RADIO
We’re only heading into Week 2 of the NFL season, but that doesn’t mean fantasy owners aren’t already panicking about players who underperformed in their opening contest. Even if it cost you a win, a star player putting up a dud in the first week of the season isn’t exactly the end of the world.
Having said that, it’s important to take note of some of the more eyebrow-raising clunkers in an effort to monitor them more closely in the coming weeks.
Overall, the purpose of this article is twofold. Depending on player performance, I’m here to either talk you off of the ledge or convince you to abandon ship. You won’t see a whole lot of the latter in this first edition considering how early it is, but either way that’s what you should expect in the coming weeks.
Peyton Manning – QB, DEN
Of all the players that disappointed fantasy owners in the first week, this is by far the biggest name. Peyton Manning finished with just 175 yards, one interception, and zero touchdowns. Even scarier than that, over his last five regular season games, he actually has more interceptions than touchdowns at seven to three. As the old adage goes, Father Time is in fact undefeated so it’s inevitable that Peyton is going to fall off at some point. That said, it’s still only one week into the 2015 season, so let’s not get too crazy just yet.
Usually, if I own a top-five fantasy QB I prefer not to bother with a high-end backup since you (hopefully) only need him for your starter’s bye week. With Peyton off to a slow start, you bet your tuchus I’m grabbing the likes of Carson Palmer or Marcus Mariota off of the waiver wire in case this turns out to be for real.
I’m not completely bailing on Manning just yet, but I’m most certainly concerned. You’re likely not going to be able to get top dollar for him right now anyway, so it’s not like you can run out and trade him (barring a deal that blows you away). I’m willing to give this one a little more time to develop, but not much.
Calvin Johnson – WR, DET
After an injury-riddled season in 2014, the expectations for Calvin Johnson were that he’d either bounce back with a monstrous year or continue to decline. Well, here we are one week in and that supposed comeback isn’t exactly off to a hot start. Megatron finished with just two receptions for 39 yards, but what’s even more head-scratching than that was the fact that he only had four targets.
You don’t need me to tell you that Calvin is Detroit’s best player, so it’s simply min-boggling that they didn’t throw him the ball more. Having said that, this could very well just be a case of good defense by the San Diego Chargers as they pretty much let Ameer Abdullah beat them out of the backfield. Besides, you can’t argue with success right? The Chargers did in fact win this game, after all.
As a Calvin Johnson owner, I admit I did panic a bit and consider packaging him away for an upgraded WR1 but convinced myself better times are ahead. He’s still a freak of an athlete who should put up big numbers in the coming weeks. He’s every bit as big of a name as Peyton Manning, yet I think you can breathe a little easier if you own Calvin Johnson going forward.
Adrian Peterson – RB, MIN
Let’s just forget about the fact that Adrian Peterson only played one game last season and consider the following pieces of information. First, for whatever reason, Peterson has historically struggled against the San Francisco 49ers. Whether it’s just a case of defensive planning or an allergic reaction to California smog, nobody knows, but it is what it is.
Second, the Vikings offense just looked bad overall on Monday night. The team couldn’t develop a rhythm via the ground or the air and never even found the endzone, so it’s possible Peterson’s disappointing 31 rushing yards weren’t all on him. Lastly, Peterson only had 13 touches in this game. That’s simply not enough for your star running back, a player who is a former MVP and should be the focal point of your offense.
Say what you want about him missing time last year, but it’s not like he had 20+ opportunities to show us he still has it. Maybe the guy just needs a game or two to work off some rust, or maybe this was a case of poor offensive strategy. Either way, hang tough if you own Adrian Peterson. It stinks if he cost you a win already, just know that it’ll get better.
DeMarco Murray – RB, PHI
This one is a combination of both poor performance and questionable usage. DeMarco Murray only had eight rushes for a grand total of nine yards on Monday night. Why on Earth did the Eagles pay for a star running back only to give him the ball eight times? And why is Darren Sproles, the back they already had, out-touching the TWO backs they signed? Nevertheless, nine yards rushing on eight attempts, well, stinks.
Fantasy-wise, Murray’s night was salvaged by two touchdowns, but if you’re looking at his usage and stat line with confidence you’re lying to yourself. A touchdown rate like that is simply unsustainable, even in a Chip Kelly offense. I’d like to think that maybe this was a case of the Eagles being down in the second half and trusting their passing game, but it’s not like all of Murray’s touches came in the first half.
Again, it’s still only one game so you shouldn’t automatically redo your entire team but if you can find the right deal, I’d pull the trigger on Murray. If you can get say, Carlos Hyde and a WR2, I’m making that trade. Of all the players listed, DeMarco is the one that scares me the most after just one week.
Greg Olsen – TE, CAR
If DeMarco Murray is the player listed that concerns me the most, Greg Olsen is the polar opposite of that. If he’s not called for offensive pass interference in the endzone, he doesn’t even make this list, as he’ll have had a touchdown to go along with his 13 receiving yards. I know Cam Newton spread it around a bunch in this game, but Olsen is the most talented pass-catcher on the Panthers so he’s going to get a boatload of targets.
I didn’t add him to this list to worry you--I put him here to tell you to tell you everything’s going to be just fine. With Devin Funchess reported to be third on the wide receiver depth chart, who else is Cam Newton going to throw to all season? The corpse of Jericho Cotchery? Ted Ginn? Stop it. Olsen will be fine.
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