NFL at Sheridan Hoops: Draft Street Million, Week 3

Through two weeks of the NFL regular season DraftStreet‘s mega contest has awarded six seats to the final stage in Las Vegas. There are 34 more seats up for grabs in the coming weeks, three of them this week. For full contest details, click here. In Week 2 action, I placed 34th and earned $150 for ,y $109 entry fee despite missing out on Marshawn Lynch/SEA and Aaron Rodgers/GBP. There was significant overlay in the Week 2 qualifiers and there may be again for Week 3, so please register and don’t miss out on the gift of free “money”.

My top players were DeSean Jackson/PHI and Calvin Johnson/DET, both of whom were among the top performing wide receivers in Week 2. Jay Cutler/CHI pitched in 21.5 DraftStreet points on the strength of three TD passes, and Matt Forte/CHI had a solid game with 11 catches and 161 all-purpose yards (sadly, no TDs). The Bears defense allowed 24 points but came up with a pick six to put up a creditable 9.5 points. Bargain tight end Jordan Reed/WAS pitched in with a TD catch and two other receptions.

To finish first you need to hit on all your picks. I bricked two, which pushed me out of a possible top 10 finish. The cheap one was Bryce Brown/PHI, who played less than I thought he would and produced only one catch and 14 total yards. The more serious misstep was Drew Brees/NOS. Tampa Bay played a great defensive game and Brees struggled to connect with his wide receivers all night. Brees threw for only a single TD pass against two interceptions;  a decent 322 yards passing added up to a modest (by his standards) 14.88 DS points.

This week’s qualifiers are priced at $22, $55, and $420 to enter, and you may enter multiple teams in each qualifier. Let’s have a look at what Week 3 might have in store for us.

Quarterbacks for Week 3

My analytical methods have tipped Russell Wilson/$12845/SEA as the best value for money at the QB position. In this instance I’m going to throw out the analysis and classify Wilson/Sea as only fair value. Wilson gives you the benefit of scrambling yards in addition to accurate passing. However, against the Jaguars at home, I suspect the Seahawks will hand the ball to their running backs in the second half as they grind out a 25 point win. I can’t see Jacksonville being able to make any dent in the Seahawks defense and that means Wilson’s raw numbers will not impress.

Among the more expensive QBs, Cam Newton/$14562/CAR and Matthew Stafford/$16086/DET are my top plays. You can count on Stafford throwing the ball frequently, and he has more weapons to do damage with this season. If Reggie Bush/DET is healthy enough to play the majority of snaps, I expect him to get the ball in space and leave the tough running between the tackles to Joique Bell/DET. Calvin Johnson/DET will be shadowed, but Nate Burleson/DET has stepped up. The Redskins defense has been burned by Michael Vick/PHI and Aaron Rodgers/GBP and I expect Stafford/DET to make it a hat trick.  I don’t think Carolina will have success running the ball and the Panthers might have to play catch up the whole game. This will mean lots of throws for Newton and 300+ yards against the Giants. Tom Brady’s/$14434/NEP price has fallen enough to make him an intriguing choice. Julian Edelman/NEP will be his go-to receiver and if Rob Gronkowski/NEP plays even part-time it should put Brady in a better mood than we saw a week ago.

Among the cheap options, I like Joe Flacco/$11518/BAL and Ben Roethlisberger/$10025/PIT. Considering Big Ben was harassed by the Bengals all game on Monday, he performed well. Look for him to bump his efficiency up another notch against the Bears, especially if Heath Miller/PIT returns this week. With Ray Rice/BAL hobbled, I doubt the Ravens will be able to run the ball effectively against the Texans, which in turn will lead to more passing yards for Flacco/BAL.  Jake Locker/$9928/TEN is another playable bargain.