Week 2 Fantasy Football Duds
How are your fantasy football teams doing? With any luck, you are off to an undefeated start or perhaps your roster has just broken even thus far which is nothing to be ashamed of. However, if you have too many of these duds on your roster, you may have become familiar with the smell of poopy big boy pants. This is a list of players that are generally regarded as start-worthy, but let their owners down in Week 2. The Footballers discuss their “least” favorite duds on the podcast.
Make sure you listen to today’s podcast to get Andy, Mike, and Jason’s comments on who “Poop-in-Their-Big-Boy-Pants” in Week 2. You can also jump over to the Week 2 Studs.
Quarterbacks
Andy Dalton vs HOU
-224 passing yards
On the bright side, this was a marked improvement for Dalton from his Week 1 performance.
Blake Bortles vs TEN
-223 passing yards, TD, 2 INTs, 29 rushing yards, fumble
If Dalton is the Red Rifle, Bortles is a BB gun. A BB gun that continually shoots his owners in the foot. If you own Bortles, drop him immediately and look for another option. If things are going well for the Jaguars they are going to play defense and run the ball. If things are going poorly it is Bortles’ fault.
Tyrod Taylor @ CAR
-125 passing yards, 55 rushing yards
The master plan of the Bills front office is beginning to work. Intentionally deplete your offensive weapons: Check. Make Tyrod look like a terrible QB: Check. Get a high draft pick: TBD.
Cam Newton vs BUF
-228 passing yards, 27 rushing yards
Ok, so maybe Cam Newton does lack the requisite touch on short routes to make the most use of his new offensive weapons. He horribly overthrew a wide open McCaffrey for what should’ve been an easy TD. Things aren’t going to get easier for Cam either with the news that Greg Olsen has a broken foot.
Kirk Cousins @ LAR
-179 passing yards, TD
Cousins traveled all the way out west and got the win against a tough Rams defense, but his owners were hoping for much more. The schedule doesn’t get much better for owners over the next 3 weeks (OAK, @KC, Bye).
Jameis Winston vs CHI
-204 passing yards, TD
This one wasn’t Winston’s fault, the Bucs were just too good in their season opener against the hapless Bears. There will be better days ahead when Tampa actually needs Winston to throw the ball.
Marcus Mariota @ JAX
-215 passing yards, TD, INT, 24 rushing yards
Mariota found himself in a very similar situation to Winston. The game script just didn’t require his services as the Titans absolutely throttled the Jaguars.
Running Backs
Ezekiel Elliott @ DEN
-9 carries, 8 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 14 receiving yards
This was by far Elliott’s worst stat line, but his fantasy production wasn’t the worst part of his day. Elliott noticeably quit on his team as frustration got the best of the young runner when the game got out of hand.
Jordan Howard @ TB
-9 carries, 7 rushing yards
The Bears have finally learned what we in the fantasy community have known for a while: Jordan Howard is a miserable pass catcher. When the Bears had to turn to their passing game it meant turning away from Howard.
DeMarco Murray @ JAX
-9 carries, 25 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 22 receiving yards
If you’re like me, perhaps you got a message from a league mate who couldn’t watch the games. That text read something like “what happened to Murray? Did he leave the game?” Well, yes but it’s potentially a worse problem for his owners than just a “slight” hamstring injury. Derrick Henry looked great in his absence, potentially creating a more even timeshare going forward.
Don Juan Moore/ Getty Images
LeSean McCoy @ CAR
-12 carries, 9 rushing yards, 6 receptions, 34 receiving yards
The good news is that McCoy will generally get enough volume to not completely crap your team. Hopefully, this is as bad as it can get for his owners.
Isaiah Crowell @ BAL
-10 carries, 37 rushing yards
The Browns offensive gameplan did not go as planned in Baltimore. Partly because the Ravens have a stout defense but mostly because their QB Kizer missed significant time with a migraine. This meant Kevin Hogan was taking snaps under center which seemed to come with increased opportunities for Duke Johnson.
Eddie Lacy vs SF
-nothing
Lacy was a healthy scratch in this contest which means owners who didn’t remove him from their lineups on Sunday morning were left with some extra large poopy pants.
Thomas Rawls vs SF
-5 carries, 4 rushing yards
This was supposed to be the triumphant return for Thomas Rawls against a beatable matchup. Instead, the spotlight was highjacked by the upstart rookie, Chris Carson. At best Rawls’ production will be unpredictable, at worst he’s droppable in all leagues.
Bilal Powell @ OAK
-6 carries, 13 rushing yards
I am instituting a new policy around here. Owners who are disappointed by Blah Pow’s production need to lower their expectations and/or bench him. I no longer have any sympathy for those relying on Jets offensive players.
Wide Receivers
Amari Cooper vs NYJ
-4 receptions, 33 receiving yards, 5 targets
Amari Cooper… more like… Amari Pooper, am I right? In all seriousness, Cooper has some things to figure out to turn this season around. His hands have seemingly gotten worse since last year when he was a league leader in drops, and the team has already gone away from him in the red zone.
Brandin Cooks @ NO
-2 receptions, 37 receiving yards, 4 targets
On a day when the Patriots only dressed 3 WRs, one of whom was Phillip Dorsett, and Tom Brady had 447 passing yards, Brandin Cooks flat out has to do better than this. I guarantee better days are ahead for Cooks, and I also guarantee those days will come after we all pull him from our starting lineups.
Terrelle Pryor @ LAR
-2 receptions, 31 receiving yards, 4 targets
The hype for Pryor got a little crazy this offseason. I for one wanted to see Pryor do it on the field this season before completely buying into a newly converted WR. There are likely to be a few rough patches as he continues to hone his craft. His athleticism and size aren’t always going to be enough.
Larry Fitzgerald @ IND
-3 receptions, 21 receiving yards, 6 targets
Without David Johnson, opposing defenses are going to key in on Larry Fitzgerald as he is the only perceived threat on this offense. If John Brown gets healthy or J.J. Nelson continues to impress things may open up more for Fitz, but for now, his fantasy value is capped by a struggling offense.
Stefon Diggs @ PIT
-2 receptions, 27 receiving yards, 6 targets
This is a far cry from last week’s 2-TD campaign. With Case Keenum at the helm, Diggs came back to earth against a tough Steelers defense. Hopefully Sam Bradford gets a new knee or else Diggs might be grounded until further notice.
Joe Robbins/ Getty Images
Tight Ends
Julius Thomas @ LAC
-3 receptions, 26 receiving yards, 3 targets
Thomas has made a career out of being a TD scoring TE. When he scores, he’s great. He didn’t, so he wasn’t.
Tyler Eifert vs HOU
-3 receptions, 42 receiving yards, 4 targets
If it is any comfort, Eifert has looked good on the field. He has made tough contested catches and is gaining yards at a decent clip. Perhaps Bill Lazor will breathe new life into this team as they move on from Ken Zampeze as their OC.
Kyle Rudolph @ PIT
-4 receptions, 45 receiving yards, 6 targets
The Vikings coaching staff probably thinks Rudolph’s production was “fine” just like Bradford’s knee is “fine”. But this isn’t “fine” for a weekly starting TE. Let’s all hold hands and sing songs of healing and comfort for Sam Bradford so that he can make a speedy recovery.
Jordan Reed @ LAR
-6 receptions, 48 receiving yards, 6 targets
Rule 86 has officially been repealed.
Dishonorable Mentions
Jonathan Stewart vs BUF
-15 carries, 40 rushing yards
Joe Mixon vs HOU
-9 carries, 36 rushing yards, 1 reception, 5 receiving yards
Jeremy Hill vs HOU
-6 carries, 17 rushing yards, 1 reception, 2 receiving yards
Giovanni Bernard vs HOU
-9 carries, 25 rushing yards, 1 reception, 3 receiving yards
LeGarrette Blount @ KC
-1 reception, 0 yards
Adrian Peterson vs NE
-8 carries, 26 rushing yards
T.Y. Hilton vs AZ
-4 receptions, 49 receiving yards, 6 targets
Tyreek Hill vs PHI
-4 receptions, 43 receiving yards, 6 targets
Eric Decker @ JAX
-3 receptions, 32 receiving yards, 5 targets
Adam Thielen @ PIT
-5 receptions, 44 receiving yards, 6 targets, fumble
Pierre Garcon @ SEA
-3 receptions, 26 receiving yards, 5 targets
Donte Moncrief vs AZ
-2 receptions, 18 receiving yards, 8 targets
Sammy Watkins vs WAS
-2 receptions, 30 receiving yards, 2 targets
Ted Ginn Jr. vs NE
-3 receptions, 24 receiving yards, 6 targets
Jimmy Graham vs SF
-1 reception, 1 receiving yard, 2 targets