Q: Does RB Larry Johnson produce enough to shift responsibility for this loss to the passing game?

A: Let me understate the answer.  Hell no!  Larry Johnson rushed seven times for two yards and was not the recipient of one of the two KC QBs' 15 completions.

Q: Can RBs D'Angelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart run enough to "hurt" the fantasy value of WRs Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammed?

A: D'Angelo Williams rushed for 123 yards, 2 TDs and caught a third.  Jonathan Stewart rushed for 72 yards, and this question was answered in the negative.  Smith had 96 yards and Muhammed had 71 with a TD.  These four accounted for 362 of the Panthers' 441 rushing and receiving yards.  Fantasy players would take that type of concentration from each and every team, each and every week.

Fantasy Player To Trade:  WR Dwayne Bowe.  He has established himself as a WR2 in PPR formats, but the Chiefs will struggle to score TDs through the air.  Cash in his 10-13 points per week.

Q: Do the Broncos stick with the passing game or take a breather and let the rushing attack pound the spongy KC defense?

A: Yes.  The Broncos are a passing team in the mold of the Dan Marion Miami Dolphins.  This is great news for Jay Cutler, Eddie Royal, etc owners as one can rely on these players getting their touches and targets each week.  It is awful news for Selvin Young owners as he is likely to be no better than a desperation start in any week going forward.

Q: With a poor Broncos' pass defense, can Damon Huard & Co. pull the upset of the week?

A: Yup.  Damon Huard filled-in and did everything right.  He completed 75% of his 28 passes without a turnover while Larry Johnson reminded everyone why he was considered a top 3 RB prior to this year's drafts - 198 yards with 2 TDs and five receptions.

Q: Will RB Larry Johnson be productive?

A: After whining about his usage, Larry Johnson produced when his number was called (unlike the previous two games.)  He rushed for a 121 yards and a TD on 24 carries.  Unfortunately, it was not enough to provide some comfort for QB Tyler Thigpen who completed just 14 of 36 passes - none of which went to Larry Johnson.  Rookie RB Jamaal Charles did catch three, though.

Q: Can RB Michael Turner settle nicely somewhere between his Week One performance and his Week Two one?

A: Oh, yeah.  104 yards and 3 TDs on 23 carries is all anyone could hope for.  Heck, if he had just a single TD, it would have been enough.  He did not catch any passes out of the backfield, though.  That limits his value somewhat as the Falcons' offense is not built to pass.

Buy Low Fantasy Player:  TE Tony Gonzalez.  While he has caught 15 passes in three games, his 129 yards will suppress his value.  Who doesn' think a TE averging 43 yards a game isn't fungible?

With the second week of exhibtion games in the books, some conclusions will be drawn heading into the most important game of the pre-season.  Who starts means something next week.

The first week of the exhibition season saw WR Dave Clowney of the New York Jets raise eyebrows the highest with a 169 yard/ 2 Td effort.  His follow-up effort was 4 receptions for 59 yards.  Both lead the team, but I'd feel even better if Brett Favre had completed one of those four passes.

In other notes from the 2nd week of regular-season-priced exhibition games: 

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My third tier of running backs are the “Damned if you do, Damned if you don’t” guys.  Running backs who could finish the season as one of the studs of Fantasy Football 2008, or they could finish as mediocre RB3 type players.   These are also guys that have pundits playing both sides of the street.  If the guys kick butt, all you’ll read about is how EVERYBODY knew they’d do that.  If they guys suck, all you’ll read about is how it was OBVIOUS how that would happen.  To be honest, I hate these guys for that reason.

In alphabetical order….

Marion Barber, Dal  - Marion Barber was a giant fantasy stud for a few weeks, between the time the Cowboys released Julius Jones and the time they drafted Felix Jones.   How much will Barber have to share the ball with Felix?   If he gets the ball at least 200 times this season, he’ll be a fantasy rock star.  The Cowboys just signed him to a seven-year contract with $16 million in guaranteed money too, so they have an incentive to put him to work.  Barber could be considered a Tier 2 RB, but I want to see how Felix Jones in camp before I make that move.

Ryan Grant, GB – More on the Mysterious Mister Grant later on.

Frank Gore, SF – It’s surprising, but Frank Gore actually outgained Joseph Addai by 30 rushing yards last season.  His five rushing touchdowns was the big disappointment and there’s no reason to think that he’s going to significantly increase that number this year.   Mike Martz likes to throw the ball, a lot, all the time.  Martz is making noise about how Gore is “the core” of  the offense, but he’s also talking about how they're going to work DeShaun Foster and even Michael Robinson into the running game too.  I can’t trust my RB1 to a Mike Martz offense, no matter how good they guy might look.

Larry Johnson, KC – LJ was arguably fantasy football’s biggest bust last season.  He was injured and when he wasn’t injured he just plain stunk.  It’s a new year though and a new chance to change a lot of things from last season.  Johnson should be back to full health (good).  The Chiefs drafted a big Guard (Branden Albert) with the 15^th overall pick in the draft (good).  The Chiefs got rid of lousy WRs Samie Parker and Eddie Kennison (good.)  The Chiefs replaced those two guys with Jeff Webb and Davard Darling (bad).  Three of their five projected OL starters have never started an NFL game (bad).  Brodie Croyle is still the QB (bad).  Add it all up and it equals bleah.

Willis McGahee, Bal – McGahee gets a post all to himself later on as well.

The Chiefs’ selection of Jamaal Charles (73^rd overall) is a very interesting one.  On the surface, it looks like the Chiefs are looking for some youth to backup their very highly paid starter, Larry Johnson.  The Chiefs drafted Larry Johnson early when they had arguably the best running back in fantasy football (Priest Holmes) on their roster, there’s every reason to think they’re drafting Charles to sit on the bench for a few seasons as the running back of the future.

Dig a little deeper though, and you have to wonder if the future is a lot nearer than you’d think.  Charles dropped to the third round because he’s not exceptionally big (5’ 11", 200 lbs), but he is a fast, elusive back with decent pass-catching skills.  He would make a great speed back to compliment Johnson’s power back role.  With Johnson suffering from nagging injuries last season, it would seem to be a good idea to have somebody step in and take a few carries to help preserve him for the entire season.   The Chiefs' plan to let Johnson take 400+ carries in 2006 looks pretty stupid in hindsight.

So there are two ways Charles could be used this season.  He could come in as a change-of-pace back, grabbing a few carries each quarter and keeping LJ fresh.   Or, he could be used as the speed component of a full-fledged running back by committee, taking anywhere from 25% to 50% of the carries.  I don’t know what the Chiefs are thinking, but Herm Edwards isn’t known for being flexible and innovative on offense, so I doubt that they’re moving to a "Thunder and Lightning" running back arrangement.

Even if they don’t give Charles a decent share of the carries, Johnson is still an injury risk so Charles is likely to start at least one game this season.  I like Jamaal Charles as a good late round draft pick, a guy you stash on your bench as an RB4 or RB5.  If you draft Larry Johnson, then Charles becomes an essential choice as a running back handcuff.

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