Misconceptions Week 2: The Demise of Coby Fleener & The Rise of RGIII

A lot has been made recently about LeSean McCoy's decision to tip a meager twenty cents. The stud back for the Eagles is making over seven million dollars this year but opted to tip 1/5 of a dollar to a waiter probably making minimum wage? What a jerk-wad right?

Wrong.

McCoy complained that the service was horrendous and the staff was genuinely disrespectful to him and his party. A simple yelp search of the restaurant tells you the same story: good burgers, bad waiters. The owner seems like he lacks moral boundaries...since when was it appropriate to post a patron's receipt on social media?

The issue here  is not whether McCoy or the wait staff was in the right. It's the notion that we all judged LeSean before we knew the whole story. That's a basic human tendency that we are all susceptible to: judging before we know anything.

And it doesn't just apply to these situations in our real life, it applies to fantasy football.

Your team put up 55 points last week and got embarrassed. That isn't the whole story, it's the first chapter. Don't trade Peyton Manning, don't panic. You need to give your team about four weeks before you can start tossing players aside.

Don't judge based on a single game and your team's miserable performance. Wait until the whole story comes out.

And with those wonderful words of wisdom we take a look at some of the popular Week 2 theories and whether they hold water or not.

Theory 1: Coby Fleener is best left untouched

I have a good friend who's from Indiana and recently told me "Coby Fleener is about to have a breakout year."

Hold your horses there pal.

If week one was at all indicative then Fleener is almost certainly having a down year fantasy wise. He made a few significant bonehead errors, something that has become a bit of a Fleener trademark at this point, and was on the field for a fewer percentage of offensive plays than fellow tight-end Dwayne Allen.

The question here really is was this week one indicative. In this instance I have to say it was.

Fleener ended up hauling in three passes for 21 yards in a game in which the Colts were trailing by a lot and had to throw the ball to stay in it. While that was happening and the Stanford product was laying an egg on the field Allen was extremely impressive, gaining 60 yards on four catches, highlighted by a very athletic touchdown pass that was manufactured by his legs more than the throw.

Final Verdict: I'd look for Fleener to maybe churn out a couple of points, but with guys like Allen and Jermaine Gresham probably sitting on your waiver wire untouched there are simply better options out there this week then Fleener. Let sleeping dogs lie.

Theory 2: Find someone other than RGIII to play QB this week

Did you not hear me when I said to not judge your team based on week 1? Griffin went up against a frightening Houston front with J.J. Watt and a bit of Jadaveon Clowney before he got hurt.

He also was adjusting to playing real-time football without his knee brace (preseason doesn't count), a huge adjustment for even the best athlete.

This week he has a game of experience, a much kinder defense (Jacksonville), and really nowhere to go but up.

Final Verdict: Don't buy it. Look for a bounce back. At least looking for mid teens to low twenties against a nice and easy defense in a bounce back performance. If he struggles after this game....then we'll revisit this.

Theory 3: Get rid of Eli Manning

Boy it really wasn't pretty on Monday for Eli and the G-Men. He looked like he was doing a really awful Aaron Rodgers impersonation, genuinely struggling in the new West Coast system New York is adopting. You can't even use the stifling blitz excuse as the majority of Eli's throws came against basic four man fronts.

I'm torn about Eli. On one hand he was pathetic. The whole offense looked anemic. On the other hand he is a two time super bowl winner and a professional. If there's a place for Joe Flacco there should be place for Eli Manning on fantasy rosters.

Final Verdict: Don't buy it for now. Don't play him this week against a very good Arizona defense but keep him at least until week 5 against Atlanta and see what he has. If he can pick it up against Houston's front in week 3 he could get it going especially with some weapons around him (Victor Cruz, Odell Beckham if/when he's back, Reuben Randle, etc). My gut tells me he'll make it work and finish as a top half of the league quarterback. Just give the man some time.

That's what I've got for this week. Get rid of Fleener, Play RGIII, and hold on to Young Manning for a bit.

Best of luck and happy tinkering!