FANTASY FURNACE

There were many outstanding performances in week #2, some were even record-breaking. Some with names that you probably don’t even have on your roster. And then there were those that disappointed the owners who drafted them so soon (and in most cases so high) on draft day. Here is a list of both studs and duds that stood out last week:

• STUDS

Eli Manning-QB-Giants- Against a pretty good defense that had given up only 10 points to Cam Newton and the Panthers a week earlier, Eli and the Giants teed off for quadruple that amount on Sunday at Met Life Stadium. Down by as many as 14 at one point, Eli threw the rock 51 times for 520 yards eclipsing the previous record held by Phil Simms who set it in 1985 with 513 passing yards. The only other Giants QB to pass for 500 or more yards in a game was Y.A. Tittle; 505 yards in 1962.

#10 Eli Manning joined the 500 yard club in Giants Franchise history with his come-from-behind win over Tampa Bay. Photo: celebs101.com

Donte Rosario-TE-Chargers- How many of you had him on your roster? QB Philip Rivers has his number in the red zone several times on Sunday as Rosario had four receptions for 48 yards and three touchdowns. Here’s a guy that hadn’t scored a touchdown since he was with the Panthers in 2009! In fact he had never scored more than 2 TDs in one season in his five-year career! Antonio Gates (sore ribs) is expected back this week so don’t go & grab Rosario up off of waivers just yet.

Reggie Bush-RB-Dolphins- The former 1st round second overall pick of the Saints in 2006, lit it up yesterday with 26 carries for 172 yards and two touchdowns. After that performance Bush became the second leading rusher in the league behind C.J. Spiller.  Bush rushed for 71 yards with one fumble in a 24-6 loss to the N.Y. Jets in week 5 last year. He’ll face the Jets at home next week.

Hakeem Nicks/Victor Cruz-WRs-Giants- These two receivers were the recipient of the majority of Eli Manning’s passes collecting a combined 371 receiving yards between them and two touchdowns. Nicks (199 yards) was targeted a team high 15 times while Cruz (179 yards)  caught 11 passes and then acknowledged his Grandmother after scoring his lone TD as she was the one responsible for him learning his now famous Salsa endzone dance.

• DUDS

Chris Johnson-RB-Titans- Another lackluster day for the former 1st rounder. The Titans had to play catch-up for most of the game once again but C J’s 8 rushes for 17 yards brought his two-week total to 19 carries for just 21 yards; a 1.1 YPC average. At this point most of Johnson’s owners are scratching their heads as his numbers continue to slide. In his 1st two weeks of the season last year he had 77 rushing yards, 2010 176 yards & 2 TDs, and 2009 254 yards & 2 TDs. Not a good sign.

#28 RB Chris Johnson’s numbers have been plummeting for the past 4 seasons and owners are growing impatient. Photo: sportsillustrated.com

Tim Tebow-QB-Jets- The talk around the Jets camp before the season started was that Tebow was to be in 15-20 plays per game. He came in for 9 plays in week 1 and just 3 on Sunday, all in the 3rd quarter. He has 33 rushing yards in the 2 games and has no completions. It would be hard to believe that he will be back next season if this trend continues, especially if Sanchez stays healthy.

Jamaal Charles-RB-Chiefs- Charles, who blew out his knee (torn ACL) on Sept. 18th last season re-injured his surgically repaired knee during Sunday’s game but prior to that his 6 attempts for 7 yards were nothing to write home about. For the season he has 22 carries for 90 yards and no touchdowns. Another reason why we always are a little leery of drafting players coming off major injuries.

Kevin Ogletree-WR-Cowboys- Feel bad for the over 2 million owners who ran to the waiver wire to grab this potential stud after his amazing first game vs the Giants when he caught 8 passes for 114 yards and 2 TDs. Week two was a completely different story. Tony Romo threw 40 passes but only one to Ogletree for 26 yards. We would recommend that you keep him on the bench for another week until or unless he proves his worth.