FANTASY FURNACE

It was great having football back last weekend! Drafts are over and the craziness that was week #1 is now in the books. Now comes the hard part. Deciding which of the several breakout stars of week 1 to grab or just leave alone. However, the pickups made before week 2 are usually the most important for grabbing potential studs. Study carefully and consider some of these choices we’ve made for you:

1. Alfred Morris-RB-Redskins- No surprise with this pickup as he made fantasy headlines with his breakout week 1 performance vs the Saints. He compiled 96 yards and 2 touchdowns, singling himself as the new starting back in Washington. With his 28 carries it is no secret that Morris will be the main go-to-back and, at worst, will end up at least as a RB2 with many of the goal line carries going his way. To say this is a Must Add would be an understatement!  Just remember as long as Mike Shanahan is the coach there will be some mystery attached to any back on his team. Of course with the Rams on tap in week 2, Morris is an absolute start should you be lucky enough to get him.

#46 Redskins RB Alfred Morris is a Must Add this week after his 96 rushing yards and 2 scores vs the Saints on Sunday. Photo: SI.com

2. Kevin Ogletree-WR-Cowboys- Over 180,000 owners snatched up the wideout within 24 hours of his season debut on Wednesday night vs the Giants. Over 2 million have grabbed the upstart WR in the 3 days that followed. If he’s still a part of your waiver wire, you can feel free to pick him up but temper your expectations as there are other weapons on the Cowboys (Miles Austin, Jason Witten) who, if they were playing at 100% last Wednesday and against a team with a viable healthy secondary, Ogletree doesn’t have the game of his life. If you have bench room, go ahead and get him. If not there are other WRs available with a bigger upside.

3. Randall Cobb-WR-Packers- Case in point. Cobb was targeted and ended up with the most receptions on the Pack at 9-and that’s with a healthy bunch of receivers such as  Jordy Nelson, Jermichael, and veteran Greg Jennings on the field. What I like is the other bonus you get with Cobb and that’s his return capabilities as witnessed on Sunday when he ran a punt return back 75 yards for a touchdown. You would have to check if points are given for return yards and/or return touchdowns in your league, and if they are then Cobb is someone you can add with confidence.

#19 WR Randall Cobb makes for a great addition to your roster for his receiving talent and return threat on special teams. Photo: articles.philly.com

4. Stephen Hill-WR-Jets- The Jets second round pick out of Georgia Tech looked good in pre-season but exploded on Sunday for 5 receptions for 89 yards and two scores. There seems to be a chemistry forming between Sanchez and Hill which could relate into a sleeper season for Hill. Of course a lot depends on Mark Sanchez and what we see over two of the next three games. Passing could become more of a nightmare for the former 1st rounder when he faces Pittsburgh and San Francisco. No easy task there but we still believe that Hill has the talent in the long run and is worth a  pickup in most formats.

#84 WR Stephen Hill should be considered in most formats after his 2 touchdowns vs the Bills on Sunday. Photo: dailynews.com

5.Dennis Pitta-TE-Ravens- I realize that this choice is based on a small sampling from this 4th round pick in the 2012 draft, but he did have the most receptions and receiving yards of any other receiver on the Ravens on MNF which shows the confidence that Joe Flacco has in the youngster. The other TE Ed Dickson who had 22 yards receiving was utilized more in blocking schemes and although still blessed with great hands, there are more and more teams opting to go with two or more TEs after seeing what has happened in New England the past couple of years. We certainly recommend taking a flier on Pitta and in deeper leagues would even suggest picking him up.

 6. Defense/Special Teams- There are two in this category that would be serviceable options for Week #2:

• Oakland Raiders- All in all the Raiders defense held the Chargers to just just one passing touchdown and five field goals. This week they’ll face one of the most anemic offenses in the league when they travel to Miami. In Ryan Tannehill, they’ll face a QB who last week was intercepted 3 times and sacked 3 times as well.
• Cincinnati Bengals- Here too the Bengals will go up against another weak, inexperienced Browns quarterback in Brandon Weeden who threw four interceptions, coughed up two fumbles, and was sacked twice vs the Eagles last Sunday. His single digit QB rating (5.1) will tell you they are ripe for the taking making the Bengals a good addition to your roster this week.