Post by Cincinnati Bengals (Chris) on Oct 9, 2019 22:11:30 GMT -5
1. Philadelphia +1 (2-0)- In the season’s first battle of heavyweights, Andrew was victorious, beating Garrett’s Steelers soundly (37 points), despite several offensive duds, and displacing Brooks’ Chiefs from the top spot. PHI moves up 1 to the top spot.
2. Kansas City -1 (2-0)- While Brooks didn’t dominate like last week, his team did enough to win, despite a less than stellar performance from Matt Ryan, early injuries to Jamal Charles and A.J. Green and a low-scoring effort from Jason Witten. There are concerns about how long both injured players could be out, which could affect the Chiefs for a few weeks, but ultimately, Brooks should have enough depth to keep things rolling. The 113-point weeks can’t continue though. KC cedes the top spot to PHI.
3. Miami +3 (2-0)- Donny’s Dolphins overcame at least five dismal performances in his lineup on his way to racking up nearly 152 points and more than doubling New Orleans’ output to move to 2-0 and up 3 spots, surpassing SEA and MIN in the process. MIA just looks like a more dangerous team at the moment.
4. Cincinnati +3 (2-0)- CIN led the league in points in Week 2 (160+) despite a 0 from LaMarr Woodley and leaving Antoine Cason and Bennie Logan on the bench, which would have netted him an additional 25.5 points. After two weeks, it looks like the Bengals are contenders and rounding into form. CIN rises 3 spots this week.
5. Seattle -1 (2-0)- A second consecutive down note for SEA, his team falls 1 spot despite winning and scoring 138 points. Robert Griffin’s injury is a huge concern that may lead to Cecil scrambling for Kirk Cousins. If not, does he have the strength to weather a 4-6 week QB-less storm? Does his injury open up the NFC West? Interesting questions.
6. Detroit +3 (2-0)- After jumping 7 spots last week, DET is up another 3 spots on the strength of another 158+ point performance, despite not possessing a defensive end to start. That won’t always work out for the best, but it’s clear Ryan’s impact players will be the ones responsible for carrying him to the playoffs should he make it.
7. Minnesota -2 (2-0)- Again failing to take advantage of a topsy-turvy top-5, Matt eked out a win (114.89 to 114.74) over J.R.’s Colts. You won’t see it any closer. Several underperforming players didn’t make it easy, including Eddie Lacy, who was back after last week’s concussion. The parts are there. If the team can stay healthy and improve its consistency, MIN is a team that might contend for the championship. MIN drops 2 spots despite the win.
8. New England 0 (2-0)- Despite being jumped by DET, NE’s team had a pretty good week, defeating ATL by 26. Locker’s play, coupled with Allen Hurns’ back-to-earth game, impeded Chris’ ability to reach that upper echelon level in points this week. Locker is a concern going forward given that he’s never had both a healthy and productive season. His progress/injury status is worth watching, and could be the difference for NE.
9. Arizona +1 (2-0)- Defense is still a problem here and there, but Mett’s offense is strong. If ARI keeps this play up, this team is a legitimate threat to SEA in the NFC West, especially now with the QB issues to address. ARI climbs a spot from last week.
10. Green Bay +8 (2-0)- Again making the biggest leap, Green Bay rises 8 spots to #10 with a 45-point victory and a 115-point outing, all without the help of Carson Palmer, Brandon LaFell or Brandon Pettigrew, who all posted 0’s. Could it be that CHI and GB’s order should have been switched in this division? Through two weeks, the answer appears to be yes.
11. San Diego +10 (1-1)- Predicted at the bottom of the AFC West, Leif’s Chargers have shown up in a big way, posting 121 points a week ago against NE and 141 points this week in a 70+ point win over SF. Also, Adrian Peterson didn’t play, and he might not in the next few weeks. But with performances like this from the rest of the starting lineup, Leif might not need him to get by. SD is up 10 spots this week.
12. Baltimore +11 (1-1)- In one of the unlikeliest of comebacks, Goose’s Ravens came back to sting the Cowboys and get him back to an even 1-1. The 148+ points are a 47-point improvement from a week ago, and though Darren Sproles, Ahmad Bradshaw and Owen Daniels can’t be counted on for 65 points every week, the explosiveness is there for them to have a big week at any time. BAL jumps 11 spots.
13. Pittsburgh -10 (1-1)- Falling 10 spots after two unimpressive weeks, the Steelers have failed to hit 117 points now either week. There is still plenty of season remaining, but at an unimpressive 1-1, Garrett may need to make some moves.
14. Cleveland +6 (2-0)- The last 2-0 team, Cleveland keeps winning despite an absent owner and only averaging 112 points per game. A little luck, a fair amount of talent and the schedule catering to the Browns is not a reason to jump them over more deserving teams, so at present, CLE only moves 6 spots to 14. A 10-spot rise for the winners lowest on the PRs this week, Cleveland shocked the league by beating Denver by 13 and scoring 119 in the process. That includes receiving less than a point from the second-best offensive option on the team.
15. Jacksonville 0 (1-1)- After an unimpressive 109-point performance in the opener, Jacksonville barely edged Chicago by half a point. The 112 total points won’t win games forever, and since the win was a squeaker following a poor game, it’s hard to elevate JAC over more deserving teams. As a result, the Jaguars stay put.
16. New York Giants -3 (1-1)- In Week 1, the Giants relied completely on Peyton Manning. Week 2 was a little more impressive, using balance to rack up 116 points, but led to a 43-point loss to CIN. The defense isn’t quite there yet, and Cairo Santos is a disaster waiting to happen in the kicking game. The Giants drop 3 spots with the loss.
17. Indianapolis 0 (1-1)- J.R.’s Colts lost a real barnburner to MIN by 0.15 points, but IND’s production over the first two weeks means that they’re among the best 1-loss teams right now. The offense can improve, but will be tasked with replacing Marcedes Lewis, who was waived by J.R. after being put on IR by Jacksonville. Pierre Thomas should produce more in the interim, but Odell Beckham Jr. and Ace Sanders will likely return soon. So despite the loss, the Colts don’t lose any ground in the power rankings.
18. Oakland -6 (1-1)- Oakland’s offense put up over 60 points, but the defense and kicker combined barely surpassed 50. Several defensive players in particular had lackluster fantasy games. Adding to the woes, Ryan Matthews was injured, joining Tyler Eifert the bench and taking some serious star power out of the offense. So the 60 points from that unit this weekend is unlikely to repeat in the near future. For now though, Oakland only drops 6 spots.
19. San Francisco -8 (1-1)- San Francisco is all over the place, scoring over 131 points in the opener and only 67 this week. The difference: Three 0’s and an effective 0 from Knowshon Moreno, who will be out for a while. It’s hard to project where the Niners will be in a week, but it is likely that we see a significant improvement out of some healthy players in the lineup that underperformed. It’s just a bad week for SF, but I’m only reading it as that without further evidence. Therefore, the Niners only fall 8 spots.
20. Tampa Bay +5 (1-1)- While TB has yet to have an impressive performance, every win counts, and the 2-point win over NYJ this weekend on the strength of Philip Rivers, Julian Edelman, Nate Irving and NO ONE ELSE is the prime example of that. For the win, Tampa rises 5 spots, but something has to give in one way or another soon.
21. Carolina +8 (1-1)- Sze’s Week 1 was about as poor as he’s had (dating back to the MFL). While relying on Henne is risky, everyone else more or less stepped up on offense this week. Two defensive 0’s and Patrick Murray having to kick for the Bucs made the margin much closer than it should have been in the win over BUF. For now, CAR climbs 8 spots to #21.
22. Dallas -3 (0-2)- In one of the all-time great collapses that Dallas had nothing to do with, the Ravens came all the way back and put to waste a phenomenal 145+ point effort from Aaron’s Cowboys to steal the win. Given that through two weeks Dallas has an average topping 133 points, this ranking is probably pretty harsh. But how do you elevate an 0-2 team over a 1-win team? Them’s the breaks. Expect DAL to get off the schneid soon, but for now they fall 3 spots and are the best 0-2 team.
23. Atlanta -9 (0-2)- Atlanta is 0-2 after two average performances, and Tim must address the running back situation to regain any hopes of winning the worst division in the NFFL, the NFC South. Ronnie Hillman has given him absolutely nothing through 2 weeks, and though Bilal Powell and DuJuan Harris have been better (in that they have scored actual points this season), the solution likely lies outside his current roster. No matter what, they likely won’t make up the score differential on a week-to-week basis. On a positive note, having Kirk Cousins to be able to start over E.J. Manuel is a plus. But for now, ATL continues the free-fall 9 spots to #23.
24. Washington -8 (0-2)- An offensive (truly offensive) performance for the record books, and not in a good way, paved the way for Dave’s Week 2 failures. Roethlisberger was as bad as he’s been in some time and Reggie Bush, Torrey Smith, Dwayne Allen and Marques Colston all failed to do anything meaningful to offset it. As a result, WAS finished with just over 13 points on offense. While the 74 points, therefore, are likely an anomaly, at 0-2 and coming off a loss to one of the worst teams in the league (in the pre-season projections at least), the Redskins drop 8 spots.
25. Chicago -1 (0-2)- Unlucky to get an 0fer for the night from Earl Wolff in Week 2 after all of Jacksonville’s players were done, Chicago fell to the Jags by half of a point. Wolff’s 2.4 Week 1 points would have been enough to provide the final margin. The offense was good, despite a below average game from Drew Brees, but two other players joined Wolff in the 0 column on defense, which really hurt. Not bad, but not moving up, the Bears again drop 1 spot this week.
26. Houston -4 (0-2)- After an 119+ point game from Erik’s Texans in Week 1, Week 2 looks like a completely different team, and not in a good way. Matt Cassell putting up negative points and 0’s (or effective 0’s) from 5 players made the offensive performance a near all-time low. Clearly that won’t continue to be the case, but it’s the reason why Houston was on the wrong side of a 45-point blowout and why the Texans slide 4 spots this week.
27. Denver -1 (0-2)- While Steve went out and acquired a running back this week, Tony Romo didn’t rebound as much as expected, and several defensive players put in less than stellar fantasy performances, including a 0 from Sylvester Williams. Granted he was playing Seattle, but that point total won’t win many games regardless of opponent. On process, the RB trade should pay off, but the other factors made a win too difficult to pull off this week. DEN is down 1 spot in this week’s PRs.
28. Tennessee 0 (0-2)- Despite a well-balanced effort that saw Kirk’s team surpass 108 points, he ran into a buzz saw in DET. Ultimately, an injury to DeSean Jackson, poor performances by newly-acquired Michael Floyd and two defensive 0’s led to a loss. Kirk will try to regroup from 0-2, but ultimately this is exactly the team I saw in my last pre-season projections. TEN stays put at 28.
29. St. Louis -2 (0-2)- Offense again betrayed STL, as the unit failed to hit the 25-point mark on the week. The defense, again, excelled (relative to the offense). Perhaps it’s time to swap a defensive star for an offensive impact player. In all likelihood though, major overhauls are needed to pick up points to reach a winning score total. St. Louis takes a 2-spot hit this week.
30. Buffalo +1 (0-2)- A slight improvement over last week’s 82+ points, this week Buffalo posted 87+ points while taking three 0’s, one of which was at the QB position with Shaun Hill. Unfortunately, that may become more of a permanent thing in STL. It’s also worth mentioning that Bortles, who is on BUF’s bench, can’t be far from supplanting Henne if the Jags continue to lose. After this week, Sal’s Bills switch spots with NYJ in an, at present, meaningless game of AFC East musical chairs.
31. New York Jets -1 (0-2)- When an offense fails to accumulate 24 points as a whole, it’s not going to be a good week. Running back and tight end continue to plague the unit, even though Hoyer had outperformed expectations. Wide receiver was also an issue this week and worth monitoring going forward. The Jets go deeper into the cellar at 31.
32. New Orleans 0 (0-2)- The paltry sum of points for the second-straight week, despite a surprise performance from Eli Manning, indicates this is about what we’re going to see from New Orleans this season barring a major trade or signing. The mold has been set for the future, but as of right now it looks pretty moldy. NO stays in dead last.
2. Kansas City -1 (2-0)- While Brooks didn’t dominate like last week, his team did enough to win, despite a less than stellar performance from Matt Ryan, early injuries to Jamal Charles and A.J. Green and a low-scoring effort from Jason Witten. There are concerns about how long both injured players could be out, which could affect the Chiefs for a few weeks, but ultimately, Brooks should have enough depth to keep things rolling. The 113-point weeks can’t continue though. KC cedes the top spot to PHI.
3. Miami +3 (2-0)- Donny’s Dolphins overcame at least five dismal performances in his lineup on his way to racking up nearly 152 points and more than doubling New Orleans’ output to move to 2-0 and up 3 spots, surpassing SEA and MIN in the process. MIA just looks like a more dangerous team at the moment.
4. Cincinnati +3 (2-0)- CIN led the league in points in Week 2 (160+) despite a 0 from LaMarr Woodley and leaving Antoine Cason and Bennie Logan on the bench, which would have netted him an additional 25.5 points. After two weeks, it looks like the Bengals are contenders and rounding into form. CIN rises 3 spots this week.
5. Seattle -1 (2-0)- A second consecutive down note for SEA, his team falls 1 spot despite winning and scoring 138 points. Robert Griffin’s injury is a huge concern that may lead to Cecil scrambling for Kirk Cousins. If not, does he have the strength to weather a 4-6 week QB-less storm? Does his injury open up the NFC West? Interesting questions.
6. Detroit +3 (2-0)- After jumping 7 spots last week, DET is up another 3 spots on the strength of another 158+ point performance, despite not possessing a defensive end to start. That won’t always work out for the best, but it’s clear Ryan’s impact players will be the ones responsible for carrying him to the playoffs should he make it.
7. Minnesota -2 (2-0)- Again failing to take advantage of a topsy-turvy top-5, Matt eked out a win (114.89 to 114.74) over J.R.’s Colts. You won’t see it any closer. Several underperforming players didn’t make it easy, including Eddie Lacy, who was back after last week’s concussion. The parts are there. If the team can stay healthy and improve its consistency, MIN is a team that might contend for the championship. MIN drops 2 spots despite the win.
8. New England 0 (2-0)- Despite being jumped by DET, NE’s team had a pretty good week, defeating ATL by 26. Locker’s play, coupled with Allen Hurns’ back-to-earth game, impeded Chris’ ability to reach that upper echelon level in points this week. Locker is a concern going forward given that he’s never had both a healthy and productive season. His progress/injury status is worth watching, and could be the difference for NE.
9. Arizona +1 (2-0)- Defense is still a problem here and there, but Mett’s offense is strong. If ARI keeps this play up, this team is a legitimate threat to SEA in the NFC West, especially now with the QB issues to address. ARI climbs a spot from last week.
10. Green Bay +8 (2-0)- Again making the biggest leap, Green Bay rises 8 spots to #10 with a 45-point victory and a 115-point outing, all without the help of Carson Palmer, Brandon LaFell or Brandon Pettigrew, who all posted 0’s. Could it be that CHI and GB’s order should have been switched in this division? Through two weeks, the answer appears to be yes.
11. San Diego +10 (1-1)- Predicted at the bottom of the AFC West, Leif’s Chargers have shown up in a big way, posting 121 points a week ago against NE and 141 points this week in a 70+ point win over SF. Also, Adrian Peterson didn’t play, and he might not in the next few weeks. But with performances like this from the rest of the starting lineup, Leif might not need him to get by. SD is up 10 spots this week.
12. Baltimore +11 (1-1)- In one of the unlikeliest of comebacks, Goose’s Ravens came back to sting the Cowboys and get him back to an even 1-1. The 148+ points are a 47-point improvement from a week ago, and though Darren Sproles, Ahmad Bradshaw and Owen Daniels can’t be counted on for 65 points every week, the explosiveness is there for them to have a big week at any time. BAL jumps 11 spots.
13. Pittsburgh -10 (1-1)- Falling 10 spots after two unimpressive weeks, the Steelers have failed to hit 117 points now either week. There is still plenty of season remaining, but at an unimpressive 1-1, Garrett may need to make some moves.
14. Cleveland +6 (2-0)- The last 2-0 team, Cleveland keeps winning despite an absent owner and only averaging 112 points per game. A little luck, a fair amount of talent and the schedule catering to the Browns is not a reason to jump them over more deserving teams, so at present, CLE only moves 6 spots to 14. A 10-spot rise for the winners lowest on the PRs this week, Cleveland shocked the league by beating Denver by 13 and scoring 119 in the process. That includes receiving less than a point from the second-best offensive option on the team.
15. Jacksonville 0 (1-1)- After an unimpressive 109-point performance in the opener, Jacksonville barely edged Chicago by half a point. The 112 total points won’t win games forever, and since the win was a squeaker following a poor game, it’s hard to elevate JAC over more deserving teams. As a result, the Jaguars stay put.
16. New York Giants -3 (1-1)- In Week 1, the Giants relied completely on Peyton Manning. Week 2 was a little more impressive, using balance to rack up 116 points, but led to a 43-point loss to CIN. The defense isn’t quite there yet, and Cairo Santos is a disaster waiting to happen in the kicking game. The Giants drop 3 spots with the loss.
17. Indianapolis 0 (1-1)- J.R.’s Colts lost a real barnburner to MIN by 0.15 points, but IND’s production over the first two weeks means that they’re among the best 1-loss teams right now. The offense can improve, but will be tasked with replacing Marcedes Lewis, who was waived by J.R. after being put on IR by Jacksonville. Pierre Thomas should produce more in the interim, but Odell Beckham Jr. and Ace Sanders will likely return soon. So despite the loss, the Colts don’t lose any ground in the power rankings.
18. Oakland -6 (1-1)- Oakland’s offense put up over 60 points, but the defense and kicker combined barely surpassed 50. Several defensive players in particular had lackluster fantasy games. Adding to the woes, Ryan Matthews was injured, joining Tyler Eifert the bench and taking some serious star power out of the offense. So the 60 points from that unit this weekend is unlikely to repeat in the near future. For now though, Oakland only drops 6 spots.
19. San Francisco -8 (1-1)- San Francisco is all over the place, scoring over 131 points in the opener and only 67 this week. The difference: Three 0’s and an effective 0 from Knowshon Moreno, who will be out for a while. It’s hard to project where the Niners will be in a week, but it is likely that we see a significant improvement out of some healthy players in the lineup that underperformed. It’s just a bad week for SF, but I’m only reading it as that without further evidence. Therefore, the Niners only fall 8 spots.
20. Tampa Bay +5 (1-1)- While TB has yet to have an impressive performance, every win counts, and the 2-point win over NYJ this weekend on the strength of Philip Rivers, Julian Edelman, Nate Irving and NO ONE ELSE is the prime example of that. For the win, Tampa rises 5 spots, but something has to give in one way or another soon.
21. Carolina +8 (1-1)- Sze’s Week 1 was about as poor as he’s had (dating back to the MFL). While relying on Henne is risky, everyone else more or less stepped up on offense this week. Two defensive 0’s and Patrick Murray having to kick for the Bucs made the margin much closer than it should have been in the win over BUF. For now, CAR climbs 8 spots to #21.
22. Dallas -3 (0-2)- In one of the all-time great collapses that Dallas had nothing to do with, the Ravens came all the way back and put to waste a phenomenal 145+ point effort from Aaron’s Cowboys to steal the win. Given that through two weeks Dallas has an average topping 133 points, this ranking is probably pretty harsh. But how do you elevate an 0-2 team over a 1-win team? Them’s the breaks. Expect DAL to get off the schneid soon, but for now they fall 3 spots and are the best 0-2 team.
23. Atlanta -9 (0-2)- Atlanta is 0-2 after two average performances, and Tim must address the running back situation to regain any hopes of winning the worst division in the NFFL, the NFC South. Ronnie Hillman has given him absolutely nothing through 2 weeks, and though Bilal Powell and DuJuan Harris have been better (in that they have scored actual points this season), the solution likely lies outside his current roster. No matter what, they likely won’t make up the score differential on a week-to-week basis. On a positive note, having Kirk Cousins to be able to start over E.J. Manuel is a plus. But for now, ATL continues the free-fall 9 spots to #23.
24. Washington -8 (0-2)- An offensive (truly offensive) performance for the record books, and not in a good way, paved the way for Dave’s Week 2 failures. Roethlisberger was as bad as he’s been in some time and Reggie Bush, Torrey Smith, Dwayne Allen and Marques Colston all failed to do anything meaningful to offset it. As a result, WAS finished with just over 13 points on offense. While the 74 points, therefore, are likely an anomaly, at 0-2 and coming off a loss to one of the worst teams in the league (in the pre-season projections at least), the Redskins drop 8 spots.
25. Chicago -1 (0-2)- Unlucky to get an 0fer for the night from Earl Wolff in Week 2 after all of Jacksonville’s players were done, Chicago fell to the Jags by half of a point. Wolff’s 2.4 Week 1 points would have been enough to provide the final margin. The offense was good, despite a below average game from Drew Brees, but two other players joined Wolff in the 0 column on defense, which really hurt. Not bad, but not moving up, the Bears again drop 1 spot this week.
26. Houston -4 (0-2)- After an 119+ point game from Erik’s Texans in Week 1, Week 2 looks like a completely different team, and not in a good way. Matt Cassell putting up negative points and 0’s (or effective 0’s) from 5 players made the offensive performance a near all-time low. Clearly that won’t continue to be the case, but it’s the reason why Houston was on the wrong side of a 45-point blowout and why the Texans slide 4 spots this week.
27. Denver -1 (0-2)- While Steve went out and acquired a running back this week, Tony Romo didn’t rebound as much as expected, and several defensive players put in less than stellar fantasy performances, including a 0 from Sylvester Williams. Granted he was playing Seattle, but that point total won’t win many games regardless of opponent. On process, the RB trade should pay off, but the other factors made a win too difficult to pull off this week. DEN is down 1 spot in this week’s PRs.
28. Tennessee 0 (0-2)- Despite a well-balanced effort that saw Kirk’s team surpass 108 points, he ran into a buzz saw in DET. Ultimately, an injury to DeSean Jackson, poor performances by newly-acquired Michael Floyd and two defensive 0’s led to a loss. Kirk will try to regroup from 0-2, but ultimately this is exactly the team I saw in my last pre-season projections. TEN stays put at 28.
29. St. Louis -2 (0-2)- Offense again betrayed STL, as the unit failed to hit the 25-point mark on the week. The defense, again, excelled (relative to the offense). Perhaps it’s time to swap a defensive star for an offensive impact player. In all likelihood though, major overhauls are needed to pick up points to reach a winning score total. St. Louis takes a 2-spot hit this week.
30. Buffalo +1 (0-2)- A slight improvement over last week’s 82+ points, this week Buffalo posted 87+ points while taking three 0’s, one of which was at the QB position with Shaun Hill. Unfortunately, that may become more of a permanent thing in STL. It’s also worth mentioning that Bortles, who is on BUF’s bench, can’t be far from supplanting Henne if the Jags continue to lose. After this week, Sal’s Bills switch spots with NYJ in an, at present, meaningless game of AFC East musical chairs.
31. New York Jets -1 (0-2)- When an offense fails to accumulate 24 points as a whole, it’s not going to be a good week. Running back and tight end continue to plague the unit, even though Hoyer had outperformed expectations. Wide receiver was also an issue this week and worth monitoring going forward. The Jets go deeper into the cellar at 31.
32. New Orleans 0 (0-2)- The paltry sum of points for the second-straight week, despite a surprise performance from Eli Manning, indicates this is about what we’re going to see from New Orleans this season barring a major trade or signing. The mold has been set for the future, but as of right now it looks pretty moldy. NO stays in dead last.