Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

—Written by Brian Dezelske
—Edited by Marc Caviglia

Robert Griffin III had another fantastic fantasy football performance in Week 2, backing up his Week 1 outing. C.J. Spiller added to his fantasy allure as well, while Chris Johnson and his 17 yards rushing further proves the reality behind why owners are in a frenzy over what to do with him.
Fortunately there were new faces that emerged to help out fantasy owners, and there are also new guys that tanked as well. So, let’s dive in and examine the highs and lows this past week’s performances.

Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears

It looks like we found out that the Chicago Bears have done nothing to fix their offensive line issues. Jay Cutler was running for his life—the team got ran out of the building—Thursday night by a 23-10 beating at the hands of the Green Bay Packers.

Not all is to be blamed on the big guys up front though; when a quarterback throws four INTs in a game, he has to shoulder some of the blame.

Cutler has been known for having days like this in the past, but he can also put up some big numbers as well. In 2008, his last season with the Denver Broncos and having Brandon Marshall as a teammate, he posted eight 300-yard games—one of those was a 447-yard performance. He finished that season with 25 TDs which isn’t his best work, but it gives you a glimpse of what he can accomplish with Brandon Marshall as his go-to receiver.

This week Cutler and Marshall welcome the St. Louis Rams to the Windy City. The Rams are giving up 272 YPG and a 67.5 percent completion percentage over the first two games of the season. Look for the Bears QB to take advantage of the mismatch they have over the Rams secondary; this should help Cutler have a nice bounce-back week.

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Jamal Charles, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

In week 1, Jamal Charles looked as if he was on his way back with 16 carries for 84 yards. Week 2 was a different story. Charles only received six carries and rushed for a Chris Johnson-like three yards. Peyton Hillis was given 11 carries and rushed for 66 yards in the blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills.

To make things a little worse, Charles felt some soreness in that knee that caused him to miss the 2011 season. Head Coach Romeo Crennel decided to sit him and let Hills and Shaun Draughn work the rest of the game.

The sense here is that the Kansas City Chiefs are going to be very careful with their star running back over the next couple of weeks, which means his touches will be limited. Gut feeling says that this three-yard stinker is a fluke of sorts and owners just need to be patient. Non-owners need to be on the lookout for crazed owners wanting to dump him off. He is a great buy-low candidate right now to help out your team later in the season.

Mark Sanchez, QB, New York Jets

How quick things can change in the NFL from one week to the next. In the first game of the season, Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets took the Buffalo Bills out to the woodshed. Sanchez went for 266 yards and three touchdowns on 70 percent passing.

Against a real team in the Pittsburgh Steelers, with real players on defense, Marky Mark threw for 138 yards and one TD on 37 percent passing—proving that his Week 1 performance was of a very fluky nature.

Next week the Jets head to South Beach to take on the Miami Dolphins in an AFC East showdown. If Sanchez struggles early, we might actually see Tim Tebow take some series away from him rather than just a snap here and there. Miami’s defense ranks 30th in the league against the pass, leaving the “Sanchise” a great opportunity to bounce back and get back in the good graces with Jets fans… at least until the following week.

Green Bay Packers Receivers, WR, Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers defense absolutely terrorized Jay Cutler and that Chicago Bears offense. They finished with four INTs and seven sacks, leaving Jay Cutler beat up, demoralized and wanting to call mommy.

However, the Packers offense didn’t do too much to help the cause. Cedric Benson had a nice 81 yards on 20 carries, but Aaron Rodgers only threw for 219 yards, one TD and a pick. While Jordy Nelson finished the night with six catches for 84 yards, the combination of Jermichael Finley, Randall Cobb, James Jones and Donald Driver racked up a measly eight grabs for 71 yards—Driver’s only catch was the only TD pass of the night.

Nobody wanted to step up in place of the injured Greg Jennings who sat out with a groin injury. The Bears defense is really good, but the Packers offense shouldn’t be struggling like they have over the first couple weeks of the season.

Fantasy owners should be on alert, because it doesn’t get any easier for the Pack in Week 3 as they head to Seattle to face another tough defense on Monday night. The Seahawks are only allowing 56.6 percent of passes to be completed, and are coming off a huge win against the Dallas Cowboys.

Recent history would indicate that this is just a little rough patch that the Packers need to fight through and then they’ll be just fine, but this is worth monitoring closely. How does that old saying go? “Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence and three’s a trend.”

Andre Johnson, WR, Houston Texans

Everyone has such high hopes for this guy and he’s only really delivered in two seasons; injuries have been the main issue with him since the 2010, however, it wasn’t much of an issue prior to that season.
The truth is he’s never reached 10 TDs in a single season, since being draft No. 2 overall back in 2003 out of Miami. He’s considered on the wrong side of 30 in terms of age in the NFL goes and he’s only going to lose steps from here on out.

His Week 2 performance is proof of that. Johnson was only targeted four times and finished the day with 21 yards on three catches. In fairness he receives a ton of double coverage, but that fairness doesn’t help the fantasy teams he’s on.

Next week doesn’t get any easier for Johnson either. The Houston Texans travel to the Mile High City to face a Denver Broncos team that is boasts a Top 10 pass defense. After they leave Denver, they’ll face Tennessee, NY Jets, Green Bay Packers and the Baltimore Ravens in order. Fantasy owners should hope for a nice outing in the next couple weeks, and then look to sell him high.