Greetings and salutations fantasy owners--what a crazy week..Julio Jones and Larry Fitzgerald, guys at WR commonly drafted after Megatron, combined for five catches for 15 yards in Week 2 and their teams won both games. Some guys like Fitzgerald have straight up disappeared in fantasy football. In the sake of finding these apparitions, we’ll call this article the Bigfoot article because there are several fantasy players that are rumored to be in the NFL, scoring points for your team but they haven’t been sighted in years. After quiet Week 1 and Week 2’s these guys are in danger of being relegated to old wives talesdom. However, since drafted highly in your league they are rumored to exist and keeping with the theme of a “sighting” we’ll go over the likelihood that you will see these players in all their point-scoring, team-winning, confidence-building glory.
Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions
- Stafford In a Laugher?
Where has the real Matthew Stafford gone? In the first two games, the 2011 version of Stafford would have likely put up 700 yards and 6 touchdowns against the Rams and the 49ers (He actually put up 699 yards and 7 touchdowns at this point in 2011). Stafford opened 2012 with a 300-yard, 3 interception performance against the Rams secondary that features Janoris Jenkins, and who else? The 49ers game, he understandably put up less stats but Megatron hasn’t even scored yet! His 73.2 QB Rating will get a boost with a visit to Tennessee, who hasn’t been competitive and has a slew of issues on offense and defense. Stafford will face a Titans secondary that was carved up by Brady and Rivers in back-to-back weeks. The Lions don’t have a certified threat on the ground, so the Titans maybe keep this close thanks to a not-so-likely resurgence from Chris Johnson, which is actually good news for Stafford owners. In an unexpected shootout, the Georgia gunslinger will keep firing away and will finish north of 250 with 2 touchdowns or more but no picks.
Sighting Possibility: LIKELY
Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals
- Kolb (not) giving him Fitz?
What in the world is the deal with Fitzgerald? A perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver that averages 76.8 a game over his career has two catches for five yards in 2012? One main culprit; one being a quarterback, Kevin Kolb who may or may not start Week 3 against the Eagles, not being able to connect at all with Fitzgerald, really since Arizona acquired Kolb in 2011. Fitzgerald was able to go for 7-146-2 last year with John Skelton lining up behind center. Strange that Fitzgerald’s fantasy value would be tied to such a mediocre talent as John Skelton but that underscores how not in sync the Kolb-Fitzgerald chemistry is. Fantasy owners should monitor the Cardinals QB situation for Week 3 against Philadelphia. This would be a bigger issue in the NFL (not fantasy) if the Cardinals weren’t 2-0 coming off a shocking win against New England in Foxboro. Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie await either way, but Fitzgerald owners are going to get a middling performance at best from Fitzgerald. Arizona can’t run and the Eagles atrocious run defense of 2011 has gotten much better.
Sighting Possibility: SOMEWHAT LIKELY
Ryan Matthews, RB, San Diego Chargers
- Charged Up
Ryan Matthews needs to shake off the injury prone-fragile label in Week 3 to justify his really obscene average draft position in 2012. Although Jackie Battle, Ronnie Brown and Curtis Brinkley have held the fort for a 2-0 squad Ryan Matthews will probably get the lion’s share of carries to test an Atlanta run defense that surrendered 152 to Kansas City and 118 to Denver, including a buck thirteen to Willis McGahee. The Chargers are going to try to run the ball and have Rivers throw to Malcom Floyd, Robert Meachem and Antonio Gates deep off play action. Start Matthews as a RB2 but don’t go overboard thinking he’s going to go ham first week back. It took him awhile to get going in 2011, but this Sunday he may make a play or two in the passing game, an area where’s he’s underrated. Expect 80 yards rushing or so and a touchdown and 30 receiving yards or so, which in most of my leagues gets 17 points. That is decent production, but Matthews has the skills for much more going forward; he’s a must-start when healthy because I said so (and I drafted him 4th overall in one league).
Sighting Possibility: LIKELY
Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans
- Everybody Trades Chris?
Draft time this year I vouched for Chris Johnson. Ok, vouched is a stretch, but I held me nose and took him second in a keeper league over McFadden and Megatron. He is an Orlando guy, raised very close to where my mother-in-law resides to this day. He has made more exciting plays by simply being way too freaking fast. Now I want to trade Chris. Really..has there been a more disappointing fantasy 1,000-yard rushing season then his 2011 season? Even more disconcerting but not wholly unexpected, is the pain and torment of watching Chris Johnson get off to another dreadful start in 2012. The Chris Johnson debacle will likely forever change the way fantasy owners view running backs receiving large contracts when its draft day. He simply isn’t getting it done. There are bad offensive lines, to be sure, but when you’re that quick and agile, at what point do you simply head forward for two yards instead of keep trying to cutback, cutback, cutback. He’s pressing, sure, and the offensive line is guessing and the quarterback is hurt(ing) my feelings. Tennessee has been the least competitive team in the NFL so far. Ok, so now the positives. They will eventually either get a healthy Locker or Hasselbeck will provide some semblance of quarterback play, right? Kenny Britt will open things up and with continued improved play from Jared Cook and if Nate Washington and Kendall Wright are your #2 and #3 things have to open up right? Detroit’s defensive line is vulnerable to draws and other delay handoffs, inviting Ndominant & Co. up the field, and letting them take themselves out of the play. That works so much better when the defense has to respect the balanced Titans' attack-- which has been anything but the case so far. But there is hope; delays out of the shotgun represent the type of play that Chris Johnson has broke open for so many big runs in his career. All it takes is one . . but Tennessee will probably be playing catch up against the Lions, forcing them to throw, so the receiving game for CJ2K is going to have to be a saving grace. Although looking at the schedule in early September, the Titans probably thought they could very well be 0-2 at this point, the team isn’t looking too good. Now back to CJ-please-gimme-1K, my guess is 45 yards rushing and 30 receiving with no trips to the end zone. This would represent encouragement for owners contemplating straight up trading him for Tim Biakabatuka.. Stay tuned.
Sighting Possibility: UNLIKELY
