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Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 2: Making the Call on Fantasy Football Fringe Starters

Fantasy Football
September 14, 2016

Let the lineup tinkering begin.

Week 1 had a lot of great fantasy performers, but it also had a lot of duds. That makes setting a good lineup each week difficult, because the reality is that everything is out of the fantasy owners’ control once the games kick off.

While it’s important to not overreact to one bad game, it’s just as important to not punish a player and demote him to your bench. Study the matchups, say a prayer and, most importantly, let the dice roll on your gut feeling to start or sit a player heading into Week 2. 

     

Quarterbacks

Start ‘Em: Blake Bortles, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars, believe it or not, could be a fantasy gold mine this season, and that all starts with the play of second-year quarterback Blake Bortles

The Jaguars fell to the Green Bay Packers 27-23 in Week 1, but Bortles had himself a day, passing for 320 yards and a touchdown with one interception. He only scored 16 points in Yahoo fantasy leagues, but he had 39 passing attempts on the game, showing the type of volume every fantasy owner dreams about their quarterback having. 

Bortles should be in your starting lineup heading into Week 2 against the San Diego Chargers, who blew a 24-3 lead in a 33-27 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1. Chiefs QB Alex Smith—who isn’t the type of fantasy option to rack up points—scored 29.02 points on the day. 

Can you imagine what Bortles and the Jaguars offense could do against San Diego? 

         

Sit ‘Em: Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks

It’s not just about his sore ankle, nor is it about a tough Los Angeles Rams defense. Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks offense just didn’t look good in Week 1.

It must be hard to believe that the Rams have a solid defense after they were blown out of the water in a 28-0 loss on Monday to the San Francisco 49ers, but this defense is still a legitimate threat to harass an offense. 

Wilson’s health is something to worry about, however, as he was injured against the Miami Dolphins in a 12-10 win at home on Sunday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via the NFL’s Twitter account): 

I think it’s fair to assume that a tough-nosed player like Wilson will play against the Rams in Week 2, but you shouldn’t start him. The Seahawks offense scored 12 points against Miami and never looked like a dangerous offense.

Credit to the Dolphins for holding Seattle’s offense in check for the majority of the game, but 12.92 fantasy points from your starting quarterback isn’t worth it at this point.

Let Wilson rest on your bench until the Seahawks step their game up. 

       

Start ‘Em: Arian Foster, RB, Miami Dolphins

It’s clear that Foster is the bell-cow running back for the Dolphins after Week 1, and his matchup this week gets easier playing against the New England Patriots.

While he didn’t make many explosive plays, Foster put up solid No. 2 running back/flex numbers this past Sunday, scoring 10 points after accumulating 100 all-purpose yards (38 rush, 62 receiving). 

The Patriots allowed 19.2 points to Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson last week, and while I’m not comparing Foster to Johnson by any means, it’s a positive sign that Foster might be able to rack up some all-purpose yards against New England. 

If Foster can get half as many points as Johnson did last Sunday, then that’ll be considered a win for your team. 

              

Sit ‘Em: Doug Martin, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Martin played well against the Atlanta Falcons even though he only rushed for 62 yards on 18 attempts. He finished with 9.6 points on the game, but his Week 2 matchup against the Cardinals won’t be forgiving.

The Cardinals defense knows how to get after opposing tailbacks, and they proved it in Week 1, holding Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount to a 3.1 yards-per-carry average.

While Martin was able to break a lot of tackles against the Falcons, he may find it more difficult to create space between him and his defender against an Arizona front seven featuring Chandler Jones, Robert Nkemdiche and Calais Campbell. 

If you’re already desperate at the running back position, you might have no choice but to play Martin. However, he might be a dud in Week 2. 

             

Start ‘Em: Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Denver Broncos

A new contract, a team-high nine targets in Week 1, what’s not to like about Emmanuel Sanders right now?

Sanders didn’t score a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers, but he did lead his team in receptions, including a nice sideline grab early in the first quarter.

Sanders seems to be Trevor Siemian’s favorite target, and heading into a Week 2 contest against a subpar Indianapolis Colts secondary that surrendered three passing touchdowns to the Detroit Lions last week, it could be a field day for Sanders and the rest of the Broncos offense.

To make a good situation even better, Sanders’ targets should increase on Sunday as Demaryius Thomas is banged up after last Thursday’s game and will practice sparingly this week, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter

Let Sanders torch the Colts this weekend and enjoy the points while you’re at it.

       

Sit ‘Em: John Brown, WR, Arizona Cardinals

John Brown isn’t 100 percent healthy, and wasn’t close to being so last weekend against the Patriots, regardless of what the Cardinals’ injury report said.

After suffering a concussion during the offseason that has concerned the Cardinals since mid-August, Brown was relegated to the No. 3 wide receiver role on offense, often being used as a decoy for teammates Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd.

Brown was a go-to fantasy option last season, recording 1,003 receiving yards and seven touchdown. 2016 was supposed to be a breakout season for the third-year wideout, but instead has started out as a dud with just one catch on four targets for eight yards.

Let’s hope that Brown gets back to form soon for his sake, the Cardinals’ sake and, most importantly, your team’s sake. 

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