The Fantasy Hangover: Week 2

Welcome to the week 2 of the Fantasy Hangover. We'll go over all the ups and downs this past weekend in fantasy football.

The Golden Chalice Full of Hennessy
Player of the Week

Chris Johnson (RB - TEN): 197 yards rushing, 87 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns is more than enough to give Johnson his first Golden Chalice of the season. All 3 touchdowns were over 50 yards. Johnson owners likely won their week 2 game on his points alone.

Give these guys a Bloody Mary and a firm slap on the ass.
Top fantasy performers of the week.

Matt Schaub (QB - HOU): After a dismal week 1 against the Jets, Schaub bounces back nicely with 357 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. Rex Grossman becomes despondent.

Frank Gore (RB - SF): It takes a mountain of patience and a gallon of Maalox to be a Frank Gore owner. After averaging a meager 1.4 yards per carry last week at Arizona, Gore busts out for 207 yards on 16 carries this week with 2 touchdowns.

Ronnie Brown (RB - MIA): Just as frustrating to own is Ronnie Brown who 30% of Yahoo managers opted to bench this week. Mistake. Brown ran for 136 yards with 2 TDs. We'll see how many folks choose to bench him this week against San Diego.

Andre Johnson (WR - HOU): Someone had to catch those passes from Schaub and that someone was Andre Johnson. Johnson coming off a career best 1575 receiving yards in 2008 showed that we can expect more of the same in 2009. 149 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns made him the top fantasy receiver of the week.

Dallas Clark (TE - IND): With Anthony Gonzalez out for while, Clark has become Peyton's #2 target behind Reggie Wayne. The former Hawkeye racked up an impressive 183 yards receiving plus a touchdown. Marv Cook would be proud.

Denver Broncos (DEF - DEN): Much like spot starting a pitcher facing the Pirates, picking up the Denver defense for their game against the Browns was an easy source for points. The Broncos D held Cleveland to just 6 points and Elvis Dumervil terrorized Brady Quinn, sacking him 4 times.

Give these guys a couple of Tylenol and a puke bucket.
The fantasy duds of the week.

Brady Quinn (QB - CLE): God and baby Jesus help you if Brady Quinn was your starter this past week. If you actually scored positive points with him they weren't very many. Quinn passed for 161 yards with no touchdowns, 1 interception and 1 lost fumble.

Beanie Wells (RB - ARI): Wells touched the ball only 7 times and ran for a respectable 44 yards, but a lost fumble all but wiped out what little gain he gave owners.

Donnie Avery (WR - STL): The Rams "#1" receiver caught 1 pass for 4 yards and lost a fumble. I can't see any reason to have a St. Louis player not named Steven Jackson on your roster at this point.

Santana Moss (WR - WAS): Almost as depressing as the Rams is the Redskins offense. Moss caught just 3 passes for 35 yards and lost a fumble. Despite their best efforts, Washington still beat the Rams.

Michael Crabtree (WR - SF): Idiot. I hope the Niners win the divison without you.

Tennessee Titans (DEF - TEN): The Titans D had a 94% start rate in Yahoo for week 2. I'd say they cost more than a few owners a win. 34 points allowed, no sacks, no interceptions, nothing.

The Skeet Sheet
Hot players you may find on the free agent wire.

QB
Byron Leftwich (TB): With the Buccaneer ground game floundering, Leftwich is airing it out, throwing 3 TDs against Buffalo. He's not going to be a stud by any means, but Leftwich is a serviceable option as a QB2 on your roster. At the very least he's a better choice than Brady Quinn.

Kevin Kolb (PHI): While he did throw 3 picks versus New Orleans, his 391 yards through the air is nothing to laugh at. With Philadelphia facing the Chiefs this week, Kolb is worth the start if you're truly desperate for a QB.

RB
Tim Hightower (ARI): He more than likely is already taken, but with Beanie Wells not exactly lighting the world on fire, it looks like Hightower is playing himself into more time on the field.

WR
Mario Manningham & Steve Smith (NYG): The Giants receiving depth chart is starting to become more clear. Manningham and Smith were Eli's favorite targets on Sunday night against the Cowboys. Both receivers caught 10 passes each. Snatch these guys up if you still can as they'll more than likely be spoken for before the Week 3 games even begin.

Mike Sims-Walker (JAC): With Troy Williamson out for the season, Sims-Walker has emerged as the #2 receiver in Jacksonville. With 6 catches for 106 yards against Arizona, he looks to be worth a roster spot if you're looking weak at WR.

Johnny Knox (CHI): Knox seemed buried on the Chicago depth chart amongst other no-name receivers trying to make a name for themselves. After two weeks he appears to be a favorite target of Cutler's and leads the team in receiving yards. Take a flyer on Knox and see if Cutler continues to look his way.

Laurent Robinson (STL): I know what I said earlier about the Rams. Look, if you're absolutely desperate for help at WR, Robinson right now appears to be St. Louis' top guy. Just don't expect a whole lot out of him. Greatest Show on Turf this ain't.

TE
Brent Celek (PHI): 8 catches for 104 yards last week and with Kolb given another start in Week 3 you can expect he'll have plenty of ball thrown his way again.

Feel free to leave any fantasy comments or questions.