Last Place Wisdom: I'm a (fantasy) monster!

Looking back at Week 2 it didn’t seem like it had quite the same level of excitement league wide as Week 1, but on further review 4 of the 5 games came down to the Sunday/Monday Night games, so it appears I was mistaken. Maybe it was just the added excitement from Opening Weekend, or maybe it was because I was out of contention after Thursday night last week so I just spent more energy watching other scores.

After getting too excited and making a bonus post on Monday, some of you are probably worried I will end up in a situation like Tobias below, but there’s no need to worry when it comes to talking Fantasy Football.

 Week One to Week 2 couldn’t have gone any more different for me, going from lowest weekly point total to highest. That included horrible games from MJD, Lacy and my Kicker, which I’m a little surprised I was able to overcome. Good calls on Vick and Bennett, and getting solid games from my #1 RB and WR were enough to pull me through.  I can’t say I was comfortable about my chances of winning until midway through Seattle - SanFransisco however, as Steve put up a solid week and will have a chance every week thanks to his Green Bay WRs.

John may have lost to Dawson in Week 2, but he won our unofficial Andrew Luck vs Matthew Stafford bet for a 2^nd week in a row, as well as making the right call with TY Hilton over Antonio Brown. One point from Kenny Stills did John in this week, as his other players were solid but unspectacular. We may have just watched Gio Bernard's breakout game on Monday night, which helps give John some more depth after dealing with his injuries.

I need to acknowledge Stan again this week. I had little to no expectations for his team, but even a poor showing from his 49ers couldn’t stop him from having another solid week. I love RBs and feel like you can never have enough, but Stan probably has the #1 QB, #1 WR and #1 Defense, and that will give him an advantage every week. His RBs are a hot mess, but if they stay even somewhat healthy, he might be competetive .

On that note, injuries have started to pile up, and will begin to affect games more and more. If Stan has one weakness, it’s his depth, as his bench scored just 16.78 points this week. Coming into bye weeks and facing injuries, my biggest piece of Last Place Wisdom for the week will be to make sure you focus on players who might not start for you in Week 3, but might help give you depth when you need it.

Mr.Manager of the Week Award (or for this week, the “I just blue myself” Award)

I want to try and be as unbiased as possible, but I think this week this award has to go to me. Taking the risk to start Vick and Martellus Bennett over the “safer” options paid of big time, and was essential in helping me overcome the horrible weeks from a couple of my players.

Honourable mention to Stan for making the right QB call again, and picking up Edelman, who should be a solid option going forward.

Waiver Wire

I totally understand that no one wants to pick Eddie Royal up, he’s a mediocre receiver on a poor team that no one will ever want to trust (think Cecil shorts last year). 5 TDs in 2 games is insane however, and he is one of Philip Rivers’ only reliable targets at the moment. I see this being the week someone gives in.

James Starks, Marlon Brown and Charles Clay(who?) round out the other top adds for people looking to overcome the huge number of injuries that occurred in Week 2. Rivers and Bradford are interesting options for those owners not happy with their current QB situation.

Injuries

Not only was there a large number of injuries this, it happened to a number of big stars. Vic Ballard started it off by getting put out for the year after a practice injury last week, and it carried over to Sunday with Ray Rice, Fitzgerald, Reggie Bush, MJD, Eddie Lacy, Malcolm Floyd, Steven Jackson, Vernon Davis and Andre Johnson all being injured to various degrees. We don’t really know the severity of the injuries, and many of them might not miss any time, but it will certainly play a role going forward.

Hit particularly hard is Curtis, who had both of his starting RBs leave the game. This is good news for me this week, as I’m down to 1 healthy, trustworthy, RB at this point. Curtis does have some depth himself though, as Ben Tate, BJGE and Knowshon Moreno (who might be the steal of the draft if he can keep up the starting job) are all capable fill-ins for a week or two.

Random Thoughts

It’s been the year of the QB so far, as 3 more QBs put up 400 yards and got the sweet, sweet bonus points that come with that. It’s tough for an opponent to overcome the 35+ points that these Quarterbacks have been getting.

It’s a slightly better week for RBs, but a number of top guys have still disappointed. Of the top 20 scorers for Week 2, 10 were not started in our league, showing how tough it has been to predict who will have good games so far.

TEs were back to normal, although still had a pretty good week overall. If they scored a touchdown, you were happy, as only Gates and Cameron really had enough yardage to be effective.

Our league never has a lot of trades, but I can foresee a couple owners starting to make some moves in the next week or so. Injuries will play a part here, as well as just having a better understanding of what a team will be for the year.

Week 2 Preview

Sexy Sacks Men vs What are the Chances – It looks to be the Battle of the Banged up Running Backs, as it might come down to which teams backups can be more successful. I have a difficult decision to make at QB (Vick is Vick, but Stafford is facing Washington who can’t play defense), where Curt will be relying on his Giants against a pretty good Carolina Defense.

Reading Dwayne-Bowes vs The War Boners – Showdown between former roommates and current part time lovers (allegedly) could get intense as Andrew looks to remain undefeated and John looks for his first win. John is still searching for a WR2 to solidify his lineup and praying for some better luck at RB, while Andrew’s team has been solid top to bottom, with the possible exception of QB since Russell Wilson hasn’t done much so far.

Oh that’s nasty vs BISP – I feel like this should be more of a rivalry than it actually is. Dawson has to hope for a better game from Brady against a tough Tampa D, and has some tough lineup decisions with Hopkins and Mendenhall on his bench. Mike needs a better outing from his QB as well, and has a tough decision to make about getting Torrey Smith into his lineup at some point.

NINERS vs NFL Owner – Now this could be the start of a rivalry developing. Both teams are 2-0, and there is no love at all between Green Bay and San Fransisco at this point. I know there has been some conflict over a potential trade for Aaron Rodgers, so I’m interested in watching this match closely. Shayne has a big decision about Tavon Austin, although it might be made for him depending on how injured Fitzgerald is. Stan has to decide on his QB again, and could put Shayne in the awkward position of having to cheer against his fantasy team by starting Aaron Rodgers.

Sideliners vs The Godfather – Someone is getting a win this week, which will likely make that owner extremely happy. Steve has deserved better luck, putting up enough points in both his prior games to have a shot at a win. Aaron has run into some injury trouble, but will be dangerous as Brees and D. Jackson can both put up points. I expect to see Bradshaw and Stevie Johnson in the game for Aaron, and he has to hope Stevan Ridley gets his act together.

On the next Last Place Widsom:

• I recap Week 3, where injuries make you feel good about starting Bilal Powell and Rashard Mendenhall.
• Shayne becomes more and more desperate in his attempt to trade for Rodgers before kickoff.
• John curses the day he ever encouraged Andrew to listen to a Fantasy Football Podcast.