This turbulent ride of the NFL season continues to sail along as Week 2 offered plenty more to talk about.
The Minnesota Vikings deactivated Adrian Peterson before Sunday’s game because he was indicted and eventually arrested on a felony charge of injury to a child. Like the Ray Rice situation a week prior, this is very sad for everyone involved.
Peterson will reportedly play in this week’s game against the Saints in what was a controversial decision made by owner Zygi Wilf. Fantasy owners may feel relieved at the moment, but don’t be surprised if the NFL steps in and suspends the star running back down the road.
Now to the play on the field where injuries seemingly plagued the running back corps as Knowshon Moreno, Ryan Mathews and Mark Ingram all got hurt in their respective games and will miss a chunk of the season as a result. Others like Doug Martin, Ben Tate, DeAngelo Williams and Maurice Jones-Drew didn’t even suit up while Matt Asiata quickly became the hot waiver pickup.
Another star running back had issues over the weekend as Jamaal Charles suffered a high ankle sprain in the first quarter of the Chiefs’ loss to the Broncos, finishing with four rushing yards on two carries. Fantasy owners everywhere cringed as he went down and backup Knile Davis proceeded to score a pair of touchdowns. High ankle sprains usually mean a couple weeks of rest is needed, so Davis is one of those handcuffs you regret not drafting right about now.
Look on the bright side if you own Charles, at least his ankle isn’t as bad as Robert Griffin III’s after he was carted off with an air cast. The former Baylor Bear suffered a dislocated ankle and Washington’s head coach Jay Gruden expects him to return at some point this season. Kirk Cousins will take snaps under center for the foreseeable future and if he plays well, Griffin could be ‘distant cousin’ from the starting lineup even when healthy.
Washington could be without DeSean Jackson next week after the wideout suffered a mild strain of the AC joint against Jacksonville. The speedster finished the day with one grab for 19 yards, which was better than A.J. Green who didn’t record a catch at all after turf toe slowed him down. Like DeSean, the Bengals are hoping they don’t miss their top, outside target for any length of time.
Last but not least, fantasy owners had to be disappointed by the Seahawks’ defense after the Chargers put up 30 points against them. Philip Rivers and company seemed to have their way as temperatures reportedly reached as high as 118 degrees on the field. The defending Super Bowl champs are not used to playing in such hot conditions and should be fine the rest of the season.
The Chargers’ Antonio Gates stole the show with three touchdown receptions and nearly 100 receiving yards. It is too bad though, because a lot of you who own Gates and Rivers had them going off on the bench.
Hopefully you enjoyed this week’s Fantasy Woes article and don’t own too many of the players mentioned above.
Jamaal Charles photo credit: Barry Lenard
Ryan Mathews photo credit: FF Swami
