Week 2 Things I'll Be Watching

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 4:39 am

Here are some of the things I'm going to be paying close attention to this week:

Let's start close to (my) home. I'm going to be watching Brandon Jackson and not just because I spent 80% of my free-agent budget on him in my main league. Well OK maybe a little cuz of that.

Mostly because he may hold the key to the Packers' Super Bowl chances. If he can be an effective replacement for Ryan Grant, the Packers can keep rolling. If he can't, they'll be in huge trouble. Fortunately, he gets a cake matchup against the Bills in his first start.

Revis vs. Moss. Arguably the biggest storyline of the week. Revis shut Moss (and everyone else) out in what was an amazing 2009 season, one that should have easily snared him the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Moss is understandably testy about being taken out and wants revenge. Revis is gimpy with a hamstring injury. Tom Brady has insisted he won't challenge Revis. Who's going to win? And how confident are Moss owners this week?

If the Jets lose this game, they'll begin the season 0-2 with both losses coming at home. Not exactly the way a Super Bowl contender is supposed to begin the season.

What's the over/under on how many receptions Wes Welker will have in this game? 15?

Will the Vikings' offense look more in sync at home than they were on the road against the Super Bowl champs? It won't help matters if Percy Harvin sits. Brett Favre needs his full complement of receivers.

Word out of Dallas is the Cowboys need to get Felix Jones more touches. Will that happen or will the backfield continue to be a three-headed mess against the Bears?

How badly is Calvin Johnson's value going to be impacted by Shaun Hill? Curiously, Megatron's production in Week 1 came with Hill, not Matthew Stafford. But far too often we've seen stud WRs go in the tank when their starting QB gets hurt. Will Megatron follow suit?

Speaking of the Lions, they present Michael Vick with an easy matchup in his start this week. If Vick plays well, the cries in Philly will become even louder for him to start ahead of Kevin Kolb. Personally, I think it would be incredibly stupid to trade Donovan McNabb in favor of Kolb and then bench Kolb after one (admittedly poor) half against a Super Bowl contender. I doubt Andy Reid will be that short-sighted but I've seen plenty of strange things in the NFL over the years.

Eli vs. Peyton. Nuff said.

Sam Bradford looked extremely impressive in his first start against the Cardinals. This week he travels to the Black Hole in Oakland, usually a difficult place to play for young QBs. If he has another impressive performance it's going to be time to view him as a rock-solid QB2.

What's Week 2 going to be like for Arian Foster?

Will Cedric Benson run all over the Ravens again?

And lastly, will the 49ers show more spunk against the Saints than they did against the Seahawks or will they get rolled again?

The Franchise · Post by **The Franchise** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 5:15 am

Tom - I think you will see the Packers go to the air more often than they would have if Grant was in the lineup.
Jackson I believe will finish with like 1200-1300 total yards 40+ rec and a handful of TD (5). Think F.Jackson type year.

-Moss as been waiting for this all year. I'm a Pats fan so call me biased, but I think they are going to run the heck out of Revis. Moss will be running deep routes all game long. They will then sub him out and run Tate deep. I think Moss has a good game.

-Vikes will win this game but not because of Favre

- Something has to give in Dallas. You can't keep giving those guys 5-8 touches each? Can you?

- I think having Hill as the QB might hurt Megatron on the deep ball, but I think they will still force it to him in the game and in the RZ.

- I think Kolb gets his job back.

- Colts will start out 0-2. Copycat league and the Texans gave everyone the blueprint. Bradshaw and Jacobs next......YIKES!

- Foster will have under 100 yards rushing.

- Benson will be lucky to get 50 yards. I think your going to see a lot of Shipley and 85.

- 49ers will come out fired up and the Saints will look to score quick and crush their confidence. I think the Saints will either win Big or lose in a close one.

rkulaski · Post by **rkulaski** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 10:08 am

Originally posted by The Franchise:

- Colts will start out 0-2. Copycat league and the Texans gave everyone the blueprint. Bradshaw and Jacobs next......YIKES!
I think the blueprint to beat the Colts has been to run the ball down their throats for the last 5 years. It usually that P Manning can still beat you 20-17 or 34-28 more often than not. Maybe the colts run d is worse than ever- not sure about that as I don't follow them close enough.

mattjb · Post by **mattjb** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 10:39 am

Things I will be looking for...

Will Rodgers and Finley start to repay their ADP?

Kansas City looked an exciting young side on MNF - if they are for real they will win in Cleveland.

Derek Anderson was baaaaaad against the Rams - how ugly will he be against the Falcons?

Talking of ugly - will we see the first toys out of the pram when the Ravens send the Bungles to 0-2?

Route Collectors · Post by **Route Collectors** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 10:49 am

For me it's will MSW catch a ball or get more than 2 targets. I picked up Clayton in F/A this week and it's my toughest start/sit decision.

I hate to bail out early on MSW but I don't want to feel like the Royal owners did last year in week 5 either.

Shrink Attack · Post by **Shrink Attack** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 11:04 am

Originally posted by Route C:
For me it's will MSW catch a ball or get more than 2 targets. I picked up Clayton in F/A this week and it's my toughest start/sit decision.

I hate to bail out early on MSW but I don't want to feel like the Royal owners did last year in week 5 either. Don't forget that Garrard is HORRENDOUS on the road.

pizzatyme · Post by **pizzatyme** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 11:59 am

The Colts are the weakest they've been on the line on both sides of the ball in the last 15 years.

Peyton covers up for the O-line, but it's bad! Saturday was hurt most of the pre-season, and Mudd is now retired. Mudd was a great O-line coach.

I think you'll see the Colts continue to go 3 wide with Clark and try to exploit the 4th DB/Safety. Dallas Clark and Collie will lead the team in catches this year. And you may want to grab Gonzo to stas away in case of injury. He will have value at some point when he gets healthy.

I don't see many deep routes this year until the Line gels (which may never happen).

The other cause for concern is Brackett and Mathis both being hurt.

Here's what I'm looking for in week #2:

Can Michael Crabtree become a WR1?

Can Adrian Peterson get more touches in the 2nd half of a close game?

Can John Fox realize he has 2 exceptional RBs and run the damn ball?

Is Tony Moeaki the next Tony Gonzalez?

Will Arian Foster break 100 the rest of the year?

Will the Bills explain their reasoning for holding onto Marshawn Lynch?

Will Dallas give up on the 3 headed RB lunacy?

Can Washington be for real?

Who does Ashemougha (sp?) cover? Do the Raiders put him on Clayton to derail the FAAB darling of the year?

Can Ray Lewis play any better than he did last week?

Is Ocho capable of keeping it up?

Will Peyton hit 400/3 again this week? I say no, but 325/3 is very likely. He will be forced to have a monster year. The Colts should be passing to run and forget about 2 runs on 1st and 2nd down to set up a 3rd and 8.

Does Alex Smith have what it takes? I think he does, but if he fails again miserably this week, the 9ers are going to disappoint a lot of pre-season gurus, including myself.

That's it for now.

Raiders · Post by **Raiders** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 12:03 pm

Originally posted by The Franchise:
Tom - I think you will see the Packers go to the air more often than they would have if Grant was in the lineup.
Jackson I believe will finish with like 1200-1300 total yards 40+ rec and a handful of TD (5). Think F.Jackson type year.

-Moss as been waiting for this all year. I'm a Pats fan so call me biased, but I think they are going to run the heck out of Revis. Moss will be running deep routes all game long. They will then sub him out and run Tate deep. I think Moss has a good game.

-Vikes will win this game but not because of Favre

- Something has to give in Dallas. You can't keep giving those guys 5-8 touches each? Can you?

- I think having Hill as the QB might hurt Megatron on the deep ball, but I think they will still force it to him in the game and in the RZ.

- I think Kolb gets his job back.

- Colts will start out 0-2. Copycat league and the Texans gave everyone the blueprint. Bradshaw and Jacobs next......YIKES!

- Foster will have under 100 yards rushing.

- Benson will be lucky to get 50 yards. I think your going to see a lot of Shipley and 85.

- 49ers will come out fired up and the Saints will look to score quick and crush their confidence. I think the Saints will either win Big or lose in a close one. Tom - I think you will see the Packers go to the air more often than they would have if Grant was in the lineup.
Jackson I believe will finish with like 1200-1300 total yards 40+ rec and a handful of TD (5). Think F.Jackson type year.

Those numbers would make Jackson a top 10 RB the rest of the way! Will see.

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 4:03 pm

Originally posted by Shrink Attack:
quote:Originally posted by Route C:
For me it's will MSW catch a ball or get more than 2 targets. I picked up Clayton in F/A this week and it's my toughest start/sit decision.

I hate to bail out early on MSW but I don't want to feel like the Royal owners did last year in week 5 either. Don't forget that Garrard is HORRENDOUS on the road. [/QUOTE]His home/road splits last season were staggering. It's like he was a completely different QB on the road, one incapable of making the simplest of throws and decisions. I don't recall the last time I saw a QB with that type of split personality.