Mulligan’s Fantasy Football Forecast, Week 3
I’m going to do everyone a favor and make things very simple for the rest of the fantasy season. When it comes time to set your lineups and you find yourself deciding on which wide receivers to start, there’s now a very easy way to settle that debate. If any one of your receivers is playing the Jets that week and will be covered by their cornerback Darrelle Revis, you can safely bench said wide receiver. I don’t care how good he is or what round you took him in — bench him.
Revis is unbelievably talented, and easily the most underrated person in the NFL right now. It’s not even close. I’m a Dolphins fan who hates the Jets, so you know Revis is good if I’m devoting the opening of this column to him. But he’s earned at least that. For the past two weeks, all he’s done is go up against two of the best wide receivers in the NFL, Randy Moss and Andre Johnson, and shut them down. Revis held Johnson to 4 catches for 35 yards in Week 1 and Moss to 4 catches for 24 yards in Week 2.
I urge the owners of top receivers like Marques Colston, Steve Smith and Reggie Wayne to take my advice because those WR’s have to face Revis this season. Trust me, I have Moss and Johnson and I got burned the last two weeks. You start those guys against him at your own risk. And don’t say I didn’t try to warn you when your guy gets shut down.
GOOD MATCH UPS
Drew Brees vs. Bills defense: Really, who isn’t a good match up for Drew Brees these days? He’s going to tear it up all season long since he won’t play too many great defenses and this week’s game against Buffalo is one of his better match ups of the season. The Bills just allowed Byron Leftwich to have his way with them so don’t think they’re going to shut down Brees and the high-powered Saints offense. As ridiculous as this sounds, expect similar numbers to the ones Brees has put up in his first two games.
Trent Edwards vs. Saints defense: For our other good match up of the week, we need look no further than Brees’ opponent, Trent Edwards and the Buffalo Bills. Edwards is going to need to continue his good start to the season if the Bills have any hopes of keeping up with the New Orleans offense. Luckily for Edwards, the Saints defense is far from stellar. There’s a good chance Edwards will have his best game of the season to this point against New Orleans.
NOT SO GOOD MATCH UPS
Thomas Jones vs. Titans defense: The Tennessee defense was torn up by the Texans’ Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson last week. But the Titans run defense was a different story as they were able to hold Steve Slaton to just 34 yards on 17 carries. And if you remember their Week 1 game against the Steelers when they held the entire Pittsburgh running game to 36 yards on 23 carries, you may start to see a pattern here. A smart move would be to bench Jones this week.
Brandon Marshall vs. Raiders defense: Brandon Marshall owners can’t be real happy right now. Marshall drew two of the NFL’s weaker defenses in Weeks 1 and 2 and could only muster a total of 7 catches for 61 yards. This week he and the Broncos get one of the best cornerbacks in the league, Nnamdi Asomugha, and the Raiders. So, uh, yeahyou’re going to want to leave Marshall on your bench, rather than hope he’ll have his first good game of the season against the toughest corner he’ll face all year.
WAIVER WIRE WATCH
Byron Leftwich, QB, Buccaneers: We may be getting to the point where we have to take Leftwich a bit seriously. I know, I know, I didn’t think we’d talk much about him this season either. But, after two games Leftwich has thrown for 572 yards and 4 touchdowns. He’s put up better numbers than Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady to this point. It’s still early, but you should consider picking up Leftwich if you need depth at QB.
Kevin Kolb/Jeff Garcia/Michael Vick, QB, Eagles: It doesn’t sound as if McNabb will play in Week 3 for the Eagles which gives us an interesting scenario here. Kolb played pretty well last week against the Saints, throwing for 391 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw three picks, however. Week 3 is also when Michael Vick is eligible to play in his first game of the season. Oh yeah, and Philly has Jeff Garcia on the roster now too. The Chiefs defense isn’t good, which means whoever gets the nod at QB for Philly makes for a decent fantasy play.
Fred Jackson, RB, Bills: Marshawn Lynch may not have many carries to come back to when his suspension is up if Jackson keeps playing like this. In standard, non-PPR leagues, Jackson is the fifth ranked running back, ahead of guys like DeAngelo Williams, Maurice Jones-Drew and Michael Turner. The Bills draw New Orleans and Miami in the next two weeks before Marshawn Lynch returns. So, yeah it’s safe to up Jackson if he’s still available.
Ted Ginn Jr, WR, Dolphins: Ginn posted just his second career 100-yard game against the Colts Monday and his line actually could have been even better if he hadn’t dropped two passes late in the game, including what could have been the game-winning touchdown (not that I’m bitter about it at all). Ginn will likely be inconsistent throughout the season but his play-making ability makes him a solid flex option against weaker defenses.
Mike Sims-Walker, WR, Jaguars: Uh, who? Those were the words that fumbled out of my mouth as I watched the Jaguars game and saw some dude named Sims-Walker racking up the yardage. Sims-Walker hauled in 6 catches for 106 yards and a score against the Cardinals in Week 2, but let’s wait and see if he can put together a couple games in a row. Last season he went for 107 against the Steelers in Week 5 but made only 4 more catches the rest of the season.
Mario Manningham, WR, Giants: There doesn’t seem to be a clear favorite in the Giants passing game for Eli Manning and it looks who New York’s leading receiver is could depend on match ups. So, if other teams have guys like Steve Smith or Domenik Hixon in their rosters, you may as well pick up Manningham if you need WR depth because right now he’s just as useful as any other Giants wideout.
Brent Celek, TE, Eagles: Celek had himself a whale of a game against the Saints last week, netting 141 yards receiving and a touchdown. If Kevin Kolb gets the start again for the Eagles, Celek is a good start for fantasy teams as he’ll be the favorite target for an offense taking on the Chiefs. That’s always good for some fantasy points.
Kyle Mulligan is a contributing sports writer for the Observer. He welcomes your feedback and can be reached at kjmulli@gmail.com.