a goddamn beast and I'm jealous you have him this year, treat him well.  Bell is not looking great, I wonder if missing preseason really hurt him that bad or if he will pick it up at some point.  D Jax missed a couple big plays, and Olsen broke his foot.  Just uh, thank goodness you didn't play Thompson and Sanu haha.

Me: GRONK GRONK GRONK GRONK GRONK GRONK GRONK.  Kerwynn was a dumb play, but a win is a win.

I beat Matt 122-100

POWER RANKINGS

1. Jared Grube (2-0 284 PF) (previously 1).
2. Yuriy Yedinak (2-0 264 PF) (previously 4)
3. Alex Gomez (2-0 243 PF) (previously 2)
4. Nic Meyer (2-0 242 PF) (previously 3)

5.  Chris Cone (1-1 258 PF) (previously 7)

6.  Jake Yorke (1-1 235 PF) (previously 6)

7.  Andrew Gomez (1-1 215 PF) (previously 5)

8.  Valeriy Shishkin (1-1 201 PF) (previously 11)

9. Daniel Smith (0-2 214 PF) (previously 8)

10. Orest Yaslinskiy (0-2 212 PF) (previously 9)

11. Matt Burke (0-2 174 PF) (previously 12)

12. Oscar Meyer (0-2 167 PF) (previously 10).

Thanks for reading guys.