Tunnel Vision of Week 2

Tunnel Vision – a look back at Sunday for fantasy free agents, injuries and notable performances.

SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks Pass-Rush TD
 Tua Tagovailoa 469-1 6
 Lamar Jackson 318-119 4
 Carson Wentz 337-23 3
 Joe Flacco 307-6 4
Jared Goff 256-(-2) 4
Running Backs Rush-Rcv TD
Nick Chubb 87-26 3
Tony Pollard 43-55 1
D’Andre Swift 56-31 1
Damien Harris 71-16 1
Aaron Jones 132-38 2
Wide Receivers Yards TD
Tyreek Hill 11-190 2
Amon-Ra St. Brown 9-116
68 rush
2
Jaylen Waddle 11-171 2
Cooper Kupp 11-108 2
Garrett Wilson 8-102 2
Tight Ends Yards TD
Mark Andrews 9-104 1
Darren Waller 6-50 1
Mike Gesicki 4-41 1
Ross Dwelley 1-38 1
Logan Thomas 3-37 1
Placekickers XP FG
Graham Gano 1 4
Daniel Carlson 2 3
Evan McPherson 0 3
Brandon McManus 1 3
Austin Seibert 4 2
Defense Sack – TO TD
Buccaneers 6-5 1
Jaguars 5-3 0
49ers 2-3 0
Falcons 1-3 1
Ravens 1-2 1

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

QB Trey Lance – Fractured ankle
QB Jacoby Brissett – Ankle
RB James Conner – ankle
RB Damien Harris – Knee
WR Devin Duvernay – Concussion
WR Jerry Jeudy – Shoulder
WR Mike Evans – Ejected
WR Hunter Renfrow – Head
TE Tyler Kroft – Knee
TE Dalton Schultz – Knee

Chasing Ambulances

QB Trey Lance – Fractured ankle and is gone for the year. This gives way to Jimmy Garoppolo and suddenly it’s 2021 all over again. 

QB Jacoby Brissett – Suffered an ankle injury when he was sacked near the end of the game. But he came back for the next series. He said he would play against the Steelers this week.

RB Damien Harris – He had five carries in the final two minutes but was injured on the final five-yard run with 1:51 that made the first down that allowed them to run out the clock. But he limped off the field. He later said he was fine. He’s continued with the same primary role he had last year.

RB James Conner –  Missed nearly the entire second half with an ankle injury. The Cardinals went to splitting the work evenly between Eno Benjamin and Darrel Williams who ended up leading the backfield with 59 yards on eight carries that included a one-yard touchdown. If Conner remains out, both backs will be involved again. They had similar stats, other than the one 30-yard run that Williams produced.

WR Jerry Jeudy – Reported to have injured his shoulder but had x-rays on his ribs that came back negative. He will undergo further tests but the hope is that he just bruised his ribs and can play through the injury. There were no receivers that stepped up and took his place. Courtland Sutton had 11 targets while no one else had more than four. The Broncos need Jeudy to return because the depth is very thin.

WR Mike Evans – Was ejected for fighting between downs when players were getting chirpy at each other and pushes became punches. There is still a chance that Evans would be suspended  because this hardly the first time that he’s tangled with CB Marshon Lattimore who also was ejected. The Buccaneers are thin on receivers with Chris Godwin and Julio Jones inactive this week. Breshad Perriman, Russell Gage and Scotty Miller were all involved this week to only minor impact.

TE Dalton Schultz – Injured his knee late in the win over the Bengals and left the field. He will receive tests on Monday to determine the severity, but there is a concern that he may miss time.

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

QB Joe Flacco (NYJ) – Led the Jets in a comeback win over the Raiders and threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns. Playing at home against the Bengals should be no worse this week.

QB Jared Goff (DET) – He may be often criticized, but the Lions quarterback threw four touchdowns against the visiting Commanders along with 256 passing yards. He’ll play at the Vikings this week which will be a tougher venue.

QB Jimmy Garoppolo (SF) – The 49ers lost Trey Lance for the season and Garoppolo slips back behind the wheel as he did last season when he passed for 3810 yards and 20 touchdowns over 15 games. He’s less a fantasy advantage as he is more reliable for keeping Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle fantasy relevant.

RB Darrel Williams (ARI) – He remained on the sideline in Week 1, but once James Conner was injured, Williams helped out for the second half and gained 59 yards on eight runs with one score. If Conner is out against the visiting Raiders this week, Williams will share the backfield with Eno Benjamin.

RB Raheem Mostert (MIA) – He started the game and out-touched Chase Edmonds 14 to 6. Mostert gained 51 yards on 11 carries and three catches for 28 yards. Edmonds only rushed five times and caught one pass. This is not an official switch of the depth chart, but a good example of how HC Mike McDonald will mix and match his backfield. Mostert is worth owning as a stash, but the backfield needs to show consistency before it can be relied on.

WR Nelson Agholor (NE) – Led the Patriot receivers with six catches for 110 yards and paired with Jakobi Meyers (9-95) as the only two receivers that mattered against the Steelers. Davante Parker failed to catch either of his targets. Kendrick Bourne is a nonfactor. And this week, the Patriots host the Ravens who were just toasted for 469 passing yards and six touchdowns.

WR Garrett Wilson (NYJ) – The rookie that was taken as the second wideout in the NFL draft has already proven he is the real deal. Wilson opened the year with eight targets for four catches and 52 yards in the loss to the Ravens. At Cleveland, he was targeted 14 times and caught eight for 102 yards and two scores. His second touchdown came with 11 seconds left to provide the game-winner. No other Jets’ wideout had more than five targets.

TE Gerald Everett (LAC) – The newest Chargers tight end opened the year with three catches for 54 yards and a score against the Raiders. In Week 2, he tied with Mike Williams and Austin Ekeler with ten targets in the loss to the Chiefs. That became six catches for 71 yards. For a tight end, that consistency and merits landing on a fantasy roster if he is still available.

WR Amari Cooper (CLE) – Had his breakout game as a Brown when he caught nine passes for 101 yards and a score versus the Jets.  That was more than double the production of any other Cleveland receiver.

WR Curtis Samuel (WAS) – Two weeks in and he’s been everything that he wasn’t last year. Samuel scored in both games and averaged seven catches for 65 yards per game.

WR Jahan Dotson (WAS) – The Commanders opened against a very light schedule – the Lions and Jaguars – but the rookie Dotson scored twice in Week 1 and then twice on Sunday versus the Lions. The home game against the visiting Eagles will provide plenty of motivation to throw the ball.

TE Evan Engram (JAC) – He hasn’t scored yet, but his first two games with the Jaguars resulted in four catches for 28 yards and then seven receptions for 46 yards this week. That’s worth bye-week coverage if nothing else.

RB Tyler Allgeier (ATL) – The Falcons placed Damien Williams on injured reserve, so the rookie was active in Week 2. He handled ten rushes for 30 yards, splitting the backfield workload in half with Cordarrelle Patterson (10-41). The new offense in Atlanta only threw one target at running backs this week – an incompletion to Patterson. Allgeier saw playing time and took the same amount of work as the starting running back.

RB Jeff Wilson (SF) – With Elijah Mitchell out, the 49ers relied on Jeff Wilson (18-84) and Tyrion Davis-Price (14-33) in the easy win over the Seahawks. But half of the rookie carries came in the last half of the fourth quarter to run out the clock. Wilson is safely the starter and will be the lead back. He’ll get a tougher challenge this week in Denver.

TE Kyler Pitts (ATL) – Apparently, the change in quarterback this year is catastrophic for Pitts production. Two weeks in and he’s turned in exactly two catches for 19 yards each time. The success of Drake London (8-86, TD) on Sunday should help, but Pitts receives the primary coverage of the defense and Marcus Mariota is not throwing to him.

RB Dameon Pierce (HOU) – It wasn’t a breakout game exactly, but Pierce owners have to like seeing him take 15 carries for 69 yards against the Broncos while Rex Burkhead had none this week. The schedule is no friend to the Texans, but Pierce is already assuming the entire rushing load for the backfield.

WR Darnell Mooney (CHI) – He turned in a career best 81 catches for 1,055 yards and four scores last year during Justin Fields’ first season. He also had Allen Robinson lining up across from him and he was the focus of the secondary. Now that he is gone -and not replaced – Mooney is the only wideout that concerns the secondary and after two weeks, he totals two catches for four yards. This week, it was one catch for a four yard loss. That’s all. Fields killed Robinson’s value last year and now Mooney is an absolute no-show. The good news is that the Bears host the Texans this week. If Mooney again only catches one short pass, stick him on the back end of your roster and forget about him until he does, well, anything.

Huddle player of the week

Tua Tagovailoa  –  There was a question as to whether Tagovailoa could justify having two elite wide receivers. The answer is yes, at least for Week 2. He passed for 469 yards and six touchdowns – tying the franchise touchdown record of Dan Marino and Bob Griese. He led the Fins from being down 28-7 to throwing the winning score with 14 seconds left to play. Both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle caught 11 passes for over 170 yards and two scores. It was a personal yardage best for Tagovailoa by 108 yards.

Salute!

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Comedy Yards TDs Tragedy Yards TDs
QB Tua Tagovailoa 469 6 QB Trey Lance 43 0
RB Darrel Williams 62 1 RB James Conner 51 0
RB Raheem Mostert 79 0 RB Ezekiel Elliott 49 0
WR Garrett Wilson 102 2 WR Ja’Marr Chase 54 0
WR Nelson Agholor 110 1 WR DJ Metcalf 35 0
WR Noah Brown 91 1 WR Brandin Cooks 54 0
TE Mike Gesicki 41 1 TE Kyle Pitts  19 0
PK Graham Gano  1 XP   4 FG PK Matt Prater   1 XP
Huddle Fantasy Points = 145 Huddle Fantasy Points = 28

Now get back to work…