Fantasy Football Week 2 Predictions: 10 Worst Performances by Starters

With the second week of fantasy football only days away, it is time to start finalizing and locking your teams in. Last week, we saw plenty of terrible performances by sure-fire fantasy starters (thanks, Jermichael Finley) and this week will be no different.

I've defined a fantasy starter as a player who is starting for over 60 percent of the fantasy teams they are on. With that said, the majority of these players are starting in over 90 percent of fantasy games this week.

Pay close attention because here are the 10 worst performances by fantasy starters in Week 2.

Jamaal Charles vs. Detroit Lions

Starting Percentage: 97 percent

Predicted Statistics: 12 carries, 57 yards, 2 receptions, 12 yards, 0 TDs

There is no doubt that Jamaal Charles is one of the better running backs in the league, but he wasn't a fantasy stud in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills and he won't do any better in Week 2 against the Detroit Lions.

The Lions boast one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. They did an incredible job against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by holding LeGarrette Blount and Earnest Graham to 28 yards on 11 carries. Neither Blount nor Graham is better than Charles, but Charles will still have a difficult time getting started against the Lions defense.

Charles might gain more yards on the ground this week, but they won't be anything significant and his zero touchdowns will really hurt fantasy owners.

Darren McFadden vs. Buffalo Bills

Starting Percentage: 97 percent

Predicted Statistics: 20 carries, 63 yards, 1 reception, 9 yards, 0 TDs

As much as I love what Darren McFadden was able to do Monday night against the Denver Broncos, we won't see anything near that type of production on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills are an interesting team and even though I don't quite believe in their offense yet, I think their defense is the real deal. This is especially true of their run defense which kept Jamaal Charles in check all game last week. With Marcell Dareus, Nick Barnett and Shawne Merriman all playing very well, the Bills will be able to shut teams down.

It seems that McFadden has finally become the player everyone expected him to be out of college. He will have a great season, but will struggle mightily in this game. 

Kenny Britt vs. Baltimore Ravens

Starting Percentage: 73 percent

Predicted Statistics: 6 receptions, 47 yards, 0 TDs

If you take away Kenny Britt's 80-yard touchdown reception that was absolute luck, his statistics against the Jacksonville Jaguars were just okay. Four receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown is a decent fantasy football day, but nothing to expect out of a true top receiver.

The Baltimore Ravens had a defensive field day with the Pittsburgh Steelers and their talented receiving group. This week, the Ravens will only have to focus on Britt, who is the Tennessee Titans' only real receiving threat, instead of splitting attention between Mike Wallace, Hines Ward, Heath Miller and Emmanuel Sanders.

It is going to be a long and hard day for the Titans, which means a bad fantasy day for Britt.

Chris Johnson vs. Baltimore Ravens

Starting Percentage: 91 percent

Predicted Statistics: 22 carries, 87 yards, 4 receptions, 25 yards, 0 TDs, 1 Fumble Lost

Over 100 total yards on offense is by no means a terrible fantasy day, but what is going to hurt Chris Johnson is losing a fumble. I understand that predicting a player to lose a fumble is a little ridiculous, but here is why I think it will happen.

The first reason is how talented the Baltimore Ravens defense is. This is a team with such stellar talents as Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata and Ed Reed.

The second reason is what the Ravens were able to do Ben Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall last week. During Roethlisberger's seven-year career, he has only had 46 fumbles, which comes out to about seven per year. Of those 46, he has only lost 21 of those fumbles, which means that he is averaging only three fumbles lost per season.

Last week, the Ravens forced Big Ben to fumble twice and lose both.

This Ravens defense looked focused and vicious last week and should continue to build on that by punishing Chris Johnson all game long.

Shonn Greene vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Starting Percentage: 70 percent

Predicted Statistics: 13 carries, 39 yards, 0 TDs

Last week was a rough week for Shonn Greene and this week isn't going to be any better.

The Jacksonville Jaguars defense was able to shut down Chris Johnson, who is a much better running back than Shonn Greene. Nobody knew what to expect from Jacksonville's defense when it brought in so many new players, but this unit looks to be very solid.

On top of having to play against a quality defense, Greene will also be losing carries to LaDainian Tomlinson again. He also won't be a major factor as a receiver because that is Tomlinson's area of expertise.

I was actually surprised to see Greene starting for 70 percent of teams as he hasn't had much of a fantasy career as of yet. Unfortunately, that career won't start this week either. 

Andre Johnson vs. Miami Dolphins

Starting Percentage: 99 percent

Predicted Statistics: 6 receptions, 68 yards, 0 TDs

There is no doubt that Andre Johnson is one of the most talented wide receivers in the entire NFL. Yet even the best players struggle a game or two and this will be one of those games for Johnson.

The Miami Dolphins defense was abused by Tom Brady, but the one bright spot on the unit was Vontae Davis. Davis is one of the most underrated cornerbacks in the league and has the ability to shutdown a big receiver like Johnson.

After the Dolphins were embarrassed on Monday Night Football, I believe they will come into this game and play aggressive on defense. Davis will be covering Johnson all game, which will cause Matt Schaub to look elsewhere.

Roddy White vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Starting Percentage: 97 percent

Predicted Statistics: 5 receptions, 49 yards, 0 TDs

There are two huge reasons that Roddy White is going to struggle against the Philadelphia Eagles. The first reason is named Nnamdi Asomugha and the second reason is named Asante Samuel.

Say what you want about the rest of Philadelphia's defense, but these two cornerbacks are two of the best in the game and will cause major problems for White and the Atlanta Falcons. Last week against the Chicago Bears, White was only able to put up 61 receiving yards against lesser defenders.

It won't matter if Asomugha or Samuel is on White because either one will be able to stop him from making any type of fantasy impact this week.

Matt Ryan vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Starting Percentage: 63 percent

Predicted Statistics: 189 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 Fumble Lost

Last week, we saw Matt Ryan have 47 passing attempts and zero touchdowns. He was constantly pressured by the Chicago Bears and made plenty of mistakes, including an interception and a lost fumble.

We won't see Ryan attempt 47 passes this week against the vaunted Philadelphia Eagles secondary, but he will still struggle with turnovers. If Ryan had a difficult day against the Bears, he will have an even harder time against the Eagles.

Personally, I wouldn't start anyone from the Atlanta Falcons this week, but Ryan is definitely the last person I would want starting at quarterback for my fantasy team.

Drew Brees vs. Chicago Bears

Starting Percentage: 96 percent

Predicted Statistics: 274 passing yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs

After a spectacular performance against the Green Bay Packers, Drew Brees won't have such an easy time throwing the ball against the Chicago Bears.

The Bears defense had its way with Matt Ryan and will have a similar effect on Drew Brees' fantasy statistics. Even though Brees is a much better quarterback than Ryan, Chicago's defense is also playing much better right now than Green Bay's defense.

It will be a frustrating day for fantasy owners of Mr. Brees as he will struggle to get a rhythm going all game.

Greg Jennings vs. Carolina Panthers

Starting Percentage: 99 percent

Predicted Statistics: 7 receptions, 49 yards, 0 TDs

Greg Jennings is Aaron Rodgers' favorite target, so clearly that isn't problem. The problem for Jennings lies in how much Rodgers likes to spread the ball around in his offense.

With Jennings, Jermichael Finley, Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson, James Jones and Randall Cobb (dang, that is a lot of weapons) all at his disposal, Rodgers doesn't ever have to lock into just one receiver. He has done this through most of his career and will continue to do it this week against the Carolina Panthers.

While Jennings usually sees the most passes thrown his way, it won't be that way this game. I expect Finley to see the majority of throws as he will create major matchup issues with the Panthers defense. It will only be a decent day, nothing spectacular for fantasy owners of Jennings.