Yay or Nay Week 3
Yay or Nay Week 3:
8 wrong out of 22 picks. That’s not good, but hey even the people that get paid to do this have terrible weeks like this one. If you started Matt Ryan expecting him to put up another 20+ performance, congratulations. If you started Martellus Bennett after being burned by him last week, big props to you! Standing by your guy until the very end. Some of my picks were plagued by injury, Danny Woodhead, Adrian Peterson. But since one of them was a yay and the other was a nay I’m counting them as I got one right and one wrong. Here’s to improving next week, Yay or Nay Week 3 use at your own discretion as this article is not reinforced by normal stats, mostly by the eye test and good/bad feelings.
QB’s I say Yay to Week 3:
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons: I am jumping on the bandwagon! I’m not picking him up but I’m definitely starting him in DFS and I am actually really worried I’m going to get burnt by this pick, but everything is there for him to have a spectacular game! Every game he has been in has been high scoring, going up against a bad defense, with a stud wide receiver! I am super excited for Matt Ryan (and to be honest he’s probably going to burn me but hey, it’s okay.) Matt Ryan might be this year’s Andy Dalton, nobody starts him, then some quarterback gets injured and suddenly people start to notice that he’s actually been really good lately.
Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals: The Bills fired their offensive coordinator. After a game that ended 37-31. Let that sink in for a minute. The offense was fine; the defense was the problem. It looks to me that Carson Palmer is going to have to show the Bills that this week. After a sub-par first week (to his standards) Carson Palmer went back to his studly ways against Tampa Bay and is in a groove going into Buffalo against a bad defense. I think that the Bills are going to fire Rob Ryan this week, just sayin’.
Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks: I’m glad I benched him and started Kirk Cousins. I think I nailed this pick and now he plays the 49ers. Wilson has all his owner panicking, “Er mah God I have to trade him away for cheap! What do I do what do I do!” (imagine that with a funny voice if it makes you feel better.) Whoever buys low on Wilson I think is making a great call because I think that this is the part where he turns it on. I am starting Wilson this week and I think that this is when you should buy low on him.
QB’s I say Nay to Week 3:
I’d just like to pat myself on the back for the Winston pick last week, just wanted to put that out there.
Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals: He hasn’t been the stud that he was last year, but he’s been average. He’s been the guy you want when you have studs at WR and RB and just need a serviceable quarterback. I don’t think he’s going to be serviceable because of the pass rush. The secondary in Denver is scary but it’s not as scary as the pass rush when you have a bad O-Line, just ask Andrew Luck. I don’t think he’ll have lots of time to make his reads, he’ll start making rash decisions and will throw some easy picks.
Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans: I know, he’s playing the Raiders. Everyone is going off on the Raiders. Which is going to lead someone to start him this week, it’s like start the defense playing against the Browns. The Raiders know that, which makes me believe that they’ll try to put a stop to that in a big way. I think the Raiders win this one by a big margin.
Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars: He’s been a profound disappointment, I expected him to be huge! I expected him to make a huge leap and I have been wrong. He’s been mediocre. I expect that to continue. I think that this only boosts Allen Robinson’s value because he’s going to get lots of garbage time yards and maybe a couple of touchdowns too. They’ve done nothing but throw the ball in Jacksonville (tied for first in most pass attempts in the NFL) but I think that he just throws too many interceptions and gets sacked too much. Not really his fault but still affects his fantasy value.
RB I say Yay to Week 3:
LeGarrette Blount, New England Patriots: They have Julian Edelman as their backup quarterback. Let that sink in for a bit. Brady is out, Garoppolo is injured, they’ve been relegated to using Jacoby Brissett a rookie. If he gets hurt, Julian Edelman is the backup. I think they lean heavily on the running game against Houston. Houston has a good defense but I think that Blount will have 20+ touches and will be a big factor in this game. Julien Edelman is really being prepared as a backup QB. I don’t think the Patriots want to risk Brissett being injured and then having Jadaveon Clowney and JJ Watt gunning at their best receiver. Expect a lot of touches for Blount this week.
Melvin Gordon, San Diego Chargers: You know when you’re a second stringer and the guy ahead of you suffers a season ending injury? You get a little excited, of course you feel terrible for the person who just tore his ACL, but hey now it’s your time to shine. Well Melvin Gordon wasn’t a total second stringer but now that Danny Woodhead is out for the year (wish him a speedy and full recovery) everything is going to fall into Melvin Gordon’s hands. He will get a lot of touches and I think that he’s going to have a big day against a poor Indianapolis defense.
David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals: I believe he is the best running back in the game right now. Over Gurley (we’ll get to him later), over Williams, over anybody. And guess who he’s playing? The Buffalo Bills. Like I said, I think Rob Ryan loses his job this week and I believe that the Cardinals will blowout the Bills so they’ll end up running it often.
RB I say Nay to Week 2:
Christine Michael/Thomas Rawls, Seattle Seahawks: That backfield is a mess. Heck that whole offense is a mess. The Niner’s defensive front isn’t that terrible. I just don’t think this week is a gimme when it comes to running backs in Seattle. This is the same Niners team that held Gurley to 47 yards. Even if this was a favorable matchup, the split backfield in Seattle is too much of a guess to get any real production out of it. I’d rather just avoid it altogether and go with something a little safer.
Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams: He’s here not because of his talent. There is no doubt in my mind that Gurley is one of the most talented guys in the NFL, but the Rams aren’t doing him any favors. They don’t have a threatening pass game, they don’t have a good offensive line, which allows teams to just focus on Gurley. Gurley will continue to produce below average numbers until the Rams figure out to have some sort of passing game, I doubt they will.
TJ Yeldon, Jacksonville Jaguars: A gut feeling, didn’t do well last week, don’t think he’ll do too well this week either.
WR I say Yay to Week 3:
Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders: Guess what quarterback has thrown for the 6th most passing yards in the NFL. Derek Carr, with 618. Guess how many of those yards have been to Cooper. 208, about a quarter of Derek Carr’s yardage goes to Amari Cooper. The raiders are playing a Titans defense that really doesn’t scare anybody. I think he’ll have a big day. Cooper had a touchdown called back last week. That touchdown would have been the cherry on top to a very good day. I think Cooper makes up for the touchdowns he didn’t catch in week 1 or week 2.
Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys: He came back from a terrible performance with a 100-yard performance. Against a shutdown corner. That’s what great players do. All he’s missing is a touchdown and I think Dak is beginning to trust Dez a little more. I think he’ll have his first all-around complete game of the season, he’ll get the yardage, get the touchdown, overall a big game. Oh yeah and it’s primetime, where big players show up.
Kelvin Benjamin, Carolina Panthers: This guy is a freak. Comes off an ACL injury against the best defense in the league, nobody expects him to play the whole game, goes 6 for 91 and a touchdown. Next game he comes back 7 for 108 and two touchdowns. I don’t know if this week he’ll go 8 for 120 and three touchdowns but don’t put it past this guy. The Vikings defense is no pushover but this definitely could be a playoff matchup. I’m excited about Benjamin this week and for the rest of the season.
WR I say Nay to Week 3:
Danny Amendola, New England Patriots: You never know who it is in that offense that is going to blow up. But I am fairly sure about one thing, it almost never is the same guy two weeks in a row. I’ve been burnt enough times to know that. I think that it will be a big Blount game as I wrote earlier even against a tough Houston defense, I wouldn’t expect much from the receivers this game (unless Belichick works his magic).
AJ Green, Cincinnati Bengals: He’s a stud so I’m pretty sure you’re starting him but I can’t see him having a huge day, just a serviceable one. Going against a great secondary, his quarterback won’t have much time in the pocket. I have a feeling that this is going to be a very low scoring game. I think he gets the yardage but doesn’t get the touchdown, I’m expecting about a 6 or 7-point game from him.
Sterling Sheppard, New York Giants: The guy is good I don’t think anybody denies that, he got eight targets last week but I think that his ceiling is limited. The reason his ceiling is limited is because it’s Odell’s team, no matter how good Sheppard becomes, it’s Odell’s team. So there’s no way he’ll become the primary target, number two target is okay right? Well yeah except he has Victor Cruz on his tail eating away at his targets. Going against an underrated Washington defense I don’t think he’ll get as many good looks as before. Still a PPR monster, but I don’t like him this week.
TE I say Yay to Week 3:
Rob Gronkowski/Martellus Bennett New England Patriots: I only like Martellus Bennett this week is Gronk doesn’t play. I was way wrong last week. I dropped Bennett the day before the game and I regretted it big time. I have the same thought process right now as I did when Carson Wentz debuted and I thought Ertz was going to have a big game (which he did, to TE standards all he was missing was the touchdown). If you don’t remember, here it is: rookie quarterback will look to make quick, easy reads. Who is a nervous quarterback’s best friend, the tight end. He is the closest receiver to the quarterback and I believe that Brissett will look for his primary tight end early and often to gain confidence. I also believe that this helps the value of James White, little dump offs to the running back will be good to boost the rookie’s confidence. I love tight ends when they have a rookie quarterback.
Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys: Jason Witten looks like vintage Jason Witten. He is getting looks early and often because he is Prescott’s safety net. If the primary look isn’t open, he is almost always the next read. I think that he has more value in PPR leagues because he hasn’t gotten the looks in the red zone but I truly believe that those looks will come and that Witten will continue to have value with Dak at quarterback.
TE I say Nay to Week 3:
Coby Fleener, New Orleans Saints (again): I am putting here not necessarily because I think he is going to have a bad game (I do but that’s not the point) but why I think he might not be droppable yet. The Saints gave Coby Fleener more money than anybody ever thought he could get. They didn’t just sign him because he just happened to be there right before the season. First day of free agency they went out and got him. They looked for him, not the other way around. Fleener got looks, 2 catches on 8 targets, so I think that after this week things will start to look better. But I still don’t like him this week, I have to see some improvement before he becomes a yay.
Jared Cook, Green Bay Packers: I just want to put him in here because I have a guy in my league that always starts him because Aaron Rodgers is his quarterback. It’s like starting a random Patriots receiver because Brady is the quarterback and he is bound to go off eventually. I think that Cook will have one good game this year and I don’t think he’s a good tight end. Just wanted to put that out there.
That’s it for this week, as always you guys can do defenses yourselves, good luck this week and if you don’t win, hopefully your guys don’t get injured.