Week Two: The Review Sep 10, 2007 | More

Week Two: The Review

Thursday was one of the longest days of my life. I got up real early to see all the wonderful free agent moves in all of my leagues. I keep track of EVERY owner’s moves. You have to know your enemies and their strengths and weaknesses. You need to look at all the match-ups, not just your own. So after reading the infinite amount of newsletters that are in my inbox, I head out to work.

Clock watching. That’s all I did when I was at work. I’m neither a Colts fan nor a Saints fan but it was real football and I was going against Reggie Bush and Dallas Clark in two leagues.

Week one was your test run. The week you saw your team in action for the 1^st time and can evaluate whether you drafted well or not. If you won the 1^st week, you need to look at how you won. What position carried your team? How balanced was your team scoring? Who should have been in your line up and who should have been benched? These are questions you should try to answer when evaluating how well you did in week one. Did you get lucky? Sometimes you just get lucky and win because the fantasy gods were smiling on you that week. For example, last year heading into the 1^st Monday night game, I lead in my money league by 4 points. This is a non PPR league and my opponent had Randy Moss in his lineup. Here was my scenario; I lead by 4 which meant if Moss scored a TD or had 50 or more yards receiving, I was done. However 40 receiving yards would mean a tie and I would win due to RB tie breaker. Anything less then 40 yards would be a win. Moss ended the night with 47 yards. I got the tie and the win by 3 yards.

If you didn’t win in week one, don’t panic. There is still plenty of games to make week one an afterthought. Look back over your match-up and analyze what went wrong. Did you have a player going against a tough defense? Did your player drop a TD pass? Was there a player you should have started based on a good match-up? Or did your player’s team fall behind early causing that team to abandon the run? These are just some of the questions you have to look at when evaluating where you came up short.

Sometimes your players did all they could and you were just out scored. It happens. There have been a few games in the past where, had I been playing anyone else in the league, it would have been a blow out. The reality is you can only play the person you’re matched up against. You can’t play defense in fantasy football against your opponent. You can only set your line-up and let it go from there. If your team played well and your opponent still out scored you, you just have to tip your hat and get ready for next week's game.

Now that you’re entering week two you should be more comfortable with your team. If you have players you do not feel will help your team, don’t hesitate to drop him for a player with more upside. Now is also the time you need to start looking at possible trades with other owners in your league. Did a stud have a bad week? Keep an eye on that player to see if he is slow getting out of the box. Last year an owner in my league traded Chad Johnson because of a slow start. Is an owner already dealing with injuries? Sometimes injuries hit fast leaving owners to scramble to patch up his team. Look for ways that will help both teams.

The Golden Mug Award

Awarded to the fantasy player who came through for their team.

Plaxico Burress - 144 yds and 3TDs. Many were skeptical of his back injury, ankle injury and his lack of practice time. He came through for someone’s team.

Honorable Mention: Randy Moss- Another player people didn’t know what to make heads or tails heading into week one but he produced big time with 183 yds and 1TD.

The Urinal Cake Award

Awarded to the fantasy player who you would like to, well you know.

Deion Branch- Zip, nada, zilch. That’s what you got from this guy as your WR1 or WR2 depending on your league size.

Note: Injured players never make this list.

MATCH-UPS

The match-ups I like this week for QB’s:

Brett Favre against the Giants. The Giants secondary is a mess and Favre love to throw the ball. With Donald Driver another week healthy, they will pass often.

Donovan McNabb against the Redskins. The Redskin defense played well in week one but McNabb is looking to rebound from a sub par day at Green Bay. Last year in Week 10, McNabb threw for 257 yards and 2 TDs. Oh and it’s a Monday night game, everyone loves Monday night.

The match-ups I like this week for RB’s:

Steven Jackson against the 49ers. Last year Jackson in week 2 ran for 103 yards with 21 rec yards. In week 12 he ran for 121 yards and a score with 71 rec yards.

Frank Gore against the Rams. Like Jackson, Gore was productive in their head to head match-up. Gore had 127 yards with 1 TD and added 10 Rec yards. He then finished the second meeting with 131 yards a TD and 31 rec yards. You have to believe they both will be at it again.

The match-ups I don't like this week for QB's:        

Josh McCown/Daunte Culpepper against the Broncos. McCown put up good numbers in week one but threw two big interceptions. Still in fantasy that doesn’t mean anything as long as you put up good stats. This week will be a big test for them as the Broncos defense is much better then Detroit.

Philip Rivers against the Patriots. Talk about tough schedule to start the year. Last year New England beat San Diego in the playoffs. They held Rivers to just 230 yds passing with an INT. Both teams have great defenses and I try to stay away from defensive match-ups because they hurt fantasy players from having great games.

The match-ups I don’t like this week for RB’s:

Tatum Bell/T.J. Duckett against the Vikings. The Vikings defense will make it hard for the running game to get going. Leaving Detroit to abandon the run and pass all game, which is what Martz plans to do.

Thomas Jones against the Ravens. Granted anyone going against the Ravens defense is going to struggle, but he struggled in week one against the Patriots and this match-up looks to be just as tough. I know Thomas ran for 139 yrds rushing in 2005 against the Ravens, but he’s running behind the Jets O-line now.

Week one’s brew of choice was Chimay Red. Good stuff, a beer you have to drink slowly. I wanted a high quality beer for week one. I’ll keep you updated on what the beer of choice is for each week. As always drink responsibly and don’t drink and drive.