Week 2: Bronco Bruises - 5 comments

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that you don’t rely too much on Denver players in your league. However, a couple of the guys you might count on each week need to be parked on your bench, as Knowshon Moreno and Brandon Lloyd look like they’ll miss this week’s game. Accordingly, the Start & Sit for Week 2 suggests that you bench each player, as well as any other Bronco you happen to have this week except for Willis McGahee in a flex role. Moreno owners should be extremely nervous, as a great game by McGahee could force Moreno to come back in a much more limited role.

Below you’ll find the rankings compiled from the ratings of myself, c0megets0me, 204BC, Calyxes and tclangham. I’ll have extended suggestions up for each position later today. Until then, enjoy.

Rank	Quarterbacks	Team	Opponent	Average
1	Aaron Rodgers	GB	at CAR	96.67
2	Michael Vick	PHI	at ATL	91.83
3	Tom Brady	NE	vs. SD	91.50
4	Philip Rivers	SD	at NE	90.50
5	Drew Brees	NO	vs. CHI	86.25
6	Matthew Stafford	DET	vs. KC	81.50
7	Matt Schaub	HOU	at MIA	80.83
8	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	vs. SEA	80.50
9	Tony Romo	DAL	at SF	79.83
10	Joe Flacco	BAL	at TEN	71.53
11	Matt Ryan	ATL	vs. PHI	70.17
12	Sam Bradford	STL	at NYG	69.67
13	Josh Freeman	TB	at MIN	67.17
14	Eli Manning	NYG	vs. STL	65.17
15	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	vs. OAK	63.67
16	Kevin Kolb	ARI	at WAS	63.17
17	Jay Cutler	CHI	at NO	63.10
18	Kyle Orton	DEN	vs. CIN	61.00
19	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	vs. JAC	60.83
20	Rex Grossman	WAS	vs. ARI	59.95
21	Chad Henne	MIA	vs. HOU	57.67
22	Jason Campbell	OAK	at BUF	55.17
23	Matt Cassel	KC	at DET	55.08
24	Colt McCoy	CLE	at IND	53.77
25	Cam Newton	CAR	vs. GB	52.67
26	Donovan McNabb	MIN	vs. TB	52.08
27	Matt Hasselbeck	TEN	vs. BAL	50.67
28	Alex Smith	SF	vs. DAL	48.17
29	Kerry Collins	IND	vs. CLE	44.58
30	Luke McCown	JAC	at NYJ	40.00
31	Tarvaris Jackson	SEA	at PIT	36.83
32	Andy Dalton	CIN	at DEN	36.67

Start: Ben Roethlisberger. Take that Week 1 game and throw it away; it’s likely to be Pittsburgh’s toughest matchup all season, and Roethlisberger’s Three Hours of Turnovers isn’t going to be repeated again. That said, the Steelers still have to come out and prove to their fans that there will be no changing of the guard in the AFC North. Expect an aerial clinic in the first half of this game, and Big Ben could already be at 20 fantasy points by the half.

Sit: Cam Newton. Sure, he was the top Sunday quarterback in Week 1 (and a top three QB overall). And sure, the Packers were dominated through the air in Week 1 despite an eight-point win. However, those two facts don’t equal another big fantasy day for Newton. Expect the Pack to take away Steve Smith and leave Newton throwing to future UFLers. He can only do so much with his legs alone, and GB’s pass defense is much better than that of Arizona.

Rank	Running Backs	Team	Opponent	Average
1	Adrian Peterson	MIN	vs. TB	93.43
2	Ray Rice	BAL	at TEN	90.57
3	Darren McFadden	OAK	at BUF	90.48
4	Rashard Mendenhall	PIT	vs. SEA	84.28
5	LeSean McCoy	PHI	at ATL	83.67
6	Jamaal Charles	KC	at DET	82.07
7	Peyton Hillis	CLE	at IND	81.47
8	Chris Johnson	TEN	vs. BAL	78.40
9	Frank Gore	SF	vs. DAL	78.40
10	Arian Foster	HOU	at MIA	76.95
11	Matt Forte	CHI	at NO	76.25
12	Michael Turner	ATL	vs. PHI	75.57
13	Ahmad Bradshaw	NYG	vs. STL	74.50
14	Felix Jones	DAL	at SF	74.30
15	Jahvid Best	DET	vs. KC	73.40
16	Cedric Benson	CIN	at DEN	73.37
17	Maurice Jones-Drew	JAC	at NYJ	72.73
18	Reggie Bush	MIA	vs. HOU	72.53
19	Tim Hightower	WAS	vs. ARI	72.17
20	Shonn Greene	NYJ	vs. JAC	70.67
21	LeGarrette Blount	TB	at MIN	69.97
22	Beanie Wells	ARI	at WAS	68.63
23	James Starks	GB	at CAR	67.43
24	DeAngelo Williams	CAR	vs. GB	65.93
25	Fred Jackson	BUF	vs. OAK	65.83
26	Joseph Addai	IND	vs. CLE	64.97
27	Cadillac Williams	STL	at NYG	63.80
28	Mike Tolbert	SD	at NE	63.03
29	Willis McGahee	DEN	vs. CIN	62.90
30	Ryan Mathews	SD	at NE	60.83
31	Ben Tate	HOU	at MIA	60.03
32	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	NE	vs. SD	58.90
33	Brandon Jacobs	NYG	vs. STL	58.07
34	LaDainian Tomlinson	NYJ	vs. JAC	57.77
35	Ryan Grant	GB	at CAR	57.57
36	Mark Ingram	NO	vs. CHI	57.17
37	Danny Woodhead	NE	vs. SD	57.10
38	Pierre Thomas	NO	vs. CHI	55.83
39	Michael Bush	OAK	at BUF	55.15
40	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	at PIT	54.33
41	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	vs. GB	53.13
42	Steven Jackson	STL	at NYG	45.21
43	Darren Sproles	NO	vs. CHI	40.17
44	Montario Hardesty	CLE	at IND	39.80
45	Jerome Harrison	DET	vs. KC	39.60
46	Earnest Graham	TB	at MIN	37.90
47	Delone Carter	IND	vs. CLE	36.10
48	C.J. Spiller	BUF	vs. OAK	35.67
49	Tashard Choice	DAL	at SF	34.43
50	Thomas Jones	KC	at DET	33.00
51	Daniel Thomas	MIA	vs. HOU	32.83
52	Ronnie Brown	PHI	at ATL	32.70
53	Marcel Reece	OAK	at BUF	31.32
54	Knowshon Moreno	DEN	vs. CIN	28.78
55	Kendall Hunter	SF	vs. DAL	26.97
56	Roy Helu	WAS	vs. ARI	26.80
57	Toby Gerhart	MIN	vs. TB	25.23
58	Dexter McCluster	KC	at DET	24.33
59	Deji Karim	JAC	at NYJ	23.47
60	DeMarco Murray	DAL	at SF	23.10
61	Justin Forsett	SEA	at PIT	19.97
62	Jason Snelling	ATL	vs. PHI	18.00
63	John Kuhn	GB	at CAR	17.90
64	Ricky Williams	BAL	at TEN	15.13
65	Bernard Scott	CIN	at DEN	11.33

Start: Reggie Bush. The Dolphins stuck to the script of getting Bush 20 touches against the Patriots on Monday night, and they should be aiming to give him big workload after big workload until he falls apart. We really don’t know how good Houston’s defense is after the Week 1 blowout against an awful Colts team. The amount of work Bush is slated to receive puts him squarely in the top 20 at his position this week.

Sit: Marshawn Lynch. Ray Rice carved up the Steelers defense in Week 1, something that no back could claim in 2010. Don’t take that to mean Pittsburgh now presents a great matchup for running backs; not everyone is Ray Rice. Marshawn Lynch should see plenty of one-yard and two-yard runs in this game, and as the Steelers move quickly ahead, the Seahawks will likely abandon trying to run the ball.

Rank	Wide Receivers	Team	Opponent	Average
1	Calvin Johnson	DET	vs. KC	97.00
2	Andre Johnson	HOU	at MIA	96.13
3	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	at WAS	90.83
4	Greg Jennings	GB	at CAR	87.50
5	Roddy White	ATL	vs. PHI	83.67
6	Mike Wallace	PIT	vs. SEA	82.07
7	Vincent Jackson	SD	at NE	82.00
8	DeSean Jackson	PHI	at ATL	81.73
9	Miles Austin	DAL	at SF	79.67
10	Dez Bryant	DAL	at SF	79.53
11	Brandon Marshall	MIA	vs. HOU	79.23
12	Santonio Holmes	NYJ	vs. JAC	78.60
13	Wes Welker	NE	vs. SD	78.07
14	Steve Johnson	BUF	vs. OAK	76.80
15	Anquan Boldin	BAL	at TEN	75.83
16	Mario Manningham	NYG	vs. STL	75.53
17	Mike Williams	TB	at MIN	75.50
18	Reggie Wayne	IND	vs. CLE	75.33
19	Santana Moss	WAS	vs. ARI	75.17
20	Percy Harvin	MIN	vs. TB	74.83
21	Dwayne Bowe	KC	at DET	73.63
22	Steve Smith	CAR	vs. GB	70.70
23	Kenny Britt	TEN	vs. BAL	69.07
24	Nate Burleson	DET	vs. KC	68.00
25	Mike Sims-Walker	STL	at NYG	66.50
26	Plaxico Burress	NYJ	vs. JAC	65.40
27	Jordy Nelson	GB	at CAR	65.23
28	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	at ATL	64.53
29	A.J. Green	CIN	at DEN	64.23
30	Robert Meachem	NO	vs. CHI	61.43
31	Donald Driver	GB	at CAR	58.10
32	Devery Henderson	NO	vs. CHI	57.70
33	Jacoby Jones	HOU	at MIA	57.17
34	Devin Hester	CHI	at NO	56.53
35	Mike Thomas	JAC	at NYJ	56.27
36	Early Doucet	ARI	at WAS	55.70
37	Eddie Royal	DEN	vs. CIN	55.47
38	Braylon Edwards	SF	vs. DAL	55.47
39	Hakeem Nicks	NYG	vs. STL	55.28
40	Lance Moore	NO	vs. CHI	55.23
41	Johnny Knox	CHI	at NO	55.07
42	Mohamed Massaquoi	CLE	at IND	54.47
43	Jabar Gaffney	WAS	vs. ARI	54.33
44	Hines Ward	PIT	vs. SEA	54.13
45	Malcom Floyd	SD	at NE	53.90
46	Derrick Mason	NYJ	vs. JAC	53.00
47	Julio Jones	ATL	vs. PHI	52.53
48	Deion Branch	NE	vs. SD	52.50
49	Brandon Gibson	STL	at NYG	51.17
50	James Jones	GB	at CAR	51.17
51	Emmanuel Sanders	PIT	vs. SEA	50.90
52	Davone Bess	MIA	vs. HOU	50.37
53	Eric Decker	DEN	vs. CIN	49.47
54	Mike Williams	SEA	at PIT	49.33
55	Domenik Hixon	NYG	vs. STL	49.20
56	Brian Hartline	MIA	vs. HOU	49.17
57	Arrelious Benn	TB	at MIN	48.20
58	Lee Evans	BAL	at TEN	47.36
59	Jason Avant	PHI	at ATL	46.27
60	Anthony Armstrong	WAS	vs. ARI	44.67
61	Austin Collie	IND	vs. CLE	41.97
62	Chaz Schilens	OAK	at BUF	41.87
63	Nate Washington	TEN	vs. BAL	40.83
64	Pierre Garcon	IND	vs. CLE	40.70
65	Greg Little	CLE	at IND	40.50
66	Chad Ochocinco	NE	vs. SD	39.30
67	Earl Bennett	CHI	at NO	38.43
68	Bernard Berrian	MIN	vs. TB	37.90
69	Jerome Simpson	CIN	at DEN	37.50
70	Steve Breaston	KC	at DET	35.67
71	Brandon Lloyd	DEN	vs. CIN	35.50
72	Randall Cobb	GB	at CAR	35.50
73	Josh Morgan	SF	vs. DAL	34.83
74	Greg Salas	STL	at NYG	34.60
75	Antonio Brown	PIT	vs. SEA	34.50
76	Josh Cribbs	CLE	at IND	32.00
77	Andre Roberts	ARI	at WAS	29.83
78	David Nelson	BUF	vs. OAK	29.70
79	Donald Jones	BUF	vs. OAK	29.33
80	Titus Young	DET	vs. KC	29.27
81	Patrick Crayton	SD	at NE	28.87
82	Jordan Shipley	CIN	at DEN	28.37
83	Sidney Rice	SEA	at PIT	28.18
84	Roy Williams	CHI	at NO	26.43
85	Legedu Naanee	CAR	vs. GB	26.17
86	Denarius Moore	OAK	at BUF	25.67
87	Ben Obomanu	SEA	at PIT	25.33
88	Darrius Heyward-Bay	OAK	at BUF	24.27
89	Jacoby Ford	OAK	at BUF	23.77
90	Brandon LaFell	CAR	vs. GB	22.30
91	Andre Caldwell	CIN	at DEN	22.27
92	Michael Crabtree	SF	vs. DAL	20.35
93	Harry Douglas	ATL	vs. PHI	17.04
94	Michael Jenkins	MIN	vs. TB	16.27
95	Doug Baldwin	SEA	at PIT	13.67

Start: Santana Moss. The Cardinals were just burned by Cam Newton and Steve Smith, and there’s no reason Rex Grossman and Moss can’t have the same success. Moss had six catches on eight targets last week, and he figures to see a higher number in each column this week. I think he has a great chance at topping 100 yards and scoring at least once, which makes him an easy start option.

Sit: Hakeem Nicks. If you play in a standard sized league, you likely have some solid options on your bench. If so, you should think about planting Nicks on the bench in favor of one of them this week. He’s a game-time decision for a Monday night game, and you don’t want to risk getting a zero when you need it most. Deeper-league owners that can’t really afford to bench Nicks should have a guy like Domenik Hixon or Greg Salas sitting on the bench to play, just in case.

Rank	Tight Ends	Team	Opponent	Average
1	Antonio Gates	SD	at NE	96.27
2	Jermichael Finley	GB	at CAR	91.83
3	Jason Witten	DAL	at SF	86.83
4	Vernon Davis	SF	vs. DAL	82.58
5	Owen Daniels	HOU	at MIA	81.17
6	Rob Gronkowski	NE	vs. SD	72.73
7	Aaron Hernandez	NE	vs. SD	72.33
8	Dallas Clark	IND	vs. CLE	71.63
9	Jimmy Graham	NO	vs. CHI	71.17
10	Kellen Winslow	TB	at MIN	69.83
11	Dustin Keller	NYJ	vs. JAC	69.60
12	Brandon Pettigrew	DET	vs. KC	68.57
13	Fred Davis	WAS	vs. ARI	66.90
14	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	at DEN	62.83
15	Todd Heap	ARI	at WAS	62.00
16	Lance Kendricks	STL	at NYG	60.50
17	Scott Chandler	BUF	vs. OAK	60.10
18	Ben Watson	CLE	at IND	57.50
19	Ed Dickson	BAL	at TEN	56.70
20	Tony Gonzalez	ATL	vs. PHI	56.67
21	Heath Miller	PIT	vs. SEA	56.67
22	Greg Olsen	CAR	vs. GB	56.33
23	Chris Cooley	WAS	vs. ARI	55.63
24	Brent Celek	PHI	at ATL	54.67
25	Evan Moore	CLE	at IND	54.17
26	Anthony Fasano	MIA	vs. HOU	51.50
27	Visanthe Shiancoe	MIN	vs. TB	51.00
28	Tony Scheffler	DET	vs. KC	49.50
29	Zach Miller	SEA	at PIT	47.10
30	Jared Cook	TEN	vs. BAL	46.83
31	Jeremy Shockey	CAR	vs. GB	44.73
32	Kevin Boss	OAK	at BUF	44.50
33	Daniel Fells	DEN	vs. CIN	42.33
34	Zach Miller	JAC	at NYJ	36.97
35	Leonard Pope	KC	at DET	30.17
36	Marcedes Lewis	JAC	at NYJ	27.90
37	Kellen Davis	CHI	at NO	27.75
38	Jacob Tamme	IND	vs. CLE	27.50
39	Jake Ballard	NYG	vs. STL	18.50
40	Matt Spaeth	CHI	at NO	15.00

Start: Aaron Hernandez. Both Patriot tight ends are must-starts until further notice. Bill Belichick is using them as his second and third receivers in the offense, and based on the mismatches they create, it should work well.

Sit: Scott Chandler. A two-score effort in Week 1 likely got Chandler added in many leagues, but it’s highly likely that’ll be the best performance all year by far instead of a sign of things to come.

Rank	Kickers	Team	Opponent	Average
1	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	at BUF	82.03
2	Neil Rackers	HOU	at MIA	77.93
3	Mason Crosby	GB	at CAR	75.17
4	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	vs. SD	73.23
5	Jason Hanson	DET	vs. KC	70.83
6	Josh Brown	STL	at NYG	69.87
7	Nick Folk	NYJ	vs. JAC	66.77
8	Rob Bironas	TEN	vs. BAL	66.77
9	Jay Feely	ARI	at WAS	65.83
10	Billy Cundiff	BAL	at TEN	65.70
11	Matt Prater	DEN	vs. CIN	65.20
12	Robbie Gould	CHI	at NO	64.97
13	Adam Vinatieri	IND	vs. CLE	64.20
14	David Akers	SF	vs. DAL	63.33
15	Matt Bryant	ATL	vs. PHI	63.00
16	Alex Henery	PHI	at ATL	62.20
17	Nick Novak	SD	at NE	61.83
18	John Kasay	NO	vs. CHI	61.77
19	Rian Lindell	BUF	vs. OAK	61.33
20	Dan Carpenter	MIA	vs. HOU	60.87
21	Ryan Longwell	MIN	vs. TB	60.67
22	Lawrence Tynes	NYG	vs. STL	60.47
23	Shaun Suisham	PIT	vs. SEA	59.37
24	Phil Dawson	CLE	at IND	58.17
25	Mike Nugent	CIN	at DEN	57.17
26	Dan Bailey	DAL	at SF	55.10
27	Olindo Mare	CAR	vs. GB	54.47
28	Connor Barth	TB	at MIN	54.40
29	Graham Gano	WAS	vs. ARI	53.67
30	Josh Scobee	JAC	at NYJ	52.13
31	Ryan Succop	KC	at DET	51.23
32	Steven Hauschka	SEA	at PIT	45.88

Start: Jason Hanson. Detroit kicker indoors against the Chiefs equals great.

Sit: Steven Hauschka. Seattle kicker in Pittsburgh against the Steelers equals awful.

Rank	Team Defense	Team	Opponent	Average
1	Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT	vs. SEA	87.17
2	Baltimore Ravens	BAL	at TEN	82.25
3	Green Bay Packers	GB	at CAR	76.07
4	New York Jets	NYJ	vs. JAC	75.50
5	Detroit Lions	DET	vs. KC	72.67
6	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI	at ATL	70.25
7	Dallas Cowboys	DAL	at SF	70.00
8	Cleveland Browns	CLE	at IND	65.70
9	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB	at MIN	63.52
10	New York Giants	NYG	vs. STL	62.00
11	Oakland Raiders	OAK	at BUF	61.55
12	Denver Broncos	DEN	vs. CIN	59.00
13	Minnesota Vikings	MIN	vs. TB	58.90
14	Arizona Cardinals	ARI	at WAS	58.52
15	Chicago Bears	CHI	at NO	57.65
16	Houston Texans	HOU	at MIA	57.38
17	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN	at DEN	55.97
18	New England Patriots	NE	vs. SD	55.93
19	Washington Redskins	WAS	vs. ARI	55.70
20	St. Louis Rams	STL	at NYG	55.45
21	New Orleans Saints	NO	vs. CHI	54.17
22	San Diego Chargers	SD	at NE	54.17
23	Buffalo Bills	BUF	vs. OAK	53.42
24	Atlanta Falcons	ATL	vs. PHI	51.87
25	Indianapolis Colts	IND	vs. CLE	51.73
26	Jacksonville Jaguars	JAC	at NYJ	51.42
27	Tennessee Titans	TEN	vs. BAL	50.55
28	Kansas City Chiefs	KC	at DET	48.75
29	Miami Dolphins	MIA	vs. HOU	47.38
30	San Francisco 49ers	SF	vs. DAL	47.17
31	Seattle Seahawks	SEA	at PIT	39.85
32	Carolina Panthers	CAR	vs. GB	38.32

Start: Cleveland Browns. OK, so they weren’t great against the Bengals, but this is Kerry Collins and the Colts we’re talking about. Mark Joe Haden down for a TAINT and the Browns defense for double digits.

Sit: San Diego Chargers. On the flip side, San Diego looked outstanding last week, but you don’t want to test them against the New England Patriots. If you’re the Chargers owner in your league, find a nice waiver-wire defense for a week.

R.J. White is the head editor at the Cafe, writes for FanDuel and Razzball and has previously written for FanHouse. Catch up with him in the forums under the name daullaz. Follow him on Twitter; don't follow him in real life.

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5 Responses to “Week 2: Bronco Bruises”

captainhotrain says:

September 16, 2011 at 11:12 am

Thank you for your these rankings. One question, Both Dez Bryant and Hakeem Nicks are questionable to play this week after suffering. However Bryant is ranked 10th and Hakeem Nicks dropped all the way to 39th. Why did Nicks drop that far? Is the drop due to the fact Nicks is less likely to play or because he is playing on Monday night when all your other wide receivers have played and substitution would not be possible. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.
Reply
daullaz says:

September 16, 2011 at 5:35 pm

I had Nicks ranked far lower because he’s a true questionable (a game-time decision), while Bryant, according to Jerry, will play. To me, Bryant’s injury status has no bearing on his availability, but Nicks’s does.
Reply
robotninja says:

September 16, 2011 at 8:03 pm

Agreed, Dez should go, Nicks is a coin flip. Im wondering what the other San Diego Def owners are doing. After much debate I have settled on the cowboys. I think Rob Ryan is going to get a chance to play in this one.
Reply
Navyseal says:

September 16, 2011 at 9:05 pm

Personally, I’d have Romo ranked ahead of both Big Ben and Schaub, Tony basically dismantled the NYJ D for 3 1/2 quarters (until his fumble & INT) if you watched the game… I can only assume that Ben and Schaub’s favorable MATCH-UPS have them ahead of Romo ultimately… Roethlisberger and Matt both underwhelmed in wk#1, while Romo impressed the heck out of me and everyone else who was watching until his bone-headed miscues late in the 4th, which I must also assume he will address and not repeat anytime soon — uh, until the playoffs of course LoL… keep up the great work!
Reply
daullaz says:

September 17, 2011 at 8:35 pm

Bryant’s status has gotten murkier since we finished our ratings Thursday night, so you Dez owners may want to consider sitting him.
Reply