🏈 Thursday Night Lights

Good morning. The Commish is back. Hope everyone had a great Week 1 - if not, don’t panic. Lots of football still to be played. 

Hey John, thanks for nothing

After a frustrating Week 1 saw Ty’Son Williams have a hot start, only to be sat for Lat Murray in the second half, Harbaugh further muddies the waters:

The Ravens’ backfield is looking like a 4-headed monster. If you have Lat Murray (or any other Baltimore RB), try to move him to an owner who already has another Ravens back. I find people over-value owning an entire backfield. This backfield will be a headache all year.

Our Thursday Night Preview - WFT vs WTF

Week 2 kicks off with a divisional matchup between the New York Giants visiting the Washington Football Team. One thing’s for sure - this will not be as good as last Thursday’s game.

Washington is 3.5 point favorites at home, with a total over/under score of 40.5. That’s a low-scoring game, 20 points less than the Cowboys Buccs matchup last Thursday. You do not want many players from this game starting in your fantasy lineups.

Washington Football Team (WFT)

Washington was forced into a QB change after Ryan Fitzpatrick suffered a hip injury in Week 1.

Last year's almost-playoff hero Taylor Heinicke is now under center for the Footballs (ya, we’re calling them the Footballs). Heinicke wasn’t bad in limited action Week 1, completing 11 for 15 passes for 122 yards and a TD. Heinicke lacks the upside of Fitz-Magic, but has a higher floor and is less erratic. Only consider starting Heinicke in deep, 2-QB formats. Besides that, he shouldn’t be anywhere near your lineup.

Heinicke is a strong enough passer to keep Terry McLaurin, Antonio Gibson, and Logan Thomas fantasy viable. Those are the only three players from the Footballs I am comfortable starting this week. Gibson is nursing a shoulder injury, but it’s just a shoulder bruise. 

The Washington D/ST is a top 5 play against the Daniel Jones-led Giants.

New York Giants (WTF)

The Giants come into this game as 3.5 point road underdogs with a team total of 18.5, playing against a top defense in the league.

Doesn’t sound promising, does it? Especially from a fantasy perspective.

Daniel Jones should not be started in any league.

But let's talk about their star RB Saquon Barkley. In his first game back from an ACL tear that cost him his 2020 season, Saquon started slowly. 10 carries and one catch for 27 yards total. Wasn’t startable, and I don’t expect that to change.

On a short week, against the Footballs defense. If you drafted Saquon, I hope you have other options - I wouldn’t start him. Especially after seeing this:

As a fan of football, I hope they rest Saquon and give him time to recover and gear up for the rest of the season. We want to see the real Saquon - one of the most exciting players in the league.

If Saquon rests, Devontae Booker becomes an RB3 on volume alone; if you own Saquon, grab Booker.

Sterling Shepard had a day, with a 7-113-1 line. Despite the surprising performance, I have Shepard at WR40 for the week. He’s a flex option, at best, as the top Giants pass catcher.

Kenny Golladay falls right behind Shepard at WR 41. Despite hurting his hammy in training camp, Kenny G looked solid in the opener, going 4 for 64.  After these two pass catchers, I would not be starting anyone on the Giants. Evan Engram is already ruled for the game...

Overall this game could stink for fantasy, but just remember March. In March, we would pay big bucks for a shitty Thurday night game. Sit down and enjoy football - we only get 4 months of it. 

Still deep

A few more deep dives worth checking out 👇

And even more Cordarrelle Patterson love

I know none of you do this, sad to see hateful messages like this:

Odell? Odell Beckham?

• Odell Beckham Jr. is OUT for Week 2. I respect OBJ saying he did not feel comfortable, making the smart choice for his career.

• Rookie 3rd round pick Anthony Schwartz surprisingly was next in the pecking order over Peoples-Jones, but neither are fantasy viable. Without OBJ expect the Browns to run a lot of 2 or 3 TEs sets, as they have 3 good TEs on the roster. Establishing the run and play-action from these sets will be common. Let just all pray for OBJ to be back on the field, the NFL is a better place with him.

Urban Meyer? USC?

This has to be one of the most unconvincing answers I have seen in a while. Although I do not expect Urban Meyer to leave the Jags for USC, let’s hope he does for the sake of all James Robinson owners and Trevor Lawrence’s career. 

Let's check back into this story when the Jags are 1 and 12, a dumpster fire, and Urban finally realizes this ain’t college (where you don't have more athletic players than opponents like he did at THE Ohio State and Florida on route to national titles). 

Tweet of the Day

GOOD LUCK IN WEEK 2.

- Maciek, The Commish

The Morning Huddle: an (almost) daily newsletter full of fantasy football news, memes, and stats - giving you the edge to win titles and the laughs to enjoy every minute of it.

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