Fantasy Football 2016: Matt Camp’s Post-Preseason Week 2 Notebook

The second week of the preseason is all about the follow-up. 

Can the stars of the first week keep it going in the second game? For someone like Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry, that answer is yes. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas.

Much like the first week, I’m not making snap judgments after Week 2 of the preseason. You still need to consider the small sample sizes, level of competition and lack of game plan that goes into a preseason game. Plus, as you’ll see in my game reviews, a lot of key players never saw the field.

With half the preseason behind us, I’ll check back in on some intriguing average draft position numbers, suggest five more to watch and give you another tip of the week. Plus, you’ll get a preview of my next Big Board update with some players who’ve improved their rankings.

    

Game Reviews

Philadelphia Eagles at Pittsburgh Steelers

Key players who didn’t see the field: QB Carson Wentz (PHI), RB Wendell Smallwood (PHI), WR Jordan Matthews (PHI), QB Ben Roethlisberger (PIT), WR Markus Wheaton (PIT), RB Le’Veon Bell (PIT), RB DeAngelo Williams (PIT), WR Antonio Brown (PIT), TE Ladarius Green (PIT) 

   

WR Sammie Coates, PIT

Coates had another uneven effort in the team’s second preseason game. He was called for an offensive pass interference penalty in the first quarter, but followed that up with an excellent toe-tapping catch in the second quarter. Coates wound up playing with two receptions for 30 yards on four targets.

    

Cincinnati Bengals at Detroit Lions

Key players who didn’t see the field: WR Brandon LaFell (CIN), TE Tyler Eifert (CIN), TE Tyler Kroft (CIN), RB Ameer Abdullah (DET), TE Eric Ebron (DET)

   

Bengals Passing Game

Days after finding out LaFell tore ligaments in his hand, the focus shifted to rookie WR Tyler Boyd, and he didn’t shy away from the extra attention. QB Andy Dalton’s second attempt of the night looked to be a bit wide of Boyd’s catching radius, yet he still made a fantastic diving catch for a pickup of 26 yards. He added a 12-yard touchdown on the final play from scrimmage of the first half to total two receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown. WR A.J. Green climbed the ladder to snag a high Dalton pass for a 15-yard gain as part of a two-reception, 22-yard performance on two targets. 

    

Lions Passing Game

It looks like the Lions are making a point to get the ball out quicker, and QB Matthew Stafford did a good job of that in this game. On the team’s opening drive, Stafford completed passes to WRs Anquan Boldin, Golden Tate and Marvin Jones. In fact, Jones had receptions on three straight plays and wound up with four receptions for 65 yards on five targets. Tate wasn’t far behind with 41 yards on three receptions. Getting the ball out quick might be a necessity for Stafford since Detroit’s offensive line is a weakness.

    

Atlanta Falcons at Cleveland Browns

Key players who didn’t see the field: WR Josh Gordon (CLE), WR Corey Coleman (CLE) 

    

Falcons Backfield

Much like we saw in the first preseason game, the Falcons used both RBs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman with the first-team offense. Freeman did a better job squeezing through cracks for extra yards, as neither player got much help from the offensive line. Freeman’s best run was a 19-yard touchdown that saw him make a defender miss at the line of scrimmage before running to daylight for the score. Freeman racked up 42 yards and a touchdown on four carries while Coleman managed just 16 yards on five carries. 

   

Browns Passing Game

QB Robert Griffin had a confidence-building performance against the Falcons thanks to proper execution of what should be the blueprint for this offense. In an effort to simplify decisions and cut down on unnecessary risks, Griffin was making shorter, quicker throws for the most part, but still took some calculated shots down the field. On the second drive, he hit on one of those to WR Terrelle Pryor for a 50-yard touchdown. It was Pryor’s only reception. Later, Griffin cashed in again on a 29-yard touchdown to TE Gary Barnidge with a well-placed pass and an even better catch. For the night, Griffin completed six of eight attempts for 96 yards and two touchdowns.

     

Chicago Bears at New England Patriots

Key players who didn’t see the field: WR Eddie Royal (CHI), TE Zach Miller (CHI), WR Julian Edelman (NE), QB Tom Brady (NE), RB Dion Lewis (NE), WR Danny Amendola (NE), TE Rob Gronkowski (NE) 

     

Bears Backfield

RB Jeremy Langford led the way for the Bears with eight carries for 55 yards and a touchdown in addition to one reception for eight yards on his only target while playing 25 snaps. He did his best to follow his blockers and push forward for additional yards, which he was able to do on multiple occasions. His best run went for 34 yards and included some good blocking up front followed by Langford making a few cuts to make some defenders miss. He scored a five-yard TD on the next play. Jordan Howard didn’t see his first action until the end of the third quarter. He wound up with 46 yards on 11 carries. 

       

Patriots Passing Game

The Patriots gave QB Jimmy Garoppolo 45 snaps in the second preseason game, in which he completed 16 of 21 attempts for 181 yards and a touchdown. Behind an offensive line that still has some questions, Garoppolo did a good job hanging in the pocket. Almost all of his throws came in the short and intermediate areas, including a nice TD pass in traffic at end of the first half. Other than one near interception, he didn’t make any significantly bad decisions. Consider this a positive outing for Garoppolo.

    

Oakland Raiders at Green Bay Packers

Key players who didn’t see the field: QB Aaron Rodgers (GB), WR Jordy Nelson (GB) 

   

RB Eddie Lacy, GB

While I don’t want to react to any running back finding his way through a huge hole with ease, it’s different in Lacy’s case because we didn’t see enough of that in 2015. The weight issues he had look like they are in the rearview mirror. Lacy’s first carry of the game against the Raiders went for 20 yards because he saw a big hole and was quick to take advantage of it. All of Lacy’s carries came on the team’s opening drive and he didn’t have any go for negative yardage. With nine carries for 45 yards and a one-yard TD, Lacy now has two strong performances to start the preseason.

    

Raiders Backfield

The Raiders came out of their first preseason game with plenty of optimism surrounding their backfield. Unfortunately, they couldn’t follow that up against the Packers. Latavius Murray managed just 19 yards on six carries and a reception for negative-four yards while playing 15 snaps with the starters. Rookie DeAndre Washington’s hype from last week cooled off with just eight yards on five carries and a catch for negative-one yard on three targets in 17 snaps that didn’t begin until the third quarter.

       

Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks

Key players who didn’t see the field: QB Teddy Bridgewater (MIN), RB Adrian Peterson (MIN), RB C.J. Prosise (SEA), RB Thomas Rawls (SEA), TE Jimmy Graham (SEA) 

      

RB Christine Michael, SEA

Another week without Rawls in the lineup meant another week for Michael to get the spotlight—and once again, he delivered. At times, it looked like he was shot out of a cannon when coming out of the backfield, showing a quickness we’ve rarely seen from him in three previous seasons. He was fast to the outside and pushed the pile between the tackles. Michael was in the game for 17 snaps and rushed for 55 yards on 10 carries and caught his only target for nine yards.

     

New York Jets at Washington Redskins

Key players who didn’t see the field: RB Matt Forte (NYJ), RB Khiry Robinson (NYJ), QB Kirk Cousins (WAS), WR DeSean Jackson (WAS), TE Jordan Reed (WAS), WR Pierre Garcon (WAS) 

        

RB Matt Jones, WAS

Jones was having a good first quarter, slashing through the Jets defense and pushing for extra yards, but his night ended prematurely when he was tackled on his shoulder after going out of bounds. He left the game and didn’t return and was later diagnosed with an AC sprain, the team announced on Twitter. Head coach Jay Gruden has since said Jones won’t play for the rest of the preseason, but has made “great strides” in his recovery, per the team’s Twitter account. Jones finished the game with seven carries for 31 yards.

         

Miami Dolphins at Dallas Cowboys

Key players who didn’t see the field: RB Ezekiel Elliott (DAL), RB Darren McFadden (DAL) 

    

Dolphins Passing Game

The Dolphins decided to play QB Ryan Tannehill for nearly half the game (31 snaps), and he finished with 162 yards and two TDs by completing 12 of 20 attempts. Downfield passing has been a problem for Tannehill, but he made a great throw rolling to his right for a 55-yard completion to WR Kenny Stills. The two would connect later in the game on a 13-yard TD and then a three-yard TD on a great touch pass. Tannehill’s numbers should have been better, but he was plagued by multiple drops. If Tannehill can replicate his performance in …

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