SEPTEMBER 14th, 2007
Week Two Players to Watch!
In week two, patience, talent and opportunity are the right mix for some of the future fantasy stars.
WR-James Jones versus the Giants secondary; the Packers rookie wide receiver will get his second consecutive with receiver Greg Jennings slowed by injury. In week one, the Giants secondary had all sorts of problems and were torched for over 300 yards. With veteran Donald Driver drawing the most attention, Jones should be able to run free over the middle and downfield. Quarterback Brett Favre is too experienced and savy to not take advantage of this soft secondary. Expect to see Jones get a lot of balls on Sunday.
Prediction: 5 receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown.
TE-Eric Johnson versus the Buccaneers defense; the Saints tightend, Eric Johnson became a favorite target of quarterback Drew Brees in the Thursday night opener catching 8 passes for 57 yards. With so many weapons on offense for the Saints, it’s easy for defenses to forget that Johnson caught 82 passes in 2004. Johnson is not much for speed, so he won’t accumulate too many yards after the catch, but he can get open and has very hands. On Sunday you can expect to see Brees drop the ball over the middle to quite often.
Prediction: 7 catches for 70 yards.
WR-Brandon Marshall versus the Raiders secondary; there has been a lot said recently about the Raiders young corner Nnamdi Asomugha. But that most likely won’t be a worry for the Broncos 2nd year receiver Brandon Marshall. Asomugha will likely be preoccupied with his hands full of the Broncos other receiver Javon Walker. Marshall came along slowly last season, but finished strong once Cutler took the helm. In his final three games, Marshall had 11 of his season total 20 receptions. In week one he pulled in 5 passes for 52 yards including a score.
Prediction: 6 receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown.
RB-Ronnie Brown versus the Cowboys run defense; Along with getting lit up by the Giants passing game in week one, the Cowboys run defense was equally unimpressive. The Giants did not tally a large number of yards a week ago, but on 22 carries, they averaged 5.6 yards per carry. This could spell big relief for the Dolphins running game and in particular running back Ronnie Brown. Brown managed only 32 yards on 11 carries in week one, but that was on the road. This week the Dolphins are home and will get Brown more carries, so owners can expect to see a significant improvement in production.
Prediction: 22 carries for 95 yards and a score!
Last Week
Our search for Diamonds in week one proved to be more like bags of coal. The Eagles receiver Reggie Brown struggled with his shaky quarterback catching only a single pass. The Jets wideout Jerricho Cotchery was not quite as effective as he had been in the past against the Patriots catching 6 passes for only 57 yards. A big miss in week one was tightend Randy McMichael, who virtually nonexistent through three quarters finishing with only two catches. Only quarterback Matt Schaub panned out as a good pick for week one. He was good, not great passing completing 16 of 22 passes (72.7% completion) for 225 yards and a touchdown.
Overall grade D+.
~D.Ortega
FFI
