Fantasy studs and duds: Week 2

By Hugo Guzman  |   Wednesday, September 19, 2007  |  Comments( 2 )

Fantasy Football
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Another week has gone by, but there are still plenty of fantasy blue-chippers who haven't gotten started yet. So-called sure bets like LaDainian Tomlinson, Steven Jackson and Drew Brees are all grossly underperforming, while up-and-comers like New England's Laurence Maroney have yet to live up to their supposed potential.

But it's not all bad. There are plenty of pleasant surprises to be had, too. Here's a breakdown of Week 2's fantasy football studs and duds.

Studs:

1. Carson Palmer put up a stat line that is more reminiscent of a Madden game -- 401 yards, six touchdowns -- than an actual NFL football contest. If you had Palmer on your roster and still managed to lose in Week 2, you might want to consider hanging it up.

2. Joey Galloway was little more than a veteran afterthought in most leagues. Clearly, the 35-year-old wideout still has a bit of gas in the tank; after all, he managed to reel in 207 receiving yards and two touchdowns against the Saints.

3. Though not as old as Galloway, Jamal Lewis is also lumped in the fantasy football bargain bin. On Sunday, he revisited his glory days, rushing for 216 yards and a touchdown.

4. I guess it's no surprise that most of this list is made up participants from the Bengals-Browns game. And why not? The contest did produce 96 points and 1,000-plus yards of offense. So here's one more for good measure. Remember when Kellen Winslow Jr. nearly ended his career after crashing his motorcycle? Well, it seems he's fully recovered. Winslow tallied 100 yards and a touchdown, helping guide Cleveland to a most unexpected 51-45 victory.

(If you started Cleveland's Derek Anderson in Week 2, you are a true fantasy genius. Either that or you are the luckiest person alive and should immediately go out to buy a lottery ticket.)

5. When you think of fantasy defenses, Minnesota usually doesn't come to mind. But last week, the Vikings were a real 'DST' darling. Despite giving up 20 points and over 400 yards of offense, they more than made up for it by scoring a defensive touchdown, snagging three interceptions, tallying two fumble recoveries, and bagging four sacks.

Duds:

1. I'm one of the lowly suckers who ignored the warnings and chose to start Donovan McNabb from the start of the season. Oops. A second subpar performance (240 yards and no touchdowns) in a row makes him an unattractive option for the time being.

2. Maurice Jones-Drew was the proverbial flavor of the month in most drafts, but after posting 31 receiving yards and 10 passing yards (his second straight horrid performance), he is quickly turning him into a big-time bust this year.

3. Last year around this time, Bernard Berrian was paying off huge dividends for discerning fantasy owners. This year, however, he's doing little to nothing. Berrian, a wide receiver for Chicago, actually managed to rack up 65 receiving yards on Sunday, but he also coughed the football up once, which is normally a penalty of minus-2 points.

4. Wasn't Oakland tight end Zach Miller supposed to be more of a receiving threat this year? I guess not. Three catches for 18 yards just isn't going to cut it for fantasy owners.

5. Miami used to be one of the most consistent fantasy defenses in football. This past Sunday, though, the Dolphins scored just a single fantasy point. The times, they are a-changin'.

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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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