Let Them Preach! Week 2 Edition

 By: Christian Hardy

Every year the league seems to change so much, and this year the game has changed more than I have ever remembered. Maybe EA Sports Madden 12 was wrong, teams actually can throw the ball, because in the first two weeks of the NFL season, quarterbacks have dominated the game. Tom Brady, Tony Romo, Cam Newton, and Matthew Stafford have gone absolutely berserk in the two weeks that we have been back to football. But what did I learn in each matchup individually? That's what this is about: what I learned. So sit back, and enjoy.

Oakland Raiders @ Buffalo Bills
1. Ryan Fitzpatrick is one of those quarterbacks who is going to throw the ball a ton.
2. CJ Spiller is going to be non-effective this year, but Fred Jackson looks like he is going to be an utter stud, especially in a PPR.
3. Michael Bush is going to vulture some of Darren McFadden’s touchdowns, but at the same time, McFadden is going to be a huge part of the offense.
4. If Denarius Moore does not get the WR2 spot from Darius Heyward-Bey then the Raiders don’t know how to run a team. The guy is tremendously gifted.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Philadelphia Eagles
1. Matthew Stafford is going to become elite if he can stay healthy.
2. Jahvid Best is the newest workhorse.
3. Chiefs are officially in the “Andrew Luck Sweepstakes”

Baltimore Ravens @ Tennessee Titans
1. Kenny Britt is a tremendous playmaker, and Nate Washington is a great flex in a PPR league.
2. Matt Hasselbeck is going to throw the ball a lot.
3. Chris Johnson is a major buy low right now.

Cleveland Browns @ Indianapolis Colts
1. Dallas Clark’s value has dropped tremendously, as has Reggie Wayne’s. I’m calling it “The Collins Factor”
2. Delone Carter will get as many carries as Addai on a lot of weeks, but how many carries will they get? Also, I learned that Carter is going to get all of the carries in the red zone, which means touchdowns galore (but how often can the Colts get to the redzone?).
3. Greg Little’s value is going to increase week by week and is a great dynasty league pickup.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Minnesota Vikings
1. I was way off on Blount, and I just wanted to say sorry to all that took my advice. That was one of my worst picks ever.
2. Arrelious Benn and Preston Parker are both going to be relevant this year.
3. Adrian Peterson is an absolute monster. There is no other way to put it. He is simply a beast.

Chicago Bears @ New Orleans Saints
1. Matt Forte is the Bears offense. Without Matt Forte, Jay Cutler would look like Kerry Collins, and that is the worst insult I could think of.
2. Darren Sproles is a huge part of the Saints offense, and he should find a spot on everyone’s roster.
3. Jimmy Graham is now a must start every week. He did not have an enormous game this week, but good enough to where you must start him.

Jacksonville Jaguars @ New York Jets
1. Mike Thomas is the top wide receiver for the Jaguars. Ten targets is plenty enough to convince this man.
2. Shonn Greene may have the role that many fantasy owners though that he had: Greene had ten more carries than Ladanian Tomlinson as well as one more catch than Tomlinson.
3. I learned that Dustin Keller isn’t as irrelevant as people think. He will probably find a spot in my top ten tight ends next week.

Seattle Seahawks @ Pittsburgh Steelers
1. Mike Wallace isn’t just a deep ball receiver; he had eight catches on Sunday.
2. Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders are going to continue to bring each other down.
3. The Seattle Seahawks are also in the “Andrew Luck Sweepstakes”

Arizona Cardinals @ Washington Redskins
1.  Kevin Kolb and Larry Fitzgerald are going to have a great time together in Arizona.
2. Fred Davis can produce, even with Cooley stealing looks.
3. Chris Beanie Wells no longer looks like the running back that averaged three yards per carry. He looks like a whole new running back.

Green Bay Packers @ Carolina Panthers
1. This Cam Newton guy is for real.
2. James Starks is officially the number one running back for the Packers. He ran better and just flat out looked better than Ryan Grant.
3. Steve Smith is Cam Newton’s favorite target no doubt, confirming one of the things I learned last week.

Cincinnati Bengals @ Denver Broncos
1. I whiffed on my Cedric Benson prediction really bad. I still believe in Benson though. But to even it out, I was right about Simpson. I liked him this week.
2. Andy Dalton is almost as legit as Cam Newton, and that’s a major compliment.
3. Eric Decker will/should move into the WR2 hole for the Broncos.

Houston Texans @ Miami Dolphins
1. Arian Foster needs a week to sit out and regain strength. If he doesn’t get rest it will hurt fantasy owners.
2. You know that 70/30 split that Bush was supposed to be favored in? Yeah, that never happened. Bush got only seven touches and Thomas got 19. But Thomas did a lot with those carries. I’m not sure how this will work in the future, but I am anxious to see.
3. Chad Henne is not the Chad Henne we saw in week one.

Dallas Cowboys @ San Francisco 49ers
1. The Cowboys offensive line is going to hurt Felix Jones all year long.
2. Tony Romo is going to take big hits all year, so get a good backup quarterback.
3. Alex Smith and Vernon Davis have nothing together this year. I can’t figure out if it is play calling or just bad quarterbacking by Alex Smith. I saw Davis open multiple times against the Cowboys.
4. Miles Austin is a top ten wide receiver in the league, in terms of skill.

San Diego Chargers @ New England Patriots
1.  I was wrong on Vincent Jackson, but I still don’t see him having a great year. I still will have to rank him with this in mind though.
2. A Vincent Jackson excellent game equals nada for Antonio Gates, but this shouldn’t become a trend for the Chargers.
3. Both TEs are going to be very productive in the Patriots offense.

Philadelphia Eagles @ Atlanta Falcons
1. Jeremy Maclin is going to go through his up and downs all year, just like he has in the past.
2. Desean Jackson can’t repeat what he did against the Giants in 2010.
3. Michael Turner looks like a complete monster in these first two games.
4. Tony Gonzalez isn’t too old to find the end zone every so often.

St.Louis Rams @ New York Giants
1. Sam Bradford just gets better and better every game.
2. Mike Sims-Walker looks to be the top receiver for the Rams, but this could be a different story next week. Bradford loves spreading the ball around.
3. Brandon Jacobs is going to vulture fantasy points for Bradshaw and there is no doubt about that. He is stealing carries, touches, and touchdowns. The coaching staff trusts Jacobs more than Bradshaw and they make that apparent quite often.

Thanks for checking out everything I learned in week two of the NFL season. Like I said before, it’s going to be a much different season than last year, and I have already learned so much in just two weeks of play. As always, you can ask me all your questions on Twitter or you can email me. My rankings will be posted on Wednesday, and Thursday will be tank/bank for week three. I look forward to seeing you then.