Week 3 Rankings
Friday, September 24, 2010
It didn't take long for the Bears to change perceptions. At the end of a sluggish preseason, the Jay Cutler sleeper shine had worn off. I didn't think I was particularly high on Cutler – (Silva and Wesseling ranked him higher than me in our magazine) – but I wound up owning Cutler in two of my three leagues because Sweet Baby Jay's stock plummeted late in August.
(
Note: I've never been in fewer than 8-9 leagues because of work until now. Three is awesome. Highly recommended.)
In two weeks,
Devin Aromashodu went from everyone's favorite sleeper to fantasy waiver wires.
Earl Bennett has taken his role. Aromoshadu will probably have a few big weeks, but I don't think he's worth waiting for in most formats. (For what it's worth, Rotoworld listed Aromashodu on our busts list.) The big question in Chicago was whether Cutler had enough weapons. The mistake was looking only at wide receiver.
Greg Olsen has proven to be a far bigger factor in Mike Martz's scheme than anyone imagined. I'm not convinced Olsen can be consistent in fantasy leagues, but the team essentially uses Olsen as a wideout, not a tight end.
Chester Taylor completed the offense. He's not playing a ton of snaps, but his presence guarantees that an elite pass-catching back is in the game at all times.
Most importantly, Cutler is slinging the ball again. He's making throws other quarterbacks simply can't make. He's always been aggressive, which suits Martz's offense perfectly.
This week against Green Bay provides another test for Cutler, but he's shown me enough. I'm willing to live with a few ups, downs, and interception. He's not coming out of my lineup.
Week 3 QuarterbacksAll sorts of extra goodies over at
Season Pass.
Notes: In lieu of the normal notes culled only from re-watching games, I'm going to review what players at each position have seen their value change the most after only two weeks of the season.
Going up: Every year, we look at the final magazine rankings and know there will somehow be a bunch of undrafted guys that turn into every week fantasy starters.
Michael Vick is one of those guys this year. The old fantasy incarnation was oddly consistent because his running game was the great equalizer. Vick actually seems like he's maturing as a passer, but he barely needs to be a top ten guy.
Carson Palmer is coming off an ugly box score, but he would actually inch up my rankings now. The arm looks better; he can be a higher-level QB2. … I pumped up
Kyle Orton quite a bit this offseason, but it wasn't enough. He was still ranked as an endgame QB2. Now he's closer to top-15 range. … Would
Joe Flacco move down if I had to do it over? Not really. Most quarterbacks would struggle against the Jets and Bengals. Give him time. … We've gone over Cutler, but he could possibly now sneak into the top six quarterbacks or so. I'd put him roughly around
Matt Schaub and
Tony Romo. …
Sam Bradford would now be ranked as barely draftable. Which is pretty damn good for a rookie quarterback.
Going down: The top guys are who we thought they were. Romo's YPA will bump up. …
Kevin Kolb will go down as a bust, even if he gets his job back eventually. I wouldn't hold on him in redraft leagues. … Despite Miami's winning start,
Chad Henne looks less potentially explosive than I hoped. … Very excited to see what
Matt Ryan does this week. I own him in our office league and have concerns despite the three scores last week. …
Brett Favre is a matchup-play type of quarterback now, not an every-week starter like he was last year. …
Matt Cassel's sleeper shine is wearing off, but it never figured to be an easy transition to Charlie Weis' schemes.
It didn't take long for the Bears to change perceptions. At the end of a sluggish preseason, the Jay Cutler sleeper shine had worn off. I didn't think I was particularly high on Cutler – (Silva and Wesseling ranked him higher than me in our magazine) – but I wound up owning Cutler in two of my three leagues because Sweet Baby Jay's stock plummeted late in August.
(
Note: I've never been in fewer than 8-9 leagues because of work until now. Three is awesome. Highly recommended.)
In two weeks,
Devin Aromashodu went from everyone's favorite sleeper to fantasy waiver wires.
Earl Bennett has taken his role. Aromoshadu will probably have a few big weeks, but I don't think he's worth waiting for in most formats. (For what it's worth, Rotoworld listed Aromashodu on our busts list.) The big question in Chicago was whether Cutler had enough weapons. The mistake was looking only at wide receiver.
Greg Olsen has proven to be a far bigger factor in Mike Martz's scheme than anyone imagined. I'm not convinced Olsen can be consistent in fantasy leagues, but the team essentially uses Olsen as a wideout, not a tight end.
Chester Taylor completed the offense. He's not playing a ton of snaps, but his presence guarantees that an elite pass-catching back is in the game at all times.
Most importantly, Cutler is slinging the ball again. He's making throws other quarterbacks simply can't make. He's always been aggressive, which suits Martz's offense perfectly.
This week against Green Bay provides another test for Cutler, but he's shown me enough. I'm willing to live with a few ups, downs, and interception. He's not coming out of my lineup.
Week 3 QuarterbacksAll sorts of extra goodies over at
Season Pass.
Notes: In lieu of the normal notes culled only from re-watching games, I'm going to review what players at each position have seen their value change the most after only two weeks of the season.
Going up: Every year, we look at the final magazine rankings and know there will somehow be a bunch of undrafted guys that turn into every week fantasy starters.
Michael Vick is one of those guys this year. The old fantasy incarnation was oddly consistent because his running game was the great equalizer. Vick actually seems like he's maturing as a passer, but he barely needs to be a top ten guy.
Carson Palmer is coming off an ugly box score, but he would actually inch up my rankings now. The arm looks better; he can be a higher-level QB2. … I pumped up
Kyle Orton quite a bit this offseason, but it wasn't enough. He was still ranked as an endgame QB2. Now he's closer to top-15 range. … Would
Joe Flacco move down if I had to do it over? Not really. Most quarterbacks would struggle against the Jets and Bengals. Give him time. … We've gone over Cutler, but he could possibly now sneak into the top six quarterbacks or so. I'd put him roughly around
Matt Schaub and
Tony Romo. …
Sam Bradford would now be ranked as barely draftable. Which is pretty damn good for a rookie quarterback.
Going down: The top guys are who we thought they were. Romo's YPA will bump up. …
Kevin Kolb will go down as a bust, even if he gets his job back eventually. I wouldn't hold on him in redraft leagues. … Despite Miami's winning start,
Chad Henne looks less potentially explosive than I hoped. … Very excited to see what
Matt Ryan does this week. I own him in our office league and have concerns despite the three scores last week. …
Brett Favre is a matchup-play type of quarterback now, not an every-week starter like he was last year. …
Matt Cassel's sleeper shine is wearing off, but it never figured to be an easy transition to Charlie Weis' schemes.
Week 3 Running backsEditor's Note: Looking for a weekly way to win money playing fantasy?
Check out Snapdraft – a lot of fun.
RB Going up: No one pushed Arian Foster in fantasy football nation any harder than Chris Wesseling. The one thing I always think with guys we tout correctly: We should have touted him more! Foster was ranked as a top-20 play; now he'd be in the top ten easy. … Michael Bush's injury has helped another Wess favorite Darren McFadden move up a notch. I still have my doubts he'll stay healthy, but it's hard not to call him a RB2 at least when we're ranking him in the top-15 the last two weeks. Bush returns this week. … We also bet on a Matt Forte resurgence, but I'd put him in the top-15 now. … I've heard some debate about Jahvid Best against the Vikings. Really? After that epic performance? I am never sitting Best this season, and he's a top-ten play anytime he's on turf. … LaDainian Tomlinson is healthy and making a lot of us eat crow. Good for him. He's only a flex play – and we'd rather use a WR in PPR leagues – but that's still better than expected.
RB Going down: Maurice Jones-Drew may get nicked a few spots just because he doesn't look quite right. I'd hold firm with Ray Rice in the top-five overall. … Matt Moore's collapse has really hurt DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. I'd make Williams a mid-level RB2 now at best, with Stewart a fun RB3. The loss of Jeff Otah has hurt. … I'd knock Jamaal Charles down a round from where he was a few weeks ago, but I still think he'll finish as a top-15 running back. … A Ryan Mathews injury this early is a bad sign. He was drafted with the idea that he'd be a rare 300-carry workhorse. That's going to be tough if he misses a few weeks.
Few players would get knocked more from the preseason than Shonn Greene. The talent remains to be a solid RB2. … Beanie Wells has never carried the ball more than 17 times in a game. He's a big back, but far from durable. That makes him more of a late RB2 instead of a top-15 option. … … You drafted C.J. Spiller as a RB3 with upside. You'd rank him now as a RB4. … Brandon Jacobs is a true backup and should be evaluated as such. He was given a bit too much credit a few weeks back. … There was a lot of debate about Marion Barber versus Felix Jones this summer. With that offensive line, the answer could be neither. It happens.
Week 3 Wide Receivers
WR Going up: The top of the receiver rankings wouldn't change much. That's why wideouts will always be a safer bet in rounds two and three than running backs. I had Roddy White sixth and might make him top-three now. … Anquan Boldin's start would push him up a little, but his WR2 ranking was based off him not being able to stay healthy for 16 weeks. … Wes Welker would now be ranked essentially as if ACL surgery never happened. He's a top-20 guy again. … Santana Moss looks like a top-15 threat. He's going to be a high volume receiver in that offense. … Eddie Royal is going to turn out to be a great sleeper pick for whoever got him. Taken late in drafts, he'll put up rock solid WR3 numbers. That's how you win. Austin Collie should also wind up outperforming his ADP.
WR Going down: There aren't a lot of wideouts I'd hugely downgrade yet. Mike Sims-Walker is one guy though that go from round four to round six or so. … The Steelers wideouts wouldn't change because anything decent in the first four weeks was always going to be a bonus. … Dwayne Bowe would now be ranked as a WR3. It doesn't take much for me to find a reason to rank Bowe low; he's not the type of player to overcome a tough situation. … Robert Meachem was trending downward by draftime and was on our busts list. But he was still too high. … Jabar Gaffney would fall, if only because there are too many other options in Denver for Gaffney to be a good weekly option. … Devin Aromashodu is not a guy I'd wait for. He'll never be that trustworthy, so why bother? … Kenny Britt would get knocked down a peg or two, but he's still a guy I love to have on my bench. Still think it will pat off.
Week 3 Tight Ends
TE Going up: We had Antonio Gates first, but he looks like a late third-round pick from early results. He'll be a force. … No Sidney Rice and intermittent Percy Harvin has turned Visanthe Shiancoe into a high-volume target early. He may not be a bad sell high candidate. … I had serious doubts about Chris Cooley this year, but looks like I'll be wrong. He fits neatly into the end of the top ten tight ends. … The tight end position is just so ridiculously deep. Dustin Keller, Greg Olsen, Aaron Hernandez, Brandon Pettigrew, and Jermaine Gresham are all eminently useful and went undrafted.
Guys like Zach Miller and John Carlson look like they've started slower than they really have because the tight end position has exploded through two weeks. You want your tight ends to catch four passes for 40 yards during the off weeks. There will be better games ahead.
TE Going down: Most tight ends have performed. That serves to devalue some of the higher-drafted guys like Jason Witten, if only because you could have waited at the position and done just fine. It remains to be seen whether Michael Vick hurts Brent Celek; I think he'll be fine. … Tony Gonzalez has struggled to get open. Seven targets in two weeks is a concern. … Considering the young guns at the position, it's barely worth holding on to Owen Daniels during his slow start. Wait until he's all the way back. … Heath Miller is someone that will be on waiver wires by the time Charlie Batch is done with him. Pick him up when Ben Roethlisberger is ready to return.
Week 3 Team Defense
Week 3 Kickers
Gregg Rosenthal has directed Rotoworld's football content since 2003. He co-hosts the
NBC Fantasy Fix and covers the NFL for NBCSports.com and Profootballtalk.com. Catch him
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Gregg Rosenthal