The NFL season is into Week 2 and it will officially begin with the New York Jets and the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night and after an exciting first week of games there is plenty to look back on and plenty of storylines to look forward to, including the injuries for the Patriots with Danny Amendola and Shane Vereen.
Amendola was excellent in the victory over the Buffalo Bills even after suffering a groin injury, but despite being able to come back in that game, the short week likely is the reason he will sit out. Julian Edelman made two touchdown receptions against the Bills and he will be the top option for Tom Brady in Week 2 along with rookie Kenbrell Thompkins.
Vereen ended up rushing for a career high 104 yards against the Bills, but that was because Stevan Ridley fumbled and was benched and now he will be out for a while and he can return for Week 11 after being placed on the IR with the return designation, taking him out of action for quite some time. The loss is a big one for fantasy owners, especially after the way Vereen played on Sunday and now he will be out for the Patriots until they play the Carolina Panthers.
The 24-year-old was expected to be used on third downs and out of the backfield and along with his 104 yards he also had seven catches for 58 yards and now the depth at running back is getting thin for the team. The Patriots won 23-21 in the opening game, but now they will be a bit depleted as they take on the Jets and it is unclear whether Zach Sudfeld will play and now Danny Amendola likely will be out for the team as well.
The Jets are coming into the game thinking they can win it after taking down the Bucs in Week 1 and even with the injuries they will have their work cut out for them. The Jets are confident and after the way Geno Smith and Kellen Winslow played in the opener they could be solid fantasy options and the running backs Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell as well. Thompkins for the Pats will likely do better on Thursday in his second NFL game and the Jets need to do better rushing the ball, as Geno Smith led the team in rushing against the Bucs and they won't be able to win if he continues that trend.
Smith was solid in his debut and now it appears the job will be his after Mark Sanchez is likely getting surgery and he went 24-of-38 for 256 yards on Sunday and he will have to follow it up after a short week. The Jets got a bit lucky, but in the NFL often times it is better to be lucky than good. But for tonight, owners should SIT Amendola and Sudfeld as well as Rob Gronkowski, while Julian Edelman and Thompkins are START players, while Chris Ivory and Powell are the same. Geno Smith should probably sit, but go with Kellen Winslow.
