JL's Week 2 Observation Deck Sep 15, 2008 | More

Wide Receivers

Another fantasy week where wide receivers prove their immense value. Lets just say not many running backs out there really won games for individual teams; it was the explosive wide out that did the trick. Anquan Boldin, Calvin Johnson, Santana Moss, Chris Chambers and Brandon Marshall all broke the 20-point scoring mark for WR's this week. I honestly believe that number is golden; it is very difficult to make up that ground if you have a WR on your squad that pulls a game off like Marvin Harrison, Braylon Edwards, Randy Moss or Chad Johnson did. Of course inconsistency will be the argument against drafting wide receivers high, but I am not telling you to draft them with your first picks for years to come, I am merely saying that having three of them that you feel confident in to put in the lineup and expect big games from is priceless in fantasy football. Already guys like Julius Jones, Willie Parker, Darren McFadden, Chris Johnson and Earnest Graham are topping the charts in rushing yardage. None of these guys went in the top two rounds and most of them not in the top three rounds. Remember, you can find RBs to play all season long; they come out of the woodwork these days in fantasy football.

Buffalo Bills

I hope everyone knows how for real this team is. Trent Edwards is only getting better, they have a perfect combination of wide receivers in the super-talented Lee Evans, big red zone target James Hardy and quick slot receiver Roscoe Parrish. Throw in a solid O-Line with the consistent performance of Marshawn Lynch, and you are looking at a legit playoff team. Even bigger fantasy numbers are on the horizon with Oakland, St. Louis, Miami, Arizona and San Diego coming up the next five games. None of those defenses should scare you.

Quick Hits

Take a look at LT's and Emmitt Smith's careers, very similar in that they both hit a decline at the exact same time. Darren Sproles was the best Chargers running back on Sunday, period.

Don't panic if you have Steven Jackson just yet, lets see how he does against non Top 3 NFC defenses. The Giants and the Eagles are incredibly well coached and fast defenses. Both teams made the Rams one dimensional. I don't believe the Seahawks will be able to do that in week 3.

The Panthers have built some serious momentum going into Steve Smith's return. Everybody saw exactly what I was talking about when speaking of Jonathan Stewart in last week's column. This offense as a whole is more balanced than ever.

I don't know if I have ever seen a team willingly play three different quarterbacks multiple plays in the 1st quarter of a game until the Kansas City Chiefs pulled that feat this past Sunday. They are a joke of a football team and my preseason prediction of them picking 1st overall in the 2009 NFL is looking pretty solid as of now.

Luckily DeSean Jackson is one amazing athlete. Not many rookies can make a mistake like he did Monday Night and live to tell about it. A very nice WR3 and possibly a WR2 in all fantasy formats. Especially since Donovan McNabb is completely healthy for the first time in a few years.

A huge game next Monday Night as the Jets and Chargers battle it out. Either the Jets will be 1-2 or the Chargers fall to 0-3. I just can't imagine the Chargers losing again; they will leave nothing on the field as they take down the Jets by 10-plus points.

DeMarcus Ware might be the best defensive player in the NFL – huge, explosive and smart players with a motor don't come along very often.

Look for the Pittsburg Steelers to prove themselves this week vs some real competition as they take down Philly. They will take advantage of their aggressive defenses by getting the ball out quickly and getting the tight end involved early and often in this ballgame.

Seattle vs. St. Louis....nobody would watch if there was no such thing as fantasy football.