This is weekend is the most important one of my life. Not because I’m 0-1 in 4/6 leagues, but because I’m getting married. So before I use and abuse this topic as a gimmick for my article this week, I also want to stress the importance of this weekend to all of you. Not because your resident IDP writer is about to have his own Mrs. IDP, er, forget I mentioned that, but because Week 2 is the time to make moves! Week 1 had countless injuries and disappointments, but it also had breakouts and stud performances.
So using my impending nuptials as a theme, let’s take a look back at last weekend…
To Have
Top Waiver Wire picks by position:
DL: Wallace Gilberry, Corey Liuget, Willie Young
LB: Josh Mauga/James Michael-Johnson (more on them in a minute), Brandon Marshall, Larry Foote
DB: Deone Buccanon, Troy Polamalu, Leodis McKelvin
To Hold
These players had a subpar Week 1, but there is no reason to give up yet:
DL: Robert Quinn, Muhammad Wilkerson, Ziggy Ansah
LB: Brian Cushing, Alec Ogletree, Kevin Minter
DB: Eric Weddle, Antrel Rolle, Bernard Pollard
For Better
The all-out studs of the season’s first week:
Gerald McCoy – Already owned in all DT-required leagues, McCoy wreaked havoc against Carolina. He makes for a great DL2 to pair with a big-play threat like Cameron Wake or Jared Allen, as he’ll rack up tackles every week (though 8 solos might be difficult to repeat weekly).
Sio Moore – With Nick Roach injured, Moore stepped up in a big way with 13 tackles and a sack. The Oakland LB corps is crowded even without Roach as Miles Burris and Khalil Mack had decent days as well. I think Moore is worth a speculative grab, but I wouldn’t count on this type of performance again any time soon.
Eric Berry – When one of your safeties puts up 15 tackles, you know it’s been a bad game. Granted, Berry is more of an LB in Safety’s clothing at this point, but really the Chiefs were terrible on Sunday. If you grabbed my #3 DB as a value draft pick in August, then well done. If you grabbed Weddle over Berry, have some patience.
For Worse
These seemingly reliable starters laid an egg:
Chandler Jones – Four tackles isn’t all that bad, but this was a guy who was supposed to destroy Tannehill and company. Watching this game, it’s amazing how quickly Miami picked up Bill Lazor’s keep-it-moving system, so Jones never even had a chance to get a sack. This will likely be a theme against the Fins this year, so be wary of starting pass rushers against them.
Brad Jones – I guess it wasn’t all that hard to keep up with the Joneses in Week 1, amiright? Sorry. This Jones was a sleeper for some heading into the season, and a matchup with the run-heavy Seahawks seemed to set him up for a big day. Alas, Jones got repeatedly shaken up (like he always does), and when he was on the field, he wasn’t blowing me away (he never does). I have no problem moving on for greener pastures here. Or less green pastures if you want to be literal about it.
Jairus Byrd – Ticker Tease! When I saw that Matt Ryan lit the world on fire, I assume Byrd had at least 10 tackles plus some deflections. Only 5 tackles and a forced fumble? I think the Saints’ secondary will be difficult to figure out this year, so I’d be wary of relying to heavily on Byrd or Vaccaro.
In Sickness
I dont’ really want to talk about this, but the following players went down (replacements in parentheses):
Derrick Johnson (Josh Mauga, James Michael-Johnson) is out for the year with a torn Achilles, which is the worst news I’ve heard since I got the bill for the wedding. Zach Brown (Zaviar Gooden) has his toes in the water and his arm in a sling, as he’ll be out for the year as well.
Vontaze Burfict (Vincent Rey/Emmanuel Lamur) got a concussion that’s worth monitoring, as did Jonathan Cyprien (N/A).
Jadeveon Clowney (Whitney Mercilus) tore his meniscus and is slated for a 4-6 week recovery, however based on what I know about Clowney, he’ll be back next week (Note: The previous sentence was based on YouTube clips and not on actual science).
The entire Miami LB corps seemed to get hurt, making their win over the Pats and Gronk even more impressive. It’s unclear how this will all shake out, but for now it appears that Jelani Jenkins is the guy to own. I have no idea how to rank him.
In Health
These guys are recovering from big-time injuries in 2013:
Brian Cushing – Didn’t play every snap, and looked a bit tentative when he was on the field, but still managed to be a part of 5 tackles. It might take a couple of weeks, but he’ll be back to the way he was a few years ago. Minus the juice. I think.
Tyrann Mathieu – Mathieu didn’t end up playing on MNF, punishing owners who had their hopes up. Honey Badger giveth and Honey Badger taketh away. I’d like to see him get through a game before starting him, but he’s absolutely a must-own DB if you have the bench room.
Vince Wilfork – Big Vince was never much of an IDP factor, but he does open up space for those around him. Jerod Mayo (12 tackles and a sack) owners are thankful that he’s back in the lineup.
That concludes the longest and weird gimmick I’ve done in this space. For obvious reasons, I’ll be a bit off the grid this weekend and most of next week. If I can’t get to every comment, I’m more accessible through Twitter, though if I truly want this to be my one and only wedding, I’ll likely be staying away from that as well. Best of luck in Week 2. [Jay’s Note: Congrats!]