Fantasy Football: Injured Stars Such As RGIII Among Week 2 Studs, Duds

If you play fantasy football — which we’re guessing you do — there’s about a 75 percent chance one of your star players got hurt this weekend.

Week 2 featured an unprecedented rash of injuries to marquee players — A.J. Green, Jamaal Charles, Knowshon Moreno and Robert Griffin III were just a few of the casualties. And that was after Adrian Peterson, arguably the best player in all of fantasy football, was deactivated because of his indictment on a child abuse charge.

Yet the NFL’s second weekend wasn’t all doom and gloom. From Antonio Gates returning to his old form against the league’s best defense to Aaron Rodgers bouncing back with pinball-like numbers against the New York Jets, a handful of players put up huge performances that hopefully saved your team from fantasy disaster.

The cream is beginning to rise to the top as the NFL season settles in, and it’s time to examine who’s on both sides of the fantasy spectrum.

STUDS
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers: Still worried about Rodgers after his less-than-stellar Week 1? This ought to ease your mind. Rodgers went off in the Pack’s comeback win over the Jets, piling on 346 passing yards and three touchdowns to become the top-scoring fantasy player through Sunday. He’s still got it.

Antonio Gates, TE, San Diego Chargers: The ageless tight end did what Rodgers couldn’t — put up big numbers against the Seattle Seahawks — by hauling in three touchdown passes, including a spectacular one-handed grab in the third quarter. You can praise Ladarius Green all you want, but Gates is still the man in San Diego.

Jordy Nelson, WR, Packers: In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Nelson is Rodgers’ favorite target. The wideout benefited from Rodgers’ big game in a huge way, hauling in nine passes for a whopping 209 yards and topping it off with an 80-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter. This duo will be tough to stop.

New England Patriots defense: After an abysmal Week 1 showing, the Patriots’ defense was an absolute wrecking crew against the Minnesota Vikings, recording four interceptions and returning a blocked kick for a touchdown while allowing just seven points. We know, it’s the Vikings, but still. This defense proved Sunday that it’s capable of being a fantasy game-changer.

Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: Bernard is fast developing into one of the league’s best dual-threat backs. The little speedster converted 33 touches into 169 total yards (90 rushing, 79 receiving) and even punched in a touchdown from 4 yards out. With A.J. Green sidelined by injury, Bernard clearly is the focal point of this offense.

DUDS
Robert Griffin III, QB, Washington Redskins: We could put any of the walking wounded here, but RGIII is the most disappointing. His style of play just isn’t holding up in the NFL, as he continues to get injured while trying to make plays outside of the pocket. He’s on the “Duds” list for the second consecutive week, so it might be time to give up on him for good, especially since his dislocated ankle could sideline him for a while.

Rob Gronkowski, TE, Patriots: Those who took a flier on Gronk in the early rounds figured he’d be a lock for big numbers if he wasn’t hurt. Yet the big tight end still is operating on a limited snap count, tallying just four receptions for 32 yards on 27 total snaps in Sunday’s game. That’s not terrible, but this isn’t the fantasy beast we’re accustomed to seeing.

Michael Floyd, WR, Arizona Cardinals: We’re expecting big things out of Floyd this year, especially after his stellar debut in Week 1. Yet he was reduced to a virtual non-factor with Carson Palmer on the bench Sunday against the Giants, catching only one of the six passes Drew Stanton threw his way. That’s something to keep in mind if Palmer misses any more time.

Marques Colston, WR, New Orleans Saints: Speaking of non-factors. … This one was pretty baffling. After racking up 110 yards in Week 1, Colston wasn’t even targeted in Sunday’s loss to the Browns. The Saints’ bevy of weapons usually is a good thing, but sometimes it can produce frustrating performances like this big goose egg from Colston.

Toby Gerhart, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars: Gerhart now is the lead back in an NFL offense, but it’s the Jacksonville offense. The Jags were forced to play from behind all game, resulting in just seven carries for 8 yards by the former Minnesota Viking. It could be tough sledding for Gerhart, unless the Jags’ offense figures it out soon.

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