Nothing is worst then one of your first four or five picks not producing to the expectations you had. It’s only been two weeks and some owners are ready to wheel and deal, giving up hope that heir ‘’star’’ player will never be that guy. Here is a list of some players who will eventually break out and others who you should ship out of town before reality sets in.
Buy Low
Joe Flacco – Through the first two weeks of the season, Flacco and the Ravens offense have looked pathetic. A good reason for that is facing two of the top four defenses from a season ago in the Jets and the Bengals on the road. Fantasy owners of Flacco should know the schedule gets easier with the Browns on deck this weekend in the team’s home debut. Outside of the two games against the Steelers and one more game vs. the Bengals, Flacco has a relatively soft schedule for the rest of the 2010. We will see him utilize his new weapons Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh on route to what could be a 4,000 yard season. It’s hard to imagine Flacco declining with more weapons at his disposal? Flacco has taken giant steps improving from 2,971 passing yards in his rookie season to 3,613 yards in his sophomore campaign. I look at Flacco as a top 10 quarterback from here on out and someone who could be made available by a frustrated owner.
DeAngelo Williams/ Jonathan Stewart – Has there been a worst running back duo in the NFL then the two Panthers backs? On the season Williams has 116 rushing yards on 33 carries while Stewart has rushed for 55 yards on 13 carries in two Carolina loses. Coach John Fox might have forgotten this, but the Panthers need to run the ball 30 times a game, and I think that will be a priority with switching from Matt Moore to rookie Jimmy Clausen. The previous two seasons the Panthers have been the number three rushing offense in football. As an offense Carolina started slow last season as well, and both running backs finished with over 1,100 yards each and combined for 17 touchdowns on the ground. Look for both of them to finish with similar numbers to last season as the Panthers offense has a light at the end of the tunnel.
Brandon Marshall - If you’re not in a ppr league, the start of Marshall has been disappointing, but like the Ravens and Panthers, the Dolphins offense has struggled mightily. Marshall has 12 catches for 124 receiving yards in an offense that has scored 20 points so far through two games. So you can point the blame at Marshall, but everyone on the offense has played poor so far. The Dolphins faced the third best pass defense from a year in the Bills and a Vikings secondary that contained Drew Brees to 237 yards and one passing touchdown. Chad Henne only had 15 passing attempts in his last game, but he should test cornerback Antonio Cromartie on Sunday in a very favorable matchup for Marshall with Darrelle Revis out due to injury. With over 1,100 yards receiving the last three seasons, there is no reason to think Marshall won’t put together another dynamic season on this possible super bowl contender
Sell High
Steve Smith CAR - Coming into the season I had Smith ranked a s top 10 receiver and so far he’s lived up to my ranking with 141 yards and two touchdowns through his first two contests. In fact with Moore under center, Smith has 27 receptions 519 receiving yards and five touchdowns in six games going back to last season. It’s obvious these two had a connection, so with the change at quarterback to Clausen I am little nervous being a Smith owner. Rookie quarterbacks can be so unpredictable they either play like Matt Ryan or Joey Harrington. Since I believe the Panthers will start to excel at running the ball, I would look for Smiths numbers to decline while Carolina plays smash mouth football. It’s possible the quarterback doesn’t matter for Smith, but I would be weary with someone who has zero experience in the N.F.L. throwing him the ball. While it’s unfair to judge Clausen, I fear a repeat of Jake Delhomme of a season ago.
Austin Collie – While I think Collie is likely to have a solid season, he is not as a good as the number suggest. Collie went off in week one going for 163 receiving yards and a touchdown, it should be noted the Colts were passing like crazy because they were losing. How many times this season will Indianapolis be losing going into the fourth quarter? Going against the Giants on Sunday night, Collie score but on an offense that spreads the ball out, Collie can’t be relied especially since he’s the fourth receiving option behind Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon and Dallas Clark. After watching the Colts offense vs. New York, it’s also possible that Joseph Addai and Donald Brown start to see significant touches after combining for 160 yards on 43 attempts. Collie has played a number two receiver so far, but in reality he is nothing more than bye week fill in. I would move Collie immediately for the likes of Donald Driver or Derrick Mason if made available to me.