The Game Plan For Week 2 (#FantasyFootball)
Fine readers of the Going For 2 fanbase my name is @TheBLeagueSays and I am 100% still on a high after waiting about 7 months for #fantasyfootball to be back in my life. Each week I will give to you some plays to make in regards to your Fantasy teams weekly roster construction, DFS selections or Dynasty evaluations to be considered for your ‘game plan for the week’.
So before we get started – Thank you, and enjoy!
How good was Week 1 of Fantasy Football? Who tilted more than they should? I know I did, and that’s ok because you, we, I waited this long for the first week to get going! But let’s cut the cheese and get to the mustard, how did I fare after the first week finished?
My big win for the week? Dak Prescott did me, and you, proud in a dominant win at home to the New York Giants with 33.4 fantasy points. I said that Dak Prescott would be a Top 5 Quarterback play this week and he finished as the QB2 with 33.4 points. I said that the Cowboys would roll the Giants and that Jason Witten (TE12 with 9.0 points), Amari Cooper (WR13 with 19.6 points), Michael Gallup (WR16 with 19.3 points), Randall Cobb (WR20 with 14.9 points), and Ezekiel Elliott (RB15 with 12.8 points) would all be amazing plays. With the way they disposed of their NFC East rivals, I can imagine they do the same against Washington also, and with the spread at -5.5 it almost seems too easy to get on.
I hit on taking the ‘unders’ in the Bengals at Seahawks game. I hit on Jacoby Brissett, who did himself and the Colts proud by taking the Chargers into overtime.
I whiffed on Tampa and that game as a whole was a stinker and Demaryius Thomas did nothing as he was inactive vs the Steelers. I can’t imagine that changes with the Antonio Brown era beginning in Foxborough.
And that’s all well and good, but who fits into this weeks ‘Game Plan For The Week?’
Slant Route
Who is trending up this week:
John Ross…well I’ll be damned!
A.J. Green was inactive as we know due to injury this preseason, and John Ross who missed most of the preseason also due to (yep, you guessed it) injury stepped up in his place and went absolutely bonkers with a 12-7-158-2TD outing. But should we be that surprised? Last year when A.J. Green was injured, John Ross scored 5 of his 7 Touchdowns while he was out. So in a chasm, Ross has produced without Green in the lineup. Now did it help that the run game was ineffective – yes – but Ross was looking sharp from the get-go regardless. John Ross is rostered in 4.8% of ESPN leagues, which is something I can imagine changes rather drastically over the next week (provided A.J. Green doesn’t return) when the Bengals are at home against the 49ers, where he is still providing as a low-mid range option on Draft Kings at $4600.
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Flat Route
The hate has tapered off:
On D.K. Metcalf. Can we be happy for this kid for just a moment? Metcalf went 6-4-89 and was close to a long play Touchdown while he was at it as he led the Seattle Receivers (unless we count Chris Carson for the most targets on the day) for targets, receptions, and yards – only Tyler Lockett bested him in the Touchdown department, although Lockett had just the one reception on the day – not really something you want to see from someone the collective drafted extremely high this past draft season.
Metcalf has been, through no fault of his own, a whipping boy in the ‘fantasy community’ because his cone drill just wasn’t sharp enough in May when it counts for little right now in September. We heard the call he received from Pete Carroll when he got drafted, he’s clearly worked on his rapport with leader Russell Wilson. Maybe (just maybe) his hard work to improve his game as a whole will pay off and he can produce more consistent numbers like this moving forward.
Comeback Route
Who will recover after a poor performance in the previous week:
Antonio Brown. Because let’s go Patriots right?
I’ll be honest… I don’t even know where to begin with this, but how about this: please people stop with your reckless ‘he has CTE takes’ already. There’s a good chance you’re not qualified to diagnose something that should be seen as serious and not a flippant throwaway remark, so please enough with that.
Antonio Brown, the most hated player in the NFL right now has teamed up with (probably, I don’t know, I don’t have a chart telling me the rankings) the most hated team in the NFL the New England Patriots. And I gotta be honest… I love it. What a way to stick it to everyone by joining Tom Brady and Bill Belichick while partnering up with Demaryius Thomas, Josh Gordon, and Julian Edelman.
Either way, I’m getting the popcorn ready and can’t wait to see what happens. Good luck, Mr. Big Chest!
Screen Route
The contrarian play of the week:
‘Who?’
‘The kid who took over for Nick Foles?’
‘Right… the kid with the mustache?’
‘Yeah, him!’
We have Gardner Minshew in our @GoingFor_2 Dynasty Rankings as our collective QB48, which I’m sure the needle will move on him eventually if he provides steady numbers just like he did in Round 1 (22/25-275- 2TDS-1 INT) as he took the reigns from Nick Foles, who as we know succumbed to injury against the Kansas City Chiefs. I can imagine he will be the hot add in deep 2QB/SuperFlex leagues and that is about it. Minshew ($4800 on Draft Kings) had some rapport with Chris Conley ($4200 on Draft Kings) which could be a really cheap stack on the road at Houston to help you fill your lineups out this week.
Out Route
Who am I completely off this week:
Sam Darnold and the hype can slow down. I’m not sure what happened in the Bills game. But what I do know is that if it wasn’t for Le’Veon Bell bailing him out on some special plays, Darnold’s numbers would be significantly worse. But I’m not sure that means much right now, so it’s back to ‘prove it to me’ before he becomes a must-start in regards to Sam Darnold moving forward. I need to see more before getting behind Darnold or the Jets again.
The 9 Route
A straight forward confidence play of the week:
DeSean Jackson went bonkers last week, so let’s not overthink this and leave him in your lineup. The Eagles travel to Atlanta this week and (at an indoor track) Jackson and his speed may burn the Falcons secondary. Carson Wentz looks like the goods again and crushed on 3rd Downs, but it was his instant connection with ‘D-Jax’ that looked like they had been making plays for years together that stood out to me in Week 1, which included two receptions that went for over 55 yards each. Can Jackson and Wentz connect for another big day in back-to-back weeks?
I say book it!
Hail Mary Play Of The Week –
Cameron Brate had two touchdowns overturned due to offensive penalties, and I know what you are thinking – it’s the Buccaneers traveling on a short week. But listen it’s called a ‘hail mary’ for a reason and we already know that it could be a nothing, but it could also be something. Last week Tyler Higbee had a 5-4-20-1 TD game for the Rams at Carolina which is where Tampa travels to this week. Now historically, Brate has stunk on the road against the Panthers and he did do little outside of the touchdowns that were called back. But he did get those looks and he did do his part, it was his team that let him down. Watch this space on Brate with a cheap play on Draft Kings at $2700.
And there you have it!
I want to thank you for getting this far and taking in everything I have presented. You can as always follow and find me at @TheBLeagueSays and offer any view or conversation about this. Don’t forget to check out the #GF2 weekly rankings which you can find https://goingfor2.com/2019-fantasy-football-redraft-rankings-gf2-consensus/, and to subscribe, rate, review, and share and listen to The Armchair Fantasy Show podcast.
Let’s all get better together!
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