NFL: Week Two Fantasy Football Preview Quick Tips

It is that time of the week where it is time to start rounding out your fantasy lineups and the Pickle is here to give you some fantasy tips on what to look for in this weekend’s matchups.

New Orleans Saints vs. Philadelphia Eagles

With Kevin Kolb likely starting at quarterback one should avoid playing any of the Eagles receivers except for DeSean Jackson and Brent Celek.  Kolb is okay on the short and intermediate routes so expect Celek to be targeted a lot versus the Saints whose linebackers are nothing special.  The Eagles make it a point to get Jackson the ball and his elite speed and elusiveness make him a threat to score any time he touches the ball.

With the game being in Philadelphia Drew Brees is a candidate for a let down game this week.  Consider that he threw just 11 touchdowns and had 12 interceptions and had an 80.3 quarterback rating on the road last season.

Pierre Thomas practiced Wednesday and is reportedly going to be good to go for Sunday but how many carries he gets after Mike Bell’s sparkling debut in week one remains to be seen.

Donovan McNabb has been officially listed as doubtful and according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter no player has ever played during Andy Reid’s tenure that was listed as doubtful on the team’s Friday injury report.

Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons

Given that the Eagles steamrolled the Panthers to the tune of 185 yards on the ground in week one look for Michael Turner to have a big game for the Falcons.  The Panthers are sorely missing Maake Kemoeatu, their run-stuffing defensive tackle who eats up blockers to free up linebacker Jon Beason.

Carolina running back Jonathan Stewart was back in practice Thursday after missing a couple of days due to recurring soreness in his Achilles.  He should be good to go Sunday barring any setbacks in practice this week.

Jake Delhomme is toxic as a fantasy quarterback right now and owners should consider benching him until he shows he is over the yips from last season’s playoff finale.  With Delhomme struggling as much as he is look for the Panthers to attempt to establish and feature the running game early on.  Williams and/or Stewart could be in for big games if that happens.

Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions

With the Lions surrendering 358 yards through the air and 157 on the ground Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, and company could be in for big days.  The Vikings offense is not as explosive as the Saints and one doubts the Vikings are going to put up 500 yards of offense or score 45 points for that matter.  One should expect Favre to throw for a lot more than 110 yards he had against Cleveland.  It is not out of the realm of possibility for Peterson to go for another 180 yards though.  If Mike Bell can roll up 143 yards there is no reason to believe Peterson will not do the same.

Just like last year anyone playing against the Lions looks to be a good fantasy play for the week.

Fantasy owners should stay away from playing Stafford.  The Vikings defense is infinitely better than the Saints and it would be a bit much to expect Stafford to have a breakout game against Minnesota.  One should probably expect another performance similar to what he did against the Saints if not worse.

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Green Bay Packers

Neither team was terribly impressive on offense last week.  Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw for just 187 yards and fifty of those came on the game-winning touchdown he threw with just over a minute to go, and the Bengals put just 7 points on the board.

Carson Palmer looks to rebound from a zero touchdown two interception performance against Denver.  The Bears were able to complete several deep throws against Green Bay’s secondary.  Look for the Bengals to try and exploit that with some deep throws to Chad Ochocinco and Chris Henry, if he is healthy enough to play.

The Packers were able to bottle up Matt Forte so do not expect a huge day from Cedric Benson.

Expect a better game out of Rodgers who should get more time to throw the ball against a Bengals defense whose pass rush is not nearly as strong as Chicago’s.

Houston Texans vs. Tennessee Titans

The Titans are looking to rebound from a tough loss in Pittsburgh while the Texans are hoping to bounce back from a disappointing home opener versus the Jets.  The Titans lost a tough one where special teams play let them down while the Texans looked completely unprepared against the Jets.

Look for the Texans to get Andre Johnson going early in this one.  The Titans’ secondary was a bit suspect against the Steelers so look for Schaub and Johnson to put up better numbers than they did against the Jets.

The Titans look to be tough against the run again this year despite losing beefy DT Albert Haynesworth.  Do not expect a big game from Steve Slaton this week.

Look for Chris Johnson and LenDale White to bounce back from sub-par outings against the Steelers and get back to business as usual against the Texans.

Tight ends Bo Scaife and Jared Cook did not practice for the Titans on Wednesday and are questionable for this weekend’s game meaning Alge Crumpler could draw the start.

Oakland Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Matt Cassel is practicing this week but it his status for Sunday’s game is still up in the air as he is still experiencing some discomfort in his injured knee.

Larry Johnson’s job is rumored to be on the line so look for him to play more inspired than he did against the Ravens.

The Raiders should continue to feature the running game with Michael Bush and Darren McFadden coming off of strong games.

Expect JaMarcus Russell to be better this weekend against a very suspect Chiefs defense that allowed over 300 yards to Joe Flacco.  The Chiefs are still struggling to find any kind of a pass rush getting to Flacco just one time in the season opener.

New England Patriots vs. New York Jets

The Jets are hyped up for this one so expect a heavy hitting affair in New Jersey this weekend.

Mark Sanchez is a prime candidate for a let down game this weekend.  This will be his first real test as a starting quarterback and Bill Belichick has a rep for devising defensive schemes that confuse young quarterbacks.

The Jets did a good job stifling Steve Slaton last week and one should not expect a huge day on the ground for the Pats who struggled to run the ball against the Bills.

Expect the Pats to go heavy on the pass attack.  With Darrelle Revis drawing the assignment of sticking on Randy Moss look for guys like Wes Welker, Joey Galloway, and Benjamin Watson to pick up the slack and have strong games this Sunday.

The Jets need  some secondary receivers to step up and compliment Jerricho Cotchery, Chansi Stuckey, and Dustin Keller if they want to win this weekend.

With Jerod Mayo out of the game look for the Jets to exploit this and feature Thomas Jones and Leon Washington between the tackles.

The Jets will likely look to establish the run early to keep Sanchez from having to make big plays early and let him settle into the game.

St. Louis Rams vs. Washington Redskins

The Rams were pathetic on both sides of the ball against the Seahawks allowing 28 points and failing to score in their season opener.

The ‘Skins are pretty stout against the run and with the Rams passing game being as mediocre as it is do not expect a huge day from Steven Jackson as Washington is likely to stack the line and dare the Rams to beat them through the air.

Look for Clinton Portis to bounce back with a strong game against a Rams defense that allowed 167 yards to Seattle.

Expect Santana Moss to have significantly better numbers than the two catches for six yards he had against the Giants.

Chris Cooley should get his usual five or six catches against the Rams.

Arizona Cardinals vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville allowed almost 300 yards to the Colts last week so look for the Cards to feature the passing game this weekend.  Expect Warner, Fitgerald, Boldin, and company to have strong games on Sunday.

Maurice Jones-Drew should get at least 25 carries in this game as the Jags will look to control the tempo via their run game to keep the Cardinals high octane offense off the field.

Steve Breaston was a partial participant in practice on Thursday meaning his availability for Sunday’s game is doubtful.

Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers

Look for Frank Gore to bounce back from a sub-par effort against the Cardinals.

Do not expect the Seahawks to roll up as many rushing yards as they did against the hapless Rams.

Matt Hasselbeck’s numbers are likely to fall back a bit as well.  The Niners defense is just that much better than the Rams.

Seattle WR T. J. Houshmandzadeh missed his second day of practice on Thursday with back spasms.  If the back does not settle down he could be a no go come Sunday.

San Francisco WR Brandon Jones is back at practice this week but is not expected to play this Sunday.

Deion Branch is back at practice for the Seahawks this week but it is unlikely that he will play and if he does it will be in a limited role.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Buffalo Bills

The Bills lost a heart-breaker to the Pats while the Bucs defense was awful against the Cowboys.

Look for Trent Edwards, Lee Evans, and Terrell Owens to have big games against a Bucs secondary that was torched for 344 yards against the Cowboys.

Tampa WR Antonio Bryant has been limited in practice due to his surgically repaired knee flaring up on him.

Buffalo look strong against the run this year so do not expect the Bucs to roll up another 174 rushing yards this weekend.  Cadillac Williams and Derrick Ward should still have solid games just not as strong as they had against Dallas.

If Bryant cannot go this weekend look for the Bucs to feature more two TE sets meaning Kellen Winslow and Jerramy Stevens could be candidates for big games.  Keep in mind Pats TE Benjamin Watson torched the Bills defense for a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Chicago Bears

Both teams will be without their team leaders on defense with Brian Urlacher being lost for the year with a dislocated wrist and Troy Polamalu sitting out with a banged up knee.

With Polamalu out of action look for the Bears to take some shots down field to Johnny Knox and Devin Hester.  Both could be candidates to put up decent yardage numbers this weekend.

Do not expect much from Matt Forte as the Steelers will likely focus on stopping him and force Jay Cutler to beat them by throwing to his mediocre receiving corps.

The Bears were still tough to run against even after Urlacher went out and the Steelers really struggled to establish a ground attack against the Titans.  Look for the Steelers to try and win via the passing game again and do not expect a lot from Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall, or Mewelde Moore.

Chicago tight end Desmond Clark is out for the foreseeable future with a broken rib.

Pittsburgh wideout Limas Sweed is not expected to play this weekend meaning Mike Wallace will be the #3 receiver for the Steelers.

Baltimore Ravens vs. San Diego Chargers

The Ravens are still strong against the run and with LaDanian Tomlinson nursing a sore ankle to do not expect a lot from the Chargers ground attack.

Darren Sproles is likely to see more carries with Tomlinson nursing an injury.

The Chargers rush defense looked weak on Monday so look for Ray Rice to have another strong game running the ball for the Ravens.

Rivers will still get his.  It just does not seem to matter who he is playing he just seems to produce.

Todd Heap should have another strong game this week.

Antonio Gates is a candidate for a come down game with Ed Reed roaming the middle of the field.

Tight end L. J. Smith was back at practice for the Ravens this week and could see limited action for the Ravens this weekend.

LaDanian Tomlinson has been officially ruled out of this week’s game with a sore ankle meaning Darren Sproles will get the bulk of the carries at running back.

Cleveland Browns vs. Denver Broncos

Braylon Edwards and Brady Quinn are clearly not on the same page in Cleveland and this could continue to be a problem throughout the year.  The addition of Champ Bailey to the mix is not likely to help matters any.

Look for the Broncos to feature the running game against a Browns defense that surrendered 225 yards on the ground to the Vikings last Sunday.

This could be Knowshon Moreno’s breakout game as a pro.

With the Broncos being pretty solid at the corners look for Quinn to look for tight end Robert Royal in the passing attack.  During his short stint as the starter last season Quinn favored tight end Kellen Winslow.

New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys

One should not expect Tony Romo to throw for 353 yards against the Giants.  Their pass rush is too good for Romo to get the kind of time he saw against the Buccaneers.

Look for Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs to have big games against a Dallas defense that cannot seem to stop the run any more.

Manning’s numbers will probably drop off this week as Coughlin likes to stick with the run when it is firing on all cylinders, and, Dallas’ pass rush is much stronger than the Redskins and Manning tends to rush things when pressured.

Tony Romo and Felix Jones both participated in practice this week and are expected to play on Sunday.

Hakeem Nicks is out with a foot injury.

Danny Ware is still working his way back from an elbow injury.

Giants DL Chris Canty has been ruled out for this weekend’s game due to a calf injury.

Indianapolis Colts vs. Miami Dolphins

Look for the Dolphins to run often and pass only when necessary.  The Colts defense is still a bit soft against the run but pretty solid against the pass.

Do not expect a lot out of Joseph Addai and Donald Brown as the ‘Phins bottled up Michael Turner in week one.

Look for Dallas Clark to have a big game for the Colts this weekend.

With Anthony Gonzalez on the shelf Pierre Garcon and Austin C0llie look to be the immediate beneficiaries.  It is unlikely that Hank Baskett sees extended action as he is still learning the offense.

Miami tight end David Martin was placed on IR this week after having knee surgery to repair torn cartilage.

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