On the fourth day, He’ll rise again: Thursday Night Football recap

If you guys read my column yesterday, you’ll know what I’m here to talk about today.

Today, I am steeped in Fantasy Football glory.

TYGAWD TAYLOR HAS RISEN AGAIN!

Against the advice of damn near every other fantasy expert on the internet yesterday, I made my case for why Tyrod Taylor was a good fantasy start on Thursday Night Football against the Jets.

And MANNNNN did Tyrod validate all the points I made.

Taylor lobbed the pigskin for 297 yards, three touchdowns and rushing for 25 yards, completing 18 of 30 passes and putting up a 112.8 passer rating. Even after throwing a pick, Taylor still managed to put up 30 points in my league.

That’s what I call FANTASY GOLD, baby.

So, that’s the good news. This morning, I look like a genius. I’m unstoppable.

SOMEBODY HOLD ME BACK, MAN!

Only one little problem.

I benched Taylor five minutes before kickoff.

So hear me out on this.

I was at the game in Buffalo last night. I intentionally got to there about an hour early so I could check on what I thought was the key factor to Taylor’s success last night, Sammy Watkins.

I saw a guy who was moving slowly a lot of times, a guy who almost looked afraid to leap off that gimpy foot of his. What I saw from Watkins made me nervous. He didn’t look right, clearly not operating at 100 percent.

I sat on the cold, blue bleacher seats in section 223 of the newly minted New Era Field and was profoundly torn.

My gut told me to roll with Taylor against the Jets. I had the stats and the conviction to validate the feeling bubbling up in my stomach.

However, with Watkins clearly not at 100 percent and Taylor’s offensive line looking like swiss cheese against the Ravens last week, doubt started creeping into my mind.

I was high on the Jets D/ST unit for this game as well, planning to start them against an offense that looked hapless last week.

In the end, I can try to make excuses and validate my choices all day long, but the fact is this: I chickened out.

In the face of tremendous pressure, I crumbled and bailed on my own convictions.

And here I am, suffering the wrath of the Fantasy Gods for my cowardice.

But let’s turn a negative into a learning moment, shall we?

I’ve been preaching all week about how important it is for owners not to panic and overreact to Week One performances. AP had a horrible first game for my squad, but I haven’t even once considered benching him this week. Why didn’t the same idea apply to Tyrod?

So let’s spin this over to the positives. Going forward, Tyrod is a boom-or-bust play. He looked like the only legitimate weapon on that Bills offense last night. LeSean McCoy couldn’t get anything going consistently on the ground and Watkins was used more like a decoy to spring the other receivers for the deep bombs Taylor chucked all game.

In addition, the Jets D/ST are nothing to sneeze at. They were a legit top-10 play at the position this week and Taylor made them look helpless with his deep accuracy, torching Revis for the Bills opening drive.

That’s an encouraging sign for a 0–2 Bills team that needs a spark. Taylor was the life-blood of the offense.

Despite benching him this week, I think he’s on the rise going forward for a team that will continue to lean on him for inspiration

Besides that, there’s not too many real fantasy implications on the Bills side, although I do worry about McCoy going forward. He looked pretty bad in both weeks of the season so far, only salvaging his Week One with a goal-line score.

Also, until Watkins can prove he’s legitimately healthy, it’s gotta be tough for owners to start him with any confidence.

After the Jets offensive showcase this week, a lot of people are going to be high on them. I think we should pump the brakes on that a bit.

I know Fitz looked composed and comfortable in the pocket, but the Bills D/ST looked awful last night. The front seven put no pressure on the QB and the secondary got torn apart by Marshall, Decker and Quincy Enunwa, who’s well worth picking up if he’s still available in your league, by the way.

I would be cautious going forward with anyone on this Jets offense besides Matt Forte, who put up 28 points in my league last night. I think the prolific passing attack last night was less about the quality of the Jets offense and more on the lack of defensive quality for the Bills.

The moral to all of this is to trust your gut. If you feel a certain way about a player, your fantasy team is yours to rule. Even if all the experts hate your guy, if your gut tells you to start him, roll with it.

I can tell you for absolute certain that even if the guy doesn’t blow up for 30 points, you’ll feel better knowing you went with what you felt was right.

Believe in yourself and the Fantasy Gods will reward you, I promise.