Fantasy Football: Thursday Night Boom and Bust – Week 2

TNF Boomer or Buster

Fantasy Football is back and all is right in the universe. The beauty of live sports is we have no idea what is going to happen. Fantasy football managers are humbled nearly every week. In this week’s Thursday Night Boom and Bust, I will highlight two NFC East foes, as the NY Giants travel to the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Football Team.

Accountability Time

Last Thursday, I picked Ronald Jones to Boom and Zeke Elliott to bust. 1-1 isn’t bad. Jones looked sharp with his four carries. The problem was on the last carry he fumbled. Uh oh. If football fans know anything about Bruce Arians, we immediately knew RoJo’s night was over.

I want to take a moment to note my disappointment with Bruce Arian’s leadership in week one. This is nothing new with Bruce Arians. He likes to use multiple backs and every week it seems like one of them is in his doghouse. I knew immediately that Ronald Jones night was over in the second drive of the first quarter for the Bucs. That’s a problem.

Leadership Matters

Leadership note. People make mistakes. If you bury people for their mistakes they will not respond. I know this is Arians M.O., but it rubs me the wrong way to see a 23-year-old kid make a mistake and get benched for the rest of the game. The mistake, by the way, was caused more by a great play by the Dallas defender peanut punching the ball rather than by RoJo being careless with the football. Build people up when they make mistakes, humble people when they succeed. This is how leadership should be conducted.

On the Other Hand

Zeke Elliott on the other hand was a bust. I noted last week that fantasy football teams were likely unable to bench him. This was a bad spot for Zeke, and Dallas chose to attack Tampa’s weak pass defense instead of run at a brick wall. It was a smart plan by coach McCarthy, and Dak Prescott looked every bit as good as a top-5 quarterback. Zeke played a hell of a game for the role that was needed; his pass protection saved Dak multiple times. Unfortunately, pass protection doesn’t help for fantasy football.

I am worried about Zeke. He will have some big games due to volume, but he is no longer the star we remember. It seems like he has lost his explosion and power.

Anyways, I digress. On to Week 2

Player to Boom!

Antonio Gibson

Antonio Gibson is on the cusp of superstardom. This dude is electric. Gibby had 23 touches for 108 total yards, in Week 1. The only flaw in Gibby’s game was a brutal fumble near WFT’s own goal line. The fumble was bad, but Gibby looked great. The best takeaway, JD McKissic had zero targets for the game (Gibson had five).

Ron Rivera wasn’t blowing smoke. He wants to use Gibson similarly to how he used CMC in Carolina. Gibson looks like LT, maybe it’s the visor. He’s smooth in and out of breaks. He hits a hole, and boom, he is shot out of a cannon.

Ryan Fitzpatrick will miss most of the NFL season with a hip injury, meaning this is Gibson’s offense now. This week, Terry McClaurin will get the James Bradberry treatment. I like Logan Thomas in the intermediate passing game, but if WFT is going to get into the win column, they will need to ride their dynamic RB to victory. The Giants gave up 145 yards to Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams last week. I am looking for Antonio Gibson to take center stage this week and be a top-5 RB for fantasy football.

Projection: 23 carries, 107 yards, 1 touchdown – 4 receptions, 25 yards

Player to Bust

Saquon Barkley

Similar to Zeke last week, fantasy football teams are in a tough spot with Saquon Barkley this season. He likely cost managers high draft capital. Managers knew what they were getting into by taking Barkley this season. He is coming off of a devastating knee injury that will take time to work back into the flow of NFL games.

His stat lines and his tape were not great in week one. Barkley finished with just 11 touches and 27 total yards. The irony of Barkley vs. Zeke is that I believe Barkley will get better as the year goes on, where Zeke is going to be less efficient throughout the year.

Be patient with Saquon good people, his time is coming. He plays Atlanta next week and that could be his welcome back party. Barkley is the most talented running back in the NFL. When he gets his sea legs back under him he is a force unlike any RB in the NFL.

Playing on a short week against a stout WFT defense, I am fading Barkley this week in all formats. There will be little room to run and I’m looking for Barkley to do little damage against his NFC rivals in week two.

Projection: 12 rushes 42 yards – 3 receptions, 15 yards, zero touchdowns.