By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

Not only did Cam Newton throw for over 400 yards for the second straight week, he is also the Panthers leading rusher thus far. Cam’s 71 yards rushing are just three shy of the combined rushing yards from Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams. Has Cam already entered top ten fantasy quarterback status? I won’t consent to that admission until he at least plays eight games.

Cam isn’t included on this weeks week two wonders, but there are enough to fill a new reality show for the Dallas Cowboys to complete an overtime game clinching throw to.

Quarterbacks

Andy Dalton- Clearly Dalton does not look like he is going to be a bust. He seems to be taking control of the reigns seamlessly. The Bengals wanted to reshuffle all around and did so at quarterback and wide receiver. Give the team credit, as they did not bow down to Ocho Cinco and Carson Palmer. Dalton though is going to struggle at an even higher rate than Cam Newton due to the offensive deficiencies the Bengals have.

Ryan Fitzpatrick- His game was a tale of two halves. Did the Raiders easing up a bit with a huge lead have a factor in the Bills comeback? Probably. By the time the Raiders tried to regain a hold of the game, momentum had swung the Bills way. Fitzpatrick still has to be considered a backup fantasy quarterback. Even though he has been off to a hot start with touchdowns, he hasn’t crossed the 300 yard mark. Settle down before making a huge error on being Fitzpatrick dependant.

Running Backs

Ben Tate- Now is the time to trade Ben Tate high, especially if you picked him up off the waiver wire before the season. If you have Arian Foster already then retain him. As soon as Foster is 100% , Foster will retake 80-85% of the Texans carries. Houston is doing the right thing now by keeping Foster’s carries down, but it won’t be long before Tate’s fantasy value reroutes to deep on your fantasy bench.

Willis McGahee- Denver upped McGahee’s carries knowing that they won’t need him to do that type of workload all the time. McGahee’s fantasy value over the last few years have come only in short yardage goal line situations. That’s where his value remains. If there was any chance at him changing that, his 3.6 yard average Sunday squashed that. He’ll be back to his proper role as soon as the team declares Knowshown Moreno ready.

Jonathan Stewart- Stewart is another back that made you want to belt out a Tim Allen “Errrrr” Sunday. Out of the ordinary performance for Stewart with ten catches for a hundred yards. That’s more in one game than all of last season when he had eight. Both Stewart and DeAngelo Williams are struggling to help out Newton. In fact, Newton is only a few yards shy of the same amount of rushing yards by himself vs. Williams/Stewart combined.

Mike Tolbert- As the season stretches out, I expect Ryan Mathews to plant his position firmly as the Chargers main on field back. He showed solid flashes vs. the Patriots, and did not cough up the football twice as did Tolbert. The fact that Tolbert received the bulk of his fantasy points this week with seventy three receiving yards on eight catches, isn’t a pattern I expect to be accounted for weekly. This is a guy that has caught about as many balls in two weeks as he has averaged the past two.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Dwayne Bowe- Bowe is like picking the improper stock. You buy him high as most fantasy owners drafted him and he turns into a mediocre fantasy receiver. Buy him low as owners did by scooping him off waivers or drafting him in late rounds last season, and he turns a season around by scoring fifteen touchdowns after a shaky start in 2010. The state of his year this year is largely in jeopardy due to the teams surroundings. Key season ending injuries to Tony Moaki and Jamaal Charles, will hamper Bowe’s value even more. Matt Cassel is not going to ramp up his play anytime soon.

Jeff King- The Cardinals are working on getting more sets of two tight end formations due to the success they’ve had the first few weeks. Until they do increase their looks, King’s value remains very thin. He has caught two touchdowns but bottom line is far behind Todd Heap and is the Cardinals number two tight end. If Heap’s injury history creeps up, then King could be a solid waiver wire tight end pickup.

DeNarius Moore- The Raiders love speed but have found out how brittle speed receivers can be. Chaz Schilens has not been able to shake off injuries in two years, and now Jacoby Ford, Darrius Heywood-Bey, and Louis Murphy are all hurt with no timetable on a return. Moore made big plays Sunday, but needs to show that he can do more then be a Pierre Garcon type.

Antonio Brown- Preseason’s favorite wow recipient and super sleeper, tipped the fantasy charts with ten PPR fantasy points Sunday. I still believe his value is minimal, and only should be valued in leagues with return yardage. Emmanuel Sanders is working his way back into the Steelers game plans, and Hines Ward is still a steady veteran.

Jerome Simpson- With Jordan Shipley now out for the season, Simpson’s performance week two likely caught the eyes of many fantasy owners needing improvement at wide receiver. Dalton torched the Broncos poor defense, but in all likelihood, Dalton will throw on average of 220 yards a game. His anticipated yardage numbers and minimal touchdown throws makes Simpson’s week a one week wonder.

Tony Scheffler- Those concerned that Scheffler is taking away from Brandon Pettigrew’s value need not to fret. Scheffler does have two touchdowns, but how many catches does he have total? Two. That type of red zone efficiency won’t last much longer. That’ll make Scheffler’s minimal catches invaluable.